"Unless what?" Zhang Wan Qin immediately took the bait.
"Unless we go beg An Zi Ran. I heard that the An family's gu ye is really fond of him. If it's him, maybe Father can be released."
"Okay. Then let's quickly go beg him!"
Zhang Wan Qin turned on her heels, wanting to go out. Due to her concubine status, she only went to the An manor once or twice. But for Chang De's sake she could only toughen her skin and go.
A pleased look of joy flashed in An Yao Zong's eyes.
At this moment, An Ming Rui held back his mother just in time. "Mother, even if we go to the An manor, you do not have to be in such a hurry."
An Yao Zong spoke coldly, "Ming Rui, what do you mean? Could it be that you want Father to suffer in prison? This matter must be solved today, because I heard that An Zi Ran will return to Jun Zi City with that wang ye tomorrow. At that time, it will be hard to see him again."
"Ming Rui, Yao Zong is right." Zhang Wan Qin also felt that his words made sense.
An Ming Rui looked at the other two with cold eyes. "Mother, I suspect that Father is not the only person in jail. The madam (Wu Zhi) must also be in prison, but some people are deliberately not saying it."
An Yao Zong narrowed his eyes. "An Ming Rui, what do you mean by these words? Even if my mother is in prison, so what? Are you just going to watch without saving them and carry the sin of causing your father's death?"
"You can stop trying to scare people with frightening words. If you really want to save Father and Madam, why don't you go and beg An Zi Ran yourself? The two of you are their biological children. Wouldn't it show more sincerity for the two of you to go?" Whether it was cleverness or eloquence, An Ming Rui would not lose to An Yao Zong, who often messed around in brothels.
An Yao Zong's expression turned gloomy.
An Xue Yan sneered. "An Ming Rui, remember your own status. You are but a child born to a concubine, yet you dare speak to us like this?"
"Ming Rui…" Zhang Wan Qin grabbed her son by his sleeve and looked at him with pleading eyes.
The light in An Ming Rui's eyes turned gloomy as he clenched his fists. One day, he will definitely make this family pay the price they deserve.
In the end, Zhang Wan Qin still decided to pay a visit to the An manor.
An Ming Rui couldn't win in an argument against his mother, yet he couldn't bear to watch her go alone and lower herself to beg others, so he decided to go with her.
An Yao Zong and An Xue Yan were happy at first, but not long after An Ming Rui and his mother returned.
The reason was that An Zi Ran refused to see them.
An Yao Zong and his sister naturally did not believe them. They were certain that the mother and son pair did not actually go to the An manor, but merely walked a circle outside and returned with a lie. In order to rescue his parents as soon as possible, An Yao Zong still had to go with them to the An manor to confirm the truth.
The result was the same as the first time. This time the three of them had the door slammed in their faces.
When they returned home, An Yao Zong was so angry that he smashed a vase in the great hall. What the f*ck did An Zi Ran think he was? He merely climbed into the bed of a wang ye. What kind of airs was he putting on? He dared to close the door in their faces?!
What they didn't know was that the one who really rejected them was Fu Wu Tian.
An Zi Ran simply did not have the time to manage the situation with the An Chang De couple. He was going to return to Jun Zi City tomorrow so he had to hand over all the affairs in An Yuan County, big or small, to Steward Su. Only then could he leave feeling reassured.
A round trip between Jun Zi City and An Yuan County took a day. If something unexpected happened, he would not be notified in time, so he could only address all the problems beforehand and make prior arrangements just in case.
They already notified Zhou Laohan and his wife about the matter with the rice noodle shop.
Zhou Laohan and his wife readily agreed with the proposal. Preparations for the rice noodle shop were already in progress and the shop could be opened in a few days.
By the time he was done explaining everything, dinnertime was fast approaching.
Fu Wu Tian came to find him, and then the two of them went to the dining hall together.
"I heard that people from An Chang De's family came over twice?" An Zi Ran remembered Steward Su mentioning this matter when he entered the study room, so he casually put forth the inquiry.
Fu Wu Tian said, "Could it be that wang fei wants to see them?"
An Zi Ran replied, "No, I just want to know who came over both times."
Fu Wu Tian guessed his thoughts right away and said in a concise manner: "The first time it was two people, the second time it was three people. What are wang fei's thoughts?"
An Zi Ran was silent for a while. "Just let them suffer in prison, ba."
One sentence immediately decided the second half of An Chang De and Wu Zhi's life. At least they would not be released until County Magistrate Zhang transferred to another post.
The next morning, the fleet of carriages from the An family finally left An Yuan County.
At the same time, in the county government office…
An Chang De and Wu Zhi, who had been detained in jail for a night, knelt before the law court with dispirited appearances. Their experience in prison last night were still vividly imprinted in their minds. The two have led pampered lives, and they've never seen the inside of a prison before. Their nerves have been tortured enough. Right now they did not have the energy to yell like they did last night.
There was a large group of onlookers standing at the gate of the county government office. Everyone was waiting to watch a good show.
In only half a day, Zhang He had collected a lot of evidence against the An Chang De couple. Their crimes were read out loud one by one. Only now did the gathered crowd learn that this couple did this many bad things. This was certainly appropriate retribution. What goes around comes around.
"Da ren, we are wrongly accused. We really did not do these things. There is definitely someone deliberately framing us. We beg da ren to distinguish right from wrong with acuity!"
An Chang De and Wu Zhi listened to the list of crimes with growing fear. Cold sweat gathered on their foreheads. Although they never took a human life, the accumulation of all those crimes were enough for them to sit in prison for a lifetime. When they thought that they might spend the rest of their lives in prison, the two of them turned white as sheet.
Unfortunately, no one cared about their sophistry.
An Yao Zong and them had just squeezed into the crowd when Zhang He's verdict was passed. Once the contents of the judgment were heard, several people's expressions turned lifeless in a split second. An Chang De and Wu Zhi were sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment.
Zhang Wan Qin fainted then and there. An Ming Rui caught her just in time.