mtl008 Chapter 186: Blind Dog Recognizes the Wrong Person
Chapter 186: Blind Dog Recognizes the Wrong Person
Thinking so, Jiang Yuwei took the portrait and went out. However, when she went to each shop to ask about it, everyone said they had never seen it. Jiang Yuwei was about to give up when she saw Manager Li of Taihe Bookstore drying books in front of his shop.
Because they had a disagreement over the paper sale last time, Jiang Yuwei was about to turn around and leave, but was stopped by Shopkeeper Li.
"Jiang Yuwei, wait a minute!"
Jiang Yuwei thought that Shopkeeper Li was going to quarrel again, so she turned around and glared at him fiercely.
"What?!"
Shopkeeper Li was startled by Jiang Yuwei's eyes. He wanted to take a few steps forward to talk to Jiang Yuwei, but he stopped abruptly and spoke slowly:
"Well, I know you opened a shop on North Street. I heard from the clerk that your business is pretty good."
Jiang Yuwei nodded impatiently. She didn't have time to chat with Manager Li at the moment.
Shopkeeper Li seemed to have noticed the displeasure on Jiang Yuwei's face, and hurriedly said:
"I was sorry for what happened last time. I was forced into it. I thought your small workshops wouldn't last long. If the Ge family did something behind your back, you wouldn't be able to continue. So I didn't dare to offend the Ge family by cooperating with you. I never thought you would actually open a shop, and open it right across from the Ge family. I underestimated you. You are really amazing..."
Jiang Yuwei said unhappily:
"Shopkeeper Li, come on, stop talking nonsense. I'm busy catching thieves right now and I don't have time to chat with you. I'm leaving now!"
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei turned around and was about to leave.
After hearing this, Shopkeeper Li hurriedly said:
"Wait, wait, you said you were catching a thief?"
Jiang Yuwei looked back at Shopkeeper Li and nodded impatiently.
Shopkeeper Li hurried forward a few steps and asked worriedly:
"Catch the thief. Then, the man in your shop at 9:00 p.m. today is, is, a thief?"
After hearing this, Jiang Yuwei immediately turned around, handed the portrait in her hand to Shopkeeper Li and asked:
"Shopkeeper Li, are you saying that you saw someone enter my shop? Then please take a closer look. Is that man the person in the portrait?"
Shopkeeper Li took the portrait and examined it carefully, then nodded and said:
"Yes, it's this man. I was surprised at the time because he looked unfamiliar, so I looked at him a few more times. I thought he was a new employee in your shop, so I didn't think much about it. I just thought you opened so early on weekdays."
After hearing this, Jiang Yuwei bowed to Shopkeeper Li and said:
"Shopkeeper Li, I apologize for offending you just now. It was because I was anxious to find the thief that I spoke without thinking. Shopkeeper Li, please be generous and don't hold it against me. This man is the thief who came to my shop to steal. If the county court tries the case, please come to court to testify. If we can't catch the thief as soon as possible, I'm afraid our shops on North Street will be worried all day long!"
After hearing this, Shopkeeper Li nodded and said:
"Okay, I get it. Don't worry. If necessary, I will appear in court to identify the thief. The sooner he is arrested, the sooner we can rest assured."
Seeing that Manager Li had agreed, Jiang Yuwei hurried back to the shop to wait for news from Captain Huang.
But when Jiang Yuwei just returned to the shop, she saw Captain Huang coming out from the backyard with a piece of cloth in his hand.
Jiang Yuwei hurriedly stepped forward and handed the portrait to Captain Huang, and then truthfully told him the news she had inquired about. Captain Huang nodded and said:
"Okay, now we have a clue. Since we have already identified the criminal, we will go back to the yamen to report to the county magistrate. You can go back with us. My two men will send the man directly to the yamen after they catch him."
After hearing this, Jiang Yuwei hurriedly gave some instructions to Ning Huaizhi and followed Captain Huang to the yamen. Coincidentally, as soon as Jiang Yuwei and her companions arrived at the yamen, they saw the two constables who went to Ningjia Village had tied up Ning Sangu and her son and brought them back together.
Everyone entered the yamen, and Captain Huang recounted the entire incident. After hearing this, Magistrate Li slammed the gavel and shouted:
"Aunt Ning San, Ning Qi, do you two admit your guilt?"
No matter how powerful Aunt Ning was, she was just a village woman. She had never seen such a scene before. She didn't know what to say. She just stammered and lowered her head, glancing at her son out of the corner of her eyes.
"I, I, I, I don't know..."
Seeing this, Magistrate Li shouted again:
"Be bold!"
Ning Qi kowtowed and cried out for justice upon seeing this:
"It's unfair, County Magistrate Li. Jiang Yuwei and I have no grudges against each other. Why would I steal from their shop?"
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei stepped forward and told her about how Aunt Ning San had failed to sell the land at her home and how they had fallen out. Ning Qi was about to refute when he saw Manager Zhang walk in aggressively from outside the hall, pointing at Ning Qi and cursing:
"You have cheated me so badly, you better return my money!"
As he was about to tear Ning Qi apart, Captain Huang stepped forward and stopped Manager Zhang, shouting:
"Manager Zhang, calm down! This is the government office, not the entrance to your shop! You won't be allowed to act recklessly. The county magistrate will help you with the money issue!"
Manager Zhang was afraid that he would lose both his wife and his army. His private money was cheated away by Ning Qi, but he didn't get any gold powder paper. He was also afraid that Ning Qi would not be able to explain clearly and would implicate himself. Then he would be imprisoned for no reason. That's why Manager Zhang rushed into the yamen in a rage just now.
Jiang Yuwei stood aside and watched Manager Zhang's performance in silence and amusement. This was the first time that he was on the same side as her.
Just as Ning Qi was about to refute Manager Zhang, Manager Li also hurried over. He walked up to Ning Qi, looked him over carefully, and nodded, saying:
"It's him! The man I met at Moxiangzhai at 9:00 p.m. today is this man!"
Ning Qi glared at Shopkeeper Li fiercely and said angrily:
"You are blind and you have mistaken me for someone else! How could I possibly go to Moxiangzhai?"
Captain Huang carefully examined Ning Qi's clothes, then took out a piece of rag from his sleeve and stepped forward to measure it. Suddenly, he saw an inconspicuous hole at the corner of Ning Qi's clothes, so he nodded and said:
"Yes, the scraps of cloth I found in the backyard of Moxiangzhai are your clothes. The gaps match up perfectly!"
Ning Qi's face immediately turned pale when he saw this, and he stammered:
"No, no."
Seeing this, the two constables at the side handed all the silver they had found in Ning Sangu's house to Magistrate Li and said:
"Mr. Magistrate, we just found this money at Aunt Ning's house. When we got there, they were packing their bags and preparing to flee!"
Jiang Yuwei noticed the dagger on Ning Qi's waist, and took advantage of his unpreparedness to pull out the dagger. Seeing the bloodstains on it and the size of the dagger, she exclaimed:
"It was this dagger that injured my black dog. If you need me, I can bring the black dog here so that you can compare the wound!"