Chapter 575
“Mother, don’t be anxious.” Li Zhiwei hurriedly comforted Lady Yao, afraid she would not be able to bear it.
“Master, what exactly happened back then?” Lady Yao looked at Li Tianyou unhappily. She could not believe he had kept such an important matter from her.
Nanny Tang, who was standing nearby, had not expected that after all these years, this man would still remember her.
She was filled with regret. If only she had known, she would never have come.
Wasn’t this going to bring trouble upon Madam?
Madame Jiang’s palms were also sweating. She had never imagined that this matter would one day be exposed. At the time, she had arranged everything perfectly.
But she had never expected that this person would come looking for them.
The problem was that he had recognized Nanny Tang at a glance.
For a moment, Madame Jiang felt flustered. She did not know what would happen if this man discovered that she had deliberately arranged for someone to lure their child to the riverside back then.
And, even worse, that she had deliberately caused the child to fall into the water.
“Then you should ask Madam Jiang why she had my son abducted in the first place.” Li Tianyou looked coldly at Madame Jiang and demanded an explanation.
“Hmph, Master Li, do you have any evidence for saying that? Nineteen years ago, I had just lost my own child. Then, by chance, I rescued a child from the riverside. Having just lost my child, I took this one in and raised him. How is it that, according to you, I abducted your child?” Madame Jiang said indignantly.
She seemed to have repeated these words to herself countless times as well.
That child was indeed one she had found by the river back then.
“Then explain this properly. Why was this nanny wandering around my home for three days back then? And do you really think you left no trace behind?” Li Tianyou’s eyes were filled with fury as he looked at Madame Jiang.
“Master, you must have evidence before making such claims. This old servant has never left Lu City in her entire life. Perhaps you simply remembered incorrectly. The person you saw may only have looked somewhat like this old servant.” Nanny Tang denied it without hesitation.
She thought that after nineteen years, Li Tianyou might not remember things clearly.
“Similar? Then do you remember Wu San of Qujing?” Li Tianyou looked at Nanny Tang and asked each word distinctly.
“What Wu San? This old servant does not know him.” Nanny Tang was startled at first, but immediately denied it.
She prayed inwardly that, after nineteen years, Wu San would surely no longer recognize her.
“Rest assured. I have already turned all my evidence over to the county office. When the time comes, this matter will be investigated thoroughly.” Li Tianyou’s voice was cold.
Meanwhile, at the county office—
“You are Prince An?” Lu Jinchang looked at the man before him, somewhat uncertain.
After all, wasn’t Prince An already staying in the rear courtyard of the county office?
If this man was Prince An, then who were the people staying at the county office?
“Do I need to prove to you whether I am Prince An or not? I hear someone has been impersonating me and come to your Lu City.” The man looked coldly at Lu Jinchang.
Lu Jinchang was in a difficult position. The other Prince An had shown him a token before, but as a mere county magistrate, how could he possibly have seen an insignia from the Prince An’s residence and known what it looked like?
Besides, the man before him looked fierce and menacing. Lu Jinchang truly did not dare ask to inspect his token.
But when he thought that Li Zhiwei and the others might be impostors, his heart began to pound.
“This subordinate would never dare. I simply wonder whether Your Highness has come here with some instruction,” Lu Jinchang said after much deliberation. He decided to first see what this man intended to do.
The identities of those people might be false, but there was no guarantee that the man before him was genuine either.
He had to weigh the matter carefully.
He could not afford to offend Prince An.
“This prince happened to be passing through Lu City, so I came to take a look. I hear that the taxes here have not yet been submitted. Bring all the silver out later so I can take it with me.” The man spoke without the slightest trace of courtesy.
Lu Jinchang was stunned when he heard this. Taxes?
Hadn’t the taxes from Lu City already been handed over to their superiors?
Besides, who collected taxes like this?
“Your Highness, this subordinate submitted the taxes to our superiors long ago.” Lu Jinchang spoke awkwardly.
He wondered whether Prince An had learned that he had kept some money aside.
But that small amount of silver was hardly worth mentioning.
“Magistrate Lu, don’t assume this prince is unaware of your little schemes. Hand over anything that does not belong to you at once.” The man’s lips curved into a mocking smile.
He seemed to know that Lu Jinchang had secretly kept a large amount of money.
“This prince also needs to make a trip to the military camp. I’ll take the grain you have prepared here as well,” the man continued.
Lu Jinchang’s eyes widened. He thought to himself that this man was behaving like a bandit.
He wanted to take this and that—everything in sight!
“This prince is hungry now. Hurry and have someone take me to the best restaurant in the city and give me a proper welcome.” Before Lu Jinchang could react, Prince An issued another order.
“Go to the madam and bring back some banknotes,” Lu Jinchang said quietly to a constable beside him.
After all, they could not entertain Prince An too shabbily.
But the little wealth he had painstakingly saved would probably all be lost.
“My lord, don’t you think this man is rather strange?” Feng Du quietly came over to Lu Jinchang and whispered.
He could not help thinking that this Prince An seemed more like an impostor precisely because he kept demanding money and grain.
“Should we ask the person staying in the rear courtyard?” Feng Du asked cautiously.
After all, Prince An and Princess Consort of An were staying in their rear courtyard. How could another Prince An suddenly appear, demanding both money and grain?
“Don’t alert the enemy.” Lu Jinchang waved his hand, yet he was also uncertain which one was real and which one was false.
What if the person in the rear courtyard was the impostor?
“My lord, have you ever seen this man’s token?” Feng Du secretly glanced at the fake Prince An and asked.
“I didn’t see it clearly.” Lu Jinchang shook his head. The man had merely taken it out and waved it around. He truly had not gotten a good look.
Even if he had seen it clearly, he would have had difficulty determining whether it was genuine.
“As for the grain in our storehouse, and the little money we have left…” Feng Du spoke hesitantly, leaving the rest unsaid.
Lu Jinchang understood. That grain was the relief grain reserved for Lu City.
The harvest this year had been average. After paying their taxes, the common people had barely any grain left. If a natural disaster or some other calamity struck, they could only wait for relief from the imperial court—and by then, they might as well wait to die.
As for the little money they had, it was hardly enough to accomplish anything.
He had merely set aside two hundred taels of silver.
He had not pocketed the money for himself. He had kept it as an emergency reserve.
Yet this Prince An now wanted to take all of it away. Wouldn’t that be stripping Lu City of its final means of survival?
It was said that Princess Consort of An came from the formerly wealthiest Li family. Prince An surely could not be short of money, Lu Jinchang thought silently to himself as he spoke with Feng Du.
Lu Jinchang and Feng Du exchanged a glance. There was indeed something more suspicious about the man before them.
“Magistrate Lu, what are you two whispering about over there?” The man had walked for quite a while without seeing Lu Jinchang follow, and he turned around and shouted in displeasure.
