County Magistrate Li watched with a grim expression as the woman, reputedly the most beautiful in the surrounding countryside, shrieked ferociously. He remained silent. One of his attendants, trying to guess his master's thoughts, stepped forward and loudly berated Liu Yunlan for her insolence.
Seeing the Lord County Magistrate's dark expression, Zheng Changhe grew anxious that his daughter-in-law would provoke the official, leading to trouble for them all. He had completely forgotten that Liu Yunlan was only pretending to be a shrew. He scolded her for being so insensible and signaled for Mother Yang to pull her out of the room.
But Liu Yunlan refused to leave. With her hands on her hips, she bellowed, "I insist on having the Lord Magistrate judge this matter! What a coincidence today is. Usually, I couldn't hope to see the Lord Magistrate even if I wanted to—I've never even been outside Xiatang Market, you know."
