Chapter 179
The nephew of Magistrate Zhao had been injured. The county yamen's constables arrived quickly. After Zhan Feiyu and the others washed up, they had just sat down in the private room and hadn't picked up their chopsticks when the door was kicked open.
"Yo, I've seen bold people, but never anyone as brazen as you!" The leading constable, stout and dark-skinned, stepped onto a stool, his fierce gaze sweeping over Zhan Feiyu and the others.
The remaining constables, two guarding the door and four lined up in the private room, had their right hands resting on the hilts of their sabers, exuding an aggressive aura, as if they could cut down Zhan Feiyu and the others at any moment.
Yin Wuyan didn't even spare a glance for the constables who had barged in. He picked up a spoon and served Zhan Feiyu a bowl of soup, the rich aroma of mushrooms filling the air.
"Didn't you hear me speaking?" Constable Cao, ignored, roared. He grabbed the edge of the table with his thick arm, about to flip it. Offended the Third Young Master, and you still want to eat? Eat in jail!
Chong Guang lightly placed his right hand on the tabletop, smiling at Constable Cao.
With a sudden surge of strength, the table remained motionless!
Constable Cao blinked, assuming the table was too heavy. He exerted more force, but his face, full of thick flesh, turned red and congested. Not even a single dish on the table wobbled.
"Chong Guang, throw them out!" Yin Wuyan said coldly, preventing Constable Cao's spittle from splashing onto the dishes.
"You dare to make a move?" Constable Cao roared, his right hand reaching for his saber. But Chong Guang was a step ahead.
The constables felt a blur before their eyes. They didn't even see Chong Guang's movement clearly. They saw that Constable Cao's saber had already been snatched by Chong Guang. What's more, the sharp saber was now held at Constable Cao's throat.
"Alright, get out, everyone. I haven't eaten yet, and I'm starving. If my hand slips, tsk tsk..." Chong Guang grinned smugly, deliberately shaking his hand as if he couldn't hold the saber steady.
A sharp pain on his neck, and warm blood flowed from the wound, instantly turning the stout Constable Cao into a trembling bear. His voice quivered, "Make way! Make way!"
The constables dared not act rashly. They all retreated outside the private room, fearing that Chong Guang would really let his hand slip and slit Constable Cao's throat.
The other young masters, the innkeeper, and the waiters were all dumbfounded. These outsiders even dared to hold the yamen constables hostage. No wonder they dared to injure Zhao San. Were they fearless or had they eaten the heart of a leopard?
"Scram. I'm in a hurry to eat and don't have time to entertain you." Chong Guang unceremoniously kicked Constable Cao in the backside. After kicking him out, he also threw the saber, still stained with blood.
With a clang, Constable Cao's head was hit by the hilt. He cried out in pain. Touching the wound on his neck, he roared with eyes full of fury, "Arrest this brute for me! Kill him without mercy!"
The six subordinates shouted and charged at Chong Guang with their sabers drawn. Looking at their fierce posture, they were clearly aiming for his life, not caring about capturing him alive.
Bang bang bang! Chong Guang, with his hands behind his back, kicked a few times. The six constables fell on top of each other like a stack of pancakes, groaning in pain.
"Constable Cao, this is a tough opponent!" A constable, his face down and bleeding from the nose, said in pain. He crawled back a few steps timidly, not daring to advance.
Constable Cao gritted his teeth in hatred, but he also knew Chong Guang's skill. A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him! "Let's go back to the yamen first!"
Returning to the private room and sitting down, Chong Guang had just picked up his chopsticks when Yin Wuyan pointed to the white steamed buns placed on the side to accompany the lamb.
"Master, you want me to eat this?" Chong Guang felt wronged. He had just driven away the troublemaking constables. He had at least made an effort, if not earned merit. These delicious dishes on the table were not for him to eat, but he was to gnaw on a bun?
Yin Wuyan was too lazy to speak. Zhan Feiyu chuckled, "Uncle Chong Guang, the yamen constables will probably be back soon. Why don't you eat something to fill your stomach first?"
"I..." Chong Guang was choked with anger. Resigned, he picked up a bun, stuffed a large piece of fragrant lamb with scallions into it, and began to devour it.
Indeed, after a moment, a commotion arose from downstairs. "The yamen is arresting a criminal. All idlers, please leave immediately!"
More than twenty menacing constables and thirty to forty yamen runners had completely surrounded the inn. Leading them was County Lieutenant Hou.
Glancing at the silent floor above, County Lieutenant Hou said coldly, "Have you confirmed the identities of these people?"
The wound on his neck had stopped bleeding, only a slight scratch, but to Constable Cao, it was not a serious injury, but extremely insulting.
When he, Cao Xiong, walked on the streets of Huaixian, everyone respectfully called him "Constable Cao." If he didn't get this place back, how could he establish himself in Huaixian in the future!
"Sir, we've already asked Manager Zhao. We only know they are from the prefectural city. We don't know which family's young lady it is. She brought two guards, a maid, and two stable hands. A whole cartload of luggage. I took a look in the backyard earlier, and the three horses pulling the carriage are all fine steeds."
Wealth moves people's hearts! A draft ox is worth at least fifty taels of silver, and an ordinary horse is at least a hundred taels. If it's a fine steed, it could be worth three to five hundred taels, or even a thousand taels of silver.
Constable Cao worked at the county yamen. His monthly salary was only fifteen taels of silver. However, as a constable, he received some bribes, and these sums sometimes exceeded his salary.
Of course, Constable Cao also had to offer some good things to County Lieutenant Hou every month. Therefore, regardless of the luggage sent to the private rooms, these three fine horses were enough to make him tempted.
"To dare to injure Zhao San, it seems they've kicked an iron plate!" County Lieutenant Hou's expression darkened. He was greedy, but he also had a brain, which was why he had been able to hold his position firmly over the years. "You two, come with me to take a look."
Having devoured two buns like a glutton, Chong Guang leaned against the wall outside the private room with a resentful expression. Upon seeing County Lieutenant Hou and the others coming upstairs, he shot them glares. When was a good time to cause trouble, but they had to do it during mealtime.
"Esteemed sir, may I know your master's surname?" County Lieutenant Hou cupped his hands in greeting, adopting a strategy of courtesy before force. "I am the County Lieutenant of Huaixian. Someone came to the yamen to file a complaint earlier, saying that someone had incited their servant to commit violence and nearly took someone's life."
Chong Guang squinted at County Lieutenant Hou, his attitude dismissive and arrogant. "That brat dared to speak disrespectfully to my young lady. Let alone a minor punishment and injuring him, even taking his dog's life would be his own doing."
Seeing that County Lieutenant Hou was not only not angry but his attitude became more respectful and cautious, Chong Guang pointed at the three constables, including Constable Cao. "As for them,哼, they are just lackeys wearing official robes. Without a word, they wanted to flip the table. My young lady is timid, so I had to beat them out."
County Lieutenant Hou knew Zhao San's character very well, but he was annoyed that Zhao San, after three cups of horse urine, had lost all sense of proportion.
A distinguished guest from the prefectural city, with six or seven people accompanying a young lady, clearly a lady from a prominent family. Zhao San even dared to harass her. If his neck hadn't been cut, it would have been showing mercy.
"Regardless, I still request the young lady to go to the yamen to explain." County Lieutenant Hou, considering Magistrate Zhao, could only bring the person to the yamen first. Then the whole hot potato would be no longer his problem. If he truly offended someone, it would be Zhao San who offended them.
Zhao San's throat was injured, and he almost suffocated to death. Regardless, he was the injured party. County Lieutenant Hou's action was already extremely courteous. If it were an ordinary commoner, they would probably have the constables tie the person up and take them to the county yamen.
"Alright, I was the one who injured him. I'll go to the county yamen with you." Chong Guang was quite straightforward, his tone so casual as if he were going for a day trip to the county yamen.
"Wait a moment." Chong Guang said after leaving two words, then turned and walked back into the private room.
"Sir?" Constable Cao said unwillingly, but before he could finish, County Lieutenant Hou shot him a warning glare.
Cao Xiong and these constables colluded with Zhao San daily. County Lieutenant Hou was too lazy to manage it. But just as the guard said, he was the one who injured someone. If they wanted his young lady to go to the county yamen, Zhao San was not qualified. County Lieutenant Hou was even less willing to offend a noble from the prefectural city.
After a while, everyone thought Chong Guang would go in to report, but unexpectedly, he came out with a white steamed bun. "Let's go, lead the way."
County Lieutenant Hou's old face stiffened slightly. This was truly fearlessness!
Outside the inn, onlookers had already gathered. When they saw more than twenty constables and more than thirty yamen runners, a dense crowd, actually there to arrest one person.
What's more, Chong Guang didn't look like a notorious bandit, but more like a leisurely and unrestrained young master from a noble family. Especially since he was eating a bun as he walked, this made the surrounding commoners dumbfounded.
Zhao San had drunk his medicine at the medical clinic and returned to his residence behind the county yamen. Hearing the servant's words, Zhao San sat up from the bed with a whoosh. His voice was still hoarse, but it carried the hatred of seeking revenge. "County Lieutenant Hou again?"
The servant fawned over him and whispered, "Third Young Master, County Lieutenant Hou said that that cheap girl has an extraordinary background. She's probably a young lady from a major family in the prefectural city, and her guard was the one who acted."
If the young lady had acted, Constable Cao could have arrested her. But since it was the guard who acted, the debt was owed to the right person. And this was a noble from the prefectural city. County Lieutenant Hou would definitely prevent Constable Cao from arresting her.
Touching his swollen and painful throat, Zhao San angrily pounded the edge of the bed. "Go tell County Magistrate Wang to proceed according to the old rules!"
"Yes, I'll go right away." The servant quickly agreed.
Chong Guang, who was brought to the court, was left waiting. The clerk's words were very clear: the plaintiff was too severely injured and was still at the medical clinic. Chong Guang, the defendant, could only wait.
Zhan Feiyu, accompanied by Yin Wuyan, toured the streets of Huaixian. By the time they arrived at the county yamen, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered outside.
"What a shame for this young man. That's Magistrate Zhao's nephew." Commoner A shook his head sympathetically.
Passerby B cautiously glanced at the fierce constables in the courtroom and then whispered, "Why didn't they fail to kill him? That would have rid Huaixian of a scourge."
"Do you want to die? How dare you say such things!" Commoner A was so terrified that he wished he could cover the speaker's mouth. He directly grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the crowd. If Zhao San heard these words, they would lose a layer of skin even if they didn't die.
Zhan Feiyu stood under the shade of a tree not far away. Listening to the discussions of the surrounding commoners, she frowned and said, "Zhao San is rampant in Huaixian, and Magistrate Zhao indulges him like this?"
In the past, in Nancheng Prefecture, although the power of Prefect Zhang was hollowed out by Tong Tongzhi, he was still the head of the prefecture in name. If Magistrate Zhao indulged his nephew in oppressing the common people like this, as long as there was conclusive evidence, Prefect Zhang could definitely prosecute Magistrate Zhao according to the law.
"Magistrate Zhao is a timid and incompetent official!" The Forbidden Dragon Guards were spread throughout every prefecture and county of Daqing Dynasty. Yin Wuyan already knew Magistrate Zhao's situation. Such incompetent officials were not uncommon in Daqing Dynasty.
Magistrate Zhao was timid and afraid of death, so even though Zhao San was rampant in Huaixian, he dared not cause any deaths. He could only rely on his power to bully others.
As for Zhao San's disgusting habits, as long as he was willing to pay money, there were plenty of people willing to sell their unwanted young daughters to Zhao San as maids. After signing the deed of sale, the life and death of these young maids were under Zhao San's control, and even the government had no right to interfere.
Zhao San and the rich young masters of Huaixian acted recklessly, but they dared not cause any deaths. If they injured or crippled someone, their servants and retainers would take the blame. Then, with a compensation of thirty to fifty taels of silver, the matter would be settled.
And for ordinary commoners, since no one died and they received compensation, and more importantly, they couldn't fight against the powerful, they could only swallow their grievances. Therefore, Zhao San and his ilk, as well as Magistrate Zhao, the incompetent official, were not good people, but they had not crossed the line.
"Before Magistrate Zhao was transferred to Huaixian, the previous county magistrate was a corrupt official. The heavy taxes and levies almost led to a peasant uprising in Huaixian during the year of drought."
Huaixian was located in Jiangnan. It had favorable weather and was close to the prefectural city, so the people were well-fed and clothed. The imperial court in Jiangnan collected three dou of grain per mu of arable land. In case of disaster, there were occasional reductions.
However, the previous county magistrate, in addition to the two taxes, also collected a poll tax and corvée labor, as well as numerous surcharges on land taxes, such as head money, granary tax, agricultural implement tax, cattle hide and horn tax, import tax, silkworm salt money, wine permit money, market fee money, and so on.
This forced the people of Huaixian to live in misery and complain endlessly. After Magistrate Zhao took office, the imperial corvée labor was paid in silver, but Magistrate Zhao withheld this silver through various pretexts. However, he also abolished other miscellaneous taxes. The people who had been exploited not only felt exploited but were also grateful to Magistrate Zhao.
"There have been murder cases involving merchants in Huaixian. Magistrate Zhao would give each side fifty blows and let the merchant pay silver to close the case." Yin Wuyan was also speechless after reading Magistrate Zhao's biography. According to his usual style of conduct, such an incompetent official would have been imprisoned long ago.
But this was Jiangnan Dao, the territory of the Chen family. Clean officials like Chen Weibin could not stay long. No matter how incompetent Magistrate Zhao was, he was better than the previous county magistrate who levied heavy taxes.
"There are also such parental officials?" Zhan Feiyu didn't know how to comment. An incompetent official like Magistrate Zhao was like a blunt knife cutting flesh. It wouldn't kill you instantly, but it could make you unable to seek justice even with a grievance, forcing you to swallow your blood with broken teeth.
"Prefect Zhang will handle it." Yin Wuyan comforted his little girl by patting her head. Even though she usually pretended to be cold-blooded and ruthless, she was still a soft little girl who cared about the common people.