Chen Yuan's eyes flickered slightly as his fingers gently tapped the table. He watched Tie Qinghua kneeling on the ground, begging for protection, but his mind was wondering if Tie Qinghua suspected his involvement in Tie Xuan's death.

He mentally pieced together the details of that time and the present. On the surface, there seemed to be no animosity or conflict of interest between him and Tie Xuan.

Then…

Chen Yuan stood up and helped Tie Qinghua to her feet, saying softly, "For Tie Xuan's sake, I'll protect the Tie family!"

"Thank you, sir..."

Tie Qinghua revealed a slight smile of relief.

With this Chief Constable Chen's protection, the Tie family would surely be safe.

She could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"However, fifty taels of silver is too little. One hundred taels," Chen Yuan said, holding up a finger.

Tie Qinghua hesitated. One hundred taels of silver was beyond her budget. Given the Tie family's current situation, they simply couldn't afford to provide that much silver to Chen Yuan every month.

But looking at Chen Yuan's uncompromising expression, Tie Qinghua dared not object and simply nodded.

"If the sir says one hundred taels, then one hundred taels it is!"

In her heart, she was thinking about how to expand the Tie family's business. She had gleaned some insights into Chen Yuan's character – he was definitely the kind of cold and calculating person who should not be defied.

Chen Yuan clasped one hand behind his back, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Rest assured, with me here, the Tie family may not dominate the south of the city, but you'll definitely get a large share of the pie. That Wang family you mentioned is quite good. In the future, their foundation will be yours to control."

He didn't have the time to deal with these things himself. He just needed to sit back and collect the money.

In this way, he would truly possess a significant force in Ping An County from now on. The monthly income would be no less than Li Mingqi's. Of course, if Li Mingqi had other sources of income, that would be another matter.

Tie Qinghua was stunned for a moment, but she quickly recovered. This Chief Constable Chen was probably going to make an example of the Wang family. She cupped her hands in salute, bowed slightly, and said, "Thank you, sir. Qinghua will certainly manage these businesses well for you in the future."

...

...

The next day,

Early morning.

As Chen Yuan had anticipated, several forces in the city arrived at the county government office together, hoping that the county government could seek justice for them. Their goods had been robbed within Ping An County, so naturally, they would rush to the county government to report the crime.

Otherwise, wouldn't their annual tributes be given in vain?

If it were just one family, the county government might ignore it, but a total of six merchant caravans, with a value of nearly a thousand taels, was something that no one could take lightly.

Some families might even decline because of such a robbery.

County Commandant Li Mingqi and County Magistrate Wu Qingfeng immediately summoned Chen Yuan, who was in charge of capturing thieves, to the county government office.

Chen Yuan walked in calmly, and the heads of the six families looked him up and down, wondering if such a young constable could suppress those merciless bandits.

Tie Qinghua didn't look askance. After her eyes met with Chen Yuan, she immediately looked away.

Before Chen Yuan allowed her to expose what happened before, Tie Qinghua really didn't have the guts to do so.

"This subordinate greets the two sirs."

Looking at County Magistrate Wu Qingfeng and County Commandant Li Mingqi sitting at the head, Chen Yuan looked straight ahead and bowed slightly.

"Chen Yuan, what kind of constable are you? Such an evil thing has happened in the county, and you didn't even know about it?" Wu Qingfeng's tone was a little cold.

He didn't start scolding right away, otherwise, it would seem unseemly.

"Reporting to sir, this subordinate has just taken office and doesn't really know much about the county..." Chen Yuan said in a low voice.

"Then what have you been doing these past few days?" Wu Qingfeng stared at Chen Yuan with a sneer.

"I was ordered to track down the traces of the Unborn Teachings bandits."

Chen Yuan replied.

"Ordered by whom?"

Li Mingqi frowned and coughed a few times.

"Ordered by this official. Chief Constable Chen has been tracking them down these past few days, without even rest. How could he know about what happened outside the county town the day before?"

"County Magistrate Wu, don't be too harsh."

Wu Qingfeng smiled, narrowing his eyes.

"I see. Then Chief Constable Chen must have found something after such tireless investigation."

Chen Yuan's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded directly.

"Indeed, there are some traces, but it's not certain yet."

Wu Qingfeng's eyes froze, and then he said:

"Since that's the case, then this official will wait for Chief Constable Chen's good news."

Li Mingqi coughed lightly twice.

"County Magistrate Wu, today is not the time to discuss the Unborn Teachings demons."

"Tell Chief Constable Chen what happened, and the county government will do its best to track down those bandits..." Wu Qingfeng didn't care, smiled, and looked at the people sitting below.

Then he stood up and left the hall with a few followers and scribes, leaving only Li Mingqi to hold the fort.

Li Mingqi, who was left behind, snorted a few times as he watched Wu Qingfeng leave. Of course, he knew what Wu Qingfeng was planning, leaving all these burdens to him while he was fine.

But he couldn't say much, because according to his duties, it was indeed his responsibility as the county commandant.

Chen Yuan raised his head, his eyes flickered slightly, revealing a smile. Then he walked to Li Mingqi's side and whispered a few words in his ear, causing Li Mingqi's mouth to twitch slightly, without revealing anything.

In his heart, he thought, Chen Yuan is a talent.

The heads of the remaining families looked at each other, completely unaware of what Chen Yuan and Li Mingqi were discussing, but they had a vague feeling that something was amiss.

"Tell him what happened, so that Chief Constable Chen can hear it," Li Mingqi said indifferently.

As soon as he finished speaking, a stout middle-aged man stood up and cupped his hands at Chen Yuan.

"Chief Constable Chen, we..."

After listening to the account, Chen Yuan said with slight surprise, "Do you all believe that it was done by that group of bandits wandering around Ping An County?"

"Besides them, I'm afraid no one else would dare to touch our things..." someone echoed.

"That's right, I heard that these bandits do all kinds of evil. They fled from other prefectures. We thought they were just passing through, but we didn't expect them to dare to make a move!"

"Chief Constable Chen, I hope the government will take action quickly and wipe out these bandits to restore peace to Ping An County," someone said loudly.

Chen Yuan glanced at him.

"Then do you know where they are now? There are quite a few mountains in Ping An County. If these bandits hide anywhere, it won't be easy to find them."

The man was silent.

"Chief Constable Chen, these are not things we should be worrying about. It should be the government's concern. I only care about when my goods will be returned."

Someone said in a firm voice.

"Is that so? Then go back and wait for notification. You will be told when they are eliminated."

Chen Yuan let out a lazy breath, seeming a little sleepy, but mostly perfunctory.

"Chief Constable Chen, what do you mean by this?"

"Is this how the county government treats bandits?"

Seeing this scene, someone was angry.

Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he picked up the long saber in his hand.