Chapter 22: Cheating an Official

  In the middle of the second hall of the prefectural government, Hou San knelt on the ground, his leg wound had been treated, but after kneeling for a long time, the wound still kept oozing blood and water. Listening to the sound of slapping and wailing outside the hall, Hou San didn't dare move. After escaping, he didn't dare return to the village, instead sending Young Master directly to the government office. After reporting what had happened, Old Master was furious, several people were slapped with a board, but because Hou San was injured, he was exempt from being slapped and punished by kneeling!

  After a while, the wailing outside gradually subsided. A duty officer came in and lit the candles in the hall. Magistrate Chen Tang followed him into the room, his face as stern as water, and sat down in the armchair. The officer carefully presented him with tea and quietly withdrew.

  Chen Tang picked up the teacup, used the cup cover to skim off the foam, and took a light sip of the tea. The person kneeling at his feet had just extinguished the flames, but they reignited. His own son, a dignified prefect's son, was beaten until his face was bruised and swollen, not to mention being scared into wetting his pants. How would he survive in the officialdom in the future? He grew angrier and suddenly splashed the scalding tea onto Hou San's face. The boiling water scalded Hou San, who let out a loud yelp, but he didn't dare wipe away the water droplets on his face, only continuing to kowtow.

  "The young master has taken his medicine and is now asleep. There's nothing to worry about!" The steward of the mansion came in to report at this time.

  "Hmm, has Zhang Yan arrived?" Chen Tang nodded and asked with a slightly relaxed expression.

  "Zhang Baozheng has arrived and is waiting outside. I'll have him come in right away!" said the steward, then ordered the servant to call him in.

  "Is your sister and nephew doing well?" As he spoke, a man walked in from outside. From behind, he looked like a normal person, but from the front, he was not pleasant to look at. His mouth was crooked, his eyes were slanted, and he had a "glass flower" (a decorative pin) on him. He clearly looked like a wicked person, but he was dressed up as a refined scholar, wearing a scholar's hat and robes, with two whiskers on his chin.

  "Ah, sit down!" Chen Tang slightly furrowed his brow and let him take a seat. This nephew of his was originally a rural rascal, who couldn't get enough to eat or do anything worthwhile, always wanting to follow in his footsteps and get a job, but he really wasn't presentable, couldn't withstand the whispers behind his back. Reluctantly, Chen Tang had let him be the head of his own estate, promoting him to be a local official, which was still considered a basic-level cadre.

  "Brother-in-law, although it's said that my nephew got a beating today, the one who actually got slapped in the face is you, the county magistrate! We can't just let this slide!" Zhang Yan sat down, crossing his legs and saying.

  "Hmph, you still have the face to mention me? Your nephew was beaten on your own turf, and this is the prestige of being a local tyrant like you!" Chen Tang said with some sarcasm.

  "Alas, when I received the letter and gathered the villagers to rush over, they had already run away. Otherwise, I would have definitely called them."

  "Stop boasting, the people you can beat are still a bunch of useless people, and they were actually made to lose face by a little kid!" Chen Tang pointed at Hou San, who was still kneeling on the ground, "Does that family dare to hit Zi An because they have some backing? Have you figured it out?"

  "Brother-in-law, this family has been here for just over a year. They all speak with Beijing accents, but I haven't heard of them having any powerful connections. The head of the household is just a 7 or 8-year-old child, and everything is actually controlled by a group of managers. I reckon it's because the adults in the family died, and they couldn't make a living in Beijing, so they fled to the countryside. Otherwise, who would come to this poor and remote place to be a local tyrant? However..."

  "But what?"

  "This family is extremely wealthy, with over 100 hectares of land, mostly good fields, and more than 500 tenant households. The food, clothing, and living expenses in the household are all top-notch. I heard that their steward has announced plans to buy up all the land along the river! Zhang Yan's eyes shone brightly as he spoke, "Brother-in-law, I heard my sister say that this year's New Year's gift for Lord Cai is still not enough. If we take advantage of this opportunity to bring him over, the 100 hectares of land will be worth a lot of silver, plus their large estate, it's at least 200,000 guan! All our problems would be solved, and brother-in-law might even be able to enter the imperial court, becoming an official is not impossible!"

  "Oh, his family is so wealthy!" Chen Tang suddenly stood up, and soon realized his mistake. He pointed to Hou San who was already lying on the ground and said to the officials: "Take him away, find a doctor for him!"

  The official waved his hand, and two bailiffs came up to carry Hou San away. Chen Tang saw that there were no outsiders left in the house, so he called Zhang Yan over and said: "Zhang Yan, if we want to take over that Zhuangzi, what should we do?"

  The Wangfu was in a state of high alert, with all the guards wearing their full armor, swords drawn and bows strung. More than 20 servants were also standing guard at the gate, armed with guns and clubs. Not far away, another group of more than 20 people were also surrounding the entrance, their eyes fixed greedily on it, led by Zhang Yan who was walking ahead with an air of arrogance.

  "The big manager, I've figured out those people's bottom line!" Zhao Ke sat in the main hall with a face full of anger.

  "Second Master, I've investigated clearly. It's someone from the household of Magistrate Zhuang of Gongzhou Prefecture. The leader of that group yesterday was his eldest son Chen Zian, and the one standing outside the door is his younger brother-in-law Zhang Yan, the head of security for Dachen Village."

  "You're looking for trouble, I didn't bother you yesterday, but now you dare to cause me trouble!" Zhao cursed. Yesterday, he didn't want to provoke Chen Zi'an, so he let him go, but unexpectedly this kid turned against him as soon as he got on his horse and shot an arrow at him. If Meng Tao hadn't been quick, he would have been ambushed by him.

  At night, that shameless Zhang Yan actually brought people to their mansion, in the name of a mediator, and asked them to hand over 100,000 yuan to settle the matter. He came to guarantee that the prefecture would not trouble him. The steward was also a man who had seen the world, even in the capital, where the prime minister and the grand councilor would have to give him three points of face. Now, a small village cadre dared to come here and cause trouble, he certainly wanted someone to drive them out, if it weren't for Zhao's prior instructions, his legs would have been broken long ago. Unexpectedly, this guy didn't finish, brought people to block the gate, and even wanted to rush in and catch people.

  "Aren't they coming in? Master Meng, you bring people to prepare, as long as they enter the mansion gate, immediately close the door and catch them all for me. Those who dare to resist will be beaten to death!" The few people in the hall were stunned after hearing this, the prince was really angry, Huang Da Guan didn't come back yesterday, others wanted to persuade but didn't dare, after all, this child is their true master.

  "Yes, I'll do it right away as Second Master ordered!" Meng Tao said and went out.

  "Quickly, you go get my royal robe and prepare the carriage!" Zhao Yi said to Jian Xi on one side.

  "Second Master, what are you going to do?" Xi Meng was confused and didn't know what kind of trick Wang Ye had come up with.

  "Are they raising them for fun? I'll take them to the county government office, accuse them of plotting against Master Wang. Who's going to be the bigger one now?" Zhao said with a scowl on her face.

  "Yes!" Xiang Xi immediately understood, he wanted to compete with Chen Zi'an, but was there any comparison? The king himself was several levels higher than the governor, and the king knew that he had already made up his mind. He immediately ordered Xiang Xi to bring two small yellow gates to fetch clothes and prepare a sedan chair.

  "Get the chief scribe to write a petition immediately, stating that Chen Zian plotted against Prince Wang and intended to do evil. I want to see how his father will handle this case!"

  "Second Master, there's no need for you to go personally, I can take care of it with your letter and make sure he handles the matter impartially!" The chief steward advised, having misinterpreted his superior's intention.

  "No need, I'll go myself and let him know that even if his father is a prefect, it's not going to work!" Zhao immediately declined his kindness.

  On this side, those who were arresting people continued to arrest people, and those who were writing warrants continued to write warrants. When everyone finished their business and returned to the main hall, they all looked up with shining eyes. Indeed, "people rely on clothes and horses rely on saddles." The king had already changed into his formal attire: a seven-ridged crown on his head, a purple dragon robe with four claws on his body, a golden belt around his waist, a golden fish bag hanging from it, a white jade ring suspended from it, a sable cloak draped over him, and deerskin boots on his feet. With the addition of a small white face with clear eyebrows and bright eyes, he looked truly spirited.

  "Your Highness, the sedan chair is ready, please move!" Jian Xi also changed into his 'work uniform' and bowed his head to shout loudly.

  "Alright, let's go!" Zhao Chun stepped out of the door and got into the sedan chair. The eight bearers shouted in unison and lifted the sedan chair steadily. They were the most idle people in the mansion, and this was the first time they had been used. Each one of them was full of energy and spirit.

  The team that set out from the gate has already taken their positions, waiting for him. Up front, Yang Feng led six guards to clear the way, followed closely by Zhao Ye's sedan chair, with four sumo wrestlers standing guard at each corner, Jian Xi and Jian Xi supporting the sedan chair, accompanied by several small yellow gates, while the chief steward and Meng Tao led a dozen or so guards on horseback, and finally, the Zhuang guests were escorting a string of 'terrorists' who had 'attacked' the Wang Fu, as the whole procession prepared to bully their way through the government.

  "Your Highness, when you set up your own estate, we'll add more ceremonial guards. The procession will be even grander than this!" Xi said with a smile from behind the curtain to Zhao Che in the sedan chair.

  "Haha, this time we've gone too far, I don't know if the Emperor has heard about it, will he scold me for being too excessive!" The voice of Zhao Che's helpless words came from inside the sedan chair. This time, making a big fuss to "file a lawsuit", he knew the result with his toes, without mentioning the prince's identity, a prefect and a duke were not on the same level at all, he could only be bullied, but he did this out of desperation too.

  Since the Tian Ning Festival, as expected, after seeing the wealth and young master of their family, some villains began to stir up trouble, various taxes and unknown corvée were coming to their door, in short, all the money-related matters in the countryside were looking for him, even the disputes over land ownership between neighboring villages increased, the bold ones openly moved boundary markers, the timid ones secretly dug at the edge of the field, gnawing at the corners, causing the tenant farmers in their household to complain endlessly.

  Zhao Yi thinks that Bao Zheng dares to collude with the county magistrate to seize his land, it is because of his tolerance and forbearance in the past, now he wants to establish his authority, take this opportunity to thoroughly solve the troubles that may arise in the future, and 'fight' for a peaceful and stable environment for himself!