Chapter Twenty-Four: The Magistrate Invites Guests

  "Bring men to bind this unfilial son and scoundrel!" Chen Tang suddenly shouted. Several constables rushed into the main hall, but when they saw that the ones to be bound were the prefect's own son and nephew, they were stunned, unable to decide whether to bind them or not.

  "What are you waiting for? They have committed a capital offense by plotting against the king, quickly seize them and hand them over to the king for punishment!" Chen Tang shouted at the bailiffs, who did not dare to delay, pulled out ropes and tied up the two men.

  Father

  Brother-in-law

  "You think I'm a governor, just because I'm outside the law? Today, you've committed a crime punishable by extermination of nine clans, and now your family is doomed. I can't even save you!" Chen Tang slapped them several times, then turned around, lifted his robe and knelt down in front of Zhao Che, "Your Highness, this official is incompetent, and has raised such an unfilial son. Now, I hand him over to Your Highness for punishment as you see fit!" As he spoke, his head hit the ground with a loud 'thud thud' sound, knocking several times.

  "Hiss, this old fox!" Chen Tang's actions were beyond the expectations of a group of people from the Wang Fu, and they were immediately left at a loss. Zhao Che secretly scolded him in his heart. This old guy was trying to save himself by retreating, using retreat as an advance, first taking himself out of the situation, knocking his head and admitting defeat to show his attitude, thinking that he wouldn't be killed in public on the main hall, so leaving room for himself to maneuver, truly a clever move.

  "Magistrate Chen, what are you doing? Get up quickly!" Zhao Zhan hurriedly jumped down from the chair and stretched out his hand to help him up. Chen Tang indeed stood up with the momentum and retreated to one side, not being tied up like a rice dumpling with two people. With an air of righteousness in punishing his own family, he said: "Since Magistrate Chen has handed them over to us, call in Yang Jiao to interrogate them thoroughly here, we must ask why they are so bold, daring to kill me and rob my money!" Zhao Zhan ordered, seeing Xi. Zhao Zhan glanced at Chen Tang, whose face turned pale, thinking: "You're playing tricks with me, don't blame me for being ruthless, I'll give you a fake show with real action."

  Chen Tang became tense as soon as he heard that the king was going to hold a public trial, and his mind was filled with doubts. Why wasn't the king following the usual procedure? Killing someone was just a matter of beheading them, and if they admitted their mistake in public, it should have been enough for him to handle the case fairly. Later, he could have privately found two scapegoats to take the fall, which would have allowed him to keep his position and save face. But now that the king was being serious about it, the two of them would definitely be punished, and it would be hard to avoid implicating himself!

  The young master's face was twisted in anger, Chen Tang broke out in a cold sweat, inwardly cursing himself for his mistake. The young master was just a child, how could he understand those rules? He had lost face, and would definitely try to get it back. What to do now?

  "Yang Jiao, the king wants you to interrogate these two people. What's your clever plan?" Xie asked, but in his heart he muttered: "The king is using me as a shield again. As long as the high official doesn't hit me with a board when I get back, it'll be fine."

  "Don't worry, Your Highness, I'll make them confess with just one move!" Yang Feng said with a fist bump, determined to seize the opportunity and win over the prince's favor.

  "Oh, what's your good idea?" Zhao Chu asked with a look of interest, twisting his buttocks on the chair and asking with an expectant face.

  "Xiao had learned a set of 'dislocating bones and tendons' techniques, which could make people's joints and muscles go wrong, making them suffer unbearable pain. At that time, no matter what you asked him, he would say whatever you wanted!" Yang Feng said with a hint of cruelty on his face.

  "Hmm, this is going to be fun. What are we waiting for? Let's try it out on this little rascal first. He's the most despicable one, actually bringing people to break into our home and steal things!" Xī pointed at Zhang Yan, who heard that he was going to be used as a test subject and tensed up his body, but now being tightly bound, couldn't move an inch. He could only look at Chen Tang, hoping his brother-in-law would help him out, but Chen Tang turned his face away.

  "Yang Jiaotou, I've heard that the dismembering punishment is extremely cruel. The prisoners can't bear it and will bite their tongues to death!" At this time, the head of the prefecture's yamen came over and said to Yang Feng.

  "Damn it, you dog leg, this is not a kind reminder, but a hint that Chen Tang should bite his tongue to death!" Zhao Che sneered in his heart.

  "That's enough to shut his mouth!" Seeing the joy and seeing Zhang Yan being ruthless, he heard the class head's words and bit his tongue. He knew that his brother-in-law was ready to sacrifice himself, and if he died at this time, he could still preserve the wealth and nobility of his family, and he would suffer less.

  "It's not that easy!" Yang Feng's hands moved swiftly, his fingers flashing like lightning as he pinched Zhang Yan's cheeks, leaving him speechless and unable to struggle. "Hmph, you want to die? I'll pull out all your teeth, what will you use to bite with?" Yang Feng was furious that Zhang Yan had almost ruined his wealth and status, and with a flick of his finger, he knocked out one of Zhang Yan's front teeth. The pain left Zhang Yan shivering.

  "Ah!" The group of officials in the hall exclaimed, their faces not looking good, but they were also shocked and intimidated by Yang Feng's ruthless methods. Chen Zian, who was standing on the side, would have collapsed to the ground if he hadn't been held up by two bailiffs.

  "Cough, cough" Chen Tang suddenly let out a few dry coughs. A small official suddenly stepped forward with a smile and said to Zhao Ke: "Your Highness, it's already noon now. The Magistrate has prepared lunch for us. We can continue the questioning this afternoon, they won't be able to run away!"

  "Oh! What's good to eat here? You tell me, I'm actually a bit hungry!" Zhao Ye said, rubbing his belly.

  "Your Highness, today the Magistrate has specially arranged a table of game dishes at Hongbin Tower in Gongzhou. There are birds from the sky, beasts from the land and fish from the water. The chefs there are all from the capital!" The minor official tempted him to say.

  "Alright then, we have a lot of people, can you afford to feed us?" Zhao asked 'seriously'.

  "Don't worry, Your Highness, I can still afford a meal!" Chen Tang hastily chimed in, saying something that sounded childish but secretly delighted him - kids are indeed easy to fool.

  "Let's eat first and ask them later. Don't give them any food!" Zhao Zhe said as he stood up, his words were followed by the sound of many people sighing in relief.

  A group of people followed the county magistrate to Hongbin Building, where they had cleared the scene and booked the entire building to welcome the king. Zhao Zhan got off the sedan chair and looked up at the three-story building, which was also intricately carved and painted, standing out in the state city. Zhao Zhan couldn't help but feel a sense of awe, thinking that whether it was past or present, the two most impressive places in China were government offices and wine houses, a tradition that had been passed down for ages!

  "Tell everyone, when it's time to eat, don't pretend to be elegant, just dig in and eat as much as you can. Good wine and good dishes are all yours!" Zhao Zhan said as he went upstairs with Jian Xi supporting him.

  "Your Highness, this isn't good, it's a discredit to our royal family's reputation!" Ji Xi was confused and didn't know what the prince wanted to do next.

  "What's the value of face, and it doesn't weigh a pound, just give the order!" Zhao Che said with a low smile, seeing Xi couldn't help but call over a small yellow gate to pass on the message. Except for Da Guan Shi and Jian Xi, who could follow Zhao Che to sit down, everyone else stayed on the first floor, except for four strong men, who followed upstairs to protect the safety of the prince.

  Zao Zhan took the seat of honor without hesitation, with Xian Xi and Da Guan Shi on his left, and Prefect Chen Tang and the Kongmu from the yamen on his right. Several low-ranking officials with some status sat at the lower seats. As soon as everyone was seated, the banquet began, and several types of fruit and desserts were served first, which is quite different from the modern order of serving dishes, giving it a somewhat Western flavor.

  Seasonal fruits in four dishes: tangerines, pomegranates, gooseberries, and quinces.

  "Dried fruits four dishes, longan, hazelnut, pine nut, ginkgo"

  "Four cups of fragrant medicine, licorice flower, cinnabar pill, white peony and ginseng, olive blossom"

  "Carved flower honey fried four plates, carved flower bamboo shoots, honey winter melon fish, big pieces of papaya, carved flower golden tangerine"

  "Dried tofu four dishes, meat strips, shrimp jerky, meat jerky, wine vinegar meat" The young waiters ran in a row, reporting the dish names while swiftly arranging various fruits and desserts on the table.

  Jian Xi first used a clean handkerchief to remove Zhao Che's bowl and chopsticks, then took a specially made ivory chopstick and white jade bowl from behind Xiao Huangmen's back and replaced them. Then, she personally peeled several hazelnuts and pine nuts for Zhao Che. Zhao Che ate two pine nuts, drank a mouthful of tea soup, stopped moving his chopsticks, chatted with them for a few words, and then stopped talking.

  "Magistrate Chen, these dishes you've prepared are hardly the finest delicacies, are they?" Zhao Zhe said with a frown, unimpressed by the spread before him. Being young and unable to drink wine, he had little interest in such things, and his eyes wandered to the next course, which had yet to arrive.

  "I was too careless and slow in serving Your Highness," said Chen Tang, "the next dish will be ready immediately!" He ordered the waiter standing by to hurry up and change the dishes. With a shout, the waiter quickly removed all the fruit from the table and brought out new dishes.

  "Yangsheqianzi!" The first dish arrived, the waiter reported the name of the dish, "Second Master, try this one!" Xijian first picked up a piece and put it on Wangye's plate.

  Zhao Zhan nodded, this lamb tongue pastry looks a bit like spring rolls, took a small bite, initially thought it was just a fried meat roll, but after chewing for the second time, he realized it wasn't ordinary. The outer layer wrapped with meat threads is different from what he had before, crispy and chewy, not to mention the delicate texture of the meat. This must be lamb tongue. As for the filling inside, lightly chewed, smooth and refreshing, most importantly, full of freshness. Everyone at the table watched him move, waiting for Wang Ye's evaluation.

  "It's added with fish meat here, great, very fresh!" Zhao Yan said with a smile.

  "Your Highness is indeed a connoisseur, able to detect the addition of fish inside! I, too, had to taste it multiple times before understanding its subtleties!" Chen Tang said with a thumbs up and a flattering smile.