Twenty-eighth section versus (above)

  Shen Mo took the silver and County Magistrate Li again spoke some warm words of encouragement before letting him go, from start to finish not mentioning a word about the case.

  He was left in a daze, completely bewildered, and could only thank them politely before following the bailiff out of the county yamen.

  As soon as he left, Ma Dian Shi asked: "Dang Zun, why don't you ask about the case?"

  "What's the benefit of asking?" County Magistrate Li replied calmly: "Not asking doesn't hurt either."

  What a profound conclusion! Ma Dian's bitter smile said: "You make the decision, I'll listen to it, but will this case be investigated or not?"

  "Search thoroughly!" County Magistrate Li said in a deep voice: "Appropriately arrest some, make a big show of it, and shock this evil fire in the county."

  Ma Dian suddenly realized that it was just a bluff and happily accepted the order.

  He returned to the second courtyard and met County Magistrate who had just come back from Yanshan County. Ma Tian Shi hurried over to give a salute, smiling and saying: "You must be tired, sir." It was this Second Master who usually supervised their work. As the common saying goes, "County officials are not as good as current managers", how could he not serve him carefully?

  County Magistrate Zhang grunted and asked in a deep voice: "How's the case going?"

  "Hey, I was just looking for you to report." Ma Dianshi lowered his voice and said: "Today, something new happened." He told Zhang Xiancheng about the events of the day, and finally whispered in dismay: "Our respected superior is crying and giving out silver, without asking a single question, he let that little guy go. I've been an official for so many years, but I've never seen such a strange thing happen."

  But then Zhang County Magistrate heard this, his face showed a wave of sour and bitter expressions, and he said with an odd tone: "Today's matter, our respected county magistrate has done beautifully! It seems that we underestimated him before, the meat is in the bun, not on the surface." He shook his head slightly and continued: "Just watch, once this case is judged, it will be a famous judgment to be passed down as a model for clean officials like Lin Meitang. Our respected county magistrate will become famous, and who knows, he might even get promoted immediately."

  "Unbelievable?" Ma Dian's mouth was agape, his tongue sticking out: "Still a judge? I think he's just a muddle-headed judge."

  "What do you know? Although the old master's approach today is not without basis, it is also understandable. Magistrate Zhang narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "Think about it, a loving father gives up his studies for his son, a filial son takes the place of his father in the examination hall, and they are all scholars who help each other out. If we follow the normal procedure to review, there won't be any problems, but at the same time, there's no highlight either, and it may even leave a bad reputation among scholars as 'being rigid and not knowing how to adapt'."

  "What's going on now?" Ma Dianshi's horse eyes flickered with a hint of irredeemable ignorance.

  "Now is the time to fulfill the kindness of a benevolent father, and to demonstrate the righteousness of a filial son. This way, we can maintain the dignity of scholars while...” He shook his head slightly and said, “Of course, this matter must be handled perfectly, or it won't be beautiful... But since they dared to do this, the adults must have thought it through before acting, so let's just wait and see what happens."

  Ma Tian nodded blankly, he still couldn't understand

  Category of

  Magistrate Zhang sighed and lamented, "Only a county magistrate with an orthodox background can handle cases like this. As a jinshi official, he is as solid as copper or iron, and no matter how arbitrary his actions are, he will only receive praise and admiration from all, without anyone daring to utter a single word of criticism. Unlike us brothers who are officials through imperial examination or minor officials, we have to be extremely cautious every day, carrying our posts carefully, and even if something goes wrong, we still have to take the blame for our superiors... If we were to handle it this way, there would definitely be rumors and accusations of 'arbitrariness' and 'violation of the law', how could we possibly withstand that?"

  "It's just because of a poor family background, isn't it? Why should I have no hope for promotion and be so unlucky? It's really frustrating."

  Ma Dianshi still held onto the hope of being promoted to be the head of the county government, and even the position of County Magistrate was within his reach. For a while, he couldn't feel what it's like to have an invisible "glass ceiling" that he can see but can't touch, so he just hummed and hawed in response.

  The county magistrate also lost interest in listening, saying "I'm going to report to the superior," and then entered the ceremonial gate, passed through the main hall and the second hall, and finally found the county magistrate who was snoring loudly in the backyard.

  Hearing footsteps, Magistrate Li pulled down the lotus leaf covering his head, slightly opened his eyes and mumbled: "Back already?"

  "Yes, sir," Zhang Xiancheng replied respectfully.

  "Is someone coming back?" County Magistrate Li rubbed his eyes and sat up with a stretch.

  "There's no other way." Zhang Xiancheng said helplessly: "The students met with Wang Lao Hu, he said that they must release his younger brother first before considering releasing the people."

  "Fart!" County Magistrate Li snorted: "If it weren't for this scoundrel's reckless behavior, making a fuss about the eldest and youngest sons, that *** younger brother would have returned long ago!"

  "Let's calm down." Zhang Xiancheng said in a low voice: "Otherwise... shall we secretly send him back at night?"

  "No way!" County Magistrate Li shook his head firmly. "This matter must have already alarmed the Prefect, and 'Green Bean Fly' is also waiting to see us yield. Do you think I can let him go?" The County Magistrate of Shanyin, Lü Dòu Yìn, because he had a long-standing grudge against County Magistrate Li, would often refer to him as "Green Bean Fly" behind his back to vent his frustration.

  "Think thrice, old man......" Zhang Xiancheng advised with a bitter tone: "The Tiger Head Gang is a ruthless underworld organization with blood debts piled up. If someone falls into their hands, wouldn't they be tortured in all sorts of ways? How many days can Yao Changzi last? What if he ends up dead, won't our county be thrown into chaos?"

  "It's also..." County Magistrate Li scowled, huffing and puffing as he said: "If you don't show some results, just watch me deal with you!"

  County Magistrate Zhang sighed endlessly: "Do you think I want to be humiliated? But I have no choice..."

  "It's not what you said." County Magistrate Li shook his head and said, "You send a letter to the Yuyao County government, formally requesting a joint investigation into this kidnapping case! Tell 'Green Bean Fly' that if anything happens to Yao Changzi, Kuaiji will be in chaos, and Shanyin won't be peaceful either. We'll both be finished!"

  The county magistrate hastily agreed and asked in a low voice: "Is there anything else you would like to instruct, sir?"

  "Take a look at the six rooms and see if there are any vacancies," said County Magistrate Li, nodding his head. "If not, move one out to make room for me, I have my own use for it."

  The county lieutenant replied in a respectful tone and went down to attend to his duties.

  After he left, County Magistrate Li lay back in his bamboo chair, sipped a mouthful of top-grade oolong from the purple sand teapot, gazed at the lush green lotus leaves filling the pond, and muttered to himself: "If that kid really was behind this, next time I'll go to the county town, maybe I can even win over Qingtengzi, that little green bean fly..."

  "If we lose, we'll settle both old and new accounts together, and you'll have to take a wife and celebrate the New Year!" After finishing speaking, he took a big gulp of tea, but forgot that the tea had just been freshly brewed.

  He suddenly jumped three feet high, spitting water while sticking out his bright red tongue and said: "Scalded to death..."