Chapter 48: Clearing Trees from Rivers (Part 2)
The big ship of Hu Tou Hui lowered its gangway, and Wang Lao Hu himself stood at the entrance of the gangway to welcome Shen Mo and Shen Jing on board.
The two of them were also familiar with each other, and they started flattering each other in a way that was embarrassing to watch. They continued until the other person had enough, then Shen Mo smiled and asked: "I wonder where my brother is?"
"Hey, look at me, I was so excited that I forgot about this. " Wang Lao Hu laughed loudly and said: "Yao Zhangzi is on our county magistrate's boat."
"Isn't it a matter between our two families?" Shen Mo hadn't spoken yet, but Shen Jing was already unwilling to say: "How did the government get involved?"
"Please don't worry, young master." Wang Lao Hu said with a somewhat embarrassed expression: "Our county magistrate also meant well, he was worried that I would get into a fight with my brother and hurt your friend..."
"It seems like you still want to make things difficult for us!" Shen Jing said angrily, "How can we just forget our promise and get fat?!" It's no wonder Shen Jing is angry, Wang Lao Hu had already promised that as long as they completed this task, he would return his eldest son, but now it seems like he's going back on his word.
"Hmph!" Wang Lao Hu wasn't one to be trifled with either. He was polite to Shen Mo, but that didn't mean he had no temper when it came to Shen Jing. His eyes narrowed as he said, "The county magistrate took Yao Zhangzi away from me a few days ago, what can I do?" In fact, he didn't want things to be this way either. The county magistrate had originally promised... as long as that tree was removed, they would release the person. But who knew that just now, someone came over with a message, telling him to bring Shen Mo over. Wang Lao Hu was a stubborn man, but when it came to his parents' words, he had no choice but to listen. No matter how unwilling he was, he had to endure.
"Y...". Shen Jing was about to speak, but was interrupted by Shen Mo who asked: "I don't know where the county magistrate is?"
"This is the end." Wang Lao Hu sighed and said: "Although our family had no choice but to do so, we still broke our promise. This time, I owe Shen Gongzi a favor. If he has any orders in the future, I will risk boiling water and walking through fire without hesitation!"
"It's not easy being a high-ranking official either." Shen Mo nodded slightly, but was quite disappointed in his heart. He thought Wang Lao Hu would bring out two trays of gold and silver, one to show gratitude and the other to apologize.
A large boat approached a beautifully decorated pleasure boat with carved railings and flying eaves. Sheng silently heard the clear and melodious singing; between the half-rolled pearl curtains, he could still see the song girls dancing on the boat.
The two boats were moored side by side and stabilized, then Wang Lao Hu led them to jump over.
Silence looked on as they were greeted by a familiar face and a stranger... Matian Shi and another officer dressed in the same attire.
As soon as he saw him, Ma Dian Shi smiled and said: "Shen Gongzi just go in, our county magistrate is also there, and we won't let you suffer."
"Thank you, sir," Shenmo smiled and said. After another mountain yin dian shi tong gong a voice, the three of them entered the cabin in single file.
As soon as Shen Mo entered, the first thing he saw was a mountain goat woolen rug with intricate patterns covering the entire cabin. As his gaze slowly rose, the songstress was nowhere to be seen, and all he saw was a set of intricately carved purple sandalwood furniture, two men wearing brocade robes sitting on either side of a round table.
It cannot be looked at again before getting permission, otherwise it will be considered a great offense.
"Student Wang Gui pays his respects to the two county magistrates." Although Wang Lao Hu had a monitor's identity, after all, he was not legitimate and did not speak properly. He could only intimidate ordinary people and suppress small officials, but when he met a scholar-official who came from a proper background, he still had to kneel down obediently.
Shen Jing also reluctantly knelt down, thinking: 'If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have followed him in.'
He stood silently in the middle, only bowing deeply and saying: "Student pays respects to the two county magistrates."
Seeing Shen Mo standing between the two, standing but not kneeling, only bowing slightly. Lü County Magistrate was first surprised, then ashamed and angry, coldly laughing: "I heard that Fujian's Nanping has a sea pen holder, I didn't expect Zhejiang's Kuaiji would also have a Shen pen holder!" Two kneelings and one standing, isn't it exactly like a mountain-shaped pen holder?
Chen Mo said with a face full of grievances: "Please forgive me, Master. I am not an ignorant person who does not know etiquette, but I have a bitter reason for not being able to kneel."
"What's your grievance?" Magistrate Lü asked in a deep voice.
"I brought the portrait of the Great Master..." Shen Mo said, taking out a red silk package from his bosom and opening it to reveal a painting inside. The old man with clasped hands and a smiling face appeared before the two county magistrates.
The two county magistrates hastily rose to their feet and respectfully paid homage to Confucius. When they sat down again, Magistrate Lü asked with great displeasure: "How could you bring the portrait of the Sage with you?"
"Students are afraid of losing this competition, so they invited Confucius to bless them..."
"The Sage does not care about this!" The county magistrate of Lü was so angry that he had nowhere to vent his anger and felt extremely stifled.
Li County Magistrate comforted him on the side: "It's hard to have a scholar who is so pious to the sage, this is our teaching achievement, good thing!" Lu County Magistrate finally dissipated his anger and snorted: "In the future, just put the sage in your heart, don't carry it with you, otherwise I will punish you for blasphemy against the sacred image!"
He hastily nodded in agreement. In fact, he also knew that since he had come to this era, kneeling was inevitable... This was a matter of dodging the first but not the fifteenth, could he still stand upright in front of the emperor in the future? It's just that being made to kneel now was still unacceptable to him. He would drag it out as long as he could, perhaps after a long time, it wouldn't matter anymore.
Dai Tang Zun En gave his permission to rise, and Wang Lao Hu sprang up, bowing to Magistrate Lv: "Old Master, I've brought Shen Gongzi to see you."
County Magistrate Lü nodded slightly and waved his hand lightly, saying: "Get out."
The tiger nodded its head in agreement, but its legs refused to budge. It smiled fawningly at Magistrate Lyu and said: "Old Master, I've already agreed to let the eldest son go, don't you think...?"
"Get out!" Magistrate Lü narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "When did this official need you to lecture him?"
"Son, don't dare, son, too talkative!" Wang Lao Hu slapped himself twice on the ears and shrank his neck, saying: "The little man will retreat now." As he turned around, he gave Shen Mo a helpless glance, indeed unable to help.
He was silent, somewhat stunned. This was his first experience of what official power was like. A young county magistrate with no ability to truss a chicken, actually dared to scold Wang Lao Hu as if he were a servant. In comparison, the attitude that Magistrate Lv had just shown him could be described as "extremely generous".
Seeing Shen Mo's tense expression, Lu County Magistrate sneered in his heart. This move was originally meant to intimidate him, but he didn't directly take down the tiger for two reasons: Firstly, Shen Mo was a native of Kuaiji County, and it wouldn't be good to do so in front of Li County Magistrate; Secondly, this young man had the identity of a child prodigy and seemed very intelligent, who knows what he would become in the future... So Lu County Magistrate didn't want to casually make an enemy out of him.
