flstandardbreds Chapter 165 Beating drums to complain
Chapter 165 Beating drums to complain
After parting with You Changling, Jinyou took Xiao Yunzhen for another walk outside.
The several secret guards who disappeared at that time reappeared.
Cen Ye was not there, and the person following Jin You at this time was Shan Tu from the Fourth Division.
Shan Tu is a gloomy and handsome man. Perhaps it is because of his martial arts skills, he is always silent and even someone standing next to you may be ignored.
Just like now, Jinyou felt someone breathing above his head. When he turned around to defend himself, he found that it was Shan Tu.
There was no expression on Shan Tu's face. This kind of thing was nothing new to him.
He said, "Master, You Changling's information has been delivered to your study. It was my failure to provide adequate protection that allowed someone with ulterior motives to approach you."
"It doesn't matter. Even if he doesn't come today, he will come sooner or later."
Shan Tu was stunned for a moment, then said, "Since he wants to use the master, why does the master still keep him?"
Shan Tu's mind is simple and crude. If there are people who are dangerous, difficult to control, and do not know their own position, he will just kill them all.
He was like a vicious poisonous snake, always spitting out his tongue and thinking only about how to reap human lives.
Jin You slowly shook his head, denying his idea: "You don't travel much, and the missions you take are all assassinations. But this does not mean that everyone has to be killed. Some people are much more valuable alive than dead." You Changling belongs to this category of people.
"Yes, my subordinates know."
The seven divisions of secret guards are each responsible for a different area. Four of them belong to the killing division, and all of them are killers. As long as people from these four divisions appear, it means someone has died.
Killers have no emotions, they don't even need to think, they just do what their master orders them to do. It's their job to decide who to kill and how to kill them cleanly and efficiently.
Jinyou didn't want to force their thinking, as long as the secret guards were obedient enough, it would be enough.
When we arrived at the government office, we saw a lot of people gathered at the door, and it was as noisy as a vegetable market.
"Let's go and take a look." Jinyou said.
Xiao Yunzhen yawned and pursed his lips to try not to cry.
Inwardly speaking: [Jinyou... I'm so hungry...]
"Be good, I'll be back soon. How about buying you some warm goat milk to fill your stomach first?"
[No!] Xiao Yunzhen strongly refused. [How about you knock me out? I won’t be hungry if I fall asleep.]
Jinyou: .....I've never seen anyone make such a request.
In the end, Jinyou didn't knock him out, and Xiao Yunzhen fell asleep.
The little baby smacked his lips, not knowing what he was dreaming about.
Jin You felt a little distressed, so he handed Xiao Yunzhen to Shan Tu and asked him to take him back first, while he stayed here.
In the center of the crowd, at the gate of the government office, a middle-aged woman and a boy of twelve or thirteen were beating drums to appeal for justice.
The bailiffs tried to drive her away twice, but the woman still refused to leave.
"I've already told you that if you have a grievance, you should report it to the prefect. You are not allowed to file a complaint with someone higher up the chain of command!"
The middle-aged woman refused to listen and kept beating the drum to protest her grievances, crying as she did so: "I want to sue Liu Chengshang, the prefect of Guangling! He abandoned his wife and children and even hired someone to kill them. I was lucky enough to escape with my child. I walked all the way from Chiyang County to Guangling just to sue Liu Chengshang! I hope the prefect will show mercy and give me justice!"
When these words were spoken, the people were in an uproar.
The case involved the prefect, and the gatekeeper was unsure what to do, so he hurried to look for Jin Chengyang.
Jin Chengyang did not show up, but Liu Chengshang rushed over after hearing the news.
As soon as the little boy saw Liu Chengshang, he called out, "Dad."
Liu Chengshang frowned in disgust: "Where did this beggar come from? How dare he come to the prefectural government office to ask for money?"
The mother and son had been traveling for many days, sleeping in the open air and even narrowly avoiding encountering bandits. Their clothes were ragged, and they truly looked like beggars.
The people around were talking about it, and many of them showed sympathy.
Liu Chengshang looked at the eyes of the people around him, feeling annoyed. He shouted to the yamen runners, "Hurry up and drive these two away! Don't let them talk nonsense here and affect the dignity of the yamen."
Just as the bailiff was about to take action, he heard the middle-aged woman yell, "Wait a minute."
Then he took out a yellowed piece of letter from his pocket.
The woman looked at Liu Chengshang with a sad expression. "What a majestic prefect! If my father hadn't given you money to start a business, how could you have encountered such a great fortune! This is the marriage certificate, written by you! Liu Chengshang! You are not a human! You are trying to climb the social ladder, forget your roots, and are so heartless that you are not worthy of being a human!"
The little boy knelt beside the woman and cried, calling Liu Chengshang "Dad" from time to time.
The people's discussion became louder. Liu Chengshang's face turned ugly and he stopped them sternly: "You say this is a marriage certificate? The handwriting and paper can be faked, so why should I be afraid? You say that your father funded my business to make a fortune, but I tell you, all my business cannot be separated from the support of the prefect!
After traveling all these years, how come I didn't know I had a wife like you in Chiyang County?"
Liu Chengshang laughed heartily. "I'm not from Chiyang County, and I've never been there. You're truly amazing at making up stories! How dare you slander an official of the imperial court? How hilarious!"
"Liu Chengshang! Even if you don't recognize me, you have to recognize Fuxing! He's your child! Look at him, isn't he cut from the same mold as you?"
Liu Chengshang laughed even louder, even laughing out loud.
The laughter stopped, and Liu Chengshang wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. His eyes were sharp and sharp: "There are countless people who look alike in this world. You just pick up a child and say he is my son. If I am stupid enough to acknowledge him, won't everyone who looks like me come to ask me to be their father tomorrow and the day after tomorrow?"
"you...."
"Alright, I don't have time to waste on words with you. Come, arrest this mother and son who are slandering this imperial official!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the bailiffs detained the two men.
Liu Chengshang snatched the marriage certificate from the woman's hand and immediately tore it to pieces.
Suddenly someone shouted, "Wait!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a scholar in blue clothes holding a scroll in his arms.
When Liu Chengshang saw the newcomer, his expression relaxed. He bowed to the scholar and called out, "Mr. Dongguo."
Jinyou, who was originally indifferent, turned around and looked at the person who came.
Mr. Dongguo? Is that the famous Mr. Dongguo who accompanied Emperor Xuan on his conquests?
But shouldn't he have retired to the mountains and forests and not been born yet?
No, no, no, Dongguo's retreat was just to stay away from the vortex of power in the court, not to really retreat to the mountains and forests to avoid worldly affairs.
It is not a bad thing that Dongguo appears here.
But Jinyou still couldn't connect the scholar in front of him with the shrewd Mr. Dongguo.
It’s nothing, it’s just because this scholar is too young!
Jinyou remained calm and slowly led his men out of the crowd and watched them from another hidden place.
Liu Chengshang asked, "Mr. Dongguo, do you have any advice?"
Mr. Dongguo nodded slightly as a greeting.
He said, "Prefect Liu, this is a matter of two lives. Isn't it unreasonable to be so arbitrary?"
Liu Chengshang's expression changed slightly, but he still pretended to be calm: "Mr. Dongguo, you don't know, this person is talking nonsense..."
Dongguo interrupted him, "Since this woman has already beaten the drum to protest her grievances, the case should be heard according to the proper procedures. Furthermore, this matter involves you, the prefect, and you must bring it to court for trial. Instead of acting this way, doesn't it make you seem guilty?"
Liu Chengshang's face was as dark as ink. Calling you Mr. Dongguo, do you really think you can rule the country?
After all, he was still the prefect of a prefecture, and Dongguo was just a teacher in a small academy. How dare he give him orders?
Liu Chengshang was furious and immediately put on his official airs: "Mr. Dongguo, please do not worry about how I will judge the case. If there is nothing else, Mr. Dongguo should return to the academy."
"Hmph!" Mr. Dongguo snorted coldly and scolded, "Your Excellency the Prefect, you have such great authority. The law states that anyone who beats the drum to appeal for justice will be brought to court for trial. Anyone who files a complaint beyond their authority will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane.
Although this woman went above her authority to file a complaint, she did indeed beat the drum. She was only given twenty lashes before the trial. "Why are you so anxious, Prefect? Are you planning to disobey the law and lose your official hat first?"
Liu Chengshang broke out in a cold sweat. He was so unlucky today that he actually ran into Mr. Dongguo!
He stared at Mr. Dongguo, and neither of them gave in. After a long time, Liu Chengshang laughed first, and the stalemate suddenly broke.
"Then let's follow Mr. Dongguo's advice. Since the court is closed today, we should first detain the mother and son and bring them to court for interrogation the next morning." Liu Chengshang waved his hand and said, "Take them away!"
As they turned to return to the yamen, Dongguo suddenly spoke up, "My Lord Prefect, please remember not to let the mother and son catch a cold."
Liu Chengshang gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words: "I know!"
A cold? How could Dongguo be talking about a cold? He was clearly warning him not to act secretly and to make sure the person was still alive when the court was held tomorrow!
Good, good, what a great Mr. Dongguo!
Liu Chengshang was unlucky. Not only did he bring two dead people back to life, but he also had to ensure that they were alive!
Fine, let them live, he has plenty of ways to torture them!
He is already dead, why do you want to come out and drag him to hell?
The gate of the government office creaked shut, blocking out everyone's prying eyes.
Mr. Dongguo flicked his sleeves and ended up with fame and honor.
Jinyou's eyes have never left him since he saw him.
Seeing that someone was about to leave, he quickly led his men to follow.
But Mr. Dongguo's path went further and further astray.
He walked around several streets, bought snacks and candied fruits along the way, and then left the city through the other gate.
Jinyou and his group followed him closely, and finally they followed him to a bamboo forest.
Two bamboo houses were built deep in the bamboo forest.
The bamboo forest is surrounded by mountains and beside the water, which is truly a beautiful scene.
"My dear! I'm back! I brought you some snacks and your favorite preserves!"
The Dongguo people started shouting before they even entered the courtyard.
Then a beautiful woman came out of the house, but she didn't look very well.
The beautiful woman coughed three times with every step and had to rest for a while after taking two steps.
Dongguo felt very distressed and hurried forward to support the beautiful woman.
"If you're not feeling well, don't go out in the wind anymore."
The woman shook her head: "I'm coming to pick you up. This is our home. You need someone to greet you when you come home."
Dongguo smiled, his face full of doting: "After you take the medicine, I will make you your favorite lotus leaf chicken."