Chapter 75 The Pledge of Allegiance At this moment, Jiang's father was on his way…

At this moment, Jiang Yuanshan was traveling by horse-drawn carriage, bumping along the way to Songyang County.

The journey is long and he is also quite old.

Jiang Yuanshan couldn't help but complain in his heart. This daughter was really too disobedient. If she had replied, he wouldn't have had to make this trip.

And yet they are still so exhausted.

"Sir, Black Wind Stronghold is just ahead," the driver cautiously reminded him. "Should we take a detour?"

Black Wind Stronghold is home to many bandits who dare to rob even the carriages of imperial officials, let alone a mere merchant like Jiang Yuanshan.

Jiang Yuanshan sneered, "No need, let's go straight there." He had long known that the First Prince and the leader of Black Wind Stronghold were secretly colluding. Passing by Black Wind Stronghold this time was just in case, and he had also seized a large amount of gold and silver treasures.

“No need to take a detour,” Jiang Yuanshan stroked his gray beard, a calculating glint in his eyes. “Go straight there. As his father, I have to apologize to my unfilial son.”

Upon hearing this, the driver's face turned deathly pale. Who didn't know that the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold killed without blinking an eye? But since the master had given the order, how could a servant like him dare disobey? He had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue driving forward.

In truth, Jiang Yuanshan had already made his plans. The forces left behind at Black Wind Stronghold had indeed been wiped out by Huo Qubing and Qin Shubao, but their leader, Wang Laohu, had taken eight hundred elite troops with him when he went out, and those troops had now returned to the mountain. Eight hundred fierce bandits!

Even if Django had extraordinary abilities, he couldn't escape his grasp.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yuanshan couldn't help but reveal a sinister smile. He had already found out that Wang Laohu was extremely vengeful; this apology was a pretense, his real intention was to use someone else to do his dirty work. With just a little provocation, was he afraid Wang Laohu wouldn't help him deal with that unfilial daughter?

The carriage slowly entered the territory of Black Wind Stronghold. Gradually, bandits wielding weapons appeared on both sides of the mountain road. They stared menacingly at the lone carriage, their eyes gleaming with greed.

"Halt!" A burly bandit leader with a fierce face blocked the way. "This road is mine, this tree is mine..."

“My lord,” Jiang Yuanshan said calmly, lifting the carriage curtain and revealing a fawning smile, “I am the father of Jiang Ge, the magistrate of Songyang County. I have come to pay my respects to Chief Wang. Please inform him of my arrival.”

Upon hearing the name Django, the bandit leader's eyes widened in fury: "Good! That corrupt official's father has delivered himself to our doorstep! Brothers, give him..."

"Wait!" Jiang Yuanshan hurriedly shouted, "I've come to apologize on behalf of my unfilial son! Please inform the chief that I've brought a generous gift to atone for my sins!"

The bandit leader was skeptical, but still sent someone up the mountain to report. A short while later, a burly man with a full beard strode in; it was none other than Wang Laohu, the leader of Black Wind Stronghold. He had a hideous scar above his left eye, and a gleaming ghost-head knife was tucked into his waistband.

"You're Jiang Ge's father?" Wang Laohu squinted at Jiang Yuanshan, his voice sharp as sandpaper. "I heard you're going to apologize for that corrupt official?"

Jiang Yuanshan quickly got out of the car and bowed, saying, "It is indeed I. That unfilial son of mine was so audacious as to offend the chief. I have come here to apologize." As he spoke, he took out a brocade box from his pocket, "This is a small token of my appreciation. I hope the chief will accept it."

Wang Laohu took the brocade box, opened it, and found ten pearls the size of longan fruits inside, gleaming in the sunlight. A glint of greed flashed in his eyes, but he quickly hardened his expression: "You think you can fob me off with this little bit? Your son destroyed my Black Wind Stronghold's lair and killed a hundred or two hundred of my brothers!"

"Master, please calm down," Jiang Yuanshan feigned heartache. "That unfilial son, relying on his abilities, doesn't even respect me, his father. I've come here not only to apologize, but also to have Jiang Ge return all the gold and silver treasures we confiscated..."

Once it went into Django's mouth, she had no intention of spitting it out.

Jiang Ge stood on the stone steps in front of the county government office, her black boots damp with morning dew. A light rain had just fallen in Songyang County, and the air still carried the earthy smell of dampness. She gazed at the ragged children at the street corner—they were drawing crooked characters on the muddy ground with twigs.

"Heaven and earth, black and yellow..." The eldest child, about eight or nine years old, was teaching two younger children to read. When the branches broke, they traced the blurred marks with their hands, their fingers filled with black mud.

Following Jiang Ge's gaze, Wei Zhongxian immediately bowed and stepped forward: "Sir, are you looking at those unruly children? They're all neglected and spend their days on the streets..."

“They can read,” Django suddenly said.

Wei Zhongxian was taken aback. He squinted and carefully examined the children, only then realizing that there were indeed characters on the muddy ground. Although they were crooked like earthworms crawling, they were indeed the beginning of the Thousand Character Classic.

"This..." Wei Zhongxian's beady eyes darted around, "It must have been taught by some down-on-his-luck scholar..."

Django had already descended the stone steps. Water splashed from the cobblestones, wetting the hem of her dress. Upon seeing the official robes, the children scattered like startled sparrows, except for the eldest child who remained standing, clutching the broken branch tightly in his hand.

"Who taught you to read?" Django asked.

The child lowered his head and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "...County Magistrate Xu."

Unexpectedly, Magistrate Xu was so passionate about education. He has probably already returned to his hometown to become a teacher. Thinking of Magistrate Xu, Jiang Ge also remembered something. She stopped and looked the child straight in the eye: "Do you want to study?"

The child's eyes lit up for a moment, then quickly dimmed again. He stared at his straw sandals with his toes sticking out, and shook his head: "I have to gather firewood... and help my mother look after the children..."

Jiang Ge patted his head and said, "These are not your concerns. Just tell me, do you want to study?"

The child's dirty little face suddenly tilted up, his bright black and white eyes shining like stars, but then dimmed again in an instant. He unconsciously picked at the holes in his straw sandals with his toes, his voice barely audible: "Thinking..."

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he shook his head violently, as if trying to shake off the extravagant thought: "No, Mother said that going to school costs a lot of money..." He counted on his grimy fingers, "We need to buy paper and pens, pay tuition, and..." As he counted, his voice grew softer and softer, until it finally choked with sobs, "Even Gouwa next door can't afford to go to the private school..."

Jiang Ge looked at the child's thin, bony shoulders beneath his tattered clothes, then suddenly squatted down to look him in the eye: "What if you don't want money?"

The child looked up abruptly, his dirty little face filled with disbelief: "No, no money?"

"Hmm." Jiang Ge nodded, brushing the bits of grass off the child's hair. "Not only is it free, but lunch is also provided."

The child's eyes lit up again, this time as if they were about to burst into flames. Suddenly remembering something, he hurriedly said, "Then, can I bring my little brother along? He's only six years old and eats very little!" Then, realizing he was being too greedy, he hastily added, "I, I can gather an extra bundle of firewood!"

Django looked at the child's trembling little hands and said softly, "Come on, everyone."

Wei Zhongxian, standing to the side, was so anxious that he kept rubbing his hands: "My lord, this, this is not in accordance with the rules!" How much money would it cost to give so many children away for free?

When Wei Zhongxian did the math, he winced in pain, as if the money he was spending was his own.

“Rules are made by people.” Jiang Ge stood up, his gaze sweeping over the other children peeking around in the alley. “Anyone under ten years old, regardless of gender, can enroll.”

The children huddled in the corner, their dirty little faces filled with hope and fear. They didn't understand any grand principles; they only knew that the official had said—they could go to school and he would provide meals.

Jiang Ge had no intention of taking back what he had said. He didn't need the county's money anyway, and since he had the bandits' gold and silver treasures, he figured he could take them from the people and use them for the people.

While the two were strolling around, they passed by a clinic. Jiang Ge went in to check on Wu Shifu, who was lying on the bed. He was badly injured and was mostly in a daze.

The clinic reeked of stale medicine. Wu Shifu lay on a sickbed in the innermost room, his face ashen. Jiang Ge stood at the foot of the bed, his gaze fixed on him for a long time.

Wei Zhongxian bowed and asked in a low voice, "Magistrate Jiang, who is this man?"

He arrived too late and didn't know some things. Moreover, the other people in the county government didn't talk to him much, so he knew very little information, such as about Wu Shifu.

Wei Zhongxian had absolutely no idea about this person's background.

"Wu Shifu." After a long silence, Jiang Ge finally spoke, his voice sounding as if it came from a great distance, "My childhood friend."

Wei Zhongxian secretly glanced at the person on the sickbed. The person's wrists, exposed outside the thin blanket, were covered in bruises, and there were several cuts on the knuckles, indicating that he had been beaten quite badly.

“His father…” Jiang Ge’s voice suddenly became very soft, as if it came from a very far place, “to apologize to me, he threw him at the city gate.” He paused, then added, “He even specifically instructed the guards to beat him up in public.”

That was way too brutal.

Looking at Wu Shifu's sunken cheeks and chapped lips, Wei Zhongxian couldn't help but swallow hard: "What did the doctor say?"

"They say it's up to fate." Jiang Ge sighed softly, his gaze falling on Wu Shifu's bandaged forehead. "I specifically asked, and the doctor was also helpless."

The room was filled with the smell of medicine and a faint, almost imperceptible odor of blood. Jiang Ge reached out and brushed a speck of dust off the bedding: "I hit too hard, I hit his head, that's why he's sometimes awake and sometimes asleep."

Wei Zhongxian noticed that Jiang Ge looked quite troubled when he said this.

“But it’s alright,” Jiang Ge suddenly turned around, a faint smile appearing on her face. “Now that he’s come to Songyang County, as the magistrate, I will naturally take good care of him.” Her gaze swept over the medicine bowl on the bedside table, and she added, “In case something really happens…”

In the palace, Wei Zhongxian developed a keen ability to read people's expressions and demeanor. He discovered that these nobles often said one thing and did another. For example, if someone had saved a noble when he was down on his luck, the noble would often say that he had no way to repay the great kindness after he became successful, but in reality, he wanted to kill him.

I have no way to repay your great kindness.

Then I won't report it.

Wei Zhongxian bowed and fawned, saying, "Your Excellency has done everything you could. Even if something unforeseen happens, it is fate, and no one else is to blame."

Such is fate.

Then you can't blame anyone else.

Jiang Ge still had county government affairs to attend to, and Wei Zhongxian also said he would go check on Ding Yi's pigs, but he hadn't checked on them since they were castrated.

We should go and take a look.

When Django was told, she naturally agreed.

However, Wei Zhongxian did not go to see the pigs as promised. Instead, he took a detour and quietly sneaked into the clinic. He walked close to the wall, his footsteps as light as a cat stepping across the roof tiles. The clinic was filled with the bitter smell of medicine. The doctor in charge was dozing off with his chin resting on his hand, and the apprentice was also drowsy behind the counter.

Wei Zhongxian slipped into the inner room. Wu Shifu lay on his sickbed, his face as pale as paper, occasionally letting out a few painful groans.

"Who...are you?" Wu Shifu suddenly opened his eyes, his cloudy gaze falling on Wei Zhongxian. His fingers gripped the bedding spasmodically, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

He had never met Wei Zhongxian, but he instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

Wei Zhongxian slowly stepped forward, a shadow looming over the sickbed: "We've come to see you off."

Wu Shifu's pupils suddenly contracted, as if he had seen something terrifying. He struggled to sit up, pointed at Wei Zhongxian, and demanded sharply, "It was Jiang Ge! Jiang Ge sent you!"

Wu Shifu had thought that Jiang Ge would at least show some consideration, but she showed no mercy at all, and a deep hatred flashed in his eyes.

"No, no. If you go to the underworld, just complain to King Yama and say that we killed you. You can't blame anyone else."

As they spoke, a three-inch silver needle silently slipped from Wei Zhongxian's sleeve, its tip gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light. Wu Shifu's Adam's apple bobbed, and cold sweat trickled down his temples: "You...who exactly are you?"

The three words, "Wei Zhongxian," fell lightly, yet they sent a chill down Wu Shifu's spine.

As the silver needles approached, Wu Shifu suddenly screamed, "You can't kill me! I know Django's secret!"

Wei Zhongxian paused slightly in his hand, raising an eyebrow: "Oh?"

“Jiang Ge is a woman! She has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor!” Wu Shifu almost shouted, his voice filled with his last hope.

He read through the letters Jiang Yuanshan sent to Jiang Ge and learned everything, but because it involved the eldest prince, he dared not say anything. Now that he was about to die, he couldn't care less about anything else.

Wei Zhongxian sneered, "Deceiving the emperor? So what?" Before he finished speaking, a silver needle had already pierced Wu Shifu's fatal acupoint at the back of his neck, and he remained motionless for a long time.

He stood before the bed. He thoughtfully stroked the silver needles in his hand, finally understanding why Django was so determined to kill this man. Knowing so many secrets, and not even one of their own, he truly couldn't be allowed to live.

Moreover, Wei Zhongxian knew at first glance that Magistrate Jiang was a woman. Eunuchs have an amazing keen sense in this regard. Even though Magistrate Jiang had bound her chest and dressed as a man, her overly slender bones could not be hidden.

They didn't care whether Magistrate Jiang was a man or a woman, or a god or a monster.

Does it matter?

He bent down and skillfully manipulated the corpse. First, he pried open Wu Shifu's tightly clenched fingers, then arranged his limbs into a natural sleeping position. Finally, he gently closed the unseeing eyes and tidied the disheveled bedding.

Having done all this, Wei Zhongxian stepped back two paces, looking at his masterpiece with satisfaction. Anyone who saw it would have thought that Wu Shifu had died from his injuries.

The reason Magistrate Jiang appointed Wei Zhongxian was precisely because he valued Wei's unconventional and ruthless methods.

In this county government, what is needed on the surface are upright gentlemen like Zhuge Liang, who adhere to etiquette and are cautious in their words and deeds, for fear of tarnishing their reputation. But in secret, there are always some shady things that need to be done—such as today's clean and efficient silencing.

Wei Zhongxian was well aware of his own worth. He didn't care about reputation or integrity, nor was he bound by moralistic notions of propriety and shame like those Confucian scholars. This unbridled ruthlessness was his first act of loyalty to Django.

In the play of light and shadow, a cold smile crept across Wei Zhongxian's lips. He understood all too well the rules of the game in officialdom—in the open, upright gentlemen were needed to maintain appearances, but in the shadows, "night walkers" like him were indispensable to clear away obstacles.

“Magistrate Jiang wants results, not processes.” Wei Zhongxian murmured to himself, gently stroking the silver needles in his sleeve. Wu Shifu’s death was the best testament to his loyalty!

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Author's Note: I've suddenly realized that I really need background music when writing. What kind of weird quirk is this? [doge]