"Halt! Who are you people, daring to break into Yegou Village in the middle of the night?" Zhou Fagen roared fiercely, holding an axe in his hand.

Just as the constable was about to shout back, Zheng Qingshu raised his hand to stop him, then stepped forward and said calmly, "I am Zheng Qingshu, the current magistrate of Lishan County. I came here on urgent business, but I did not expect to arrive at midnight. What I did not expect was that Yegou Village had already installed a village gate."

The word "village gate" itself is quite ingenious. While others have city gates, Pianyegou Village not only has a wall of thorns but also a large gate, which prohibits entry and exit at night. It's really interesting.

Upon hearing that the county magistrate had arrived, the village chief was taken aback. He looked at Zhou Laoda, who had been staring at the magistrate from afar as he introduced himself. Now, Zhou Laoda nodded to the village chief.

“It is indeed the county magistrate. I saw him last time. He has a token and an official seal,” Zhou Laoda said in a low voice.

Damn it, what is the magistrate doing coming to Yegou Village in the middle of the night? He even sneaked over the wall to enter the village. The village chief cursed inwardly, then knelt down on the ground. "This humble subject greets Your Excellency. I do not know what brings Your Excellency here in the middle of the night. Please do not hesitate to ask if there is anything I can do to help you."

Seeing this, the villagers behind him also knelt down with a thud. They had no choice; they were all peasants without any official rank, and they had to kneel before officials.

"Get up, everyone. I apologize for bothering you all. I had an urgent matter to attend to today, which is why I had no choice but to have someone climb over the wall to open the gate." It was truly rare for the magistrate to explain in this way, and the village chief's impression of him improved considerably, and he stopped cursing him in his heart.

"I need to go to the Song residence. Please ask the village chief to have someone lead the way."

So they were looking for Master Song. Could it be about the herb-gathering trip into the mountains? Or is Master Song trying to get the county magistrate to pressure them into not causing any more trouble for the Song family?

Even if they didn't agree, Master Song would still send people into the mountains. They could only protest, but couldn't really stop anything; at most, it would just cause some trouble.

The village chief had mixed feelings and was somewhat uneasy, wondering what impact the county magistrate's arrival would have on Yegou Village.

“We happen to have some free time, so we’ll take you to the Song residence right away,” the village chief said.

"Then thank you very much, Village Chief," Magistrate Zheng said politely.

The village chief led the way, followed by Zheng Qingshu and a group of yamen runners, with a group of villagers from Yegou Village following behind the runners.

After the county magistrate and his entourage entered the Song residence, the village chief and the others did not rush to leave, but instead stood together at a distance and began to discuss the matter.

"The county magistrate is just looking for Master Song; it has nothing to do with our village?" Zhou Fagen asked suspiciously.

"It's hard to say," the village chief said with a sullen face. "Let's arrange for two people to keep an eye on things here, so we can know sooner or later if anything happens." The village chief was always cautious, and at this moment he was full of suspicion, worried that the county magistrate might do something bad to Yegou Village.