The county magistrate was quickly invited by Old Wu, followed by a group of yamen runners, and they arrived at the government office in Qingfeng Town in a grand procession.

Upon hearing that the magistrate had arrived, the gambling den owner hurriedly knelt down to greet him, while the old lady remained lying there, showing no signs of waking up.

Magistrate Zhao walked over slowly, saw the old woman lying on the ground, and then asked, "What happened? What happened at the gambling den?"

"Your Honor, look! This woman came to the gambling den to cause trouble, but she was beaten unconscious by the servants. I don't know where this shrew came from, insisting on shouting and cursing here. I beg Your Honor to give us justice!"

Liang Shuyan wrapped her arms around herself, looking at the county magistrate not far away, observing his expression. She didn't want this incident to completely change the image of the county magistrate in her mind.

The magistrate is, after all, the magistrate, and basic etiquette cannot be neglected. Liang Shuyan stepped forward and bowed slightly, saying, "This humble woman greets the magistrate!"

Upon hearing Liang Shuyan's voice, the county magistrate immediately glanced at Liang Shuyan and said, "Raise your head!"

The county magistrate gave an awkward smile, and then said, "What's going on here, Aunt Mountain? Tell me!"

Upon hearing this, the gambling den owner felt puzzled: "Old Lady Dashan? Could it be that the magistrate really knows this woman?"

"Your Honor, look! In broad daylight, the gambling den has killed someone and insists she just fainted. Why don't you send a doctor to check if this woman is alive or dead? Who gave this gambling den such power?"

The magistrate's expression immediately turned cold as he looked at the gambling den owner: "Didn't you say the woman fainted? How come there's a woman in this gambling den?"

Clearly, the magistrate's attitude was different from before. The gambling den owner hurriedly stepped forward to explain, "Magistrate, we are only doing this to collect a debt. Besides, this woman was only beaten by the servants because she was causing trouble. She fainted, not dead as she claims. This woman is just spouting nonsense. How can you, magistrate, believe this shrew?"

The magistrate roared, "How dare you speak to me like that! I warn you, you'd better find a doctor now to check on this woman. If she's just unconscious, that's fine, but if she's dead, neither of us will be able to explain ourselves!"

Who is Liang Shuyan? How could the county magistrate not know? If Liang Shuyan were to sue him in the capital, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing his position as magistrate; it might also implicate his entire family. He wasn't that foolish.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper said, "Your Excellency, she's just a peasant woman. Why are you being so serious? Just give her a couple of taels of silver and we'll call it even!"

Liang Shuyan sneered: "What, it seems this is the only way the gambling den can handle things. Is this the same way they dealt with things before?"

The magistrate was at a loss for words for a moment, then glanced at the shopkeeper and said, "Still daring to argue? Find a doctor to examine this woman. If she's confirmed to be unconscious, everything will be fine. But if the old woman is really dead, you'd better prepare to close down the shop and go to jail!"

"Your Excellency, you weren't like this before. Why did you listen to this woman this time? Haven't I always given you plenty of money?"

The air seemed to freeze. The magistrate stared at the shopkeeper and roared, "Insolence! When did I take your money? How dare you spout such nonsense here?"

Liang Shuyan gave a dry laugh: "It seems that I've messed with the magistrate's cake today?"

“Auntie Dashan, how can you say such a thing? This isn’t the first time we’ve met. I said I needed to confirm. If this old woman has fainted, then everything is fine. If not, then this county will definitely stand up for this woman and her family. Don’t worry!”

"Your Excellency, it's not that I need to feel at ease, but that the people need to feel at ease. Also, this gambling den exists solely to swindle money from ordinary people. Shouldn't it be thoroughly rectified? Doesn't the government have any regulations governing this matter?"

Liang Shuyan was trying to take away the gambling den's profits. Upon hearing this, the gambling den manager pounced on her like a mad dog, angrily saying, "You wicked woman, what do you want to do?"

Soon, a doctor quickly approached the woman, examined her, and then respectfully bowed to the magistrate, saying, "Your Honor, this old woman has no vital signs."

Upon hearing this, the gambling den owner immediately knelt down on the ground: "Sir, please calm down! This old woman must have had some illness before, otherwise, how could she have died so suddenly? This can't be counted!"

Liang Shuyan burst into laughter: "Look, Your Excellency, this is your territory, and you just beat someone to death so easily, and then insist that they just fainted. Now you've seen it with your own eyes, is she really unconscious? There are several such deaths every day, aren't there? Your Excellency, I know that this gambling den pays a lot of silver to the government every year, but no matter what, you can't treat the lives of ordinary people so lightly!"

The county magistrate was speechless after being questioned by Liang Shuyan's words.

When the crowd behind them saw that Liang Shuyan had stood up for them, they all began to voice their grievances.

"Your Honor, my son was beaten to death by the people at the gambling den. Although we are poor and cannot afford the 20 taels of silver, the gambling den should not kill a person."

"That's right, the gambling den is a scam. Many ordinary people gamble here in hopes of winning back their savings, but they end up losing even after putting all their money down the drain. Some even commit suicide because they can't understand it. This is just a way to harm ordinary people like us!"

"Yes, we firmly demand that this gambling den be shut down!"

The people behind Liang Shuyan were also on her side, which gave Liang Shuyan a greater sense of confidence in winning.

"Alright, in that case, let's do as Aunt Dashan said and temporarily shut down the gambling den until we've investigated its accounts. Also, all the families whose people were beaten to death, please prepare your testimonies and sign them together to confirm the facts. As for the gambling den manager, he is suspected of assault resulting in death and will be detained for fifteen days!"

Liang Shuyan knew that this ending wasn't entirely satisfactory, but it was also somewhat satisfactory. No one knew exactly how the magistrate would punish the shopkeeper.

"He killed someone, how come he was only detained for 15 days? That's not fair, that's not fair!"