Chapter 150: The Magistrate of Chuannan County

"Who are you people? What are you doing climbing the city wall so late at night? You're quite skilled, which city are you spies from?"

The soldiers on the city wall all gathered around, uttering a series of probing questions.

These people certainly couldn't stop Su Zhenzhen, but they didn't know what the situation was like in the city. If they shouted and caused unnecessary misunderstandings, it would be difficult to explain later.

Su Zhenzhen decided to use sincerity as her ultimate weapon: "We're not bad people. I climbed the wall at night because I'm an unregistered resident. You'll see!"

Su Zhenzhen immediately took out Hensheng's household registration and travel permit and handed them over.

The soldier closest to Su Zhenzhen took the document and glanced at it, reading aloud, "A person from Bianzhou, from Yangcheng. Isn't Bianzhou in the far north? Why did you come all this way? And why don't you have a household registration?"

The soldier had a fierce look on his face, and you couldn't imagine getting close to him.

"Um... soldier, as I just said, it's because I'm an unregistered resident." Su Zhenzhen carefully observed the soldiers' expressions, ready to break out of their encirclement at the first sign of trouble and run south out of the city.

The soldier's tone became even more aggressive, "How did you manage to travel so far without a household registration? Behave yourself, don't try anything funny!"

Su Zhenzhen looked ingratiating. "Brother Bing, didn't you just see it? Just like that, climbing the wall... then entering the city, and then... going out again, and just like that... running here."

Su Zhenzhen was quite speechless. This method of entering the city had worked every time before, and she hardly saw any patrolling soldiers on the city wall. But the soldiers of Chuannan City were so alert that they saw her the moment they opened their eyes.

I don't know what they're guarding against, but basically no one from the north is running south. Logically, the people at the south gate should be more vigilant.

The soldiers discussed it without any hesitation.

"Does this person dare to go out? Without a household registration, who knows if it's real or not? It's safest to kick him out."

"Are you stupid? How could a woman climb up such a high city wall? Is she an ordinary person? I suggest we hand her over to the magistrate."

Finally, with the minority yielding to the majority, the soldiers unanimously decided to take the man to see the magistrate.

Hensheng gave Su Zhenzhen a wink.

The latter silently lowered his tiptoes and obediently followed the soldiers.

Fortunately, these soldiers didn't seem like troublemakers, but they didn't resort to violence.

Upon arriving at the county government office, Su Zhenzhen learned that the magistrate had likely been notified in advance. When he arrived, he was straightening his clothes as he walked towards the hall.

The magistrate, probably in his forties, was dressed solemnly and exuded an upright demeanor. He sat down in his chair and slammed the gavel down.

"Who are you? Why are you breaking into my southern Sichuan city at night?"

Su Zhenzhen clasped her hands and said, "This is a last resort. I did not mean to offend you. It's just that I am an unregistered resident and have no way to enter the city through legal channels."

The soldier had already presented Hensheng's household registration and travel permit to the county magistrate. After carefully examining them, the magistrate stroked his beard.

What is the relationship between the two of you?

Su Zhenzhen replied truthfully, "We are engaged."

The magistrate then looked at the household registration records. "Bianzhou is not close to southern Sichuan. What brings you all here from so far away?"

"Just passing by."

The magistrate looked puzzled. "Just passing by? Where else do you think you're going?"

Su Zhenzhen looked at Hensheng, mainly because she didn't know the place names in the background.

Hensheng cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, looking every bit the scholar.

"My lord, a few days ago, some refugees from the south who suffered from the locust plague arrived at the gates of Yangcheng. May I ask, my lord, is there a locust plague in Chuannan City?"

Instead of answering, Hate Sheng asked a question, trying to get the magistrate to follow his lead.

However, this magistrate was a seasoned veteran. He scoffed, "I haven't even answered your question yet, and you're already asking me one. You seem to have no idea what's going on. Guards, bring the torture!"

Su Zhenzhen quickly spoke up, "My lord, please wait! We came from Yangcheng, preparing to go south to treat the locust plague."

"Oh?" The magistrate's expression was neither happy nor angry. He waved his hand, and the soldier who was about to take Hensheng away to be punished immediately stopped.

"You say you came to the south to provide disaster relief, but whose orders were you following? Hu Wen, the prefect of Yangcheng? Although he is the prefect, in terms of administrative power, I am of the same rank as him. He has no right to send people to provide disaster relief in the south."

Su Zhenzhen really couldn't figure out the complex and chaotic political system of this dynasty, so she simply handed it over to Hensheng to communicate with.

After receiving Su Zhenzhen's gaze, Hensheng calmly bowed upwards again.

"My lord, we have come on the orders of Princess Jiang Chao. I suppose you have heard that Princess Jiang Chao recently visited Yangcheng."

Hensheng's statement was based on evidence. Yangcheng and Chuannan City were not far apart. Even if news could not reach them, those who were interested would keep an eye on the news from the surrounding cities.

Clearly, the magistrate of Chuannan County was the one with this intention, otherwise the guards at the city gates wouldn't have been so vigilant.

The magistrate chuckled, his whole demeanor becoming much more amiable. "You were trying to find out if I had sent spies to the surrounding cities? Too bad..."

In the magistrate's view, the so-called disaster relief was nothing but an excuse. Since he could send out spies, other officials could certainly do the same. Su Zhenzhen and Hensheng were spies sent by Yangcheng to spy on the strength of Chuannan City. Once caught red-handed, they came up with this excuse.

The magistrate made a gesture, and the soldiers and yamen runners immediately surrounded the center, flashing their swords, clearly intending to leave no survivors.

Su Zhenzhen never expected that the county magistrate would be so ruthless, believing that the two of them were spies from another side and wanting to kill them to silence them, saving her the step of imprisoning them. Alarm bells rang in her heart.

Originally, Su Zhenzhen was thinking of running away as soon as things went wrong, but the county magistrate seemed cunning and scheming. She didn't know if he had laid a trap outside the yamen. She wasn't without a chance of winning if they fought head-on, but she was afraid he would launch a sneak attack.

In just a few breaths, Su Zhenzhen had already gone through the whole process in her mind, and the blade was about to touch her. Hen Sheng pressed close to her back, and a rare look of solemnity appeared on his handsome face.

At this critical moment, Su Zhenzhen suddenly had a flash of inspiration and released General Huo from the storage compartment.

A figure appeared out of thin air, with half of its body drooping. Looking down, it was clear that its feet were not touching the ground, and it was floating lightly in the air.

Even the most obtuse person would know that they had encountered a ghost. Their reverence for ghosts and gods made the constables stop what they were doing and retreat almost imperceptibly.

It's also because they have strong mental fortitude; if it were ordinary people, they would have been terrified and scattered like birds and beasts long ago.

The county magistrate, who had been sitting calmly in his high seat, stood up and walked down the steps, seemingly wanting to confirm the situation up close.

"Is it General Huo?"

In the instant General Huo regained his senses, he knew that Su Zhenzhen had something to give him again, so he simply waited to hear her speak. Unexpectedly, what he heard was a voice that was both unfamiliar and somewhat familiar.

Looking up, I saw an old friend.