Chapter 99 The Grand Finale (Part 2)

He Zifeng spotted Young Master Dian in the crowd. Young Master Dian was calm and composed, not taking the current predicament seriously at all.

He Zifeng raised an eyebrow, also intending to watch the excitement.

Lord Qiu was furious and ordered his men to arrest him, but they were quickly subdued.

The people around the young master seemed to be skilled in martial arts; he barely moved, yet they were all ready in just a moment.

Lord Qiu was repeatedly humiliated in front of the people, and his body trembled slightly with anger: "You...you all want to rebel?"

The young nobleman said, "Lord Qiu, you have quite the airs of an official." Although he said this with a smile, those who knew him well knew that he was extremely angry at the moment.

The magistrate said, "Your Excellency, you can speak to me if you have anything to say. Do not implicate innocent people."

Lord Qiu suddenly turned around and looked at the county magistrate: "Stop pretending to be a good person here. None of you will escape."

Young Master Dian said to Lord Qiu, "Even your master, the Grand Secretary, wouldn't dare to act so arrogantly in front of our young master. Who do you think you are?" His tone carried a hint of schadenfreude.

Upon hearing this, Lord Qiu was initially furious, but quickly regained his composure, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He was so angry today that he hadn't paid any attention to anyone else. It wasn't until they started talking that he looked over. Lord Qiu didn't recognize the two men, but they exuded an air of nobility and their tone carried a hint of arrogance.

A wave of doubt washed over him. This was just a remote county town; could there be some important person here? He asked hesitantly, "You?" His tone was less arrogant than before. A sudden sense of foreboding washed over him, and he instinctively went to find his trusted confidant.

To his surprise, his trusted confidant wasn't around, and several of his men were also knocked down, lying on the ground groaning in pain.

Lord Qiu composed himself, taking in the gold and silver before him, the common people on the inner side, the wealthy merchants on the outer side, and the unknown nobleman standing in opposition to him.

There was a sense that the tide had turned against them.

Lord Qiu's face turned from red to white.

Just then, a yamen runner outside reported: "Sir, we found a lot of arsenic on this fellow."

This statement caused an uproar throughout the county. Having previously suffered from the poison attacks of the male and female duo, they harbored a deep aversion to such substances. Now, finding such potent poison on one of Lord Qiu's men, it was obvious what it was intended for.

Upon hearing this, the county magistrate was immediately enraged: "Hold court and thoroughly investigate this matter."

When Lord Qiu saw that his trusted aide had been captured, he was both anxious and angry and said, "You dare to touch my people, this is insubordination."

Having been repeatedly offended by Magistrate Qiu, the county magistrate's good temper had almost completely vanished. He said, "Sir, within my jurisdiction, someone is carrying a huge quantity of poison, seriously endangering the safety of our county. Investigating is my duty, and I advise Magistrate Qiu not to get involved!"

The county magistrate's words were very impolite.

He Zifeng was the first to react, and immediately took control of Qiu's somewhat limp confidant and brought him to the county government office.

The common people already disliked this outsider, Lord Qiu, saying, "This fellow doesn't look like a good person at all."

"that is."

"I've heard of arsenic; it's a deadly poison that kills instantly upon contact with blood."

"This is an attempt to kill someone!"

Lord Qiu hadn't even finished dealing with the young master's offense when he saw his trusted confidant arrested, giving him a real taste of being attacked from both sides.

Lord Qiu followed him to the county government office, took out his official silver and official token. With him there, even the county magistrate had to give way, as he was protecting his subordinate.

The higher the rank, the more powerful one can crush you, but the common people don't care about such things and are full of gossip.

Seeing that the situation had reached a stalemate again, the young nobleman spoke a few words to his attendant, who then found the county magistrate and identified himself.

Lord Qiu, who was standing not far away, could hear a few words. His eyes widened instantly, and he tried to look for the person in the crowd with disbelief, but he could no longer see the person.

I never imagined that person had such a distinguished status. If I had known, I wouldn't have said that. What should I do now?

Fearing for his life and property, he didn't even bother to rescue his trusted confidants; he immediately went out to find someone.

With Lord Qiu gone, there was no one left to protect his trusted confidant. All around were indignant commoners who kept demanding that the county magistrate uphold justice for the people and execute this man!

The confidant had sensed something was amiss from the moment he entered the county, and now he had offended a powerful figure. How could he possibly bear the blame? Before the magistrate could even administer the punishment, he confessed: "Your Honor, I have something to confess!"

The magistrate said, "Speak..."

The confidant then explained in great detail the purpose of Lord Qiu's visit and what he intended to do.

The yamen was completely surrounded, not only by county officials and yamen runners, but also by ordinary people. When their confidant revealed everything, everyone gasped in shock!

...

Lord Qiu was unaware that his trusted confidant, who had served him faithfully for many years, had betrayed him and was still searching for the young master.

The county was small, and since the young master and the young master were newcomers, they were quickly found by Lord Qiu.

The young master is indeed of high status; he is currently resting in the magistrate's room behind the county government office. He casually flips through the magistrate's account book, and sure enough, every single item is recorded. He moves around the county government office as if it were his own backyard, completely at ease.

After finding the person, Lord Qiu knelt down with a thud: "Third..." He wanted to reveal the other party's true identity, but was interrupted!

"Eh?" Young Master Dian was someone who always wanted to stir up trouble.

Upon hearing someone's suggestion, Lord Qiu disregarded his annoyance at being interrupted and said, "Third Young Master, this...this...is a misunderstanding." He himself seemed somewhat guilty as he said this.

The young nobleman said, "Since you already knew there would be a snow disaster this year, why didn't you take precautions in advance? Many places under your command have suffered heavy casualties. Instead of taking remedial measures, you've started to have crooked ideas. You saw the whole county just now. They wanted to harm their county magistrate, but they won't allow it!"

This was the first time the young master had ever seen ordinary people so devoted to local officials.

He had witnessed countless instances of corruption, cliques, and mutual protection among officials since childhood, and he loathed them deeply. Now, he had finally seen a virtuous official, only to be nearly silenced by this insignificant Lord Qiu, who tried to use his position to quietly eliminate him. He was furious.

Lord Qiu was completely devoid of his previous arrogance. Those two casual words from your young master had made him break out in a cold sweat. He stammered, "This..."

The young master slammed his hand heavily on the table, making a loud noise.

Lord Qiu shuddered.

The young nobleman asked, "Do you know your crime?"

Lord Qiu, of course, could not admit guilt. At this moment, he tried every means to justify himself, saying that he had been misled by some people. He claimed that he had wronged the county magistrate, but he already knew he was wrong and hoped that your son would show leniency.

Just then, He Zifeng knocked on the door and handed over a petition, saying, "Sir, this is the testimony of his retainers that we just obtained during the trial."

Upon hearing this, the young nobleman immediately ordered it to be brought forward. He glanced at it quickly, then sneered and said, "Men, search him and see if he still has any arsenic!"

The young master's men were all specially trained; Lord Qiu couldn't possibly resist them. They quickly found a packet of arsenic on him and said, "The young master has been found."

The young nobleman immediately threw the petition at Lord Qiu: "What else do you have to say?"

When Lord Qiu picked it up and looked at it, half of his body went numb.

The young nobleman didn't say much to him, simply saying, "Take him away." The men immediately gagged him and put Lord Qiu into the carriage. He said, "I have other matters to attend to. You can deal with his men yourselves." These kinds of corrupt officials, if not eliminated soon, will likely harm even more people.

Then the young master was about to leave.

Young Master Dian nodded to He Zifeng, which was considered a formality. He said, "Hey, why don't we stay for a meal..." Their location was remote, and if they left, it would be difficult to come back!

The young nobleman was no longer in the mood for appreciation and said, "No, thank you."

He Zifeng respectfully saw them off. The young nobleman glanced at He Zifeng again, thinking that this small place was so fortunate to have such a magistrate who cared about the people, and a constable like He Zifeng who was perceptive and capable. He Zifeng was deeply impressed by He Zifeng after just one meeting.

He left without saying another word.

He Zifeng secretly told the county magistrate about the young master's departure.

The county magistrate understood the implication and handled the matter with ease. This confidant of Magistrate Qiu was given twenty strokes of the cane and exiled three thousand li away. All the other henchmen who had acted as accomplices were sent to the mining area to work in the mines. That was under the army's jurisdiction; Magistrate Qiu's men were all very strong, and it would be a waste if they didn't do something.

The people were overjoyed to see that the county magistrate had dealt with all the corrupt official's henchmen.

The county magistrate was deeply grateful to these people. Without their knowledge, a few words from a corrupt official had spurred them to come out and rescue him. They even managed to raise several thousand taels of silver in a short time. How could he possibly repay their kindness?

The magistrate said, "Everyone, take the silver back."

"Keep it for the county to use."

"We still have some."

Few of these common people were literate, but they were not blind; they knew that the officials were acting in their best interests.

Officials love the people, and the people love the officials!

The magistrate said, “I appreciate the kindness of all the elders and folks. I will count out this silver and think of a way to use it for the benefit of the people.”

"Great!" the people cheered.

The county magistrate, seeing that it was snowing lightly again outside and noticing that some people in the crowd were still wearing only light clothing, said, "Everyone has worked hard. Go back now. Tomorrow the county will stew pork and distribute it to all the people in the town." The county still has some in stock.

Everyone was excited to be able to eat the pork bestowed by the county magistrate.

The next day, the county posted a notice, listing the silver donated by everyone, totaling five thousand and twenty taels. The county magistrate said that he would build an academy for poor students to benefit those who wanted to study, and that the plaque would read, "This is an academy donated by all the people of the county."

Scholars held great importance in the hearts of the common people; if one studied well, one could become an official or a high-ranking official.

The news caused a stir throughout the county, with everyone eagerly anticipating the start of the new school year, hoping that even just learning a few characters would be a good thing.

Moreover, with such a county magistrate as a role model and an academy nurtured by the common people, if one can pass the exams, one will surely become a good official in the future.

The county was bustling with activity. No one in the city had ever imagined that they could be associated with the academy. The next day, stewed pork was distributed throughout the county. Even before the New Year, the atmosphere was already filled with excitement!

He Zifeng was busy until the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month before he returned to the village. Although the county was far away, everyone wanted to know about such a legendary event, and they asked He Zifeng about the situation when they saw him.

He Zifeng then recounted what had happened in the county. They listened, completely stunned.

"I really didn't expect that."

"It's too dangerous."

Everyone in the village listened with rapt attention; just hearing about it was terrifying. He Zifeng had experienced it firsthand. He had truly walked a tightrope between life and death.

"Those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune."

"yes!"

Everyone was still pressing He Zifeng for details when Village Chief Liu stopped them, saying, "Alright, he's finally back in the village, don't bother him."

Only then did everyone release the person.

As soon as He Zifeng returned to the village, someone he knew told Qiu Yu that by the time he got home, the food was already in the pot.

"Daddy." Little He Ran ran over and was picked up by He Zifeng, who said, "Have you been good while I was away from home?"

"Yes," Ranran answered in her clear, childlike voice.

He Zifeng tapped the little guy's nose, and Ranran immediately shrank back.

She then carried the child back into the house and said, "I made you two pairs of shoes. Try them on later to see if they fit."

"Thank you, Mother. I'll just wear out the shoes." Fang was overjoyed when He Zifeng said this, and said, "Go and see Qiuyu. He's been missing you these past few days."

He Zifeng put his son down, and Fang Shi pulled Ranran aside to draw pictures. He went to the kitchen alone and saw Qiu Yu's busy figure.

He Zifeng hugged Qiu Yu from behind and kissed her cheek. Qiu Yu knew it was him and didn't pull away. She simply said, "You're back?"

He Zifeng said, "Hmm, did you miss me?"

Qiu Yu said, though she didn't mean it, "I don't want to."

He Zifeng turned her around, gently stroking Qiu Yu's cheek with his fingers, his eyes filled with deep emotion: "I missed you."

Qiu Yu was taken aback, then, seeing that no one was around, she took the initiative to kiss He Zifeng's lips. Her eyes crinkled like a fish that had just stolen some fish.

He Zifeng couldn't resist such teasing and immediately kissed her. Qiu Yu was worried that someone might come.

He Zifeng noticed this and immediately deepened the kiss, making it impossible for Qiu Yu to lose focus.

Outside, the wind and snow raged, while inside, warmth and affection lingered.

(End of article)

Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your donations, subscriptions, and encouraging comments. This book is now complete. There are six more bonus chapters to come, which will be updated daily.

This story is now finished. See you in the next one!

I'd like to recommend my upcoming novel, "I Married the God of Slaughter, the Little General," which features a male protagonist. Please add it to your favorites.

A major event in the capital: the纨绔子弟 (playboy) Shen Kuo actually married a member of the Su family who was skilled in military affairs.

The young master is the princess's legitimate son and has a mischievous personality. General Su can disarm a sword barehanded and, in his teens, rides his horse alone to take the enemy's head.

When they got married, the people of the capital were all waiting to see the excitement.

Hearing that the young master broke his leg on the day of his wedding, and not long after that, news came that General Su was pregnant, one can't help but sigh that the young master was still the brave one in this round.

There was a lot of discussion outside, and even the storytellers made up seven or eight stories about it.

The young prince despised General Su, but one day he suddenly changed and began to protect General Su.

Little did they know, Shen Kuo had been reborn. Looking at his former lover, with whom he had once shared a lifetime, now like an insecure little cheetah, what could they do? Spoil him!

A spoiled, protective, and jealous gong (top) x a tough-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside shou (bottom).