Now that their goal had clearly been achieved, he and Zhao Qingzhu simply watched from the sidelines, letting the bearded man and the constables argue amongst themselves, since their masters were all of the same rank and position.

Their powers are similar, except that the county magistrate has broader powers, while the judicial officer has greater power in the judicial field.

So, neither the bearded man nor the county constables were willing to back down, and they insisted on sending Zhu Yuntong and Zhao Qingzhu out of the city.

Otherwise, the bearded man would have thought that Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu must have been instructed by the county magistrate to sabotage the matter of the judge accepting bribes.

The constables also felt that it must be the magistrate who sent Zhu Yuntong and Zhao Qingzhu to beat up the county magistrate's daughter, and now they had to ensure that the two of them would not be sent out of the city.

As a result of both sides' insistence, the misunderstandings and conflicts intensified, with neither side willing to back down.

This matter was indeed pursued relentlessly, and the bearded man was furious. He immediately said:

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Let me tell you, I must send these two out of the city today. I absolutely cannot let your plan succeed."

Upon hearing this, the constables became even more certain that Zhu Yuntong and Zhao Qingzhu were sent by the magistrate to target the county magistrate.

So the constables also said:

"Don't even think about it. These two won't leave here today. They must go back to us."

Therefore, the words of these constables made the bearded man even more convinced that they were the county magistrate and that he wanted these two men to continue to oppose the magistrate.

Just when the two sides were at an impasse, the constables drew their long knives from their waists.

Although the bearded man couldn't beat Zhao Qingzhu, he was able to stay by the judge's side. With his intelligence, he could become Zhao Qingzhu's right-hand man, so he must have some extraordinary abilities.

So he took out his long sword and started fighting with the constables.

They were having a really lively fight, but what they didn't notice was that Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu had quietly left amidst their playful antics.

After they fought for a long time, both were badly injured and retreated. Then the bearded man paused, surprised, and said:

"What about the other two?"

The constables were also completely bewildered, searching everywhere, but they couldn't find it either.

Both sides were dumbfounded. Had Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu left the city, or had they not?

This left both sides completely baffled!

And so, the farce came to a temporary end. The constables and the bearded man left one by one to find their masters.

Before long, the constables returned to the county government compound, along with the two men under the young lady's command.

After they met the young lady and the magistrate, they immediately reported what had happened at the city gate.

After hearing this, the magistrate slammed his fist on the table and roared:

"That Magistrate Zhang is a complete scoundrel. I was wondering why I sent someone to ask him to send some people to help me find the two murderers, but he refused without hesitation and even hurled insults at me."

No wonder, the person who beat my daughter was one of his men. That explains it all. You, Magistrate Zhang, it's one thing to oppose me all the time, but today you actually sent someone to beat my daughter.

They are still protecting the murderer. This is blatantly opposing me. This is intolerable. If I continue to tolerate this, won't I, the magistrate, really be no longer here in this county?

"Someone's here. Follow me to the court where Magistrate Zhang works. We'll ask Magistrate Zhang for the person in question."

Meanwhile, in the court of law, the judge Zhang also heard what his bearded subordinate had said about the so-called facts he had witnessed, and he was furious.

He spoke with immense anger:

"What a despicable Magistrate Zhao! I knew that in this place, who would dare to openly question and contradict me in court?"

So it was Magistrate Zhao who deliberately sent someone to sabotage me. It seems that since we're both officials in the same county, I've taken away his source of income, and he holds a grudge against me.

The tall, intelligent man with the big beard asked in confusion:

"What do you mean by that, sir?"

The judge snorted coldly and said:

"Don't you understand yet? This Criminal Justice Bureau is located in this county, so many cases in this county come directly to our Criminal Justice Bureau to apply for processing."

This reduced the number of cases in the county government office. You know, these cases were lucrative; for example, the woman from before could easily bribe me with ten taels of silver.

Such a lucrative opportunity naturally aroused the jealousy of the county magistrate, which is why he opposed me at every turn, sending people to deliberately find fault and sabotage me when I was handling the case.

They actually dare to protect those two now! Clearly, they intend to be my long-term adversaries. This is intolerable! So what if they want to completely break off relations?