“I’d be scared too.”

***

"We can go to the government office first."

"Let the county magistrate see that I will not default on my debt."

When Shen Da Jiao heard that she was going to the government, she was happy. She probably didn't know the relationship between her and the government!

She really overestimated her own abilities, she thought. Even if she went to the government, they wouldn't be able to do anything to her, but they could make Jin Suting suffer a little.

So she answered readily: "Okay!"

Jin Suting nodded and said, "I hope you won't regret it when the time comes."

The rescued old man kindly advised, "Girl, the government has a relationship with her, don't let me get you into trouble!"

Jin Suting glanced at Helan Ruizhe and said to the old man, "Don't worry, the government officials won't dare to do anything to me."

When it comes to connections, who can compare to His Majesty the Emperor?

But that Shen Da Jiao is in trouble.

The government office in Jiangnan was not far away, so some small vendors stopped doing business for half a day and followed them out of curiosity to find out what was going on.

It's really strange. Shen Da Jiao has been rampant for many years and no one has ever overthrown her. Anyone who stood up to oppose her was suppressed by the officials in the government.

That was extremely biased. I even wondered if the official was making money with Shen Da Jiao!

The official's surname is Zhang, and his name is Zhang Qingming. He has been the county magistrate of Jiangnan for more than ten years. Naturally, he has been to Funing City. If he has been to Funing City, he must have met His Majesty the Emperor.

It's just that the Emperor had only seen this Zhang Qingming from afar when he ascended the throne three years ago, and he couldn't remember his true appearance for a while. At first glance, Helan Ruizhe looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him.

When the water overflowed, I saw Shen Da Jiao walking in front, and there were a lot of people standing outside the government office watching the fun.

"What's going on?"

He straightened his black hat and squinted his eyes to look at the group of people rushing in.

Shen Da Jiao, naturally the villain, complained first, "This woman owes me a hundred taels. She'll pay me right here in front of you! You be my witness!"

Is that all? What did he think it was? Zhang Qingming breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a long time since so many people came to his government office.

Jin Suting was bound to explain. She said, "Please tell me the whole story. You collected protection money on the street and bullied the elderly, the weak, and the disabled in public. I helped you out of justice, so this is the money I 'owe' you."

She looked at Zhang Qingming, meaning that he should uphold justice.

Zhang Qingming would never speak up for her. He would definitely speak up for Shen Dajiao. "Ah, this. Collecting protection money is reasonable."

If he knew what kind of people were standing in front of him, he would not say these words even if he cut off his tongue.

"Oh?" Helan Ruizhe said, "There's no law in Fuding that says protection fees are reasonable."

Jin Suting continued, "On the contrary, this kind of behavior is what the current emperor most discourages! You, a county magistrate, don't even know this?"

Zhang Qingming sensed the difficulty these two people were facing, but he remained vague: "This, this is the custom here. Small vendors selling goods along the street need to pay."

Jin Suting really wanted to give him a big slap in the face. Why were those bullies so rampant? It was all because of the county magistrate’s inaction and even connivance!

"So, is beating someone in the street considered illegal?"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Qingming said, "Who did you hit? I didn't see anyone being hit!"

Jin Suting immediately replied: "I saw it, he saw it, they all saw it!"

She pointed at the people outside the government office who were watching the excitement, but they all lowered their heads, not daring to look at her or Zhang Qingming.