Chapter 14 Meeting with the County Magistrate and Trying the Villain

This place is under the jurisdiction of Qishan County. The inn is only twenty miles away from the county government office. Zheng Erlian ran and walked for about an hour to get there.

Zheng Er pounded on the gate of the county government office and shouted, "Open the door! Open the door! I have a serious case to report!"

The clerk on night duty was woken up, yawned, and drifted back to sleep.

Seeing that no one answered, Zheng Er kicked the door in anger, his chest heaving violently, and paced anxiously in place with his hands on his hips.

Suddenly she caught sight of the petition drum on the side, and with a sneer, she wondered if anyone would come out to handle the matter.

"Bang bang bang—"

The drumbeats were deafening, like thunder echoing throughout the county government office. The clerk was so startled that he fell to the ground, and even the nearby civilians were awakened and got up to see what was happening.

Magistrate Hu, who was sleeping soundly with his beautiful concubine in his arms, was startled by the sound of drums and sat up straight, asking, "What has happened?"

The night watchman had never seen such a scene before. He shook his head in bewilderment and came over to help Magistrate Hu change his clothes.

The beautiful maid sat up, still wrapped in the bedding, revealing her snow-white shoulders. She tugged at Magistrate Hu's sleeve, her beautiful eyes filled with desire, and asked in a sweet voice, "Aren't you going to keep me company tonight, sir?"

Magistrate Hu touched his fair and delicate face and replied with a smile, "I will deal with you, you little vixen, later."

The beautiful maid gave her a reproachful look, which aroused Magistrate Hu's wandering thoughts.

Magistrate Hu straightened his official robes, determined to resolve the matter quickly.

In the county yamen, Magistrate Hu sat upright in the high hall, slamming his gavel and speaking sternly: "Who is below me? You have beaten the drum to appeal your grievances. If there is no serious crime involved, you will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane. Do you know your crime?!"

Zheng Er knelt on the ground honestly, speaking without hesitation: "Reporting to Your Excellency, I have come here because of a major case. Our group was passing through this county and stayed at an inn, but we never expected it to be a black-hearted inn, where people kill without hesitation and commit countless evil deeds. Tonight, they killed eight of our guards."

Magistrate Hu frowned and stroked her chin. She knew about the three bandits, but they had always been very clean and no one had ever come to her with any trouble. How could she have been so careless as to let them escape this time?

In any case, such a terrible thing should not happen under her jurisdiction.

Magistrate Hu shouted sternly: "You audacious scoundrel! Spouting nonsense! Drag him out and give him fifty lashes!"

Zheng Er cursed the corrupt official in his heart for being unable to distinguish right from wrong and for his incompetent judgment. He was so angry that he stood up from the ground, thinking: Fortunately, the young lady was farsighted and gave her the jade pendant as a token, otherwise she would really be dead here today.

The constables were about to drag her away and beat her with a board when she pulled out a jade pendant from her bosom and gave Magistrate Hu a mocking smile: "Magistrate Hu, what do you think this is?"

The two constables quickly exchanged a glance, then looked at Magistrate Hu's expression, only to see her leaning forward, also looking puzzled.

Magistrate Hu ordered the constables to present the jade pendant, but Zheng Er brushed them aside, swaggered over, and dangled the jade pendant in front of her eyes.

Zheng Er looked at her with disdain: "Magistrate Hu, you don't even recognize this?"

How dare this lowly commoner be so disrespectful to her?!

Magistrate Hu glared angrily, but seeing Zheng Er's confident and assertive demeanor, he was inevitably intimidated and felt flustered.

After taking the jade pendant and examining it closely, I found that the jade was translucent and warm, with a rather interesting shape, and was quite valuable.

I couldn't see anything else...

Magistrate Hu wondered: Could it be that I am of low rank and have never seen the true Buddha?

She stroked the jade pendant, lost in thought, racking her brains before finally remembering that Grand Secretary Zong was extremely fond of flowers, birds, poetry, and painting. Could this... be a member of the Zong family?

Magistrate Hu was horrified. He wiped the cold sweat that had instantly beaded on his forehead. He didn't dare to sit down any longer and quickly stood up, smiling broadly at Zheng Erxi. "My apologies, my apologies. It was my poor eyesight. May I ask that... sir, what is your name? And where are you?"

The constable took in the changes in Magistrate Hu and wisely withdrew, wondering to himself who had such power to make this good-for-nothing Hu change his attitude.

Zheng Er had never received such a great honor before. The person who humbled himself before her was the highest-ranking official in the county. He was extremely pleased with himself, but he just snorted coldly and put on a disdainful look.

Now it was her turn to reprimand Magistrate Hu: "My young lady is personally guarding this villain for you, why don't you hurry up and arrest him!"

The more aggressive Zheng Er became, the more afraid Magistrate Hu became. He bowed and scraped, saying, "I'll go right away, I'll go right away." After saying that, he turned around and gathered thirty constables, and summoned his clerk. He then led his men to arrest Zheng Er personally.

At this moment, Magistrate Hu had no idea about the beautiful concubine in his bed.

The group rode swiftly on horseback and arrived in no time.

Magistrate Hu hadn't ridden in a long time, and her legs were still a little weak when she dismounted, but she couldn't care less about that. She staggered and ran towards the group of people sitting around the fire.

When the group saw a woman in an official robe running towards them in a disheveled state, they instinctively stood up. Only Zhang Ting remained seated with his back to them, motionless.

Without even looking, Magistrate Hu knew who she was looking for. Panting, she bowed to Zhang Ting and said, "This humble official... this humble official is late, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

The air around us seemed to freeze; you could hear a pin drop.

After a long while, Zhang Ting turned her head to look. Half of her face was illuminated by the firelight, while the other half was hidden in the night, making it impossible to see clearly or discern her emotions. She smiled faintly and said, "My lord, you have worked hard tonight." Her voice was gentle and polite, but she did not help Magistrate Hu to his feet.

Magistrate Hu dared not get up on his own. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead. Hearing the other party call her "Your Excellency," he hurriedly said, "This humble official dares not, this humble official dares not. It was my dereliction of duty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

"It's alright."

Zhang Ting stood up unhurriedly and faced the crowd. Under the moonlight, the woman's figure was as upright as a pine tree. A few strands of soft black hair fell over her shoulders, adding a touch of languor to her. Her eyes were deep and wise, as if she could see through everything. Just by standing there, people could feel an invisible pressure. Although she was only wearing a coarse cloth coat, no one dared to underestimate her.

Zhang Ting helped Magistrate Hu up with one hand and smiled slightly.

The accompanying officers and soldiers were puzzled: Which noble family's daughter is this?

Suddenly, a commotion arose nearby. The three villains who had been knocked unconscious and bound woke up, writhing and shouting, "Lord Hu! Lord Hu! Help!"

"We've been knocked unconscious and tied up by these bandits, you must do us justice!"

"Lord Hu, capture them quickly!"

Seeing that they were turning the tables and distorting the truth, Zheng Er scoffed, "Lord Hu, you must punish them impartially." She emphasized the word "impartially," and what should have been a warning turned into a sarcastic remark. Now that Zhang Ting was behind her, she was not afraid of these incompetent officials.

Magistrate Hu nodded to Zheng Er, then smiled broadly and declared his stance to Zhang Ting: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely behead these three villains and display their heads to the public as a warning to others!" With that, he ordered the constables behind him to take them away first.

"Thank you for your trouble, but there are still eight guards at the inn whose remains need to be collected. I would appreciate your assistance."

When Magistrate Hu saw that Zhang Ting no longer addressed her as "Your Excellency," he breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Not at all, it's my duty."

The three people on the ground were dragged away by the constables. When they saw that Magistrate Hu had sold them out, they cursed her repeatedly.

"You corrupt official, you took so much money from us to settle so many things, do you think you can get away with it all..." Before he could finish speaking, his mouth was stuffed with a cloth by the constables, and the other two received the same treatment.

Magistrate Hu turned around and gave the constable a sinister look. Then, he changed his tune and fawned over Zhang Ting, explaining, "Your Majesty, please do not listen to such wicked people's lies and framing. I am an innocent official and have never done anything immoral."

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, and Zhang Ting had no intention of offending a petty person, so she said, "That's only natural."

Others also felt that the thief was maliciously accusing them; how could a county magistrate collude with a villain?

Magistrate Hu smiled and invited Zhang Ting to his home to change her clothes, and also offered to prepare a feast to entertain her.

Zhang Ting said she wanted to go to the inn to pay respects to the eight guards who had died unjustly. Magistrate Hu agreed with her and praised Zhang Ting's virtues to the skies.

Zhang Ting simply smiled faintly and made no response.

Zhang Ting returned to the inn, changed into a clean black brocade robe, put on a fur coat, and went out.

Magistrate Hu was standing guard at the door. When she saw Zhang Ting come out, she hurriedly handed over the jade pendant with both hands, acting more like a gatekeeper's maid than a county official.

Zhang Ting glanced at her indifferently before taking the pendant and hanging it around his waist.

Magistrate Hu then inquired about her lineage within the Zong family and her relationship with Grand Secretary Zong.

Zhang Ting chuckled lightly, seeing through Magistrate Hu's thoughts. She said, "My name is Zhang Ting, and I am not a member of the main family." She didn't mention anything else, and her attitude remained as arrogant as ever.

When Magistrate Hu saw that she denied being a member of the Zong family, but did not deny her relationship with Grand Secretary Zong, he wondered: Could she be the Grand Secretary's beloved disciple?

Looking at Zhang Ting's outstanding appearance and dignified demeanor, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that my guess was correct.

The newly recruited guards found the two servants and coachman hiding in the corner. They were not injured, but were frightened and uneasy.

Zhang Ting arrived at the main hall, where Xu You and the others were already there.

Eight oil lamps were placed on the table in the main hall, and the bodies of eight guards lay on the ground. Their pupils were dilated, their mouths were open, and their limbs were stiff and cold.

Four hours ago, they were laughing and joking, teasing Zhang Ting; now they are just cold corpses.

Zhang Ting's eyes were red, as if she was extremely saddened. She and the other five people poured a bowl of wine on the ground as a form of mourning.

Xu You's pretty face was haggard, her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked extremely tired. She said she would send them back to their families in Lvtian County for a proper burial and give their families a sum of money as compensation.

Zhang Ting patted her shoulder and looked at her with concern: "Sister Xu, I'm so sorry to have troubled you."

Xu You finally couldn't hold back his emotions and burst into tears, leaning on Zhang Ting.

Zhang Ting comforted her, "Go ahead and cry, you'll feel better after you've cried."

Outside the hall, a bright sun slowly rose in the distance, dispelling the darkness. Birds and insects chirped and chattered, and the earth became vibrant again.

Zhang Tingqing counted the valuables and reluctantly gave forty taels to the new guard, refusing the one Xu You had originally intended to give.

Zhang Ting: "This is the silver promised to you brave warriors, and I will hand it over to you today."

Forty taels of silver was indeed a considerable sum; the four of them only earned two or three taels for each escort mission. They thanked Zhang Ting for her generous gift and said they would certainly live up to her expectations.

Zhang Ting talked with them for a while and learned that the woman in the lead was named Li Ruilian, the tall and thin one was named Wang Wu, the one of medium build was named Liu Da, and the short and stout one was naturally Zheng Er.

After everything was settled, Zhang Ting and his party went to the county government office to observe Magistrate Hu's trial of the case.

Magistrate Hu, fearing that the three would implicate her, hastily sentenced them to immediate execution with just a few words.

When the heads fell to the ground, the mouths of the three thugs were still tightly stuffed with thick cloth.

Xu You sighed upon seeing this and secretly lamented to Zhang Ting that Magistrate Hu was too muddleheaded and incompetent. These three people clearly had a history of murder for money, and a further investigation might uncover many wrongful convictions.

Zhang Ting smiled but remained silent.

A note from the author:

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