"Mother, what do you think the magistrate really means?"

Even after the magistrate uttered those chilling words to them, he remained very polite to them, even warmly so.

They had people prepare the finest meals and the best guest rooms for them.

But Sam-soon could never put her mind at ease.

He stood at the window, quietly glancing around to make sure no government officials were eavesdropping before lowering his voice and cautiously continuing to speak.

"Mother, do you think the magistrate wants to kill our whole family?"

Wan Shu's expression wasn't good either, but she wasn't as worried or afraid as San Shun.

She patted San-shun on the shoulder and comforted him gently, "Don't worry, it won't happen. The magistrate is just a magistrate after all. His official position is not high enough to allow him to kill people at will. He just wanted to scare us."

Upon hearing this, Sam-soon breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt puzzled: "Why did he scare us?"

Wan Shu smiled slightly: "They just want to take credit for this, but they're worried about taking responsibility, so they're giving us a warning to be careful."

San Shun sighed, "The county magistrate usually seems like someone who cares about the country and its people, but I never imagined he was this kind of person..."

To be honest, Wan Shu didn't expect this either.

However, she did not expect the county magistrate to be such a person in private.

There's a saying that goes, "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish."

Moreover, as the magistrate of Sishui County, he was always confined to a poor little county town, and there were always reasons why he couldn't be promoted.

What she didn't expect was that the magistrate would be so stupid as to not only expose his true colors in front of her, but also threaten them.

Although they were just poor people, even if they were threatened, they couldn't do anything to the county magistrate.

But she also has the system shop at her disposal; she can buy any kind of cutting-edge technology and that would be enough to send the county magistrate to have a good drink.

Unfortunately, she's in a hurry to use the county magistrate's connections to spread the word about allicin, so she'll have to hold off for now.

She would never let that stupid magistrate get away with threatening to let his family live!

Wan Shu suppressed the anger in her heart and continued to comfort her gently.

"You can know a person's face but not their heart. We'll just be more careful next time. Besides, someone like him will definitely get his comeuppance."

On the other side of the magistrate's residence.

The magistrate was happily being served by his concubine while she washed his feet, and he was also enjoying a pork knuckle.

The clerk standing to the side couldn't help but feel a headache coming on when he saw him so leisurely.

"My goodness, how can you still have the appetite to eat meat?! Is this really settled so hastily?"

County Magistrate: "Smack... What else... Smack... I'll take Wan Shu to the prefectural city to find the prefect first thing tomorrow morning."

The clerk looked distressed: "If the allicin that Wan Shu claims can really cure the plague, that would be fine, after all, it would indeed be a great achievement. But what if Wan Shu is just bragging, and when we go there we find that she can't cure the disease, what will we do if the prefect blames us!"

"Smack... Don't worry, I already investigated it."

The magistrate, clutching his belly, was extremely pleased with himself.

“Recently, I sent people to count the number of people who died in each village. At least twenty people died in the other villages, but only one person died in Qingshui Village.”

"I sensed something was amiss, so I sent people to investigate secretly. They discovered it was all Wan Shu's doing. She stopped the villagers from eating the dead pig's meat and used a miraculous medicine to cure other infected villagers."

"Actually, even if she hadn't come today, I would have gone to find her directly anyway. For a great achievement like this that could lead to a promotion, she has to cooperate with me to go see the prefect, whether she wants to or not!"

The clerk suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. No wonder you believed her so readily, Magistrate. But why did you change your mind in the end..."

The magistrate became even more smug: "How else can I demonstrate my authority and status as magistrate?"

“When Wan Shu found the potatoes, I reported it to the Emperor, which alarmed him. I originally thought I could get a promotion because of this, but who knew…”

"After the prefect found out about this, he actually said that it was mainly Wan Shu's credit, and only gave me some insignificant little things as a reward before sending me away, without mentioning anything about promotion!"

The magistrate gritted his teeth and was extremely dissatisfied whenever the matter was mentioned.

"No matter how much credit Wan Shu has for this, she's just an ignorant village woman. If it weren't for me, who would know the uses of potatoes!"

"This time, taking Wan Shu directly to the prefect will surely make him appreciate her even more. What if she loses her sense of place and steals my credit because of this!"

"I must make Wan Shu realize her true identity before I head to the prefectural city! No matter how powerful she is, she can only be below me!"

The clerk said with admiration, "Is that so? Your Excellency is truly intelligent and resourceful, considering everything thoroughly. I believe you will definitely be promoted this time!"

"Thank you for your kind words." The magistrate continued to happily gnaw on the pork knuckle, making smacking sounds that grew louder with each bite.

What a pig!

The clerk was disgusted by what he heard, but he showed no sign of it. He simply seized the opportunity, found an excuse, and left the magistrate's residence for Dongcheng Academy.

Fifteen minutes later.

At this point, the magistrate had eaten and drunk his fill, and his feet were almost soaked. He was about to take his concubine to bed.

Suddenly, the voice of a servant came from outside the door.

"Your Honor, someone is looking for you."

The magistrate exclaimed, "Who is it! Such a spoilsport! Doesn't the slightest bit of manners know anything!"

Attendant: "He is the new headmaster of Dongcheng Academy, Young Master Meng Zhenshou."

The magistrate originally didn't intend to pay attention, but upon hearing Meng Zhenshou's name, he stopped taking off his pants.

Meng Zhenshou, as the new headmaster of Dongcheng Academy, is not Meng Xiuru's biological son, but he is Meng Xiuru's blood relative and a core member of the Meng family.

The prefect was in a good position, with considerable backing, and could ignore Meng Zhenshou. But a mere county magistrate like him couldn't.

Moreover, he still wanted to climb the social ladder by relying on Meng Zhenshou, and now that Meng Zhenshou was willing to come to him, it was more like fulfilling his wish.

The magistrate quickly put on his trousers and went out to greet them with a fawning expression.

"Young Master Meng, oh no, I should now call you Headmaster Meng, may I ask what brings you here so late?"

Looking at the county magistrate's fat appearance, he was as fat as a pig.

A hint of disgust flashed in Meng Zhenshou's eyes, but he maintained a composed demeanor with a beaming smile.

“I believe you are an honest man, magistrate, and I am an open and honest man, so I won’t keep you in suspense any longer.”

"I came to see you to discuss how to make Wan Shu's miraculous medicine ours."