Chapter 39: Taking credit
"You're welcome, my lord. It's not easy for you to come here from such a long distance. The inn for your rest is ready. Please come down the mountain with me..."
The fat county magistrate withdrew his hand in embarrassment, turned around and scolded the yamen runners he brought with him.
"What are you all standing there for? Didn't you see the black bear the officer captured? Help carry it away! This is a great achievement!"
This is not the first time that reports have surfaced of blind bears in the local mountains injuring people. The county government has posted numerous notices offering rewards, and many hunters have indeed responded to the call with large sums of money, but they have all been defeated after the fight.
I didn't expect that this accidental mistake could be solved by the officials. It can be regarded as saving the county government some money...
After hearing the fat county magistrate's call, a group of yamen runners walked over to Cheng Weiyao with admiration, intending to lift the black bear up. After all, the blind bear was notoriously ferocious. As expected, he was an official from the capital, and his strength was overwhelming...
Cheng Weiyao's brows were furrowed so tightly that they could pinch a fly to death. This time, the officials did not take the initiative to grab the credit, but these yamen runners were quite amusing. They directly put the credit on the officials without even figuring out the whole thing.
"Young lady, what are you doing standing here? You're in the way. Go away..."
"What are you doing? This is the black bear my brother and sister-in-law shot. Are you trying to rob me?"
Wen Liyu's voice startled the chattering fat county magistrate. He stopped complimenting her and squinted his eyes at her beautiful face and figure.
"Sir, what is the origin of this family? They are so loud and noisy. Do you need my help to teach them a lesson?"
There are already unexpected twists and turns on the road of exile. It is inevitable that people will be killed, injured, or missing if they encounter bears. This is especially true for such a delicate young lady, who is more likely to get into trouble.
"The Prince of Qingping's Mansion is considered a royal family, right? The one who just spoke was Princess Mingcheng."
Wang Gang did not hide anything and gave a brief introduction to the Prince of Qingping's Mansion. He originally thought that the county magistrate of such a small place would rush up to curry favor with him, but he didn't expect the other party to snort coldly.
"What I hate most is these royal relatives. They really think they're the emperor and order people around... Now they're just prisoners, aren't they? Why are they so arrogant?"
The fat county magistrate's voice was loud, and everyone who was shouting could hear it clearly. Wen Liyu was so angry that her body was shaking. She never thought that a small county magistrate could climb over her head and act so arrogantly! It was really like a tiger in plain land being bullied by a dog!
"What are you looking at? I think you're dissatisfied. You're disrespecting me, speaking disrespectfully, and committing treason. If I see you do this in court, I'll punish you with twenty lashes of the cane!"
The fat county magistrate glared back at Wen Liyu's provocative gaze with a haughty air. "Golden branches and jade leaves?" He fell on the stool, and when the board hit him, he still cried out in pain.
"I just heard from the yamen runners that there's a bounty on this black bear. My husband and I hunted this black bear, so the county yamen won't deny its debt, right?"
Cheng Weiyao pulled Wen Liyu's sleeve, so she stood back to avoid confronting the fat county magistrate. The sister-in-law was young and impatient, so there was no way she could outplay the officials.
"Debt-debtor? Am I that kind of person? But you said that this blind bear was hunted by you and Prince Qingping. I think that's false. What can a woman like you do? Prince Qingping is only one man. How could he win..."
The fat county magistrate raised his eyebrows slightly, glanced at Wen Chengyun who was resting with his eyes closed, and then looked at Cheng Weiyao with her thin arms and legs, indicating that he couldn't believe it at all. Women's mouths are deceiving.
Cheng Weiyao's eyes fell on Wang Gang, but Wang Gang looked away, looking as if it had nothing to do with him and as if he was not concerned at all. It was obvious that he had no intention of explaining anything.
She stepped forward and drew out the sword from Wang Gang's waist. Because the sword was to be put back into the scabbard, it had been simply wiped clean to remove any blood stains, but a faint smell of blood could still be smelled.
"How dare you! I've been speaking to you in a friendly way, and you're trying to draw your sword!"
The fat county magistrate was frightened by Cheng Weiyao's behavior and took a step back. He nimbly hid behind the yamen runner and shouted loudly.
Cheng Weiyao was amused by the fat county magistrate. This man was truly both bold and timid. She held out her long sword horizontally and said with a smile, "Sir County Magistrate, my husband borrowed this sword to kill the black bear. If you don't believe me, you can smell it..."
"Anyone can wield this knife, but why is it that Prince Qingping can use it? I see that the official is quite burly, and he must be very powerful when wielding this knife..."
The long sword gleamed coldly, and the fat county magistrate felt his legs go weak. He didn't dare to go forward and smell the blood. He just pretended to be calm and found fault with it.
Li Kui was suddenly called out and was a little confused. He subconsciously glanced in Wang Gang's direction, but Wang Gang closed his eyes and turned a deaf ear to what was happening outside.
"Brother, are you not going to care?" Li Kui blinked and made up his mind. If he could take the credit for Prince Qingping's achievements, he would do it. Moreover, he heard there was a reward.
“No, no…”
He smiled innocently, looking a little embarrassed.
Cheng Weiyao watched the two men singing the same tune without wavering, and a plan came to her mind. Since Li Kui jumped out to steal the credit, she might as well explain how she subdued the black bear...
Although Li Kui did not participate in person, he had a general idea of what was happening from a distance. His description was as vivid as if it were a real thing. At the critical moment, Cheng Weiyao asked appropriate questions.
"So what's the technique for subduing this black bear? Why did the black bear fall down so quickly?"
"This...subduing the blind bear mainly depends on luck..."
This question stumped Li Kui. He just hid and watched from a distance. When he came to his senses, the black bear had already fallen down. He really didn't know the technique.
"That's bad! I think this blind bear is a female. I think her mate is nearby. Officer, why not strike now to avoid a surprise attack from a male bear..."
Cheng Weiyao frowned and pretended to be distressed, but in fact she was lying to scare him.
"What! Prince Qingping, why are you still sleeping? Hurry up and solve this problem... I mean, give me a hand..."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Li Kui knew he had been fooled. He covered his mouth with his hands and looked regretful. How could he speak so quickly!
The fat county magistrate knew that Cheng Weiyao was telling the truth when Li Kui stuttered. After all, it was suspicious that the person who had just been talking big suddenly became stuck.
"Alright, alright, it's a good thing we got rid of the black bear. If we keep talking, it'll be dark soon. The mountain road is difficult to travel on, so we should all get down the mountain as soon as possible!"
The fat county magistrate coughed lightly, and his expressions were obviously much better in front of everyone in the Qingping Palace. Although he lost some face, fortunately he did not cause any trouble and instead acted as a peacemaker.
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