"But what? Magistrate Jiang, please speak your mind."
"Alright! Then I'll get straight to the point."
"So many people suddenly appeared in Changping Village, but the government did not keep a record of it. According to the laws of Nanning, these people came with Master Chen."
"This official has the authority to bring them to the county government office, and after questioning them and registering their identities, I will release them."
Su Luo: "Magistrate Jiang, there's no need for that. They are also considered members of my Chen family, and they are definitely not bad people."
Chen Ping'an and the village chief also testified for Nangong Chiyu. Although they didn't know these people, they risked their lives to help their village tonight.
Together they dealt with the bandits carrying knives. Without them, the yamen runners and soldiers brought by the county magistrate alone might not have been able to subdue so many bandits.
Even though they are outsiders, they came with Huai Xu. The villagers have known Huai Xu's character since they were young and trust him.
“Sir, we can testify that they have been living in the Chen residence since they came here. Although they occasionally do some farm work, they are definitely not bad people.”
The villagers are always honest and kind. They couldn't just let the magistrate take the person away right after someone had helped them.
"I have no choice. If we are not careful, we will encounter situations like the bandits tonight. This method was suggested by Master Chen himself. I hope you will cooperate with me."
Magistrate Jiang's words silenced the villagers. What he said made sense, but Huai Xu was someone the villagers trusted.
He would never bring bad people into the village, especially since these people were his subordinates. Although Huai Xu didn't explain anything to the villagers, everyone guessed that he was doing quite well in the army.
"Magistrate Jiang, the bandits have been captured tonight, and the most important matter has been accomplished. Everyone is tired, so let's disperse."
Su Luo was helping him. What kind of status did Nangong Chiyu have? Even if Magistrate Jiang did his job, he couldn't do anything to him, or he would regret it.
“Deputy Minister of Agriculture, this is the area under my jurisdiction. It was due to my negligence that bandits were able to take advantage of the situation and break in.”
Although the Deputy Minister of Agriculture holds a higher rank than me, he is not actually in charge of Yongle County. Since these people reside in the Chen residence, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture should be even more careful to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
"I have given you good advice; Lord Jiang, do not regret it."
Su Luo fell silent, while the village chief and Chen Ping'an sighed.
"Yan Chuan's mother, how could you let Huai Xu go with Magistrate Jiang in the middle of the night? Please help Huai Xu!"
They all knew that Su Luo was the Deputy Minister of Agriculture. Even if Magistrate Jiang insisted on taking Huai Xu away, Su Luo could say a few more words and get everyone to go back to sleep. They could report to the county government the next day.
Su Luo glanced at Nangong Chiyu and said to the village chief and Chen Ping'an, "It's good that he took her away; I'll have some peace and quiet now."
"Ugh...you two are really something..."
Nangong Chiyu just chuckled. His wife was probably kicking him out. He wasn't going to suffer in the county government office. He had finally managed to sneak into his wife's room.
"Village chief, uncle, don't worry about me. Everyone, if you're tired, go back home."
Nangong Chiyu greeted everyone, but he didn't greet Magistrate Jiang. He was good at judging people; Magistrate Jiang was respectful to him on the surface, but there was always a hint of disdain in his eyes.
As a scholar, what I despise most is his behavior of living off a woman.
"Master Chen, please come with me. And these thirty men of unknown origin... brothers..."
According to Magistrate Jiang, the matter was merely to question them about their origins, and could be considered a minor or major issue. However, insisting on sending people in the middle of the night seemed to be putting others in a difficult position.
Seeing that the thirty Red Feather Army soldiers remained unmoved, Magistrate Guan Wei of Jiang County felt humiliated.
A gigolo repeatedly tried to teach him how to do things, but he only did it on purpose to make things difficult for him. Yet, the gigolo actually rebelled against him. In Yongle County, even Su Luo didn't want to make enemies with him.
Chen Huaixu is nothing special. What makes him so special? Just because he's a pretty boy and he's Su Luo's husband.
He really doesn't know how to read Su Luo's mind. If things continue like this, Su Luo will have to clean up countless messes for him in the future.
"Chen Huaixu, don't force me to take action. Men, take them away."
After issuing the order, he added, "I know you are all quite skilled, but if you make a move, it will be considered assaulting an official, which is a serious crime. You'd better not do it."
Su Luo sneered. It is said that two tigers cannot share one mountain. With her, the deputy minister of agriculture, here, Magistrate Jiang, this local tyrant, will have to restrain himself.
From a psychological perspective, he probably wouldn't like someone with a higher official rank than himself watching him act.
Now she wanted to make things difficult for Nangong Chiyu, but she was afraid of being beaten. Su Luo shook her head at his behavior.
Yu Feipeng and others were sent to personally escort Nangong Chiyu.
Yu Feipeng didn't know what the adults were thinking. If it weren't for these people, how could they have caught the bandits so quickly? Why did the adults have to act like they were crossing the river and burning the bridge right away?
"Mr. Chen, please..."
A Red Feather soldier raised his sword to block Yu Feipeng, telling him not to get close to their prince.
Nangong Chiyu pushed the sword away from his hand, stepped over Yu Feipeng, and addressed Magistrate Jiang.
"Lord Jiang is just trying to find out our identities. My identity is quite obvious. The only people you'll make things difficult for are the people I brought with me."
Since they came home with me, I am responsible for their food, lodging, and transportation. If you want to check their identities, that's fine; their identities aren't anything shameful.
But there's no need to go to the county government office in the middle of the night, lest Magistrate Jiang get tired. If you're going to investigate, do it here. After you're done, everyone can go back to sleep.
Magistrate Jiang was dismissive. He led them back to the county office, and of course he went to sleep. He simply told these people to wait there for him to interrogate them the next day, or to have Master Ma record it.
Before Magistrate Jiang could speak again, Nangong Chiyu gave him a look, and the thirty Chiyu soldiers understood immediately. The first of them took out the Chiyu Army token and presented it to Magistrate Jiang.
"I am Akabane Jun, Chang Ziqi..."
Another one followed the same pattern: "Li Tiancheng of the Red Feather Army..."
"Di Ling of the Crimson Feather Army..."
When the first person announced that they were from the Red Feather Army, Magistrate Jiang was dumbfounded.
Who is the Red Feather Army? They are the most powerful army in the entire Nanning. Even if he has never seen them, he has heard of them.
And the tokens they took out were exactly the same as the Red Feather Army's military orders shown in the book, weren't they?
I dare ask you, in the entire Nanning Kingdom, who would dare to counterfeit this token? That would be a capital offense.
Magistrate Jiang stood there, mouth agape, completely dumbfounded.
As the thirty Red Feather Army soldiers presented their tokens and announced their names one by one, his forehead was covered in sweat.
"Lord Jiang, these are their identities. Now that you know, you don't need to go to the county government office anymore."
Magistrate Jiang wanted to turn his head to look at Nangong Chiyu, but his neck felt like it was filled with lead and wouldn't obey him at all.
The only thing he can move is his eyeballs.
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