Chapter 186
The magistrate grew increasingly frightened, having no idea why these people were monitoring the princess. Could they be plotting to murder her?
Thinking about it this way, he found it even more suspicious and couldn't help but whisper, "Could he be planning a rebellion?"
It wasn't that the magistrate was exaggerating; after all, it hadn't been long since the Yan brothers' rebellion, so the magistrate felt that such a thing wasn't so far-fetched.
The county magistrate's wife swallowed hard: "Impossible."
The county magistrate was also uncertain and inevitably felt uneasy. After all, no one had expected that the Yan brothers would actually succeed in their rebellion. Compared to the previous dynasty, these two were simply not worth mentioning. When they first rose up, the county magistrate didn't even take them seriously. Who could have imagined that they would actually succeed in the end?
Therefore, the county magistrate felt that the old immortal might also have such a scheme, and that advisor, now that he thought about it, was really too suspicious.
The magistrate thought about it a lot and scared himself half to death. He had no intention of opposing the princess at all; he just wanted to get promoted and make money.
The county magistrate's wife was also filled with anxiety: "The princess told us to wait until tomorrow to see."
The magistrate swallowed hard and said, "How about we wait?"
"I don't think this is a good idea." The magistrate's wife was more clear-headed than the magistrate: "Will the princess still need you by then? Are we supposed to compete with the prefect for credit?"
Upon hearing this, the magistrate also made up his mind and said, "Since you dare to spy on the princess, this is a treasonous act. I will go to see the princess right away."
The magistrate's wife quickly nodded: "Please don't let the princess misunderstand, and don't forget about that Mao woman in the family..."
Although the magistrate was somewhat reluctant, he still said, "Lock her up and keep a close watch on her. Don't let her tip off anyone outside."
The county magistrate's wife readily agreed. After the magistrate left, she immediately ordered Mao to be locked in the woodshed. Looking at Mao's disheveled appearance, she felt a sense of smug satisfaction.
Yan Shujin showed no surprise at the magistrate's arrival, instead acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The magistrate was trembling with fear: "Your Highness, please understand. I really didn't know that the old god, that old scoundrel, would dare to send people to monitor you and even try to harm you. Rest assured, Your Highness, I will absolutely not let that old scoundrel harm you in the slightest."
Surveillance? Murder?
Yan Shujin was a little confused. Did such a thing really happen? Or did it actually happen, but she just hadn't noticed it?
The magistrate spoke with increasing conviction: "I am willing to protect the princess with my life! I am paid by the emperor and I worry about him; I am utterly loyal to His Majesty..."
"Excuse me," Yan Shujin said, finally unable to hold back as she looked at the magistrate. "Does that old hermit have a private army?"
The magistrate was taken aback for a moment and said, "No, but he has dozens of apprentices, both men and women."
Yan Shujin asked again, "Did those people have weapons?"
The magistrate thought for a moment, and was about to say no, but then shook his head: "I don't know."
Yan Shujin nodded: "Then let's make a hypothetical scenario: he has weapons, dozens of men who could harm me, and he can also incite the townspeople, right?"
"Yes, yes," the magistrate said, swallowing hard. "That's right."
Yan Shujin asked, "Then what's your plan?"
The county magistrate looked at Yan Shujin with some confusion.
Yan Shujin sneered and said, "So, besides coming here to pledge your loyalty, you have no other options?"
The magistrate, now understanding the meaning behind Princess Yongfu's words, said, "Why don't you stay at the yamen first, Princess, and wait for the prefect to arrive before we discuss anything further?"
Yan Shujin took a deep breath. She had almost never dealt with officials like county magistrates before. She didn't have such an opportunity before, and later she was surrounded by officials from the capital. This was the first time she had felt so powerless in front of an official: "Do you know the old immortal? Do you know where he is hiding now?"
The magistrate said, "I know the old immortal, but I usually go to the Taoist temple to see him, or he comes to the yamen, and moreover, it is mostly the clerk who contacts him."
Yan Shujin took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down: "So, do you know about the river god sacrifice?"
The county magistrate was extremely nervous: "I...I don't know."
"Why don't you know something that everyone in town knows?" Yan Shujin asked coldly. "Is it that you don't know, or that you dare not say it?"
The county magistrate looked uneasy.
Yan Shujin's voice softened considerably as she said, "Manager Li said that she regretted sending her youngest daughter as a sacrifice and begged me to save her. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known any of this."
Upon hearing this, the magistrate said, "That is true, but I didn't know that. The old god and the old thief told me that it would be enough to use pigs, cattle, and sheep for sacrifice."
At this moment, the county magistrate did not forget to distance himself from the situation.
Yan Shujin seemed to believe her and said, "That's true. You are the county magistrate, how could you possibly agree to such an absurd thing? I suppose you've been deceived. In that case, let's find a way to rescue the two children first. I'll leave this to you. Is that alright?"
"No, no," the magistrate quickly replied. "It's what I should do. Although I was deceived, I also bear responsibility. As the magistrate, I should be responsible for the people of the town."
Yan Shujin smiled and praised the magistrate a few times, then casually said, "This old immortal is quite interesting. Putting aside whether he's real or not, just take the river god sacrifice. When the offerings are presented to the river god, only he knows what he's actually asking for. Manager Li sent his youngest daughter over, so he's somewhat involved. Others are completely uninvolved. Even if the river god really does appear, it might not have anything to do with his wishes."
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