"Stop it, all of you! Oh dear, these young ladies and wives seem to be having a lot of fun. They still haven't paid the rent they owe me, and they're still in the mood to dance the waist drum?" The leader, a fat man dressed in fine clothes, had a fierce expression. Behind him followed a group of burly men of similar height and build.
The young men who had been dancing the waist drum immediately helped his injured companion up. "Why did you hit him?"
Without saying a word, the fat man swaggered forward and slapped one of the men across the face. "So what if I hit you? So what if I hit you?" He even hit the two accomplices who were helping him up.
Then, with a menacing look, he pointed at the women and young men present. "I'm being lenient with you. You owe me years' worth of rent and still haven't paid it back. And you dare to dance the waist drum here? Brothers, charge into the Guo family's granary! Take back all the rice, don't leave them a single grain!"
"Yes!" The group of burly men behind him were like wolves poised to pounce. Hearing the fat man's command, they prepared to charge straight into the barn.
The kind old man who had just been behaving himself immediately stepped forward and pleaded with the fat man. "No, please, please give us some more time. This is our only harvest in the last three years. If you take it away, how will I survive?" The old man said, tears streaming down his face.
The fat man didn't care about anything else and without saying a word, he threw a punch, knocking the old man to the ground.
The fat man even spat on the ground. "You old geezer, grab it!"
As if receiving a command, the group of burly men charged forward. The women held their children tightly, fearing they might be harmed. The young men who had just been dancing the waist drums naturally couldn't let them run rampant, so they stepped forward to block the barn.
Seeing what had just happened, the old man, Anke, and Xiaoyanzi's fists were clenched. It was utterly heinous. No matter what, they shouldn't have knocked an elderly man to the ground.
Unable to stand it any longer, the master stepped forward and said, "How dare you! Why are you hitting people as soon as you arrive?" Upon hearing the master's words, Yongqi and the others quickly returned to the main force.
The fat man sized them up with his tiny, beady eyes, then coldly snorted. "Hmph, you're obviously outsiders. Mind your own business. Our grudges and disputes are none of your concern. You'd better keep an eye on your pretty companion." With that, he flicked his sleeve and went back inside.
"Master, things happened so suddenly, I haven't found out anything yet." Fu Heng frowned as he looked at the scene before him. But not finding out anything made him feel guilty for his dereliction of duty. "Master, perhaps I could go and inquire some more."
The master couldn't possibly make things difficult for Fuheng, especially since the incident happened so suddenly. Besides, how could he possibly pin the blame entirely on Fuheng? Fu Lun and Lord Li were also with them!
The master gently tapped Fuheng's shoulder with his folding fan and said earnestly, "Fuheng, go and find out how the locals handle these things since we are outsiders."
"Yes," Fu Heng said, bowing slightly before turning and leaving.
The group of burly men had already stormed into the Guo family's granary. They were even beating the young men who were clinging to the grain sacks to protect the grain. They were pushing and shoving, jostling and grabbing as they moved the grain.
Sure enough, the loyal Little Swallow was the first to stand it up. "People are celebrating their harvest here. You're causing trouble, stealing rice, and hitting people. You're clearly no good. Put down that rice!"
Why would the burly man carrying the grain listen to her? The chubby boy slowly walked up to her. "What? You want to stand up for him? He can't pay back the rent he owes me, so he should pay it off with this grain."
The old man grabbed the fat man's sleeve again, trying to stop him from moving the food. "We've already paid you back the rent we owed you for the past three years with sweet potatoes and peanuts. You can't do this, you can't do this!" The old man's voice was getting hoarse, but he still hoped they would open their eyes and have a conscience.
But the fat man, having been stopped time and again, finally snapped and punched the old man again. "You old bastard, you owe me rent. You even called me a robber. Today, not only are you stealing my grain, but you also deserve a beating!" With that, the fat man started punching and kicking the old man again.
The master could no longer stand it and stepped forward to righteously rebuke them. "How can they beat and kick the elderly like that? Yongqi, Ertai, go and teach them a lesson. Even if they are short of grain, they shouldn't act like this. They certainly shouldn't be so domineering."
Yongqiertai had long been unable to contain himself, and if it weren't for the master stopping them, they would have already stepped forward. Now, hearing the master's words, it was as if they had received an order; they immediately used their lightness skills to leap up, grab a burly man, and deliver a punch.
The two worked together very well. Little Swallow, watching from the sidelines, was still envious and shouted, "Four Guards, let's attack together!"
Upon hearing this, the master glanced at Xiao Yanzi. But this wasn't the time to address her by name. An Ke, on the other hand, gave Xiao Yanzi a cool look, wondering if she was truly confused or just pretending. She knew perfectly well that the Four Guards had already left; what Four Guards were there to speak of?
Hearing this, Benjamin and Erkang exchanged a glance and immediately jumped forward. Little Swallow also rushed up and started beating up a burly man. Anke and Qing'er quickly helped the old man who had collapsed on the ground to his feet.
Anke glanced at the old man's injuries and then hurriedly instructed Xingxing, who was standing beside her, "Go to the carriage and get the liniment for sprains and bruises from my medicine box."
Xingxing wasn't an unreasonable person. Although the medicine was prepared for the princess, the old woman was already so badly injured, and the princess had personally given the instructions. Xingxing quickly walked towards the carriage. A short while later, Xingxing returned with the medicine for bruises and sprains.
Anke even took out a handkerchief to brush the dirt off the old man's clothes. She then carefully helped him to a seat and gently reassured him, "Don't worry, with them here, not a single bag of your grain will be stolen. Just sit here peacefully and check yourself to see if you're injured anywhere. If you feel anything is wrong, we have a doctor with us; my family's doctor can take a look at you too."
The old man sat on a bench with his head down, obscuring his expression, but glistening tears slid down his weathered face. His voice was hoarse as he said, "Thank you so much, thank you all. I'm fine, no need to trouble your doctor."
Anke felt a pang of pain in her heart as she watched the scene unfold before her, and quickly wiped away the tears from the old man's eyes with a handkerchief. "It's alright, we can't let such evil people run rampant."
After speaking, the old man looked at the situation on the threshing floor and said worriedly, "Be careful!"
Ziwei stood to the side, watching Xiaoyanzi's fight with concern. "Xiaoyanzi, be careful!"
They were playing with fierce passion. They already disapproved of the gang bullying, especially of an elderly man. Having finally gained the master's approval to teach them a lesson, they naturally unleashed all their power on them. In no time, the situation on the field had reversed.
A group of burly men were beaten black and blue. Benjamin grabbed the fat man by the collar and angrily punched him. "You've ruined what should have been a good harvest celebration!"
The fat man rubbed his bruised right cheek and screamed, "You damn foreign devil, you dare hit me? You're asking for it!" With that, he charged at Benjamin like a cannonball.
How could such a fat man be a match for Benjamin? He was grabbed by the collar and thrown away. Not satisfied with this, Benjamin went over and kicked him several more times, the fat man crying out in pain. A group of skilled men and women playing waist drums surrounded them.
However, at this moment, a group of soldiers, led by an official, appeared and shouted for them to stop. The young men and women who were surrounding them immediately dispersed upon seeing the soldiers.
The fat man covered his face, utterly incredulous. He told them to wait while backing away until he bumped into the official behind him. Then, he excitedly sprawled on the ground like a toad. "Brother, why did you take so long? Why did you take so long? Look what they did to me! If you'd been any later, you wouldn't have seen your brother anymore! They're ruthless!" Then, feeling like he'd found a powerful backer, he stood up and proudly addressed the crowd, "You just wait! My brother is the county magistrate!"
The official, perhaps having only one younger brother, looked at the injury on his face with pity. "You bunch of unruly people! How dare you cause trouble on my territory! Guards, seize them all!"
The fat man's eyes darted around, then he pointed at An Ke and his group with resentment. "Brother, and them too, they're the ones who stood up for these troublemakers."
The official turned his head and stared intently at An Ke and his group. He scrutinized them closely and concluded that their clothing and appearance did not suggest they were locals.
"Hehe, you didn't expect that, did you? My brother is the county magistrate." The fat man came out, rubbing his swollen right cheek, looking smug. "If you don't want to suffer, then give me these two beautiful young ladies as concubines. I'll let bygones be bygones." After saying that, he leered at An Ke and Qing'er.
Ertai was the first to lose his temper. He didn't care what others said about him, but he just couldn't stand people being so disrespectful to the princess in front of him, so he threw a punch. It landed symmetrically on Ertai's face, and his left cheek was swollen from the punch.
The fat guy, who seemed to have a short memory, covered his swollen left cheek and went crying to his brother for protection. "Brother, you teach them a lesson, give them a good talking to."
Zhao Hui glanced at the master's expression, and the master silently nodded. Zhao Hui walked up to the county magistrate with her hands behind her back. "You are the county magistrate here. Do not be disrespectful. My master is here."
Upon seeing the token in Zhao Hui's hand, the county magistrate's legs went weak and he immediately knelt down. "Lord Zhao, your humble servant Lu Bing pays his respects to Lord Zhao."
The fat guy, used to swaggering around, felt his brother was a bit disappointing seeing him like this. "Brother!"
If Lu Bing had no sense of propriety, how could he have ended up in the position of county magistrate? He immediately pulled his brother down to kneel down as well.
The master strolled leisurely to the two of them. "So you're Lu Bing. It seems you should give me a proper report."
Just then, Fu Heng arrived with another group of men. "Master, Governor Li has arrived."
The leader immediately knelt down, saying, "Your subject Li Laifu kowtows to Your Majesty. I was unaware of Your Majesty's arrival; I deserve to die a thousand deaths."
Upon hearing this, An Ke tightly closed her eyes. No wonder the White Lotus Sect knew the Emperor's whereabouts. They've been constantly revealing their identities along the way; it would be strange if they didn't know.
"Lord Li, you've come at just the right time. If I didn't leave my home, I wouldn't know how many people are suffering." The old man waved his fan, his face even more dignified.
The old man, who had been sitting quietly in his chair, immediately came over excitedly. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is on a private visit! Your Majesty is on a private visit!" Then, he slapped his thighs and knelt down excitedly.
Upon seeing this, the surrounding people immediately knelt down. "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Seeing this, An immediately helped the old man up. The old man already had a leg injury, and kneeling on such a gravel path would only cause him more pain. An wanted to prevent further injury.
Then the master resumed his career of judging cases. Once again, he sat at the head of the table, listening to their defenses.
"Your Majesty, you must save Plum Blossom Formation! This Magistrate Lu, relying on his position, has unjustly accused the original landlord of rebellion, causing his entire family to commit suicide. He has also seized their land and is forcing us to pay taxes. In the past few years, we had poor harvests, and he forced us to pay off all our debts. We finally had a bumper harvest this year, and now he's robbing us of our grain. Your Majesty, we common people cannot survive! Your Majesty, please do justice for us!"
Hearing the old man's tearful words, Anke also shed tears. She knew life here was hard, but she never imagined it was this bad.
The magistrate was furious and shouted, "Lu Bing, as a local official, you not only do not love your hometown and its people, but you have also wrongfully caused the deaths of civilians and colluded with your brother to extort and plunder, oppressing the villagers. If we don't take your head, we will not be able to win people's hearts. I'll leave Lord Li to you. Put them all in jail and investigate the wrongful convictions and murders they have handled over the years. If the evidence is conclusive, confiscate their property and execute them."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Guards, take them all away and throw them in jail." Lord Li waved his hand, and men came forward to escort them away. Before taking them away, he also took off the official hats from Lu Bing's head.
Lu Bing still had the nerve to plead his case, "Your Majesty, I'm innocent! Your Majesty, spare my life!" But the master didn't want to see these scoundrels at all, and simply waved his hand to take them away.
The people of Meihua Town felt they had finally gotten their revenge, and it was incredibly satisfying.
The lord had already revealed his identity and didn't intend to linger. He even had the villagers continue celebrating the harvest with waist drums.
After the villagers' attempts to persuade them to stay failed, they could only shout from behind, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Princess, the Prince, and the Princess!"
Little Swallow looked at the waist drum she was wearing and asked them, "Could you sell us your waist drums?"
Having just helped them deal with the bullies, the villagers had no objections. A young man approached Xiao Yanzi with two clean sets of clothes in his hands. "No money needed, these two sets are free for the princess."
Little Swallow happily accepted it and politely thanked the person.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the villagers of Meihua Town, it gradually disappeared into the distance.
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