"Erniu, go and take care of the stall now. Don't tell your sister-in-law that your brother is missing, understand? I'm going to the magistrate's office now to find this Zhao Heng!"
Jin Erniu rubbed his clothes, filled with hatred. He wished he could catch that Zhao Heng right now and beat him up.
"Mom, please be careful. Erniu, Erniu will definitely take good care of the stall."
Liang Shuyan inquired along the way and finally arrived at the entrance of the county government office. Two carriages were parked at the entrance, and the plaque above the entrance read: "Dongyang County Magistrate's Office!"
Furong Town and Qingfeng Town are both under the jurisdiction of the Dongyang County Magistrate's Office. The huge county government office was deserted at the gate, with only two carriages in sight.
The gate was tightly shut, and not a single guard could be seen.
Liang Shuyan stepped forward and raised her fist, banging on the door repeatedly, creating a loud noise.
Two heads popped out of the carriage. After glancing at the woman pounding on the door, the two young men exchanged a look: "Whose woman is this? Has she lost her mind? How dare she come and smash the magistrate's door?"
Another young man jumped down from the carriage: "Let's go, let's see what's going on with this woman, what kind of woman she is?"
Then, two young men followed.
The gate creaked open, and a man dressed in a gray robe with a small round hat on his head glanced at the woman with his small, round eyes and said, "Where did this peasant woman come from, daring to cause trouble in the magistrate's mansion? Guards, seize this unruly village woman! The magistrate will reward you!"
The man following behind him widened his eyes and spread his hands: "What's wrong? So there are people at the magistrate's mansion? Then why won't you open the door for us? And you even said we weren't as strong as this auntie?"
"I've already said it, the magistrate has ordered that we cannot receive anyone for the next few days. Are you all illiterate? There's such a big sign outside saying 'Closed to Visitors,' why can't you see it?"
The young man snorted coldly: "Could it be that the magistrate has done something wrong and is afraid that someone will come to cause trouble, so he won't open the door? To be honest, we came to see the magistrate today to ask for an explanation. Why should your son be transferred to another school after committing a crime? And what about Jin Dashan? Jin Dashan was such a good person, and he just disappeared like that. If you don't give me an explanation, don't blame us for continuing to make trouble, and we'll take it all the way to the governor!"
"How dare you! How could you be so rude? Let me tell you, that prestigious academy was funded by the county magistrate. Naturally, the teacher should be considering our young master's interests. How could he be replaced by a student who appeared halfway through his studies? That's absolutely impossible!"
Liang Shuyan didn't want to listen to the advisor's rambling anymore, so she blurted out, "Zhao Heng, you get out here right now!"
Zhao Heng, the only son of the county magistrate, is the magistrate's territory in Dongyang County. No one dares to stop Zhao Heng from doing what he wants. Who would dare to call this magistrate's son by his name?
"You, you woman, do you have a death wish? How dare you address our young master by his name?"
Hearing the commotion, a man emerged from the hall. He was dressed in the official robes of a county magistrate, about 1.6 meters tall, with a dark face, and accompanied by two constables.
"How dare you, you audacious woman, slander our young master's name like this! Do you have any desire to live? Guards, seize this woman!"
Liang Shuyan snorted coldly: "What, is the magistrate going to bully the weak with numbers? Now my son has been harmed by your son, resulting in my son disappearing without a trace. I want to ask the magistrate, are you breaking the law knowingly? You are the magistrate, yet your own son is defying the law. Who is tired of living? You all tell me."
No one has ever dared to challenge the magistrate like this before. Now, a peasant woman has brazenly barged into the county government office and openly challenged the magistrate. Who is this woman who is so fearless?
"Who told you that your son was harmed by my son? Do you have any witnesses?"
Liang Shuyan burst into laughter: "Your Excellency, you really know how to talk! Don't you see these two students in front of you? They are my witnesses. It was Zhao Heng who kidnapped our Jin Dashan!"
“That’s right. We saw with our own eyes that Zhao Heng kidnapped Jin Dashan, claiming that the giant painting was his work. He even threatened the teacher with a dagger, demanding that the teacher admit that Zhao Heng was his prized disciple. Otherwise, the teacher would suffer the same fate as Jin Dashan. We just don’t understand. Is this Shengming Academy the county magistrate’s private school? It’s clearly Jin Dashan’s painting, yet everyone in Dongyang County is saying that Zhao Heng made it. Isn’t that like seizing someone else’s work and trying to silence them?”
The crowd began to clamor, and an older man said, "Your Honor, we all believe this. Your son has been acting as an accomplice to evil in Dongyang County, wronging countless innocent people, dining and dashing, killing people, threatening shop owners to close down, and even raping women. How could this be the behavior of a county magistrate's son?"
"Exactly! Now they've even taken over other students' paintings. It's truly shameful!"
"Your Honor, we beg you to give us, the common people, an explanation! Zhao Heng is truly a scoundrel! How could such a talented man just vanish like that? Does this Dongyang County belong to Zhao Heng and Your Honor?"
Some people in the crowd had already started throwing eggs and rotten vegetable leaves at the magistrate's residence, shouting and cursing incessantly.
Liang Shuyan knew that in this situation, she could only rely on the help of the people. Suddenly, she knelt down on the ground: "Fellow villagers, I am from Qingfeng Town. My son, Jin Dashan, has loved to draw since he was a child. Because he drew on steamed buns, I decided to take him to find a good teacher. So, we introduced Dashan to the teacher while selling cold noodles, and my son passed the teacher's test. Who knew that this Zhao Heng would come out and threaten me, saying that anyone who opposes him will have a bad end. I never thought that it would really happen, and my son is gone. I am just a woman, what can I do now? The county magistrate is protecting his son like this. I am just a peasant woman, please be my witness. Today, no matter what, I must see my son, or I will kill myself in the county government. At that time, please be my witness, even if it costs me my life, I will get rid of this great scourge for you!"
Upon hearing this, the county magistrate panicked: "Don't listen to this woman's nonsense, my son has never studied at Shengming Academy!"
“You’re talking nonsense. We can all testify. Zhao Heng, the magistrate’s son, and Jin Dashan were both in the same school. We can testify to what you said!”
"Dad, what's all this noise about so early in the morning? Can't I get some sleep?"
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