Chapter 2798 Luoyang County Magistrate
Manbao lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then decided, "Let's go. I'll go pick up An Erniang myself."
Manager Zheng quickly stood up and asked, "Do you want to invite the An family to come along?"
Manbao said "hmm".
The An family is a drug dealer. Their business is not very big, but they are a well-known family in Luoyang City.
Manager Zheng had not had time to look for the other party when he arrived in Luoyang, but now they came to the door. The An family followed them to the county government office without saying a word.
They glanced at the blue cloth carriage following behind, which had the emblem of Prince Gong's Mansion on it. "Is that... Dalang's teacher?"
"Yes," Manager Zheng led them to see Zhou Man.
Manbao got out of the car, greeted them, and without saying much, went straight to the county government office.
Although Prince Gong could not interfere in local political affairs, his fiefdom was in Luozhou after all, and Prince Gong's Mansion was located in Luoyang, so local officials still had to give him some face.
When the yamen runners saw the carriage from Prince Gong's mansion, they immediately sent one person in to inform the county magistrate, while the others went to greet them with a smile.
After going down the high steps, he saw several familiar blue cloth carriages behind the carriage and immediately frowned. Why were they the carriages of the An family and the Zheng family again?
The yamen runners looked around and couldn't help but glance at Zhou Man's carriage.
The Zheng and An families are so powerful that they can actually invite people from Prince Gong’s Mansion?
The driver got off the carriage and put down the stool. Xibing jumped out of the carriage first, glanced at the stunned yamen runners, turned around expressionlessly and lifted the curtain.
The yamen runners thought, could this be one of Prince Gong’s concubines?
Haha, now even Hu Ji dares to interfere in local government affairs?
Just as she was thinking this, a white hand reached out and placed on Xibing's hand. Zhou Man bent over and got out of the car. She raised her head and looked down at the yamen runners, then helped Xibing get out of the car.
She looked up at the gate plaque of Luoyang County Government Office and the eaves of the walls on both sides. It was well-repaired and better than Chang'an County Government Office.
How long has it been since the Chang'an County Government Office was repaired?
Nowadays, people like to have a good reputation, and all the officials below also follow his example. If they can have a reputation for being honest, they will never take the initiative to ruin their reputation.
Therefore, the Chang'an County Government Office has not been repaired for many years.
Because repairs cost money, no one wanted to file a petition to ask for money while in office. When it was Tang Lord's turn as the county magistrate, he even cursed while working, and whispered to Zhou Man, Bai Shan and others: "I won't repair it. Humph, anyway, I don't live in the backyard of the county government office. As long as the office area doesn't leak, it's fine."
If there was a leak, Lord Tang would bring the bailiffs from the county government to the roof to repair it himself. He would even steal the tiles from his own home and would never spend a penny more on it.
I heard that County Magistrate Guo started cursing a few days after moving in, and still refused to repair the Chang'an County Government Office.
In comparison, the Luoyang County Government Office looks much more imposing and newer, and it was probably renovated just two years ago.
Manbao was thinking about some random things in her mind when the manager Zheng and the master of the An family came up and stood behind her.
Luoyang County Magistrate Luo came out with a smile on his face, but when he saw Zhou Man, his smile paused, and when he saw the person standing behind her, the smile disappeared even more.
He didn't know the shopkeeper Zheng, but he knew Mr. An, who had been very annoyed recently. When he saw Mr. Luo, he knew why they came.
Therefore, Zhou Man’s attitude was not very good anymore.
He walked down the steps with a wide-legged step, and glanced at the carriage behind Zhou Man. After confirming that it was the carriage of Prince Gong's Mansion, he frowned and looked at Zhou Man, "Who is this lady?"
Can any Tom, Dick, or any other servant in the palace come to the county government office and scare him?
Manbao only glanced at him. Daji behind him came forward with a name card and said, "This is my master's name card."
A servant needs a name card?
County Magistrate Luo looked at Zhou Man again and felt something was wrong. He reached out to take it, opened it, and his expression changed slightly.
He immediately closed the name card and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Oh, it's Master Zhou. I didn't know you were coming. I'm sorry for not coming to greet you."
Manbao replied, "I have come here hastily to bother Magistrate Luo."
She then revealed a hint of a smile and said, "County Magistrate Luo, do you mind if we talk inside?"
County Magistrate Luo finally reacted and quickly stepped aside and said, "Sir Zhou, please come in."
County Magistrate Luo glanced at the shopkeeper Zheng and Mr. An behind him, retracted his gaze, looked at his trusted yamen runner calmly, and then hurriedly followed Zhou Man.
He invited Zhou Man to the front hall.
Manbao raised his eyebrows slightly. The front hall was where the court was held, and the county magistrate usually met guests in the back hall.
However, Manbao was not picky. When he arrived at the front hall, he looked at County Magistrate Luo with a smile, wanting to see how he sat.
County Magistrate Luo paused. He really wanted to sit in the county magistrate's seat and let Zhou Man sit below him on his left, but under Zhou Man's gaze, he did not dare.
In terms of official rank, Zhou Man was higher than him;
In terms of nobility, Zhou Man is not inferior to him. He is a Jinshi in the two lists, but he is also a compiler in Chongwenguan, and is even more noble than him.
Magistrate Luo turned around with an unwavering smile and ordered, "Bring a few more chairs. Please have a seat, Master An. This is..."
He looked at the shopkeeper Zheng and took the opportunity to change the subject.
Manbao didn't sit down either, just waited for him to make arrangements. Hearing this, he said, "This is Zheng Da, the shopkeeper of Jishitang in the capital, and the father of my unworthy disciple."
County Magistrate Luo’s smile froze.
The shopkeeper Zheng bowed deeply to him in a mournful manner, "Lord Luo."
Magistrate Luo quickly moved aside. Just then, a yamen runner brought a chair over. Magistrate Luo said hastily, "Please take a seat, everyone. Lord Zhou, please take a seat."
He sat down first on the right side, and then Manbao sat down opposite him - on the left side.
The two of them faced each other, and Man Bao got straight to the point. "County Magistrate Luo should have guessed why I'm here."
County Magistrate Luo's heart was boiling with anxiety. He couldn't understand how Zhou Man, a Beijing official, especially one holding the title of imperial physician, could come to Luoyang. However, he remained serious and calm, saying, "Sir Zhou, this is a local government matter in Luoyang. Even if your official rank is higher than ours, you can't force me to show favoritism, right?"
"Of course, I have no intention of interfering in Luoyang's local politics. We should all follow the rules," she said with a slight smile. "Whether my unworthy disciple has truly committed a crime or has been framed, the matter will be decided by the officials in Luoyang. I don't want to interfere with him, but I cannot ignore my disciple's wife."
She said, "The child is newly pregnant and can't stay in jail for too long. Zheng Gu isn't a criminal yet, and the charges against her aren't treasonous. Before she's sentenced, her family won't be affected. That's why I came here to get the child out."
She stood up, bowed deeply to Magistrate Luo, and said, bending at the waist, "Please allow me."
Magistrate Luo's face turned pale and he immediately jumped up to step aside, bowing deeply and saying, "I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it. Your Excellency, I am sorry to trouble you."
He gritted his teeth and said, "Zheng Gu still hasn't explained some things. We suspected that An had hidden the things, so we detained An."
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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