As Magistrate Lu finished speaking.
All the people present cheered and jumped for joy.
This shows how many people have been harmed by gambling dens.
"Your Excellency, you are truly wise!"
"Thank you, Your Honor—"
"......"
The crowd of people kneeling inside and outside the hall, expressing their gratitude, made Magistrate Lu feel somewhat uncomfortable.
He ordered the gambling dens out of Jiashu County against his will, as he was just a minor county magistrate and might be held accountable if the governor of Jiangnan came to inspect the area.
But he wasn't afraid.
Gambling dens are harmful things and have no reason to exist.
Even the best person, once addicted to gambling, is not far from becoming a useless person.
At worst, he'll just be a nobody official for the rest of his life.
It's okay if I don't get promoted.
Magistrate Lu was thinking to himself.
October 9th.
The governor of Jiangnan sent a messenger on horseback with a letter.
The letter stated that Magistrate Lu was given full authority to deal with Shen Jiading and his associates.
Ask and behead within three days.
No one should be left alive.
"Cunshan, why are you frowning?" In the study, Madam Lu smoothed out Magistrate Lu's eyebrows with her fingers and asked with concern.
“Shen Jiading deserves to die, but his thugs were just following orders. Although it’s a serious crime, executing them all would be too harsh. I originally thought that executing Shen Jiading and sending his thugs to twenty years of hard labor would be a severe punishment. Why do you think Your Excellency wants to execute them and even wrote a clause that no one should be left alive? There must be something going on. More importantly, he actually suppressed the matter and didn’t report it to his superiors. Shouldn’t such a major case be decided by the Emperor?”
Lu Cunshan sat in a rosewood armchair next to his desk, holding a letter in his hand, looking at it over and over again.
"Some things are better left unsaid. You're just a lowly county magistrate. What good will it do to investigate too much? Just follow orders. After all, they have a lot of lives on their hands. Executing them isn't unjust. If they had known this would happen, they shouldn't have become thugs in the first place. They deserve their fate now."
Madam Lu, Yu Yao Nian, was a straightforward person. She leaned back on the armrest of her chair and angrily cursed the thugs.
"Alright, I'll leave this matter to Zuo Li. Since the governor said it would be done within three days, then let's set it for noon tomorrow at Caishikou. All twelve of them will be executed. I have to personally oversee the operation. It's too rushed. The letter arrived a day ago, and with today, it's the second day. I need to get ready quickly. Oh, and tell Baozhu that I won't be having dinner with you and your daughter tonight. After this matter is settled, I'll take you to the estate for a couple of days."
The investigation into Shen Jiading involved several days of work, from severe torture to finding witnesses and evidence.
When he came out in the morning, Magistrate Lu had made a good promise.
He said he would go back that evening and have dinner with his daughter, Lu Baozhu.
But with the arrival of the letter, it was clear that the meal would not be served.
“Baozhu is definitely going to be angry with you. You shouldn’t have agreed to her this morning. Alright, I’m here. You can go about your business. It just so happens that Yan’s restaurant has started selling hot pot. I’ll take Baozhu to eat hot pot.”
Yu Yao Nianweng glanced at Magistrate Lu.
Although she is already in her thirties, her eyes and brows still reveal the charm of a young girl.
This shows how good the couple's relationship is.
"With Nian'er as my wife, what more could a husband ask for!" Magistrate Lu embraced Yu Yao Nian's waist and kissed her on the cheek.
"We've been married for so long, aren't you ashamed?" Madam Lu took out a handkerchief from her waist, wiped her face, looking quite disgusted, but with a smile on her face.
"Madam, go and keep Baozhu company. I have to go now." Magistrate Lu strode out of the study.
It was already afternoon.
Yu Yao Nian left the mansion with her daughter and headed straight for Yan Xia's restaurant.
Two maids followed behind her, one older and the other looking about fifteen or sixteen years old, similar to Lu Baozhu.
"Mom, a few days ago, Aunt Yan brought me a new product, and it's quite delicious. Let's go to Yan's Pastry Shop for a while. I'm not very hungry right now, so let's go have hot pot in the evening."
As they approached the entrance of Yan's Restaurant, Lu Baozhu stopped her mother.
I suggested we go to Yan's Pastry Shop across the street for a while.
"Okay, whatever you say. My good daughter can eat whatever she wants."
Yu Yao Nian readily agreed.
She only had one daughter, Lu Baozhu, so naturally she doted on her.
It's strange, really.
Despite spoiling their daughter so much, Lu Baozhu hasn't gone astray.
She was proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was also very talented in literature. If she were a man, she could easily pass the imperial examinations to become a scholar or a provincial graduate.
He was always kind and gentle to the servants in his household.
He never abused his position as master to beat or scold his servants.
Even Yan Xia, a lowly merchant, was respectfully addressed as Aunt Yan.
"Madam Lu, Miss Baozhu, what brings you here? Please take a seat." Yan Xia saw the two women and their maid as soon as they stepped into the shop.
She had nothing to do today, so she was helping out at the shop.
"Aunt Yan, you're too kind. Just call me Baozhu from now on, no need to call me Miss." Lu Baozhu's voice was soft and gentle, like clouds in the sky, very pleasant to listen to.
Yan Xia smiled and nodded.
“Alright, Baozhu, Madam Lu, please come up to the second floor. There’s a private room available. By the way, how was the new dish we sent to your residence last time? Did you like it?” Yan Xia personally led Yu Yao Nian and Lu Baozhu up to the second floor.
She walked ahead and asked those behind her.
"It's delicious! Aunt Yan, you're amazing. Everything you make is delicious. No wonder your shop is so popular. All the way from here, your shop has the most customers. There's a constant stream of customers. It's not just the pastry shop, but the restaurants too. My mother and I are going to have hot pot later. Could you save us a table?"
Lu Baozhu's personality is very similar to that of Madam Lu.
She never takes things to heart, and her expression changes as she speaks.
When she's happy, her eyes crinkle with laughter; when she's unhappy, her lips pout.
“Sure, I’ll have my youngest son reserve a private room for you. You can just go there later.” Yan Xia readily agreed.
This is the wife and only daughter of the county magistrate.
She'd be happy to let anyone dine at her restaurant, even if they didn't pay her.
They're practically walking advertisements.
"Thank you so much, Aunt Yan."
"No need to thank me, it's my pleasure. What would you like to eat? I'll have the servants bring it to you." Yan Xia was very hospitable to Lu Baozhu.
Partly because of her social status, and partly because she really liked Lu Baozhu.
"Hmm, just bring two of the new dishes you sent last time. No need for more. I'm going to have hot pot with my mother later. If I'm too full, I won't be able to eat hot pot." Lu Baozhu is a loyal customer of Yan's Pastry Shop.
She tried almost every kind of pastry and sweet soup.
"Let's do as Baozhu says," Madam Lu said with a smile.
"Okay." Yan Xia replied, turned around and left, not forgetting to pull down the curtain of the private room.
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