The county magistrate, clearly still half asleep, yawned and mumbled, "How dare you, woman, not kneel before me?!"
Jian Yang: "..." This dog may not be a high-ranking official, but he certainly has a lot of authority.
You should know that in the past, even high-ranking officials of the first rank had to kneel before her in the imperial court.
These days, a fallen phoenix is no better than a chicken, and a tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs.
So be it. I chose this path myself, and I have to finish it even if I have to crawl on my knees.
After preparing herself mentally, Jian Yang was about to kneel down when she suddenly heard the clerk holding the feather fan shout, "You can't kneel!"
Jian Yang: "???"
County Magistrate: "???"
Amidst the puzzled looks of the crowd, the clerk strode up to the magistrate, then leaned down and whispered something in his ear.
"Is this really true?" The magistrate looked at his advisor in horror, all sleepiness gone.
The advisor nodded.
The county magistrate's body went limp, and he almost slipped off his chair.
Jian Yang looked at the two of them strangely.
Are they putting on a two-person comedy show here?
Noticing Jian Yang's gaze, the county magistrate immediately sat up straight, his voice becoming much more polite than before.
"Just now, Master Sun said that the young lady personally killed more than a dozen robbers. Is that true?"
Oh, so it turns out they were intimidated by her great achievements.
Jian Yang nodded and said, "That's right. These bandits wanted to rob and kill our caravan, and I had no choice but to do it."
"Well done!" the magistrate praised. "This banditry has always been a headache for me. The young lady has done our county government a great favor and deserves a reward."
Then he changed the subject, saying, "However, although the young lady acted in self-defense, those are still more than a dozen lives. We need to investigate before we can make a decision."
Jian Yang expressed her understanding.
"Where is the young lady staying now?" the magistrate asked again.
Jian Yang said, "Tongfu Inn in the north of the city."
The magistrate nodded and said, "Alright, after I finish my investigation, I will send someone to inform the young lady that she should not leave Nanyang County for the next few days."
Jian Yang agreed to his request.
The moment she stepped out of the county government office, the county magistrate jumped up from his chair as if his pants were on fire.
"Master Sun, are you sure that woman just now was the Empress?"
"I am absolutely certain. Half a month ago, the imperial court distributed the Empress's portrait to all parts of the country. If you don't believe me, I'll bring it to you to see."
Magistrate Zhou nodded hurriedly and said, "Go quickly!"
A moment later, Master Sun jogged in, holding a portrait. "Please take a look, sir."
Magistrate Zhou hurriedly took the portrait, and after seeing the woman in the portrait clearly, he almost collapsed to his knees.
If it weren't for Master Sun's quick reflexes in catching him, he would already be lying on the ground.
"Why would Your Majesty leave the palace and come to this poor, remote place?"
The thought that he had almost made the Empress kneel before him filled Magistrate Zhou with lingering fear.
Master Sun said, "Sir, you don't know this, but the Empress faked her death to escape. The Emperor is going crazy looking for her!"
Magistrate Zhou looked at his advisor in horror and blurted out, "The Empress is so brave!"
She dared to deceive the emperor and kill bandits; she was truly a heroine!
"Therefore, my lord, we must not let the Empress escape again. If the Emperor finds out that you were the one who found Her Majesty the Empress, he will surely reward you handsomely!"
Magistrate Zhou's eyes immediately lit up.
Looking at Jian Yang's portrait again, it was as if he were looking at a treasure bowl, his eyes full of piety.
"Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?" Magistrate Zhou asked again to confirm.
Master Sun patted his chest and said, "I am absolutely certain that I have not made a mistake. Moreover, I have heard that the Empress is the daughter of the current Prime Minister Jian, and the woman just now also said that her surname was Jian. Such a coincidence, who else could it be but the Empress?"
"The advisor is right!"
Half an hour later, a group of people rode out of the Nanyang County government office and galloped towards the imperial city.
Jian Yang returned to the inn and told the other members of the caravan about reporting the matter to the authorities. Everyone expressed their willingness to cooperate with the investigation.
Anyway, it doesn't matter if we are delayed for a day or two; we can just take it as a rest for the team.
But to their surprise, they stayed at Tongfu Inn for five days without any officials coming to inquire about their plans to suppress the bandits.
Ge Long finally couldn't sit still any longer.
After all, there is a delivery deadline for the goods, and waiting indefinitely like this is not a solution, so he went to the county government office with Jian Yang.
Upon hearing that the Empress had arrived again, Magistrate Zhou dared not be negligent as he had been last time and immediately went to greet her with utmost care.
But he dared not show it too obviously, lest the Empress discover that he had slipped away, and his dream of promotion and wealth would be shattered.
Therefore, he changed his previous attitude of exploiting the people and put on the image of a benevolent official who loved the people like his own children, and greeted them with a smile.
"Miss Jian, are you here regarding the matter of reporting to the authorities a few days ago?"
Jian Yang nodded and said, "That's right. I came today specifically to inquire about the progress of the government's investigation, because the delivery deadline for the goods is approaching, and we really can't delay any longer."
Magistrate Zhou stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "I fully understand Miss Jian's anxious feelings, but the yamen has not yet captured these bandits, and we really cannot let you leave just like that. Otherwise, Miss Jian, what do you think?"
Therefore, after Magistrate Zhou repeatedly assured them that the government would cover the caravan's food and lodging expenses for the next few days, Jian Yang and Ge Long decided to stay at the county office for two more days.
Two days later, there was still no word from the county government.
Jian Yang decided not to wait any longer and immediately headed south with the caravan.
To their surprise, as soon as they finished packing and stepped out of the inn, they saw Magistrate Zhou and his yamen runners waiting for them at the inn's entrance.
Upon seeing Jian Yang, Magistrate Zhou immediately greeted her with a smile: "I have come here to congratulate Miss Jian."
Jian Yang looked at him, puzzled.
Magistrate Zhou laughed and said, "The yamen wiped out all the bandits hiding in Cat God Mountain today, and Miss Jian deserves much credit for that."
I see.
Jian Yang and the caravan members were overjoyed. After all, the government had wiped out the bandits, ensuring the safety of not only them but also everyone who would travel that route in the future.
“In that case, congratulations, Magistrate Zhou,” Jian Yang said with a smile. “Our caravan is just about to depart today, and we thank Magistrate Zhou for his hospitality over the past few days.”
Magistrate Zhou quickly waved his hand and said, "Of course, of course. However, I have prepared a celebration banquet for Miss Jian and everyone else. Would it be alright if we all waited until after the banquet tomorrow before setting off?"
Jian Yang looked at Ge Long, but Ge Long shook his head and said, "We appreciate Magistrate Zhou's hospitality, but we have been delayed on the road for a long time, which has delayed the delivery of the goods. We really dare not stay any longer."
“Yes,” Jian Yang echoed, “we won’t attend the celebration banquet. Let’s set off as soon as possible and try to deliver the goods to the customer as soon as possible.”
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Zhou panicked and immediately gave a wink to his advisor, Master Sun, who was standing beside him.
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