Yuen Long felt his legs go weak.
He tried his best to calm himself down, but looking at Tang Huan's fierce appearance, he couldn't doubt that the other party was lying.
This formation is terrifying. Yuan Lang is just a clerk; he's never seen anything like it before.
"I am also a member of the imperial court, I am the clerk of Baofeng County, you cannot kill me!"
Yuen Long shouted loudly, trying to make a final struggle.
His hands were held tightly, and he couldn't twist his body; he was being pushed forward.
Upon hearing this, Tang Huan signaled for people to stop, and Yuan Lang was brought back.
Seeing this, the others assumed Tang Huan was afraid and immediately shouted, "I am the head constable of Wuyuan County!" "I am the nephew of the magistrate of Jiuxian County!" "I am..."
The group of people immediately introduced themselves, trying to intimidate Tang Huan with their identities.
Tang Huan nodded slightly, signaling everyone to bring these people back again.
The group was brought before Tang Huan.
Yuan Lang flung away the two men who were grabbing him and proudly raised his head.
Seeing this, others immediately followed suit.
"Behave yourself!" Du Ruhai kicked Yuan Lang, causing him to lose his balance and kneel directly in front of Tang Huan.
Yuan Lang felt humiliated and turned to glare fiercely at Du Ruhai, "You better pray that I die here today, otherwise when I get back I will make you pay for this, I will make you wish you were dead!"
Tang Huan looked over in surprise and smiled, "Oh, you're still pretty stubborn. Slap yourself!"
Upon receiving the order, Du Ruhai quickly stepped forward and slapped Yuan Lang twice across the mouth.
Yuan Lang became even angrier and immediately shouted, "Du Ruhai, you son of a bitch, I'll skin you alive and tear your tendons out!"
Then came another slap.
His mouth seemed a little swollen, and Yuan Lang felt that the sound he made when he shouted was different from usual, and it hurt a lot.
He continued to struggle and shout curses.
In return, he received a barrage of slaps from Du Ruhai, the sound of each slap echoing throughout the main hall of Zuixianju.
The mercenaries leaned against each other, watching with great interest.
The others who had come with Yuen Long to cause trouble were terrified and dared not utter a sound, let alone speak up for Yuen Long.
Everyone knows that Yuan Lang and the magistrate of Baofeng County are sworn brothers, and Yuan Lang is far superior to them in terms of status.
Even this person was dealt with by Tang Huan, so no one else dared to step forward.
A bad thought began to surface: perhaps Tang Huan wasn't actually afraid just now, but had just thought of something on a whim.
Some people began to regret staying behind; they thought it would have been better to be imprisoned, where they might have been able to save their lives.
This time, he offended Tang Huan and angered the guy. When Tang Huan went crazy, even his own backer couldn't protect him.
The crowd watched silently, their thoughts a jumble of emotions.
After being slapped more than a dozen times, Yuan Lang's mouth was swollen high.
Seeing that he had stopped shouting, Du Ruhai finally vented his anger, and all the humiliation he had suffered by Yuan Lang's side in the past few days was swept away.
He stopped what he was doing and looked down at Yuen Long.
"Master, look at how things have gotten to this point. It would be better if you just cooperated and avoided some physical pain."
Yuan Lang looked up, his eyes wide, staring intently at Tang Huan.
Tang Huan seemed to ignore him and continued, "I heard that you and your men have been staying at Zuixianju these past few days, eating and drinking here. The service at Zuixianju is not cheap. I wonder if you gentlemen have prepared the money?"
A short, stout man in the crowd asked timidly, "How much silver do we need? Can we leave after we pay?"
"Of course, guests are always welcome. Qihuai County has always been hospitable. If you are willing to make up for the cost of these few days, we will certainly not make things difficult for you."
"How much do you want?" someone mustered up the courage to ask.
They were, after all, people of status. Even if Tang Huan demanded several hundred taels of silver, they could grit their teeth and pay it off as a token of respect, a way to avoid further trouble.
"You've stayed here for several days, enjoying a constant supply of delicacies and fine wines, and your staff has been busy running around. How about this, a flat price of three thousand taels."
Tang Huan spoke with a smile.
The short, fat man glanced at the group of six. If they split the money equally, each person would only need to pay five hundred taels of silver, which they could afford.
With that in mind, he started calling on others to chip in the money.
Seeing this, Tang Huan smiled and reminded them, "What are you doing? I said three thousand taels per person, not three thousand taels in total."
"What?" The short, fat man froze, and the few silver coins he had just received fell to the ground, unable to be held tightly in his hand.
"How can it be so expensive? Even if we stayed for several days and ate and drank to our hearts' content, several hundred taels would be the absolute maximum!" someone protested.
After saying that, Li Daikui stepped forward and kicked him. "You think it's too expensive? Then don't stay here! You didn't ask about the price when you checked in, did you? Are you going to blame us for not clearly displaying the prices?"
With one kick, the man immediately calmed down.
When the group checked in, they didn't ask the price. They had come with the intention of causing trouble for Qihuai County, since they had leverage over the county and were confident that the people of Qihuai County wouldn't dare to cause any trouble.
Everything unfolded as expected.
But who would have thought that everything would change as soon as Tang Huan returned?
The people in Qihuai County immediately went crazy, acting like a band of bandits.
Tang Huan looked at the short, fat man huddled to one side and said with a smile, "I think you're quite sensible, more sensible than them, and know to pay to avoid trouble. Here's what we'll do: you go and inform the people behind these people to prepare the ransom money and come to Qihuai County to pick up the person."
The short, fat man was stunned; he hadn't expected Tang Huan to let him go.
Seeing that the person was still stunned, Tang Huan said, "You don't want to? Then let someone else do this."
The short, fat man nodded hurriedly, "I'll do it, I'll do it."
After saying that, he turned and walked out of Zuixianju. Strangely, no one stopped him and let him leave.
Just before leaving, the short, fat man heard Tang Huan call out, "Remember your share."
The short, fat man gritted his teeth and started running quickly.
Inside the hall, everyone else looked ashen-faced.
But it's already much better than Yuen Long.
Having witnessed the entire ordeal and seen his accomplices bow down in submission, Yuan Lang said resentfully, "You will be punished! The master will never let you go!"
"You mean Rong Shanhai from Baofeng County?" Tang Huan said nonchalantly. "Anyway, that fat guy already went to inform him, so I believe he will pass on your message to Rong Shanhai."
"You think the adults will bring you money? Don't dream! You'll be dealing with soldiers from Baofeng County."
Tang Huan snorted coldly, "Do you think I'm someone who's been bullied? If he doesn't pay, then you can wait to lose your head. And if he doesn't give me a reasonable explanation for cutting off Qihuai County's source of income, I'll kill him too."
These words, spoken without hesitation, sent a chill down Yuan Lang's spine.
He couldn't help but worry. Was this guy not joking?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
