This old man was quite good at throwing a tantrum. As soon as he made a scene, a lot of people gathered around and pointed at Lu Qingyan and her group.
Lu Qingyan sneered and ordered, "Men, tie this old man up and dig out all the silver inside."
The people outside were eyeing them with ill intent, but since the people Lu Qingyan brought were soldiers, not ordinary civilians, they didn't dare to make a move.
So they watched helplessly as these people pulled a huge pile of silver from a crack in the not-so-high wall, at least tens of thousands of taels. The way the common people looked at the old man changed.
Lu Qingyan walked up to the old man and sneered, "What? Do you want to have a proper talk with me? How powerful are your family members that you can earn so much silver? If you have so much silver, why don't you stay in a big city and instead come to this small village?"
A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.
The old man, enraged, retorted: "My son is capable of earning so much money. Is having a lot of money a crime? As for where I live, I'm happy living here. Is it any of your business?"
"Prince Jing!" Lu Qingyan heard someone calling her, and then she saw someone escorting Magistrate Wu over.
"Magistrate Wu!" Someone recognized him and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, then fearfully hid back.
In their eyes, Magistrate Wu was the local tyrant, someone no one could touch. But now, Magistrate Wu was being held captive—who could be so powerful?
"Are you stupid? Didn't you see all these military officers have to take orders from her? She must be someone important. I think I just heard her refer to herself as 'this prince,' could she be a prince from the capital?"
"Hiss~" Those who heard this couldn't help but gasp. They had never seen such an important person before; to be able to meet him even once was an immense blessing.
So, these people stared at Lu Qingyan with longing eyes, as if looking at her a little longer would bring them some great fortune.
Lu Qingyan didn't mind at all, and stood there openly for them to see. She drew a long knife from a soldier's waist, held it to Magistrate Wu's neck, and said with a smile, "Magistrate Wu, come here and tell me, do you know this old man?"
"I...I recognize him." Magistrate Wu uttered the words with great difficulty, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He appeared to be in good health, but Lu Qingyan knew he had suffered numerous injuries. Her men might not be good at other tasks, but when it came to interrogation, they were second to none.
"You're talking nonsense!" the old man vehemently denied, "I don't know this person at all."
Lu Qingyan smiled, looked at the people around her, and asked, "Oh, you don't recognize this old man? Do you know who he is?"
"We recognize him," the onlookers said in unison. "He is Magistrate Wu from our county."
Lu Qingyan held the knife to the old man's neck and patted it twice lightly: "Don't recognize him? Ha, what a fine excuse. Everyone around here knows him, but you're telling me you don't. Do you think that's normal?"
"Come, Magistrate Wu, tell me properly, how did you and this old man meet?"
When two stubborn people clash, one will eventually open up, let alone the one who is soft-hearted. Magistrate Wu is used to a life of luxury and cannot easily endure punishment.
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