Chapter Sixteen: The Trip Abroad
Amidst the gasps of surprise from the crowd, Shen Zhiyi mustered her strength and ran forward. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept over her, and a flag knocked her to the ground, where she landed hard. The character for "noodle" was still visible on the flag, suggesting it had been taken from a noodle stall on the street.
"If you really want to prove your innocence with your death, you should crash into it over there." The man spoke succinctly and coldly, still gripping the flagpole in his hand. He stepped forward, shielding Shen Zhiyi behind him, and stared expressionlessly at the stunned constables. "Why exactly did you arrest her?"
The constable was taken aback and said, putting on a brave front but sounding weak, "She's spouting nonsense about His Majesty's decrees, which is tantamount to disrespecting the royal family. She should be imprisoned and await trial by the magistrate!"
The charge was so serious that no one dared to speak up.
“I didn’t!” Shen Zhiyi immediately stood up and said, “His Majesty loves the people and understands their suffering, so he has issued a new decree on the matter of land reclamation! As long as land is reclaimed and registered, no taxes will be required for six years, and normal taxes will only be levied in the seventh year.”
"My God, how is this possible!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
"Is this girl having a fit of hysteria?" someone else remarked.
The constable raised his eyebrows smugly, looked at Shen Zhiyi, and said, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll put you in chains!"
Shen Zhiyi subconsciously stepped back, about to speak, when the man standing in front of her suddenly said, "She's right, what crime has she committed?"
She hadn't expected the scholar to know about this, so she quickly pressed her advantage, saying, "Besides, it was Magistrate Lu who said it himself, so there's absolutely no mistake!"
"Scholar, you don't know this girl, do you?" a voice of doubt came from the crowd.
The man turned around, carefully examined Shen Zhiyi, and said seriously, "We've never met before."
Shen Zhiyi, however, felt a strange sense of familiarity upon seeing this face, but couldn't quite place it. In this situation, however, there was no need to say it aloud.
“Yuanzhou, this matter is of utmost importance. You should not get involved.” Another man in a scholar’s robe stepped forward and advised him in a low voice.
Shen Zhiyi felt uncomfortable listening to this. The matter was written clearly, so how could it be related to anything "extraordinary"? But as an observer, she couldn't say anything and was already prepared to fight alone.
"Haha, you country bumpkin! You say it's 'Said by Magistrate Lu himself'? Have you even seen Magistrate Lu? Do you even know what he looks like? Yet you dare to say such things!" the constable sneered. "Regarding the public announcement, since a scholar has testified for you, we'll make a note of it for now. But if you're just spouting nonsense about the magistrate, you'll be arrested and brought back to the county office to await his judgment!"
"Your Lord Lu isn't even in the county office, so why are you arresting me there!" Shen Zhiyi said bluntly. "I know where Lord Lu is. Let's ask him in front of him! As for whether it's a lie or not, we'll know once we see Lord Lu!"
"What a joke! We're working for the government, why should we listen to a country bumpkin like you?" Another constable snapped back to reality and coldly reprimanded those around him, "Get out of here!"
After the constable finished speaking, he stepped forward menacingly to seize Shen Zhiyi.
If things get serious, how could they possibly be a match for each other! Shen Zhiyi carefully looked around, searching for an escape route. If she couldn't win, couldn't she at least run away?
Just then, Feng Yuanzhou spoke up: "Wait!"
The quick-thinking Shen Zhiyi steadied herself and felt she could still listen a little longer.
“Since this young lady speaks with such certainty, why not wait for her to produce evidence before drawing a conclusion? It is against the law to so easily send someone to jail,” Feng Yuanzhou said sternly, standing firmly in front of Shen Zhiyi.
The two constables looked at each other, and then one of them stepped forward as if to back down and said in a low voice to Feng Yuanzhou, "Scholar, we are just doing our jobs. Don't jeopardize your future because of someone you don't know."
Shen Zhiyi heard everything clearly from the side, and they didn't seem to be avoiding her at all.
Such a blatant and open threat!
This instantly made Shen Zhiyi realize that there was more to this than met the eye. If she were arrested by the constables and imprisoned in the yamen, the case would definitely be closed as her talking nonsense, which would render the government orders meaningless.
Whatever the reason, she must not be arrested and taken to the authorities!
"I had no idea that the constables in the yamen heard something different from what the magistrate said," Shen Zhiyi mocked coldly. "Are you so afraid to see the magistrate because you're worried about being exposed?"
The gazes and whispers around him felt like invisible blades scraping the face of the guilty, but Shen Zhiyi remained calm and composed, leaving no room for further ambiguity. He raised his voice and said, "Lord Lu is a guest in our Xiaba Village! I insist that I have not committed a crime, but the constables believe I am guilty. Then let's go and argue our case before Lord Lu! Two constables, are you willing to come with me?"
They had been blocking the city gate for a long time, and the common people had long been frightened and scattered, only daring to watch the excitement from a distance. The busybodies in the city easily surrounded the front row, laughing and saying, "Other young ladies have already spoken so boldly, Mang San, are you too scared?"
"If you're so cowardly, you might as well be a woman."
"Is he feeling guilty?"
The repeated words annoyed the constable nicknamed "Mang San," who grabbed his sword and swung it around with a clanging sound, and said fiercely, "Fine, I'll go!"
After saying that, Chen Mang stepped onto the oxcart in front of him. The people who were sitting on the oxcart immediately became restrained. He raised his chin slightly and looked at Shen Zhiyi, and said angrily, "Weren't you going to some village to see Lord Lu? I'm going to expose your lies myself!"
Chen Mang brandished his sword sheath menacingly, his eyes no longer concealing his murderous intent.
This was the first time Shen Zhiyi had ever witnessed such intense malice. Her body trembled involuntarily, and she couldn't move her feet.
"You're not going to back down now, are you?" Chen Mang asked, raising his eyebrows.
“I…” Shen Zhiyi wanted to say “I dare,” but under such an overwhelming aura, she found it so difficult to speak.
“I’ll go with her; I can be a witness.” Feng Yuanzhou said as he walked toward the oxcart, handing the flagpole back to the noodle stall next to him.
With the scholar's help, Shen Zhiyi's courage prevailed, and she sat on the oxcart, behaving with unusual silence.
Shen Zhiyi never imagined that she would bring back these three people from the village in such an unexpected way.
"Why aren't we leaving yet?" Chen Mangsan asked the old man driving the cart in an annoyed tone, then slapped the cart heavily with the scabbard.
The old driver was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and his hand holding the whip trembled.
Seeing this, Shen Zhiyi suppressed his fear and said, "No one's here..."
“The seats aren’t even full, why should we leave? Just because you’re a yamen runner doesn’t mean you can let people leave early,” Feng Yuanzhou said bluntly.
It seems the other party isn't just targeting him.
Shen Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief. Having a mouth substitute on the same side for the time being was not bad.
"You scholar..." Chen Mangsan was instantly out of breath and could only turn away, too lazy to pay attention to him.
"Hehe, since no one's coming, I'll get on." A thin man with small eyes got on the oxcart, looked left at Chen Mangsan, right at Feng Yuanzhou, and then at Shen Zhiyi sitting opposite him, his smile full of "watching the show".
Shen Zhiyi turned away, no longer paying attention to the chaotic scene.
Before the sun had even set, Chen Mang arrived at Xiaba Village a quarter of an hour earlier than usual, thanks to the silent urging of Chen Mang San to draw his sword sheath three times.
Without Chen Mangsan needing to give any instructions, the old man driving the oxcart consciously drove it into the village.
"An oxcart is coming into the village!" a child shouted. People nearby peeked out, and when they saw Shen Zhiyi, they shouted again, "It's Shen girl coming back!"
Hearing that warm voice, Shen Zhiyi replied enthusiastically, "Hey, you're back!"
"Is the county magistrate still at the village chief's house?" Shen Zhiyi asked.
"Yes! No! It should be in your yard," the woman standing by the roadside called out.
"Then I'll go find the magistrate first!" Shen Zhiyi shouted, giving directions to the old man driving the carriage while Chen Mangsan was fidgeting.
When the oxcart arrived at Shen Zhiyi's house, she could clearly see Lu Jingbai's figure through the open courtyard gate. Now she felt more confident and called out, "Lord Lu! There's something I need you to testify about!"
This sentence immediately caught Lu Jingbai's attention. He turned around and saw a group of people on an oxcart outside the courtyard. He recognized four of them.
"What is it?" Lu Jingbai asked.
"It's about the land reclamation! I told them what you said, but the two constables said I was talking nonsense and wanted to arrest me and throw me in jail! Luckily, this scholar spoke up for me, so I was able to bring them to see the magistrate and ask him to clear my name!" Shen Zhiyi said as she walked, explaining the matter clearly and logically.
Upon seeing this, the two constables who had just disembarked from the oxcart dared not say anything more, and bowed with stern faces, saying, "Your subordinates pay their respects to Lord Lu."
The others on the oxcart all knelt down.
"Rise, I am not in my official robes, so there is no need for you to stand on ceremony," Lu Jingbai said sternly. Seeing everyone stand up, he then got down to business. "Regarding the land reclamation, I did indeed speak with the young lady. By His Majesty's decree, all those within Pixian County who have reclaimed land and are registered in the local area will not be required to pay taxes for six years. Only in the seventh year will they be subject to normal taxation."
"If you have any questions, you may ask me." Lu Jingbai said seriously, his gaze sweeping over everyone, but as usual, he did not hear any questions.
In the silence, Shen Zhiyi asked, "Lord Lu, when will you post another simple and easy-to-understand notice to inform everyone of this decree?"
"Tomorrow," Lu Jingbai said in a deep voice, "I have already sent people to inform the village chiefs to come to the county government to hear His Majesty's decree, so that it can be accurately conveyed to each village regarding the land reclamation. At the same time, new notices will also be posted."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyi immediately exclaimed, "Lord Lu is wise!"
As she spoke, the others echoed, "Your Excellency is wise!"
The matter was thus resolved satisfactorily, and Shen Zhiyi preserved her reputation among the passengers. Originally, she had wanted to help the scholar gain recognition in front of Lu Jingbai, but unexpectedly, the other party returned in the oxcart without stopping at all.
But the thin man stayed in the village. When Shen Zhiyi was alone, he suddenly blocked her way, holding wildflowers he had picked from somewhere. With a chilling smile, he said, "Girl, would you like to marry me?"
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