Chapter 331 Stop Hitting Your Gavel
Zhu Lan said he would report to the police, and Zhu Qingyan smiled. He looked around and found that Chen Li had left at some point.
I also wanted to ask her where the county government was.
Chu Xin pursed his lips, "How rude! We saved her after all, why did you just leave without saying a word?"
"Forget it, she was just scared." Zhu Lan looked at Zhu Qingyan helplessly, "You communicated smoothly with those thieves, maybe you were misunderstood by others. It's normal for you to want to hide."
After Chen Li left, the three of them had to look for nearby residents to inquire about the location of the county government office. As they walked and asked, they found that there were many notices posted in Xiangyang County, all of which were wanted notices for thieves and bandits.
Anyone who captures a thief and sends him to the government will be rewarded with 10 taels of silver. Anyone who provides clues about the thief, once verified, will be rewarded with 200 coins.
Zhu Qingyan pretended to be sad, "Alas, I lost ten taels of silver, which is several months' salary!"
About half an hour later, the three arrived in front of the county government office.
Xiangyang is a small county after all, and even its county government office is far less imposing than that of Zhaoping County. Not only is there no drum at the gate, there aren't even any yamen runners on duty.
As there was no one to pass the message to Zhu Lan and the other two, they had to enter the county government office on their own.
After entering the gate and walking a few steps, you will reach the court. There are many figures inside, and it seems that they are trying a case.
"The county magistrate is trying a case. Let's wait for a while." Zhu Lan said.
The three of them were about to wait behind the door outside the court. When the people in the yamen saw them, they all looked at them.
The person in the hall was originally chattering about something, and when he saw everyone looking outside the door, he subconsciously turned around to look.
His eyes suddenly widened, and he pointed at Zhu Lan and the other two and shouted incoherently:
"My lord, it's them, it's them!"
The county magistrate's face turned grim, and several yamen runners immediately rushed out to surround Zhu Lan and the other two, some even trying to capture them.
Zhu Qingyan slapped the man's hand away, "How dare you!"
The aura made the yamen runners shrink back and look at each other in bewilderment.
Zhu Lan glanced coldly and strode into the hall with Zhu Qingyan and Chu Xin.
The county magistrate slammed the gavel and asked sternly:
"Thief below the stage, why don't you kneel when you see me?"
Zhu Lan frowned slightly, "May I ask, sir, where did the thief come from?"
The man in the hall had already rolled and crawled to hide at the county magistrate's feet. He then pointed at Zhu Lan and the other two and said:
"Sir, I just saw them colluding with the pirates and letting the people go on the shore!"
Zhu Lan immediately realized that someone had seen them letting the thin man go and mistakenly thought that they were in cahoots with the thieves.
Zhu Qingyan said angrily: "You only saw us releasing him, but didn't you see me forcing him to get off the boat with a knife?"
The man looked guilty for a moment, then kowtowed to the county magistrate and said:
"Sir, I have seen the man they let go. He is a brother of the bandit leader Zhou Tong. I almost died in their hands before!"
After saying that, he looked at Zhu Qingyan again.
"You said you forced him off the boat at knifepoint? Then why didn't you hand him over to the authorities? Instead, why did you let him go and say you were not in the same group?"
Even Chu Xin couldn't help but shouted, "Hey, you are slandering me. I think you are just here to take the 200-coin reward!"
"Enough!" The county magistrate slammed the gavel again and asked Zhu Lan and others for their explanation.
Zhu Qingyan's anger was already aroused. "We are trying to lure the snakes out of their holes and catch those thieves in one fell swoop. Let me say, sir, county magistrate, why don't you send people to chase them?"
"Of course I have already sent people to follow her!" The county magistrate did not expect that a little girl would dare to speak to him in such a harsh tone.
"This is the court, I am the county magistrate, and you, a humble person, actually address me as 'I'. This is a disrespect for the court. Why don't you kneel down!?"
He raised his hand high again.
"Stop banging your gavel."
Zhu Qingyan strode forward, under the surprised gaze of even Zhu Lan, and slammed something on the table.
“Come on, take this shot.”
Chu Xin leaned closer to Zhu Lan and asked in a low voice: "Was Sister Tanhua also so irritable in the past..."
Zhu Lan shook his head silently.
When Zhu Qingyan and I first met, she, at least on the surface, looked... extremely quiet and well-behaved. To be more precise, she was a little sensitive and inferior.
But I don't know since when, she seems to have become different.
Zhu Lan felt that this feeling was somewhat familiar, and a fluttering figure in red emerged in his mind.
The county magistrate stared blankly at the badge on the table with the word "Hanlin" engraved on it and swallowed.
He opened his mouth, but was so nervous that he couldn't pronounce the two words completely for a long time.
"Take pictures." Zhu Qingyan urged.
"The county magistrate has such great authority, are you going to arrest us thieves and throw us into jail for strict interrogation right now?"
Seeing the county magistrate's expression as if he was struck by lightning, Zhu Qingyan sneered and took back the badge.
The county magistrate came to his senses, stood up quickly, straightened his clothes, walked quickly to Zhu Lan and the others, bowed and said:
"Your humble servant... Your humble servant did not know that it was the master from the Hanlin Academy who had arrived. I am sorry for not welcoming you..."
"That's enough." Zhu Lan was not interested in listening to those polite words. "Has the county magistrate made arrangements for the bandit suppression?"
"It's done, it's arranged, it's foolproof!"
Zhu Lan nodded and looked at the person who came to report the case.
The county magistrate glared at him, "What are you still standing here for? These are the masters of the Hanlin Academy. We are showing you mercy by not charging you with slander and libel. Why don't you get out of here!"
The man didn't dare to say anything more and immediately ran away timidly.
"What is your name, magistrate?" Zhu Lan asked.
The county magistrate bent his waist even lower, "I am sorry to trouble you to come to me on duty! Please forgive me, my last name is Gan, if you don't mind, you can call me Old Gan..."
"Master Gan, we came to Xiangyang to investigate a confidential case." Zhu Lan said slowly, "If the matter we are investigating is leaked, it will bring disaster to the three clans. Do you understand?"
Magistrate Gan's expression immediately became as if he was facing a great enemy.
Zhu Lan then asked him, "Sir Gan, please check the household registration files of this county to see if there has been a couple with the surname Jin who have come to Xiangyang County in the past twenty years."
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