When Mei Zhubu looked up, she saw Wei Min's gloomy face and immediately scolded the yamen runner who called her "sir", "You bastard, you mistook me again. Your eye disease is so serious. I told you to go see a doctor, didn't you remember?"
The yamen runner looked at Wei Min standing by and immediately knelt on the ground to admit his mistake, "I forgot again and came from afar to recognize the wrong person. I beg for forgiveness, sir."
Before Wei Min could say anything, he heard the prefect's sarcastic voice interrupting from afar, "Oh, Lord Wei, you have such great authority. You just arrived in Zhucheng, and you want to show off your authority to me?"
Wei Min used his injuries as an excuse to not salute the prefect. He lowered his eyelids and said indifferently, "Your Excellency is overthinking. I just arrived in Zhucheng and someone attacked me with a knife in the middle of the night and burned my house. I was bullied to this extent. If I lose my dignity at this time, wouldn't the people think that the officials of our Jiang are all spineless and cowardly?"
The prefect's surname was Ya. He was over 40 years old, fat and greasy. She couldn't stand Wei Min's attitude of neither servility nor overbearance, and her calm and fearless reaction. She felt that Wei Min was so good at pretending at such a young age, and couldn't help but sneer at her, "Don't be so stupid that you only know how to talk when you don't have any real skills."
Glancing at the corpses lined up not far away, Ya Zhizhou wondered, "This post station is usually fine here, how come someone assassinated and set fire to it as soon as you arrived? There are only more than ten people in the post station, including the waiters and cooks, and now they are all burned beyond recognition and lying on the ground, but you are safe and sound. Don't tell me that this usually fine person suddenly started killing people because he saw you last night?"
She turned the tables and put the blame on Wei Min, trying to say that it was Wei Min himself who brought about the fatal disaster and it had nothing to do with her Zhucheng.
Wei Min felt that the attitude of Ya Zhizhou was extremely arrogant, and it even reversed her thoughts before she came.
Wei Min had already guessed that Zhucheng was known as a den of dragons and tigers, and the prefect would certainly not be an easy character to deal with. But when I saw it today, I felt that it was completely different.
Maybe it was because Zhucheng was a small border town, the emperor was far away, and she, as a prefect, was used to being a high and mighty "local emperor" here, and looked down on a rookie like herself. Or maybe she was secretive and felt that no evidence could be found against her, so she was unwilling to pretend to be with her?
No matter how much Wei Min was thinking, he didn't show it on his face. "As for who wanted to take my life last night, I will find out if I investigate carefully."
Wei Min asked the chief clerk to stay here to record the autopsy results, and he nodded to the prefect with a slightly apologetic look and said goodbye, "The postmaster was seriously injured while trying to save me last night. We need to go back to the county office as soon as possible to find a doctor for her."
When Ya Zhizhou and Mei Zhubu heard that Wei Min wanted to take the unconscious Yicheng back personally, their faces suddenly changed.
The prefect of Ya said, "Sir Wei, you have just arrived in Zhucheng and are not familiar with this. I am an old acquaintance of the postmaster. Why don't you leave her to me? I will find a doctor to take good care of her. If she wakes up, I will send someone to call you."
If this postmaster were handed over to you, I'm afraid he would never wake up.
Wei Min had already suspected the prefect Yu Yicheng and his gang, and now after hearing her words he could confirm it.
"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I would like to personally thank you for saving my life." Wei Min looked at the chief clerk and smiled. "I am not familiar with Zhucheng, but the chief clerk is familiar with it. I believe that she will assist me as she assisted Lord Yang."
Lord Yang was the former magistrate of Zhucheng County who fell off his horse and died.
The chief clerk was sandwiched between the prefect and Wei Min, with sweat already on his forehead. He could only lower his head and say, "It's natural, it's natural."
Seeing that the prefect did not want to release him, Wei Min was afraid that she would use her higher position to bully others, so he said in advance: "If it were not for the postmaster who risked his life to protect me, I would not have survived last night.
The Emperor has ordered me to investigate the death of Lord Yang. I think the person who killed me might be related to this case. The postmaster is not only my savior, but also a witness to what happened last night. It would be better for him to stay with me. ”
Seeing that Wei Min was about to take the person away, the chief clerk looked at the prefect anxiously.
The prefect of Ya winked at the person beside him, asking her to stop the postmaster, and said to Wei Min: "I am the prefect of Zhucheng, the father and mother of the people here, and I have worked with Lord Yang for many years. After she left, her only remaining son is now living in my house and being taken care of by my husband. How can I sit idly by in her case?"
As they were speaking, the men of Yazhizhou had already reached out to grab the unconscious postmaster.
Eighteen took his time and took out Jiang Wuque's token from his bosom and pointed it at Ya Zhizhou's face so that she could see it clearly.
The Ya prefect's expression suddenly changed again, becoming even uglier. He waved his hands to have people leave, while pulling the corners of his mouth into a stiff smile, "I wonder where Lord Wei's authority comes from? He actually has connections in the capital."
Wei Min cupped his hands, "I dare not. I caught the Eighth Prince's eye and was appreciated by her. When she heard that His Majesty had assigned a case to me, she also wanted to share the emperor's worries, so she sent someone to protect me along the way. I wish you a successful investigation."
Now the prefect of Ya had no reason to do so and could only let Wei Min leave.
She turned around and saw the chief clerk looking at a loss. She frowned and scolded, "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that she can't see that there is something wrong with you?"
As he spoke, Ya Zhizhou glanced in the direction where Wei Min left, sneered, "Let her investigate as much as she can. Yang Cheng was here for six years and he didn't find any evidence until he died. I'll see what she can find!"
After Wei Min entered the city in a carriage, he drew aside the curtains and looked outside. It was almost noon and the city was bustling with people. Although it was not a prosperous place, it was not like the disasters that were constantly happening and the people were fleeing as written in the memorials submitted by Zhucheng every year.
Wei Min was thinking about something. He lowered the curtain and turned his head to see A Ruan looking outside. He asked him, "Are you hungry?"
From last night till now, A Ruan has almost only eaten some dry food and has not had a proper meal.
Wei Min held A'ruan's hand and said, "When we get there, don't rush to clean up. I'll have someone go to the restaurant to order food and we'll have a meal first."
Ah Ruan shook his head and rejected Wei Min's proposal. It was not because he was not hungry, but:
——Don’t bother yourself. I can cook something myself when the time comes. We just arrived, so it's better to save money.
When Wei Min heard that A Ruan was worried about running out of money, he immediately smiled and pulled him into his arms, stroking his arms with his hands, resting his chin on the top of his head, and said, "Having a husband like this is enough for me."
"But Ah Ruan, I am now a county magistrate, so you should not be so frugal in the future," Wei Min lowered his head and kissed Ah Ruan's forehead, saying, "My wife earns money to support you, so you can spend it."
A Ruan calculated in his mind how much salary a small county magistrate like his wife could get in a year. After the calculation, he felt that life would definitely not be as hard and simple as before, but he still had to get by.
But when A'ruan heard his wife say this, he still felt sweet in his heart. A smile appeared in his eyes and brows. He leaned gently in her arms and didn't "say" anything to spoil her fun.
It is a good thing for the wife to want to earn money for herself. It is better than some women who have evil thoughts after making money.
Wei Min didn't know what the residence of Ya Zhizhou was like, but judging from the yamen of Yang County Magistrate, she was indeed an incorruptible official during her lifetime.
There is a spacious courtyard behind the county government office, which is reserved for the county magistrate and his family to live in. It has three main rooms and four side rooms. Although there are not many rooms, it is much better than an ordinary farmyard.
At least when Aruan entered the door and saw the courtyard with tiled roof, his eyes were curved.
Wei Min's old house had mud walls and a thatched roof. When Wei Min was not at home, whenever it was raining and stormy, A Ruan would always look around the house worriedly, fearing that there was a water leak somewhere.
This courtyard is much better than the old house, but Wei Min said that Lord Yang was incorruptible because the houses in the courtyard were too shabby.
The house was empty with only a few daily necessities and nothing extra to be seen. There were even fewer flowers and plants in the yard to cultivate one's sentiments.
Magistrate Yang died, and a new one was sent in by the county government. The courtyard of the government office changed hands, and the things inside had probably been turned over and cleaned countless times. Not to mention the valuables, even the slightest trace of the past life was probably gone.
After entering the main room, Wei Min put down his gifts and stopped A Ruan who wanted to tidy up the room first, saying, "I guess the servants have dispersed after Lord Yang died. Let's eat first and then recruit one or two servants."
After Wei Min had the Eighteenth General and the Postmaster hide, he asked her to find two yamen runners to clean up the house.
Wei Min and A Ruan changed into clean clothes and went out to the street.
A Ruan was worried about Wei Min's injuries, so she took her to the clinic to get them bandaged before dinner. She sat aside and listened to the doctor's instructions on what she should pay attention to.
The two did not enter the restaurant, but just ate something casually at the stall outside. During the meal, Wei Min chatted with the diners around him.
After asking a few people, Wei Min realized that the people of Zhucheng still had to pay taxes every year, and they didn't know that the court actually exempted them from taxes.
It is obvious who gets the money collected in Zhucheng every year.
After dinner, Wei Min went back and happened to meet the chief clerk who was standing at the door waiting for her.
Mei Zhubu had been busy since morning and hadn't had a sip of water. Now that he saw Wei Min coming back full of food and drink, he was suddenly upset and said in a sarcastic tone, "My Lord, you are so free."
Wei Min frowned slightly, but didn't argue with her. "How's the investigation going? What did the coroner say?"
"I am just a chief clerk. You can ask the coroner what he said." The chief clerk looked down at his sleeves and muttered, "How should I know?"
Wei Min was not going to tolerate her anymore, and said in a cold tone: "I'm entrusting this matter to you. Since you are not willing to do it and you don't know anything, then you might as well not even be the chief clerk."
Wei Min didn't need her anymore. He took Ah Ruan in without even looking at her. "The county government office is too small to accommodate you."
Mei Zhubu didn't expect Wei Min to say that. After a moment of shock, he stiffened his neck and gritted his teeth and said, "Without me, Your Excellency, I'm afraid you can't do anything!"
Wei Min understood and was not angry after hearing her words, "Are you talking about those yamen runners? If they are obedient, I will continue to use them. If they are not obedient, I will not want any of them."
Eighteen walked out of the yard and continued, "Yes, sir, I am enough to counter it." She stood on the steps, looked down at Mei Zhubu, raised her hand and touched her forehead, "to counter the group of cowardly and eye-sick people under your command."
This was a mockery of her morning.
Wei Min smiled and handed the meal he brought back for Shi Ba to her, and asked, "How's the cleaning going?"
Eighteen held the food box and followed Wei Min to the courtyard like a lackey, saying flatteringly, "Don't worry about my work. I know that I can have food if I work for you, sir."
The three of them went into the house while chatting and laughing, ignoring Mei Zhubu who was standing outside.
The room had been almost cleaned up, but the bailiffs were all women, and their work was rough and not very delicate.
A Ruan was more careful. He boiled the teacups he was going to use with water, wiped them carefully, took out the quilt, propped it up on a bamboo pole and placed it in the yard to dry, and then busied himself in the house.
He disliked Wei Min's injured arm and refused to let her help, so he asked her to sit aside and rest.
Eighteenth was sent by Wei Min to write a piece of paper recruiting servants and post it.
On the second day, a man came to the courtyard, but he was not a hired servant, but Yang Qinyue, the young master of the Ya Prefecture, who was staying at the home of the Ya Prefecture.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
