After exchanging a few words with the girl, He Zifeng left.
The next morning, the constables all went to repair the city wall. The county magistrate knew the usual state of his constables; without his supervision, they would surely become lax and undisciplined. So he went early, and as soon as he arrived, everyone worked very efficiently.
The craftsmen and workers needed to thicken and reinforce the city wall a second time, and the work was very tiring. Even Constable Zhu could carry stones while working, so the others could only grit their teeth and follow suit; they couldn't possibly have more pomp than Constable Zhu. Apart from He Zifeng, who had done this kind of work before, the others present simply didn't have the strength; they were all either strained or had twisted backs.
They were busy until noon. As yamen runners, they didn't want to appear cowardly, so they returned to the yamen for a short rest at noon, and only then did they reveal their grimacing faces.
They didn't care about getting dirty, and just sat down anywhere on the ground. They were all exhausted, like dead dogs.
He Zifeng appeared calm, though he had sweated quite a bit that morning. He filled a basin with water, washed his face and hands, and then began to eat the food prepared by the cook.
They were all buddies from the county government, sitting together in twos and threes. Someone asked, "Why isn't the clerk here?"
Although the clerk and the county magistrate didn't get along, the clerk always made an effort to save face.
He didn't come to such a big event in the county; otherwise, the people would talk about him, and it wouldn't be worth it.
The advisor's subordinate said, "The advisor was supposed to come, but yesterday someone threw rotten vegetable leaves at the door. That angered him."
Everyone was around when he spoke, and they loved hearing about this kind of thing. One of them, with a hint of sarcasm, said, "Ha, who has the guts to do that?" The only troublemaker, an old man, had already been taken into custody by the authorities.
"Who knows?" The clerk, who usually acted aloof and arrogant at the yamen, had lost face after encountering such things one after another.
He Zifeng then saw a man dressed as a jailer come to him and say, "Brother He, you should go and see, Gong San is dying."
Everyone looked over in surprise.
He Zifeng asked, "What happened? Did you use torture?"
The jailer said, "We wouldn't dare use torture. He's in poor health; he started foaming at the mouth early this morning." Since something like this happened in their prison, the jailers couldn't escape responsibility, so they rushed to find him.
The county magistrate, who had been overseeing the work under the scorching sun all day, was taken back by carriage at noon. Seeing the magistrate leave, Constable Zhu also departed. Now, the only one in charge was He Zifeng.
He Zifeng said, "I'll go take a look first."
Several of his men wanted to go with He Zifeng, but their legs trembled as soon as they stood up. Seeing that they were exhausted and hadn't even eaten, He Zifeng told them to rest more.
He went with the jailer alone.
When he arrived at the prison, they had already moved him to an open space and summoned a doctor from Huichuntang to treat him.
Xiao Li was relieved when He Zifeng arrived. She said, "Brother He, we didn't do anything to him. I don't know why he's like this!"
He Zifeng asked, "When was it discovered?"
"Just now when the food was being served."
When the doctor saw He Zifeng arrive, he said to him, "This man was so angry and upset that he got angry at himself." He was overwhelmed with emotions and hadn't eaten for a day and a night.
He Zifeng asked, "Is there any hope?"
The old doctor said, "Yes, there is, but the medicine is quite troublesome to prepare. And you need to rest quietly."
He Zifeng said, "Please trouble the doctor to prepare the medicine first."
The old doctor nodded, then wrote out a prescription and asked the young apprentice to prepare the medicine.
He Zifeng said to Xiao Li, "You two keep an eye on things for now."
Xiao Li and the other guards were terrified before, afraid of getting into trouble. But now that they saw He Zifeng was calm, they felt much more at ease.
As soon as He Zifeng went out, a little beggar ran towards him. He Zifeng had seen him earlier, but it was inconvenient because the jailer was nearby. Now he went to an alley, and the little beggar followed him in.
This was He Zifeng's undercover agent; his porridge stall provided sustenance for the little beggars. They were all very grateful to him. He Zifeng noticed a few young, clever-looking individuals, whom he had mentioned beforehand that they might be of use.
The little beggar was worried about how to repay He Zifeng for the meal he had given him, and he was hoping to be of use to him. It wasn't until yesterday that He Zifeng contacted them!
The little beggar in front of him said, "Master went to Willow Leaf Lane early this morning. Soon after, their pimp came out and said that Master wanted to buy cakes for Miss Piaopiao. He went there six or seven times this morning."
He Zifeng asked, "Is the person still alive?"
The little beggar nodded.
He Zifeng said, "Well done." Then he took out thirty coins from his pocket and said, "Here, ten coins for each of you."
The little beggar was surprised that he could receive a reward just by looking at a person and delivering a message. He happily said, "Thank you so much, benefactor! I will definitely give them the full amount. Is there anything else we need to do?"
He Zifeng said, "Keep an eye on him, but keep a distance so no one notices." These little beggars have been on the streets since they were young. They're more clever than most people.
If someone is targeted by them, it's really hard for an ordinary person to escape.
It seems Miss Piaopiao has already begun her work. Their plan is to wear down the advisor's energy. She's a delicate beauty, and her occasional antics can pique a man's interest and entice him to indulge her.
Yesterday, Miss Piaopiao told He Zifeng something unbelievable. Although the advisor had many women in his harem, he was "impotent." With her, at most he could only touch and hug her. Even when he got aroused, he would quickly stop. Afterwards, his face would look extremely pale. Miss Piaopiao also said that the advisor took a kind of powder. After taking it, he would be highly aroused, his face would be frightening, and his expression would be crazed.
Given her age and appearance, she wasn't exactly a good match. Piaopiao wanted to break free from her relationship with the clerk as soon as possible so she could compete for the top spot on the red-light district.
When the advisor is down on his luck, he seeks solace in the company of women, and if the girl Piaopiao acts up, his mental energy is depleted even faster, making it easier for He Zifeng to deal with him.
After speaking with the little beggar, He Zifeng returned to the prison and called the jailer from before, saying, "Go and report to Magistrate Gong San about this matter."
The Gong family wields too much power in the county; if something were to happen to them, it would be difficult to explain.
Send the other two to the yamen gate to inform everyone, and send one more person to the clerk's house to report.
Finally, they asked Xiao Li to go to the Gong family to inform them.
Before long, everyone knew that the county magistrate had suffered from heatstroke while supervising the work outside and had just drunk some cooling soup to take a nap. Then someone disturbed his peaceful slumber.
He was already impatient, but when he heard about the matter, he couldn't sit still any longer. He immediately went to find the other people in charge.
But the servants only managed to find He Zifeng; Chief Constable Zhu had disappeared somewhere to avoid work. The clerk wasn't home either, so He Zifeng was the only one in charge of things at the county office.
He Zifeng said, "Gong San has already been given the medicine. He's still unconscious, but his heart is still beating. I've notified the Gong family, just in case anything happens and they come looking for him."
The county magistrate nodded and said, "You did a good job." Luckily, he had a capable man by his side; otherwise, it would have been too late if something had really gone wrong.
He Zifeng said, "It's just..." He hesitated before continuing.
The county magistrate took He Zifeng very seriously and said, "What is it? Just say it."
He Zifeng said, "The advisor went to the red-light district. If he gets discovered at a time like this, it will be bad." There was a hint of embarrassment in his voice.
This only made the county magistrate angrier, since even his superior was working. Gong San's affair was originally caused by the clerk. Yet the clerk had gotten away with it, saying, "A man of his age, yet he has no shame."
As they were talking, people from the Gong family arrived.
It was Gong Xiyuan who arrived. This was the first time He Zifeng had seen Wan Hai's biological father. He seemed to take good care of himself, as the man looked quite spry. Tears streamed down his face. "My lord," he said, "my good-for-nothing son has caused you so much trouble. Please let me take him back and treat him properly." What good doctor could the prison possibly have? If they delayed any longer, it would be too late to regret it.
The county magistrate didn't want to take on Gong San's hot potato, so he said, "I pity your paternal love and have granted this special permission. However, the case is not over and you may be summoned at any time. If your son dares to feign illness to deceive me, he will be punished severely."
Gong Xiyuan repeatedly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, sir."
The magistrate casually said to He Zifeng, "Go and bring the clerk back. If he continues to frequent the brothels, I can no longer protect him."
He Zifeng agreed and left the room.
Gong Xiyuan, being who he was, knew these words were specifically for him, but he couldn't help feeling resentment. He paid his advisor no less than five hundred taels of silver every year. His son had been reduced to this state in just one day in prison, while his advisor was still indulging in debauchery.
That was practically a resounding slap in the face to him.
Gong Xiyuan was furious, but bringing his son home was more important than anything else. He received an imperial edict from the county magistrate to ransom the boy from the prison. He then had a sedan chair carried to the prison and sent the boy back.
He Zifeng went to Willow Leaf Brothel to find his advisor, heading straight for the second floor. The madam, of course, tried to stop him, but how could she, alone, stop such a tall and strong man? She let him barge in.
The clerk was disheveled, completely different from usual. He Zifeng said, "It's bad, clerk, Gong San is dying. The Gong family is causing a scene at the county government office, and the county magistrate is furious. He's summoning you. You'd better hurry."
The advisor was furious that He Zifeng had barged in without reason, but upon hearing his words, his heart skipped a beat. However, with the woman and the madam present, he repeatedly told them to get out and made He Zifeng repeat himself.
He Zifeng repeated himself, and even the clerk gasped. He had already instructed the jailers to take care of Gong San, intending to keep him for two days before finding an excuse to release him. Who would have thought Gong San would be so useless, dying after just one day in jail? A man can't die; if he does, he'll definitely become enemies with the Gong family.
Ignoring everything else, she quickly tidied her hair, put on her clothes and shoes, and even forgot to ask about He Zifeng's serious crime of breaking into the house, before hurrying back.
He Zifeng was left alone in the room. The young lady, Piaopiao, gave He Zifeng a packet of powder, saying, "Master, you've already inhaled it once. I saved a little."
He Zifeng said, "Thank you."
The girl said, "No need, I'm doing this for myself too."
He Zifeng turned and left. When he opened the powder, he went to a pharmacy to get the medicine, but several pharmacies said it didn't look like medicine and they didn't know what it was.
When He Zifeng returned, he ran into the fat Taoist priest, who was even fatter than the last time he saw him. It was obvious that he was living a good life.
The fat Taoist greeted He Zifeng, saying that his life had become much more comfortable since he started cooperating with Lingshan Village.
He Zifeng suddenly asked, "Do you know what's inside this packet of medicine?"
Although the portly Taoist priest practiced feng shui, he was also skilled in traditional Chinese medicine. In fact, his skill level was no less than that of a typical resident doctor. He chuckled and said, "Oh, let me see." But when he saw the medicinal powder inside, his expression changed: "Master He… how do you have this kind of thing?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
