Chapter 1035 The Only Way Out
Many officials gathered in front of the gate of the county magistrate's mansion, including both civil officials and military generals.
When they heard the news of the sudden death of the county magistrate, they were shocked and went to the county magistrate's mansion to verify the truth.
At this time, the gate was blocked by these officials. The guards of the county magistrate's mansion did not dare to attack them. They could only stand in front of the gate with shields in hand to prevent these officials from breaking into the county magistrate's mansion in desperation.
The unusual movement here attracted the attention of the people in the city, and more and more people gathered here.
They also wanted to know whether the county magistrate was dead or not?
As time passed, the county magistrate never showed up, and the door of the county magistrate's mansion remained closed. No one came out to give an explanation, and this evasive attitude made the officials feel depressed.
They originally just suspected that something had happened to the county magistrate, but now it seems that their suspicions might be true.
The county magistrate is a third-rank official in charge of an entire county. He is a true frontier official. His life and death are related to the entire Lu'an County.
Especially those local officials who followed Jian Shujie.
They almost tied their entire future to Jian Shujie. Once Jian Shujie is gone, their future will be in jeopardy.
After all, who knows who will be the next new county magistrate sent?
If the new county magistrate has a grudge against Jian Shujie, then the confidants left behind by the former officials will definitely become thorns in their eyes.
If things really come to that point, they must prepare in advance and at least find a way out for themselves before the new county magistrate arrives.
Now, the life and death of the county magistrate has become their most important concern.
The officials gradually became excited.
Some impatient officials even wanted to rush into the county governor's mansion to find out what was going on, but they were stopped by the guards guarding the door.
The generals immediately sent a message back, and soon a large number of troops were dispatched.
The onlookers were amazed at the sight of so many soldiers and horses. Perhaps all the officers and soldiers from the entire Fufeng City were mobilized here. What a big deal!
The county magistrate's mansion was surrounded by the army.
The guards at the gate were frightened by the scene in front of them and turned pale, their arms holding up their shields trembling slightly.
The two sides were in a stalemate and the atmosphere was tense.
At this moment, the door of the County Magistrate's Mansion, which had been tightly closed, was suddenly opened from the inside!
Everyone present was stunned.
They all turned their heads to look towards the door.
But then the county magistrate, wearing a dark cloak, walked out.
Behind him were two guards holding swords and obviously very skilled.
In fact, these two guards are from Tianmen.
Yu Jiu specially arranged for them to follow Jian Shujie, under the pretext of protecting Jian Shujie's safety, but in fact it was to monitor Jian Shujie's words and deeds.
If Jian Shujie makes any unusual move, the two Tianmen people disguised as guards will immediately take action to stop Jian Shujie.
Jian Shujie stood on the steps in front of the door, glanced at all the officials present, and asked in a deep voice.
"What are you doing? How can you be so presumptuous in front of the county governor's mansion?"
The officials had already prepared for the worst, but when they saw the county magistrate appear before them safe and sound, their mood, which had sunk to the bottom, suddenly soared again.
All this ups and downs really tests one's ability to endure.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the officials finally came to their senses. They hurriedly saluted the county magistrate, some bowed, some clasped their fists, but their movements were not uniform at all and were even a little messy.
A civil servant stepped out of the queue and spoke loudly.
"I heard that the county magistrate had an accident and was extremely worried. That's why I came here to disturb you. If I have been rude, I hope the county magistrate will consider my past diligence and spare me the trouble."
The others also begged for mercy, hoping that the county magistrate would not be dissatisfied with their abruptness.
Jian Shujie: "I'm just not feeling well, don't believe the rumors out there."
Everyone saw that the county magistrate was indeed much thinner than before, his face looked quite pale and he looked very bad, obviously sick. They presumably thought that the county magistrate had not shown up just now because he was sick.
Everything had a reasonable explanation, and the officials finally felt relieved.
…
The dungeon without sunlight was still so dark.
Wen Jiucheng sat on the ground, his back against the cold, hard wall, feeling sharp pain in his chest.
He didn't dare touch it or move, for fear of worsening his injury.
In order to ignore the pain from the wound, Wen Jiucheng tried to divert his attention by talking.
He called out "Big Brother".
Fang Wujiu, who was imprisoned in the cell opposite, replied, "What's the matter?"
Wen Jiucheng: "Will Jian Shujie really stand on our side?"
Fang Wujiu: "Well, this is his only way out."
Wen Jiucheng: "But his wife is still in Tianmen's hands. If he suddenly rebels, Tianmen will definitely kill his wife. Can he be so cruel as to do that?"
Fang Wujiu: "If the county magistrate's wife was still alive, Jian Shujie really couldn't bear to do this."
This answer made Wen Jiucheng stunned.
He asked in surprise, "You mean, the county magistrate's wife is dead? But how did you know that?"
Fang Wujiu spoke slowly and calmly.
"Before you came here, I had some contact with Jian Shujie..."
Half a month ago, it was still this cell.
Fang Wujiu leaned against the wall and spoke to the person in the cell next door.
"As a county governor and a third-rank official, you should have many talented people under your command. How could you be easily controlled by the people of Tianmen?"
It took a long time before I heard Jian Shujie's answer.
"They first controlled my wife. I was afraid they would hurt her, so I let them control me."
How smart is Fang Wujiu? He figured out the whole story in an instant.
He then asked, "Have you ever seen your wife since you were locked up?"
Jian Shujie: "I've seen him twice."
Fang Wujiu: "When was the last time?"
Jian Shujie was probably reminiscing as he spoke after a long while.
"I don't remember, it was a long time ago anyway."
He had been locked up for too long, unable to distinguish between day and night in the cell, and he had long lost his sense of time.
Fang Wujiu: "Haven't they asked you to see your wife recently?"
Jian Shujie: "They said my wife was ill and couldn't go out, so they would bring me a letter from her every few days."
Fang Wujiu's tone became a little deeper: "Are you sure those letters were written by your wife?"
Jian Shujie's voice suddenly became impatient: "What do you mean by that?"
Fang Wujiu remained calm and composed throughout.
"I don't mean anything else. I just suspect that those letters were written by someone else imitating your wife's handwriting. The real wife of the county magistrate is probably no longer around."
(End of this chapter)
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