In the back hall of Shangyuan County Government Office, the head magistrate Zhang Dongguan was surrounded by beauties.

One concubine peeled a newly arrived Yangzhou crab and scooped out crab roe with a silver spoon to feed him, while another concubine occasionally raised the wine glass and fed him a sip of daughter's red wine.

"Nanjing is a great place to have fun. Only a jerk would go back to Sichuan."

County Magistrate Zhang was so happy that a phrase from his hometown came to his mind.

Who would have thought that at this moment, the disappointed doorman came in, presented a gold-stamped silk visiting card and said, "Master, Mr. Liu wants to see you."

"What is this Mr. Liu? There are so many Mr. Lius in Jinling City who are so talkative." Magistrate Zhang accidentally spoke with his local accent. He quickly picked up his napkin, covered his mouth and coughed twice, then switched to Nanjing Mandarin and said, "Although I am a punching bag, how dare a mere Mr. Liu disturb my meal?"

"It's Mr. Liu from the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce." Menzi added hurriedly.

"Oh, you distinguished guest." Magistrate Zhang immediately changed his expression, pinched the concubine's soft tofu-like cheeks, stood up and said, "Change your clothes and meet the guest in the main hall."

The Dongting Merchants' Clan was extremely powerful and had a say in both the northern and southern capitals. A mere county magistrate like him would not dare to offend them.

~~

After a while, County Magistrate Zhang hurried out to meet Mr. Liu.

After some greetings, the latter stated his purpose.

Of course, he couldn't help but portray himself as a poor victim, as if he, the second-in-command of the Dongting Merchant Gang, was a little white rabbit that was persecuted.

"Is that so?" Magistrate Zhang heard the defendant's name, and rubbed his fingers with a bitter face, saying, "I have also seen Tang Youde. He is wearing a crown and belt just like you. I can only summon him but cannot detain him."

In order to raise money and food to fight against the Japanese invaders, the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel issued thousands of official certificates in one go. No matter what your background was, as long as you donated enough money, you could be granted a title of honorary official and receive a crown and belt. Mr. Zhang from Dehengdang and Mr. Liu from the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce both bought the official certificates of the fifth-rank official.

Although they could not really become officials, with this hat and belt, they could interact with officials on an equal footing.

Tang Youde, who was as cunning as he was, would not miss such a rare opportunity. He also tried his best to buy the hat and belt of the eighth-rank official of the Ministry of Rites. Although the eighth-rank official was inconspicuous, he was on guard against this moment, so that he would not be destroyed by a small county magistrate.

"Let's put the Tang guy aside for now..." Mr. Liu said with a dark face, "The guy named Zhao is a commoner, let's start with him first."

"Mr. Zhao has become quite famous recently. Even the young master was defeated by him last time." Then Magistrate Zhang made another excuse.

"Don't worry, old parents. I have already investigated clearly. The young master relied on his stepbrother Zhao Jin for help in the previous incident." Liu Yuanwai explained: "At that time, Zhao Jin was the Nanjing Censor. If he really wanted to go against Duke Wei, although he could not hurt the old master, he would be annoyed, so he gave in. As for the so-called apology, it was just a rumor and an exaggeration."

"Oh, really?" Magistrate Zhang seemed to have itchy fingers and kept rubbing his thumb with his index and middle fingers.

"Yes. And Zhao Jin has been transferred to Hebei to raise horses. What else do you have to worry about?" Liu Yuanwai advised again, then gritted his teeth and said, "In addition, I am not suing him for money, I am purely seeking justice! So if you help me recover all the losses, I am willing to give 5,000 taels to the county to help students!"

"Hiss..." County Magistrate Zhang changed the position of his fingers and rubbed them, which meant he was settling accounts.

After a brief calculation, he laughed dryly and said, "The entire county school needs to be rebuilt. Five thousand taels may not be enough. At least three thousand taels will be needed."

"Okay, but you have to let me vent my anger." Mr. Liu nodded heavily.

"Okay, pay two thousand taels as a deposit first... Oh no, it's a scholarship." Magistrate Zhang said with a smile on his old face, "This county will issue a warrant to arrest the person immediately!"

"Deal!" Mr. Liu looked extremely angry.

After receiving the two thousand taels of silver, County Magistrate Zhang finally made the promise with a smile on his face.

After seeing off Mr. Liu, he asked someone to call Li Jiutian over.

The jailer was supposed to live in the duty room of the county government office. Li Jiutian quickly came over to sign for the custody and knelt down to obey orders.

Magistrate Zhang sat at his desk and handed him a ticket with wet ink on it. He said, "Catch this person. Put him in the cell for a few days before going to court."

"As you command, sir!" Li Jiutian was delighted to hear that. To a clerk, having a ticket or not made a world of difference! If they had one, they were on official business for the county, and killing people would not be against the law; if they didn't have one, they were disturbing the people privately, and even if they were killed, it would not be against the law...

He hurried forward and took the ticket with both hands, wanting to see how much money the fat sheep on it could make.

"Ah, Zhao Hao from Caijia Lane?!" Who would have thought that after just one look, he was so frightened that he almost lost his soul and said:

"I dare not offend that living Tai Sui. He even dares to beat up the young master's people..."

"How dare you!" Magistrate Zhang slammed his hand on the table and cursed, "You unruly clerk, is this your place to bargain? If you can't get the person, you'll be punished!"

"Oh, yes..." Li Jiutian dared not disobey the master's order, so he had to hold the life-threatening ticket and retreat with a sad face.

~~

That night, Li Jiutian was so worried that he couldn't sleep all night.

The next morning, he changed into casual clothes, without his escort, and went to Caijia Lane alone to look around.

Suddenly, someone patted him on the back, and he was so scared that he cried out and almost fell to the ground.

"Jiutian, what are you planning?" He saw Yu Jiachang standing behind him with a strange look on his face.

"I was scared to death..." Li Jiutian finally breathed a sigh of relief, got up from the ground, and asked in a low voice: "Old Captain, is the young master at home?"

"The young master went out to escape the summer heat and hasn't been seen for a few days." Yu Jiachang looked at Li Jiutian warily and asked, "What do you want from the young master?"

"I have something to discuss with him..." Li Jiutian felt more at ease when he heard that Zhao Hao was not at home, so he smiled at Yu Jiachang and said, "It's the same if I discuss it with you."

Then he pulled Yu Jiachang to a secluded place and told him everything that happened last night.

"Of course I dare not detain you, but I can't change my mind. The master has spoken. What can I do?" Seeing Yu Jia's face darken, Li Jiutian first removed himself, and then carefully suggested: "My master is famous for being reasonable. The young master is now wealthy. You can go and talk to him in person, or let me pass on a message. It should be able to make a big thing small, or a small thing nothing."

"This is not something I can decide." Yu Jia snorted and said, "I will have someone report this to you, young master. You just wait for the reply."

"Okay, please hurry up." Li Jiutian begged with a sad face, "In four days at most, I will be beaten..."

~~

Deep in Xiaocang Mountain, there is a Lotus Lake. At this moment, Zhao Hao is wearing a bamboo hat and competing in fishing with his two apprentices.

Wu Yu walked over, leaned over to whisper in his ear, and reported to Zhao Hao what Captain Yu had said.

"Let Captain Yu tell Li Jiutian that I will show up on September 18th, not even a day earlier."

"Master, don't worry about it." Hua Shuyang smiled and said, "Someone sued our Hua family ten years ago. The county magistrate has changed three times, but the court has never been opened."

"That's right, he didn't kill anyone or set any fire, why bother with him?" Wang Wuyang also said indifferently: "In Taicang, the police always avoid us."

"Okay, you guys are awesome."

Zhao Hao laughed, and suddenly saw the float shaking violently, so he picked up the fishing rod and threw a three-pound carp onto the shore.

He really just stayed in Xiaocang Mountain without moving, and no matter how the county summoned him, he ignored it.

ps. The fourth update asks for monthly votes and recommendation tickets~~