Chapter 101 continues... With Master Zhen's approval, ...
With Mr. Zhen's approval, Old Chen Meimei held the stir-fried giant salamander in her arms and, with a happy expression, beckoned Jiang Zhenniang and Su Zhihan to go outside.
Perhaps because he felt indebted to the woman, Old Chen was very enthusiastic towards the mother and daughter. Fearing they might worry, he explained as he headed towards the county government office, "You don't need to worry. With Lord Zhen here, he'll definitely clear your name and lock that shopkeeper up!"
"Exactly, that shopkeeper has cheated so many people." Old Wang next to him said indignantly, "We've eaten here several times."
"You guys never noticed?"
"Sigh, those giant salamanders are too expensive..." Old Chen scratched his head, embarrassed, and said, "We can't afford that kind of expense. I reckon only people who occasionally come to the Tea Horse Road can afford to order them..."
After a pause, Old Chen sighed and said, "Oh dear, thinking about it this way, I wonder how many people have been cheated and taken advantage of."
"I come here occasionally..."
"A giant salamander..."
"In the mountains..."
Su Zhihan, with her sharp ears, happened to hear Zhen Guanren whisper a few words. She blinked and turned to look at Zhen Guanren, only to see that his expression was unusually serious, his gaze unfocused, as if he were lost in thought.
"Lord Zhen? Lord Zhen?"
"...Huh?" Zhen Guanren suddenly came to his senses, his sharp gaze instantly sweeping towards Su Zhihan.
Su Zhihan stopped and pointed ahead: "We've arrived at the county government office."
A large crowd had already gathered in front of the county government office. Several agitated and angry diners stood in the center, spitting as they recounted the whole story, causing the onlookers to gasp in surprise from time to time.
Zhen Guanren withdrew his gaze, smiled at Su Zhihan, and the group stepped inside.
...
Even though the case had solid evidence, numerous eyewitnesses, and aroused public sentiment, the county magistrate sitting above the court hearing the case remained unhurried and deliberate.
The case was brought to a close after more than two hours, from afternoon until sunset. The shopkeeper, the corresponding shop assistants, the chef, and other involved personnel were convicted of selling counterfeit goods and were each sentenced to sixty strokes of the cane. The restaurant was ordered to suspend operations for rectification.
Just moments ago, he dared to boast in the restaurant that his boss was the nephew of the county magistrate. This time, he took all the blame upon himself, without mentioning his backer at all. He kept saying that he had gone against his conscience and wanted to embezzle money, which was why he came up with this idea.
Su Zhihan and the others were dissatisfied, but as the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, so they could only stop there.
As the mother and daughter walked out of the yamen, it was getting late. Seeing this, they didn't have time to say goodbye to Master Zhen and the others, so they hurried to the city gate. From afar, they saw the coachman with a worried look on his face, looking around frequently.
Seeing Su Zhihan and Jiang Zhenniang approaching from afar, the coachman finally breathed a sigh of relief and greeted them with a smile: "The two ladies have finally arrived. If we hadn't left soon, it would have been dark by the time we got there."
"Why don't we stay in town for the night?"
“I think it’s a good idea.” Jiang Zhenniang nodded, but the coachman shook his head: “Ladies, there are no inns in this town.”
"How could this be?" Su Zhihan was taken aback. "I've seen quite a few restaurants, but why isn't anyone running an inn?"
“During the war, inns didn’t last long.” The coachman was a local from Maozhou. Hearing this, he started talking about the surrounding area: “No new inns have opened yet. The people staying here are either doing business in town or have settled down here and hired guards to look after them.”
"Ordinary people would rather return to Maozhou as soon as possible."
"Things are better now... I heard that there were still bandits killing and robbing passersby ahead, and quite a few people died." The coachman muttered to himself, "I heard that more than a year ago, we had a conflict with the foreign tribes because several officials from the capital died."
Hearing this, Su Zhihan and Jiang Zhenniang finally became anxious and hurriedly got into the carriage, urging the driver to head back as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, in the backyard of the county government office, the magistrate was scolding several people with a dark face: "What a bunch of useless trash! You actually let a little girl discover the loophole."
"Boss, we didn't expect that little blonde girl to be so cunning... That's why we haven't had any business for a while, and we're running out of money."
The innkeeper knelt on the ground with a fawning expression, and said indignantly, "I think she might be a cook from some restaurant who deliberately came here to cause trouble."
"They're from the capital, not some cook." The magistrate had just inspected the mother and daughter's lodgings and knew they came from the capital, had relatives in Maozhou, and had come to the vicinity of the Tea Horse Road to broaden their horizons.
"From the capital? Just a mother and daughter, and a coachman?" The innkeeper, his courage growing, grinned maliciously. He clasped his hands together and gestured: "Boss, how about we—"
The magistrate's expression was uncertain, as if he had something on his mind.
The shopkeeper glanced furtively at the magistrate's expression, still unwilling to give up. Then, he brought up Su Zhihan again: "That girl's skills are really good, as if she has studied them specially... If we catch her and ask her a few questions, we might be able to get some interesting recipes out of her."
"I have relatives in Maozhou."
"So what if we have relatives? There are bandits and wild beasts on this road. If all else fails, we can just find a second-rate person to take the blame."
The shopkeeper's face turned fierce, but he grinned and said, "If she's skilled, the eldest brother can take her as a concubine, and then the skill will belong to the eldest brother. If she's not skilled, we can sell her later. Girls this age don't have to worry about where they go."
The shopkeeper thought that since they were a mother and daughter, it would be very convenient to threaten them. Once the county magistrate changed their status to that of a lowly person, they could be sold to another place, and no one would believe them when they said they had no other background.
The magistrate listened, still somewhat hesitant.
The shopkeeper frowned: "Boss—you haven't become soft-hearted after being an official for a few years, have you? You're comfortable being an official, you get a salary, you have people to serve you, and you have a great reputation outside... But we brothers still need to eat and drink."
"Alright, alright, I didn't say you couldn't do it. Otherwise, why would I have dragged it out this late?"
Seeing that the shopkeeper was becoming more and more pitiful, the magistrate raised his voice to interrupt him, and then whispered, "Make sure it's clean, don't leave as many traces as last time."
The shopkeeper chuckled and thumped his chest loudly. He called his men out the door, spurred his horse, and galloped straight out of the city.
The group left the city.
Before long, another group of people followed them out the door.
...
As darkness fell, even though the coachman was extremely anxious, he had to slow down the carriage and horses and hurried along the path.
Jiang Zhenniang lifted the curtain and looked at the dark sky and the pitch-black forest, feeling her heart pounding: "It's so dark here..."
How much further is it?
"Reporting to Madam, it should still be half an hour's journey," the coachman replied.
"We should have left earlier..."
"Who would have thought this case would take so long?" Su Zhihan tidied up the spices in her hands, and then took out the newly bought kitchen knife and pot to play with. The kitchen knives and iron pots made by the people from other parts of Xinjiang were quite special, and extremely sharp.
Su Zhihan touched it again and again, her heart filled with the desire to return home as soon as possible so she could try it out.
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from behind the carriage. The coachman called out to Su Zhihan and Jiang Zhenniang to sit properly, and then steered the horse to the side, wanting to make way for the people behind.
Unexpectedly, before the coachman could adjust, the people behind crashed into them heavily. Another rider on horseback rammed into them from the side, not only trying to force the carriage to stop, but also raising a sharp knife to stab the coachman.
"Watch out—they're up to no good!" The coachman's face changed instantly. He shouted a warning to the two people in the carriage while swerving the carriage sharply to the side.
The rider never expected the coachman to be so daring. He lost his balance and fell off the cliff with his horse, leaving only a pitiful scream.
In an instant, only the sound of horses' hooves filled the air. But the good weather didn't last long. Seeing someone injured, the bandits rushing up from behind became even more ferocious, using hooks to snag the carriage and slow it down.
Immediately afterwards, several more people approached the carriage.
Jiang Zhenniang lifted the curtain and peeked out, then said with difficulty, "Han'er, there are seven or eight people behind us!"
Su Zhihan pursed her lips and touched the kitchen knife and iron pot—she had originally intended to make good use of them, but unexpectedly, she would have to use them for something else.
She instructed the driver to continue driving and then had Jiang Zhenniang move to the front. Immediately afterward, she lifted the curtain at the back and was met with a familiar face: "It's you!?"
The one who pounced on him was the shopkeeper!
When the shopkeeper saw Su Zhihan come out, he immediately grinned maliciously: "Hurry up and stop the carriage, so you can suffer less, otherwise—ow!"
Su Zhihan picked up the iron pot with her right hand and smashed it down, making the shopkeeper see stars and almost drop to the ground.
"You filthy bitch—" the shopkeeper cursed, drawing his sword and lunging at Su Zhihan. But Su Zhihan reacted faster, swinging her cleaver with her left hand and chopping straight at the shopkeeper's palm.
Before the shopkeeper could even react, his body suddenly plummeted, and a sharp pain swept over him, causing him to let out a shrill scream.
"Han Jie'er!?"
"It's alright, I'll chop off his hand." Su Zhihan said calmly as she watched the shopkeeper fall off his horse and roll backward.
However, she knew that this was only the beginning, and the bandits would not be as careless as they had been before.
"Shoot an arrow! Shoot an arrow!"
"Kill them!"
The shopkeeper screamed pitifully.
As a series of arrows rang out, the shopkeeper's smile suddenly froze.
The three people in the carriage were unharmed, while the bandits on horseback fell to the ground one after another.
He looked in horror toward the direction from which the arrows had come, only to see another group of people appear behind them. They were serious-looking, well-organized, and armed with bows and arrows. They fired their arrows in unison and swiftly killed most of the bandits.
"You are...you are from where? We're in the same trade..." The shopkeeper started to say, but suddenly fell silent. He looked at the approaching group of people, and his expression changed drastically.
Jiang Zhenniang, who was looking through the curtain, exclaimed in surprise, "Master Zhen? Master Wang?"
The official who arrived on horseback was none other than Master Zhen, whom the mother and daughter had met earlier. He sat high on his horse and waved for his men to tie up the shopkeeper and the bandits.
"Master Zhen, are you sure you've made a mistake..." The shopkeeper, ignoring the excruciating pain in his hand, still tried to make a final struggle.
Old Wang glanced at him, a half-smile on his face: "We've been watching you for a long time—don't worry, your boss will go to jail with you."
Upon hearing the words "boss," the shopkeeper's face turned completely pale. He stared intently at Master Zhen and muttered, "You, you're not the inspector, who are you?"
"Lord Zhen is the Chief Censor, and he has come here to investigate the case of murder and robbery committed by foreigners from Maozhou."
Upon hearing this, Su Zhihan was suddenly taken aback, realizing this must be what the coachman had mentioned earlier. She looked at the ashen-faced innkeeper and exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that someone impersonated a foreigner and committed this crime?"
Old Chen nodded: "That's right!"
Because the carriage was damaged, Su Zhihan and her entourage returned to the county government office with Master Zhen. The mother and daughter had just alighted from the carriage when they looked at the approaching official in surprise: "Brother?"
"Brother Feng?"
"Mother, Han'er, what are you doing here?" Su Lifeng looked at the mother and daughter in surprise, then looked at Zhen Guanren in confusion.
Once he learned the whole story, his gaze towards the shopkeeper darkened, and he stepped forward to deliver a vicious kick to the stomach: "Bastard!"
Zhen Guanren and the others were also surprised by the coincidence, and then quickly pulled Su Lifeng back: "Hey, hey, hey, this person is still useful! Stop for now, there will be plenty of opportunities later."
Upon returning to Maozhou the next day, Su Zhihan and Jiang Zhenniang learned the truth from Su Lifeng. It turned out that the magistrate of the county where the tea-horse market was located had been replaced. At first, no one noticed, but it was only discovered by chance when the previous group of officials came to investigate the case, and the imposter magistrate then silenced them.
"This man has been evil for many years and is utterly despicable."
"He committed all sorts of atrocities, including murder, robbery, and looting. He even deliberately shifted the blame for the massacres of villages and families onto outsiders on several occasions, which made the ordinary people here even more hostile to outsiders."
Su Lifeng felt immense grief as he thought of how countless comrades had perished in the war because of this bastard's actions, and he gritted his teeth.
“After the incident of officials being silenced became a big deal at the end of last year, the prefectural government became suspicious of this place and specially sent people to investigate.”
"For this reason, Master Zhen has been lying in wait for several months."
"Only after hearing you and the diners mention the giant salamander today, and after hearing the story told by the waiter, have I realized that they are the masterminds behind the murder."
"A giant salamander? A story?" Jiang Zhenniang was puzzled. Su Zhihan recalled the story the waiter had told her and whispered, "Could it be that the waiter's story about their search for giant salamanders wasn't actually about searching for giant salamanders?"
“That’s right.” Su Lifeng nodded: “Perhaps in pursuit of realism, the places the waiter revealed included several of their crimes and the locations where they buried evidence.”
Jiang Zhenniang gasped in shock, never expecting that the bandits would use these incidents as material to tell the diners.
Jiang Zhenniang recalled how she had praised Xiao Er and the others for their skill when she heard them earlier, and her face turned ashen. She immediately began to curse the bandits.
For the next period of time, Su Zhihan and Jiang Zhenniang continued to travel around Maozhou, while Su Lifeng assisted Zhen Guanren and others in investigating the case.
As the investigation deepened, Su Zhihan gradually became acquainted with Zhen Guanren and others—mainly for the sake of food.
At first, Su Zhihan prepared several large boxes of food for Su Lifeng to take to the yamen to share, and then she simply sent someone to deliver hot meals at noon.
If it weren't for the fact that she was Su Lifeng's sister, Su Zhihan would have thought she could have taken over the government canteen.
Then, as the case came to light and those outsiders were exonerated, the relationship between the local people of Maozhou and the outsiders gradually became more peaceful.
Su Lifeng told the mother and daughter that if things continued this way, perhaps they would truly be able to welcome peace in the near future.
Once the case was closed, the imperial court's rewards followed. Su Lifeng and others were promoted on the spot, while Zhen Guanren and others were also promoted exceptionally for solving the case and were about to be sent to other places to serve as officials.
"I wonder when we'll meet again." Su Lifeng hooked his arm around Zhen Guanren's neck, sighing deeply.
In this world where fools and corrupt officials make up the majority, he was truly reluctant to part with a capable person like Master Zhen.
"We're all busy with official duties, so there will always be a chance to meet again," said Master Zhen with a slight smile.
Su Lifeng gulped down a pot of wine, then let out a howl and threw himself onto Zhen Guanren, weeping bitterly: "You make it sound so easy! Don't you feel even a little bit reluctant?"
"We've been working together for so long, haven't we?"
"Don't leave! Stay in Maozhou!"
"Tsk, you bastard, why aren't you answering me? I bet you'll forget about me once we leave Maozhou TT"
"Brother—what are you doing?" Su Zhihan was first startled by Su Lifeng's howling, and when she saw him clinging to Zhen Guanren, wiping his snot and tears all over him, she was speechless.
Her face flushed red, and she forcefully tore Su Lifeng off Zhen Guanren, angrily saying, "Zhen Guanren is a good official. Even if he goes elsewhere, he will still be there to benefit the people... Besides, this is an imperial decree. How can you let him disobey it?"
"Waaaaahh ...
"Bang!" Seeing that he was still going to howl, Su Zhihan raised her hand and gave him a sharp rap on the head, until Su Lifeng's eyes were clear before she stopped.
Su Lifeng muttered to himself, "Violence, brutality."
Su Zhihan clenched her fists, her gaze icy.
Even Su Lifeng couldn't help but shut his mouth. After all, he only learned after his mother and sister were attacked that Su Zhihan, who was a chef, looked slender but was actually all muscle. She could lift him up, or even a pig, without batting an eye.
Of course, the most, most, most, most important thing is that the younger sister also takes charge of the family kitchen...
Su Lifeng sighed, but finally became serious. He patted Zhen Guanren on the shoulder: "See you later... If anything happens, be sure to contact me."
"We'll always be good brothers."
“…Hmm.” Zhen Guanren smiled slightly, glanced at Su Zhihan who had turned around and was chatting and laughing with Jiang Zhenniang, then lowered his head to look at the ‘Last Supper’, feeling a pang of regret.
After a hearty meal, everyone reluctantly bid farewell. Master Zhen rode away from Maozhou City, only turning back halfway to look behind him.
At this moment, the figures on the Maozhou city wall had become thin streaks, and their expressions were completely obscured.
Mr. Zhen paused for a moment, then turned and walked forward.
Old Wang and Old Chen exchanged glances, then after a moment leaned forward again: "Lord Zhen, I heard that Lord Su's sister is still unmarried—"
Master Zhen turned around abruptly and gave Old Wang a cool look. Old Wang shrank back and chuckled, "Men should marry when they come of age and women should marry when they come of age, and besides, you've secretly glanced at Lady Su several times today... haven't you?"
After a moment of silence, Master Zhen said, "Don't mention it again; it's not good for Lady Su's reputation."
"We're not stupid—"
“I’m constantly on the go these days, and I’m bound to offend local bullies and cause trouble for those around me. This isn’t a good time to make connections,” Master Zhen suddenly said. “If fate allows, if we can meet again…”
"What if it's ten or twenty years from now?" Old Wang immediately understood what Master Zhen was thinking and became even more enthusiastic. He muttered to himself in exasperation, but unfortunately, his nagging didn't yield any progress.
As Zhen continued to solve cases, his official position rose rapidly. Just over thirty years old, he was transferred back to the capital and rose to the position of Vice Censor-in-Chief.
"I heard that Lord Su is also being transferred back to the capital." Old Wang said excitedly as he walked along the road with Master Zhen, "If Lady Su were still here, I might be able to mooch a meal from her, hehe."
However, this time, Old Wang didn't say anything about matchmaking. After all, everyone had seen that the court officials and even the emperor were willing to act as matchmakers for Master Zhen, and Master Zhen was becoming more and more dignified, making it increasingly difficult for those around him to understand his thoughts...
Old Wang suddenly blinked: "Huh?"
He pointed ahead: "Wait—isn't that Lady Su?!"
Upon hearing this, Master Zhen looked up and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar figure standing under the shade of a tree at the corner of the road.
Su Zhihan was wearing a plain dress with an apron around her waist. She held a bamboo pole in both hands and stood on tiptoe to pick up persimmons from the treetop.
"Han-jie, be careful, be careful."
"Don't worry! I used to pick them all the time." Su Zhihan carefully picked up the persimmons with her fingers, placing them one by one into the bamboo basket. "Later, we'll make all these persimmons into dried persimmons, hee hee~"
The thought of the sweet persimmons fueled everyone's enthusiasm. However, the birds, perhaps disapproving of the two-legged creatures taking over their business, chirped and hopped about on the branches.
The branches of the persimmon tree swayed back and forth, but eventually could not withstand the birds' leaps.
The next second, the ripe persimmons fell like cannonballs, heading straight for Su Zhihan. However, before they hit her, a straw hat blocked her head.
Su Zhihan was slightly taken aback, looked up, and her almond-shaped eyes widened instantly: "Master Zhen?"
Mr. Zhen put away his bamboo hat and suddenly said, "Zhen Ruxing is thirty years old."
Su Zhihan was confused, but she still answered honestly, "Su Zhihan? Twenty-two years old this year?"
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