The magistrate was already in a bad mood, and now that He Jiuniang had said that, he was even more at a loss for words.
He looked at his nephew, who was slumped on the ground, and couldn't help but slap him, saying, "You good-for-nothing, you're so foolish!"
"Uncle, I know I was wrong, Uncle, please save me, please save me, I'll never bully anyone again!"
The disheveled young nobleman can no longer be called a nobleman; let's just call him a hapless fellow for now.
The unfortunate fellow clung to the magistrate's robe, pleading and begging for mercy, but the magistrate was powerless to save him.
He had learned his lesson a little better, and turned to kowtow to Lu Baichuan: "My lord, I know I was wrong. I will never dare to come here again. Please have mercy, my lord. I will never dare to do it again..."
After talking for a while, Lu Baichuan ignored him. He then looked at Lianhua, who had just finished calculating the accounts, and pounced on her. Leizi quickly stepped in front of Lianhua to block her.
What are you going to do?
Lei Zi watched him warily, thinking he was about to do something desperate, but to his surprise, his legs went weak again, and he knelt down before Lianhua: "Miss Lianhua, I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. I offended you. Please forgive me, considering I didn't get anything out of you. I promise I'll never dare to provoke you again, sob sob sob..."
Lotus didn't like this person to begin with, and now seeing that his hand was still bleeding and his face was covered with tears and snot, she felt disgusted no matter how she looked at him, so she naturally didn't want to have any more conversation with him.
She glanced at him and stepped back, then walked around him to He Jiuniang and said calmly, "Aunt Jiuniang, the accounts are settled. The total loss of our food, tables, chairs, and walls today is sixty-seven taels and four hundred cash. Double compensation should be one hundred and thirty-four taels and eight hundred cash."
He Jiuniang nodded and said, "Alright, let's round it up and make him pay two hundred taels."
The people around stared wide-eyed. Is this how you round up?
But she's pretty, so whatever she says goes!
The unlucky fellow quickly realized what was happening and replied, "I'll pay! I'm willing to pay! Five hundred taels is fine with me!"
He Jiuniang nodded again: "Alright, then five hundred taels it is."
Lotus was shocked. Was it really necessary for her to keep calculating for so long?
The magistrate listened from the side, and some of him had a whimsical idea that as long as he paid money, it would be fine. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that his family wouldn't be in such a bad situation. As long as it could be solved with money, it was alright.
But as soon as he exhaled and looked up, he saw He Jiuniang staring at him without blinking, urging him impatiently, "Magistrate, haven't you decided on the punishment yet? Do you need my help?"
He Jiuniang was a little angry. She had originally thought that if the magistrate were more fair, she wouldn't need to be so aggressive, and everyone could maintain a semblance of harmony. But the magistrate blatantly favored the unfortunate fellow as soon as he arrived, and tried to downplay the matter several times. How could that be allowed?
If their family didn't have any influence, they would have had to suffer in silence, and He Jiuniang could have secretly retaliated later. But now that Lu Baichuan has power, he should make good use of it. Fighting evil with evil is the most effective and satisfying way.
The magistrate took a deep breath, knowing that his nephew was doomed and had no one to blame but himself for messing with the wrong people.
He said slowly, "I will have his legs broken and his body sent to the countryside, never to return. What do you think, sir?"
Lu Baichuan looked at He Jiuniang, as if asking for her opinion.
He Jiuniang said, "We also need to pay five hundred taels of silver in compensation."
This is the same as the magistrate's approach, since the lotus flower wasn't actually harmed, and the shop's losses were doubled in compensation.
Lu Baichuan said, "Since that's the case, then for your sake as the county magistrate, we'll give you a small punishment as a warning. Let's do it now."
Upon hearing this, the magistrate felt a chill run down his spine. He had been thinking of taking the man back and giving him a perfunctory beating, but Lu Baichuan wanted him to beat him in front of everyone.
This is humiliating him, and yet you still say you're giving him face.
His pride is so worthless, sob sob...
The unfortunate man trembled with fear and cried even louder.
"Uncle, uncle, save me! I'll do it again, uncle!"
He struggled desperately, but the magistrate had his bailiffs hold him down. He deliberately hardened his heart and said, "You brought this upon yourself. You always rely on my power to do evil, and no matter how many times I tell you, you won't change! Today, I'll teach you a lesson in front of everyone and see if you dare to bully the people again!"
As they spoke, the constables began to act. With so many people in front of them, they couldn't possibly show mercy, and they even thought that if they acted quickly, the unfortunate man would suffer less.
Another round of pig-like screams rang out, and the onlookers grimaced in pain.
He Jiuniang walked up to everyone and said, "I'm sorry that you all laughed at what happened today, but I'm going to make this clear from the start: if anyone is so blind as to try to take advantage of the girls in my shop, they will suffer a much worse fate than this young master. I, He Jiuniang, mean what I say. If you're not convinced, feel free to try."
Her domineering speech silenced everyone present. Before today, they had vaguely heard that the owner of Lu Heiya was not to be trifled with, and even the wealthy Dong had suffered at her hands.
After witnessing this scene today, they truly realized that the owner of Lu Heiya was not someone they could afford to offend.
Even the county magistrate's nephew has been treated like this, so these people should just step aside!
"Your Excellency, five hundred taels of silver. Would you prefer silver or silver notes? In my opinion, silver notes are more convenient to carry. What do you say?"
After confirming that the unfortunate man's leg was indeed broken, He Jiuniang began to collect the debt.
Five hundred taels, not a single coin less!
The magistrate was covered in sweat and could barely stand, relying entirely on his subordinates for support. Hearing He Jiu Niang speak, he nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I will send someone to fetch the silver notes right away."
Naturally, he would go to that unlucky guy's house to collect it. He was almost killed by that unlucky guy today, so he certainly wouldn't pay for him again!
The unlucky fellow had already fainted from the pain and, with He Jiuniang's permission, was carried back by his servants.
While waiting for the servants to bring the money, He Jiuniang said earnestly, "Magistrate, you are busy with official duties, but you still need to manage your household affairs properly. Think about why you haven't been promoted for so many years. Isn't it related to these things?"
“I’ve seen everything clearly from the beginning to the end. My niece said that we have powerful backers, but he didn’t care at all and even verbally abused her. What, does that mean you deserve to be bullied like this by the sons of officials just because you don’t have powerful backers? You have powerful backers, but you don’t have enough power to do anything about them, right? You’re working in a county under Prince Chen’s jurisdiction. Do you think His Highness would find out about your incompetence and your tolerance of your relatives bullying the people? Forget about your official position, do you think you could even keep your life?”
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