"What for?" He Jiuniang raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Naturally, we're taking you to the county government office to collect your reward!"
Both men looked panicked, but they still tried to be defiant: "You woman are really unreasonable. You injured my brother and me like this while riding a horse, and not only do you not offer compensation, but you also treat us like this. Do you have no respect for the law?"
Brother Chest glared at He Jiuniang, thinking that this woman was a female bandit, much worse than them!
"The law? You still know what the law is?"
He Jiuniang almost burst out laughing: "I was riding by on horseback, and you two sneaky little guys were hiding by the roadside, just trying to take advantage of me, right? Even if you got trampled by my horse, that's your own fault."
As she spoke, He Jiuniang stepped forward and personally tied up Kudang Ge as well.
Brother Chest was horrified. It turned out that she had already discovered them hiding by the roadside, and had deliberately let the horse trample them!
The guy in the crotch was in so much pain that he lost consciousness, and mumbled, "Quick... take me to see a doctor..."
"Alright, I'll take you to the county government office to find a doctor right away."
He Jiuniang agreed in a good mood, but Brother Chest was really scared. He stood up and tried to break free of the rope to escape, but found that the rope was getting tighter and tighter, and his wrists were about to be broken.
"Stop struggling, it's useless. Hurry up and carry your good brother. We need to go to the county government office. Don't waste my time."
He Jiu Niang thought she could go home earlier today, but she didn't expect to run into this again. She felt it was really bad luck that they had robbed her.
Brother Chest protested: "Even if we wanted to rob you, we'd be the ones who get hurt. Don't you believe we can go to the county government and turn the tables on you?"
"I'm scared!"
He Jiuniang's answer was perfectly reasonable, and Brother Chest thought he still had a glimmer of hope, which made him quite excited. But the next second, He Jiuniang dashed his hopes.
“I would have been scared if it were anyone else today, but I was lucky enough to run into the two of you. You two must know that there are portraits of you posted on the notice board in front of the county government office, right? I just saw them this morning.”
When He Jiuniang came to the county government office to register in the morning, she glanced at the portrait briefly. Although there were some differences between the portrait and the real person, she could still recognize him.
The reason I chose to do good deeds to the end was because the notice below said there was a reward of twenty taels of silver.
Although twenty taels isn't a lot of money for her now, it's still a sum of money, isn't it?
The expression on Chest Guy's face was beyond words. He couldn't beat her, he couldn't argue with her, and he couldn't even escape her. He and his brother were completely at her mercy.
With trembling lips, he struggled to lift the half-dead Crotch Guy from the ground onto his shoulder. His hands were tied, making him somewhat clumsy, and in the process, he accidentally bumped into Crotch Guy's crotch again.
A pig-like scream rang out, and Brother Pants turned completely pale and fainted.
He Jiuniang looked on in pain, winced and clicked her tongue twice, then urged, "Hurry up, or your brother might not make it."
After saying that, she turned her horse around and headed towards the county town, holding the reins in one hand and the rope binding the two people in the other, making her extremely conspicuous along the way.
There were also yamen runners guarding the entrance to the county town. He Jiuniang was the only one from the nearby villages who rode a horse in and out, so she remembered her. When she saw the two people tied up behind her, she immediately stepped forward to ask what was going on: "What happened?"
"Officer, these two..."
Before He Jiuniang could even speak, Brother Chest, carrying Brother Crotch, immediately knelt down: "Sir, help us! Arrest us, please... Waaaaah..."
He Jiuniang: ...
bailiff: ...
Even so, the constables patiently asked He Jiuniang what had happened. He Jiuniang then recounted how they had tried to rob her on the road but had been trampled by her horse. She explained that she had seen the notice about arresting these two people and had kindly brought them over.
Finally, He Jiuniang concluded with a single sentence: "Brother officers, this is all I should do. It is truly an honor for me to rid the people of this scourge!"
bailiff: ...
If it weren't for the fact that He Jiuniang's eyes shone as brightly as the sun when she mentioned the reward of twenty taels of silver, they would have believed that she was truly ridding the people of a scourge.
The lead constable beckoned the other constables over, untied the two women, and took them away, letting He Jiuniang go with them to the county government office to collect her reward money.
He Jiuniang happily followed, and this scene attracted a lot of people. They thought this woman was really lucky. Not only was she protected by the horse when she encountered robbers, but she was also able to be kidnapped and sent to the county government to earn twenty taels of silver!
That's twenty taels of silver!
The crowd was filled with envy and jealousy, with some even exclaiming that the two brothers looked rather dim-witted and wishing they had met them, as they might have been able to exchange their money for twenty taels of silver.
Upon arriving at the county government office, He Jiuniang encountered the same yamen runner who had escorted her family to Anping Village that morning. Feeling a sense of familiarity, she greeted him and explained her purpose.
The bailiffs realized that this woman was no ordinary person, so they took her to see Magistrate Zhang.
Magistrate Zhang looked to be in his thirties, with a small mustache. He was probably about to leave the yamen, so he wasn't wearing his official robes. He had a faint smile on his face, making him seem very approachable.
After Magistrate Zhang confirmed that the two men were indeed the fugitives he was looking for, he generously allowed his advisor to give her the money.
"Thank you, sir. I have other matters to attend to at home, so I will be returning now."
He Jiuniang gave a proper bow and was about to leave when Magistrate Zhang stopped her and asked, "He, do you know martial arts?"
He Jiuniang blinked innocently: "No way!"
"Then what about you?"
Magistrate Zhang actually had many questions, but it wasn't convenient for him to ask them now. He only asked about the arrest of the two men.
He Jiuniang looked as if she had just realized something: "Oh, I wonder if you have ever heard the saying, 'Strike while the iron is hot'?"
Magistrate Zhang: ...
She continued, "The two men were injured after being trampled by the horse. I recognized them as the people on the notice, so I quickly tied them up, otherwise they would have escaped long ago!"
Magistrate Zhang felt she wasn't telling the truth, after all, the two men seemed very afraid of her, how could things be so simple? But he had no evidence.
However, He Jiuniang had indeed solved a worry for him, so she smiled and said, "I see. You are quite the heroine. Your family must be worried about you being away for so long. Go back now."
He Jiuniang then left. Magistrate Zhang looked at the two half-dead people on the ground and helplessly instructed his clerk, "Go find a doctor to take a look at them. Although they are guilty and should be exiled, they do not deserve to die."
The advisor agreed and went to fetch the doctor himself.
Brother Chest burst into tears. Good heavens, he had never liked the magistrate as much as he did now!
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