26
In the dark cell, Li Niu lay on the straw mat with his eyes closed, his head dizzy, and sweating profusely, his sweat mixed with blood soaking the straw.
Being whipped once a day was something even the strongest man could not endure, but Li Niu refused to say a word, not even the word "injustice".
He did not harbor the fugitive, but he smuggled a lot of goods, which also violated the imperial ban.
It was his recklessness that harmed the villagers. He must never reveal any news about the fleet again, and he must not harm the other two villages!
In that confused state, Li Niu couldn't tell whether he felt more anger or regret.
They had clearly escaped from the predicament and even had food supplies and a workshop about to be built, but who would have thought that one wrong step would lead to their downfall.
He felt sorry for the villagers, sorry for the brothers who were captured together, sorry for his companions on the boat, and sorry for the young man who pulled them out of the quagmire.
If he could, Li Niu would have wanted to find the thief who framed him and die with him! Unfortunately, now he could only lie on the straw mat, close his eyes and clench his teeth.
The village must not be in chaos, and money must not be wasted because of him.
It doesn't matter if a person like him dies. As long as that young man is still alive, the Li family will not be in dire straits.
Cheng Xi would never sit idly by. He should be able to support the entire Li family just like he supported the Lin family, but he didn't even have the chance to say thank you.
His throat churned, as if he had swallowed a bitter wine. Li Niu gave up trying, hoping to sink back into darkness and lose consciousness.
Just at this moment, there was a sound outside the prison door.
"Yes, the Li family is here!"
That was the voice of the jailer. Li Niu's whole body tensed up, and the wound on his back was bleeding.
Is that the person who harmed him? If he could get closer, he would definitely bite that person to death!
He didn't know if the gods or Buddhas heard his thoughts, but the chains rattled and the prison door was actually opened.
Li Niu opened his eyes desperately, hoping to take advantage of the dim light to determine the direction and launch a surprise attack, but unexpectedly he heard a voice first.
"Aniu, don't move. I'll take you out right away."
Li Niu froze, unable to believe his ears. It was Sun Er! Why was he here? Could he be trying to rescue them? Even if someone was determined to die, who could resist the temptation to survive? Li Niu struggled to get up, but Sun Erlang held him down and whispered in his ear, "This is the young master's arrangement. Just stay down."
Who could this "young master" Sun Erlang was talking about? With that, the last bit of worry in his heart was completely gone. Li Niu fell back onto the straw mat, his eyes red as he couldn't hold back his tears.
He caused such a big disaster, but Master Cheng did not give up on them. If he does not repay such a great kindness, is he still a human being?
Seeing Li Niu's shoulders shaking, Sun Erlang also sighed, said nothing more, and asked the jailer to help move the people out.
It was clearly County Magistrate Zhang who sent them in, but now it was necessary for Master Yang, the lawyer beside the governor, to come and rescue them personally. The water here was too deep. The jailers didn't even dare to fart and carefully carried those people onto the cart.
Before getting on the carriage, Sun Erlang threw a piece of silver to Master Yang, in exchange for a nod and a warm farewell. He ignored them and got on the carriage and left.
Cheng Xi was also in the car at this moment, but he was wearing a veil, so his expression could not be seen clearly.
Sun Erlang hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Li Niu and the others are fine, but do we really need to leave the city directly? What if someone follows us?"
It's no wonder he's suspicious. This time, things are going so smoothly that he never thought a powerful figure like the County Magistrate would be intimidated by his words. If they sent a team to follow, wouldn't they be in trouble?
"Go directly back to Donggou Village and go to the Li family first." Cheng Xi said casually.
Sun Erlang was stunned for a moment before realizing what she meant. Since the Li family had already been exposed, returning to Donggou Village was the safest option. After that, if they just boarded a boat, how could they know where they were going?
But in fact, these are not important. The name of their Red Flag Gang has already been made known, and it is only a matter of time before they are discovered by the government. The only thing to be thankful for is that General Zhenhai has just died, and the court has no time to suppress the bandits.
Thinking of this, Sun Erlang nodded and sat aside. The carriage sped away for a while before he finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Boss, aren't you afraid that the county magistrate will get angry?"
During the past two days in the county town, every step was extremely dangerous.
Probing Pinfang Pavilion at night was one thing, but marching directly into the county government office and demanding the release of someone from the magistrate was another matter entirely. "A prefect ruins a family, a magistrate destroys a clan"—could the head of a county be manipulated at will? Cheng Xi had no prior knowledge of Dongning County and had never met the magistrate. How could he have predicted his reaction and escaped unscathed?
"County Magistrate Cao has been in Dongning for five years. How could such a seasoned man not know how powerful pirates are? If they were dressed as men, they might be a bit dangerous. After all, if they captured the gang leader's nephews and lieutenants, they would pose a threat. But a pirate's concubine..." Cheng Xi smiled coldly, "Anyone who is not stupid would not take action rashly. So what's there to be afraid of?"
Dongning County was indeed plagued by banditry back then, and when she was on the ship, she often listened to the crew members' chatter.
They killed officials and rebelled, attacked prefectures and counties, causing the people to migrate inland, and the imperial court even sent a large army.
Who wouldn't be afraid of such a villain? More importantly, now is a vacuum period for coastal defense. The generals guarding the sea borders have been abandoned by the emperor. Who dares to take charge of the affairs at sea?
Not only would they not dare to intervene, they might even try to deceive their superiors and subordinates and cover up any signs of the thieves' presence. Otherwise, if a meritorious official died, there would be chaos on the sea, wouldn't that be an insult to the emperor?
All these things added together are enough to deal with a corrupt official who is greedy for money and cherishes his life. With the protection of a daughter, the safety factor can be raised to the highest point.
After all, the county magistrate is just a grassroots bureaucrat, and there are only twenty or so yamen runners in the county government office. This is equivalent to a small county chief who can only mobilize twenty or thirty police officers, and he is not from the county and has no clan background.
It would be fine if they just bullied the people and the good people in normal times, but if they really encountered soldiers or bandits, they would definitely avoid them as much as possible.
Sun Erlang never expected that a woman's identity could play such a role.
However, if you think about it carefully, most people would really be frightened. That was a woman who was not afraid even when she saw the county magistrate. Who was the person standing behind her?
He nodded thoughtfully and asked, "So when you say attack the bandits, are you also trying to scare them?"
The current Red Flag Gang is simply unable to defeat the pirates on Luoling Island.
Is this just a bluff to intimidate the county magistrate?
Unexpectedly, Cheng Xi shook his head: "It's not the right time yet, but there will be a battle sooner or later."
Sun Erlang was startled when he heard this, his heart suddenly hanging again. Were they really going to fight those bandits? Could they win?
However, seeing the calm face beneath the veil, he sighed again. This kind of thing was not his business to worry about, so he should just focus on the present.
…
After spending more than an hour in Pinfang Pavilion, County Magistrate Zhang still couldn't figure out the reason.
He didn't dare to stay in the brothel for too long, so he washed up and went to the government office. The Li family was still in jail, so he had to get to the bottom of it.
As a result, when he arrived at the yamen, before he could even sit down, Mr. Yang, a lawyer with a goatee, came to the door and said with a sneer, "Zhang County Magistrate, the master wants to see you."
County Magistrate Zhang's heart skipped a beat. Today wasn't a day for him to go to the yamen. Why would County Magistrate Cao get up so early and even have Master Yang come to block the door? Feeling something was amiss, he smiled and said, "Master, do you know what's going on? Could you please give me some leniency so I can have a better idea of what's going on?"
As he spoke, he took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and stuffed it in to her in a flattering manner.
The money made Master Yang's expression look a little better. After weighing the silver, he snorted coldly: "Don't you see what time it is now? How dare you randomly stuff people into the prison? Okay, hurry up and leave."
Could it really be the Li family's business? County Magistrate Zhang thought to himself that this was not good and hurriedly followed him to the study.
Arriving at the study, Zhang Xiancheng saw the gloomy face of the county magistrate. His heart was pounding, and he forced a smile: "Your Excellency, did you ask me to come here? Is there anything you want to ask me?"
County Magistrate Cao snorted coldly, "Look at what you've done! Don't you know what the situation is like on the coast right now? And you dare to arrest people at random and accuse them of all sorts of crimes?"
Hiding a fugitive? Could it be that the person hiding is General Qiu's relative?"
Hearing the words "General Qiu," County Magistrate Zhang was nearly frightened to his knees. He hurriedly defended himself, "I was foolish and believed other people's slander. I will investigate later. If he is innocent, I will release him immediately..."
"I have already released him." County Magistrate Cao interrupted him coldly.
County Magistrate Zhang almost gasped. "Already released?" Not only did they find the county magistrate, they also used supernatural means! Then why did they kill chickens and dogs and make threats last night? Wait, could they really be murderous? County Magistrate Zhang's forehead was sweating, and he didn't dare wipe it. He said tremblingly, "Your Excellency is wise. I am ashamed of myself."
Was that the kind of nonsense County Magistrate Cao wanted to hear? He frowned, "I was counting on a promotion next year, but look what's happened: my subordinates aren't doing their jobs, and instead are actively causing trouble. Zhang Lian, tell me, how do you think I treat you?"
County Magistrate Zhang bowed his head and said, "Your Excellency has been very kind to me. Your kindness is as great as a mountain!"
County Magistrate Cao chuckled and said, "Since you already know this, I won't elaborate further. The county is in serious financial trouble this year. I hope the County Magistrate will take care of the situation and make sure the accounts are settled."
This wasn't meant to make County Magistrate Zhang do the accounting, but to make him find a way to make people spit out what they had eaten. There were so many mouths to feed in the government, how could this hole be easily patched? However, since he had been caught, he didn't dare to refuse, and could only say bitterly, "Your humble servant obeys your command..."
After giving this troublesome fellow a good beating, Magistrate Cao finally let him go. Actually, he didn't lose much, did he? He even received a box of pepper for free, a favor, so it was a blessing in disguise.
Magistrate Cao was in high spirits, but County Magistrate Zhang was utterly distraught. This was truly an unprovoked disaster; for such a small benefit, not only had he attracted the attention of thieves, but he had also been reprimanded by the magistrate.
Moreover, he could even bribe the county magistrate. Who on earth did he offend?
This evil fire naturally had to find someone to vent it on, so Wan Quan, who came to inquire about the news at noon, was scolded to death.
"You only think about stealing other people's business, but don't you think about how they transport their grain here when there's so much trouble at sea?" County Magistrate Zhang cursed and slammed the table, wishing he could slap his cheap brother-in-law twice.
Wan Quan was stunned by the scolding.
He was so scared that he fainted in the morning. He had been having terrible heart palpitations the whole morning. He couldn't sit still so he came to sound out the situation. Unexpectedly, his cheap uncle, who had been quite cunning before, suddenly turned hostile.
"This Li family only has a few hundred dan of grain, and they only sell it to poor families on the coast. I thought..."
Wan Quan couldn't help but explain, but before he could finish, County Magistrate Zhang scolded him back, "Have you ever seen anyone do business like this? Who knows, they're just trying to win over those ignorant people? Is this something any ordinary person could do?!"
If it were anything else, Wan Quan might not have taken it to heart, but these words made his heart skip a beat. Yeah, this really doesn't seem like a business deal. Wouldn't it be foolish not to make money? Could it be that this family really has a great background?
Suddenly panicking again, Wan Quan quickly said, "Then, then should we release the person?"
"Do you still need me? The county magistrate can just release the person!" County Magistrate Zhang spat in his face.
Wan Quan's heart trembled. Was he even close to the county magistrate? When did the Li family, a family of seafarers, become so powerful? His voice trembled with anxiety as he asked, "Then, what should we do now?"
"We need to calm the county magistrate down. Prepare some money and food first. I'll help you put in some nice words and appease him." County Magistrate Zhang finally revealed his true intentions. It was impossible for him to fill the bill; the culprit had to pay.
Upon hearing this, Wan Quan's eyes almost turned black.
He didn't even give a real number. How much would it take to appease the county magistrate? And even just appeasing the county magistrate wasn't enough. He was also threatened to kill everyone!
"Then the Li family...really won't they send some troops over? If these bandits have evil intentions, won't they kill people?" Wan Quan still didn't give up and kept talking.
County Magistrate Zhang really jumped up this time, pointing at his nose and cursing, "How many soldiers do you think the county has? The county magistrate doesn't even dare to report the bandit problem to the higher-ups, so are you going to ask the garrison to come over? You're deliberately trying to make things difficult for me, aren't you?!"
Wan Quan's vision darkened, and he fell directly at the feet of County Magistrate Zhang. "Uncle, that's not what I meant. They're trying to kill my whole family, so I have to find a way out, right?"
"Are you asking for a way to live? You think your death is not fast enough! Isn't it easy to beg for mercy? Give money to apologize, kneel down and kowtow to people, can't you act like a grandson?" County Magistrate Zhang scolded.
"If I beg for mercy, won't I reveal my identity..." Wan Quan muttered. He was the one who harmed the Li family behind the scenes, so how could he rush in front?
"The dog's head is placed next to your pillow, and you still can't guess who is behind this? Are you waiting for the county magistrate to get angry and sentence you to collude with bandits and confiscate your property?" County Magistrate Zhang was so disappointed that you were still hesitant at this time. Where is your courage when you seize other people's land?
Collaborating with bandits is a serious crime punishable by death for the entire family. Wan Quan was so frightened that tears streamed down his face. "Uncle, uncle, you can't just ignore me!"
"Get out! If you keep howling, I'll have the bailiffs throw you out!"
Cursing and crying were entangled together, making endless noise.
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