"It's so cold today. How could the weather change so quickly after just one snowfall?" The magistrate of Qingcheng opened the window and stretched out his hand. In just a dozen seconds, his hands, which had been warmed by the stove, became as stiff as if they were stuck in ice.
"Damn corrupt official, give me your life!" Suddenly, a woman carrying a vegetable basket threw a rotten egg at them.
He was hit squarely on the forehead by an egg, and he quickly closed the window, wiped himself with a clean handkerchief, looking quite disheveled.
"What's that smell here? Magistrate Wu, have you found the person I asked you to find?" Two people walked in from outside the door, and the one who spoke was the man in the back.
The middle-aged man at the head of the group was none other than Master Liu, who had appeared at the Huai family's residence before. He had gray-black hair, wore a green Taoist robe with faint cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs, and had a dark brown silk sash tied around his waist with a small copper bell hanging down, which made a crisp tinkling sound with each step.
He had a thin face and an air of otherworldly elegance between his brows, but his eyes were as deep as pools, and his gaze was quite sharp.
The man behind him was dressed in a dark purple brocade robe, the smooth satin surface faintly gleaming. As he spoke, he casually accepted the teacup handed to him by the constable, a slightly eerie smile appearing on his face, the corners of his lips slightly upturned.
"Senior brother, it seems that having good judgment is useless. Even if the person you have your eye on has extraordinary luck, so what? You still haven't found them yet, have you?"
“Magistrate Wu, your speed is really not good. You managed to let a mere ten-year-old maid and a three-year-old girl escape.”
The slightly overweight magistrate of Qing County trembled, his round face showing some difficulty: "My lords, I have already sent all the people from the county office over there, but with such heavy snow falling outside, it is very difficult to find anyone. Could you please grant me a few more days?"
"It's alright, a child can't run very far anyway, so I'll just wait a day or two." Master Liu sat in his chair, not at all anxious.
He had already marked the child when they first met, so that he could find him no matter where the child ran.
The purpose of coming to the county government office was simply to inform the magistrate that he had taken a fancy to another little boy and asked the magistrate to help cover it up.
"You two continue your conversation, I'm leaving." He held out his hand, refusing the teacup offered by the county magistrate, and turned to leave.
"This..." The magistrate of Qingcheng panicked.
“Don’t worry about it. My senior brother has this bad temper. He’s always been very arrogant. Even if you don’t interfere, he’ll find the person anyway.” Another man with a effeminate face put down his teacup.
"I've come to see you today because there's something very important I need to discuss."
"Within three days, go and bring over all the children on the list. Even those not on the list can be brought over as well. The more the better. You don't need to bring them to the county government office; just bring them to my residence."
"You should know how to explain this to those people and how to keep their whereabouts a secret, right?"
"Sir, there are hundreds of children in total. Should we bring them all? Won't the disappearance of so many people cause chaos?" Magistrate Wu asked, trembling.
Although he was not a good official, he had not done anything heinous. However, ever since these two extraordinary people from the capital came here, Qingcheng has never had a day of peace.
Magistrate Wu had no idea how many blames he had taken for those two. Now, people were throwing rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at the county office every day. In just one day, he had been hit by them countless times!
So when he heard that hundreds of children were to be sent there, his heart skipped a beat.
This damn guy, if this keeps up, will Qingcheng ever have any normal children again? Is his forehead even usable?
"Just go when I tell you to. Why all the nonsense? No matter what happens, that person in the capital will take care of it. What are you afraid of? Do you even want your official hat anymore?" Kong Yi crushed the teacup in his hand instantly, his face turning cold.
"Yes, then I'll make the arrangements right away," Magistrate Wu said helplessly.
After everyone left, Kong Yi walked to the window and looked in the direction his senior brother had left.
"Senior brother, even if the people you found have noble destinies and extraordinary luck, they are destined to lose to me."
He certainly didn't have the same insight as his senior brother, who could easily discern the destinies of those children and was always very lucky to find someone with great fortune.
But that's alright. If luck isn't enough, quantity will make up for it. He'll find more children and absorb more luck, and he'll surely be able to complete the mission as soon as possible!
…
"What? A new school has been built in Qingcheng?" Zhong Yan had just opened the door when she saw her neighbor aunt walking over.
"Young lady, I'm only telling you this because you've been patronizing my business. I heard that this school has invited a scholar from the capital to teach. If you have any children, send them over quickly, or you'll miss this opportunity!" The auntie spoke fluently.
"Don't think that the school is expensive. The teacher is a scholar from the capital. It's a blessing that a gentleman of that status is willing to teach our children!"
Zhongyan listened to her aunt talk for a long time, but still felt that something was very strange.
The school had to open at this particular time of year, during a heavy snowfall, to invite a scholar from the capital to come.
"Thank you, Auntie. We'll consider it." Zhong Yan closed the door and turned around to find Xiao Tao peeking over with her head tilted to the side.
While her second brother was sleeping soundly, Xiao Chan thoughtfully brought over a hot water bottle and placed it in his arms.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com