"Master! Master! Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!" Luo Cheng's butler shouted in a panic towards Luo Cheng, who was tending to the flowers in the back garden.
Luo Cheng was very annoyed that the atmosphere had been inexplicably ruined. He glared at the butler and snapped, "Are you announcing a death for me? I'm not dead yet!"
The steward knelt down and kowtowed, crying, "It's terrible! It's terrible! Magistrate Duan has come to our house with a group of people!"
Luo Cheng showed no panic upon hearing this. Instead, he stroked his chin and asked, "Oh? Magistrate Duan? Which one is that?"
"It's Duan Kang'an, the magistrate of Pingxi County who was imprisoned by you last time, sir!" the steward replied.
The words had barely left his mouth when a magnificent peony fell to the ground. Luo Cheng slammed the scissors in his hand to the ground and coldly said, "A nobody like you! How dare you come here to die! Let's go! Let's go see what's going on!"
With a gloomy expression, Luo Cheng flicked his sleeve and walked towards the hall.
Magistrate Duan sat upright in his chair, waiting for Luo Cheng to appear.
After a series of footsteps, Luo Cheng appeared in front of Magistrate Duan.
He strode over with a dark face, sat down next to Magistrate Duan, glanced at the steward, and said sarcastically, "How can you have no manners at all? He's a magistrate, after all. How can you not even offer him a cup of tea?"
Luo Cheng turned to Magistrate Duan with a smile, "My lord, I apologize. My men are ignorant. Please forgive them!"
Magistrate Duan ignored Luo Cheng's sarcastic remarks. He exchanged a glance with Zhao Liu and said sternly, "Tie up the prisoner and take him to the yamen!"
"How dare you!" Luo Cheng slammed his hand on the table and shouted.
“What do I have to be afraid of! I am the magistrate of Pingxi County! You maliciously poisoned and spread the plague! Just one of these crimes is enough for the prefect to punish you!” Magistrate Duan said to Luo Cheng with an imposing air.
Luo Cheng sneered and said nonchalantly, "You dare touch me? Do you know what relationship I have with the Luo family of Shengjing? Duan Kang'an, don't think you can control me just because you're a seventh-rank county magistrate!"
Magistrate Duan had actually prepared himself to lose his job when he arrived. He was not intimidated by Luo Cheng's few words. Instead, he waved to the constables to tie Luo Cheng up and take him away.
The constables swarmed forward and bound him tightly. Luo Cheng glanced at Magistrate Duan and uttered a harsh threat, "Duan Kang'an, you're something else! You really are something else! You'll regret this!"
After speaking, he turned to the steward beside him and said, "Go to the Luo family in Shengjing and invite them over!"
Upon hearing this, the steward immediately ran out, spurring his horse towards Shengjing.
"Duan Kang'an, if you release me now, it's not too late. But when the Luo family from Shengjing arrives, you'll be sorry!" Luo Cheng threatened, watching the steward's departing figure.
Magistrate Duan glared at Luo Cheng and waved to the constables, "Take him away!"
Due to the seriousness of the matter, Magistrate Duan did not conduct a direct trial. Instead, he temporarily imprisoned Luo Cheng in jail and went to Qingzhou himself to invite the prefect of Qingzhou to handle the case.
Several more days passed between the two trips. After returning home, Jiang Ling did not tell the village chief about the matter and instructed Jiang Yaojie not to tell anyone about it before the trial was over.
Jiang Yaojie was puzzled, but he didn't ask. He knew that his mother must have her reasons for doing so.
Anxiety and unease have been the hallmarks of Jiang Ling and Jiang Yaojie these past few days.
Finally, a week later, Zhao Liu arrived at Lujia Village in a horse-drawn carriage and took Jiang Ling away with a random excuse.
Before leaving, Jiang Ling repeatedly told Jiang Yaojie not to reveal anything until she returned.
If anyone asks, just say that Magistrate Duan came to talk to you about fertilizer.
Jiang Yaojie nodded understandingly, watching with worry as Zhao Liu's carriage disappeared from his sight.
...
Inside the county government office, the prefect of Qingzhou sat to one side, while the county magistrate, Duan, sat upright.
"Bring in human traffickers!" the gavel slammed down, declaring.
Soon, Luo Cheng and the man who had poisoned the body were brought over by the yamen runners. The man who had poisoned the body was so frightened that he knelt down, while Luo Cheng stood calmly in place.
"How dare you! Human trafficker Luo Cheng, why don't you kneel down?" Magistrate Duan roared.
Luo Cheng glanced at Magistrate Duan and clicked his tongue, saying, "Tsk, are you sure you want me to kneel? Can you bear the thought of me kneeling?"
This conversation sounded particularly grating to the ears of the prefect of Qingzhou. He frowned and looked at Luo Cheng in front of him, scolding, "Why didn't you kneel when the magistrate told you to!"
Luo Cheng glanced at the prefect of Qingzhou and said indifferently, "Do you know the Luo family of Shengjing?"
The prefect of Qingzhou was taken aback. He had heard of the Luo family before. It was said that Grand Tutor Luo was a favorite of the court, and even if he coughed, the officials below would tremble.
Thinking of this, the prefect of Qingzhou looked at Luo Cheng and asked, "What is your relationship with Grand Tutor Luo?"
Luo Cheng laughed heartily and said sarcastically, "You don't need to know what my relationship is with that Grand Tutor Luo. If you release me now, I can still keep your position as the Prefect of Qingzhou secure. If you don't release me, hehe..."
Upon hearing this, the prefect of Qingzhou was so angry that his beard almost twisted. Among the social classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants were the lowest. This Luo Cheng had only managed to curry favor with the Luo family in Shengjing, yet he dared to act so recklessly and arrogantly!
"You audacious Luo Cheng, kneel down now!" the prefect of Qingzhou shouted.
Luo Cheng stroked his chin, glanced at the prefect of Qingzhou, and clicked his tongue, saying, "You're just a sixth-rank prefect. You should know what the consequences will be if you really offend me and I tell Grand Tutor Luo."
"Grand Tutor Luo has arrived!" Just as Luo Cheng finished speaking, a shrill voice entered the county government office.
Everyone knelt down in fear and trepidation upon hearing this, including the arrogant Luo Cheng, though at this moment Luo Cheng's eyebrows and eyes were filled with smugness.
"Grand Tutor, you've finally come! I was being bullied to death by them!" Luo Cheng knelt down in front of Grand Tutor Luo, hugged his leg, and began to cry.
At this moment, the vicious Luo Cheng seemed to become the victim, his eyes red, wiping away tears, downplaying the seriousness of the matter, and distorting the truth.
Everyone present was furious upon hearing this, but they could only silently endure it because of the presence of the Grand Tutor.
"Alright, I heard it from your steward! Considering you saved my son, I'll repay this favor. Get up now, what kind of behavior is it for a man to cry in public!" Grand Tutor Luo said, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he looked at Luo Cheng.
Seeing that someone was backing him up, Luo Cheng became even more smug. He nodded repeatedly and stood next to the Grand Tutor, looking like a wronged little wife. He pointed at the Prefect of Qingzhou, the Magistrate of Duan County, and Jiang Ling and said, "Grand Tutor, it was these few who colluded to lock me up in jail and humiliate and bully me! You must stand up for me!"
"Are you trying to teach me how to do things?" Grand Tutor Luo was somewhat displeased, but given his status as Grand Tutor, he couldn't show it too much. He nodded to Luo Cheng and said, "Alright, I understand. I'll handle your matter properly! It was you guys who bullied Luo Cheng, wasn't it?"
"Bullshit! Grand Tutor Luo, you dare to say such things and be ridiculed!" A slightly angry voice came from outside the door.
Jiang Ling glanced up and stole a look. When she saw who it was, she froze on the spot.
"How could it be him?"
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