The villagers received the wild game and liquor, and went home happily, and lunch officially began here.
The meal was very lively, and everyone was excited. Wang Lizheng was especially beaming, and in his excitement, he drank quite a bit of wine.
Zhao Xian didn't drink much because he was going to Xinkou County in the afternoon. Before leaving, he told Li Xue and Lin Xi the purpose of his trip to Xinkou County and estimated that he would not be back for a day or two.
“Young Master Zhao, please go ahead and take care of your business. We’re not outsiders; we’ve already made this place our home. If anything comes up, we can just go to Li Guang,” Li Xue said.
“Alright, then Princess and Miss Lin can have some fun in the village. If you have any requests, just tell Li Guang.” Zhao Xian said, then looked at Li Guang.
“Okay, I’ll take care of the princess and Miss Lin, so don’t worry, Brother Zhao.” Li Guang nodded.
After settling things at home, Zhao Xian had Zhao Cheng drive Ruan Fang away from Shuixian Village.
Along the way, Ruan Fang was eager to return home. Zhao Xian told her that even if she arrived in Xinkou County, she could not go home immediately. She should go to the county government office first and not let Ruan Jin notice anything.
Ruan Fang nodded. She had no other choice. Since Zhao Xian had a relationship with Magistrate Gao, the magistrate would surely stand up for her.
The carriage sped along, and two hours later, it arrived at Xinkou County.
The carriage finally arrived at the gate of the county government office. Zhao Xian got off the carriage and saw several yamen runners at the gate, so he went over to them.
"I am Zhao Xian from Shuixian Village. I have come to pay my respects to Magistrate Gao. Please ask the officer to inform him of my arrival."
The constable looked Zhao Xian up and down, seemed to recognize him but couldn't quite place him, so he told Zhao Xian to wait a moment while he went in to report.
A short while later, Magistrate Gao came out and personally went out to greet him.
"So it's Young Master Zhao, a rare guest indeed. Please come in with me." Magistrate Gao was very polite.
"Greetings, Your Excellency. I have come to Xinkou County to pay my respects to Magistrate Gao because I have a favor to ask."
"Young Master Zhao, you're too kind. Please feel free to ask if you need anything. This county will do its utmost to help. Let's go inside first and talk."
Zhao Xian, along with Zhao Cheng and Ruan Fang, followed Magistrate Gao into the county government office.
Once everyone was seated in Magistrate Gao's study, someone brought out tea, and Magistrate Gao began to ask questions.
Zhao Xian then gave Magistrate Gao a detailed account of what had happened at Ruan Fang's house. After listening, Magistrate Gao frowned, finding it hard to believe.
He looked at Ruan Fang, who immediately knelt down and burst into tears.
"Please, Your Honor, do me justice! My father has been murdered by a villain and his life is hanging by a thread. Please, Your Honor, save my father's life."
Magistrate Gao suddenly stood up and roared, "In my Xinkou County, there are such villains! This is a dereliction of duty on my part! Guards!"
Several constables immediately entered and asked, "What are your orders, sir?"
"Go to the Ruan residence immediately and arrest Ruan Jin. I will personally handle the case."
The constable accepted the order and was about to leave when Zhao Xian quickly stopped him.
“It is not appropriate to arrest Ruan Jin at this time. He is a cautious man. If we arrest him now, we will not have enough evidence, and he may be able to evade some of his crimes. There must be other people involved here. We cannot alert him.”
Magistrate Gao nodded and asked:
“Young Master Zhao’s words make sense; we have a solution.”
"We can find a reason to bring Manager Ruan to the county government office to treat his illness. After a few days, we can send someone to inform Ruan Jin that Manager Ruan has died. His secret will be exposed, and it will not be too late to arrest him then."
"This plan is excellent. Let's cure Manager Ruan first, and then think of a countermeasure. It seems that this matter cannot be rushed."
Magistrate Gao lowered his head and pondered for a while, then said to several yamen runners, "Take more people to the Ruan family and tell them that a murder occurred in this county two years ago, and it has now been confirmed that it was committed by Ruan Zhenggang. Now we need to bring him back to the county yamen for trial. Currently, Manager Ruan is bedridden, so you can carry him back to the county yamen."
"Yes, sir," the yamen runner replied and left. Magistrate Gao immediately arranged for a renowned doctor to be found, and once Ruan Zhenggang was brought back, he began to treat his illness.
Several bailiffs went to the Ruan residence in a menacing manner. At this time, Ruan Jin was sitting in the main hall drinking tea when he was startled to see the bailiffs suddenly barging in.
Ruan Jin hurriedly stood up. Could it be that his secret had been exposed? Impossible! Everything was going according to plan. Before long, the Ruan family's assets would belong to him.
"Gentlemen, what urgent matter do you have?" Ruan Jin asked cautiously.
“We are here on the orders of the magistrate to arrest Ruan Zhenggang.”
Ruan Jin breathed a sigh of relief. The constables had come for Ruan Zhenggang. Had Ruan Zhenggang done something wrong?
Thinking of this, Ruan Jin wanted to ask for clarification.
"The officers are here to arrest Manager Ruan. What crime has Manager Ruan committed?"
"It's alright to tell you this. Two years ago, a murder occurred in this county. It has now been confirmed that it was committed by Ruan Zhenggang. We are here on orders to arrest him, so please do not obstruct us."
Ruan Jin was overjoyed upon hearing this. He hadn't expected that Ruan Zhenggang was involved in a murder case. Without him having to do it himself, Ruan Zhenggang was already doomed. It was truly a stroke of luck.
Thinking of this, he feigned surprise and expressed great shock.
"No way, Manager Ruan is upright and honest in his business dealings. How could he have a murder case on his record? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"How dare you question the government's handling of its affairs! Be careful, or you will be punished the same as Ruan Zhenggang."
"I wouldn't dare, but Manager Ruan is bedridden and unable to go to the county government with you," Ruan Jin explained.
"Then carry Ruan Zhenggang back. As long as he's not dead, that's fine. Take us to see him quickly, or we'll start searching for him."
"Alright, I'll take a few officers to see Manager Ruan right away." After saying that, Ruan Jin led several yamen runners into the inner room.
At this moment, Ruan Zhenggang was lying on the bed with a dark complexion, indicating that he was severely poisoned. Fang Shi sat by the bedside, wiping away tears. A doctor was standing nearby, holding a bowl of decocted medicine, preparing to feed it to Ruan Zhenggang.
Seeing Ruan Jin enter with several constables startled the people in the inner room. Fang looked at Ruan Jin and asked:
"Uncle, what happened? Why did you bring officials in?"
"Sister-in-law, several officers want to take my cousin away. They say he committed a crime two years ago and they want to arrest him and take him back to the county government."
Ruan Zhenggang, who was lying on the bed, slowly opened his eyes. He looked puzzled, but before he could say anything, a violent cough caused him to faint.
"Master!" Upon seeing this, Madam Fang burst into tears.
"At this point, you're still pretending to be sick. You can't walk, so we'll carry you straight back to the county office," the bailiff sneered.
Several constables lifted Ruan Zhenggang up to leave, but Fang cried out:
"The master hasn't taken his medicine yet. Let him take it before he leaves."
The constable frowned as he looked at the bowl of dark, murky medicine. He had a gut feeling that there was something wrong with the medicine.
“He’s unconscious, how can we give him medicine? Take the medicine with us, and we’ll give it to him when he wakes up.”
The constables took the bowl of medicine, then waved their hands, and several constables carried Ruan Zhenggang outside.
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