When they arrived at Min Yueqing's room, Lai Fu saw that the yamen runners had already gone inside and were even grinning at their wives. He immediately led his men in and rushed in, blocking Min Yueqing's way.
As a result, more than a dozen adult men suddenly appeared in the room, and the originally spacious outer room was immediately crowded.
In reality, it would be more accurate to say that they blocked Min Yueqing's way, rather than that a dozen strong men surrounded the four constables, because there simply wasn't enough room for so many people to stand in front of the bed, so they were forced to form a semi-circle.
For the constables, it was a completely different story; they only felt threatened.
The tall constable was worried. Did the Feng family even know who they had offended this time? He didn't want to drag them, the hard-working bailiffs, into this mess for nothing.
Thinking of this, the tall constable kicked each of the three arrogant and stupid lackeys. The other three, not understanding why, looked at their leader with confusion.
The tall constable then politely asked Min Yueqing, "May I ask if, Madam, you ordered someone to injure a man yesterday?"
Feng Ruichuan was too embarrassed to tell his family that he had been injured by a woman. He only said that he had a conflict with someone and that the woman had sent people to beat him up. Feng's family believed him and told the yamen runners the same thing.
Min Yueqing chuckled inwardly. This good-for-nothing actually knew how to save face. She immediately replied, "No, I only took these two children with me yesterday. I don't know who they could hurt."
The tall constable glanced at Pei Ji and Shi Tou, thinking to himself, Feng Ruichuan is at least a grown man. How could this little boy and half-grown child possibly beat him?
He was at a loss for what to do. The county magistrate's sister wanted them to take the man back and lock him up for a few days to teach him a lesson, but the magistrate hadn't sent anyone to beat Feng Ruichuan at all, and he was obviously not an ordinary person, so they couldn't take him back.
The tall yamen runner pondered for a long time before deciding that he couldn't act rashly. Since the county magistrate hadn't given any instructions, he should go back and report the situation first, and then ask the county magistrate for a decision. Only in this way could he ensure that nothing went wrong.
"Since Madam says there is no such thing, then we will go back and check it out first, and we will not disturb Madam any longer."
After the tall constable finished speaking politely, he led his men out.
Seeing this, Min Yueqing was somewhat surprised. These yamen runners did not arrest people indiscriminately without asking questions, and their actions were relatively reasonable. Could it be that the local county magistrate was not too bad?
Min Yueqing pondered silently. When she looked up and saw Lai Fu and the others still standing in the room, she said, "You guys go back first. Lai Fu, call a waiter from the inn to come up here for me."
Lai Fu acted quickly, and the innkeeper's people arrived shortly afterward.
Min Yueqing asked with a smile, "Are you from Tongcheng?"
The waiter replied respectfully, "Yes, I was born and raised in Tongcheng."
"So what do you think of the county magistrate here?"
The waiter thought for a moment and replied, "People of our status would never even see the county magistrate. But I've heard people say that the county magistrate has a pretty good temper and I've never heard of him getting angry. I don't know if that's true or not."
Min Yueqing then asked, "Has your county magistrate changed? How long has the current county magistrate been in office?"
"It seems like it hasn't changed. I've been Lord Sun since I was a child, and I'm still Lord Sun now."
How old are you this year?
"I'm twenty-five this year."
Min Yueqing nodded slightly, gave Amei a wink, and Amei slipped a piece of silver into the waiter's hand, smiling as she told him to go back.
The shopkeeper had only said a few words, yet he received a piece of silver for free, which was equivalent to half a year's salary. He thanked Min Yueqing repeatedly with great joy before leaving.
After serving as a county magistrate for over twenty years, he left the local people with such a faint and vague impression. Min Yueqing was at a loss for words. It seemed that even if this Magistrate Sun was not a bad official, he was still a corrupt one.
To paraphrase a famous saying from later generations: If an official doesn't serve the people, he might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes.
Feng Mansion
Feng Ruichuan lay on the bed cursing and swearing. At one moment he was cursing his concubine for not serving him well enough, not even knowing how to serve him tea. At the next moment he was muttering things like "femme fatale" and "don't fall into my hands," and it was unclear who he was cursing.
After seeing the doctor off, Mrs. Feng walked into the room, wiping away tears. She sat down by her son's bedside and scolded him, "You wretched child, who did you mess with this time? How did you end up with your hand broken?"
Impatient with his mother's crying, Feng Ruichuan glared at her and said, "What are you crying about? Hurry up and avenge me! I won't be able to quell my hatred until I catch her!"
Mother Feng panicked and quickly pressed him down, "What a terrible thing! Your hand is broken and you still won't behave. What are you doing moving around? If your bones don't heal properly, you'll be crippled for life. You need to think this through."
Feng Ruichuan was unconvinced and continued to shout, "Did you send someone to arrest them or not? It's just a woman with two children. She must be from out of town. She's probably staying at an inn. Judging from their appearance, they probably have some money at home. Just look for them at a big inn!"
Seeing that her son's eyes were wide open and he wouldn't give up until he got to the bottom of it, Madam Feng had no choice but to beckon her head maid over. "Mingcui, have the people who went to the yamen returned yet?"
"Not yet, madam."
Upon hearing that it hadn't happened yet, Feng Ruichuan became anxious again, straightening his neck and saying, "Send someone to ask again!"
Madam Feng was completely helpless with her only son, and she indulged him in everything. "Mingcui, go and check again. If he hasn't returned, send someone else to ask."
Mingcui quickly agreed and went downstairs.
Feng Ruichuan finally calmed down a bit. He had probably been too excited and had accidentally aggravated his injury. As soon as he calmed down, he felt the pain and started groaning again.
While wiping the sweat from his forehead, Feng's mother scolded him with heartache, "I told you not to move, but you wouldn't listen. Now you're suffering for it."
After scolding her, Madam Feng saw the woman standing to one side like a quail and became even angrier. "What use are you people if you can't even serve your husbands properly? Go outside and kneel down. Don't get in my way here!"
After shouting enough, Feng Ruichuan stared blankly at the top of the tent with his bloodshot eyes, ignoring what was happening around him. He neither pleaded for his concubine nor added fuel to the fire.
Seeing him like this, Feng's mother was a little scared. She was afraid that her son had suffered internal injuries without her knowing. Of course, she was even more afraid that her son's brain had been damaged.
Mother Feng couldn't help but ask, "Son, what are you thinking about?"
Feng Ruichuan immediately perked up and stared at his mother, saying, "After we catch that woman, don't lock her up in the yamen. Bring her here for me to play with first, understand?"
Feng's mother said with difficulty, "Didn't you say that he has a child with him? He should be punished for hitting you, but he's married. It's not good to bring him into our home, is it?"
Feng Ruichuan was furious. "What do you know? I told you to bring her, so I brought her. So what if she's married and has a child? The man isn't here!" He paused, then added menacingly, "You don't know how beautiful that woman is. Even when she's angry and frowning, she's beautiful. I must have her. Don't stop me. If anyone tries to stop me, I'll fight them."
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