Chapter 240 The Magistrate Arrives
When the county magistrate arrived, the whole village came to welcome him.
Some of the village's elders, who had lived their entire lives, had never seen what the county magistrate looked like.
Upon hearing that the magistrate was coming to Lianhua Village, everyone got out of bed, leaning on their canes, and insisted on coming out to pay their respects to the magistrate together.
Chen Lizheng had no idea where these people had gotten the news, but they all rushed over.
A huge crowd of people gathered at the village entrance, all kneeling down; it was a sea of heads.
Fang Ziming was slightly surprised, but satisfied with the scene. He even helped several elderly people up, thus strengthening his relationship with the village.
He stood in the crowd and told Chen Lizheng about the development of Lianhua Village in recent years, when he inadvertently saw the thatched shed built in the vegetable garden.
The vegetables inside were growing lushly, better than those in the other villages he had visited, and the yield was also plentiful.
He couldn't help but offer a few words of praise, commending Chen Lizheng.
Chen Lizheng also wanted to take credit and give himself a chance for promotion, but the villagers all knew that this was a scheme devised by Chen Yongnian's family.
Upon hearing this, Fang Ziming searched for Chen Yongnian and his group in the crowd, but he couldn't find any of them. He only saw two dolls who looked similar to Wan Qiqi.
He stepped forward and carefully examined the brother and sister.
Pingping was so frightened that she hid behind Wang Zhi, not daring to look at him.
An'an, however, was very bold, and stared at Fang Ziming with wide eyes.
Upon seeing this, Wang Zhi immediately knelt down with the child, trembling as she said, "Please forgive us, sir! The child is young and doesn't understand!"
Fang Ziming didn't mind.
This was the bravest child he had ever seen.
Just as bold as Wan Qiqi!
Chen Lizheng hurriedly followed and introduced, "This is Chen Wanshi's mother-in-law, Chen Wangshi, who is also Yongnian's mother. Beside her are Chen Wanshi's two children, Pingping and An'an."
Fang Ziming nodded. "Get up!"
Seeing that Wang Zhi was trembling, he stopped and glanced at the surrounding villagers.
At the back of the crowd, I saw a pregnant woman with a large belly and a familiar boy.
The boy stared intently at him, his lips pursed.
His eyes resembled those of a little wolf, with a hint of fierceness, yet they were also clear and could not hide his thoughts.
Fang Ziming naturally recognized the child and paid no attention to the way the child looked at him.
He beckoned to the child, "Come here!"
Li Chongniang's hand holding the little monkey suddenly tightened, as if she wanted to hide him, but there was nowhere to hide.
The little monkey let go of Li Chongniang's hand and took small steps toward Fang Ziming.
"You're lucky she found out!" Fang Ziming patted the little monkey on the shoulder, but did nothing else.
He wouldn't stoop to harming a child in such a public setting.
Even at the beginning, he thought the baby monkeys should not be kept.
Now, he thinks that keeping the little monkey and making Wan Qiqi owe him a favor isn't out of the question.
When he first met Wan Qiqi in Hefeng Town, he thought she was a little clever and self-righteous. Now he no longer thinks she is just a little clever!
This woman's intelligence surpasses that of many men, and her thinking is quite unique, with considerations that differ from those of ordinary people.
If this person can be recruited as an advisor, the development of Yunhe County will be unprecedented.
What a pity!
Unfortunately, she was a woman!
Just then, a scream came from behind the crowd.
"Ah! Blood, so much blood!"
Lin Xiaohua left a trail of tears from the banyan tree to the edge of the village.
Wan Qiqi suspected that if the wound wasn't bandaged soon, the person would bleed to death.
Fang Ziming and Chen Lizheng's expressions turned extremely ugly when they saw these people approaching.
The surrounding villagers exchanged glances, wanting to gossip, but dared not act presumptuously in front of the county magistrate, and could only suppress their restless desires.
Wan Qiqi also understood the rules of this world. When she came to Fang Ziming, she took the initiative to kneel down and kowtow.
Everyone bowed in greeting.
They all said in unison, "Greetings, Your Excellency the Magistrate!"
Fang Ziming was slightly surprised by Wan Qiqi's behavior.
He thought this woman would slap him in the face in public, or that she would only kneel down after everyone else had knelt down.
Unexpectedly, she was the first.
Fang Ziming glanced at Wan Qiqi and then his gaze fell on the woman in the long dress behind her.
Upon seeing clearly, his eyes trembled slightly, softening considerably and glistening with tears.
He sighed softly to himself, then looked away and focused his gaze on the person who was missing an arm.
His eyes darkened, and he said coldly, "What's going on?"
When Aunt Yang saw the county magistrate questioning her, she knelt down to Fang Ziming's side, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy, "Your Honor, please save my daughter! I beg you..."
Fang Ziming glanced at Lin Xiaohua's hand.
The fracture was smooth, like a sharp weapon cutting straight to the bottom, something not everyone could do.
He scanned the crowd and stopped at Fang Bowen and his attendants.
Fang Bowen pursed his lips, released Fang Luxue, and knelt down on his own initiative. "My lord, the Lin family woman attempted to harm your daughter. Shouldn't she be punished for this?"
The words caused an uproar.
The county magistrate's daughter was considered an official's relative.
To murder a county magistrate and his family is equivalent to attempting to murder the county magistrate.
Murdering an official is a capital offense.
Upon hearing this, everyone broke out in a cold sweat and took a few steps back, afraid of being implicated.
Hearing the discussion, Aunt Yang's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly explained, "No...no, sir...it's not like that! My daughter didn't try to harm Miss Fang, she only hit Wan Qiqi, she didn't mean to hit Miss Fang..."
Fang Ziming's eyes grew even colder, and he said in a cold voice, "Do you know why I have come here today?"
Aunt Yang was stunned for a moment.
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