"Hurry up and cover your mouth for me."
"Yes, young master."
Kangxi and Youqing originally planned to go straight back for dinner, but on the way they saw a group of people gathered together, so they came over to take a look. As soon as they got closer, they heard these two sentences of conversation.
Youqing asked the old woman beside her in a low voice, "Auntie, what's going on?"
"You must be from out of town!" the old woman said, sizing up Youqing.
"Yes, what's wrong?"
The old woman said, "Everyone in the area knows that man. He's the young master of the Qi family. He's utterly depraved. He likes to wander around the streets all the time. He only likes handsome young men. The man whose mouth was covered is the young master Qi's new favorite. He didn't want to be with her, so he forced himself on her."
Youqing hadn't witnessed any forced abduction of women along the way, but today she did see a forced abduction of men. This small county town really has all sorts of strange things to offer!
Upon hearing this, Kangxi gave a signal to the guards in the crowd, who immediately stepped out and stopped the Qi family guards from taking action.
The onlookers found it rare that someone would dare to stand up for justice.
Although the common people despised the young master of the Qi family for his behavior, none of them dared to step forward to stop him. In the past, there were plenty of foolish and daring scholars who stood up for justice, but what was the result? They lost their academic achievements and even their hands were crippled by the Qi family.
After one or two times, no one dared to meddle anymore.
Everyone sweeps the snow in front of their own door, and no one cares about the frost on other people's roofs. If you can't even sweep the snow in front of your own door, you naturally won't care about others.
When Young Master Qi saw someone come out to stop them, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. He hadn't seen anyone so eager to die in a long time.
"Who are you? Mind your own business! Men, beat me to death! How dare you meddle in my affairs? I'll show you why flowers are so red!"
As soon as Young Master Qi finished speaking, his lackeys stepped forward to attack. However, the lackeys of ordinary playboys were no match for the emperor's secret guards, and they quickly took them down.
Young Master Qi's expression changed slightly. This was beyond his expectations. He had already made those harsh words, and now he couldn't take them back.
The onlookers were also surprised by this turn of events. No one had ever been able to make Young Master Qi lose face before, but this time he had really met his match.
"Useless thing, so many of you can't even beat one of them, we're just feeding you for nothing! Go back and get some more people."
Young Master Qi had never suffered such a loss before, so he was naturally unwilling to give up. Seeing that so many of his men were no match for one of the other men, he felt aggrieved and sent someone back to fetch reinforcements.
The guard glanced at Kangxi, then said, "I'll wait."
Young Master Qi instructed someone to go back and fetch someone.
During this time, Youqing took a closer look at the "commoner" who had been forcibly taken by Young Master Qi. She immediately noticed something was off. She was quite experienced, and the man's eyes were clear and he was not flustered at all. Young Master Qi was well-known in the county town, and with his appearance, he should have been careful. However, the man's attire seemed to be the most appropriate and suitable, as if it was intentional.
Looking at it more closely, Youqing still felt that she hadn't seen wrong.
This person is either from outside and doesn't know the inside story of this county, or he did it on purpose.
Youqing guessed it was the latter.
I just don't know the specifics of what happened.
Before the new men sent by the Qi family could arrive, the yamen runners came over and arrested the young master without saying a word.
"Let me go! Do you even know who I am? You dare to arrest me? I'm a member of the Qi family! Release me right now, or you'll be in big trouble!"
Young Master Qi didn't hold back at all; he just said it out loud.
In the past, the government offices dared not arrest the Qi family, but now the officials in the government offices have changed, and things are different from before. This young master Qi doesn't seem to care at all.
"Gag him."
Kangxi said.
The yamen runners recognized Emperor Kangxi and knew he was the governor, so they immediately gagged Young Master Qi and then tied him up along with his henchmen and took them away.
The way things have turned out has left the people bewildered.
Did the authorities really arrest the young master of the Qi family?
It doesn't feel quite real.
Yuan, Luo, Qi, and the former county magistrate had been bullying the people in the county town for many years, and no one had ever been able to get the better of them. Now that the government officials had come and actually arrested Young Master Qi, it was like a dream come true for the people.
Just as Young Master Qi was sent to the yamen's jail, Tang Chifei received the news, learned what had happened, and made a plan in his mind.
This county is indeed difficult to govern, given its extreme poverty, but that very poverty makes it easier to achieve merit.
Without Chengxian, the Yuan, Luo, and Qi families are no longer a threat. Once we deal with them one by one and explain some suitable policies for the capital, it will be as good as a gift falling from the sky.
Since Young Master Qi is already in jail, let's start by dealing with him.
Young Master Qi dares to be so spoiled, which is naturally because his family dotes on him. His mother is his grandmother's cousin, and after giving birth to him, he was pampered by his grandmother, which led to his spoiled nature.
The Qi family is powerful, and I used to be able to clean up their messes.
When the news of Young Master Qi's imprisonment reached the Qi family, the old lady of the Qi family fainted. When she woke up, the first thing she did was call her son to her side: "You must bring Junzhang home safely."
Master Qi used to be able to guarantee this, but now that he can't even protect himself, how can he guarantee that he can get his son out?
However, how could he refuse his mother's request while she was lying down? He had no choice but to agree: "Mother, you should rest first. Junzhang has a son, so he'll be fine. It must be that the new yamen runner is ignorant. I'll ask someone to mediate later. It's not a big deal."
The old lady still had confidence in her son's abilities, and upon hearing this, she felt much more at ease.
"Then you'd better hurry, don't let Junzhang suffer."
"Mother, please rest assured! Junzhang is my son, how could I possibly mistreat him? Of course I will do my best."
After appeasing his mother, Master Qi's face darkened as he left her courtyard. He had been making moves these past few days, hearing that a new county magistrate had arrived from the capital, and that the governor was still there. He had spent a lot of money, but hadn't managed to build any truly useful connections.
Master Qi was also anxious. At this critical juncture, his son was still immature, and his mother doted on her grandson. Now he was truly at his wit's end.
As soon as he returned to his study, he saw his wife rushing over in a panic. Without even asking, Master Qi knew why she was doing this; it must be for their son.
Sure enough, as soon as Madam Qi came in, she cried and said, "Master, you must get Junzhang out as soon as possible. He has never suffered since he was a child. Prison is not a place for a human being. Master, you must think of a way."
Upon hearing this, Master Qi became impatient. He was already quite anxious, and with Madam Qi complaining to him at this moment, his mood only worsened.
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