roccoschili Chapter 48: Fishing for people
Chapter 48: Fishing for people
When Zhongmei said Li Chong was like a mountain dweller, she was not referring to him as being unsophisticated.
Instead, she saw in Li Chong a free and unrestrained nature.
Which respectable civil official in the Northern Song Dynasty was as uncouth and unrefined as Li Chong, and would never have taken the initiative to negotiate with a group of bandits?
Even if those bandits were not entirely wicked.
In this officialdom where everyone values their reputation, Li Chong is truly an outlier, so it's no wonder he attracts attention and scrutiny.
Amidst the greetings from the clerks and runners in the yamen, Li Chong led Zhong Mei back to the inner yamen.
After casually dismissing Zhong Mei, Li Chong had other important matters to attend to.
Anyway, in the yamen, it's unlikely that Zhong Mei could escape without his orders. Besides, whether she even wants to escape is another matter, so Li Chong doesn't need to keep a close eye on her.
The most urgent task is to review the county annals and case files to determine whether what Zhongmei said is true or false.
Just how many blood debts does her father, Zhong Tieshan, have? And did the bandits of Dafeng Mountain only become high-profile in recent years?
He ordered someone to bring over the case files, and Li Chong flipped through them while waiting for Wu Dalang to come and report back.
"Zhong Tieshan..."
Zhong Mei grew up in the mountains. Based on her age, Li Chong traced her origins through the county annals and quickly found the record.
"A prominent family in the county, and also from the same hometown as the Zhu family."
At this moment, a woman's voice came: "What bullshit fellow villagers? Once we get back to the mountains, the next one to kill is that old bastard surnamed Zhu."
Li Chong looked up and saw Zhong Mei standing with his hands behind his back, looking at him with disdain.
"Didn't I tell you to go and rest? What are you doing here?"
As he spoke, Li Chong subconsciously closed the file in his hand.
Zhong Mei didn't stand on ceremony and took a few steps to sit down next to Li Chong: "Stop hiding it. If you want to investigate, then investigate. Once you find out, you'll know whether I'm lying or not."
Li Chong looked somewhat embarrassed, feeling a little awkward about expressing his doubts in front of others.
Seeing Zhong Mei's nonchalant attitude, Li Chong also replied frankly, "I have reasonable suspicions. Besides, if we're going to suppress bandits, we should at least have some understanding of where they came from."
"Tch!" Zhong Mei turned her head away. "Do whatever you want, no need to explain to me. I came here to ask you, when are you planning to go and talk to Uncle Jia again?"
"That depends on your second uncle. I'll send someone to contact him. You don't need to worry about it."
Zhong Mei nodded and looked around Li Chong's room: "Do you have any storybooks here? It's so boring that you won't let me go out."
"Well……"
Li Chong seemed to know why Zhong Mei had come to find him. She wasn't a maid, so how could she be willing to put in the patience to do things?
In this government office, she got to know herself and unconsciously wanted to get closer to herself.
"Never mind, never mind, I'll go myself."
Zhong Mei really didn't consider herself an outsider. Seeing that Li Chong didn't speak, she simply got up and started searching around the room, leaving Li Chong speechless.
However, seeing the lively Zhong Mei, Li Chong's pent-up frustration dissipated considerably.
People always need friends. Li Chong has been under a lot of pressure these past few days, so it's good to have Zhong Mei here to help him relax.
Shaking his head and smiling, Li Chong let her flip through the files while he continued to bury himself in them.
As time passed, the atmosphere inside the room gradually changed.
Zhong Mei pointed at the dossier in Li Chong's hand and said, "How can these people talk such nonsense? It was clearly my father who didn't want to offend the government and deliberately let those people go. How come this record says that they defeated my father? No, you must change it back immediately."
Li Chong closed the file helplessly: "This is already an archived file. Do you think I can just change it as I please?"
"Aren't you the county magistrate? You can't even handle this simple matter?"
"You know I'm just a county magistrate, not the emperor. There are so many people in this county office; if I could really get things done with just a word, would I need to cooperate with you all?"
Zhong Mei patted Li Chong on the shoulder: "You're having a pretty tough time as a county magistrate. Why don't you come up the mountain with me? I'll give you a strategist, Dangdang."
Seeing Zhong Mei's playful expression, Li Chong was speechless, but couldn't help but smile as well.
This is the first time I've ever seen people playfully bickering like friends since I transmigrated.
"Wait until later..."
"Your Excellency," a yamen runner reported from outside the gate, "Wu Dalang requests an audience with Your Excellency, saying that Your Excellency has ordered him to come."
"Ahem!" Li Chong coughed lightly to compose himself, and said in a deep voice, "Let him in."
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Li Chong said to Zhong Mei, "I have important business to attend to. Now that you've found the book, you can head back."
"Hmph! As if anyone cares to listen." Zhong Mei curled her lip, picked up the book, put her hands behind her back, and left.
As soon as she left, Wu Dalang rushed over: "Greetings, Master."
"Alright, stop with the formalities. Come closer and talk to me," Li Chong said gently.
After Wu Dalang thanked him, he carefully bowed and approached.
Having wasted half his life, this was the first time he had managed to curry favor with the county magistrate, so Wu Dalang naturally had to serve him with utmost care.
Li Chong picked up the note he had approved from the table: "I've already stamped it. After you go down, go to the warehouse and get the money, and distribute it among your brothers."
"Thank you, sir."
Wu Dalang thanked him first, and then accepted the gift with both hands.
Li Chong said with a smile, "You helped me with my business, so it's only right that I reward you. There's no need to thank me."
Wu Dalang shook his head: "What in this world is a matter of course? I've lived half my life and this is the first time I've met such a good official as you, sir. I can thank you as many times as I want."
"A good official, huh..."
Li Chong shook his head and smiled: "I can't be considered a good official yet."
Li Chong raised his hand to stop Wu Dalang from speaking, his expression turning serious: "When I returned to the yamen just now, I noticed that no one in the yamen was gossiping about you taking people out. This means that you really didn't tell anyone my instructions. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so generous."
Wu Dalang quickly assured him, "I am extremely tight-lipped, and my brothers have all been instructed that if I divulge even a single word, the master will hold me accountable."
"Hmm." Li Chong nodded slowly. "In that case, I have another important matter for you to handle. There will be a generous reward if you do it well. I wonder if you are willing?"
"Please give your orders, sir!"
Wu Dalang didn't even ask what it was about, and directly asked Li Chong for instructions.
He knew that since Li Chong had said that, he had no room to refuse, and asking any more questions would be a waste of breath.
However, even though he was mentally prepared, the task Li Chong assigned to him still exceeded his expectations.
Li Chong slowly said, "I need you to get someone out of jail. You must get this person out unharmed and without leaving any potential problems."
"this……"
A county magistrate, instead of getting people out of prison, isn't that knowingly breaking the law?
Judging from Li Chong's expression, he was clearly serious.
Wu Dalang was at a loss for words.