Chapter 1170: Qiu County

When Mother Zhang saw Madam Zhao, she immediately cursed. The officials were impatient and directly grabbed a handful of withered grass from the roadside and stuffed it into her mouth. Implicated by her, a handful of withered grass was also stuffed into Zhang Erzhu’s mouth.

The two of them whimpered as they glared at Madam Zhao with hatred, but Madam Zhao’s eyes were also filled with hatred as she looked at them.

Little Bear, who had wanted to put them in a carriage, immediately changed his mind. After tying Mother Zhang and Zhang Erzhu to the back of the carriage with a rope, he said, “Since you’re so energetic, you two can walk for a while first.”

Madam Zhao climbed into the carriage and gently hugged her daughter, her heart filled with a mixture of confusion and anticipation. She did not know if she could live a good life in the future, but as long as her daughter was still alive, there was still hope.

The officials also squeezed onto the guards’ horses and began to head towards the county.

Because they were now traveling on a horse, the travel time was shortened by more than 50%, allowing them to arrive at the county before noon.

Qiu County was not big and was only considered a lower county. At this moment, the people were busy farming, so there were not many people outside at noon. As the group of people consisting of officials rode carriages and horses, they attracted everyone’s attention as soon as they entered the city.

The officials were going to the government office, so they dismounted as soon as they entered the city gate. The leader of the officials clenched his fists and asked, “Young Masters, are you staying in Qiu County or continuing on your way? If you’re resting in Qiu County, why don’t you let us lead you to an inn?”

Most importantly, it was obvious that the other party was either rich or noble. The county magistrate might want to befriend them, so it would be easier to find them when the time came.

Qi Wenchen glanced at the carriage and smiled. “Yes, I suppose we’ll have to stay here for two days since we’re only leaving after the case concludes.”

Relieved, the official immediately assigned someone to lead the way for them. With an official leading the way, it would naturally be more convenient.

Qi Wenchen did not decline and accepted their good intentions.

The officials had already pulled Mother Zhang and Zhang Erzhu out of the carriage. After bidding farewell to everyone, they escorted the duo to the county office.

The guard captain left with the official who led the way and booked an entire inn.

“We’re lucky that everyone is busy farming at this time. Since there are no guests staying in this inn, I made the decision to book the entire inn.”

Actually, there were not many rooms in total anyway. One room for each of them was just right.

Qi Wenchen nodded in agreement. Looking at the uneasy Madam Zhao, he said with a smile, “Auntie Zhao, bring Niuniu back to the room to rest first. Since we’re in the county, we can stroll around here first and discuss the rest slowly.”

Madam Zhao nodded and carried her daughter into a room.

Qi Wenjin exhaled and looked at the streets outside excitedly. “Let’s go out and play too.”

“There’s no hurry; let’s go eat and rest first. I’m afraid there will be guests visiting in the afternoon. If we go out to play, I’m afraid we’ll miss the esteemed guest.”

The esteemed guest Little Treasure was talking about was the county magistrate of Qiu County, Huang Jia. After the case happened, he obtained the resume of the county magistrate of Qiu County.

Huang Jia passed the imperial examination in the third year of Taikang, making him a successful candidate in the first examination held after the founding of the dynasty. He served as a county constable for five years, and when the previous county magistrate retired due to old age, he was well-regarded locally and recommended by his predecessor. As a result, the Ministry of Personnel appointed him as the new county magistrate, a position he had now held for six years.

Qi Wenchen had read the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs’ assessment of this guy—though not smart enough, he was very diligent. Moreover, the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs’ assessment of him was either excellent or above average, without fail.

Little Treasure had studied his resume carefully and noticed that Huang Jia was very talented in agriculture. While he would do well in the Imperial Court’s agricultural objectives every year, his shortcoming was criminal prosecution. Considering Qi County was a lower county, there might not be a single murder case in two to three years. But since there were definitely many other trivial theft cases, as well as fights over water and land, a county magistrate had many things to deal with.

On the other hand, Huang Jia was always lacking when it came to handling these matters. Back then, when he was the county lieutenant, he was originally in charge of this aspect. It was because he was not capable enough that he took the initiative to switch his responsibilities with the county deputy. Henceforth, he let the latter manage the public security while he took charge of agricultural matters.

That county deputy back then had already been promoted to county lieutenant. Although he had assisted him in handling all kinds of criminal proceedings in the county, the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs did not think that this was Huang Jia’s ability. Therefore, Huang Jia’s points were deducted every year because of this matter. The reason why he barely obtained a good appraisal was because he had indeed handled the agricultural matters well.

However, Little Treasure felt that the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs was too harsh. Even if Huang Jia was not good at criminal proceedings, he could assign someone else to handle this aspect. Besides, Huang Jia was good at deploying talents and did not delay the cases due to his inaptitude. Just based on this, he ought to receive an excellent evaluation.

Huang Jia had been an official for 11 years. Even if he was not very shrewd, he was not a daft person. Seeing a guard ride a tall horse to report a case, Huang Jia immediately knew that the person who sent the guard was probably not an ordinary person.

How could an ordinary person use such a horse?

Therefore, after Huang Jia met Mother Zhang and Zhang Erzhu, he got someone to detain them while they awaited trial. Then, he brought the county lieutenant to chat with the legendary esteemed guests.

When the sharp-eyed County Lieutenant Qin saw Little Treasure and Little Bear coming down the stairs, he said in a low voice, “Sir, I’m afraid these two people’s identities are not simple.”

At such a young age, these two already had such an imposing manner. The older boy had a gentle temperament but a dignified aura, while the younger had a hidden might in his eyes. As County Lieutenant Qin had exterminated bandits before, he could tell at a glance that this person had had blood on his hands. Moreover, judging from his restrained aura, this person’s hands had probably been stained with a lot of blood.

If not for the aura of righteousness exuded by the other party, County Lieutenant Qin would probably think that he was a bandit, especially seeing as he was so young.

Not blind, Magistrate Huang also sensed that their auras were suppressed in the presence of the other party. He hurriedly smiled and stepped forward to befriend them.

Little Bear was a little bored and didn’t quite understand why Brother Crown Prince wanted to be friends with them. In the past, they had passed by many county cities, but Brother Crown Prince never bothered to meet with any officials.

Qi Wenchen’s goal was very simple. Firstly, he wanted to ask about the case. Magistrate Huang informed him that because the evidence and witnesses were conclusive, Mother Zhang and Zhang Erzhu’s verdict would be out in a month; before that, neither of them would be released.

Secondly, Little Treasure wanted to ask about the employment situation in Qiu County, since he did not know what kind of job people like Madam Zhao and her daughter could secure in the county. If the mother-and-daughter could not settle down, they would not be able to leave in peace.

Thirdly, he wanted to inquire about the situation of the clans in the county.

After meeting Madam Zhao and her daughter, Little Treasure had some vague thoughts in his heart. However, because his thoughts were not mature yet, he could not say it explicitly and could only do an investigation first.

County Lieutenant Qin could give an accurate answer to the first two questions. Although Qiu County was a lower county, it was still quite easy to find a job. For instance, Madam Zhao could take on a laundry job. Although working such jobs wouldn’t allow her to live a cushy life, taking care of the necessities wouldn’t be a problem.

If not, she could always work as a servant in a rich family; the monthly allowance would allow her to live well.

County Lieutenant Qin expressed that if Madam Zhao was diligent, he was willing to help her find a good job.

Little Treasure quickly agreed happily on her behalf.

As for the last question, Little Treasure naturally did not ask directly. Instead, he sighed at the domineeringness of the Zhang clan and the difficulties of the government office.

At the mention of this, before Magistrate Huang could say anything, County Lieutenant Qin already viewed Qi Wenchen as a bosom friend.

As he had always been in charge of the security of the county, he had to interact with all kinds of people. Be it the poor, the rich, or the landlords, they all belonged to clans. The complicated relationships involved could annoy one to death.

Take for instance, the attempt to catch a thief. Just as the thief was about to be caught, he scurried into an alley and the villagers helped to cover up simply because they belonged to the same clan. Thus, the authorities couldn’t catch the culprit even if they knew that he was in the alley.

It was a truly vexing issue.

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