Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 157

Chapter 157 Make An Example (2)
Around noon, there were more and more pedestrians coming and going on the streets in front of the county government in Daxing. Almost everyone would look curiously at the two criminals with wooden shackles on their bodies and under the porch for a long time before whispering to themselves, guessing what they had committed and their identities.

Although the two of them looked very dispirited and in a sorry state, the luxurious clothes on their bodies were enough to tell at a glance that their identities were extraordinary. This aroused the curiosity of the crowd. It was unknown how this small county government dared to treat these two people with extraordinary status like this.

While everyone was speculating, a simple carriage slowly drove over. When the coachman saw their appearances, he cried out in shock. The middle-aged man, who had a gloomy expression, heard the cries and lifted the curtain to look forward. His expression quickly darkened, “What nonsense!”

After trying his best to breathe, the middle-aged man managed to control the anger in his heart. Then, he took out a famous thorn and handed it to a personal attendant beside the car. “Go, hand this over to the people in the county government and let their county magistrate come out to see me!”

The servant hurriedly agreed, and with a straight face, he rushed straight to the county government. Seeing the two servants arrive, he stabbed his name forward and said, “My lord said, let your county magistrate come out to welcome him.”

Hearing this, the servant received the spike, but he could not read. He could only agree and hurriedly entered the yamen. Not long after, this famous thorn appeared in Lu Zhen’s hand. When he saw the name of Li Gu, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, he couldn’t help but reveal a sneer, “Indeed, it’s here. Then let’s go out and welcome it.” As he said that, he put away the official document at hand and tidied up his official uniform before he walked out unhurriedly.

In the car outside the door, Li Gu’s expression became even uglier when he saw that no one had left after the servant entered for a long time. “What a magistrate of Daxing County. He’s actually so arrogant. We can’t just let this matter go!”

Just as he was thinking about it, there was a commotion at the entrance. A young man dressed in a cyan robe walked out. His gaze swept out and quickly landed on the carriage. Then, he did not make any further movements. He just looked straight at the carriage and looked at Li Gu through the curtains.

Li Gu endured for a moment and finally dispelled the thought of letting the other party come forward to greet him before appearing. With a command, the coachman helped him roll up the curtains of the carriage, then bent down and walked out of the carriage, “Are you the county magistrate of Daxing County, Lu Zhen?” As he spoke, he stared over.

Lu Zhen looked at him without the slightest avoidance, “Is this Sir Lu Zhen from the Ministry of Justice? Xiaguan Lu Zhen is here to greet you.” The courtesy he spoke of was only a slight bow of his hand.

Suppressing the displeasure in his heart, Li Gu smiled and said, “County magistrate Lu, don’t be too polite. I don’t need to say anything more about what this official came here for today, do I?” As he spoke, his gaze landed on his son, who was lying on the ground in front of him. He felt a burst of heartache and anger when he saw Li Huan’s semi-unconscious, injured, and shackled appearance at close range.

Although Li Gu had several sons, because Li Huan was the youngest son and his mouth was sweet, he doted on him the most. Therefore, even if he left his hometown to be an official in Beijing, Lang Zhong Li would still take him with him so that he could find a good background for him. Especially when his son didn’t have any talent in the Imperial Examination, he even put in a lot of effort to get his son to interact with the nephews of many officials, hoping that he could be of some help. It could be said that he treated Li Huan like the apple of his eye. He didn’t want his son to be treated like this by the county government today. How could he not feel heartache and anger?

However, County Magistrate Lu did not seem to have noticed his reaction. He seemed to be puzzled and said, “I really do not know why His Excellency is here. Doesn’t the Ministry of Justice have something to explain?”

“You” Li Gu didn’t expect that the other party was still pretending to be stupid at this time. He was even angrier. He pointed at Lu Zhen and then looked at his son, “Young Meng Lang, if you offend County Magistrate Lu, I hope you don’t pursue it in front of me.” For his son’s sake, he could only make a compromise for the time being and plead with the young county magistrate.

Lu Zhen looked at him in disbelief, then looked at Li Huan who was locked on the other side, and said in shock, “He … is he really the young master of Lang Zhong’s family?”

“What do you mean?” Li Gu snorted.

“When he brought people last night, he kept calling himself your son, but how can XiaGuan don’t believe that the dignified punishment department doctor’s son will be so ignorant of the law, how dare to violate the curfew, only said that this is a lie he was trying to protect himself. Even if someone came over this morning to take your status as an important person again, I still dare not believe it. I even punished him severely for trespassing on the county government. “I didn’t expect that this matter was actually a misunderstanding.” As he spoke, he shook his head and sighed repeatedly, as if it was still difficult to accept this fact.

“You” Li Gu couldn’t see that this was just Lu Zhen’s excuse to shirk his responsibility, but because he couldn’t produce any evidence, he could only swallow this breath. After regaining his composure, he said with a cold face, “This official also thought of this level, so I came here personally. My son and servants do not understand the rules, which has caused trouble for the Daxing County Government. I hope that County Magistrate Lu will let them go on my behalf.”

It would be ridiculous if a powerful doctor of the Ministry of Justice were to beg a county magistrate for forgiveness in such a humble manner. But for his son’s sake, Li Gu admitted it. However, the result was far beyond his expectations. Faced with his words, Lu Zhen actually did not have the slightest intention to back down. Instead, he shook his head gently, “I hope Lang Zhong Li forgives me. I forgive Xiaoguan for not obeying my orders.”

“What are you talking about?” Li Gu looked at Lu Zhen with a surprised expression. He almost thought that he had heard the wrong thing, but seeing the other party’s firm expression, he knew that there was nothing wrong with his ears.

Lu Zhen also used words to prove this point: “Xiaoguan is saying that I can’t let this person go.”

“How dare you? My lord has personally come to our house, yet you still refuse to let him go. How are you going to stay?” Upon hearing this, the personal attendant on the side was instantly enraged and loudly scolded.

Lu Zhen simply ignored this person’s words and looked at Li Gu. Li Gu’s face turned green when he saw this. He waved his hand and signaled for his followers not to speak. Then, he stared back and asked, “County magistrate Lu, do you have any grievances against this official? You actually refuse to sell this face?”

“Xiaguan He De, how could you make a grudge against me?” Lu Zhen shook his head without hesitation.

“Then why are you so stubborn?”

“The reputation of the county government is at stake. I have no choice but to be cautious.” Lu Zhen replied seriously, “Just a few days ago, Xiaoguan had already set down 30 decrees in Daxing County, including a curfew. However, anyone who dares to violate this rule will be punished by 30 large boards and 3 days of public display. Since Young Master Li violated this order last night, Xiaoguan will naturally uphold justice. Otherwise, where is the prestige of the government?”

“County magistrate Lu, can’t you accommodate me?” Li Gu simply ignored the reasons he had mentioned and continued, “My son has already been punished and has been making a fool of himself for more than half a day. Isn’t that enough? Could it be that you, County Magistrate Lu, have to go all out to make an enemy of this official just for the sake of this false reputation?” It was obvious how angry Lang Zhong Li was and how confused he was.

“Lord heavy words, xiaoguan but a small county magistrate, never dare to be enemies with anyone, just want to do their part. However, Xiaguan understood one thing. If a decree could be changed at will because of someone else, it was simply unconvincing, and the people would not obey him. Because if I can break the curfew for you today, I will indulge the murderers tomorrow because of others. The thirty decrees just made by the county government are nothing more than a piece of paper. Lu Zhen’s words were neither overbearing nor inferior, and they were reasonable and well-founded, making it impossible for anyone to pick a single mistake. “Your Excellency is in the Ministry of Justice, so you should know the severity of it!” Lu Zhen’s words were neither overbearing nor inferior.

These words made Li Gu both angry, but also a little stuffy, I don’t know how to respond. He hadn’t expected that he would actually be taught a lesson by a young county magistrate.

Lu Zhen looked at the other party’s slightly twisted face due to anger and said calmly, “Besides, Lang Zhong Li is in the Ministry of Justice, so he should be very familiar with my laws and decrees.” The punishment for breaking the curfew rules like Young Master Li is already light. If you really report it truthfully, I’m afraid it won’t be thirty big boards, and it will only take a few days for you to make a public display. ”

“You” The threat in Lu Zhen’s words was very clear, making it harder for Li Gu to attack. Because he could tell that if he really wanted to use his identity to suppress others, this county magistrate Lu would spill the beans. At that time, if someone really wanted to pursue Li Huan, it would be too troublesome.

After a change in expression and weighing things over, Li Gu finally snorted coldly and said, “County magistrate Lu, you are indeed an unselfish official. I am truly disrespectful. Since that is the case, I do not wish to force you to do anything. I hope you can remember what you said today and do everything fairly in the future! Do it yourself!” Dropping these words, he got into the carriage without turning his head.

Seeing that his master had actually suffered a crushing defeat in front of such a county magistrate, all of his attendants revealed shocked expressions. They glared fiercely at Lu Zhen before they drove the carriage away.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen only smiled indifferently, but his eyes shone brightly. He knew that this matter would soon be heard by the government and the public, and that his goal would be achieved.

It wasn’t until he walked back to the county government that the people around him began to discuss this matter. This matter was truly too surprising. It was enough for the people who saw all of this to properly tell everyone they knew. So this Great Xing County Magistrate was indeed a responsible and bold Iron-Faced Green Heavens!