Volume One: The Miscellaneous Duties of Changshui County Chapter 127: A Lesson to Learn

Early in the morning, when Lu Jiuzhang woke up, he found that Bai Xiaosu was still fast asleep.

Lu Jiuzhang stepped lightly to the room, took out a robe, and covered her with it.

Afterward, Lu Jiuzhang headed to the Demon Slayer Division.

Upon reaching his office, he found the furnishings had been replaced with new ones.

Lu Jiuzhang summoned Wang Yunshan.

"Brother Lu, do you have any instructions?" Wang Yunshan asked. "Let's get this straight first: if it's about going to the Yihong Brothel, don't ask me again."

The current Wang Yunshan had the desire but lacked the courage. Even if Lu Jiuzhang were paying, he would not dare to frequent such pleasure houses.

"Brother Wang, do you have any acquaintances at the county government office?" Lu Jiuzhang asked.

"I know a few. What does Brother Lu want to do?" Wang Yunshan asked.

"Find a way to get Zhao Chan'er's mother locked up for a while," Lu Jiuzhang said. "It doesn't need to be long, just a few days will do."

"That is not difficult!" Wang Yunshan nodded. "People don't work for free, though; you might need some silver for bribes."

There were many who could handle this; Zhou Cheng could do it, and Chen Xuanfeng could too. If Lu Jiuzhang asked, he was sure they would agree. However, both Zhou Cheng and Chen Xuanfeng held such high official ranks that it would easily attract the attention of County Magistrate Wang. If he discovered that Lu Jiuzhang was pulling the strings behind the scenes, it would cause trouble. That Magistrate Wang would certainly try every means possible to make life difficult for him. Lu Jiuzhang only wanted to teach the woman a lesson, not kill her.

After thinking it over, Wang Yunshan was the most suitable candidate. He was merely a menial laborer, and the people he associated with were petty clerks. When those clerks handled business, they didn't care much for rules.

"The money is not an issue!" Lu Jiuzhang took out five taels of silver. "This is for your trouble!"

"It won't cost that much!" Wang Yunshan only took one tael. "Just treating those fellows to some music and wine at a pleasure house will be enough; they will take care of it."

"Brother Wang, go and handle it now. You don't need to stay at the Demon Slayer Division. Rest assured, handling this counts as your work; I won't deduct your salary." As a Demon Slayer, Lu Jiuzhang had at least this much authority. Wang Yunshan could even stay at home for a few days without coming to the division, and it wouldn't be a problem. As long as the absenteeism wasn't too excessive, the people at the Demon Slayer Division would give Lu Jiuzhang face and overlook it. After all, everyone knew by now that Lu Jiuzhang was a favorite of Chen Xuanfeng and not someone to be trifled with lightly.

...

After lunch, Mother Zhao was preparing to take her laundry to the river to wash.

As she walked, she suddenly spotted over twenty copper coins on the ground. Seeing no one around, she hurried forward and stealthily tucked the coins into her bosom. Meanwhile, Mother Zhao was overjoyed. Picking up silver while just walking along—what good luck!

Just as she was about to continue toward the river, two or three clerks in official uniforms suddenly rushed out from the side.

"You insolent peasant, daring to steal money in public! Your crime is unforgivable!"

Before Mother Zhao could react, those two or three men grabbed her and hauled her off to the prison. They found a female cell and locked her inside.

"I'm innocent! My lord, I'm innocent!" Mother Zhao screamed at the top of her lungs, but no one paid her any mind.

*Splat.*

A basin of cold water was splashed onto Mother Zhao.

"Shut your mouth! There are plenty of people in this prison shouting about their innocence; who do you think you are?" a jailer in charge of the prisoners cursed. "If you scream again, I'll cut your tongue out!"

Seeing the jailer's fierce demeanor, Mother Zhao quickly clamped her mouth shut, not daring to make a sound. She was in a panic, feeling that she had suffered a disaster for no reason. It was money she had found; how could they claim she had stolen it? Not only was the money gone, but she was now locked up.

"Lu Jiuzhang... yes, Lu Jiuzhang!" Mother Zhao suddenly remembered a name and shouted at the jailer, "My future son-in-law is Lord Lu Jiuzhang of the Demon Slayer Division! Could you please trouble yourself to go find Lord Lu and ask him to save me?"

The jailer burst into laughter. "Lord Lu Jiuzhang? That is the new rising star of Changshui County, a favorite of Division Chief Chen. A peasant like you is worthy of mentioning Lord Lu's name? Someone, slap her mouth!"

Two jailers opened the cell door and walked in, aiming for Mother Zhao's mouth and slapping her several times.

"Look at your short, dumpy stature—you're so fat, how good-looking could your daughter be?" the jailer sneered. "You don't know your place, daring to impersonate the future mother-in-law of Lord Lu!"

"My lord, my daughter is very beautiful, truly beautiful! She and Lord Lu were childhood sweethearts, growing up together; they have already pledged their lives to each other!" Mother Zhao began to babble nonsense. "If you don't believe me, go ask in the streets; all the villagers know!"

"Pah!" The jailer spat at her and instructed the other two jailers, "Keep slapping!"

"What incredible audacity! Who does she think Lord Lu is? A peasant, with no social standing to match, wanting to climb high by latching onto Lord Lu?"

"Giving you an inch and you take a mile? It's a good thing we're inside the prison; if we were outside, people would laugh their teeth out. If you dared to say such things in front of Lord Lu, you wouldn't even know how you died!"

The jailer sneered. He found the fat woman in front of him utterly ridiculous. "I'll give you a chance. It's not impossible to let you out easily—ten taels of silver. How you came in is how I'll let you out!" The jailer knew someone was giving this woman a hard time behind the scenes, so he intentionally demanded an exorbitant amount to toy with her.

Ten taels of silver? Wasn't that taking her life?

"My lord, Lord Lu really knows me! If you go find him, he will definitely pay the silver to save me!" Mother Zhao seemed to spark a glimmer of hope. "Really, I'm not lying to you. Just go find Lord Lu and you'll see."

"It seems you don't have a good memory. Is a big shot like Lord Lu someone I can just meet?" the jailer mocked. "Slapping isn't enough. One hundred slaps! Beat her until she can't speak anymore!"

The two jailers took turns, and soon, Mother Zhao's mouth was bleeding. The jailers did not stop; they delivered a full hundred slaps, only stopping when Mother Zhao had fallen unconscious.

...

On the other side, Mother Zhao had not returned for a long time, and Zhao Chan'er was already anxious. She and her father had searched through most of Changshui County but could not find her mother. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Zhao Chan'er ran to the Demon Slayer Division, hoping to find Lu Jiuzhang and ask him to use his connections to search for her.

By the time she arrived at the Demon Slayer Division, Lu Jiuzhang had already finished his shift and left. In a panic, Zhao Chan'er ran to Lu Jiuzhang's residence.

"Second Brother Lu, please save my mother!" As soon as she entered the door, Zhao Chan'er knelt on the ground, crying. "My mother has disappeared; there has been no news of her for half the day."

"What happened?" Lu Jiuzhang asked, pretending not to know.

"I don't know either..." Zhao Chan'er said with a sobbing voice. "She was fine this morning, but this afternoon, she went to the river to wash clothes, and then she just vanished. She hasn't been seen until now. Could she have met with some misfortune?"