pappabearbooks Chapter 121 Conspiracy
Chapter 121 Conspiracy
"Snapped!"
Li Chong slapped Zhong Mei on the forehead: "You've gotten all interested in this? I've never seen you this proactive before!"
Zhong Mei brushed Li Chong's hand away and turned her head away: "Hmph, if you don't want to talk about it, fine, I don't want to hear it either."
Li Chong shrugged: "It's fine if you don't want to hear it. Come with me to Zhu Family Village tomorrow and see how the people are being settled. It will put your two uncles at ease."
After a brief exchange, Li Chong brushed Zhong Mei off.
But after Zhong Mei left, Li Chong's relaxed expression turned serious.
He appeared confident in front of Zhong Mei, but in reality, he had little confidence whatsoever; he was merely reacting to each move as it came.
Li Chong sat alone in the room until late at night before the lights in his room were finally turned off.
In another room in the courtyard, Zhong Mei closed her window and lay down.
"Would I be able to live comfortably if I went back to the mountains?"
Two people, two rooms, but the same feeling: deep sorrow.
Night fell, but no one felt sleepy.
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The next morning, Li Chongqiang, still somewhat tired, mustered his energy and left the county government office with Zhong Mei.
Regardless, let's continue with the previous preparations. Chaos is approaching, so it's never a bad thing to make plans early.
As Li Chong and his entourage left the county government office, a nimble-footed clerk trotted up to Yang Chengde.
Having confirmed that Li Chong had left, a sinister glint flashed in Yang Chengde's eyes.
"Go and fetch Old He..."
Yang Chengde paused, then shook his head: "No, don't let him come looking for me. Let him find an excuse to go out himself, and I'll meet him outside."
"I understand."
The clerk took Yang Chengde's reward money and ran off to deliver the message.
Beside Yang Chengde, his confidant was still somewhat worried: "Registration, you must know that if you don't kill the snake, you will be harmed by it. If this fails again, he is, after all, the county magistrate. It is not impossible for him to accuse you of slander."
Yang Chengde's eyes flickered: "Therefore, I don't plan to get involved myself. That kid is so arrogant, he doesn't even respect Zhu Zhicheng. I can use him to do my dirty work. If it succeeds, I'll reap all the benefits; if it fails, it won't implicate me."
"But how can Zhu Zhicheng, a mere local gentry, fight against him? After all, it's a case of a commoner suing an official; who would dare to step forward?"
"Hmph." Yang Chengde sneered, "That kid is still too young. A local gentry who has stood firm here for so many years, even without an official position, is not someone he can easily manipulate."
"Zhu's second son was almost crippled by him. Old Zhu will never let this go. As long as we hand over the evidence, we can sit back and watch the tigers fight."
Seeing Yang Chengde's confident demeanor, his confidant secretly began to have doubts.
"Back then, when you said you'd just sit back and watch him suppress the bandits, you seemed just as confident, didn't you?"
However, he immediately bowed and began to flatter him.
In a secluded spot in the yamen (government office), coroner Lao He was counting the corpses.
"...Fifteen, sixteen...twenty-three, the burial is about to take place, how come there's one body missing? Did someone in the yamen steal this thing? Or am I remembering wrong?"
Old He's deeply lined face was filled with questions.
Just then, several shouts came from outside: "Old He! Old He! We've got good news for you!"
After covering the charred corpses, Old He stepped outside.
Li Chong was naturally unaware of everything that happened in the yamen (government office), but Yang Chengde, having served in the county government for many years, was quite capable.
At this moment, Li Chong was still on his way to the outskirts of the city.
On the ridges of the fields in Zhujiazhuang, Jia Zhuo and his brother Hu Changyong were strolling casually.
"How is it? Have you asked around? How are the old guys doing?" Jia Zhuo asked.
Hu Changyong was silent for a moment, then replied, "That kid is really capable; he managed to make that old bastard surnamed Zhu bleed."
Jia Zhu chuckled lightly: "After all, he is a county magistrate, an official. As the saying goes, the common people cannot fight against officials. How can he possibly contend with the government?"
Although Zhong Mei was friendly with the two of them, she kept Li Chong's identity a strict secret and did not reveal it.
"I just regret not being able to kill that Zhu fellow with my own hands and avenge my brother!" Hu Changyong said through gritted teeth.
Jia Zhu remained silent for a moment, then raised his hand and patted Hu Changyong's arm: "There's a chance."
After walking for a while, Jia Zhuo continued to ask, "What's your opinion on what Xiao Mei'er said? The remaining brothers aren't cut out for farming. It's better for them to give us food than to continue being bandits."
"Ugh."
Hu Changyong sighed deeply: "I've been at odds with the government my whole life, and suddenly I've been made their lackey. I... I can't get over this!"
Jia Zhuo smiled slightly: "Don't forget Xiao Mei'er. Calling her a 'lackey' is too harsh. Just think of it as helping your nephew-in-law. You used to listen to your elder brother, now you listen to your elder brother's son-in-law. What's wrong with that?"
Hu Changyong grinned unconsciously.
Then he shook his head: "I'm afraid that kid will look down on Xiaomei'er's background. Those scholars, humph!"
Hu Changyong's prejudice against intellectuals still made him stubbornly insist on his point.
However, Jia Zhuo knew his brother well. If he really refused to be subordinate to Li Chong, he wouldn't have come down the mountain to see Li Chong just because of Zhong Mei's letter.
Jia Zhuo was about to turn around and say something to Hu Changyong when his eyes suddenly lit up: "Then you're wrong. I think Magistrate Li still won't look down on us."
"Don't believe me? Just look back."
Hu Changyong turned around and saw Li Chong and Zhong Mei riding up on the road not far away. Both of them had smiles on their faces, clearly indicating that they were getting along very well.
Hu Changyong's expression softened slightly.
Jia Zhuo gave him a push: "Let's go, let's go and greet them."
As they approached the roadside, Li Chong and his group arrived just in time.
Li Chong dismounted, sent the others far away, and joined Zhong Mei and the other two.
"Greetings, County Magistrate." Jia Zhuo was the first to bow.
Although Hu Changyong did not speak, he still bowed with his hands clasped in greeting, which was considered a sign of humility.
"You two are too kind," Li Chong said with a smile. "In fact, I should be thanking you both. You came down the mountain as soon as you received the news. You must have had a long journey."
Jia Zhu smiled modestly: "Seeing how well the county magistrate has taken care of us old brothers, the little bit of hardship is nothing. We should thank the county magistrate."
"Thank you!" Hu Changyong said in a muffled voice.
Li Chong chuckled and walked past the two men to the edge of the field: "To save the world and bring peace to the people is the wish of us scholars, so there's no need for thanks. However, if you two really want to thank me, please do me a favor."
Jia Zhuo replied solemnly, "Please speak, Your Excellency."
Li Chong slowly said, "I would like to ask you two to continue being mountain bandits, and preferably the kind with a very famous reputation!"
"what?"
All three were taken aback, wondering what Li Chong meant.