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Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 66 (Part 2)

At this moment, a starving ghost under his command came out of the ground and reported, “My lord, those people are all Wang Fu’s subordinates. Before he left, he told them not to listen to you, so they all made excuses to take leave. If Wang Fu doesn’t come back, they won’t come to report for duty for even a day, wanting you to work alone.”

This starving ghost was a beggar before his death who never had a full meal in his whole life. You Shu gave him a yin-yang talisman as soon as he met him, who quickly regained his essence after absorbing it, giving him a moment of comfort. Therefore he stubbornly followed You Shu who couldn’t drive him away. 

The specialty of a beggar is naturally to inquire about news from all over, not to mention a small county government office, even trivial matters in the capital are clear to him.

Well, it seems to be true that there is no government office without some drama to deal with. Most county magistrates don’t know how to handle government affairs without the assistance of their staff. Wang Fu thought that by calling his subordinates away, he would give the county magistrate a blow, but he made the wrong decision. Now this Zhao Youshu is not the original ‘Zhao Youshu’, and the way his brain operates is different from ordinary people.

Instead of searching for these people house by house, he wrote down the names of all of them and planned to stop paying their wages. Fortunately, “Zhao Youshu” attached great importance to money, the key to the treasury has always been held in his own hand, and several accounting clerks are also his confidants, so he can naturally impose economic sanctions.

“If I don’t have enough manpower, I can naturally hire them myself. People you pay yourself are more useful than those yamen servants who eat dry food everyday. Which place in Suichang County has the most laborers?” You Shu asked as he walked out of the county government office. Zhao Youshu was extremely dependent on Wang Fu for everything except for his clear distinction in silver and money, and most of the servants here were hired by Wang Fu, so they didn’t know who their real master was, making them very unreliable.

The starved ghost followed behind with dropping shoulders and guided, “My Lord, Turn left at the second street corner ahead, then walk straight towards the fourth street and turn left again. You will arrive at the pier after walking through an alley, where there are many laborers waiting for passing merchant ships to unload.”

“Then let’s go.” You Shu slowly walked ahead, and when he arrived at the pier, he saw many strong and shirtless laborers. He repeatedly checked and selected twenty men with fierce faces but clear eyes. 

The job included: Three taels of silver a month, signing a living deed instead of a death deed, promised wages on time, food and lodging included along with an official title. 

Only a fool wouldn’t accept this kind of job.

All of the twenty people quickly signed the contract and each of them received a set of yamen uniform. Then holding up sticks in their hands, they followed behind You Shu in a grand manner. They also have the principles of justice and righteousness in their hearts, but who can uphold these principles when they don’t even have enough food to eat? At most, they will be a bit gentle when the county magistrate asks them to beat people.

Thinking this way, a group of people walked through the streets and alleys to arrive at Lijia Village. The villagers had long been accustomed to the county magistrate’s ostentatious behavior, and immediately avoided it from far away, their eyes filled with fear and hatred. You Shu searched his memory to find Li family’s house, but saw that the two low-rise houses that once used to be dilapidated had now turned into a green brick courtyard with three entrances. Many flowers and trees were planted in the courtyard, swaying and poking out of the wall.

The servant guarding the gate saw that the person coming was the county magistrate, so he hurriedly bowed to greet him. Li Ergou went out to gamble early in the morning and hadn’t returned yet, so the servant quickly went to inform Li Ni. 

When Li Ni received the news, she hurriedly ran out holding her skirt in her hands, without worrying about the defenses between men and women. She didn’t feel ashamed as she bumped into the burly and muscular men all over the room, and twisted her waist even more happily.

Seeing her fiancé sitting in the main seat, with pink lips, smooth skin and big round eyes, who was countless times prettier than herself, a trace of disgust flashed in her eyes as she asked, “Why didn’t you inform me before coming here? Did you buy that gold hairpin that I liked last time?”

You Shu glanced at her, and suddenly an evil fire burst out in his heart. It was clearly this woman who committed evil and should be sent to the underworld. So why is she fine, but he himself has to suffer from that beating? Forget it, if the underworld doesn’t punish her, then I’ll do it myself!

Thinking of this, he felt a little better. He took out a piece of osmanthus cake from his bosom, and ate it bit by bit with his front teeth. Seeing his small mouth moving and his cheeks bulging slightly, Li Ni was also furious. He’s obviously a big man, so why can’t he act like a big man? It’s just a piece of cake to eat, is it necessary to make it so, so…

Li Ni would never admit that she practiced this kind of eating routine every day in private, just to look more charming and cute. She rubbed her chest, and waited for her anger to subside a little before saying, “I am asking you something, have you bought that golden hairpin?”

You Shu picked up the teacup and slowly took a sip, turning a blind eye to her. Just as Li Ni was about to get angry, Li Ergou hurriedly rushed in and clasped his fists, “Brother-in-law, I’ve kept you waiting for a long time! I’ll order the kitchen to prepare the meal. The rich man from the next village brought two bear paws, which are just in time for us to eat with wine…”

Before he could finish speaking, You Shu interrupted him, “Don’t worry about it, I have official business to attend today. I heard that someone wants to sue you recently? What’s the name of those people.”

Li Ergou was overjoyed, thinking that his brother-in-law wants to support him, so he hurriedly reported the people one by one. You Shu quickly wrote it down on the paper, and said goodbye to Li Ergou, “I will take them to the county government today, and you will come and confront them in the court tomorrow morning.”

Li Ergou repeatedly agreed, and after closing the door, he showed a very proud expression. Brother-in-law personally came to arrest people, how much face does this give him? Let’s see who dares to fight against him in future!

You Shu went door to door according to names on the list. When those people saw him, they immediately knelt down and kowtowed to admit their mistake, with tears streaming down their faces. You Shu asked them to write a lawsuit, but they refused, he asked them to beat the drum to express their grievances, but they refused. Helplessly, You Shu had to arrest everyone and tie them up with a rope.

“Look, County magistrate Zhao is arresting people again!”

“This time, all the people who offended his brother-in-law were arrested, what a fucking beast!”

“Bah, he will definitely go to the eighteenth floor of hell when he dies!”

As he walked over, people spat on the ground.

You Shu has good eyes and ears, but he can only pretend to be deaf and dumb. After taking people to the county government office, they are locked into small compartments and interrogated one by one. These people kept trying to speak up for Li Ergou, bluntly saying that it was all their own fault and had nothing to do with Master Li. After returning, they will kneel down and apologise to him.

You Shu had no choice but to order them to shut up, he pointed the tip of his pen at one person and asked, “What’s this about?”

This was obviously asked to the starving ghost, who immediately stepped forward and whispered, “His name is Li Wang. Because he built his field ridge too high, Li Ergou’s cow broke its leg while walking, so this Li Wang was beaten by Li Ergou and was threw in the mountains by him. If it wasn’t for his family rasing a good dog and taking people to look for him in the middle of the night, he might have been eaten by tigers and wolves.”

You Shu quickly finished writing a well-founded lawsuit, and asked Li Wang to press his fingerprint on it. These people are all farmers who have never read a book, so how can they understand what he wrote. They thought that he is making up nonsense and trying to frame them, they even started crying and howling, refusing to raise their hands no matter what.

You Shu had no choice but to ask the newly hired subordinates to catch the person and forcefully press his thumb on the paper. A burst of anger flashed in the eyes of the subordinates, but they are also helpless. In such a chaotic world, it is difficult for them to survive themselves, so how can they care about others?

Every time he entered a compartment, he would write a lawsuit by himself, causing the entire county government to be filled with the sound of crying and howling, making a lot of noise. Finally, after he finished collecting all the lawsuits, he lay down and fell asleep peacefully, but the sound of crying in the compartments rang out all night.  

On the second day, Li Ergou arrived early at the county government to file a lawsuit, he even called his friends to follow him to join in the fun. There were also some people with a conscience who came upon hearing the news, carrying vegetable baskets filled with stones, eggs, etc., planning to run away immediately after smashing the dog official.

You Shu didn’t talk nonsense either. As soon as he sat down, he slapped the gavel and asked his subordinates to bring out the plaintiffs. 

Everyone cried all night, disheveled, with red and swollen eyes, looking very embarrassed. The people hissed angrily, but You Shu’s expression remained calm. He picked up a lawsuit and started to read, but just as he read a few sentences, someone shouted, “It’s fake! This lawsuit is not written by us at all, it is fabricated by the county magistrate. They forced us to press our fingerprints on it! If heaven had eyes, he would’ve struck this villain with a thunderbolt, chopping him to death!”

“Heaven, open your eyes, don’t let good people suffer injustice! We beg you!”

In despair, the only thing these people can turn to for help is heaven. The onlookers felt the same but were powerless, so they could only lower their heads and wipe away their tears, clenching their teeth, as if they wanted to swallow the person sitting above them alive. On the other hand, Li Ergou stood with his back straight, looking proud. Li Ni also sat in the hall, covering her mouth and smiling slightly.

You Shu ignored everyone. He slapped the gavel and continued to read after the noise below subsided. As he read, the people who were crying stopped and listened carefully. However, Li Ergou and Li Ni showed uncertain expressions.

“Li Wang, is everything written in this lawsuit true?” You Shu asked in a low voice.

Li Wang didn’t dare to agree, he looked at the audience and his relatives hidden in the crowd for a while, his brows almost knotted.

You Shu didn’t need him to answer, he patted the gavel and asserted, “It has been verified that everything Li Wang confessed to is true, and I have found Li Ergou guilty of murder, and he will be executed after autumn.” Then he picked up another lawsuit to read, and it was completely in line with the facts, and Li Ergou was convicted without waiting for the plaintiff to nod.

Five or six people were tried in a row, but it took only three quarters of an hour. Li Ergou was sentenced to be beheaded for several crimes. The yamen guards standing on both sides rushed forward and tied him tightly, holding a big knife against his neck. Once the county magistrate hands over the public trial documents to the Ministry of Justice and receives approval, Li Ergou could be dragged to the entrance of the vegetable market for execution.

Li Ergou was on the verge of going insane, calling for his brother-in-law while struggling. In order to cover up the fear and panic in her heart, Li Ni stood up and pointed at You Shu’s nose, cursing, saying that if he didn’t let her brother go, she would immediately break the engagement.

Unexpectedly, You Shu was already prepared, he took out a marriage agreement from his bosom and tore it into pieces on the spot, saying slowly, “This official has the same intention. Next, the trial of Li Ni’s crime of forcing people to commit suicide will continue. Where are the victims? Stand up on your own.” 

Then with a wave of his hand, two government servants forced Li Ni to kneel down in the hall, and the loud noise of knees hitting the ground made everyone’s teeth ache.

It was only at this moment that the common people realized that the county magistrate was serious and he really planned to punish relatives righteously and eliminate harm for the people. Otherwise, who would make their daughter-in-law kneel down on the spot for a public trial? Wouldn’t he lose all face? Who would tie up his brother-in-law with a knife against his neck and make him piss twice in fright? It’s impossible to do this kind of acting!

The few people kneeling in the hall gritted their teeth and immediately stood up.

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