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Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 67 (Part 2)

Outside the gate of the Li family, a crowd of people knelt in the dark, crying and shouting with gratitude, which made You Shu feel extremely embarrassed. 

In his previous life, You Shu didn’t like going to court very much. Whenever he was free, he would hide in the Zhaixing Tower to study metaphysics. Although he was the National Teacher, he was not accustomed to being worshipped by others like this.  

What’s more, he didn’t think he had anything to be grateful for. The villagers’ suffering was all caused by “Zhao Youshu”, and Zhao Youshu was sheltered by himself and his master. What he is doing now is really not enough, he is simply trying to make up for his own mistakes.

You Shu waved his hand to let everyone get up, and then distributed the grain found in Li Ergou’s house. Everyone in Lijia Village, regardless of gender and age, brought a bag. He also registered the total amount of silver taels found in a register. Those who were orphans, widowed, old and young, and those who had difficulty making a living, were given five taels each. The rest was packed into the boxes and brought back to the county office.

“Fellow villagers, the remaining money will be used by me to buy food for emergencies. If you are worried, I will make an official announcement afterwards. Alright, that’s it for today. Let’s disperse.” You Shu waved his hand.

“County Magistrate, don’t rush to go back. Please come to our house and have a meal!” The village chief shouted hurriedly, and then other villagers also echoed. 

As for what happens with the rest of the money, they don’t care. It has long been a well-known secret that all the stolen property gets embezzled by the dog officials. Not to mention that the County Magistrate already distributed most of the money and grain to the villagers, so even if he swallowed the remaining property in one gulp, no one else could say anything about it.

A person like the County Magistrate Zhao can even be called an “upright official” in the current Dayong Kingdom.

Lord Yama was staring at him from above, so how could You Shu dare eat the food of the villagers? He quickly waved his hand and refused. 

Seeing that he was about to leave, a group of people huddled in the corner couldn’t help but scream, “County Magistrate, are you leaving now? Don’t you care about our life and death? We were also robbed of our field and grain by Li Ergou, why haven’t you returned our money?”

The villagers next to those people hesitated slightly, but they dared not speak up because of the fierce look in their eyes.

However, You Shu was just waiting for this moment. He pointed at the man in the lead and said, “Li Gui, you sold your land to Li Ergou when you lost in gambling. From then on, you collaborated with Li Ergou to persecute the villagers. You were Li Ergou’s number one lacky, and you’ve harmed a lot of people. Since you’ve taken the initiative to speak, I will reward you with fifty sticks and then take you back to the county office for the trial. Fellow villagers, if there is anyone who had been wronged because of him, please write a lawsuit and come tomorrow to beat the drum. I will be waiting in court tomorrow.” 

After speaking, You Shu waved his hands, and two strong men pressed the frightened Li Gui to the ground and started pounding him with sticks.

The other people in the group quickly knelt down and kowtowed to confess their crimes. With a sweep of his mental power, You Shu figured out which of them still had lives in their hands. He then singled out three of them and ordered them to be beaten with sticks before taking them all away.

Such thunderous tactics and insightfulness left a group of villagers stunned. After waiting for the person to disappear around the corner for a long time, a villager exclaimed, “Ah! We were all wrong before, the county magistrate is a very good person!”

Previously, the scholar named Li Jimin had never been fond of meddling in other people’s business, but this time he took the initiative to say, “If anyone wants to write a lawsuit, he can come to my house at night, I will write it myself.”

The villagers clapped their hands and shouted with gratitude, talking and laughing as they dispersed. It seems that something is quietly changing in this once stagnant mountain village.

You Shu threw several criminals into the prison, and after a hasty dinner, he went back to his room to sleep. In the middle of the night, someone knocked on the door, saying that Li Gui had died suddenly.

“How could he die so suddenly?” You Shu was so frightened that he even forgot to put on his robe and shoes as he went to open the door.

“I don’t know yet, I have to ask the jailer.” After all, he is a newly hired servant, and he is not very clear about how things work in the yamen.

You Shu raised his head to look at the starving ghost hiding on the beam, who immediately flew out to inquire about the news from the another ghost in the prison. 

The starving ghost returned after a while and said, “My lord, it turned out that the jailer and Li Gui were old friends, and the two of them had a very close relationship with Wang Fu, and they were talking that when Wang Fu comes back, this matter would be easily resolved. Then they sat in the cell and chatted while eating and drinking. Li Gui got so drunk that he lay on the ground on his back and choked to death on the food he vomited out.”

It’s really a strange way to die. You Shu ran to the cell to investigate and made sure that it was an accident rather than murder. 

He ordered someone to find a place to temporarily place the body, then turned around and locked the jailer in for dereliction of duty. The trial will begin tomorrow. When he was leaving, Li Ergou was still shouting, saying that he and his sister would be able to go out soon, and that he should not be so proud.

“You don’t know, do you? My sister has already slept with Lord Wang a long time ago. You’re nothing but a cuckold, hahahahaha!” The raucous laughter echoed in the corridor, but it failed to make You Shu frown. What’s it to him who Li Ni slept with? These two are just dying people anyway.

Returning to the room, he drew the curtains and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. However, when he opened his eyes again, he found himself kneeling in an empty and gloomy hall, with heavy shackles placed on his hands and feet, tinkling and clanking as he tried to move his body. 

Before he could react, he heard a hollow and strange voice coming from above his head, “Is this the magistrate of Suichang County, Zhao Youshu?”

How could it be him? You Shu immediately looked up, and sure enough, he saw Lord Yama sitting upright on the high place, with sharp eyes hidden behind the mask that seemed to pierce through his body. That strange gaze makes people afraid, because when he looks at you, you will feel that you are not a person, but an ant that can easily be crushed into powder.

You Shu managed to calm down and replied, “It’s me.” However, he quickly thought about why he was caught again. It was most likely related to Li Gui who had died.

As soon as he thought of this, he saw two ghost guards escorting Li Gui out of the shadows, kneeling at the bottom of the hall, while the fourth prison master whom he had seen before was sitting on the left to listen.

“Li Gui, for what crime did you sue Zhao Youshu, the magistrate of Suichang County?” Lord Yama asked in a deep voice.

Li Gui died of accidental suffocation. So naturally, he did not dare to lie in front of Lord Yama, who knows the world well. Instead he accused You Shu of unfairness and abuse of power, saying that he had distributed the money and grain of the Li family to others but not to himself and his brothers. 

He also claimed that he has an eighty-year-old mother and children who are dying of hunger, and that his life is very difficult. Even if he did not get relief money, he should’ve been punished lightly. If he hadn’t been punished with fifty sticks and then taken to prison, he wouldn’t have drank alcohol in distress, and he wouldn’t have choked to death.

In short, Zhao Youshu was responsible for his death.

You Shu was stunned when he heard this, he never thought that there are still people in the world who are so shameless. At first, he was still very nervous, but then he felt that he had a clear conscience. He gradually relaxed, blinking his black and white round eyes to look at Lord Yama, making sure that the other party could see his innocence.

Lord Yama didn’t seem to expect that someone would dare stare directly at him, so he couldn’t help but glance at the other party a few times, bumping into those black and white clear eyes, causing a slight twinkle in his heart. 

At this moment, Li Gui’s statement had also come to an end, and he poked his neck out, secretly glancing at the people in the hall. This kind of wretched expression, with those muddy and malicious eyes, is something Lord Yama has been used to seeing here for a long time, but in contrast with those clear eyes, it’s extremely annoying.  

Lord Yama turned his head to look at You Shu and asked, “Do you have something to defend yourself?” His tone was slightly mild and imperceptible.

You Shu remained calm on the surface, but because his background is not simple, he was more or less afraid of this Lord Yama. If he is found out, he might get eaten. Not wanting to use a bunch of excuses to delay time, he arched his hands and said, “Your Excellency, I have nothing to say. Heaven is watching everyone, and it will definitely know what is right and what is wrong.”

Wow, so calm! Compared with that day, I don’t know how this County Magistrate changed his style today, but he definitely didn’t waste his clean and transparent skin bag, the fourth prison master thought to himself.

Lord Yama took a deep look at him and ordered in a low voice, “Take the person for execution.”

Before Li Gui could be happy, he was dragged down by two ghost guards, followed by a burst of miserable howls. However, Lord Yama didn’t stop here, bringing all the witnesses he mentioned earlier to hell for interrogation. If there were any false accusers, they would all be taken to the execution hall and whipped. 

Li Ergou was also among them. His tongue was pulled out for slandering You Shu, and then a ghost guard sewed it back for him, screaming worse than a pig waiting to be slaughtered.

Seeing those people getting punished, You Shu felt relieved and happily thought to himself: This Lord Yama is indeed as fair as I thought, and he knows everything that happens in the world. Anyone who intends to lie in front of him must think carefully. If I meet him again in the future, I must not say any nonsense.

A group of people were punished one by one. Those who had exhausted their lifespan were sent to the eighteen level of hell, while others were released. 

Lord Yama stood up and was about to leave. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, “Since you knew that you would be interrogated by me personally if someone accused you next time, why did you act so rashly? If you had turned a blind eye to Li Gui and others, you would not have suffered such an unreasonable disaster.”

In the past, some people were caught in hell for committing evil, but were released due to the accumulated virtues of their ancestors. After returning to the mortal world, they became good people, helping everyone they saw, never asking for reasons, and striving to avoid conflicts with anyone. But the man in front of him is just the opposite, and the edges and corners on his body have not been smoothed out, but became even more sharp, which is somewhat interesting to look at.

You Shu said without thinking, “Just because I am afraid of getting into trouble, I can’t let the wicked people go and let them harm more civilians and cause more injustice. Wouldn’t that be the real sin? In my opinion: Provide education for the young, support the elderly, give assistance to the widowed, lonely and disabled.”

He continued, “There must be hope in despair, and justice in injustice; The true happiness lies in having enough food and clothing, and living in peace. Just like when you are seriously ill, you should use strong medicine, in troubled times, you should use severe punishment. You should be ruthless towards evil people and generous towards good people. I know that I have done nothing wrong, and I believe that Your Excellency can understand clearly. “

The last sentence was undoubtedly flattery, but Lord Yama seemed very satisfied. His cold and stern gaze melted slightly before he left with a low smile.

I didn’t expect this kid to be so good at talking that he actually made the Lord of the Underworld laugh. He will definitely have a promising future! The fourth prison master shook his stiff neck and shoulders and went to open the shackles for You Shu.

Although one couldn’t see his expression through the mask, the admiration and envy in his eyes were extremely obvious.

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