"What case?" Chen Yue asked impatiently.
"I think it's about the lady from the He family. I'm not sure about the details. Constable Song has brought her back and is waiting outside."
"Alright, alright. You can leave now. I'll be right there." Chen Yue waved his hand and said.
The matter between the Duke of Zhao Kingdom and the Duke of Wei Kingdom had not been resolved yet. Now, there was another trivial matter that needed to be dealt with. Chen Yue was filled with regret. If he knew that being a county magistrate in the capital city would be like this, he would not have used the power of his family to get this position three years ago. It would have been better to be a free magistrate in another state.
There was no trifling matter at the foot of the emperor. Any ordinary case in the capital city could reach the ears of the emperor. If it was not handled well, the magistrate might be sent back to his hometown.
"It's that lady with the surname He again …"
Chen Yue frowned. He stood up and walked out.
Although he was the county magistrate of the capital city, he was also a branch of the Chen family. If it was not for the support of the House of Duke, he would not be where he was today. Of course, he had to pay attention to the things that they asked him to do.
Chen Yue had heard about what happened twenty years ago. There was a noble family that had a marriage alliance with the House of Duke. Before the wedding, the eldest son of the family eloped with a commoner girl. This caused the House of Duke to lose face and became the laughing stock of the wealthy families in the capital city.
The lady from the Chen family never married. Until now, she was still living in the House of Duke.
Now that the High Duke's Public House was like the sun in the sky, the other Noble Family that was once prominent was gradually declining, and the woman's family was also affected. Due to certain reasons, the High Duke's Public House could not be too ruthless, but they would not let them off easily either.
Chen Yue was ordered by the House of Duke to "take care" of the He family for the past three years.
…
…
The hall of the county government was actually a very dignified place. There was a huge horizontal board hanging in the center of the hall with the words "Mirror of Eminence Hangs High". Two rows of bailiffs stood solemnly on both sides of the hall with water and fire sticks in their hands. As soon as the county magistrate hit the gavel, they would keep hitting the ground with the sticks and say "mighty" to directly attack the psychological defense of the criminal.
Li Yi was already used to all of this, so he wasn't affected in the slightest. Needless to say, Li Xuan, even the second young miss of the Liu Family was sizing up the decorations here as she commented on them. The capital was indeed the capital. The main hall of the county yamen exuded an atmosphere of grandeur, much grander than the Anxi County yamen.
As for the woman and the little girl, they weren't so calm. The woman's face was pale, but she could barely maintain her composure. The little girl tugged at the corner of her mother's clothes, and her big bright eyes were filled with panic.
"Little sister, what's your name?" Li Yi walked to her side, squatted down, and said with a smile.
"These bastards, if such a little girl is scared, it will probably leave a psychological shadow for the rest of her life."
The little girl bit her lips. After a long time, she said softly, "Duanwu."
"Duanwu? What a nice name. You treated me to noodles just now. Now, I'll treat you to something, okay?" Li Yi said, looking at her.
The little girl shook her head, looked at him, and said timidly, "To eat noodles, you have to pay for it."
"Duanwu, what are you talking about!" The woman pulled her behind her, and hurriedly said to Li Yi, "Young Master, don't listen to her …"
Hearing this, Li Yi was stunned, and then he laughed. He turned to look at Li Xuan, and asked, "Do you have money with you? You forgot to pay for the noodles just now."
Of course, Li Xuan wouldn't bring money with him. A guard who was perceptive handed him an ingot in time.
"Mother, change." As if influenced by Li Yi, the little girl wasn't as scared as before. She took the ingot and handed it to her mother.
She had only seen broken silver before, and she knew that whenever a customer paid with such things, her mother would always get back a lot of copper coins.
"You're so rude, return the money …" When the woman scolded the little girl with a straight face, Li Yi waved his hand, and took out a paper bag from his chest. After opening it, he placed it in front of the little girl, and said, "Can I treat you to something now?"
Inside the paper bag was the candied plums that the little fatty had given him. In exchange, Li Yi had to hide the fact that he was fighting outside. As for the bruises on his face, the official explanation was that he fell down.
Of course, this fall had to be very skillful. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to fall like this without eight to ten years of martial arts. The little fatty might be gifted — it just depended on whether his parents believed it or not.
It had to be said that the little fatty was quite accomplished in the art of eating. The candied plums that he gave to Li Yi were the best of the best.
Smelling the fragrance of the candied plums, the little girl swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but she didn't immediately reach out her hand. She looked up at him, and a trace of desire flashed in her eyes. She asked, "Do I need money?"
"This is Big Brother's treat. It's free," Li Yi said with a smile.
"Thank you, Big Brother." The little girl finally reached out her hand and only took one piece. She split it in half and handed the extra half to the woman. She turned back to look at Li Yi and said, "Next time, I'll treat Big Brother to noodles. It's free …"
The surrounding bailiffs were all dumbfounded.
They had never seen such an arrogant person in court. Not to mention that he was chatting and laughing, he was even eating now. Did he even put them in his eyes?
But what was the little girl eating? It smelled so good, and they really wanted to try it …
They secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but none of the bailiffs dared to do so. Those who dared to be so presumptuous in court were either crazy or really had something to rely on. It was obviously not the former who could bring guards with him.
They just needed to pretend that they didn't see it. It was better to leave the trouble to the county magistrate.
Li Xuan was surprised to see this. Finally, he couldn't help but pull Li Yi aside and asked, "Did you know this little girl before?"
"It's my first time seeing her." Li Yi shook his head.
Li Xuan looked even more puzzled. It was the first time he saw Li Yi being so friendly to a stranger. He asked suspiciously, "Don't tell me that you have feelings for this little girl …"
"Get lost!"
Li Yi spat out a word unceremoniously. This guy's mind was too dirty. She was just a child …
His good impression of this little girl came entirely from an inexplicable sense of intimacy. Perhaps seeing her appearance had triggered some memories. After all, when he was young, he had also suffered a lot. For the time being, he would just take it that she was more to his liking.
Li Xuan looked at the little girl curiously again. He took out a piece of candied fruit from the paper bag in Li Yi's hand. Just as he threw it into his mouth, an angry rebuke came from the front.
"How dare you! The court is not a restaurant. Who are you? How dare you be presumptuous in court!"
Seeing the middle-aged man in official robes walk out from the back of the hall, Li Xuan slowly swallowed the candied fruit and wiped his mouth. Only then did he raise his head to look at the man and say, "Today, I saw an evil tyrant bullying the good on the street, yet the officials didn't care and even helped the tyrant commit his crimes. I read the books of the sages. Although I'm a commoner, I still have a sense of righteousness. I would like to ask Lord Magistrate, in the capital city, under the feet of the Son of Heaven, is there still law?"
"Books of sages? Commoners?" Li Yi was stunned. He looked at Li Xuan and then at the middle-aged official in the court. He was speechless for a moment.
"Did the sages teach you to be presumptuous in court?" Chen Yue's eyes flashed. He slammed the gavel and said loudly.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
