"You can decide what to do with this case. I'm going to sleep for a while."
Somewhere in Feng Zhou City, the county magistrate yawned and waved his hand to the bailiffs. He then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
He was getting old, and his body couldn't take it anymore. Yesterday, he had fought with his new concubine until dawn, but now he couldn't take it anymore.
"Yes, Your Excellency!" The bailiff cupped his hands and bowed.
"Tell me, how many times have you done this?" He walked down and patted the man's face. The big man sighed and said, "I can't count."
"You have hands and feet. You can do anything. Why do you have to steal and rob?" The bailiff looked at him and said, "Now that you're out, find some serious work. Don't let me see you in the county jail again."
"Alas, life is hard." The big man sighed and said in a melancholy tone, "It's impossible to work. I'm not born for this. If I don't steal and rob, I'll starve to death …"
The bailiff slapped his head and waved his hand, saying, "Take him away!"
"See if there's anything missing."
Another bailiff pulled a bag of money from the big man's body and threw it to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man opened the bag and looked inside. His face was gloomy. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "There's nothing missing."
He couldn't tell anyone about the jade pendant that he had planned to trade in the black market.
Although it would cost him nearly 10,000 taels of silver, it was a crime that could get him beheaded for hiding an item belonging to the royal family. He couldn't let the government know about it.
Fortunately, the big man had already thrown away the jade pendant. Although he was distressed about the money, he didn't feel so bad when he thought that it was from a guy who didn't know how to pawn it for 1,000 taels of silver.
What a pity. He had originally planned to pay him more if he came to redeem it in the future. However, most of the things that were pawned in the pawnshop were equivalent to being sold. The possibility of redeeming them was very small. If he was lucky, he could make a net profit of 10,000 taels of silver …
Although his heart ached, taking a step back, compared to his life, none of this seemed that important.
The burly man was being escorted by two bailiffs. Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to have thought of something. He stopped and said, "That's right, there's also a jade pendant. Since it's not worth much money, you can take it back as well. That way, you won't be able to say that I hid it from you."
The burly man cupped his waist and said, "It's here. Brother constable, help me take it."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man's expression changed greatly. He immediately said, "Nonsense, I only lost my purse. How can there be any jade pendant? You stole it from someone else. You must have remembered wrongly!"
The burly man was stunned for a moment. He looked at the middle-aged man and said, "Don't tell me you're confused. You lost your jade pendant and forgot about it. Or … You really want to postpone it and make me suffer a few more beatings!"
The middle-aged man forced himself to calm down and said, "Nonsense. Why would I harm you? Do you think I don't know if I lost the jade pendant or not?"
The burly man turned to look at the bailiff and said, "Brother constable, this guy may have really forgotten that the jade pendant is on my waist. Help me take it. He should remember it when he sees it."
The bailiff looked at the two of them and felt a little surprised. He felt something from the bulge on the burly man's waist.
Crack!
The sound of porcelain shattering and tables and chairs overturning came from behind. The county magistrate didn't even bother to pat the dust off his body. He got up from the ground and ran in the direction of the door. He looked at the burly man and pointed at the jade pendant. He asked in shock, "This, this jade pendant, where did you get it?"
The burly man was stunned for a moment and looked at the middle-aged man in astonishment.
At this moment, the purse in the middle-aged man's hand had fallen to the ground. His face was pale.
Plop!
His legs turned to jelly. He knelt on the ground and cried, "Sir, please spare my life!"
"Tell me the truth!" The county magistrate said sternly.
Not long after, the county magistrate hurriedly walked out of the county office. He got on the sedan chair and urged, "Go to King Feng's Mansion!"
…
…
King Feng's Mansion was a very special existence in Feng Province. The highest official in Feng Province was the provincial governor, but in fact, it was King Feng's Mansion that managed Feng Province.
This was a special case in the Qi Kingdom. Although many princes had fiefs, most of them were remote territories. They only enjoyed rent and lived a good life, but they didn't have any real power.
However, the Third Prince, Zhao Yi, was not one of them.
Among the more than ten princes in the Qi Kingdom, he was the only one who had a fief as large as a prefecture and could personally manage the government affairs. He had the power to make some important decisions.
The Third Prince, Zhao Yi, had come to the fief when he was young. It took him more than ten years to turn a medium-sized prefecture into one of the richest places in the Qi Kingdom. Not only did he have a high status in the hearts of the people in Feng Province, but he also had a great influence in the neighboring prefectures.
At this moment, in King Feng's Mansion, the prestigious Third Prince had just put down a letter.
Down below, Yang Yanzhou frowned and asked, "Your Highness, why has the First Prince suddenly come to Feng Prefecture? Why?"
Zhao Yi looked out of the window and said, "The imperial censor is accompanying him. He said he's inspecting the prefectures on behalf of my father. He'll arrive in Feng Province in a few days."
Yang Yanzhou thought about it and said, "The First Prince won't leave the capital easily. He's not here with good intentions. Your Highness, you should be prepared."
"This brother of mine …" Zhao Yi sighed. Her tone was rather helpless as she said, "Is there still no news from Chong Province?"
Yang Yanzhou nodded and said, "Not yet. However, according to the news from the Jing Kingdom, it seems that they haven't found him either. There are rumors that he might have met with misfortune."
Zhao Yi shook his head and said, "That won't happen. If such a person died because of this, then God must be blind. I believe that we'll meet again one day."
Yang Yanzhou didn't say anything. Thinking of that name, some scenes emerged in his mind, and his expression became somewhat enlightened.
After a long time, Li Li was still as elegant as before.
The two talked for a while, and then a servant outside the door reported, "The County Magistrate of Feng City requests to see you."
"Greetings, Your Highness!"
The County Magistrate of Feng City hurriedly came in and bowed to Zhao Yi.
"County Magistrate Wu, you don't have to be so courteous. Sit down." Zhao Yi raised his hand and said, "May I know why County Magistrate Wu suddenly came to visit?"
County Magistrate Wu respectfully presented a jade pendant with both hands and said, "Your Highness, this jade pendant was accidentally obtained from several bandits today."
Yang Yanzhou was surprised. He looked at Zhao Yi and said, "Your Highness, isn't this the one that His Majesty rewarded you …"
"It's the Huilong Pendant."
Zhao Yi took the jade pendant from County Magistrate Wu's hands and smiled.
"He's here."
…
…
"Coming, coming …" Li Yi hurriedly walked into the kitchen. If he was a step late, he would have to make do with Egg-Fried Rice today.
Miss.Liu seemed to have made up her mind this time. She wouldn't stop until she made a dish that could be swallowed. She just felt pity for the ingredients that she had just thrown away as garbage. Some of them were really expensive …
Thinking of the five thousand taels of silver he had just received, he didn't feel so distressed.
Out of the ten thousand taels of silver, he had to keep a thousand taels of silver. When he left, he would redeem the jade pendant. If the old emperor remembered it one day, he couldn't use the excuse that the proud lolita had lost it every time to fool him.
Thinking of the jade pendant, he thought of the stingy pawnshop manager.
The value of that jade pendant was certainly more than one thousand taels of silver. But last time, he was in urgent need of money, so he was forced to cheat him.
He had always cheated people, and those who cheated him would sooner or later suffer retribution.
This was not the second time they met, and he had already lost something important. The next time they met, he would probably lose his head … Therefore, it was better to be upright. The heavens were watching, and it was not easy for him to hold on to the integrity of his heart …
When the smell of burning came from the kitchen of the small courtyard again, in the prison of the county government, the pawnshop manager knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing. He said in a trembling voice, "He, he was wearing a bamboo hat that day. I, I really didn't know his identity!"
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