A Fight Breaks Out!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Deep in the night, beware of fire and candles!"

The dull sound of a bronze gong rang out as the night watchman passed beyond the high walls.

Being an official in ancient times was painful, yet joyful.

You had to get up for work at three or four in the morning.

For Su Mo in particular, it was simply inhuman!

Inside Ma Residence.

Magistrate Ma Yingshi, attended by his newly taken concubine Madam Zhou, changed into his official robe and put on his black gauze hat.

Young and beautiful, Madam Zhou straightened Ma Yingshi's black gauze hat, carefully using its lower brim to conceal the tumor at the back of his neck. Somewhat aggrieved, she said, "Master, you must uphold justice for my elder brother."

"My brother was perfectly fine, yet that thug broke his bones for no reason..."

Ma Yingshi patted his concubine's shapely backside and chuckled. "Naturally!"

Just as he spoke, a maid reported from outside the door, "Master, Mr. Du has arrived."

Ma Yingshi did not linger with Madam Zhou. He went straight to the study, where Du Zhongbai was indeed already waiting.

"This student greets his patron."

Du Zhongbai respectfully bowed to Ma Yingshi.

Ma Yingshi waved a hand. "No need for such ceremony, Zhongbai."

"Chen Gan hasn't come?"

Du Zhongbai smiled. "My patron truly sees matters as clearly as a god."

"He was given an entire night. If he intended to come, he would have come long ago. He must have decided to lock horns with you."

Ma Yingshi nodded. "I would do the same!"

"One hundred and fifty taels of silver is something Chen Gan can certainly produce. But handing his own nephew's woman over to Zhou Meng would be tantamount to tearing off his own face. He would never be able to keep mixing in Changping County afterward!"

Du Zhongbai asked somewhat suspiciously, "If that is so, why did you give him an entire night, and even specifically have the Criminal Affairs Office suppress the case?"

Ma Yingshi said blandly, "He is an old yamen clerk, after all. If I did not grant him even this much face, what would the other subordinate clerks think?"

"I gave him a way down, yet he still refuses to appreciate the favor. The subordinate clerks naturally will have nothing to say!"

Du Zhongbai's eyes lit up. "My patron is brilliant!"

"So long as the subordinate clerks are not united, how can a mere Chen Gan possibly contend with you?"

He paused slightly, then frowned. "Still, this man is an old clerk of many years. He has cultivated deep roots in the yamen for a long time, so he surely has no shortage of tricks."

"Giving him a night was enough for him to make thorough preparations. I fear unforeseen changes may arise."

"After all..."

He hesitated, but then gritted his teeth and continued, "Constable Zhou himself may not be clean either. This student suspects those subordinate clerks will work on Constable Zhou."

Du Zhongbai smiled unconcernedly. "So what?"

"If Zhou Meng has committed a crime, then arrest him. This Magistrate will absolutely not shield a criminal."

He added unhurriedly, "Of course, Zhou Meng's acts of villainy are one matter, while Su Mo injuring someone is another."

"This Magistrate is impartial and selfless. Even my concubine's own brother will be seized, so naturally I will not show leniency to a mere yamen menial!"

Du Zhongbai inwardly sighed at how formidable he was!

If Chen Gan backed down, his patron would gain silver and benefits while establishing his authority in passing.

If Chen Gan fought with all his strength, that would be even better.

His patron could cast Zhou Meng aside, not only establishing an image of fairness and strictness, but also using Chen Gan and Su Mo, these two yamen menials, to demonstrate his authority. Killing two birds with one stone!

No matter how Chen Gan responded, his patron was guaranteed victory without defeat!

Such methods would surely make the subordinate clerks below fear him. From then on, he would have opened up the situation in Changping County.

This patron was even more ruthless and vicious than Du Zhongbai had imagined.

Zhou Meng had likely long since become a discarded pawn in his patron's eyes!

Du Zhongbai would have to be more careful in the future, lest he too become a discarded pawn—or even a scapegoat!

A cold, stern gleam flashed through Ma Yingshi's eyes. "It must be said that old clerk does have some ability. With merely an Assistant Servant, he managed to get quite a few people in the Criminal Affairs Office to plead for him and send messages in private."

"If an old clerk like him wishes to work on Zhou Meng, he will certainly make the evidence of guilt ironclad. Even I would find it difficult to help Zhou Meng then!"

"Unfortunately, an official is an official, and a clerk is a clerk!"

"Even if he possesses a hundred tricks and divine powers, he still cannot escape the palm of my hand!"

Ma Yingshi was in an exceptionally good mood.

He had been in Changping County for a full half year.

Yet County Magistrate Xue Shan held sole power and was deeply calculating. The County Lieutenant and Chief Clerk had both become mere ornaments, let alone him, the Fourth Master with no footing at all.

Now, Xue Shan was temporarily tied down by the dried corpse case, and Chen Gan's affair had arrived at just this moment. It was simply an opportunity bestowed by Heaven.

Magistrate Ma was unwilling to remain a puppet pulled by strings, so that uncle and nephew could only suffer a little.

Perhaps Constable Zhou would have to be added as well!

As soon as the mao hour arrived, officials and subordinate clerks of Changping County Yamen began arriving one after another at the Document Dispatch Office to check in.

Unlike their usual chatter and laughter.

Today, the atmosphere in the yamen was exceptionally grave.

Changping County had not seen a major murder case involving deaths for a long time.

Su Mo had been an unpaid runner for three months, and aside from yesterday, he had never once seen a corpse!

This was enough to show that under County Magistrate Xue Shan's governance, Changping County was peaceful and prosperous, its people living and working in contentment.

Though unruly commoners brawled, local thugs dominated the markets, and yamen clerks oppressed the people from time to time.

Compared to other prefectures and counties, Changping County could indeed be called good in terms of public security alone.

Against such a backdrop.

The Locust God Temple had suddenly become the site of a heretical sect stirring up trouble, with several constables killed or wounded.

Naturally, this left the constables, subordinate clerks, and others deeply uneasy.

Heretical sects were unlike mountain bandits and robbers. They would not simply make one haul and leave; there would definitely be more to come.

It might even turn all of Changping County into a storm of blood and rain.

The indirect victims would be the common people.

As for the direct victims, there was no need to say it—the constables and archers fighting on the front lines!

Over at the Criminal Affairs Office, Clerk Fan Anzhi had his brows tightly furrowed.

The Great Wu Dynasty's clerks in charge of the Six Offices, document copyists, and the like all held established posts. Those without posts were merely "petition copyists" responsible for transcription.

Strictly speaking, the Six Offices were civil positions and had little to do with frontline arrests.

Fan Anzhi was not troubled by the heretical sect matter.

He looked at the case document on top of the desk—the case of Zhou Meng being injured.

Fan Anzhi raised his head and looked toward the clerk beside him. "Has there been no message from Magistrate Ma?"

The clerk hurriedly replied, "No!"

Fan Anzhi asked again, "Has Chen Gan come to the yamen to check in?"

The clerk shook his head. "It seems he has not arrived yet."

Fan Anzhi gave a hum. "Forget it. Deliver these official documents and case files upward."

The clerk hesitated, then pointed to the complaint at the very top. "Clerk Fan, th-this complaint... where should it be sent?"

Fan Anzhi gave a faint snort. "Naturally, it should be delivered to the county magistrate's desk in the prefectural yamen!"

The county magistrate controlled everything and was the direct superior of the Six Offices and Three Squads.

A Magistrate Ma was merely an auxiliary official responsible for supervision and prisons; he had no authority over the Criminal Affairs Office.

But yamen affairs were highly flexible.

If a case file involved the Magistrate, and if the Magistrate was sufficiently powerful, it could also be sent to the Magistrate's office for him to review first.

The clerk nodded, picked up the case files and documents, and was about to deliver them to the county yamen hall.

Suddenly, a document copyist rushed in, carrying a stack of complaints.

"Clerk Fan, more complaints have arrived!"

"Several wronged parties have submitted complaints accusing Zhou Meng of oppressing the good, violating women, and committing rape!"

The instant Fan Anzhi heard this, his expression darkened!

Outside the county yamen hall stood a Drum of Grievances. In theory, one could beat it to voice an injustice directly into the county magistrate's ears.

Of course, there were not no hotheaded fools who truly went to beat the Drum of Grievances, but they were extremely few.

To file a complaint, one first had to submit a written petition, which would then be forwarded by the Criminal Affairs Office.

For all affairs within the county, the Six Offices were the first handlers.

The reason low-ranking subordinate clerks could hollow out the authority of the county officials above them was largely this.

Hearing that someone was accusing Zhou Meng.

Yesterday's plaintiff had become today's defendant.

Fan Anzhi knew at once that Chen Gan and Magistrate Ma must have failed to reach an agreement, and Chen Gan had decided to fight with all his strength.

He could not help but get a headache.

Do not be fooled by the fact that Chen Gan was merely an Assistant Servant.

This fellow had spent more than ten years in the Fast Squad. He was ruthless, had plenty of methods, and knew how to handle affairs.

He had often treated yamen colleagues to food and drink in ordinary times. No one knew where his money came from, but he was quite popular and counted as a notable figure among the subordinate clerks.

Now that he was making such a fuss, it truly was a headache.