County Magistrate's Attitude Was Strange

Su Mo could still laugh at a time like this.

Chen Ping snorted unhappily. "Of course I did!"

"Rape, seizing civilian farmland, and breaking both legs of a victim who came to the door to demand justice!"

"He was sentenced to one hundred strokes of the cane and exile three thousand li!"

Su Mo blinked. "That's all he got? Big Wart Ma didn't speak up for him?"

Chen Ping shot Su Mo a glance. "Chen Gan made the evidence ironclad. What could he say?"

"Precisely because of that, he must hate you and your uncle-nephew pair to the bone."

"He specifically stated that each case would be handled on its own. Once you're arrested and brought to justice, Zhou Meng will be dealt with after your trial!"

He let out a breath. "You're in for it now, boy!"

Su Mo smiled. "The County Magistrate is just and upright. I believe he'll handle the matter impartially!"

Chen Ping could not be bothered to speak anymore.

The group returned to the yamen.

The bailiffs on duty all wore startled expressions when they saw Su Mo.

Someone hurried off to inform Chen Gan of the news.

Chen Gan had been strutting about smugly outside the Registrar's office, right under Ma Yingshi's nose.

When he heard the news, his old face changed in an instant!

As for Chen Ping, he deliberately dragged his feet. He merely put Su Mo in shackles and brought him to the Fast Squad's office, without hurrying to report to the County Magistrate.

When Chen Gan came rushing over, Chen Ping gave the other bailiffs a meaningful glance and left the office, giving Su Mo and Chen Gan a chance to speak in private.

Chen Gan had no time to scold Su Mo and asked in a deep voice, "What exactly is going on?"

"Didn't Chen Bao escort you out of the city?"

He had personally watched Chen Bao and the others leave the county seat.

Seeing the anxiety on Chen Gan's face, Su Mo could not help smiling. "Uncle, set your mind at ease."

"Your nephew dared to come back because I have a plan!"

"Could it be that I was really supposed to stay at Eagle Ravine Dock for several years and never return to the city?"

Chen Gan looked at Su Mo suspiciously, then lowered his voice. "What plan?"

Everyone called Su Mo Su Lengzi, but Chen Gan naturally knew that his nephew was not foolish in the slightest. He merely spoke and acted little in ordinary times.

"Steady" was a more accurate description.

Su Mo hesitated for a moment, then leaned close to Chen Gan's ear and whispered a few words.

Chen Gan's expression changed drastically. "Imperial—"

But after saying only one word, he clamped his mouth shut.

He merely stared fixedly at Su Mo, his face filled with shock!

The Fast Squad constable Zhong Sanyuan, his arm wrapped in cloth strips, finally appeared.

He glanced darkly at Su Mo and Chen Gan, then said coldly, "The County Magistrate has ordered the court opened at once!"

"Questioning Su Mo's case for seriously injuring Zhou Meng in the street!"

"Guards!"

"Take him to the courtroom!"

Once Zhong Sanyuan had someone escort Su Mo to the courtroom for trial,

Chen Ping finally could not hold back. He quietly went over to Chen Gan's side and lowered his voice. "Old Gan, did your nephew lose his mind or something?"

"He actually came to me and surrendered himself?"

Chen Gan gave a bitter laugh. "I don't know what he's plotting either!"

"He must believe the County Magistrate can hear the case fairly!"

A strange glint flashed through Chen Ping's eyes.

Damn this old fox!

Just now, he had clearly been worried to death. After saying a few words to Su Mo, he had put on an entirely different expression. There had to be something fishy going on!

He could not help growing suspicious!

What trump card did this old fox have that he was not even afraid of the Registrar?

Su Mo was escorted to the county yamen courtroom.

A dense crowd of commoners had gathered outside to watch!

At the center of the courtroom, behind the official desk and beneath the plaque proclaiming "Just and Upright," sat Xue Shan, Magistrate Xue, the father and mother official of Changping County!

To Su Mo's surprise,

the two County Yamen officials who usually served as mere background figures, County Lieutenant Xu Feng and Chief Clerk Zhuang Shouchi, had both come.

Of course, with the County Lieutenant and Chief Clerk present, Big Wart Ma could not possibly be absent!

Soon afterward, Zhou Meng was dragged into the courtroom, his face ashen and his body limp as a dead dog.

He already knew that Big Wart Ma had cast him aside as a sacrificial pawn. How could he still look as arrogant as before?

All four chief officials of Changping County were present!

Not to mention the commoners watching the spectacle outside,

even Zhong Sanyuan and the bailiffs of the three squads were deeply astonished.

Was Su Mo's case really this important?

Was it not simply a matter of someone being injured?

Did it really require a joint trial by all four officials?

The County Magistrate smacked the sounding block!

The bailiffs on both sides shouted in unison, "Mighty!"

Although the bailiff who had escorted Su Mo into the courtroom did not use force on him, he still shouted deeply, "Kneel!"

With an ordinary suspect, he would certainly have kicked viciously into the backs of his knees!

Su Mo, however, had no notion that a man's knees were worth gold.

In modern times, that saying could be used to show off.

In ancient times, it was simply courting death!

Su Mo obediently knelt and raised his head toward the imposing County Magistrate behind the desk. Neither servile nor overbearing, he said, "Fast Squad bailiff Su Mo pays his respects to the County Magistrate, County Lieutenant, and Chief Clerk!"

Xue Shan had lean cheeks and a neatly trimmed short beard.

His imposing gaze swept over Su Mo and Zhou Meng below the hall.

In the end, it settled on Su Mo.

"You are the suspect Su Mo who injured Zhou Meng in the street?"

Su Mo nodded and replied loudly, "In answer to the County Magistrate, this humble one is!"

"Zhou Meng is a bailiff of the yamen, yet he molested Qin, a virtuous woman from a respectable family and the widow of a scholar, in the street."

"For the reputation of the yamen and the honor of the County Magistrate, Su Mo had no choice but to step in and stop him."

He paused, then continued, "This humble one simply didn't expect Zhou Meng to be so fragile. I merely touched him lightly, and his shoulder broke!"

The commoners gathered outside could not help discussing the matter among themselves.

Quite a few of them recognized Su Mo.

They also knew that compared with the other bailiffs, Su Mo's character was heaven knew how much better!

Xue Shan was slightly surprised. "Qin is actually the widow of a scholar?"

"Where is Qin?"

Su Mo answered without hesitation, "This humble one does not know."

"She must have feared Zhou Meng's revenge and moved out of the county seat overnight."

Xue Shan did not continue pressing the issue. Instead, his gaze turned to Zhou Meng, and his voice instantly grew cold. "Zhou Meng!"

"Do you admit to what Su Mo said?"

At these words, Zhong Sanyuan and the other bailiffs felt their hearts tighten!

Something was wrong!

They were all shrewd old bailiffs.

They instantly noticed the problem!

Judging by the County Magistrate's attitude, this was clearly not Zhou Meng accusing Su Mo. It was Su Mo accusing Zhou Meng!

The County Magistrate had no ties to Su Mo. Why would he be showing such obvious favoritism toward the boy?

Zhou Meng did not think that far.

He hated Big Wart Ma, but he hated Su Mo even more!

Even if he died, he would drag Su Mo into the water with him!

He glared venomously at Su Mo and said through gritted teeth, "This humble one did not molest that widow!"

"It was only because Su Mo bore a grudge against me for taking his Regular Servant position. When he saw that I was drunk, he conceived evil intentions and took revenge against me!"

"I beg the Magistrate to see the truth!"

Xue Shan looked at the County Lieutenant and Chief Clerk seated on either side. "County Lieutenant Xu, Chief Clerk Zhuang, what do you think?"

County Lieutenant Xu Feng, already nearly sixty, thought for a moment before speaking. "This official has no opinion. I leave everything to Magistrate Xue!"

The answer suited his character perfectly—an old County Lieutenant who wanted nothing more than to land safely.

The real authority lay in Xue Shan's hands, and Xu Feng was also nearing retirement. Naturally, he had no great ambition to fight Xue Shan for power.

What surprised everyone was Zhuang Shouchi's answer.

The third-ranking lord of Changping County had originally intended to keep his head down and let the matter pass him by.

However, his adviser had said something to him not long ago.

"If the Fourth Lord wishes to establish his authority, how will the Third Lord conduct himself?"

Unlike Xu Feng, he was still young and strong!

The Registrar could not possibly seize the County Magistrate's authority all at once by fighting for power.

Then whose authority was he fighting over?

He pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "The cases of Zhou Meng's rape and seizure of civilian farmland have already been settled!"

"This official believes the words of a convicted criminal should not be trusted!"

"Why not imprison them both first, and conduct another trial once Qin has been found?"

Xue Shan neither agreed nor disagreed. His gaze fell on Magistrate Ma. "Magistrate Ma, what do you think?"