Ma Yuan Dismissed

"Next..." The inspector waved a hand and called to the long line.

The line moved slowly forward, with Ye Fan and the others following close behind.

"Hmm, is that him? That fellow's back again?" The man called Fourth Uncle spotted the two officers talking at the city gate and muttered under his breath.

Back then, it was this man's brother who had broken Xiao Liuzi's leg. With their older sister married into the city lord's manor, the brothers had acted as though they were above the law. Later, their sister arranged to separate them, hoping they would settle down if they were apart. That was how Ma Yuan came to take a post in Sunset City, and the matter was left unresolved.

Later, Xiao Liuzi was able to get back on his feet. To treat his leg, his family had sold off almost everything they could. Xiao Liuzi did not want to be a burden on his family, so after finishing the farm work, he would usually follow Fourth Uncle to Sunset City and take odd jobs.

While delivering goods for his employers, he had seen Ma Yuan a few times. Though Xiao Liuzi hated him, there was nothing he could do.

"Next!" The inspector waved Ye Fan's group forward.

Ye Fan and the others hurried after him.

Several guards examined the handcarts closely, rummaging through them from top to bottom.

"Why are you hauling so many haystacks into the city?" a soldier muttered, glancing at Ye Fan and the others.

"Sir, these aren't haystacks. They're medicinal herbs, freshly picked medicinal herbs," Qi Dazhu said to the soldier with a cheerful smile.

"Oh, they're all medicinal herbs. With this many, I reckon Treasure Hall is the only place in the city that could take them all. Say, you're hauling them to Treasure Hall, aren't you?" The soldier glanced at his newly appointed colleague and showed off his cleverness.

"That's right, sir, you hit the nail on the head. They're bound for Treasure Hall," Qi Dazhu said, still smiling cheerfully.

"All right, go on through..." The soldier showing off his cleverness did not give them any trouble. Perhaps he simply did not get along with the newly appointed fellow.

"Wait!" Just as they were about to enter the city, Ma Yuan called out from a distance.

Hearing Ma Yuan's voice, the soldier immediately called a few others over to stop Ye Fan's group.

"Hmm?" Ye Fan and the others were puzzled. Things had been going fine, so why had they been stopped?

"Well, if it isn't you lot. Landed another big job, have you? What's the matter, your leg still not healed?" The speaker was Ma Yuan. He had been looking gloomy, but the moment he saw them, his spirits lifted.

"Let me see what this pile is. Did you fellows check it properly? Times aren't peaceful these days, you know." After mocking them, Ma Yuan turned to the two soldiers from before. The tuft of white hair growing from the black mole on his chin pointed high in the air.

"Reporting to the city defense officer, sir, we've checked it all and confirmed it's nothing but medicinal herbs. There's nothing else," the new soldier said, cupping his fists at Ma Yuan.

"Checked it all? You're sure you didn't miss anything?" Ma Yuan stuck out his great belly, showing the saber hanging from it. The tuft of white hair rose even higher.

"Oh, we really didn't check carefully just now. Come on, brothers, unload the goods. We need to inspect them thoroughly. Times really aren't peaceful these days." The soldier who had shown off his cleverness seemed to have realized that the city defense officer had a grudge against the group, and spoke ingratiatingly.

"Sir, we really are just delivering some medicinal herbs. There's absolutely nothing else in there. Look, there isn't even a cloth to lay down. If the herbs are thrown on the ground, won't they be troublesome to deal with afterward?" Qi Dazhu took a few copper coins from his robes and spoke to Ma Yuan with an ingratiating smile.

"Oh, you really do have money, don't you?" Ma Yuan took the copper coins, tossed them up and down, then threw them straight onto the ground.

"Inspect them carefully. Pull apart every one of these cartloads of haystacks. Don't miss a single spot," Ma Yuan said, putting on airs.

The soldiers did not move. Instead, they turned to look at the city gate captain who had been speaking with Ma Yuan. They were all city gate inspectors and took orders only from the city gate captain. Ma Yuan was a city defense officer and had no authority to command them; it was against the rules.

"Old Ma, you're overstepping," the city gate captain said, coming over to Ma Yuan and leaning down.

"Old Yang, this really isn't my responsibility, but I'm thinking of Sunset City's safety, aren't I? If something goes wrong and you end up being implicated, wouldn't that be awful?" Ma Yuan said to Yang Sheng, standing on tiptoe. Yang Sheng was the captain in charge of the city gate.

At that moment, the people behind them heard the commotion and craned their necks to look.

"Old Ma, look how long the line is. Enough, let them through," Yang Sheng said. He naturally knew the situation between them; this was not the first time Ma Yuan had made trouble for them. All he did was stir things up so they could not make an honest living. It had to be said, not only was the man dim-witted, his heart was vicious as well.

"Captain Yang, it never hurts to be careful!" Ma Yuan walked over to a cart and yanked out the medicinal herbs by the handful, throwing them straight onto the ground. He also gave it a vicious kick, knocking the entire handcart over and scattering the herbs all over the ground.

"You..." Yang Sheng was completely speechless. If Ma Yuan's sister had not been the city lord's concubine, he would have slapped him long ago.

Seeing the medicinal herbs thrown onto the ground, Ye Fan was furious and wanted to teach this thing a lesson. Just as he was about to act, he heard someone shout from inside the city.

"Commander Bai has arrived!"

Ever since Commander Zha had gone to support Qixia City, Commander Bai had taken on the duty of inspecting the city's defenses. Whenever finished with other affairs, Commander Bai would walk around the city, and had happened to reach the gate at that moment.

Hearing that Commander Bai had arrived, the people at the gate immediately straightened up. The two who had been bickering also hurried forward to greet the commander.

"What happened? Why have so many villagers gathered here?" Commander Bai asked the crowd, looking at all the people gathered at the gate.

"Reporting to Commander Bai, we were inspecting passing merchants as required, but several people refused to cooperate," Ma Yuan said, speaking first.

"Hmm? Is that so?" Commander Bai glanced at the scattered herbs and the overturned handcart.

"Reporting to Grand Commander, we've been wronged. We submitted to all the inspections, but this man made things difficult for us at every turn. This isn't the first time, either. Please uphold justice for us, Grand Commander." The speaker was Fourth Uncle. He was furious too, and upon hearing that this was the grand commander, he accused Ma Yuan outright.

"Captain Yang, tell me what happened."

Hearing this, Captain Yang gave Commander Bai a full account of everything that had just happened. He did not care for Ma Yuan either. The man relied on his powerful backing to do whatever he pleased.

"Ma Yuan, you're a mere city defense officer. Who gave you the right to ruin the villagers' goods like this? As of today, you're dismissed!" After hearing Captain Yang's report, Commander Bai pointed at Ma Yuan.

"Commander Bai, you can't! My sister is the city lord's..." Ma Yuan knew full well that he had walked into the line of fire today, so he tried to bring up his sister!

"Shut up! Someone, drag him away!" Captain Yang was genuinely afraid Commander Bai would change his mind, so he immediately had Ma Yuan dragged away.

"Villagers, this poisonous pest has been a scourge to the people. I am guilty of failing to see it and offer you all my apologies here." Commander Bai cupped both hands and bowed to the people.

"Captain Yang, three months' pay docked! Hurry and put the villagers' herbs back in order," Commander Bai said, turning to Yang Sheng.

"Yes, your subordinate acknowledges his guilt!" After saluting, Yang Sheng hurried to direct the soldiers as they put the handcart and herbs back in order. Three months' pay was a punishment he could accept. Most importantly, Ma Yuan was finally gone.

"Everyone, my subordinate has failed in his duties. Please do not take it to heart. The man has been punished, and the patrol will cover all compensation. I am busy with military affairs, so I must take my leave first," Bai Yu said to Ye Fan and the others.

"Farewell, Grand Commander, and thank you for upholding justice for us commoners," Qi Dazhu and the others said, so excited they nearly knelt.

"A just and incorruptible official!" The line erupted in cheers.

The medicinal herbs were also put back in order, and Ye Fan and the others set off again, pushing the handcarts.

Meanwhile, Ma Yuan, who had been thrown out, glanced at the city gate and said viciously, "Damn cripple, just you wait!"