Seize the Opportunity

Wang Houde couldn't understand how he had offended this new official. "No... sir..." Wang Houde swallowed hard, unsure what to say. "If you do this, I..."

Before he could even think of how to phrase his words, Zhao Ruxi waved her hand, smiling warmly, "Don't be nervous, Village Head Wang. If you are truly as upright and fair as Administrative Clerk Chen just said, someone who has a clear conscience before the villagers, then what I'm doing is just a formality. After all, I can't just listen to your version of events with that couple, can I? I have to investigate the facts in the village. Don't worry, since you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear."

She waved her hand and stepped inside, saying, "Let's go in. Didn't you have something to say to me?"

What else is there to say!

Wang Houde was furious.

How could Lord Zhao be so unscrupulous in his actions?

People say that officials protect each other. Although they are village heads and have no official rank, they are still considered government officials. They worry about the government all day long and run errands for the government. In the end, they still have to pay tribute to the officials, clerks, and runners in the government. Even if they have no merit, they have worked hard. So unless they commit murder or arson and cause the villagers to complain, the people in the government will always favor them.

But this Lord Zhao shows absolutely no mercy; he immediately incited the villagers to replace the village head. Isn't that a blatant violation of the rules of the martial arts world?

Chen Kang's eyes darted around. As he followed Zhao Ruxi inside, he shoved Wang Houde and said, "What are you all standing there for? Didn't the magistrate say it's just a formality? We can't just listen to your side of the story and draw conclusions without doing any investigation, can we?"

Pushing Wang Houde and Zhao Ruxi through the Wang family gate, he raised his voice slightly and said, "Don't worry, as long as you don't do anything against your conscience, the magistrate will naturally protect you. After all, the magistrate has just taken office and is in charge of grain requisition, water conservancy, and land reclamation. What can he do without relying on you village heads?"

Zhao Ruxi paused, turned around and glanced at Chen Kang.

Chen Kang didn't shy away and nodded to Zhao Ruxi with a smile.

Zhao Ruxi turned around expressionlessly, entered the main room of the Wang family, and sat down in her original seat.

She said to Wang Houde, "Alright, if you have something to say, just say it."

Wang Houde felt somewhat better after hearing Chen Kang's words, thinking that Zhao Ruxi was just going through the motions. He had asked the guards to inquire with the villagers, and that his earlier remarks were merely to establish an image of an honest and upright official in the villagers' minds. He didn't really intend to replace the village head, nor was he deliberately trying to frame him.

He mustered all his strength and recounted his grievances with the couple.

The man in the couple Wang Dazhu, and the woman was Lady Yuan. They had only one daughter, named Wang Xian, who was fifteen years old and extremely beautiful. Because she was their only daughter and had been pampered since childhood, Wang Dazhu and his wife were reluctant to let her marry out, so they wanted to find a son-in-law to marry into their family. However, all the men who could become their sons-in-law were unattractive, and Wang Dazhu and his wife looked down on them all, so they hadn't gotten engaged yet.

Wang Houde's youngest son suffered brain damage from a high fever when he was young, and his intelligence is only that of a seven or eight-year-old child. He seems to speak and act normally most of the time, but it is obvious to anyone who gets to know him that his intelligence is not at a normal level.

For this reason, his son, who is fifteen years old this year, is not engaged. Because Wang Houde's family is well-off, there are quite a few women willing to marry into the family, but his son always complains that they are not good-looking and throws tantrums, refusing to marry them.

One time, his son went out to play and met Wang Xian, and then insisted on marrying Wang Xian.

At this moment, Wang's wife found her son and gestured for him to bow to Zhao Ruxi, saying, "Sir, you see, my son is just like a seven or eight-year-old child. What does he know about bullying men and women? When he went out to play, I don't know if it was that Wang Xian who seduced him, but when he came back, he insisted that we marry Wang Xian for him."

Zhao Ruxi glanced at Wang Houde's son.

His son was a carbon copy of Wang Houde, with a chubby face, a chubby body, and squinty eyes.

He followed his mother's instructions and bowed respectfully to Zhao Ruxi.

He just sits still and doesn't say anything; he seems like a perfectly normal boy.

"Alright, call him back. Don't be rude to Lord Zhao," Wang Houde quickly said.

He knew that Zhao Ruxi was only fifteen years old, the same age as his son, and he was worried that his silly son would be impolite and offend the noble lady.

But when he thought about how she had become the top female scholar and risen to the Subordinate Sixth Rank official, while his own son was mentally challenged and knew nothing but eating and drinking, he felt a pang of injustice from heaven.

Wang's wife quickly called her son back, wiping away her tears, and said, "We're all from the same village, and we know about Wang Dazhu's situation. Considering the two children are the same age and from the same village, since his marriage is so difficult, maybe if we talk to him, he might agree to marry his daughter into our family. My son isn't smart, but he's not really stupid; we're wealthy, and his daughter will have no worries about food and drink, servants to wait on her, and won't have to work in the fields. Many girls want to marry me, but I wouldn't even consider them."

"So I asked someone to propose marriage, but his family disagreed. Fine, I let it go. My family is well-off, and my son is just a little naive; it's not like he can't find a wife. But a few days later, Wang Xian somehow jumped into the river."

Wang's wife raised her head and looked at Zhao Ruxi expectantly. "I think there must be a reason for Wang Xian's death. It's just that Wang Dazhu and his wife, in order to cover up the shameful things their daughter did, and also to extort money, or perhaps because they were instructed by someone else, insisted that my family drove their daughter to her death."

Zhao Ruxi asked, "You said you were instructed by someone, but do you have a specific suspect?"

Wang's wife turned to look at her husband.

Wang Houde quickly replied, "I suspect one is Wang Fuyun from the village, and the other is Sun Zhengbao, the village head of Scholar Tree Village."

He further explained, "Wang Fuyun's son passed the imperial examination at the county level a couple of years ago, and his family has some money. Ever since his son passed the exam, he's been eyeing the position of village head. Scholar Tree Village and our village have a long-standing feud, and Sun Zhengbao and I have always been at odds. It's possible that he's trying to get Wang Dazhu and his wife to pin their daughter's death on me when the adults come to the village. Wang Dazhu's wife is from Scholar Tree Village."

The couple spoke with great logic and conviction, their story seemingly plausible. Had Zhao Ruxi not instructed Zhou Chun to hire idle men from the city to inquire about the situation in various villages when he was reviewing the case files and accounts a few days prior, he would have been completely misled by the couple.

However, Zhao Ruxi didn't expose the truth, nodding and saying, "Alright, I understand. Once my guards return, I'll hear what the villagers have to say and then make a decision on this matter."

Wang Houde and Chen Kang exchanged a glance.