Removal from Office

After venting their grievances to the guards, the villagers were waiting for Zhao Ruxi's summons. Upon hearing the gong, they all gathered around.

Chen Kang had already decided not to get involved in this matter, and now that Zhao Ruxi had only asked one question and then ignored him, he glanced back at Wang Houde, but didn't press the issue further. Instead of going back, he stayed by Zhao Ruxi's side.

"I've heard everyone's opinions from the guard," Zhao Ruxi said, seeing that most of the villagers had arrived. "It seems everyone is quite dissatisfied with Wang Houde as the village head..."

She listed several unethical things Wang Houde had done to the villagers, saying, "Given everyone's dissatisfaction with him, and after listening to everyone's opinions, I have now decided to remove Wang Houde from his position as village head and have Wang Fuyun take over his post."

The villagers' faces all lit up with joy.

"Furthermore, Wang Houde's son forced and abused Wang Dazhu's daughter, leading to her suicide. Wang Houde is hereby ordered to compensate Wang Dazhu and his wife with fifty mu of high-quality farmland. This must be carried out immediately, and the transfer must be completed in my presence."

Zhao Ruxi then looked at Wang Houde and said, "If Wang Houde is dissatisfied with this punishment, he can file a lawsuit with Prefect Liu at the yamen."

Upon hearing this, the villagers all looked at Wang Houde Wang Houde, only to see him standing there with his mouth half-open and his eyes wide open, looking incredulous.

Some who were extremely dissatisfied with Wang Houde snorted and said, "Serves him right! He's finally gotten what he deserves..."

Someone nearby quickly nudged him with their elbow and hissed, "Shut up!"

They were all worried that the young female official was unaware of Wang Houde's background and hastily removed Wang Houde from office. However, after Wang Houde's relatives in the government office spoke on his behalf, he was reinstated as the village head.

In that case, the person who spoke ill of Wang Houde in public will surely suffer his retaliation.

Wang Houde is incredibly petty and vindictive. He's certainly not one to hold a grudge against anyone who disagrees with him.

Others standing further away, upon hearing Zhao Ruxi's words, felt sorry for Wang Xian: "A living, breathing person, only fifty acres of land as compensation? It's such a waste!"

"Alas, you can't say that," someone nearby said. "Xian wasn't beaten to death by Wang San'er; she committed suicide. That's the only way Lord Zhao can sentence her. What do Wang Houde Wang Dazhu Wang Dazhu jail? Now that they have these fifty acres of land, even if they get too old to work, the grain they earn from renting it out can support them in their old age. Lord Zhao's sentence is for the good of Wang Dazhu and his wife."

Upon hearing Zhao Ruxi's words, Wang's wife squeezed through the crowd and knelt before Zhao Ruxi, crying out, "My lord, you can't listen to their nonsense! The villagers are all envious of our good life, that's why they always speak ill of us. Xian committed suicide, it wasn't our family who beat her to death, how can you judge her like this..."

Seeing that Zhao Ruxi wasn't paying attention to him, Chen Kang thought for a moment, then walked over to the ashen-faced Wang Houde Wang Houde. He handed back the silver notes that the Wang family steward had given him and whispered a word of advice, "Lord Zhao's backing is extremely powerful. The newly appointed prefect of Linjiang Prefecture is her senior brother. Neither Lord Liu nor Lord Cai can defeat her. Take my advice: call your wife back and obediently compensate Wang Dazhu with fifty mu of land. Otherwise, even if you appeal to Lord Liu, you'll only lose more in the end than you have today."

When Xiao Lingyan's men came to inquire about Chen Kang's loyalty, it was proven today.

If it were anyone else, now that Wang Houde has lost power, even if they have connections in the government, they're destined to never recover. They'd be lucky if they weren't kicked while they're down; why would they spit out what they've already swallowed?

But when Chen Kang saw that Wang Houde was about to suffer misfortune—not only would he lose his position as village head, but he would also have to give up fifty acres of prime farmland—he immediately returned the silver notes that Wang Houde had given him. He was even willing to give him some advice, which showed that he still had some conscience.

Wang Houde also knew Chen Kang's character well and knew that he meant well.

He said bitterly, "I'm just not reconciled."

Chen Kang didn't dare say much more to Wang Houde, only saying, "That's all I have to say. You decide what to do."

As he spoke, he quietly slipped back behind Zhao Ruxi.

Over there, Zhao Ruxi was unwilling to argue back and forth with Madam Wang.

Ignoring Madam Wang, she Xiang Ming, "Go and repeat my message to Wang Houde. If he refuses to compensate with fifty mu of land, I will report back to Lord Liu at the yamen and have the criminal division handle the matter."

Xiang Ming went over and repeated Zhao Ruxi's words to Wang Houde.

Although Wang Houde was unwilling, remembering Chen Kang's words, he still walked over and bowed to Zhao Ruxi: "This humble one is willing to compensate for the land."

"Then go home now and get the land deeds."

When Madam Wang saw that her husband had obediently gone back to get the land deed, without daring to resist at all, she was so shocked that she stopped crying.

Wang Houde was efficient and didn't procrastinate. He quickly went back to get the land deeds and gave the fifty mu of fertile land on the edge of the fields to Wang Dazhu.

During this time, Zhao Ruxi summoned Wang Fuyun and gave him some instructions. Seeing that Wang Houde and Wang Dazhu had finished their business, she returned home.

Before leaving, Zhou Chun said to Wang Dazhu, "It's still early. Why don't you come back to the yamen with us and register the land deed there? Wang Fuyun will also come with us to the yamen."

Wang Dazhu expressed his deepest gratitude and followed Zhao Ruxi and her group to the prefecture.

As soon as Madam Wang got home, she complained to her husband, "How could you give away the land so easily? That's fifty acres! And your position as village head! No, I have to go find my cousin." With that, she stood up and ordered the servants to prepare the carriage.

"Stop." Wang Houde called out to her, "Don't be in such a hurry." He took out the silver note that Chen Kang had given him, put it on the table, and repeated what Chen Kang had told him about Zhao Ruxi's extremely powerful backing.

Madam Wang swallowed back the complaints she was about to utter, and began to sob sadly, "Is this really how it ends? How are we going to live from now on?"

Wang Houde sighed, "I'll go ask Administrative Clerk Chen again later."

When it was almost time to leave the office, Wang Houde took some gifts and went to Chen Kang Family to wait.

As soon as Chen Kang entered the room, he asked impatiently, "Administrative Clerk Chen, is there any way to resolve this matter?"

Chen Kang recounted Zhao Ruxi's powerful connections one by one, and advised him, "A new broom sweeps clean; you've probably been made an example of by her."

He strongly suspected that Zhao Ruxi knew about Wang Houde all along and had already decided to remove him as a warning to others. Otherwise, how could she be so decisive as to replace the village head after only listening to a few words from the villagers? The matter of Wang Dazhu and his wife was also quite coincidental. Wang Houde had his servants arrest them and take them to the back mountain, but they still managed to escape.

He shared his guess, saying, "I can't help you with this. Neither can Lord Cai. If you're still upset, go ask Lord Cai, then inquire with Lord Yu at the prefectural government office, and see if he can put in a good word for you."

Lord Yu is the cousin-in-law of the Queen's wife.