Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 54 Was that beating for nothing?

Wang Qiong suppressed his anger, forced a smile, walked to the side of a yamen runner drinking water under the shade of a tree, and said with clasped hands, "Greetings, brother."

The constable looked up at Wang Qiong and, seeing that Wang Qiong was dressed in a blue scholar's robe, hurriedly stood up, cupped his hands, and replied, "Greetings, sir. May I ask what brings you to my court?"

Wang Qiong forced a smile and pointed to a group of constables and able-bodied men who were busy at work not far away, saying, "I was passing by and saw that they seem to be digging... digging a pit? Or perhaps digging a lake? I was thinking that it is the busy farming season right now, so I wonder why they are not farming, but instead digging such a big... lake here?"

The constable glanced at Wang Qiong, then squinted and looked up at the sky. Suddenly, he changed his tone and spoke in Fengyang Mandarin: "This gentleman is from Jiangnan?"

Hearing the yamen runner speak in the utterly formal Fengyang dialect, Wang Qiong was slightly startled and replied, "Yes, I am a student from Jiangnan, traveling here for my studies."

The constable gave a meaningful "oh," and then pointed to the group of busy young men and said, "As you can see, sir, they are indeed digging a lake, and they are going to dig a ditch on the lakeside to bring water from the Da Wen River into the lake."

Wang Qiong feigned curiosity and asked, "But isn't it the busy farming season right now? Wouldn't digging ditches to bring water delay the crops?"

The yamen runner sized Wang Qiong up and down, then asked in return, "Does this gentleman know anything about farming seasons?"

Seeing Wang Qiong nod slightly, the yamen runner sighed and said, "It is good for this gentleman to know that it is not that they want to delay the farming season, but that last year the people did not have much land and the wheat they planted was not carefully tended. It was harvested and threshed before the Grain in Ear season, and I'm afraid that a lot of it has already been eaten."

Wang Qiong was even angrier—it was true that wheat should be harvested during the Grain in Ear season, but since ancient times, it has always been harvested during the Grain in Ear season, so how could it be harvested before the Grain in Ear season?

Don't underestimate the difference between harvesting a few days earlier or later. After all, wheat grains need time to grow and sufficient sunlight to grow firm and plump. If harvested too early, not only will the wheat grains be prone to shriveling, but it will also affect the next year's planting, ultimately affecting the farmers!

No, it's impossible for ordinary people to do something so mindless. It's most likely that this corrupt official forced them to do it!

Thinking of what she had heard from the old woman, and then of what the constable had said about the people rushing to harvest wheat before the Grain in Ear solar term, Wang Qiong's anger grew stronger and stronger. She couldn't help but spit out a hateful "Pah!" and cursed, "You corrupt official!"

The constable's expression changed, and he asked in a deep voice, "Who are you cursing?"

Seeing that the yamen runner seemed ready to throw a punch at the slightest provocation, Wang Qiong couldn't suppress his scholarly spirit of upholding justice for the people. He shouted loudly, "I curse that Magistrate Yang for oppressing the people! I curse you yamen runners for being accomplices to evil!"

The constable flew into a rage and punched Wang Qiong in the face, cursing, "You dog! I respect you as a scholar, just like the county magistrate, and you dare to insult him?!"

The punch was swift and accurate, and Wang Qiong's face immediately became red and swollen. However, when he thought about how the people of Ningyang County had to suffer from the oppression of corrupt officials like Magistrate Yang Shaofeng and the cruel officials in front of him, Wang Qiong was no longer afraid. Instead, he directly punched the yamen runner.

Unfortunately, Wang Qiong had the will to stand up for justice, but lacked the strength. He was quickly beaten to the ground by the constables. Seeing Wang Qiong being beaten, his servant rushed over to protect him, shouting, "Stop! My master is..."

Before he could finish speaking, the bailiff punched the pageboy, forcing him to swallow his words.

As the bailiffs beat him, they cursed, "I know your master is a scholar! How dare you insult my county magistrate! I don't care if you're a scholar or not!"

Just as the bailiffs were beating Wang Qiong and his servant, some young men working nearby heard the bailiffs cursing. In the blink of an eye, the young men dropped what they were doing and ran over to beat the fallen Wang Qiong and his servant.

Wang Qiong, who was being protected by his page, shouted loudly, "I am an official appointed by the imperial court! I am an official appointed by the imperial court!"

The group of young men were slightly taken aback, and unconsciously stopped their punches and kicks. Wang Qiong shouted again, "I am an official appointed by the imperial court! Do you want to rebel?"

The young man who rushed over first frowned slightly, pulled the constable aside, and whispered, "Fifth Master, why don't we go all the way and just dig the pit deeper..."

The yamen runner known as Fifth Master was none other than Lame Five. Upon hearing this, he reached out and slapped the young man on the head, cursing, "What nonsense are you spouting, you dog? Bury him, are you trying to harm the county magistrate?"

The young man shrank back and whispered, "But if we hit him, wouldn't that implicate the county magistrate?"

The lame man snorted and said, "That dog's mouth can't hide his official air. Do you think I don't know he's an official of the imperial court? But since that dog dares to curse our county magistrate, he's been beaten for nothing. Even if we take him to the capital, no one will listen to him."

After calming the young men down for a few moments, the lame man turned back, dispersed the young men who were still surrounding Wang Qiong and refusing to leave, and then reached out to pull Wang Qiong up, saying seriously, "You say you are an official appointed by the imperial court, but I don't know what your official position is, or whether you have an official seal."

"I am Wang Qiong, a clerk in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. I have come on behalf of His Highness the Crown Prince to deliver some rewards to the magistrate of Ningyang County," Wang Qiong said, dusting himself off. He then took out a tally from his robes and threw it at the lame man, angrily saying, "My tally is right here. Can you even read it?"

Limpy Wu took the tally and examined it carefully. Then, with a big smile, he said, "Oh dear, it's you, Wang Sheren. I was blind and didn't recognize you. I offended you. Please forgive me."

Wang Qiong snorted coldly, snatched the tally from the lame man's hand, and shouted angrily, "Where is your magistrate? Bring that corrupt official to see me!"

Seeing that Wang Qiong was still putting on airs, Limpy Wu's expression gradually turned cold: "I respect you as a retainer of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, yet you have repeatedly insulted my magistrate. Do you really think that Ningyang County has no one to rely on?"

As soon as Limpy Wu finished speaking, the group of young men who hadn't gone far gathered around again, seemingly ready to bury him at the slightest provocation.

Wang Qiong, suppressing his unease, looked at the group of unfriendly young men and shouted, "You scoundrels! You scoundrels! I originally intended to help you, but I never expected you to be so ungrateful!"

As Wang Qiong finished speaking, a young man suddenly spat and cursed, "You dog, try cursing my master again!"

Limpy Wu glared at the able-bodied men and cursed, "Get the hell out of here, you bastards!"

After cursing the young men a few times, Lame Wu looked coldly at Wang Qiong and asked, "You keep saying you want to stand up for them, but do you know what injustices they have suffered that they need a mere clerk from the Imperial Household Department to stand up for them, and you even keep cursing my magistrate?"

Wang Qiong retorted angrily, "That dog... what has your county magistrate done? Don't you know?!"

At this point, Wang Qiong snorted coldly again and straightened his body: "Even if I have to risk my life today, I will expose the true face of your county magistrate!"

Seeing Wang Qiong's cowardly yet defiant appearance, Limpy Wu was immediately amused and annoyed: "Come, come, tell me properly, what heinous thing has my county magistrate done?"

Wang Qiong shouted, "Firstly, is it true that he forced the people under his rule to collect chicks and piglets for him?"

Limpy Wu picked at his ear, looked at Wang Qiong with the kind of look one might give someone with intellectual disabilities, and asked in return, "Then how do you know my county magistrate didn't give me the money?"

Wang Qiong paused for a moment, then raised his voice again: "Secondly, is it true that he forcibly conscripted skillful women to work in his own workshop?"

Limpy Wu raised an eyebrow and retorted again, "What do you mean by forced requisition? And how do you know my magistrate didn't pay the wages?"

A young man standing nearby chimed in, "That's right! My wife works in the workshop and earns several hundred coins a month. How come you call it forced conscription?"

Wang Qiong was stunned again, then pointed at the able-bodied men and shouted, "He forcibly conscripted the able-bodied men to dig the lake, which delayed the farming season. You yamen runners beat and scolded them. I saw all of this with my own eyes. I heard that some of them were even whipped. How could these things be false?"

Before Limpy Five could speak, a young man next to him sneered and said, "You said someone was whipped, but the master ordered me to be whipped ten times. It's a good thing you've been so observant, but you still didn't find out the truth. I had a gambling match with someone first, so even if the master whips me to death, I won't blame him. What business is it of yours?"

Limpy Wu snorted coldly and said, "Since the beginning of spring, Ningyang County has only had five rains. A drought is imminent. If it weren't for the county magistrate organizing them to dig lakes to store water, would you, Wang Sheren, have let them wait until the drought was over and there was no harvest before they had to flee to escape famine?"

Wang Qiong was dumbfounded after being refuted one after another.

Could it be that I have misunderstood?

Then wouldn't all the beating I took today have been for nothing?