Chapter 123: Repaying Kindness and Revenge 2/2

After all, that was her mother!

The two sisters talked for a while, and Fang Jinniang could only leave reluctantly.

On the other side…

People from nearby villages specifically came to Miaoqian Village, but Li Qingzhi had already left!

There were no braised foods left, and Li Qingzhi’s articles were also gone.

After circling around the Li family’s vicinity, they would first touch the door handle of the Li family’s house, then place their hands on their child’s forehead, and whisper, “Absorb the talent, absorb the talent.”

In rural areas, there were customs and sayings that were easily spread.

Things that required money, maybe people would just hear about them and let them go, such as wearing red clothes in the year of one’s zodiac sign… Even if the villagers knew about them, they wouldn’t comply, after all, they had no money.

But for things that didn’t require money, they were more than willing to do them.

These people took turns touching the Li family’s door, and then touching their own or their child’s forehead.

After that, some people went to the temple to pray in the north of the village in Miaoqian Village.

The people of the Miaoqian Village were extremely proud to see this situation.

They had produced a Li Qingzhi from their village, which was really prestigious! But… why didn’t Li Qingzhi sell the braised foods? They wanted to buy more to take home.

Some families almost quarreled because of the little amount of braised foods given by Li Qingzhi. After all, it was just about uneven distribution, or perhaps because the young wives took the braised foods back to their maternal homes and the like.

But even if there were disputes, the people of the Miaoqian Village were still happy.

On the other hand, the people of Linhu County were not very happy.

The people of Linhu County, who had previously not known exactly what County Magistrate Yan and the Lou family had done, now understood the situation after hearing Magistrate Zhang’s trial cases.

“So, the grain tax allocated by the court was so little!”

“The grain tax in my area has always been collected by the Lou family, and they collected more and more every year… I used to think it was what the court demanded.”

“Before, they collected so much grain tax that after I paid it, I had no money to eat, so I could only borrow money from the Lou family. Later, I couldn’t repay the money, so I gave them the land, and now I have no land!”

“The gambling den in the county town is actually owned by the Lou family!” “The Li family was so miserable because of the Lou family. It’s all because Mr. Lou took a liking to Miss Li, but Mr. Li didn’t want to give Miss Li to Mr. Lou as a concubine…”

“Mr. Lou is considerably older than Mr. Li. He could even be Miss Li’s grandfather. How could he possibly have the nerve to ask Miss Li to become his concubine?”

“Chang’s family has it worse. I’ve been saying, Chang’s restaurant has been open for so many years, so many people have been dining there, and nothing happened all this time. How did suddenly people start dying there?”

The people of Linhu County were discussing it fervently. Every time Magistrate Zhang executed someone, they would cheer.

Not only that, but more and more victims came forward to file complaints against the Lou family or those associated with them.

When Magistrate Gou was in Linhu County, these people actually thought about filing complaints against him.

But they never had a chance to approach Magistrate Gou!

It wasn’t until Magistrate Zhang appeared that they finally managed to successfully file complaints, and they couldn’t help but cry tears of joy.

The military officers in the barracks watched this scene with disbelief.

Magistrate Zhang has killed so many people; isn’t he afraid of the imperial court blaming him?

Wait, thinking about it the other way around… Magistrate Zhang dares to kill like this, dares to kill off most of the relatives of the King of Jin’s mother’s family, he must have a backing.

It seems that the Emperor really gave him a secret decree!

No wonder Magistrate Zhang, being entrusted with such an important task by the Emperor, is different. The Emperor probably has no idea what kind of person he is.

Those military officers responsible for executions have dulled their knives from cutting too many heads, so they have to ask others to help sharpen them. Magistrate Zhang doesn’t mind, and amidst the sound of sharpening knives, he continues interrogating.

Those who have just been brought in and haven’t undergone interrogation yet couldn’t bear it. They were all in tears, and some even wet their pants.

But the soldiers in the barracks were experienced… They took these people to the river to wash them, and then let them kneel and continue listening to the interrogation.

Speaking of which… the guards and managers of the quarry were chopped by Magistrate Zhang yesterday, and he also confiscated hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from the quarry.

Some of this silver is the money that the quarry hasn’t yet sent to the King of Jin, and some is the money that those managers and guards have earned while assisting the King of Jin.

In recent years, the wealthy people of Daqi have become richer and richer. After becoming wealthy, they started comparing, comparing whose carriage is more luxurious and whose mansion is more magnificent.

As a result, the price of Lihu stone has been driven up to an extremely high level, and some stones of good quality even sell for tens of thousands of taels…

Chang Duan and Chang Zhan have been watching the interrogation all along, feeling excited.

As for those rescued laborers… Some went home, some went to the clinic, and the rest stayed with them, watching and crying.

During the break in the interrogation, Chang Duan asked them, “What are your plans next?”

These people all spoke up: “Brother Chang, I was sold here from a distant place. I don’t even know where my home is anymore. Can I follow you?”

“Brother Chang, there’s no one left in my family. I want to follow you.”

“Me too, I want to follow you.”

“Brother Chang, I’ll be your ox or horse.”

…

About thirty-something laborers wanted to follow Chang Duan. They didn’t know where they could go, and Chang Duan was their savior… Following Chang Duan, they would have a place to stay.

You see, Magistrate Zhang not only returned Chang’s restaurant and mansion to Chang Duan but also gave him some money—originally, the Lou family had taken away a lot of money and belongings from Chang’s family.

“Brother Chang, I don’t need wages. Just give me a meal to eat… let me follow you.”

“I’m the same.”

“I’m the same.”

…

Chang Duan said, “I don’t plan to stay in Linhu County. I want to go to Chongcheng County. Are you willing to go with me?”

Although he and Chang Zhan are now wealthy, they still want to go to Li Qingzhi’s place to repay him.

They also plan to give all their money to Li Qingzhi.

They are truly grateful to Li Qingzhi.

If it weren’t for Li Qingzhi, Chang Zhan would undoubtedly die for impulsively attempting to assassinate County Magistrate Yan!

Moreover… if Li Qingzhi hadn’t reminded King Jin’s Magistrate Zhang, hadn’t told King Jin’s Magistrate Zhang about the quarry, he would have lost his life too.

If that happened… they would have lost their lives, so where would the money come from?

Another point is… they want revenge.

In the eyes of many people, their revenge has already been avenged, after all, the Lou family and County Magistrate Yan have already been punished.

But why were the Lou family and County Magistrate Yan so arrogant? It’s all because of the King of Jin!

The King of Jin is very powerful, but they still want to try and see if they can get revenge.

Chang Duan thinks that Li Qingzhi should also have such thoughts.

How clever and powerful Li Qingzhi is! He couldn’t possibly just let go because the quarry is gone.

Those laborers all spoke up: “Brother Chang, wherever you go, we’ll follow you.”

“Alright, after things here are settled, we’ll go to Chongcheng County,” Chang Duan said.

He actually thought about following Magistrate Zhang.

Magistrate Zhang has also been very gracious to them, no less than Li Qingzhi.

So initially, he wanted Chang Zhan to follow Li Qingzhi, marry and have children in Chongcheng County, while he followed Magistrate Zhang.

Even if Magistrate Zhang might lose his life, he could accompany Magistrate Zhang in death.

But Magistrate Zhang refused… after considering it, he decided to go to Chongcheng County with Chang Zhan and find a way to help Magistrate Zhang get revenge in the future.

The two brothers talked to the laborers for a while, then continued watching the interrogation.

It’s good that these villains are dead!

It’s just Magistrate Zhang…

The military officer thought Magistrate Zhang dared to be so bold and reckless because he had a secret decree from the Emperor, but Chang Zhan knew very well that Magistrate Zhang didn’t have a secret decree at all.

This old man blocked his future and life, standing up for them and seeking justice.

“Big brother, we must seek revenge in the future,” Chang Zhan said, having spent some time with Magistrate Zhang, he had a good impression of him.

“Definitely,” Chang Duan said firmly.