Chapter 49: First Meeting with Zhou Zheng

At this moment, Sun Laizi also sensed something was off.

After all, he had been in the outside world for a long time, so he could immediately tell that there was dissatisfaction in Lu Chuan’s voice.

“Did Zhou Zheng provoke Master?”

Sun Laizi cautiously asked.

“Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t,”
Lu Chuan waved his hand, a little helpless. He had originally planned to go hunting in the mountains today, but now, it seemed they had to head to the county town first.

“Got it!”
Sun Laizi nodded quickly, refraining from asking further, simply following behind Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan didn’t carry the bodies with him.

He led Sun Laizi to the county office gates.

The county office was located at the heart of Hongtu County, a quaint building that seemed to have been there for quite some time.

“Master!”
“Shall we drum and appeal for justice?”
“Or should we find someone to deliver a message for us?”

Sun Laizi gulped nervously and asked.

Lu Chuan smiled faintly, “Of course, we drum and appeal for justice!”

“Are you kidding? We’re common folk, and we’ve been randomly attacked by mountain bandits! We pay taxes every year and have always paid our food tribute, not to mention all kinds of other taxes!”

After saying that,
Lu Chuan picked up the mallet for the justice drum.

A heavy beat of the drum quickly echoed out.

Soon after, a group of disinterested constables walked out from the office.

“What’s this? Can’t a person sleep in peace? It’s so early!”

The constable grumbled in annoyance, then spat on the ground, “This world’s gone crazy. Really, there’s no one left!”

As he spoke,
The constable raised his hand, standing indifferently.

“What’s this? I want to see your county magistrate!”
Lu Chuan squinted his eyes and said.

“Are you kidding? You just want to see the county magistrate?”

The constable sneered, “When you’re here, the rules are set by us!”

“For one tael of silver, we’ll deliver your petition to the county magistrate!”
“For ten taels, we’ll take you directly to meet him!”

Lu Chuan nodded slightly.

“Really, at the gate of the magistrate’s office, it’s always ‘no money, no entry’!”

Lu Chuan’s voice carried a hint of sarcasm.

Then he added, “Please inform the magistrate. Last night, five bandits from Heishui Mountain entered my house to kill and rob. I killed three of them, and two escaped!”

As he spoke,
Lu Chuan took out a small silver coin and handed it to the constable in front of him.

“What?”
The constable froze for a moment, sizing Lu Chuan up. “Are you serious?”

“Just you? You killed three bandits from Heishui Mountain?”

The constable’s gaze held some doubt, but seeing the silver, he reluctantly entered to inform the magistrate.

Lu Chuan shook his head helplessly.

The officialdom in Bingzhou was simply a mess.

The magistrate’s office, originally a place meant to serve the people, had now become like this!

Lu Chuan felt uncomfortable about it.

The people of Bingzhou were already suffering, yet they still had to find ways to pay their food tribute and various taxes. But the officials were like this… He wondered whether this was the case everywhere, or if it was just Bingzhou!

Lu Chuan felt the urge to change something.

However, he soon realized that as an individual in a particular era, the things he could accomplish were insignificant.

Moreover, the peaceful life he once had would be affected as well.

After a while, the constable walked out from inside.

He glanced at Lu Chuan and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Lu Chuan.”

Lu Chuan’s voice was soft.

“Go in, the county magistrate has summoned you.”

Lu Chuan nodded, leading Sun Laizi into the county office.

Inside, the decorations were quite striking, with a faint floral fragrance in the air.

It was in stark contrast to the coldness outside the office.

“Haha!”

“Indeed, heroes emerge from youth!”

A cheerful voice came from inside the office, and soon, Zhou Zheng walked out quickly. “I’ve heard of your name for a while, but I didn’t know you were so capable!”

“Oh?”

“Do you know me?”

Lu Chuan’s voice carried a hint of doubt, his eyes narrowing.

“Of course. You’ve actively worked to help Bingzhou, taking two officials’ relatives with you!”

“If everyone in Bingzhou were like you, this place would have been peaceful long ago!” Zhou Zheng said with a touch of helplessness, shaking his head. “It’s a pity that the common people are only concerned with small, immediate gains! No one is willing to share the burden of the soldiers in Bingzhou!”

“Haha!”

“Your Excellency is joking. I am just a commoner!”

Lu Chuan laughed and didn’t take Zhou Zheng’s words further.

Zhou Zheng nodded. “I heard that you had some unpleasantness with my nephew, Zhou Tong. The owner of Cui’s Grain Shop has already told me about it!”

“I was hoping that today, you two could sit down and have a good talk!”

“As the saying goes, enemies should be reconciled, not kept at odds.”

Zhou Zheng sighed, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Lu Chuan. “But unfortunately, my poor nephew was poisoned by a treacherous man a few days ago! He died in his bed!”

“Oh?”

Lu Chuan asked in surprise, “Zhou Tong is dead?”

“That’s really unfortunate!”

“I was planning to take revenge!”

Lu Chuan shrugged helplessly and then continued, “However, Your Excellency, the reason I’ve come here today is because my family was attacked by thieves.”

“I heard about it from the constables!”

Zhou Zheng looked at Lu Chuan but couldn’t find any useful clues on his face.

Lu Chuan had already hidden his emotions well!

“However, we’re in a difficult position here!”

As he spoke, Zhou Zheng shook his head helplessly. “After all, the bandits from Heishui Mountain are numerous and powerful! Our county office doesn’t have many men, and it’s impossible for us to personally eliminate them!”

“We’ve reported it many times, but each time it’s been left unresolved.”

“So, Little Brother Lu, I’m afraid we can’t be of help!”

Zhou Zheng said.

“The bandits—I’ve killed them! But it’s not right for me to bury their bodies!”

“I didn’t come here to ask for help, but to bring you some credit!”

“I’ll leave the bodies of these three to you!”

“If Your Excellency wants to say how they died, then you can say however you wish!”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zheng’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

Now, this conversation was becoming interesting.

But after a moment, Zhou Zheng shook his head helplessly. “Not good, not good!”