Chapter 109: Chang Zhan 2/2

“If it weren’t for him standing with County Magistrate Guo, I wouldn’t have thought he was a county magistrate.”

“Our Lord Guo wears much richer clothes than him!”

Chang Zhan snorted coldly.

The Luo family had ruled Linhu County with an iron fist. If County Magistrate Yan were really a good official, how could he have done nothing?

It was just that there were a lot of people here today, and he wasn’t sure if he could get anything done…

But if he missed today, he might not get another chance.

When those Luo family members in Linhu County went out, they were always surrounded by people. He couldn’t get close to them, and now that he had gone to Linhu County, he might be caught as soon as he showed up…

When his mother and sister-in-law got into trouble, he took Cui Cui out to play, which saved him from disaster…

As Chang Zhan waited for an opportunity in the crowd, Jin Moli, who had set up a stall at the pier, also looked at County Magistrate Yan from afar and asked Jin Liushu, “Brother, is that County Magistrate Yan?”

Jin Liushu replied, “Yes, that’s County Magistrate Yan.”

Jin Liushu had many friends and was very well-informed. He had known about County Magistrate Yan’s visit to Chongcheng County for a long time and had told Jin Moli.

After learning about this, Jin Moli had been wanting to meet County Magistrate Yan.

Mainly because… In her previous life, County Magistrate Yan had been a magistrate.

They said Magistrate Yan was an honest official, and they heard that he later went to the capital to become a high-ranking official.

Such a person, she felt lucky to meet him even once.

As Jin Moli watched County Magistrate Yan from afar, she felt that County Magistrate Yan was indeed different from County Magistrate Guo.

Feeling a bit excited at seeing County Magistrate Yan, Jin Moli stepped out of the crowd.

Li Qingzhi had been observing his surroundings all along, and as soon as Chang Zhan appeared, he noticed.

Upon seeing him… Li Qingzhi’s heart skipped a beat.

The person in front of him looked very much like a thinner version of Chang Zhan!

Besides that… Jin Xiaoye had described the attire of Chang Chan’s niece’s uncle to him yesterday, and this person’s clothing matched Jin Xiaoye’s description exactly!

Chang Zhan had mentioned his family to the original owner, and indeed, he had a younger brother and a young daughter. Everything connected in Li Qingzhi’s mind in an instant, and he realized why this youth had entrusted his niece to them.

This person definitely intended to do something foolish.

And indeed, it was foolish. With so many people here, County Magistrate Guo had even brought several bailiffs to maintain order. Even if Chang Zhan tried something, he might not be able to harm County Magistrate Yan, but he would undoubtedly seal his own fate.

Seeing Chang Zhan reaching for his waist, Li Qingzhi immediately spoke up: “You brat, you toss your niece to me and then just leave her here? Aren’t you afraid your brother will beat you to death?”

Chang Zhan suddenly emerged from the crowd. In fact, County Magistrate Yan and the others had already seen him, and some bailiffs even wanted to question him—ordinary people wouldn’t dare to approach, only watching from afar.

But now, as Li Qingzhi spoke, everyone withdrew their gazes from Chang Zhan.

With a trembling hand, Chang Zhan didn’t manage to draw the dagger hidden at his waist, only staring at Li Qingzhi in shock.

Chang Zhan didn’t recognize Li Qingzhi.

Last night, he followed Jin Xiaoye and Li Qingzhi and saw them taking his niece to the clinic and then carrying her back home. He was very grateful to these two and knew that he had indeed found a good family for his niece, so he had completely let go of his worries.

But because it was dark and he didn’t dare to approach, he hadn’t even seen Li Qingzhi’s face clearly.

So who was this person? And why did he say that to him?

Chang Zhan guessed that the person in front of him might be the husband of that shopkeeper Jin, but he hadn’t seen this person before, so how did he recognize him?

However, now that he had been recognized, he didn’t dare to act.

It didn’t matter if he died himself, but he couldn’t involve his niece—if he assassinated an official of the court, his niece would definitely be implicated as well.

But why did this person mention his brother?

His brother had died a long time ago, and not long after being arrested and thrown into prison, they hadn’t even seen a corpse…

At this moment, Li Qingzhi had already come to Chang Zhan’s side, looking like they were familiar with each other. “What happened to you? Let me take you home to clean up.”

Li Qingzhi had noticed earlier that County Magistrate Yan and his attendant clearly didn’t recognize Chang Zhan; otherwise, they would have reacted.

It was only after confirming this that he pretended to be acquainted with Chang Zhan.

If County Magistrate Yan did recognize Chang Zhan, he would have to find another way to protect him, such as by bringing the matter to Magistrate Zhang.

County Magistrate Yan and his attendant indeed didn’t recognize Chang Zhan. By the time County Magistrate Yan took office in Chongcheng County, the Chang family had already met with misfortune.

The one who went to complain to County Magistrate Yan later was Chang Zhan’s sister-in-law, and Chang Zhan himself had never shown up in front of County Magistrate Yan.

Chang Zhan remained silent as Li Qingzhi looked to County Magistrate Guo. “Sir, I encountered a runaway child from home, so I’ll take him away first.”

County Magistrate Guo chuckled, “Go ahead.”

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi pulled Chang Zhan and left.

Chang Zhan dared not resist and followed Li Qingzhi forward, but as soon as they reached a secluded spot, he immediately attempted to struggle: “Let go of me!”

“Chang Zhan, are you the one taking care of Chang End’s daughter?” Li Qingzhi released him and asked, looking at Chang Zhan.

Chang Zhan’s expression turned pale. “Who are you?”

Li Qingzhi said, “Magistrate Zhang already knows about what happened in Linhu County and has arranged for County Magistrate Guo to investigate…”

Li Qingzhi stopped there, letting Chang Zhan fill in the blanks himself.

Chang Zhan indeed filled in the gaps, thinking that Li Qingzhi learned about their family’s situation because he went to investigate the case in Linhu County.

So Magistrate Zhang already knew about what happened in Linhu County?

And was County Magistrate Guo really a good official who went to investigate the case in Linhu County?

At this point, Li Qingzhi continued, “My wife runs the Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Shop. Yesterday, when I returned from Linhu County, I found your niece right outside our door…”

Chang Zhan blushed, “I didn’t mean to…”

“You come with me now. Cui Cui has been crying the whole time,” Li Qingzhi said.

Chang Zhan had wanted to die together with County Magistrate Guo before, but after learning that Magistrate Zhang had started investigating Linhu County, he immediately changed his mind.

He still had to seek justice for his family!

But Chang Zhan was also curious: “How did you recognize me?”

Li Qingzhi said, “I’ve seen Chang Duan, and you look a lot like him.”

Chang Zhan couldn’t believe it. “I look like my brother.” His brother had always been chubby since childhood, resembling their father, while Chang Zhan took after their mother.

But Li Qingzhi had indeed seen his brother… Chang Zhan immediately felt a sense of familiarity. “Are you a friend of my brother?”

Li Qingzhi said, “I guess you could say I’m a friend of your brother’s… Your brother looks a lot like you after losing weight.”

“My brother has never lost weight before?” Chang Zhan asked.

Li Qingzhi said, “After being sent to mine Lihu Lake, he lost weight.”

Chang Zhan’s face changed drastically, wanting to ask more questions, but at that moment, someone walked past them… He could only keep his mouth shut.

They had entered a narrow alley, with many people coming and going. It wasn’t until Chang Zhan followed Li Qingzhi to the Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Shop that he had a chance to raise his doubts.

But he had some speculations in his mind.

After his brother died, they had never seen his body… Chang Zhan had always thought it was because his brother had died a horrible death and his body had been disposed of by those people.

But it turned out… His brother hadn’t died in prison at all, but had been sent to mine Lihu Lake.

Chang Zhan, who had grown up in Linhu County, knew about Lihu Lake. Some poor people in Linhu County would go there to mine stones for a living, but they often couldn’t bear it for long.

When Li Qingzhi brought Chang Zhan back to the Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Shop, the female workers were having their meal.

Li Damao and Li Ermao had already returned from school. Jin Xiaoye saw that they liked to feed Cui Cui, so she let them feed Cui Cui medicine.

At this moment, in the courtyard behind the embroidery workshop, Jin Mao’er had already finished drinking his medicine and then looked reverently as Cui Cui drank her medicine sip by sip.

Li Damao and Li Ermao fed Cui Cui medicine with a spoon, which to Jin Mao’er seemed like torture!

Medicine was so hard to drink! It should be gulped down in one go.

Cui Cui was really tough, not resisting being fed medicine like this.

Cui Cui was actually uncomfortable, only able to drink while comforting herself. “Cui Cui is good; wait for Uncle; Cui Cui is good…”

Li Damao and Li Ermao didn’t know that Cui Cui had to be coaxed to drink the medicine, and at this moment, they also admired Cui Cui a lot. Li Damao even said, “Sister, you are just like my dad!”

“Is my sister born by dad?” Li Ermao also asked. This kind of medicine was only loved by their dad.

Just then, Li Qingzhi and Chang Zhan came in.