Chapter 125:  “Records of Injustice” 2/2

The county yamen was packed with people, and Li Qingzhi and Zhu Qian couldn’t squeeze to the front… Zhu Qian was worrying, but Li Qingzhi found a soldier maintaining order: “Soldier, I am the tutor of Gou County Magistrate in Chongcheng County. I have a matter to discuss with Magistrate Zhang.”

The soldier glanced at Li Qingzhi and said, “I’ll go ask Magistrate Zhang.”

After inquiring with Magistrate Zhang, he took Li Qingzhi to the county yamen and said, “Magistrate Zhang won’t be available until noon. You can wait here.”

“Alright,” Li Qingzhi agreed with a smile.

On the other hand, Zhu Qian was dumbfounded.

Li Qingzhi fabricated a lie to see Magistrate Zhang but left him behind…

Actually, he could have gone with Li Qingzhi, but Li Qingzhi asked him to gather information outside… Well, he would just go and gather some information.

Now, he actually didn’t dare to meet Magistrate Zhang, the executioner.

Li Qingzhi and Zhu Qian were both very busy, and so was Jin Xiaoye in Chongcheng County.

Mainly because… for some reason, rumors from Miaoqian Village had spread to the county town, so neighbors came to her, wanting to share in Li Qingzhi’s talent.

Jin Xiaoye: “…”

Jin Xiaoye was quite helpless and could only take out some drafts Li Qingzhi had written before and let the neighbors touch them.

She even had to ask the female workers to boil water to entertain these neighbors.

“Where did you all hear this news from?” Jin Xiaoye asked curiously.

An auntie next door spoke up directly, “It was your father-in-law who said it!”

Jin Xiaoye: “…So it was Li Laogen! He must have been bragging at the teahouse!”

Jin Xiaoye was speechless, and then Sister Wang arrived with her daughter.

Usually, Sister Wang would have arrived by this time, but today her daughter needed to dress up to meet Xu Qifei, so they arrived a bit later.

When they arrived, Mrs. Xu had already brought Xu Qifei over.

Xu Qifei knew about the matter of getting to know each other, and he was excited when he came.

But when they arrived at Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Workshop and learned that the girl hadn’t come yet and saw Jin Xiaoye take out many articles written by Li Qingzhi, he went to read the articles.

Once he started reading, Xu Qifei became fascinated.

Li Qingzhi had a unique way of writing, and Xu Qifei wanted to learn from him.

The articles weren’t given much importance; after they were written, they were just set aside, so if Xu Qifei wanted to copy them, he could!

Li Qingzhi definitely didn’t mind.

“Thank you, Shopkeeper Jin,” Xu Qifei happily bowed, not bothering to look around, and went back to reading the articles.

Sister Wang and her daughter: “…”

But Mrs. Xu couldn’t bear to see this, so she stepped forward, grabbed a piece of flesh on Xu Qifei’s arm under the cover of her sleeve, and twisted it.

“Mother?” Xu Qifei looked at his mother in confusion, then realized something was off with her expression.

He immediately understood what was going on, looked to the side, and saw Sister Wang and the pretty girl standing beside her.

Sister Wang’s daughter had a slightly round face like her mother’s, and a chubby nose, which was a favored appearance among the elders and looked very friendly.

When Xu Qifei looked over, she smiled at him.

Xu Qifei’s face immediately turned red.

Sister Wang’s daughter wasn’t a great beauty, but she was young and had dressed up nicely, wearing bright clothes, which made her quite likable.

Seeing Xu Qifei’s expression, Sister Wang breathed a sigh of relief and discreetly pushed her daughter forward.

Sister Wang’s daughter used to be quiet, but after interacting with more people over the past half year, she had become quite eloquent, just like her mother. She stepped forward and started chatting with Xu Qifei.

Xu Qifei, a young man with knowledge, was someone she really liked!

Xu Qifei had been studying diligently since he was young, often coming home late after studying. There were no girls in the school, and the girls around his age at home had to call him uncle…

This was the first time he had chatted with a girl, and he didn’t know what to say.

But he tried very hard to speak… Seeing the situation between the two, they were basically already a couple.

The atmosphere in Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Workshop had changed.

Meanwhile, the county government in Linhu County was quiet, very, very quiet.

There were no attendants here, so there was no one to serve Li Qingzhi tea.

Li Qingzhi didn’t mind; he took out his writing materials from his book box, poured some overnight tea from a teapot, ground some ink, and continued writing.

He had decided to finish this book as soon as possible.

When Magistrate Zhang heard that the tutor of County Magistrate Gou had come, he decided to meet him.

He knew so much about Linhu County because of County Magistrate Gou; County Magistrate Gou had provided him with so much information.

Since County Magistrate Gou had done so much, he couldn’t possibly keep it a secret from his entourage. The tutor of County Magistrate Gou most likely knew what County Magistrate Gou had done. He might be able to learn more from this tutor.

But his trial was only halfway through, so he couldn’t suddenly stop and take the tutor to the county government.

By the time the trial was over, it was already noon. Magistrate Zhang returned to the county government, intending to have some water and food before continuing with the trial.

Magistrate Zhang had seen the tutor of County Magistrate Gou before, but when he entered the county government, he didn’t see the tutor; instead, he saw Li Qingzhi writing quickly.

Magistrate Zhang was stunned.

Li Qingzhi heard the commotion and looked towards Magistrate Zhang.

Magistrate Zhang entered alone.

This matter had become quite serious, and he didn’t want to involve County Magistrate Gou, so he wasn’t planning to let anyone overhear his conversation with County Magistrate Gou’s tutor.

“Magistrate Zhang,” Li Qingzhi called out, his gaze falling on Magistrate Zhang’s chapped lips.

Aside from his chapped lips, Magistrate Zhang’s complexion wasn’t good either; he looked very tired.

But he hadn’t rested; he had been busy with the trial all along.

Li Qingzhi stood up and bowed to Magistrate Zhang. “Your Excellency’s kindness is something I will never forget.”

“What?” Magistrate Zhang was puzzled.

Li Qingzhi continued, “Your Excellency, the letters related to Linhu County were all written by me.”

Li Qingzhi hadn’t let Chang Zhan tell Magistrate Zhang about this before because he didn’t trust Magistrate Zhang at the time.

He knew Magistrate Zhang was a good official, but a good official might not necessarily want to offend the King of Jin.

But now… Magistrate Zhang had done so much, he couldn’t possibly keep it from him.

“Those letters were written by you?” Magistrate Zhang was shocked.

“Yes, by me. Your Excellency, previously I said I was so emaciated because of a serious illness, but that’s not true. Six years ago, I was abducted in Chongcheng County and sold to a quarry…” Li Qingzhi briefly recounted his experience.

The more Magistrate Zhang listened, the angrier he became. “Those damned bastards almost killed a talent from heaven!”

Magistrate Zhang had witnessed Li Qingzhi’s talent with his own eyes and had also heard about it.

Li Qingzhi had an unlimited future ahead of him.

But such a person had almost perished in the quarry!

As Li Qingzhi listened to Magistrate Zhang’s words, his mood became even more complicated.

He had hidden it from Magistrate Zhang, but Magistrate Zhang didn’t hold any resentment.

“For you to know about the quarry incident firsthand, what about the others? How did you know about them?” Magistrate Zhang asked.

Li Qingzhi replied, “I privately interrogated some of the prisoners interrogated by Magistrate Gou.”

Magistrate Zhang: “…” He had thought County Magistrate Gou was a smart man who acted foolishly, but it turned out not to be the case!

But Li Qingzhi in front of him was indeed extraordinary.

This person had escaped from the quarry, studied with his failing body, somehow got to know County Magistrate Gou, and even delivered letters to him…

Everything in Linhu County was driven by him!

However… Li Qingzhi could have stayed behind the scenes all along, so why suddenly confess to him?

He would most likely face a grim fate next, with Li Qingzhi coming to him at this time to tell him these things wouldn’t benefit him at all.

On the other hand… If Li Qingzhi could pass the imperial examinations cleanly, his future would be much smoother.

Magistrate Zhang was puzzled and decided to ask directly.

Li Qingzhi said, “Your Excellency, you’ve avenged me. How could I continue to deceive you?”

Hearing this, Magistrate Zhang’s favor towards Li Qingzhi deepened.

Someone who repaid kindness with gratitude couldn’t be too bad.

Someone who, after escaping from death’s door, was still wholeheartedly thinking about rescuing those still suffering wouldn’t be bad either.

Magistrate Zhang said, “I’ll have someone bring some food over; let’s eat and talk some more.”

“Yes, Your Excellency,” Li Qingzhi also wanted to chat with Magistrate Zhang.

Magistrate Zhang went outside to have someone bring food, then asked Li Qingzhi, “What were you writing just now?”

“I was writing a book,” Li Qingzhi replied.

“What book?” Magistrate Zhang frowned. If Li Qingzhi wrote about what he had done in Linhu County and spread it… the King of Jin would definitely not spare Li Qingzhi!

“I’m writing a book called ‘The Record of Redress of Injustice,'” Li Qingzhi said.

Magistrate Zhang went to where Li Qingzhi was writing and flipped through the manuscripts Li Qingzhi had already written.

After reading it, Magistrate Zhang was greatly shaken.

In the past few days, he has learned about countless tragedies. At first, he felt deeply pained, but later on, he became numb, just mechanically conducting interrogations.

But now, after reading the story written by Li Qingzhi… his eyes welled up with tears, almost about to fall.

In the beginning of the book, Li Qingzhi wrote that it was based on accounts from the common people that he recorded. It was indeed written in the vernacular of the common people, more colloquial than the stories he had written before, and even occasionally included some terms unique to the Jiangnan region.

However, even with such a narrative style, the story struck directly at the heart, causing immense pain to those who read it.