Chapter 137: Spreading Joy 4/4

Li Qingzhi had already taken a bath and had lit a lamp to tell stories to Li Damao, Li Ermao, Zhao Xiaodou, and Chang Cui. Chang Zhan, Jin Xiaoshu, and  Jin Xiaoye were also listening nearby, with only Li Laogen absent.

At this moment, Li Laogen was in his own room, howling miserably.

Apologies for the oversight. Here’s the corrected translation:

This lament, Li Qingzhi and the others all heard it, but no one sympathized with Li Laogen.

After all, Li Laogen brought this upon himself.

Li Laogen really liked the braised dishes from Juewei Zhai. When it first opened, he asked Li Qingzhi for braised dishes to eat.

Li Qingzhi agreed, preparing a quarter of a chicken and a quarter of a duck every day, along with some other odds and ends, to serve as snacks for him.

This was already quite a lot, but Li Laogen said he wanted to share with his friends, so he asked Li Qingzhi for a little more… Li Qingzhi doubled what he gave to him.

As a result… Li Laogen didn’t even share the braised dishes with his friends; he ate them all himself!

That year, Li Laogen ate a lot of meat. He didn’t get diarrhea from eating too many braised dishes.

But he only ate braised dishes for several days in a row. What went into his stomach besides meat were bean products like braised tofu… he got constipated and howled on the toilet.

Faced with this situation, Li Qingzhi was speechless. “If dad isn’t better tomorrow, I’ll go to the clinic to buy him some laxatives,” Jin Xiaoye said.

“Okay.” Li Qingzhi smiled helplessly and continued to tell stories to several children.

He was telling them history.

He had read many books before, including historical ones. Historical books themselves were boring, but when he explained them in plain and understandable language, they became interesting. Whether it was the children or Jin Xiaoye often listening, they all found it fascinating.

As he continued to speak, Li Laogen finally stopped yelling.

Li Qingzhi breathed a sigh of relief and told Zhao Xiaodou and Li Damao to go to bed.

As for Chang Cui, she was already asleep in Chang Zhan’s arms.

“You’ve been busy all day, go to sleep early,” Li Qingzhi said to Chang Zhan.

Chang Zhan nodded, but didn’t leave. Instead, he asked Li Qingzhi, “Mr. Li, in a few days when you go to the capital, can I go with you?”

Chang Zhan wanted to go see Magistrate Zhang.

Li Qingzhi said, “Sure, you can come with us. We’ll bring some braised dishes and give them to Magistrate Zhang when we get there.”

“Thank you, Mr. Li!” Chang Zhan was very happy.

“Why are you thanking me? I should thank you. Your braised meat recipe has earned me a lot of money,” Li Qingzhi said.

Chang Zhan and Chang Duan insisted on giving him the braised meat recipe… Juewei Zhai belonged to him, and in the future, most of the money earned by Juewei Zhai would be given to him.

Of course, Chang Zhan and Jin Xiaoshu would get their share, and the laborers would get their wages too.

Li Qingzhi had a bit too much on his plate at the moment, so he didn’t refuse the money, but he was very grateful to Chang Zhan.

Chang Zhan said, “Mr. Li, you saved me and Cui Cui. This recipe was originally meant for you.”

He had given the recipe to Jin Xiaoye along with Chang Cui a long time ago. In his view, the recipe was no longer his.

“I really lucked out, I got a huge advantage,” Li Qingzhi laughed.

Time passed quickly, and five days flew by in the blink of an eye.

The popularity of braised dishes in Chongcheng County had declined, although many people still bought them, most ordinary people wouldn’t buy them every day after tasting them.

Braised dishes were not cheap, and they didn’t have enough money to buy them every day.

On holidays or for special occasions, they might buy some.

At the same time, the workers at Juewei Zhai had already become proficient at their tasks.

Because Chang Zhan also wanted to go to the capital, Li Qingzhi asked Jin Xiaoye to take care of the shop for him. As for himself, he went to the capital with Chang Zhan, Jin Xiaoshu, and Fang Jinniang.

The Chang brothers brought back two larger boats from Linhu County than Jin Xiaoshu’s boat. This time, they were traveling on the bigger boats.

Rowing a big boat alone was a bit tiring, so Li Qingzhi helped Jin Xiaoshu row.

Rowing was quite easy for him to learn, and the problem of getting tired easily for a novice wasn’t an issue for him with his abilities.

They set off early in the morning and arrived in the capital at noon.

There were places to have people look after the boats in the capital, so they left the boat there and got off with their bags. After asking around, they finally found the courtyard where Fang Xiuniang lived.

Fang Jinniang knocked on the door with excitement, then they heard Fang Xiuniang’s voice, “Who is it?”

“It’s me!” Fang Jinniang said.

There was a moment of silence inside, and then someone opened the door.

Fang Jinniang looked excitedly at the person behind the door, then her expression froze.

Li Qingzhi was tall. Although he stood behind Fang Jinniang and Jin Xiaoshu, he could still see what was happening inside the door.

If he didn’t know the person in front of him was Fang Xiuniang, he wouldn’t dare to recognize her!

When they were in Chongcheng County, Fang Xiuniang always kept her head down, covering her face with her hair, but now… she had her hair tied up high, revealing her entire face!

But that wasn’t the shocking part. What was most shocking was the large burn scar on her right face!

This scar was too conspicuous. Compared to this scar, her shaved eyebrows and much darker face barely counted for anything!

In just one month, Fang Xiuniang had really changed drastically!

She, a great beauty, actually cruelly ruined her own face!

Li Qingzhi, besides being surprised, also felt a bit of admiration.

Fang Xiuniang was too ruthless to herself, but after she did this… she had no relationship with her mother anymore.

While Li Qingzhi and the others met Fang Xiuniang, on the other side, Magistrate Zhang was being stopped at the gate of the magistrate’s office by the commanding officer of the guards.

This commanding officer of the guards was broad-shouldered and burly, with a rugged face full of masculine vigor.

At this moment, this burly man had a mournful expression on his face. “Magistrate Zhang, they all say you deceived me before, that you never had any secret orders in your hands… is this true or false?”

Magistrate Zhang halted his steps.

The burly man continued, “Magistrate Zhang, I feel something’s not right about this situation! People from the capital have come to me several times, asking about the situation in Linhu County… if you really had secret orders, would they need to interrogate me like this?”

Magistrate Zhang still didn’t speak.

The tall man was on the verge of tears. “Magistrate Zhang, I specifically inquired, they said you falsely transmitted the imperial edict and are going to be beheaded…”

Magistrate Zhang said, “Regardless of the situation, as long as you tell the truth after the people from the capital arrive, you won’t have any problems.”

The commanding officer of the guards was deceived by him in the first place, leading him to Linhu County.

According to the laws of Daqi, this matter couldn’t be blamed on the commanding officer of the guards.

Not to mention, when he wrote the report to the emperor, he had already taken all the blame upon himself.

“Magistrate Zhang…” The expression of the commanding officer of the guards became even more bitter.

Just then, a voice sounded, “Mr. Chen, this is all something we all know in our hearts, why are you interrogating him like this?”

It was the deputy magistrate of Hexing Prefecture. He had never gotten along well with Magistrate Zhang, and now he had a bit of schadenfreude on his face. “Mr. Chen, if Magistrate Zhang really had secret orders, would people from the capital repeatedly come to investigate? When those people left, their faces didn’t look too good! And I have relatives who work as officials in the capital. They told me that the people in the capital are now saying that Magistrate Zhang killed the Lou family to settle a private vendetta, and that Magistrate Zhang falsely transmitted the imperial edict… It won’t be long before the people from the capital come to arrest Magistrate Zhang!”

The commanding officer of the guards was surnamed Chen. When he heard this, he immediately looked at Magistrate Zhang, hoping to get a denial from him.

If Magistrate Zhang really did falsely transmit the imperial edict… would he be implicated?

Magistrate Zhang remained silent.

The deputy magistrate looked smug. “Magistrate Zhang, your arbitrary killings are a bit too much! I have already truthfully reported the situation in Linhu County. Next, we’ll wait for the emperor’s judgment.”

He was a man of King Jin.

Magistrate Zhang had greatly offended King Jin this time. King Jin would definitely not let Magistrate Zhang live. And when Magistrate Zhang died…

The news of the incident in Linhu County was delivered to King Jin by him at top speed. King Jin would definitely remember him and probably recommend him, letting him become the magistrate of Hexing Prefecture!

That would be great!

It’s also quite coincidental that at this moment, several horses are galloping towards here.

The officials present here all have high ranks. Seeing the attire of the riders, they know that these are people from the capital.

Magistrate Zhang felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

The people coming to arrest him had arrived, and the matter would soon be resolved.

Magistrate Zhang had long been prepared to face death, so he wasn’t saddened at this moment. He smiled at the commanding officer of the guards and said, “Mr. Chen, my apologies for any past transgressions…”

“Magistrate Zhang! Congratulations!” Just then, the horses stopped in front of Magistrate Zhang, and one of them even looked at him with a beaming smile.

Magistrate Zhang was stunned — he was about to be arrested, so why were they congratulating him?

The person continued, “Magistrate Zhang, congratulations on your promotion to governor! I’ve come to bring you the good news in advance, and the imperial edict is behind…”

Magistrate Zhang looked bewildered, doubting if he had misheard.