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The old man was bruised all over, his breath weak, his body covered in dirt, evidently dragged here by Gu Feng.

Gu Feng bowed slightly and said, “On the day the magistrate entered the city, he had tea at this old man’s stall. To our surprise, this wretched man dared to steal the magistrate’s silver!” He took out a blood-stained half piece of silver ingot, weighing it in his hand. “Our brothers from the Qingxian Society had to beat him for a long time before he gave up the silver, recovering the magistrate’s loss.”

Lu Xuan looked at him without a word.

“This man is full of lies, claiming the silver ingot was given to him by you, the magistrate. Can you believe he said a high-ranking official like you would give silver to a lowly commoner? Isn’t it a ridiculous lie?” Gu Feng said with a sneer,

“I ask the magistrate to order this man to be punished according to the law.”

At that moment, many people had gathered outside the yamen, mostly local residents. Hearing the conversation between Gu Feng and Lu Xuan, they began whispering among themselves.

Lu Xuan sighed as he looked at the tea stall owner lying on the ground, weak and injured. “According to the Great Kang laws…” he began in a calm voice, “Cases involving people over sixty must be closed to the public… This case is not suitable for open trial.”

Upon hearing this, the yamen runners began to disperse the crowd and closed the yamen gates.

“Steward Gu,” Lu Xuan said after a moment of contemplation, “May I know which brothers helped recover my property?”

Gu Feng answered casually, “Of course, it was the brothers from the Gu, He, and Bo families.”

“But…” Lu Xuan frowned, “I clearly lost a whole ingot of silver… why is there only half left?”

Gu Feng was stunned. He looked at the silver ingot in his hand and then at Lu Xuan.

The magistrate continued leisurely, “Could it be… One of the Bo family’s brothers took my silver?”

Gu Feng’s expression froze, and then his body began to tremble slightly. As a steward of the Gu family and a person of some standing within the Qingxian Society, he now understood the magistrate’s implication.

“This… this…” Gu Feng began, but before he could explain, he heard the magistrate say, “If not the Bo family, could it be the He family?”

Gu Feng took a deep breath, “There might be… Someone unclean among our brothers.”

“I heard that Qingxian City produces a fine wine. I was thinking of taking a jar back for my mentor,” Lu Xuan mused, examining the official seal in his hand. “Maybe… Really someone unclean among the brothers.”

Gu Feng regained his composure, “Please allow me to return and ask our family head to order an investigation.”

“Granted,” Lu Xuan nodded. “Lu Ping, take this old man down for treatment first. As for Steward Gu… Li Ming, where are you?”

“Here,” Li Ming stepped forward.

“Entering the court without summons is punishable by thirty lashes according to Great Kang laws,” Lu Xuan said indifferently. “However, considering Steward Gu’s concern for me and the urgency of the matter… Let’s reduce it by ten lashes. ”

“What… what…” Gu Feng’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Lu Xuan didn’t look at him but casually tossed the token on the table, “Begin.”

Qingxian City, Gu Family Residence.

“Master, this is what happened,” Gu Feng said, lying on the bed, gasping for air.

Having received twenty lashes, his appearance was quite pitiful. The yamen runners, who were usually lax, had shown their enthusiasm when ordered by the magistrate for the first time, demonstrating the authority of the yamen.

Gu Feng’s buttocks and thighs were beaten to a pulp; he dared not sit or lie down comfortably and could only lie face down on the bed.

“Master, what does this magistrate Lu mean by this?!” Gu Feng was resentful.

“By beating me, isn’t he slapping your face?”

“Slap! ”

Gu Yang, infuriated by the comment, grabbed a feather duster nearby and smacked Gu Feng’s wound hard. “You know nothing!”

Gu Feng screamed in agony, tears streaming down his face.

Gu Yang humphed, threw the duster aside, and sat down at the table. He poured himself a cup of tea but couldn’t help smiling. “Well done, well done! If he hadn’t beaten you, I would have thought he had other intentions.”

“Ah?” Gu Feng was confused.

Gu Yang paced the room, “This new magistrate is temperamental; he’s negotiating with us. By allowing you into the court without permission, you blatantly disregarded him. His beating you was a response to me, warning me to control my people.”

“But he also said the Bo family owes him silver… Isn’t he trying to ally with us?” Gu Feng was bewildered. “Shouldn’t he be trying to win us over?”

“The one who haggles is the real buyer,” Gu Yang said confidently. “He’s bargaining with us. Giving you twenty lashes was his stance, but reducing ten was leaving me face.

“If I’m not mistaken, he will soon send someone to contact me.”

Saying this, Gu Yang laughed: “This magistrate is indeed from a major place. Even those previous greedy fools never dared to cross the three major families. I thought he was a simpleton, but his ambition is much larger than expected.” “So, master, what should we do?” Gu Feng asked.

“A collaboration opportunity that comes knocking? There’s no reason not to accept,” Gu Yang turned to the window. “The boy from the Bo family has grown up and become wild, starting to rebel against his uncle.”

He sighed, “Since that’s the case, let this uncle teach him a lesson one last time.”

Gu Feng listened, feeling a chill down his spine. Just then, a servant knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Gu Yang said.

“Master,” a servant entered, holding an invitation card: “This is from Lu Ping, the chief runner from the yamen.”

“Good, good, good,” Gu Yang’s face lit up with a smile. He opened the invitation, read the content, and nodded slightly: “Inform the kitchen to prepare a feast. Tonight, I will be hosting an important guest.”

“Yes,” the servant replied.

At Dusk.

“My lord, the carriage is ready,” Lu Ping whispered in a low voice.

“Let’s go,” Lu Xuan replied with an unperturbed demeanor.

As he watched the county magistrate before him, Lu Ping couldn’t help but feel a sense of doubt. Over the past days, he had closely observed all of Lu Xuan’s actions. Having served several magistrates before, Lu Ping was well aware of their typical intentions in Qingxian City. However, this current magistrate was different from his predecessors.

He was shrewd and capable, discerning right from wrong, and had done many practical things, standing on the side of the people. On his first day in office, he had refused the invitation from Qingxian Society. But now, after Gu Feng’s visit in the morning, he was actively going to visit the Gu family. It seemed like he had eventually bowed his head.

Lu Ping felt a bit disappointed, but soon after, he was engulfed by a deep sense of shame. He had been in the yamen for so many years and had also bowed to the tyranny of Qingxian Society, never daring to express his anger. Even the wealth extorted by previous magistrates had partly lined his own pockets. What right did he have to be dissatisfied with the county magistrate?

Lu Ping felt somewhat ashamed of himself.

But he also knew that his expectations stemmed from a genuine hope that a godlike judge would descend to Qingxian City, clean up those who preyed on the people.

Driving the carriage, his mind was filled with these thoughts. Soon, they arrived at the Gu residence.

Lu Xuan got out of the carriage with Cheng Lingzhu and turned to see Lu Ping, who seemed hesitant to speak and then quickly lowered his head.

Lu Xuan guessed what he was thinking and couldn’t help but smile. He tapped the carriage, and Lu Ping looked up.

“To achieve great things, one cannot always be confrontational, especially when their own strength is inferior,” Lu Xuan pointed to his head and said with a smile, “You need to use tactics and think more.”

Lu Ping was stunned.

Looking at Lu Xuan, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the eyes of this burly man..