Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 73 Chopping Off Your Hands!

Four men stood before Zhou Sheng, who immediately clasped their hands in a fist salute and reported: "We have fulfilled our mission. After nightfall, we opened both the Juanshui and Lianshui sluice gates and held out until the floodwaters reached Luokou Town before withdrawing. When we left, the floodwaters had already inundated the villages on both sides of Luokou, and at least 500 acres of rice paddies were submerged!"

Zhou Sheng asked, "Has anyone spotted you?"

"Rest assured, sir, no one has seen us!"

All four of them patted their chests and gave their assurances. Then they went on to talk about the details of opening the gate.

Zhou Sheng felt his blood boil; with such a flood, nothing, good or bad, would be swept away!

He could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Go down and receive the reward."

After sending the man away, he returned to the hall.

Guo Yi had just returned when Zhou Sheng greeted him with a beaming smile: "I have prepared a little midnight snack for you to enjoy, sir."

……

The four men received their reward money, left the Zhou residence, turned a corner, and headed towards their lodgings.

The servants of the Zhou family all lived in the alley at the back, and apart from them, no one else usually passed by.

Normally, after receiving a reward, one would definitely find a place to have a few drinks, but after rolling around in the mud tonight, who would have the mind to do that?
The group was chatting and laughing as they walked when one of them tripped and fell. He cursed and swore, and before he could regain his balance, the second person fell down too!
The remaining two involuntarily stopped in their tracks, but the instant they stopped, a rope fell down and bound them tightly with a whoosh!

Before the people lying on the ground could even cry out, two people landed in front of them like phantoms and tied them up as well.

Then, four hands acted simultaneously, each holding a piece of rag, instantly silencing their shouts that were on the tip of their tongues!
This series of changes may seem slow to describe, but they happen quickly. In the blink of an eye, the four people were like fish on a chopping board, and were quickly moved away from the alley!

People were frequently seen entering and exiting the alley, yet no one noticed that someone had vanished without a trace!

Shen Qingzhou arrived at the bridge archway not far from the government office, just as Tang Yu and the others had finished tying up the person.

No one walks in the dawn after the rainstorm, especially as the river water from Shawan gradually arrives, and no one passes by the dark waterside.

The guards ripped the rags out of the men's mouths, and they started shouting at the top of their lungs, but what good did it do?

The rushing river had completely drowned out their voices!

Shen Qingzhou and his guards watched them shout for a long time without saying a word until the other party stopped on their own. Tang Yu then stepped on one of the men's backs without saying a word and said, "Tell us the whole story of how Zhou Sheng ordered you to go to Luokou to release the flood last night!"

How could a few people be so honest?

Even when they are being trampled on and screaming, they still deny it outright.

Tang Yu then pulled out a stack of papers and a box of ink pads from his pocket, grabbed their fingers and pressed them onto the papers.

The entire sequence of movements was incredibly smooth, leaving the people on the ground dumbfounded! Having served the officials in the yamen for so many years, when had they ever seen anything like this?
"Are you trying to frame us?!"

"Whether it's a frame-up or not, we'll find out when we go to the yamen (government office), won't we?"

The guards had no time to waste on them.

They grabbed two of them and left.

The remaining two trembled involuntarily when they saw Shen Qingzhou wearing a mask in front of them.

Shen Qingzhou asked, "Who is Zhou Sheng's most trusted person?"

The two men lay on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. The guard severed the tendons in one of their hands, and the man rolled on the ground, his screams deafening.

Shen Qingzhou then looked at the other person: "You speak."

"Hero, spare my life! Hero, spare my life!"

The man was terrified and, with a throbbing in his throat, prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed.

"I'll count to three." Shen Qingzhou looked at the sky, which was gradually turning to morning light. "You're unlucky. It's almost dawn, and to avoid being seen, I definitely won't give you much time."

"one."

He spoke slowly, but because of the slowness, it sounded particularly heavy.

The kneeling man was sweating profusely and stammered, "Our, our master trusts the steward the most, Steward Zhou! Steward Zhou is his distant cousin!"

Where is he now?

"Yes, he should be in the manor! The Imperial Envoy is in the manor tonight; he is at your service at any time!"

"Go and catch him. If you can't catch him within fifteen minutes, cut off one of his hands."

The man screamed again: "I heard that the Imperial Envoy's visit was ill-intentioned, so Steward Zhou must be in the Master's study right now! The study is in the west courtyard, the one with the pomegranate tree! If you climb over the west wall, you'll definitely catch him!"

Shen Qingzhou gave a look, and two guards went off.

As the thin rays of dawn enveloped the earth, the layers of courtyards of the Zhou family mansion came into full view.

The courtyard with pomegranate trees under the west wall was easy to find. One of the two guards kept watch while the other went inside to search for the person. They were quite lucky. Just as they crept behind the pillar, one of them said, "Don't worry, steward," and then the two of them came out.

It was easy to tell who was the steward and who was the servant. The guard attacked from behind, knocking down the servant with one palm and grabbing the steward by the neck with the other. With a few leaps, he flipped over the wall!
Beneath the bridge arch, Shen Qingzhou's sword had already twirled countless times in the morning light, while the two on the ground had long since died and come back to life several times over.

Upon seeing Butler Zhou being pushed over by the guards, the two men who had been lying down instantly straightened up: "I didn't lie! See, I didn't lie!..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Qingzhou's sword was already pointed at Steward Zhou's neck: "I heard that your family has eight members, and you had three daughters before you finally had a son."

"If any of the questions I ask you next are untrue, I'll chop up your son and make dumplings for you to eat!"

The captured steward, still in shock, heard such terrifying words and nearly fainted when he opened his eyes!
……

Lu Jia and Liu Xiyu also had to go to the dock to gather the severely damaged merchants, so their pace was naturally a few steps slower than Shen Qingzhou and the others.

The process of gathering the merchants was not as smooth as expected. Some people were afraid of dealing with the government and were unwilling to make a big fuss, while others did not believe that two women could lead them to get justice.

After much effort, a group of people were finally gathered. They had received help from Liu Xiyu in the past, and although they were skeptical, they accompanied them with the intention of showing their support.

It was much easier to gather the common people; the neighbors of the Xie family on Xichun Street alone were enough. So, everyone rode together in several donkey carts, which were packed full, and headed towards Tanzhou Prefecture.

Lu Jia wasn't really sure what the outcome of this trip would be, because even if she knew Zhou Sheng was behind it, it would be almost impossible to get him to confess.

When ordinary citizens sue government officials, each person first has to endure a few blows as a form of warning, and even if they survive, they have no evidence.

Shen Qingzhou said she would provide them with witnesses.

Lu Jia believes there will be witnesses.

But even with witnesses, would a dignified fifth-rank official so obediently admit defeat to them?
(End of this chapter)