spoiled brat

Chapter 17. Eliminating Evil (Part 17)

With a knife to his neck, Zhao Si was both furious and terrified. He roared, "You dare! I'm the magistrate's man. Try touching me!"

Huang Qian sneered, drew the dagger from his waist, and slashed with it.

In the blink of an eye, before outsiders could even see what he was doing, a piece of meat had already fallen to the ground with a thud.

Zhao Si did not feel any pain at first, but when he looked closely and realized that the lump of flesh was his own ear, he suddenly howled in agony.

He was in so much pain that he wanted to cover his ears, but his hands were tied behind his back and he couldn't struggle, so he could only writhe on the ground like a worm that had been cut in half.

Huang Qian pressed his foot firmly down on the man's head and ordered his men, "Chop off this bastard's hands and feet first!"

He was the only son of County Commandant Huang, and logically these soldiers should have listened to him. However, they not only hesitated but also whispered their advice:
"Young master, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain to Lord Xie later..."

Seeing that they were afraid of getting into trouble and dared not take responsibility, Huang Qian stabbed Zhao Si in the leg with a dagger. The stab was so deep that it was almost embedded in the bone and could not be pulled out.

Zhao Si howled incessantly, crying out for help like a mad dog: "Murder! Young Master Huang is killing someone in the street!"

Everyone around looked terrified, but no one dared to come forward to help.

Huang Qian drew the knife from the guard beside him, making a move to kill Zhao Si, this beast in human form.

But a cold, withered hand restrained him. He looked up in shock and met Xie Shu's tearful eyes.

Ten years have passed, and his face is weathered and worn.

He, pampered and privileged, remained as dashing as a young man. She, however, had been ruined, her hair now streaked with gray, and she withered like a fifty-year-old woman.

Upon seeing her, Huang Qian's eyes welled up with tears. The person from his dreams had appeared before him, and looked like this. He couldn't help but hate her, couldn't tolerate it, and gritted his teeth, saying:
Why are you stopping me?!

Xie Shu shook her head with tears streaming down her face. She dared not speak, afraid that Huang Qian would see her empty mouth.

Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor; her enemy is not here.

"It wasn't me who ruined her, it was this bitch!" Zhao Si roared at A Zhuo from the ground. "She's an ungrateful wretch who deliberately drugged the tea, making me defile her young lady!"

Huang Qian pointed the tip of his knife at A Zhuo, his eyes bloodshot with rage, and asked, "Is that right?"

"I've been waiting for this day to die in front of you."

Azhuo did not argue, but knelt down and bowed to Xie Shu.
“Miss, I know you despise me and would never want to meet me again in the next life… But I still foolishly hope that I will be blessed in the next life and be a pine tree in front of your door and a wild sparrow under your eaves, and that a word of pity from you would be enough.”

She closed her eyes, calmly awaiting her execution, a pool of tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, wanting to fall but unable to find a reason to.

At the critical moment, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the crowd: "Lord Xie has arrived!"

The onlookers immediately dispersed, kicking up a cloud of dirty dust.

As the dust settled, a sedan chair with a blue roof was lowered from the shoulders of four bailiffs. The curtain was lifted, and a ruddy-faced, upright official stepped out of the sedan chair, his shrewd eyes quickly sweeping over everyone present.

Huang Qian reluctantly cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Uncle."

The two families were originally planning to arrange a marriage, but the deal fell through, and their relationship cooled to a freezing point, with little contact between them for ten years.

Right now, Magistrate Xie put on a kind smile like an elder: "Brother Qian, is it necessary for you to bring troops to put out the fire?" Everyone could see that Huang Qian's knife was still stained with blood, and Zhao Si's ear was on the ground, but Magistrate Xie ignored it and gently forced Huang Qian to give up.

Huang Qian, too lazy to waste time with empty formalities and pleasantries, led Xie Shu by the hand and walked up to him, coldly saying:
"Uncle Xie, look who she is."

Xie Shu lived in a shack for many years and her body reeked of a foul stench.

Magistrate Xie slowly covered his nose with his sleeve and smiled calmly: "Where did this beggar come from?"

"She is Xie Shu!" Huang Qian said through gritted teeth, "She is my betrothed wife and your eldest daughter!"

Lord Xie maintained his smile and replied without flinching:

“Brother Qian, you’re probably overthinking and have mistaken me for someone else… I only have one daughter, who hanged herself ten years ago because she was unfaithful and disgraced the family.”

Xie Shu raised her head in a daze, the hatred in her eyes freezing instantly like frost. No one knew where she got the strength, but she suddenly pounced on Magistrate Xie like a cornered beast with nowhere to run.

Unfortunately, her withered body bore too much hatred and could not bear any more power.

She tugged at Magistrate Xie a few times before being pulled away and thrown to the ground by a nearby clerk.

Magistrate Xie rubbed his neck, which had been choked red, and the kind smile that usually graced his face turned sinister: "You beggar, how dare you plot against an important official!" He then turned his head and ordered: "Throw her into prison and execute her on a chosen day!"

Several bailiffs responded with "Yes," and made a move to tie Xie Shu up with ropes.

Huang Qian stood in front of her, drawing his sword: "I'd like to see who's blind enough to touch her! Anyone who dares to come forward dies!"

Magistrate Xie sneered, "Young Master Huang injured someone in the street, showing no respect for the law. Arrest him as well!"

A commotion arose outside the crowd, and dozens of dense footsteps grew closer and closer. The crowd looked toward the end of the street and saw that the approaching people were men, women, old and young.

Zhao Zhao and A Ming held up a wide white cloth with large, blood-red characters written on it: "We beg the upright and just official to make a decision!"

Upon seeing Magistrate Xie, the two men knelt down and cried out, "Your Honor, please do justice for us!"

Magistrate Xie shed his previous ruthlessness and put on a benevolent smile, befitting a compassionate official.
"Get up and we'll talk, get up and we'll talk... What grievances do you have?"

It wasn't that he was particularly concerned about the people's plight, but rather that the servants of wealthy families in the south of the city had all gathered there because of the fire-fighting efforts.

If he behaves inappropriately and damages his official prestige, gossip about him will spread through the streets tomorrow.

Zhao Zhao timidly raised her head, her delicate, childlike face streaked with feigned pitiful tears. She pointed to a group of prostitutes behind her:
"Your Excellency, the ladies in our building have been swindled out of a total of a thousand taels of silver."

Before Magistrate Xie could even ask a question, A-Ming led the castrated men behind him to kneel down, their heads banging loudly against each other.
"Your Honor, we are all sanitation workers from outside the city. The local bully has been extorting us for years, forcing us to borrow money from him at exorbitant interest rates. Many of us have been driven to ruin and death by him!"

Magistrate Xie's expression changed several times. He stroked his beard and forced himself to remain calm, saying, "...Such a thing has happened...Who could have done this?"

"it's him."

Zhao Zhao and A Ming pointed at Zhao Si, who was tied up to the side, and said, word by word:

"He's using your name, sir, to bully men and women and amass a fortune!"

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