The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 491 Token
The next morning.

Li Miao, Wu Mingxiao, and Zhao Ying, who was carrying a child, walked out of the gate of Fukang County, mounted the horses brought from the Huang residence, and set off.

Behind them were countless people, lined up along the city gate, watching the three figures from behind.

Some were arm in arm with their wives, their faces beaming with joy; others had white cloths wrapped around their heads, holding their children and weeping. But ultimately, they had all escaped the cage that Huangfu Hui had built.

Suddenly, Zhao Dabao rushed forward a few steps, cupped his hands to his mouth, and shouted loudly.

"Master Li—"

"We...we've erected a shrine for you in your honor. What's your name? Could you please tell us—"

Li Miao had already ridden his horse a hundred paces ahead, his figure so small that it was almost indistinct. Li Dabao could only vaguely see him raise his hand and wave before turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

Li Dabao suddenly collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

The surrounding crowd could be faintly heard sobbing. It was hard to say how many of them were sobbing because of Li Miao, how many because of themselves, and how many because of their deceased family members and loved ones.

The crowd lingered, unwilling to leave.

It wasn't until an hour later that Zhao Dabao managed to stop crying, slowly stood up, took his child from the neighbor, and prepared to go home to make funeral arrangements for his wife who had died in the Huang family mansion.

But as soon as he turned around, he heard a gasp behind him.

Immediately, he felt the ground tremble.

Zhao Dabao quickly turned his head away, his face turning pale instantly.

On the very road where Li Miao had left, a fully armed military horse charged out.

Then came the thunderous sound of hooves, and dozens of horses charged out in quick succession.

The cavalry charged rapidly toward Fukang County.

On the lead horse sat a woman dressed in a dark black outfit and a bearskin cloak... Her attire was somewhat similar to Li Miao's, but she was much smaller. A black sword with white markings hung at her waist as the horse's hooves rose and fell. She had a beautiful face, but her temperament was as cold as ice, sending chills down Zhao Dabao's spine even from dozens of feet away.

In the blink of an eye, the cavalry charged into the crowd.

The woman in the lead dismounted and pointed to the left and right.

The cavalry behind them dispersed, surrounding the people who were fleeing in terror. They slowly closed in, and even though the embroidered spring knives at their waists were not drawn, the people's faces turned pale.

Zhao Dabao swallowed hard.

He forced himself out of the crowd and approached the woman under her cold gaze. His knees buckled and he was about to kneel down.

"us--"

Before his knees could even touch the ground, a hand reached out and supported his arm, gently helping him up.

At the same time, a cold female voice rang in his ear.

"No need to kneel, my Embroidered Uniform Guard has no shortage of people to kowtow to."

"I am Mei Qinghe, a commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. You are the people of Fukang County, aren't you?"

"No need to panic, we Jinyiwei do not kill civilians."

Mei Qinghe's intention was to calm them down and prevent them from running around indiscriminately, otherwise they might fall and get hurt in the chaos.

But with her appearance, tone, and demeanor, the people became even more chaotic upon hearing her utter the word "kill." Even the rescued women and children began to cry out in despair, and the scene quickly became uncontrollable.

Mei Qinghe grasped Zhao Dabao's trembling arm, about to add a few words, when a male voice came from behind her, laughing as he spoke.

"Commander Mei, let me do it."

As he spoke, a man dressed in a bullfighting outfit, with an embroidered spring knife at his waist, a loose back and crooked shoulders, who looked more like a spoiled brat than a member of the Imperial Guard, stepped forward and suddenly shouted.

"Shut up, all of you!"

"Don't move! I am Zhu Yijing, the Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and son of the current Grand Secretary! Move again and your entire family will be executed!"

The commotion in the crowd finally subsided.

Zhu Yijing smiled and continued.

"Alright, I'm too lazy to explain to you how illustrious my background is. Anyway, you all know that Da Shuo's surname is Zhu, and so is mine! I don't care about the heads of you commoners! Do you understand?"

The crowd fell silent.

Clearly, for them, Zhu Yijing's "disdain" was much more convincing than Mei Qinghe's "not killing civilians".

Zhu Yijing then continued.

"If you understand, then go home. You'll be allowed to come out tomorrow!"

"get out!"

The Imperial Guards stepped forward and "squeezed" the crowd into the city gate, then dispersed, driving the people back to their homes.

Mei Qinghe sighed and nodded to Zhu Yijing.

"Thank you very much, Magistrate."

Zhu Yijing said with a smile, "It was Commander Mei who brought me out to do this job. I'm just lending a hand. In the future, Commander Mei will say a few good words to Brother Miao and Father so that I can make the family proud. That's all."

Mei Qinghe nodded and turned to look at Zhao Dabao.

"Take us to the county government office, and then you can go home."

--------

The county government office of Fukang County.

Mei Qinghe released Zhao Dabao's arm and watched him run away in a panic.

Zhu Yijing said with a smile.

"This man is quite loyal; he dared to insist that he didn't see anything even in front of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It's a pity that the blood on his body hasn't been washed off. If he were in another government office, he would surely be charged with withholding information."

Mei Qinghe shook her head.

"It's alright, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't." "The storming of the county government, the killing of officials and the rebellion, the establishment of a private court of torture—Lord Zhu gave a death order to kill them all. Even if we can't figure it out, we can bring Cao Hanyan, the commander of the Cao family, here to take a look and we'll understand."

"Now, let's see if there are any living people left in the county government office."

So the two of them stepped inside.

As soon as Fang entered the room, a strong smell of blood wafted up from above.

Above the main hall of the county government office, more than a dozen hemp ropes hung down, each with a corpse hanging from its bottom with wide-open eyes.

Mei Qinghe glanced at the corpse's clothing.

Striking outfit, Japanese kimono, county magistrate's official robes.

Mei Qinghe's eyes turned cold, and she said nothing more.

Zhu Yijing followed behind and said softly.

"The Japanese, it seems that the matter here is not as simple as killing officials and rebelling."

Mei Qinghe nodded, but did not answer for the time being.

After the two entered the main hall of the county government, they heard several sharp shouts.

"Who are you!"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard! They're finished!"

"Run away!"

Mei Qinghe glanced around and saw that the main hall was packed with dozens of women, all of them pale and thin. Several of them were holding swords and were about to stop the two of them, while calling on the other women to flee.

"Come die!"

Before they could finish speaking, the swords were already in front of them.

Swah——

Without Mei Qinghe making a move, a flash of cold light appeared, and with a click, the longsword was already back in its sheath.

The weapons of the several women who rushed at them all broke, and they collapsed to the ground, their limbs giving way.

Mei Qinghe gripped the hilt of her sword and asked in a cold voice.

"Who are you, and why are you here?"

"Who killed the magistrate, and where is the killer now?"

But no one answered.

Mei Qinghe's face turned cold. She wasn't good at persuading others, so she simply reached out and gripped the hilt of her sword, unleashing her sword intent to intimidate the crowd.

Just then, a hand suddenly trembled and reached out from the crowd, holding something in its hand and waving it around.

In that instant, Mei Qinghe's pupils shrank, and she flashed in front of the man, snatching the object away to examine it closely. After seeing it clearly, she shouted angrily.

"Who gave you this?!"

Zhu Yijing, puzzled, walked to Mei Qinghe's side and looked up.

In Mei Qinghe's hand was a glove.

It is jet black, woven from silkworm silk, and rolled with gold thread.

There was still a faint trace of blood in the crack.

Zhu Yijing's eyes widened suddenly, and he exclaimed in shock, his mouth agape.

"Brother Miao!?"

"He's finally rested enough!?"

(End of this chapter)