They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 179 Who Else Does He Have in His Eyes?
Fang Zhengduan was inwardly opposed to it.

He had no desire to go to the government office; he knew it wouldn't be anything good.

But he was also very angry.

He had hinted at the recipe for ice jelly to his sister many times, so she warned him not to mention it to his brother-in-law. These days, he was at the Sifang Restaurant, keeping a low profile and being on tenterhooks, afraid that his brother-in-law might find out about it from somewhere else.

If my brother-in-law finds out, he'll definitely take the opportunity to scold me, and he might even take back my position as the restaurant manager.

Of course, it's my own fault for not being able to accomplish this. If I had, my brother-in-law wouldn't have blamed me.

But it didn't work out!

If he gets kicked out of the restaurant by his brother-in-law because of this, doesn't he have any pride? He won't dare to walk around the county town anymore, otherwise, if he runs into that guy surnamed Tang, he'll be laughed at to death.

He's been behaving himself for the past few days, so why is the government summoning him again? Is this ever going to end? What if his brother-in-law finds out?
As soon as Fang Zhengduan arrived at the yamen, before he could even greet Master Shao with a smile, Master Shao sternly rebuked him: "Fang Zhengduan, how dare you! Didn't I say that the matter of the ice jelly recipe was over? How dare you send that Lai Sheng to tamper with it again? Do you even respect the government?"

"My lord, I'm innocent! I didn't do it!"

"Hmph, nothing? Lai Sheng was caught red-handed by the people of Liangjia Village before he could do anything, and he confessed to everything. You're still being stubborn? It's clear that you have no sense of respect or remorse whatsoever. You're truly despicable. Men, take him away and give him twenty strokes of the cane."

"Master! Master!"

Upon seeing Master Shao angrily reprimanding him for the matter, Fang Zhengduan, already feeling guilty and terrified, panicked at the sight of this scene. Without a second thought, his legs buckled, and he knelt down, begging for mercy: "Innocent, Master! It's all that wicked servant's fault—"

"Looks like you won't learn your lesson until you're faced with a death sentence. Drag him away and beat him."

Shao Shiye glanced to the left without thinking, and Fang Zhengduan subconsciously followed his gaze, just in time to see Lai Sheng being led away with a disheveled face. Lai Sheng only glanced at him and was taken away before he could say anything.

Upon seeing this, Fang Zhengduan felt a chill in his heart and secretly cursed, "That damned scoundrel, he really is a scoundrel!"

Having confessed, Master Shao, with a stern expression, threatened to give him a beating, showing no sign of leniency. Fang Zhengduan, filled with fear and panic, lost his composure and could no longer bear it.

"It's my fault! It's my fault! Please don't hit me! Please don't hit me! I was confused for a moment, I deserve to die! Please, sir, give me a chance to make amends! I'm willing to compensate you, I'm willing to compensate you!"

Anyway, his sister won't ignore him, and he doesn't want to be punished.

He has fair skin and is born to enjoy life. He would be in excruciating pain if he bumped or bruised, and if he were to be beaten, he would be instantly killed.
In any case, any problem that can be solved with money isn't a problem, as long as you don't get punished.

Master Shao was furious: "Fang Zhengduan, are you admitting it yourself?"

"Yes, yes, please spare my life, Master! I'm willing to pay compensation, I'm willing to pay compensation!"

"You truly have no respect for the government or for your superiors! The most detestable people in my life are fickle, unrepentant scoundrels like you. Drag him away and give him twenty strokes of the cane! Blow him!"

"Master! Master! No! Why are you still beating me after I confessed? Please, Master—ah! Ah!!"

Fang Zhengduan, terrified to the extreme, was dragged away and pinned down without a word. After a few blows, he cried out for his parents, his body stiffening repeatedly. After a few more blows, he was covered in cold sweat, in excruciating pain, and his voice was hoarse from screaming.

After being given twenty strokes of the cane, Fang Zhengduan resembled a sick fish pulled from the water, half-dead and on the verge of death.

Master Shao ordered his men to have the man sign the prepared confession and then imprison him.

If he had simply instructed someone to steal or commit wrongdoing, he would not have been subject to such severe punishment according to the law.

However, he shouldn't have openly accepted the government's judgment after it was made, but then secretly committed further evil deeds—such reckless and defiant behavior against the authority of the government and the county magistrate warranted a lenient punishment of twenty strokes of the cane.

If he is not severely punished, wouldn't the government's judgment be as worthless as a piece of waste paper?
Will county magistrates still be allowed to adjudicate cases in the future?
Xu Zhichun had anticipated this, knowing that as long as he shifted the suspicion to Fang Zhengduan, Master Shao would definitely investigate thoroughly. If Fang Zhengduan hadn't done it, fine; but if he had indeed ordered it, he was doomed.

This time, even spending money didn't work.

Xu Zhichun and the others thanked him respectfully and left the yamen.

Master Shao instructed the Fang family to inform Fang Zhengduan that he would be imprisoned for six months and could not be redeemed with money.

The county government wasn't short of money; what mattered more was the authority of the county magistrate.

Mrs. Fang was struck by a bolt from the blue. With no elder in the family to take charge and the head of the household already in jail, Mrs. Fang lost her sense of direction and hurriedly went to find Mrs. Zeng.

When Madam Zeng found out, she was dizzy and in a panic, she scolded her sister-in-law from her own family. At the same time, she hurriedly called her son back and asked him to smooth things over.

Madam Fang felt wronged. How could she be blamed? She didn't even know what her husband had been doing outside.

But she didn't dare to talk back, and she had to swallow her grievances, since this older sister was the only one she could rely on now.

"Go to the yamen immediately and ask around. Beg them properly, spend all the money you can, and make sure you bring your uncle back. Go now! Your uncle has never suffered like this since he was a child. That prison is no place for a human being."

Young Master Zeng: "."

He never expected it, he never imagined it.

In just a few days, my uncle has managed to get himself into jail?

How did he do that?

Didn't he just get a warning from the authorities? Can't he even be a little more discreet? Does he think the authorities are his sister?

After leaving the Zeng family, who spoiled him?
Young Master Zeng waited for quite a while before finally seeing Master Shao. Master Shao, with a half-smile and a nonchalant tone, explained the reason: his uncle held a grudge over the ice jelly recipe and ordered a cunning servant to take revenge on Madam Xu.
Young Master Zeng's heart immediately sank.

My uncle really treated the government officials like his sister or his own mother, didn't he?

Does he dare to act one way openly and another way secretly towards the government?
Twenty strokes of the cane and six months in prison is considered lenient. I ask you, which official would tolerate such blatant provocation?

To put it mildly, it was a provocation against the authority of the officials; to put it more seriously, it was blatantly jumping on the head of the county magistrate.

If I don't deal with you, who will I deal with?
Young Master Zeng was immediately terrified and dared not mention the matter of using silver to atone for his sins. That would be tantamount to being arrogant and saying, "So what if I jump on the county magistrate's head? Anyway, I have money! I'll just throw money around!"

This is adding fuel to the fire.

Young Master Zeng had no choice but to grovel and apologize repeatedly, lowering his posture to the utmost, begging Master Shao to do him a favor and allow his family to send someone to visit them.

Master Shao did not answer immediately.

She stared at him for a while before slowly saying, "Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Young Master Zeng knew that he and Lord Lu were still angry, so he dared not say anything more and obediently took his leave.

Madam Zeng, who was extremely anxious, was furious when she did not see him bring back his younger brother and began to berate him without giving him a chance to explain.

Young Master Zeng was furious. His mother's mouth was always full of complaints about his uncle!
(End of this chapter)