Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 135 Teasing
The constable was one of their own, and Zhao Guang asked detailed questions. The constable recounted his experiences word for word, and Jia Chuan asked him to say everything without missing a single detail.

Zhao Guang understood. He knew that the four people who died in the small temple must have died for something, and that there was something in the temple that people coveted. Today was New Year's Day, and those people thought no one would go to the government office, so they went to the small temple today...

This is a great achievement! If the items in the temple are very important, then it is an immense achievement! Obviously, it is very important, otherwise why would that Imperial Guard be so anxious, even somewhat panicked?

What did Magistrate Song say again?

Zhao Guang asked the yamen runner again, and the runner, mimicking Jia Chuan's tone, said, "If you handle the matter of the small temple well, I will forgive your past mistakes and you will be rewarded handsomely."

Zhao Guang's eyes immediately lit up: "Quickly find all the constables you can within half an hour, and tell them you'll get a raise this month. Zhao Zhong! Go to the back residence and bring all the food you can carry. Estimate... enough for twenty or thirty people for two days. If that's not enough, buy it and load it onto the cart within half an hour!"

Zhao Guang's many years as a county leader were not for nothing. After quickly arranging everything, he hurriedly returned to the back of the house to change his clothes, as he needed to wear more layers.

Soon, everything was ready. When the magistrate saw that he was also going, the yamen runner stepped forward to flatter him and said, "Your Excellency, there is no need to go in person. It is very cold there. Just tell me what to do."

Zhao Guang snorted and said, "He said he would forgive past mistakes and that I had made contributions, and I believed him? As long as I'm involved, once the people from the capital arrive, he won't be able to claim all the credit. He can't possibly use me and then deny it later!"

The yamen runner understood. The magistrate was afraid that the county magistrate would not keep his promise. The two had been fighting for some time. Who would win and who would lose... It seemed that the magistrate had lost. The county magistrate and the Imperial Guard seemed to be quite familiar with each other.

After hearing Zhao Guang's words, the yamen runners obediently withdrew, and Zhao Guang got into his carriage.

More than twenty yamen runners came when they heard about the extra pay. They surrounded the yamen runners who knew the situation and asked them all sorts of questions. The county yamen's existing donkeys and horses were not enough, so Zhao Guang ordered some of them to ride donkeys and others to walk, and to switch places halfway through the journey.

By the time the carriage and the riders arrived in the village, it was already dark.

Jia Chuan was quite satisfied with Zhao Guang's speed. After receiving the news, he quickly pulled Old Zheng down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, the village chief was directing the villagers to move the cart of food. The village chief arranged for the food to be placed in the homes of farmers near the small temple. Food prepared here would probably still be hot when it was delivered to the mountain.

Zhao Guang was very pleased to see that Magistrate Song personally came to greet him at the foot of the mountain. He felt that Song Sheng was giving him a way out. On the way here, he was still feeling sorry for the jewelry and silk he had given away today. If he had known this would happen, why would he have had to give away those things like cutting off his own flesh? Especially those gifts that were sent to the capital, which cost him so much money.

Zhao Guang's feelings were a mix of emotions throughout the journey. After getting off the car at the foot of the mountain and being buffeted by the cold wind several times, his mood worsened. He felt that he was getting on in years, and if it weren't for...

At this moment, Jia Chuan arrived.

Zhao Guang felt a warm glow in his heart. How come he hadn't noticed before that Magistrate Song was quite handsome?
"I would like to trouble you, Your Excellency, to give me something to keep warm in the car. There are two women on the mountain. Well, to be honest, Your Excellency, if anyone attacks, we will rely entirely on them. So while others can take turns going down the mountain to rest, they cannot. And the fire on the mountain is not enough to keep out the cold wind."

Zhao Guang opened his mouth, wanting to ask, "If I give it to them, what am I supposed to use?"

However, Jia Chuan did not discuss it with Zhao Guang; he simply told Lao Zheng to get on the bus and take the money himself.

Zhao Guang raised his hand to stop him, but Jia Chuan pulled him back, saying, "The situation is dire right now. We need all the constables to line up in shifts, ten men per post. They can patrol down the mountain with torches, making a big commotion. We need to make a big show of it. It would be best if we could make those people afraid and not dare to come. But the mountaintop is very dangerous. Those people are all skilled. We had a fight today. Oh dear, if it weren't for the skill of the people around me, the magistrate would be seeing my bones right now."

Zhao Guangfei was not a three-year-old child, so how could he easily believe it? He said he wanted to go up and take a look. Jia Chuan tried to persuade him again and again, saying that it was windy, cold, and creepy up there... The more Jia Chuan persuaded him, the more Zhao Guangfei wanted to go up.

Old Zheng got off the carriage carrying a hot water bottle and a small, warm stove, with two brocade quilts covering his legs. He listened to the conversation between the two and couldn't help but shake his head. Jia Chuan was obviously scheming against Zhao Guang, but if Zhao Guang didn't cooperate, Jia Chuan's scheme wouldn't work.

Old Zheng knew that after Gao Yuntian and Chen Mo returned to the capital, they failed to find a way for Jia Chuan to vent his anger, and Jia Chuan was depressed for half a day because of it. Was it because Jia Chuan's efforts were useless? Or was it because the Embroidered Uniform Guard couldn't handle the Ministry of Personnel's affairs?
Not to mention Jia Chuan, Old Zheng was also very angry with Zhao Guang. However, he had endured a lifetime of humiliation and disdain, so Old Zheng easily reconciled himself. He was mainly feeling sorry for Jia Chuan.

Don't officials always help each other? Jia Chuan knows many high-ranking officials, so why doesn't anyone help him?
With no one to help, Jia Chuan had to take matters into his own hands.

……

Zhao Guang was anxious to go up the mountain to find out what was going on. He wasn't entirely convinced by Jia Chuan's words. Had someone really come during the day? Were they really after something in the temple? Were they truly skilled? What was in the temple that could attract such attention and effort from those people?
He had to see these things with his own eyes, otherwise when people from the capital came, he would know nothing. Not to mention merit, if Magistrate Song embellished the story a little, he wouldn't be able to explain himself even if he opened his mouth ten times. Especially since this temple had been in this village for hundreds of years and had always been quiet. How could such a big thing happen during his tenure?
As for Magistrate Song's promises, Zhao Guang scoffed inwardly. He wasn't some greenhorn; he'd been an official for decades. Didn't he realize this was just a delaying tactic? To make Magistrate Song helpless against him, he had to get involved in the case. Only then would he and Magistrate Song be in cahoots, and only then would he truly get through this ordeal.

Jia Chuan helped Old Zheng carry the small stove, while Zhao Guang led several yamen runners up the mountain together.

Upon entering the small temple, Jia Chuan handed the small stove to Shunzi and led Zhao Guangxian to check on the three seriously injured Taoist priests inside the nunnery.

The constables held up torches, and Zhao Guang squatted down and asked them a few questions, but all three remained silent.

Zhao Guang stood up and said, "They should be sent to the county government office for safekeeping. Once their injuries have healed, they can be interrogated by torture."

“That’s what I thought too, but considering that their people might come back, and that any available yamen runners would need to be transferred here, if we send these three to the county yamen, the county yamen will be empty, relying only on the jailers… and that group of people is quite large.”

"Let's leave it here for now!" Zhao Guang said, then turned and left the nunnery. "Take me to see what this thing in the temple is that has caused such a big trouble."

"Your Excellency, please don't be hasty. There's something good outside the temple."

After saying this, Jia Chuan took the torch from the yamen runner and led Zhao Guang out of the temple. He even turned around and used his eyes to stop the yamen runners who followed him. If it were before, Jia Chuan's eyes would have been ignored by the yamen runners, but now they knew who the real boss was in the county yamen, so they obediently stopped and stayed in the temple. Dong Yuanyuan, however, strode out after him.

Zhao Guang thought that Jia Chuan meant the temple gate when he came out, so he looked around.

Jia Chuan led the way, holding a torch, and said, "The county magistrate really needs to take a look. Otherwise, if someone from the capital asks about it, and the county magistrate doesn't know the truth, it will inevitably cause some trouble."

Zhao Guang sneered inwardly. Only after turning the corner did he remember to look back. He saw a chubby girl behind him and asked in surprise, "Where is she?"

Jia Chuan quickly said, "It's better not to let so many people see it, especially during the New Year."

Zhao Guang didn't quite understand Jia Chuan's meaning. He thought it was something really good, and since many people saw it, there would naturally be a lot of gossip. So he didn't say anything more and continued on his way.

After turning another corner, Zhao Guang looked ahead in the direction Jia Chuan had gone. He could vaguely see something on the snow ahead. After taking a few more steps, Jia Chuan stopped when he got closer and said, "Your Excellency, please come forward and take a closer look. Don't think I'm deceiving you." By this time, Zhao Guang had already realized it was a corpse. He dared not move forward and stood still, asking, "You, you, who is he?"

"If I say who it is, will the county magistrate believe me? What if people in the capital ask and the county magistrate tells me what I said, but the truth is not so? At that time, it will probably be useless for the county magistrate to say that I said it. I only need to say one sentence: The corpse is right here. Why doesn't the county magistrate come to see it? Is he afraid of the cold? The county magistrate has such great official power."

Zhao Guang felt stuck in a dilemma, unsure whether to look or not.

"It's just a dead body. The county magistrate has seen them all when he's handling cases. What's the big deal..."

"You planned this all along! You sent the constables with a message just for their sake, you knew you couldn't find them..."

Jia Chuan waved his hand and said, "I said as long as the yamen runners make the proper arrangements, I will let bygones be bygones. That's right. Now we're talking about the current case. I told you not to come up, but you insisted on coming up to see for yourself. Am I scheming against you, or are you afraid I'll scheme against you? Now that you're up here, go ahead and see!"

"Do you dare to describe the body in detail, and how it died?"

"He was killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard with an iron ruler. Judging from his attire, he was a Taoist priest, and his Taoist robe is currently open."

Why open it?

Jia Chuan shrugged and said, "See for yourself. I gave you a long explanation of the case, but you didn't believe me. Why bother?"

A gust of cold wind passed by, and Zhao Guang couldn't help but shiver.

"You're not going to look, huh? Then let's go back."

After saying this, Jia Chuan picked up his torch and started to walk back. Zhao Guang quickly stopped him and said, "Come with me."

Jia Chuan then shoved the torch into Zhao Guang's hand, saying, "I don't have time. Take it or leave it!"

"Then I'll go back and ask the yamen runners to come with me."

"Do as you please. Just a reminder, this man was killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Before they left, he told us not to move around. If they come back and find anything amiss, you can explain yourself."

Dong Yuanyuan had been following Jia Chuan at a distance, and suddenly shouted, "After Brother Gao killed him, he said to leave him here and not move, so none of us dared to move."

Zhao Guang, enraged, stopped and shouted, holding a torch, "If you weren't here, I would have gone over there. But when the Embroidered Uniform Guards returned... they're on good terms with you, and you lied to them saying I did something..."

"Do you have paranoia? Do I need to go to such lengths to deal with you? Either turn back and tell the truth when people from the capital come to ask about the case, that you were only thinking about your family reunion and didn't take the case on this mountain seriously, or take a few steps forward... It's so cold here, are you going to take a look or not?"

"Look! You'll come with me."

"go!"

Zhao Guang was so nervous that he forgot he had the torch in his hand. When he got close to the corpse, he subconsciously held the torch to the head of the corpse. He had just seen the head that had been smashed by Gao Yuntian's iron ruler, a pale and twisted head against a black and red background... Jia Chuan suddenly screamed. Zhao Guang immediately threw down the torch and scrambled back several meters. Even Dong Yuanyuan, who was not far away, was startled.

The torch lay on the snow, its flame slowly dying down, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

Jia Chuan complained, "Why did you throw away the torch?"

"What's your name?!"

Jia Chuan walked towards Zhao Guang and said in a chilling voice, "I think I just saw him move."

Zhao Guang was still sitting on the snow, his bottom was already wet, but it didn't matter where it was wet anymore.

……

Zhao Guang was helped by Jia Chuan towards the temple gate. Dong Yuanyuan found him unpleasant and refused to go forward, so Jia Chuan had to take care of him himself, advising as they walked: "Don't let your mind be filled with thoughts of others plotting against you. You've seen so much, have I ever lied to you? At your age, you've been frightened and chilled. Can your body handle it? People from the capital won't arrive until at least the day after tomorrow. What are you doing here so late at night?"

This last sentence served as a wake-up call for Zhao Guang. He immediately realized he had acted too hastily and should have come during the day tomorrow. If he had acted this way…

"Of course, I am very pleased that you came tonight. Don't worry, I will definitely tell the people from the capital that the county magistrate came on the night of the incident. You are older and I am younger, so it is only right that we stay here."

At this point, Zhao Guang no longer cared whether Magistrate Song meant well or ill. All he wanted to do was go home, snuggle into his warm bed, and drink a big bowl of ginger soup.

……

After seeing Zhao Guang off, Jia Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. Not causing trouble was also a contribution. He even felt a little sorry for Zhao Guang, who had suffered both financial loss and illness after meeting him.

Is there really no county magistrate who is worthy of his favor as a favorite of the emperor? Jia Chuan shook his head.

The magistrate returned home, and the village head breathed a sigh of relief. The yamen runners down the mountain had already arranged their shifts before Zhao Guanglin left. The village head arranged for those on leave to be housed in different farmers' homes, and they would get up in the middle of the night to relieve him. If the magistrate hadn't left, they would have had to make room for him and find someone to serve him...

Everything was arranged. The village chief and the four villagers who had been imprisoned with him arrived at the small temple. All five of them were dressed very warmly, having put on all the clothes they could. Jia Chuan knew that these people intended to keep him company in the temple. Simple and honest people always express their gratitude through their actions, wishing they could give their all. You could feel their overwhelming persistence, which was impossible to refuse.

(End of this chapter)