Qing Yao

Chapter 116 Teacher Zhao also knows martial arts.
The problem is that Zhao An knows that the old master will only live to be eighty-nine and will voluntarily abdicate to Jiaqing five years later, but the two loan partners do not know this secret.

"What if?"

Instructor Song felt that one should not be too optimistic. If the emperor really lived to be ninety-nine, the interest alone would crush them, leaving them no time to breathe.

"If His Majesty is truly the longest-lived emperor in history, then this matter of lending money should probably be reconsidered. Or perhaps we should just not lend it at all?"

The county magistrate, intimidated by Instructor Song's "what if," lost his confidence and even considered backing down.

Then another big problem came to mind: even if the emperor didn't live more than a few years before passing away, their debts wouldn't just disappear into thin air.

Does the new emperor not want to collect the debts from them?

They can outlive the old emperor, but surely they can't outlive the new emperor too.

Therefore, using loans to repay other loans is a dead end.

You can't do that!

Zhao An had to remind the two of them: "There is something you two must understand. This money was borrowed from the Imperial Household Department, not directly from the Emperor. To put it bluntly, the Emperor may not even know that we have borrowed so much money."

Instructor Song was confused: "What does Lord Zhao mean?"

"What I mean is, since the money was borrowed from the Imperial Household Department, then..."

As Zhao An was speaking, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and two familiar figures entered.

In front of him was Qian Xiuwen, the eldest son of the Qian family, whose scholar title he had stripped of. Behind him was his cousin, Wang Wanquan, whom he had appointed as the director of the school office.

"Sir, he insisted on coming, and I couldn't stop him,"

The usually honest cousin was so angry at his brother-in-law's unreasonable behavior that tears welled up in his eyes. He really didn't know that his brother-in-law was going to cause trouble for his cousin. If he had known, he would never have let him enter the prefectural school.

Old Ding and Old Song didn't recognize Qian Xiuwen, so they both turned around and looked at him curiously, wondering what this man wanted to see Zhao An about.

Zhao An frowned slightly, coldly looking at the hostile-looking Qian Xiuwen: "What business do you have with me?"

Unexpectedly, Qian Xiuwen closed the door behind him, then walked up to Zhao An without any fear and sneered, "Does Lord Zhao know Zhao An?"

Ok?
These words made the trio who planned to "borrow to pay off their debts" raise their eyebrows in unison, and the honest and simple Wang Wanquan was even more shocked: How did he know his cousin's real name!
Honestly, he hadn't even told his wife about this, so how did his brother-in-law find out?

"What do you mean? I don't quite understand."

Zhao An's composure under pressure was far superior to that of the highly tense Lao Ding and Lao Song.

He deserved to be the leader of the three.

"What do you mean? Lord Zhao, please don't play dumb with me."

With a smug look on his face, Qian Xiuwen slammed several certificates bearing fingerprints onto the table. "These are testimonies from Zhao Youlu's neighbors. They clearly state that Zhao Youlu has been dead for more than half a year! But somehow, our prefectural school's Professor Zhao shares the same name as a dead man, and even studied at the same school in Ganquan County!"

With a loud crash, it wasn't something that broke; it was the highly tense Instructor Song whose legs buckled and he and his chair tumbled to the ground.

County Magistrate Ding was somewhat better, managing to sit up in a chair, though his hands trembled violently and his face was deathly pale. The overturned Instructor Song startled Qian Xiuwen, but he didn't think much of it, assuming the two were Zhao An's men.

Corrupt officials who collude with each other.

Zhao An sighed, glanced at the testimony on the table, looked up at Qian Xiuwen who was trying to get him under control, and said calmly, "So what do you plan to do?"

"Don't worry, Lord Zhao, I won't make things difficult for you. I've come here for two things. First, could you please restore my academic title? Second, I'm a bit short on cash lately, and it would be best if you could lend me three to five thousand taels of silver, otherwise..."

Qian Xiuwen snorted: You, surnamed Zhao, know what I mean!
"What else are you going to do?"

Zhao An got up and helped Song Jiaoyu, who was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, to his feet, without even glancing at Qian Xiuwen.

Seeing this, Qian Xiuwen's anger flared up. He clenched his fists and said hatefully, "Then don't blame me for going to the Ganquan County Hall to report you for impersonating Zhao Youlu. At that time, I don't think you can keep your official position, I think you won't even be able to save your life!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Jiaoyu, who had finally managed to stand up, felt his legs go weak and was about to collapse again, but Zhao An grabbed him and then solemnly introduced him to Qian Xiuwen: "This is Song Jiaoyu of Ganquan County School. It was Lord Song who took care of my impersonation of Zhao Youlu."

"Ai?"

Old Song felt like dying. Why are you dragging me into this?

Zhao An then pointed to Old Ding, who was sitting there engrossed in reading: "This is Magistrate Ding of Ganquan County. Well, Magistrate Ding knows about my matter and has helped me a lot."

"no,"

Old Ding turned around helplessly, glanced at the somewhat bewildered Boss Qian, and chuckled awkwardly: "Let's not go to the main hall. I can help you restore your academic title. In addition, I can personally lend you three thousand taels of silver. Let's call it even, how about that?"

"what?"

Just as Qian Xiuwen was about to speak, something suddenly struck him on the forehead, and he felt dizzy and his body went limp as he collapsed to the ground.

"Three to five thousand taels? I wouldn't give you even thirty or fifty taels!"

Zhao An picked up the blood-stained weight and smashed it on Boss Qian's head again. After several blows, blood splattered everywhere on Boss Qian's head, and a large dent was visibly visible.

At first, Qian Xiuwen's legs twitched a few times, and he made two gurgling sounds in his throat, like bubbles coming out of a bottle. Later, he stopped moving completely.

"Extorting me? In your next life!"

After confirming that Boss Qian was beyond dead, Zhao An wiped the blood and semen from his face with his blood-stained sleeve, stood up, placed the blood-soaked weight on the table, and explained to the two stunned old leaders: "There is a scale between heaven and earth, and the weight is the common people. As an academic official, I put up a weight to remind myself that I must be fair in dealing with the people. Hmm, very reasonable, right?"

"."

Covered in blood, Zhao An frightened Lao Ding and Lao Song so much that they dared not speak, while his cousin Wang Wanquan, unable to bear the bloody scene, squatted down and vomited.

"This treacherous student, having been stripped of his academic honors by me, deliberately broke into the prefectural school intending to harm me. I usually pay great attention to physical exercise, so it is reasonable for me to kill him in self-defense, isn't it? I would like you two to be my witnesses at that time."

Zhao An, who was killing someone for the first time, was sweating profusely and feeling very uncomfortable. He took off his official hat and placed it on the table, and while taking off his blood-stained clothes, he casually said:

"By the way, what I meant earlier was that since the money was borrowed from the Imperial Household Department, which is under the jurisdiction of Minister He, and Minister He is a notorious corrupt official, if the Emperor really passes away one day, we can help the new Emperor get rid of Minister He, and then the debt will be settled."

(End of this chapter)