Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 9: Reporting to the Official
Lin Jiang swaggered down the street.

It's still early, but there are already quite a few people on the streets.

The early bird catches the worm. Farmers on the outskirts of town would get up early to go to their fields to work, food vendors would set up their stalls along the street, and laborers would start carrying their loads back and forth, panting heavily.

There is a river next to Baishan Town, and boat trackers are waiting for cargo ships to arrive.

They could earn ten coins for each boat they moved over. If they also got some unloading work, they could earn thirty or forty coins a day. However, boats and cargo weren't available every day, so how much they earned depended entirely on the weather.

As Lin Jiang walked down the street, he attracted the attention of many villagers and neighbors. He was handsome and well-known throughout Baishan County. Who didn't know that the Lin family had a handsome young man? How many girls were in love with him?
However, the news of this handsome young man's death from illness had already spread among the neighbors. Several young ladies in their secluded chambers even wiped away tears with their handkerchiefs. Who would have thought that this young man would swagger out onto the street again this morning!
This startled many people, turning their faces pale with fright.

None of them dared to approach this young master who seemed alive; they only whispered among themselves:

"Is this the eldest young master of the Lin family?"

"I've bought medicinal herbs from his house before, and I've seen his face. He must be Young Master Lin!"

"Didn't he die of illness a while ago? I saw coffins being carried out of the Lin family's house!"

"I don't know..."

One scholar, however, turned his head slightly:
"It's probably a misinformation! People have been dying in the Lin family lately. Maybe Young Master Lin isn't dead, but someone has misheard the news."

Some agreed, some disagreed, and some said they had personally seen Young Master Lin get out of the coffin and that he was now walking on the street like a living corpse.

Lin Jiang ignored these people completely and quickly arrived at the government office gate.

At the entrance stood a minor official, yawning listlessly.

He glanced sideways listlessly, then suddenly saw Lin Jiang beside him, and his eyes widened instantly:

"Lin...Lin Jiang!"

"Do you know me?"

"Who in Baishan County doesn't know you..." The clerk's expression was extremely strange. "They're handling a case inside. I was just thinking about whether to go find you. Do you want to come in?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jiang already had a guess in his mind.

Following the minor official, we walked into the courtyard and soon arrived at the main hall.

Upon arriving here, Lin Jiang spotted a familiar face.

A thin old man sat in a wide chair, wrapped in a fur coat, with a young man standing behind him.

Hearing the noise at the door, they turned to look in their direction.

The old man almost fell off his stool the moment he saw Lin Jiang!

Lin Jiang certainly knew these two people!

One of them is Mr. Shen, who dug his grave yesterday.

One of them is Mr. Shen's son, Shen Da.

The old man turned pale with fright when he saw Lin Jiang. If his son hadn't been supporting him, he probably would have fallen to the ground.

Even so, he couldn't stop calling out repeatedly:

"Zongzi! Ghost! Corpse! Magistrate! Suppress him quickly, suppress him quickly!"

Lin Jiang sneered: "Master Shen, you went to dig up my family's grave in the middle of the night yesterday, and today you come here to make false accusations. You really are shameless and invincible."

Upon hearing this, Master Shen's face flushed red. He wanted to say a few more words, but the sound of the gavel interrupted him.
"Stop making a scene in the courtroom!"

The man sitting at the main table in the courtroom shouted, and Master Shen immediately and carefully shut his mouth.

The man's beard was neatly trimmed, but a conspicuous red patch covered half of his face on the left side.

He is the county magistrate!

The magistrate of Baishan County was named Zhu Mingyuan, courtesy name Zhaoran. He was born with a defect, a large patch of red like jade on his face. However, he was diligent and studious, and with the support of his family's resources, he went to the capital at the age of thirty to take the imperial examinations and obtain official rank.

Normally, people with facial defects should not be allowed to hold high-ranking official positions, as it would have a negative impact. However, Zhu Mingyuan was truly outstanding, and the Emperor was in a particularly good mood that day, so he made a special exception and allowed him to come to Baishan County to become the county magistrate.

He has been in office for 21 years. The first seven years were prosperous for Baishan County, and the county was doing very well. The next seven years were uneventful and ordinary. In the last seven years, the emperor did not pay much attention to the affairs of the county, and Baishan County declined as a result.

He often handed cases over to the registrar, but if it weren't for this case involving a prominent family in Baishan County, he probably wouldn't have come out.

Zhu Mingyuan looked around at the people below the stage, and finally his gaze fell on Lin Jiang.

He stared at Lin Jiang for a long time, and his tone did indeed become somewhat hesitant:

"Young Master Lin, are you... dead or alive?" "Of course I'm alive." Lin Jiang stretched out his wrist. "If Magistrate Zhu doesn't believe me, he can feel my pulse."

Zhu Mingyuan dared not touch it, and gestured with his eyes to the clerk who had just led Lin Jiang in. The clerk's face immediately turned ashen, but he still cautiously approached Lin Jiang and reached out to take his pulse.

After a moment, he finally breathed a sigh of relief:

"Reporting to the master, a living person."

Zhu Mingyuan's tense expression visibly relaxed before he asked:

"Lin Jiang, why were you in the coffin last night?"

“A while ago, the Lin family was plagued by an epidemic, and I did get sick. However, my breath had not completely stopped at that time. The old man suffered a series of blows and his mental state was not good. He misdiagnosed my condition and buried me. That is why there was talk of me coming back to life last night.”

Zhu Mingyuan nodded. He looked at the two people below the hall, pondered for a moment, and then put on a smile:
"From what I've heard, this misunderstanding between your two families far outweighs any real enmity. Young Master Shen, your Shen family's actions are indeed unethical. Have you considered how you intend to compensate Young Master Lin?"

Shen Da immediately chimed in:
“The magistrate is right to criticize me. I have already prepared a banquet at Liangzhai. I hope that Young Master Lin will give me face so that I can personally apologize to you.”

Lin Jiang immediately understood what Zhu Mingyuan meant when he heard his words.

Sure enough, they started trying to smooth things over.

This matter is inherently difficult to judge, and the Shen family is a prominent family in Baishan County. It would be better to give both sides a way out and quickly put this matter behind us.

Lin Jiang glanced at Shen Da.

Putting aside the fact that Old Master Shen was mentally unstable, Shen Da's attitude was certainly commendable. He bowed halfway down and smiled apologetically. Regardless of whether he felt embarrassed inside, he certainly looked embarrassed.

He would have to leave Baishan County in another day or two. At this critical juncture, a lawsuit with the Shen family would likely take a considerable amount of time.

Not worth it.

“Young Master Shen, you’re too kind.” Lin Jiang stepped down from the platform. “But my purpose in coming here today is definitely not to accuse the Shen family of digging up my family’s graves, but rather to discuss something else.”

Zhu Mingyuan's face showed a strange expression:
"Something else? You have other cases?"

"Yes." Lin Jiang nodded: "Last night, someone attacked my house."

……

The officials carried out the body of the man in black and placed it on a straw mat.

The head constable squatted down next to the corpse, lifted its clothes to look inside, and saw the sunken chest of the body; his expression changed repeatedly.

"Such profound internal strength!" The constable couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. "He directly pierced through the back of a man's heart. Has he mastered the Penetrating Fist?"

He then looked at Lin Jiang and asked:
"Young Master Lin, who killed this thief?"

"Him." Lin Jiang pointed directly to Gong Xuan, who had just woken up and was stretching, without the slightest hesitation: "This Taoist priest was at my house last night. When he saw the thief attacking me, he stepped forward and killed the thief."

Gong Xuan was still a little sleepy. Hearing Lin Jiang say that, he subconsciously reached out and pointed to his nose.

Lin Jiang reiterated, "It was him. I spent a lot of money on him."

The constable looked at Gong Xuan, who could only manage a slightly stiff smile: "It's me."

"The Taoist priest's skills are truly remarkable," the constable exclaimed. "Young Master Lin, please rest assured, our yamen will apprehend the mastermind behind this as soon as possible, and we will ensure that the thief will no longer threaten you."

"Oh," the constable suddenly seemed to remember something, "Young Master Lin, when are you going to Liangzhai?"

Shen Da was still waiting for Lin Jiang to have dinner.

"Go here."

Lin Jiang bowed to Gong Xuan:
"I would like to trouble you, Taoist priest, to look after my house."

"a piece of cake."

After giving these instructions, Lin Jiang followed the minor official into the county.

After circling around for a while, they found the largest restaurant in Baishan County. The clerk led Lin Jiang up to the second floor and then left.

As soon as Lin Jiang arrived at the largest private room on the second floor, he pushed the door open and immediately saw Magistrate Zhu sitting in the main seat.

And Shen Da, who was by Magistrate Zhu's side.

Lin Jiang looked at Shen Da and noticed a faint look of worry on his face.

Looks like something's wrong.

(End of this chapter)