Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 20 Officials protect each other
As Chen Qing walked out of the county government office, he looked back at the office building behind him.

The government office was small, even somewhat dilapidated, far less grand and spacious than the Gu family compound.

However, Chen Qing knew very well that these inconspicuous rooms contained a powerful force capable of determining life and death.

This power was projected from the distant capital city court, falling upon the local area and being bestowed upon Magistrate Hong, making it incredibly powerful.

The county magistrate destroyed the family and the prefect exterminated the family.

This is by no means an empty statement.

Even someone of Chen Qing's background, if he wanted to borrow the power of Magistrate Hong, had to flatter him and say some nice things.

As for whether or not to give any gifts or benefits after the matter is over, that's not something Chen Qing needs to worry about. By then, Master Gu will most likely have returned, and he will naturally handle these matters.

Not long after leaving the county government office, Chen Qing looked around and, sure enough, saw Miss Gu and her servant not far away.

The county jail is not far from the county government office; in fact, they are practically next to each other, so they can naturally run into each other.

Chen Qing strode forward, looked at Gu Pan, and said quietly, "Miss, I have already said what I needed to say to Magistrate Hong, and Magistrate Hong has agreed. You don't need to get involved in the rest."

At this point, he looked at Xiaoyue and said, "Xiaoyue, take Miss home to rest. Remember to be careful these next few days and don't see anyone easily."

"Leave everything to me, leave it to the authorities."

Miss Gu frowned, looked at the county government office, and asked, "Will Magistrate Hong help us?"

"I think so."

Chen Qing said calmly, "When a murder occurs, the county government has to deal with it. Since it has to be dealt with, Magistrate Hong will either side with the facts and reason or with money and interests."

Chen Qing said in a deep voice, "Now, the truth is on our side."

"In terms of family wealth, Miss's family is far more wealthy than theirs. I can't think of any reason why Magistrate Hong would favor the other side."

Gu Pan looked at Chen Qing's confident face and sighed, "Young Master Chen is from the prefectural city after all. He has seen the world and is different from others."

As she spoke, her face paled. "When I saw the child's body, I completely panicked."

"That's because Miss is kind-hearted."

Chen Qing said seriously, "You all go back. I'll go find Gu Shouzhou and the others and see what kind of trouble they're trying to cause."

Gu Pan thought for a moment, then said firmly, "This is not just a matter for you, Young Master Chen."

"I will go with you."

Chen Qing looked at her, and she looked back at Chen Qing, her eyes a little moist: "Over the years, they have wanted more and more things. If we can't overcome them in this matter..."

At this point, she was too embarrassed to continue, and instead clenched her fist in her sleeve, saying, "In the future, I won't be able to stay in Deqing anymore."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing instinctively wanted to make a joke, but then thought that the timing wasn't quite right, so he shook his head and said, "Then let's go now."

Xiaoyue asked, "Does the young master know where they are?"

"At Gu Shouyi's house."

Chen Qing spoke with certainty.

“We left home together today. You came to the county government, while I went elsewhere and asked a friend to help me keep an eye on Gu Shouzhuo and his gang.”

"The fact that he did not come looking for me at this time means that they should still be staying at Gu Shouyi's house."

Chen Qing looked at Gu Pan and said, "I'll go first. If Miss and Xiaoyue want to go, they can go later."

He cupped his hands in greeting to Gu Pan and said, "I'll be going now."

After saying that, Chen Qing put his hands behind his back and strode forward.

Miss Gu stared at Chen Qing's retreating figure, remaining silent for a long time.

After a while, she sighed softly, "If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to have Father sell the family property and we could have moved somewhere else."

Xiaoyue asked, "Are we moving to Huzhou Prefecture?"

Miss Gu pinched Xiaoyue and scolded, "Is this a time for jokes?"

Xiaoyue was in pain, and her eyes were filled with tears.

"This servant wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare..."

Just as Gu Pan was about to speak, she suddenly heard some noises behind her. She turned around and saw that the magistrate's sedan chair had already left the county office. As it approached, the curtain of the sedan chair was lifted, and Magistrate Hong stuck his head out and spoke to Gu Pan.

"Let's go, Miss Gu, together."

"Go and release Gu Shouyi first."

County-level government offices do not have the authority to handle criminals on their own, mainly because the handling of important criminals involves multiple levels of approval and filing. However, Gu Shouyi hiring people to beat someone was a minor matter. The matter was only handled within Deqing County and was not reported to higher levels.

Magistrate Hong can release him if he wants to.

She glanced back and gracefully bowed in greeting.

"Thank you, Your Excellency." ...

The Gu family originally did not live in Deqing County. Their main village was about 20 or 30 miles outside the county. It was only after Master Gu went to the city to do business and gradually made a fortune that the Gu family members followed him into the city.

Gu Shouyi's family followed him into the city. They settled down in the city, but only acquired a small courtyard for the family to live in.

At this moment, the small courtyard was packed with people.

The mourning hall has already been set up.

Gu Shouyi's elderly mother, wife, and two daughters sat in front of the child's corpse in the main hall, weeping incessantly, their voices filled with sorrow.

The people standing in the courtyard were mostly members of the Gu family and their relatives, and many of them were wiping away tears.

Outside Gu Shouyi's courtyard, Chen Qing had already met Mr. Yang.

Early this morning, he and Miss Gu parted ways at the gate of the Gu family compound, going in opposite directions. Miss Gu went to the county jail, while Chen Qing first went to Mr. Yang for help before going to the county government office.

He asked Mr. Yang to keep an eye on Gu Shouzhuo and his group, so that they wouldn't hide the child's body or simply burn it.

Chen Qing bowed to Mr. Yang and said solemnly, "Thank you for your trouble."

Mr. Yang looked at him, returned the greeting, and then said, "Young Master Chen, if the authorities inquire, I can testify for you."

Chen Qing said solemnly, "I am grateful."

"We'll only bother you when it's absolutely necessary, so as not to cause trouble for you and your father."

Mr. Yang patted his chest.

"At most, I'll just leave Deqing again and continue wandering the world. I'm not afraid."

Chen Qing bowed to him in farewell, then walked to the door of Gu Shouyi's house, pushed the door open abruptly, and strode inside.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, everyone's eyes turned to him, and many members of the Gu family glared at him angrily.

Chen Qing took a deep breath and strode towards the newly set-up mourning hall.

Inside the mourning hall, the women and children of Gu Shouyi's family wept bitterly, while Gu Shouzhuo stood aside, coldly observing Chen Qing.

Chen Qing walked to the child's corpse, looked at it, and then looked at Gu Shouzhou.

"Gu Shouzhou, I have already reported it to the authorities."

Chen Qing looked at him and continued, "There has been a death, suspected to be homicide, and the government officials will be here soon."

At this point, Chen Qing turned around and looked at the Gu family members behind him, and said coldly, "Most of the people present here today will have to go to the yamen to be questioned later!"

“If I, Chen Qing, killed this child, you don’t need to say anything, I will pay with my life.”

"If the authorities find out, it was not me, Chen Qing, who did it."

Young Master Chen's anger surged: "From now on, you all will have to give me an explanation."

The Gu family members looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Gu Shouyi's wife suddenly stood up, screamed, and lunged at Chen Qing viciously, reaching out to scratch his face: "You villain, you villain!"

Chen Qing remained motionless, simply staring at Gu Shouzhuo.

Gu Shouzhou grabbed Gu Shouyi's wife's hand as expected, gritting his teeth and saying, "Sister-in-law, if you hit him at this time, you'll only be playing into his hands. I wonder what nonsense he'll spout in court!"

At this point, Gu Shouzhou looked at Chen Qing, his face ashen: "It's not that we don't want to report to the authorities, it's that we won't go to the Deqing County government office to report!"

"Who doesn't know your father is the prefect? ​​Would the county magistrate dare to discipline you?"

Gu Shouzhuo glared fiercely at Chen Qing.

"If we're going to sue you, we'll at least go to the Huzhou prefectural government office to file a complaint!"

"You can sue wherever you want."

Chen Qing wasn't afraid of him. Instead, he looked at the child's corpse and said, "Let's take this child's body to the county government office and have the coroner examine it!"

"Officials protect each other!"

Gu Shouzhou flatly refused: "Who knows how the county government will protect a son of an official like you? Don't even think about taking away my nephew's body!"

Hearing him roll his knife again, Chen Qing ignored him and turned to look at the courtyard gate behind him.

The closed courtyard gate was pushed open once again.

Magistrate Hong, dressed in official robes, walked in with his hands behind his back. He first looked around, then glanced at everyone, and finally fixed his gaze on Gu Shouzhou.

Who is it…?

Magistrate Hong frowned and drew out his words.

Are you speaking ill of me?

(End of this chapter)