Chapter 136: The Upright Judge of Heaven

The middle-aged man clad in official attire came to a halt, and one of the dozen yamen runners behind him quickly stepped forward. This man was short in stature, sported a pair of thin, upward-curved mustaches, and possessed a sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked countenance that radiated a ferocious aura.

Standing before the gathered villagers, he barked, "Which one of you is Zhou Zhi? Step forward at once!"

Zhou Zhi glanced at him a few times, then slowly walked forward and said, "I am Zhou Zhi. May I ask what business the official messenger has with me?"

"Hmph! What business? Baiyue Village has been plagued by bandits for over ten days running. Someone has reported that you are in league with the bandits, that it was your internal and external collusion that brought this catastrophe upon Baiyue Village. Assistant Magistrate Yang is deeply concerned for the common folk and has come here personally to arrest you for questioning."

Hearing this, it was obvious that the man on horseback was none other than Assistant Magistrate Yang Tong.

In the Great Ming Dynasty, the officials in charge of criminal arrests and judicial prisons at the prefecture and county levels were the Chief Jailers. Logically speaking, the Assistant Magistrate served as an aide to the Magistrate and did not manage criminal arrests and investigations. However, Qingdu County was somewhat unique; Yang Tong had originally started out as a Chief Jailer and was only promoted to Assistant Magistrate later on. Consequently, he had continued to oversee criminal arrests and investigations ever since.

As for Feng Kehuai, the Chief Jailer of Qingdu County, he was naturally timid and advanced in age, and had long since been forced by Yang Tong's pressure to retire to his home.

Zhou Zhi had long since heard of Yang Tong, though he had never laid eyes on him in person. His brother-in-law Hu Zhe's family originally ran a silk and cotton shop, but it was precisely because Yang Tong interfered and refused to issue a travel permit that the shop was unable to source goods from afar and struggled to survive.

Yue Chan, the youngest daughter of Yue Shujie, the head of the Yue clan, had been married to this man as a concubine. While studying at the Qingdu County Academy, Zhou Zhi had also heard that Yang Tong, in his capacity as Assistant Magistrate, paid lip service to Magistrate Chen Guangyao while acting deceitfully behind his back. Their relationship was harmonious on the surface but deeply at odds, with Yang Tong obstructing the Magistrate at every turn.

This fellow was an unadulterated local tyrant.

Because of these reasons, Zhou Zhi held no favorable impression of Yang Tong whatsoever.

An Assistant Magistrate was an official of the true eighth rank, while Zhou Zhi was a commoner. When a commoner met an official, protocol dictated that he should speak on bended knees. Yet Zhou Zhi stood tall and proud, merely offering a slight cupped-hand salute to Yang Tong on horseback and saying, "This humble one pays his respects to Assistant Magistrate Yang!"

The corners of Yang Tong's mouth twitched slightly, though his expression remained otherwise unchanged. Still, Zhou Zhi could sense that Yang Tong was greatly displeased, and perhaps even thoroughly enraged.

"You rebellious commoner, how dare you stand without kneeling before the Assistant Magistrate? Kneel!" the sharp-mouthed runner immediately shouted.

"Head Runner Liu, do not speak thus. It matters little whether he kneels or not," Yang Tong said amiably.

Head Runner Liu, with his sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, was bewildered, yet he dared not ask any further questions. Swallowing a heavy breath, he lowered his head and stepped aside.

"I ask you, does your household shelter a young thief?" Yang Tong asked in a resonant voice.

"Replying to your honor, the Zhou family indeed took in a child from Qingzhou, but he is no petty thief; he is the child of an impoverished commoner's family," Zhou Zhi replied with a stern and upright demeanor.

"I tell you plainly, he is a petty thief, and it was precisely he who lured the bandits to Baiyue Village. Given that you, Zhou Zhi, have spent so many days in the company of this young thief, you are undoubtedly in league with him as well. That is why someone has lodged a complaint against you both at the county yamen," Yang Tong continued in a mild tone.

"Your honor, this humble person is not a thief!" Qi Yanwu had been listening closely with pricked ears. Now, rushing forward urgently, he dropped to his knees and argued his case.

"Hmph! Whether you are a thief or not is not for you to decide; once you are dragged back for interrogation, the truth will naturally come to light. I am the Assistant Magistrate of Qingdu County, and my duty is precisely to uphold justice for the common people and rid them of this scourge!" Yang Tong declared with righteous indignation.

One had to admit that his awe-inspiring and righteous demeanor immediately won the favor of the villagers. Together, the villagers cried out, "Assistant Magistrate Yang is an upright and benevolent official! That's right, rid us of this scourge!"

Their voices rose and fell in a wave of passionate fervor.

Having won the fervent adoration of the common folk with just a few words, Yang Tong felt immensely pleased with himself. He deeply relished the feeling of being cheered and adored by the masses. After letting the crowd shout for a good long while, until the noise had subsided considerably, Yang Tong raised a hand and pressed it downward to signal for quiet.

Cupping his hands from atop his horse, Yang Tong said, "I dare not claim the title of an upright and benevolent official, but pleading the people's cause and serving the common folk is my unshirkable duty."

With that, his gaze suddenly turned cold, and he issued an order to the yamen runners: "Come! Bind this young thief and haul him back to the yamen for interrogation!"

Head Runner Liu, without a word of explanation, led the squad of runners in a sudden rush, pinning Qi Yanwu to the ground before tying him securely with ropes.

Qi Yanwu possessed martial arts skills; had he resisted and fought back, these runners would certainly not have succeeded so easily. But Qi Yanwu was, after all, a commoner, and commoners did not fight officials. Lacking the sheer daring for such a confrontation, he could only submit passively to being bound.

Once Head Runner Liu and the other runners had tied up Qi Yanwu, they cast an inquiring glance toward Yang Tong. The meaning was abundantly clear: since Zhou Zhi was just as culpable as Qi Yanwu for colluding with the bandits, should they not tie up Zhou Zhi next?

To their surprise, Yang Tong did not even look at them. Wearing a warm smile on his face, he cupped his hands once more toward the villagers and said, "Rest assured, good villagers, once I take this young thief back, I will subject him to a rigorous interrogation. Once I uncover the origins of that band of bandits, I will surely bring every last one of them to justice to avenge you all."

Then, waving his hand at Head Runner Liu and the runners, he ordered, "Take the young thief back to the county yamen!"

Reversing his horse's head, he prepared to leave.

Li Shun, watching stealthily from within the crowd, felt his heart blossom with joy. Zhou Zhi was finished for sure this time. Once hauled away by the Assistant Magistrate, unable to endure the severe tortures, he would undoubtedly make a confused false confession. Then, with the Chen family pulling strings and manipulating things behind the scenes, Zhou Zhi's head would surely roll.

Heh!

His triumph was so intense he could barely keep from laughing out loud.

Yet, to his utter astonishment, Assistant Magistrate Yang left after arresting Qi Yanwu alone, seemingly forgetting Zhou Zhi's existence altogether. This left him momentarily bewildered. What was the meaning of this? Zhou Zhi was the mastermind! What use was arresting that young thief if they didn't arrest Zhou Zhi?

Hustling his way out of the crowd, Li Shun cried out loudly, "Assistant Magistrate Yang, that fellow Zhou Zhi is the true ringleader! As far as this Daoist priest knows, all of this was orchestrated by Zhou Zhi in collusion with the bandits. You ought to arrest Zhou Zhi and punish him severely!"

As a Daoist priest, he considered himself a man of some standing, and thus he did not kneel before Yang Tong.

Yang Tong glanced back at him and said coldly, "What? Does an irregular Daoist priest like you presume to meddle in how I handle cases?"

"This Daoist priest wouldn't dare, I am merely filled with confusion!" Li Shun hastily adopted a deferential tone.

Only then did Yang Tong continue, "Naturally, I am well aware that Zhou Zhi colluded with the bandits and is the mastermind. But interrogating this young thief alone will be enough to unearth the origins of those bandits—why bother arresting Zhou Zhi as well?

Perhaps you do not yet know who Zhou Zhi is.

Zhou Zhi is a student of Magistrate Chen. Before I set out, Magistrate Chen explicitly instructed me that his student must not be arrested, even if he were to commit murder.

With Magistrate Chen protecting him, Zhou Zhi naturally cannot be touched!"

At this point, he could not help shaking his head with a heavy sense of frustration and helplessness, sighing, "Alas! Though I possess a heart dedicated to the people, I cannot override the Magistrate; I must still take my orders from him!"