Chapter 153: Trial Outside the Village

On his way home, Zhou Zhi instructed Li Lin to take two soldiers directly to Qingdu County and secretly brief Chen Guangyao on all his plans.

As one of Kou Tong's close associates, Li Lin naturally knew Chen Guangyao. Based on his understanding of Chen Guangyao, Zhou Zhi was certain that the magistrate would deeply grasp his intentions. He figured it wouldn't be long before Chen Guangyao led men to Baiyue Village to publicly try the case involving the Baiyue Village bandits.

Ever since Zhou Zhi was dragged away by the bandits two nights ago, the Zhou household had been thrown into complete chaos. His father, Zhou Tie, his mother, Lady He, and even his younger brother, Zhou Shaocheng, wept bitter tears all day long. Zhou Zhi was the future hope of the Zhou family; the burden of bringing honor and prestige to the clan fell squarely on his shoulders. In their minds, being captured by bandits meant certain death. Without Zhou Zhi, what meaning was left in the lives of the Zhou family?

The completely helpless family hardly knew what to do.

Early the very next morning, all the villagers of Baiyue Village learned of Zhou Zhi's capture by the bandits. From their perspective, Zhou Zhi hadn't really been captured; rather, upon seeing the County Vice-Magistrate take away Qi Yanwu, Zhou Zhi had obviously sneaked away to flee.

Without exception, they cursed him behind his back, even wishing for his swift demise.

With such a major crisis befalling the Zhou family in Baiyue Village, Fan Jin, Lü Xingchuan, Che Lang, and other scholarly friends who usually associated with Zhou Zhi were naturally deeply concerned. They certainly did not believe Zhou Zhi would actually collude with bandits. Having spent a long time in his company, they all knew Zhou Zhi harbored grand ambitions—even a yearning to serve the world—and that he intended to carve out a path through the imperial examinations. How could a man like that ever conspire with bandits?

Upon hearing the news of his capture, they were all filled with immense regret. In their view, the probability of Zhou Zhi surviving was exceedingly slim. Yet, as his friends, they felt compelled to visit the Zhou family to offer comfort and help search for Zhou Zhi's whereabouts as soon as possible.

Though hoodlums like Liu Hui and his gang found it inconvenient to visit the Zhou family openly, Liu Hui had long since urgently instructed his underlings to find Zhou Zhi at all costs and by any means necessary—they must see him alive, or his corpse if he were dead.

Unlike the others, Liu Hui actually believed there was a chance Zhou Zhi hadn't been killed. Knowing Zhou Zhi's ruthlessness and cunning, he chuckled to himself; Zhou Zhi certainly had his own ways of dealing with bandits.

However, after two days passed, Zhou Zhi quietly returned home, bringing along a large number of soldiers, plunging the Zhou family into sudden and immense joy. These soldiers and the captured mountain bandits could not yet appear in public, but fortunately, the Zhou family was currently neglected by everyone. No one cared about the situation unfolding in their home, let alone came to observe.

As dusk approached, Zhou Zhi simply settled all the soldiers and bandits in the backyard workshop, planning to let them spend the night there. Unexpectedly, no sooner had he made these arrangements than he heard someone shouting loudly outside the courtyard, "Zhou Zhi, you brat, get out here!"

Unsure of who had arrived, Zhou Zhi hurried out from the workshop.

Before he even stepped out fully and had time to react, Jiang Bin and two bailiffs firmly pinned him to the ground, rendering him completely immobile.

"You brat, you dared to collude with bandits, and yet you still have the nerve to come back? Come with us, the Magistrate wants to interrogate you personally tonight!" Jiang Bin said viciously.

As he spoke, Jiang Bin even kicked Zhou Zhi, causing him immediate and intense pain. Jiang Bin was a man who detested evil as he detested personal enemies, and it was clear he did not yet know the true purpose behind the Magistrate's operation.

Zhou Zhi thought to himself that since Jiang Bin was a close confidant of Magistrate Chen Guangyao and yet remained unaware of the Magistrate's intentions, it showed just how secretly the Magistrate was acting. Indeed, this magistrate was no ordinary figure.

Though his body ached, Zhou Zhi felt an extraordinary sense of joy in his heart. Not only had his teacher the magistrate arrived remarkably fast, but he had also orchestrated this layout so brilliantly. Being able to call such a man master was truly his good fortune.

How could Zhou Zhi know that Magistrate Chen Guangyao had spent the past few days having a thoroughly miserable time, his mood plummeting to the absolute bottom?

When he arrived in Qingdu County as magistrate in the spring of last year, he had possessed an intense desire to serve his country and people and to be a good official. But upon arriving in Qingdu County, he encountered the local tyrant, Vice-Magistrate Yang Tong. Not only did Yang Tong pay lip service to him while undermining him at every turn, but he also constantly tried to ruin his reputation, leaving Chen Guangyao in an extremely passive position.

Chen Guangyao had quickly learned that Yang Tong had gone to Baiyue Village to investigate the bandits, arrested Qi Yanwu, and blackened Chen's name in the village.

Yet, knowing this, he had been utterly powerless, lacking the strength to retaliate. Chen Guangyao had genuinely worried that Zhou Zhi might have colluded with the bandits; if that were true, he, as Zhou Zhi's teacher, would probably never be able to clear his name. Whether he could even continue serving as magistrate in Qingdu County had become a questionable matter.

Especially upon learning of Zhou Zhi's mysterious disappearance, Chen Guangyao had felt as though he were sitting on pins and needles every day. Still, after pondering it repeatedly, he felt Zhou Zhi had no reason to collude with bandits—Zhou Zhi was not foolish enough to ruin his own future in such a manner.

Having received Li Lin's report today and fully comprehending Zhou Zhi's intent, Chen Guangyao's heart instantly cleared, and his spirit was greatly invigorated.

He acutely realized this was a rare opportunity to teach Yang Tong a lesson and suppress him. Without a shred of hesitation, he immediately summoned Yang Tong and sternly instructed him to bring Qi Yanwu along, as he intended to go to Baiyue Village in person to try the case.

Zhou Zhi was his student, and by arresting Zhou Zhi himself, he would demonstrate justice that transcended personal ties.

Chen Guangyao's reputation in Baiyue Village had already been thoroughly ruined by Yang Tong. If Chen Guangyao went there now, it would be tantamount to courting humiliation. Justice transcending personal ties? Heh! It sounded nice, but how could such a petty trick repair a ruined reputation?

Without much consideration, Yang Tong readily agreed and ordered Qi Yanwu to be dragged out of the dungeon.

It is worth mentioning that over the past few days, Qi Yanwu had suffered immensely in the Qingdu dungeons, leaving his body covered in scars. Yang Tong had constantly tried to break Qi Yanwu's resolve, forcing him to implicate Zhou Zhi in collusion with the bandits, or resort to judicial torture and coerced confessions to make him speak.

Yet Qi Yanwu's spine was astonishingly rigid. Under brutal torture, he had repeatedly lost consciousness, yet he kept his teeth clenched tight, insisting that Zhou Zhi was merely a poor commoner who had nothing to do with bandits.

Chen Guangyao assembled the three ranks of yamen bailiffs, accompanied by Vice-Magistrate Yang Tong and Registrar Ouyang Zheng, and marched out of Qingdu County in grand procession, arriving imposingly outside Baiyue Village.

Coincidentally, there was a threshing floor in the northeast corner of Baiyue Village with a flat and spacious ground. Chen Guangyao designated this place as the courtroom for the trial.

Fortunately, there was no wind that night, save for the biting cold. The bailiffs lit torches, illuminating the threshing floor as bright as day.

Bailiffs had long since been sent to shout along the streets of Baiyue Village, proclaiming that the Magistrate would try Zhou Zhi at the threshing floor tonight.

The county magistrate leaving his office to hold a trial in a small village was something they had never heard of before. Furthermore, it was a trial regarding the collusion of Zhou Zhi with bandits. How could the villagers possibly care about the freezing cold? Their enthusiasm was already boiling over, and their blood racing as they scrambled to the threshing floor to watch.

By now, Jiang Bin had brought Zhou Zhi forward, and Zhou Zhi knelt right on the spot. Just like a formal trial in a hall of justice, imposing yamen bailiffs stood on both sides. In front of them was placed a long wooden table, behind which sat Magistrate Chen Guangyao with a stern and solemn expression. Seated to his lower left were Vice-Magistrate Yang Tong and Registrar Ouyang Zheng. In addition, a clerk responsible for taking notes was arranged in a corner.

Seeing that the villagers had gathered and the scene had grown quiet, Chen Guangyao struck the gavel heavily and asked in a deep voice, "Is the person kneeling below Zhou Zhi?"

"Replying to the Magistrate's words, this humble youth is Zhou Zhi!" Zhou Zhi answered with a trembling voice.

"Zhou Zhi, how did you collude with bandits and let the brigands come to Baiyue Village to burn, kill, and plunder? Why don't you confess truthfully!" Chen Guangyao demanded angrily, his face cold.