As soon as Xu Qi'an entered the yamen, he heard a voice with a crying tone, "Big brother..."

It was Xu Lingyue, dressed in a light blue robe, standing elegantly with tear stains on her fair and beautiful face, her eyes red and swollen like a pitiful little flower.

Xu Lingyin was nowhere to be seen, probably in the side hall and not allowed to come over.

Xu Qi'an nodded slightly, giving her a calm look.

The county magistrate Zhu, who had already received the news, sat high behind the table and saw a group of people being brought in by the yamen runners, including the angry young man in brocade.

Old Zhu was taken aback and hurriedly got up to greet him.

"Oh, isn't this Lord Zhou? How are you, Lord Zhou?"

The young man in brocade waved his sleeve and forced Zhu away, pointing at Xu Qi'an fiercely, "This man attacked me on the street and tried to kill me. Arrest him now!"

"You're exaggerating, you're exaggerating..." Zhu accompanied him with a smiling face, turned his head, and shouted angrily, "Quick, Xu Qi'an, come over here!"

Xu Qi'an gritted his teeth and went up.

"You bastard, how dare you hit even the son of the Ministry of Revenue's attendant? What's wrong with you?" Zhu kicked Xu Qi'an and turned his head with a sycophantic smile, "Lord Zhou, it's a family matter. You are a big man who doesn't care about small people like him."

Outside the crowd, Xu Lingyue watched her cousin being reprimanded because of her, tears rolling down her cheeks, her delicate nose redder than an ordinary woman.

The son of the Ministry of Revenue's attendant... Xu Qi'an's heart sank.

In the officialdom of the Great Feng Dynasty, the power of an official was not determined by rank, but by background and power.

There were many officials of the first and second ranks, but only a handful of them truly stood at the pinnacle of power.

The secretaries and attendants of the six ministries were among them.

This incident of hitting the son of the Ministry of Revenue's attendant was going to be a big deal.

"Don't give me this crap. You're not going to arrest him? I'll do it myself." Lord Zhou waved his hand and ordered his followers, "Arrest this boy for me."

He didn't believe that this boy would dare to resist and attack in the yamen.

Zhu shouted, "Who dares to use violence in the yamen? Execute him without mercy."

The third-class yamen runners rushed out, drew out their wooden knives, and held them against the neck of the follower who was about to act.

The white servants were on guard with their sticks.

"Zhu, how dare you touch my people?" Lord Zhou pointed at Zhu's nose and cursed loudly.

"Don't misunderstand, Lord Zhou. I'm a government official and I'm just following the rules." Zhu still had a sycophantic smile on his face and wiped off the spittle on his face, "I have a lawsuit here accusing you of riding a horse and attacking a virtuous woman. The plaintiff is Xu Lingyue."

This was a trick that Zhu had prepared in advance. If the other party was just an ordinary yamen runner, Zhu would find a way to minimize the matter.

But he never expected that the victim was the son of the Ministry of Revenue's attendant.

Lord Zhou sneered, "I rode a horse and attacked someone? Who did I hurt? Bullied a virtuous woman? Zhu, go out and ask around. Did I even touch this woman with a finger?"

"Then maybe this woman mistook you for someone else." Zhu laughed and put the lawsuit back in his sleeve.Oh no, the county magistrate Zhu can't handle it, I have to find a way to save myself, and if it doesn't work, I'll have to run away... but it will definitely implicate my second uncle's family. Xu Qi'an was a little anxious. In this era, only the second generation of officials can deal with the second generation of officials. His rank is far inferior to theirs.

Not to mention him, even his second uncle, a hundred households of the Imperial Sword Guard, is nothing in front of the Household Department's assistant minister.

He is nothing.

As for regret, there is none. With a knife at his neck, can he allow himself to be slaughtered?

In a sudden thought, he saw one of Zhou Gongzi's followers leaving the county yamen, and County Magistrate Zhu did not stop him.

Xu Qi'an's heart sank a little more. He walked to Wang the Catcher's side and whispered, "Boss, I'm in trouble today. I have something to ask you for."

Wang the Catcher was silent for a moment and whispered, "You speak."

In the past month, their relationship had grown rapidly. They went to the theater every day, drank flower wine together, and formed a deep friendship.

"First, lend me one or two taels of silver."

Wang the Catcher felt around in his bosom and took out a handful of broken silver, which was less than one or two taels.

Xu Qi'an took the broken silver and put it in his pocket before saying, "Boss, ride to my house first, and take a blue-covered book from the cabinet next to my bed, but be sure not to take the wrong one."

The diary has a light yellow cover.

"After you take the book, go to the Bureau of Heavenly Observation and find a girl named Caiwei. Help me deliver a message: Xu Qi'an is in trouble, please hurry to save him."

The Bureau of Heavenly Observation?! Wang the Catcher hesitated. "That place is not where people like me can go."

Letting him into the Bureau of Heavenly Observation was like letting an ordinary person into the palace, he didn't even have the courage to approach it.

Xu Qi'an knew this, and whispered, "If I'm in trouble, no one will be able to repay you this silver."

Wang the Catcher widened his eyes.

"If you can help me with this, I'll give you all my salary next month."

"Damn you, Xu Qi'an." Wang the Catcher cursed and rushed out of the county yamen.

...

After receiving the notice, Xu Pingzhi borrowed a horse from his colleague and hurried to the county yamen of Changle.

Entering the threshold and entering the courtroom, the first thing he saw was his daughter crying uncontrollably and trembling, followed by the tense yamen runners and followers.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread.com".

Xu Pingzhi withdrew his gaze and came to his daughter, asking sternly, "What happened?"

Xu Lingyue cried even harder when she saw her father, and told him what had happened between sobs.

When he heard that the son of the assistant minister Zhou had trampled on his young daughter with his horse's hooves, his eyes twitched and his face became even more gloomy.

"If it weren't for your elder brother, Lingyin would be gone... sob..."

Ning Yan... Xu Pingzhi looked at his nephew's figure, closed his eyes for a few seconds, and whispered, "You go to the side hall and watch over Lingyin. Don't come out."

Watching his daughter's figure disappear as she ran, Xu Pingzhi walked forward silently and stared at the brocade-clad Zhou Gongzi. "Can this matter be resolved, Zhou Gongzi?"

Zhou Gongzi met his eyes and seemed to feel the palpable killing intent. He remembered what Xu Qi'an had said on the street.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't say a word.

"Xu Baihu has such great official power. If my son doesn't stop, do you still want blood to splatter five steps?"An old man wearing a blue long gown with gold edges on the cuffs and collar and a jade pendant hanging from his waist entered the county yamen.

With more white hair than black, a thin face, and sharp eyes that seemed to hide needles, he spoke as soon as he reached the door and was already in the courtroom by the time he finished.

"Uncle Chen!" The young man in a brocade robe was overjoyed.

"How did you get hurt like this, young master? Which damn animal did this? I've watched you grow up, and even the slightest injury hurts my heart."

The old man saw the crusted blood on the young master's earlobe and felt both heartbroken and angry.

"I've told the master several times to assign a high-level Qi refining expert to you, but he always refuses, citing your love of causing trouble."

"What's wrong with causing trouble? It's better for others to suffer than for you to suffer, young master."

Feeling a surge of energy lock onto him, Xu Pingzhi felt as if he were in a freezing pit, and his back felt like a snake had crawled over it. He had the feeling of being on the brink of life and death.

This kind of feeling often occurred in the midst of battle, making him afraid to move.

This old man was a high-level expert in refining the gods.

"Who are you?" County magistrate Zhu coughed.

"I'm just an old slave in the Zhou Mansion, unworthy of being called 'you'," the old man interrupted dispassionately.

"Senior, you're being too polite." As a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, Zhu knew best the ins and outs of officialdom. He smiled apologetically. "It's all just a misunderstanding. The imperial inspection is imminent, so let's all get along. Senior, what do you think?"

The old man sneered, "A few insignificant small fry can't affect the master's imperial inspection. The Zhou Mansion has always used virtue to win people over and follows all the rules and regulations of the court."

At first, no one understood what he meant, but a moment later, the chaotic and loud sound of footsteps came from outside the yamen gate.

Then a group of soldiers in armor rushed in, led by an official in a blue robe with a white deer embroidered on it. His gaze swept around, and he said loudly, "The Ministry of Justice is here to arrest criminals. All others, please make way. If anyone interferes, they will be punished along with the criminals."

After a pause, the fifth-rank official in the blue robe smiled at Zhou Gongzi and asked, "Where is the criminal?"

Zhou Gongzi pointed his halberd at Xu Qi'an and said, "Lock up this dog."

The fifth-rank official waved his hand, "Take him away."

The soldiers rushed forward, took out the shackles, and locked Xu Qi'an up.

"What crime has my nephew committed?" Xu Pingzhi was anxious.

"Whether he's guilty or not, I'll decide," the fifth-rank official said indifferently. "As a Ministry of Justice official, I am committed to upholding justice and being meticulous."

Xu Pingzhi wanted to say more but was held back by County Magistrate Zhu.

"Take him away!"