Chapter 32

As night fell, the darkness enveloped Qingyun County, which was surrounded by mountains.

Zhao Lian returned home with a gloomy face, clearly in a bad mood. The maids and servants in the house were all cautious and obedient, afraid of angering Zhao Lian.

After dinner, Zhao Lian sat in the main hall, eyes closed, trying to think of ways to make the two young men in the jail talk.

During the day, he had been ordered by the county magistrate to interrogate Ning Wushuang and Ning Bo Wu. He had thought that Ning Wushuang was just a young punk who would confess immediately under torture. However, the young man was stubborn, cursing and insulting him, even cursing the Zhao family for generations, which made Zhao Lian furious. Despite using all kinds of torture, he couldn't make Ning Wushuang shut up.

As for Ning Bo Wu, Zhao Lian had even less control over him. Not only was Ning Bo Wu a fool, but even if he weren't, the torture that worked on ordinary people was like tickling to him. The whip could draw blood from Ning Wushuang, but it left no mark on Ning Bo Wu. Every time Ning Bo Wu smiled at him, Zhao Lian felt it was a mockery of his incompetence.

A young man in fine clothes entered, his body plump, his steps unsteady, his face pale, and a smell of alcohol on him. Seeing Zhao Lian sitting in the main hall, the young man was startled, the alcohol leaving him. He tried to tiptoe through the hall.

"Stop." Zhao Lian opened his eyes, anger in them, looking at his good-for-nothing son. Thinking of Ning Wuque who had defied him in the morning, he became even more furious.

"Kneel down! Tell me, where did you go with your gang of friends again?"

Hearing Zhao Lian's voice, the young man put on a smile that was more painful than crying, knelt in front of Zhao Lian, and lowered his head. "Father, I went to Yichun Garden..."

Yichun Garden was not a garden but a brothel.

"How could I have such a son..." Zhao Lian cursed.

The young man cautiously raised his head and said softly, "Father, today I accompanied the county magistrate's son..."

Zhao Lian's dark face relaxed a bit. Although his son was good-for-nothing, he had learned some skills. "Go down. The county examination is coming soon. Don't neglect your studies. Young Master Yang is going to study in the state capital. If you want to follow him, you can't fall behind."

"Father, I won't neglect my studies..."

The young man sighed inwardly, knowing he wouldn't be beaten tonight. He quickly got up and walked to the back hall.

Massaging his temples, Zhao Lian felt a headache. Things were not going well.

"Sir, the heat can make one irritable. I had the maid prepare a bowl of lotus seed porridge to calm you down." A dignified woman came in with a wooden tray, on which was a bowl of lotus seed porridge.

Seeing the woman, Zhao Lian took the porridge. "Madam, I have something troubling me. You came just in time, give me some advice..."

The woman sat down beside him and looked at Zhao Lian, asking, "Sir, what is troubling you so much?"

"Have you heard about the theft of ten thousand taels of gold from the treasury?"

The woman nodded, looking at Zhao Lian in surprise. "Could it be..."

"Shh..." Zhao Lian looked around, got up, and closed the door. He then said, "It was Yang Wenqing. He has a gang of bandits under him. Recently, the state capital launched a crackdown on bandits, and Yang Wenqing's gang suffered heavy losses, forcing them to flee into the Qingyun Mountains. These bandits are not good people. They threatened Yang Wenqing to get them five thousand taels of gold, or they would tell the authorities about their collusion. Out of desperation, Yang Wenqing decided to take the ten thousand taels of gold from the treasury. This gold was allocated by the court to help the famine-stricken people, but with the good harvests in recent years, it has been untouched. Not long ago, Yang Wenqing approached me, saying that if I could get the gold out, he would give five thousand taels to the bandits, and the rest would be split three to him and two to me..."

"Sir, did you agree?" The woman smiled coldly. "This Yang Wenqing is setting a trap for you. Once the deed is done, it will be his turn to deal with you."

Sighing, Zhao Lian said, "I only realized this today. I originally planned to make the Zhang family the scapegoat, but Zhang Fu didn't fall for it. He only caught two minor criminals. Today, I probed Yang Wenqing, and he didn't care whether I could pin the blame on the Zhang family. I became alert. This old fox, if the gold wasn't still in my hands, he would have already turned on me."

The woman was silent for a moment, a fierce look in her eyes. "Sir, the gold is still in your hands. We should go all the way..."

Zhao Lian was startled, looking at the woman. "Madam, you wouldn't be thinking of..."

"Sir, where would we go? The Zhao family's roots are here. If we run, we will not only offend Yang Wenqing but also be hunted by the bandits and the authorities. I mean, we should contact the bandits, split the gold with them. They have evidence of Yang Wenqing's crimes. It won't be hard to bring him down!"

Zhao Lian thought for a moment, his eyes brightening. "Good plan, madam, good plan. I've always had a grudge against Yang Wenqing."

"He is not righteous, so don't blame us for not being righteous." The woman smiled coldly.

"Right, where did you hide the gold? We need to act quickly and contact the bandits first."

Zhao Lian, having made up his mind, smiled. He waved his black feather fan lightly. "The bandits are in the city. These criminals are ruthless and desperate. They can't live in the mountains. Even if the authorities search, some of them are still hiding in the city. It won't be hard to contact them. As for the gold, I hid it in..."

Zhao Lian beckoned to the woman, who leaned in. He whispered a few words to her, then sat back in his chair, chuckling.

"Sir, that's a good move. Yang Wenqing will never think of that place!" the woman praised.

"Ha ha ha... Yes, Yang Wenqing looks good on the surface, but he's just a stuffed dummy. Colluding with bandits, he was caught by them and is now threatened by them. He wanted to keep a dog but ended up with a wolf. He brought this upon himself."

On the roof, a figure sat, the cool breeze blowing through his disheveled hair. In the darkness, a clear and handsome face was faintly visible, with dark golden eyes filled with coldness.

After a long while, the figure smiled. Corrupt official, truly a corrupt official. Colluding with bandits, oppressing the people, framing and killing for ten thousand taels of gold, he spares no effort.

"Zhao Lian, I didn't kill you today, but don't think I've let you off. Wait, retribution will come soon."

The figure leaped down, moving swiftly and ghostly, disappearing into the dark night.

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