Chapter 147

Zhao the constable looked toward where the jailer was pointing.

That was the lock on the prison door; its bolt and chain were forged from high-quality pig iron, so even ordinary bronze weapons could not damage it, let alone weapons made of pig iron.

But such a sturdy lock has now been broken.

The break has a unique shape, making it impossible to tell how it was caused.

Zhao the constable stared at the broken lock, frowning and muttering, "It seems… this was severed by some unimaginably great force…"

Hearing this, the jailer's face paled a little, his fear more evident, "I guessed right… it's… it's the power of ghosts and gods."

As soon as he said that, the several jailers and constables present all changed expression.

Zhao the constable snapped his head back, glaring fiercely at the jailer, "What nonsense are you spouting!"

"I'm not making it up…" the jailer stammered, stepping back two steps, "We have no idea when the two prisoners in the death cell escaped; by the time we noticed, the cell was already empty."

"Constable Zhao, you yourself said the lock was severed by an unimaginable force!"

"If it's not the power of ghosts and gods, what else could it be?"

The more the jailer spoke, the more terrified he became, his legs trembling so he could barely stand.

Zhao the constable had wanted to ask who else besides Show Mei was locked in the death cell, but hearing the jailer's words, he involuntarily recalled Show Mei saying those two superb iron pots were gifts from immortals, and he immediately felt panicked, losing the desire to ask anything else.

His few constable subordinates appeared calmer than the jailer and guards, but inside they were just as panicked.

Could it be… that the ghosts and gods learned of what they did and came to rescue Show Mei?

Or will the ghosts and gods punish them instead?

"No… I need to find someone to perform a ritual," the jailer grabbed a few jailers, "Come on, let's prepare the things and summon a priest!"

After the jailer and the jailers left, several constables turned ashen and gathered around Constable Zhao.

"Boss, should we also do something?"

"Or… should we return that precious iron pot to its owner?"

"The immortals not only gave Show Mei gifts, they also protect her; we're basically…"

The constables grew more fearful the more they spoke.

Zhao the constable growled low, "Shut up! At this point, what's the use of going back? You've torn down her house; her husband and mother-in-law are likely already buried there dead! And her daughter has already been handed over to traffickers—do you still want her back?"

The constables froze; taken together, these facts leave no room for maneuver.

They could only stare helplessly at Constable Zhao.

"Boss… then what should we…"

"What should we do?"

Zhao the constable's cheeks tightened, his gaze dark as he stared at the broken prison lock, remaining silent for a long time.

The constables were anxious, their hearts scratching, but his demeanor frightened them so they dared not press further.

"I think there's no need to worry," Constable Zhao finally said, "Even if it's an immortal, that immortal doesn't seem to be omnipotent."

"Huh? Boss, how did you figure that out?"

"Heh, isn't that simple?"

Zhao the constable's expression softened a bit, and he declared firmly, "If the immortal were all-powerful, why didn't he show up to help Show Mei when we were at her house yesterday?"

Upon hearing that, the constables first froze, then their expressions relaxed considerably.

Zhao the constable continued, "Moreover, even though the immortal rescued Show Mei, he had to break the lock first—clearly his power is limited. So we really have nothing to fear!"

The constables nodded repeatedly, and no trace of fear remained in their eyes.

"I've already taken care of things with the magistrate," Constable Zhao lowered his voice, "Now Show Mei is an escaped death-row inmate; we can not only openly pursue her, but once we find her, we can—"

As he spoke, he swept his hand across his throat.

The constables understood his meaning, and immediately followed him out of the cellblock, preparing to begin a manhunt to silence her.

Just as they stepped out of the government office, Ning Yinxian also arrived at the front gate.

"Hey, boss, that woman…" one constable widened his eyes, pointing at Ning Yinxian walking toward them.

Zhao the constable glanced at her and muttered, "You can't walk straight when you see a pretty woman? Don't waste time on this!"

"No, no!" the constable hurriedly said, "Yesterday, when I was guarding the checkpoint with another squad of yamen runners, it was she and a man who forcibly took Show Mei away!"

Constable Zhao wasn't at the checkpoint then, so he didn't see it himself, but he had heard about it, and that's why he went to Show Mei's house yesterday to search.

"Are you sure it's her?" Constable Zhao asked.

The constable nodded vigorously, "Definitely! She's so beautiful I'd recognize her at a glance, and her accomplice—a tall, big guy—has very distinct features; I'd spot him too."

Upon hearing that, Constable Zhao ordered, "Surround her, but don't bring her into the yamen yet—I want to interrogate her first."

"Yes!"

Several constables immediately rushed to Ning Yinxian, drew their swords, and encircled her.

Ning Yinxian instinctively clutched the bundle in her arms and asked, "What do you want?"

Zhao the constable approached, voice cold, "You've got real guts—while the yamen is out looking for you, you walk right in."

"Who are you?" Ning Yinxian stared at him.

"This is our Constable Zhao!" a constable introduced, "He's the toughest of the constables in River Bay County!"

Ning Yinxian's expression darkened; she realized this was the scoundrel who had ruined Show Mei's family.

If the timing were right, she would really like to punch him to death.

Zhao the constable glanced at the bundle Ning Yinxian held, then fixed his face and asked, "What's your relationship with Show Mei?"

"Who is Show Mei?" Ning Yinxian calmly replied, avoiding falling into Constable Zhao's questioning trap.

If she said she had no connection, that would actually prove she knows Show Mei.

Unable to see any flaw in her expression, Constable Zhao said, "It's you and your accomplice who, together with a peasant woman, stormed the checkpoint yesterday at noon."

"Oh, her," Ning Jinli showed an expression of sudden realization, "What's wrong with her? Is it because she didn't pay the release fee, so you locked her up in the cell?"

Zhao said coldly, "Where did you and your accomplices go yesterday?"

Ning Jinli continued to blabber, "Of course I was hiding from you lot of officials; you don't even give face to your own county's folk, so us outsiders are surely in even more danger?"

After a round of indirect questioning, Zhao basically determined that this woman and her accomplices had nothing to do with Xiu Mei, and he also didn't know what had happened at Xiu Mei's home, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then we can proceed with official business.

Zhao casually pointed at two subordinates and instructed, "You two, take her to the county gate and hand her over to the other county officers for handling."

Normally, he wouldn't want to hand over the credit for catching a criminal to another colleague.

But compared to such minor achievements, finding Xiu Mei to silence her is the urgent priority.

The two constables were about to seize Ning Jinli.

"Don't move!" Ning Jinli shouted, "I'm here to pay money!"

Upon hearing the words "pay money," Zhao signaled his subordinates to step back.

Ning Jinli said solemnly, "I and my companion aren't bad people; have you ever seen evildoers openly provoke officials? We just didn't know your rules; seeing that poor farmwoman, we couldn't help but lend a hand, which ended up offending you. Now I'm here to pay the fine—tell me, how much do we owe?"

Nobody would refuse money.

Moreover, He Wan County imposes all those extra taxes just to make money.

If they can get the money, the officials don't want to go to trouble.

This directly hit Zhao's thinking.

"I didn't expect it, but you little lady are quite sensible," Zhao showed a smile, "Yesterday's incident had a bad impact; although no officials were hurt, you caused the county office to lose face and prestige, so this fine won't be low."

Ning Jinli patted her bundle, "I'm here to admit fault; naturally I've prepared, just say the amount."

"Fine, given your good attitude and promptness, I won't make things difficult for you," Zhao extended a finger, "the fine is one hundred taels of silver."

"Here you go." Ning Jinli swiftly produced a large silver ingot from her bundle.

Zhao took the hundred‑tael silver ingot and added, "It's one hundred taels per person."

"No problem." Ning Jinli gave him another ingot without hesitation.

Anyway, this money was taken from the magistrate's storehouse last night; just hand it over.

Zhao blinked, then quickly said, "Didn't you hear me? It's one hundred taels per person—besides you and your companion, the farmwoman you two took from the officials also counts."

"She counts toward my bill?" Ning Jinli feigned surprise and displeasure.

"Cut the nonsense!" Zhao threatened, "Short even half a tael, and I'll still throw you in jail."

"Never mind... I'll give it." Ning Jinli then produced another hundred taels.

Zhao and his subordinates were so pleased their mouths nearly split to their ears.

According to their own rules, a fine of a dozen or twenty taels would be about right, but they ended up hauling in three hundred taels all at once.

The excess naturally went into their pockets.

"Alright, this is settled," Zhao slipped the silver into his lapel, beaming, "I'll tell the folks at the county gate not to arrest you again."

"Thanks, then," Ning Jinli pouted, then asked, "I've heard many locals are locked up for not paying your taxes on time; can I pay for them too, and you release the people?"

Zhao looked astonished, "You'll pay for them?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Is there still such a gullible fool in the world?"

"Just tell me if you can pay."

"I can, sure," Zhao's eyes flickered with suspicion, "but what's your angle?"

Ning Jinli smiled, "I have no ulterior motive; I just can't bear to see the common folk suffer."

"Hahaha!" Zhao laughed loudly, "You've come here to play the heroine? Fine, fine, I'll indulge you—come with me to the county gate."

Ning Jinli pursed her lips, "No, I'll wait at the county gate; you bring the locals over, I'll pay for one, you release one."

Zhao couldn't pass up the chance to fleece this gullible fool, so he agreed without hesitation.

Soon after, he went into the county gate, fetched a record, and had his subordinates bring the detained locals to the county gate.

Everything was ready.

Zhao stood by the threshold, glanced at the hundreds of locals behind him, picked up a bamboo slip, and began reading from the first name.

The record stated that the first person was Er Niu, who owed fifty wen in tax silver and also needed to pay double the fine.

"Let's begin," Zhao said to Ning Jinli before him, "the first one, one tael of silver."

Ning Jinli handed over ten taels, passing them to the constable in charge of collecting money.

Zhao then took a brush, marked the bamboo slip, and shouted loudly, "Er Niu may go!"

An old man, face full of joy, hurried over, stepped over the threshold, bowed to Ning Jinli with clasped hands, "Thank you, thank you! Once I've saved up the money, I'll surely repay you."

Ning Jinli laughed, "No need to repay."

The old man stared, then tears welled in his eyes, "Little miss, you… you're truly a great person!"

"Get lost! Don't stand in the way!" Zhao barked.

The old man shrank his neck in fright, wiping his eyes as he left, glancing back every few steps.

Thereafter, Zhao followed the same procedure, taking Ning Jinli's money and releasing the locals one by one.

Originally, those so‑called tax fines were privately set by the county office, not conforming to the Great Profound Law Regulations; they were already extra exploitation of the populace, and he took this opportunity to inflate the amount each person supposedly owed.

Ning Jinli knew what he was doing, but pretended not to notice.

After about half an hour.

When the last detained local left the county gate, Ning Jinli's bundle was empty.

She had redeemed over two hundred locals, for which she paid nearly three hundred taels.

Adding the initial three hundred taels she had given out, she had produced almost six hundred taels of silver.

According to the locals' standard of living, six hundred taels of silver would sustain a household for one or two hundred years.

Even though the money came from the County Magistrate's home treasury, Ning Jinli couldn't help cursing the entire He Wan County Yamen in her heart.

Zhao and his men gathered money until their hands went soft, each one gleeful with flushed faces.

Ning Jinli gave a cold sneer. "Enjoy, enjoy—your day of death, when you'll have to pay double the price, is coming soon."

Just then, a man in a silk satin coat galloped his horse to the county gate; before the horse could steady, he hurriedly dismounted, nearly falling.

Zhao recognized him as the steward from the County Magistrate's residence and quickly went to meet him.

The steward's face was grim; he panted, speaking urgently into Zhao's ear.

Just moments ago Zhao had been smiling, but his face instantly changed—"How can this be?!"

"Yes!" the steward almost cried, "The master has been so angry he vomited blood over this—quickly bring men, go investigate thoroughly, and give the master an explanation!"

Zhao's expression turned grim; he immediately led his constables, together with the steward, rushing toward the County Magistrate's home.

Ning Jinli watched their frantic backs, a smile curling her lips—if she wasn't mistaken, that dog official must have discovered the treasury was empty.

Clip-clop—

Another burst of hoofbeats sounded.

Ning Jinli instinctively turned toward the sound and saw Xiao Qidi galloping his horse from the other end of the street.

She ran up and asked, "How is it? Did you find An An?"