Chapter 119: Establishing Authority

"I have actually been dismissed from office!"

Clutching the document, Zhuo Yutang trembled all over, as if unable to recover from the turn of events before his eyes. Various memories from the past flooded his mind, leaving him feeling unspeakably bitter.

"To think that I, Zhuo Yutang, have served as an official for decades, always keeping myself clean and honest; even if I have no great achievements, I have at least put in the hard work. How could the imperial court..."

"Hmph, hard work? You have the nerve to say that!" Walking slowly forward, Shen Yu pulled him down from the main seat in the hall and sat down generously in his place. As for this former Prefect, he did not owe him even the slightest bit of courtesy.

"Prefect Zhuo, this official has not seen any of your 'hard work,' but I have certainly witnessed your ability to tell lies with your eyes wide open! I saw your handling of the case just now quite clearly; it was truly an eye-opener!"

"You!" Being mocked like this by a young man, combined with the double blow of being dismissed, caused Zhuo Yutang's fingers to turn white as he gripped the document. A surge of rage filled his chest, yet he had nowhere to vent it.

"By the way, the Governor also asked me to pass a message to you. He said, 'Get back to your hometown and farm; the imperial court does not feed trash like you!'"

"This official originally thought the Governor's words were a bit harsh. By rights, you, Prefect Zhuo, are at least not corrupt or greedy, so you shouldn't have deserved such an evaluation. Now it seems that not being corrupt does not mean being competent; I actually feel the Governor was too lenient."

"You are not trash; you are worse than trash!"

"You, you!" Shen Yu's blunt and stinging slap in the face left Zhuo Yutang speechless, his heart filled with a thousand words that ultimately remained unspoken.

Especially now that he was no longer the Prefect but a commoner, he had no authority left to speak of. As he was now, he didn't even have the courage to retort.

"What 'you' are you talking about? Get out! You are no longer the Prefect of Songnan Prefecture; I am the one in charge here!"

"Clack!" Striking the Gavel, Shen Yu shouted directly, "The previous case is void; this official is going to retry it now!"

"Scholar He, you hold the rank of scholar, do you not?"

"Yes, this student is untalented, but I passed the examination for scholar the year before last!"

"Good!" After nodding, Shen Yu looked at Gu Mao beside him. "And you? Do you also hold an official rank?"

"This, I am working hard at it, and I will be able to soon..."

"So that means you don't?" Watching the other man's hesitant appearance, Shen Yu gave a light snort and then asked indifferently, "Then do you hold a title of nobility?"

"I, I..."

"That means you don't have that either!" A cold sneer appeared on his face as Shen Yu stared straight at him, his eyes filled with a touch of mockery and disdain.

"Then this official is curious: you have no rank, no title, and no status whatsoever. Why are you able to stand so boldly in the hall? As a commoner who has entered the Public Hall, why do you not kneel?"

"I am a member of the Gu Family, and my cousin is the Minister of Personnel!"

"This official is asking you, not your cousin!" Striking the Gavel again, Shen Yu's aura shifted significantly as he said coldly, "Audacious Gu Mao! To dare not kneel before this official in the Public Hall—this is open contempt for the court and the imperial government. Someone, give him twenty strokes of the board first, as a warning to others!"

However, after Shen Yu finished speaking, no Yamen Runner dared to step forward. It was clear that the Gu Family's reputation was feared not only by the former Prefect Zhuo Yutang but also by these Yamen Runners.

Faced with a family like the Gu Family, what were they? If they took action today, they feared they wouldn't live until nightfall before the Gu Family took revenge. These Yamen Runners were all too aware of the methods such people used.

"A bunch of trash!" Narrowing his eyes slightly, he had not expected that not a single Yamen Runner would dare to carry out his order. Truly, a weak leader makes for a weak group; whatever kind of official leads, he produces the same kind of subordinates. The entire Prefecture Office of Songnan Prefecture was useless.

"My Lord, let me!" Snatching the stick from a Yamen Runner's hand, He Yinshan kicked the man to the ground and swung the stick down directly.

"You, you dare to hit me?"

"I am hitting exactly you!"

"Ah! Ah!" Following this, the screams traveled further and further, causing all the commoners who saw this scene to discuss it fervently. What kind of family was the Gu Family? They were the type who could walk sideways in Songnan Prefecture; when had a member of the Gu Family ever been in such a pathetic state?

This Gu Mao, who was being beaten so miserably before their eyes, had committed countless evils in his daily life, making many commoners gnash their teeth in hatred yet feel helpless. Even if they were high-ranking officials, they were the ones who ended up suffering in the end.

But now, it seemed this new Prefect was different from all the ones before.

"Ah, ah, stop hitting, stop hitting! You are being insolent! I am a member of the Gu Family, and my cousin is the Minister of Personnel in the imperial court! You, a mere tiny Prefect, a dog-like thing, how dare you hit me?"

"Wait! What did you just say? This official didn't hear you clearly." Lifting his head slightly with a flash of murderous intent in his eyes, Shen Yu tilted his body and asked, "You dare to call an imperial official a dog? Who gave you the guts!"

"Yinshan, beat him hard for me. For insulting an imperial official and showing contempt for the laws of the court, add fifty more strokes!"

"Yes, My Lord!" The stick in his hand fell heavily once more. With an expert like He Yinshan doing it himself, there would be no need to wait to process Scholar He's case after these fifty strokes; it was unlikely Gu Mao would still be breathing afterward.

"Ah, ah, My Lord, stop hitting, I was wrong, ah..." The shrill, miserable screams spread out from there. In dealing with such a person, He Yinshan did not hold back at all.

As a Grandmaster Realm expert, even his raw strength far exceeded that of an ordinary person, not to mention that He Yinshan had secretly added some of his own "special treatment." The initial twenty strokes had already taken half of Gu Mao's life, and before even half of the subsequent fifty strokes were finished, the person under the stick had stopped responding.

"Dead?" After probing slightly, He Yinshan stood up and said to Shen Yu, "My Lord, this person really couldn't take a beating. Before the strokes were even finished, he had already breathed his last!"

"Prefect Shen, this, you, sigh!" Seeing this scene, Zhuo Yutang let out a long sigh and said helplessly, "Prefect Shen, do you know who he is? The Gu Family has produced a Minister of Personnel!"

"This official heard you, but so what? Can the family of a Minister of Personnel be lawless and show contempt for the Public Hall? So what if it is the Gu Family? It is precisely the Gu Family that I am hitting!"

"Good, well hit!" After kicking him twice, he knelt down with a thud. "My Lord, you are the true upright official. Today, you have avenged this student, and from now on, my, He Zhongquan's, life belongs to you, My Lord!"

"This official is not avenging anyone; I am merely acting according to the law. I want to tell everyone that since I have become the Prefect of Songnan Prefecture, I will not allow anyone to disregard the laws of the land here!"

"My Lord!" Kicking the now-lifeless Gu Mao, He Yinshan asked, "What should be done with this brat?"

"Drag him out and hang him outside the Prefecture Office for me. Tell all the people in the city: from today on, this is the fate of anyone who dares to bully the commoners!"

"Prefect Shen wants to use the Gu Family to establish his authority, but has Prefect Shen thought about the consequences?" Realizing Shen Yu's intention, Zhuo Yutang almost pulled his own beard out.

Are all young people these days this reckless? That is the kinsman of a Minister of Personnel. What kind of place is the Ministry of Personnel? They can teach you a lesson in a heartbeat!

"Prefect Zhuo, that is not something you need to worry about. Please pack your things, Prefect Zhuo, and get out of Songnan Prefecture immediately!"