Chapter 276: Here I Call the Shots

"Husband, you haven't closed your eyes for an entire night; you should get some rest!"

Inside the County Government Office, the County Magistrate's wife draped an outer garment over County Magistrate Chen Zhao and rubbed his shoulders with a pained heart.

Looking at this devoted wife who had been by his side day and night, Chen Zhao's face was full of self-reproach, yet he also felt a sense of profound powerlessness. This sense of powerlessness was something he could only reveal in front of his wife.

"Munian, tell me, am I a good-for-nothing? I clearly know the Prefect's son deserved his punishment, and I clearly know that young woman was innocent, yet I could only exile her."

"I have failed the people of Santu City, and I have failed this official robe I wear!"

"Husband, what are you saying? You have been diligent and conscientious for so many years, never complaining; who in all of Sichang County does not praise you? You have already done well enough."

Facing her husband, who wore a look of self-reproach, the County Magistrate's wife comforted him repeatedly, though the effect was minimal.

On the face of County Magistrate Chen Zhao, that look of self-reproach remained, and after the night had passed, he seemed to have aged significantly.

"But I still sentenced that woman; she should never have had to suffer so much. The first time she accused the Prefect's son, that playboy was the most vengeful of all."

"I was afraid she would be retaliated against, so I sentenced her to half a month of imprisonment, hoping to protect her, and I even instructed the Jailer to take good care of her!"

"I thought that after half a month, that playboy would have long since left Santu City and forgotten about what happened here. By then, I would release that young woman and let her start her life over."

"But who would have thought that this playboy would actually go into the prison to commit such beastly acts? That is the County Government Office prison! Where does he place the laws of the nation? Where does he place me, an official?"

"Can a Prefect just disregard the laws of the nation? Is he not afraid... *cough, cough*, it truly infuriates me!"

"Husband, you are still unwell, please do not get angry!" While gently stroking Chen Zhao's back, the County Magistrate's wife hurriedly picked up the tea and handed it to him.

"Wife, I only hate myself for being incompetent! I have often taken the honorable Chen Xing as my role model, hoping to be a loyal and upright official with a backbone of steel, but I never thought that in the end, I would still be compromising."

"I know full well that it is the fault of that playboy, yet I have no choice but to be biased; I am no longer fit to be an official!"

"Husband!" Leaning in close, the County Magistrate's wife comforted him warmly, "If it weren't for you being loyal and upright, not knowing how to flatter or curry favor, how could someone of your ability be trapped in a tiny Santu County?"

"I know your difficulties, Husband, but you must not be discouraged. If you leave and a corrupt official replaces you, then it is the common people who will suffer."

"I understand your actions even more; on the surface, you exiled her, but in reality, you were protecting her. We cannot afford to offend the Prefect, and you were afraid the woman would be retaliated against, so this was the only way you could think of."

"Wife, you are the one who understands me best!" Taking a sip from the teacup, Chen Zhao looked at his wife with a pained heart, "Following me all these years, you have suffered!"

"It is not suffering; it is my honor to be by your side."

"My Lord, My Lord!" Just as the husband and wife were being affectionate in the room, the voice of Constable Yang Yan suddenly came from outside.

The voice sounded very urgent, so Chen Zhao immediately shouted loudly toward the outside, "Come in, what is it? Has something happened?"

"My Lord!" Rushing in from outside, drenched in sweat, Yang Yan said breathlessly, "My Lord, the Qiu Family, the Qiu Family..."

"What about the Qiu Family again?"

Upon hearing Yang Yan mention the Qiu Family, Lin Zhao immediately pricked up his ears. Recently, there had been many cases of missing women in their county, and all sorts of clues pointed directly to the Qiu Family.

It was just that the Qiu Family was deeply rooted; they were the overlords of Santu City, with countless experts in their household. Moreover, he did not have enough evidence in his hands; everything was still just speculation.

Furthermore, he was merely a lowly County Magistrate with no soldiers or power, and only a few Constables and Yamen Runners by his side. Let alone taking down the Qiu Family, if any expert from the Qiu Family came, they could easily take him down instead.

Not only that, they could turn around and pin the label of a corrupt official on him, creating evidence even if none existed.

By then, killing him would not only result in no consequences, but they would also be praised by people in the martial arts world.

From then on, there would be one more corrupt and lawless official killed by martial artists in the imperial court, and one more hero who stood up for justice and feared no power in the martial arts world.

As for him, a mere County Magistrate, who would remember him? Was it really important whether he was a corrupt official or not? And who would ever overturn his verdict?

So, it was not that he didn't want to deal with the Qiu Family, but that he couldn't. Who didn't know that the Qiu Family had immense power? Even the Prefect had to give them some face, let alone the Prefect.

If he reported the Qiu Family's evil deeds today, he could be sold out by the Prefect tomorrow.

"A scholar is useless," only after truly sitting in this position did he understand the meaning of this phrase.

With a heart full of passion but nowhere to unleash it, he could only become increasingly slick and adept at avoiding harm while hitting walls day after day.

His dream of having a backbone of steel would likely never be realized. He was already using all his strength just to keep his conscience clear and ensure he didn't fall into corruption; how could he have any more energy to deal with a family like the Qiu Family?

All he could do was offer veiled advice. He had previously spoken to the Qiu Family Head in a roundabout way about the Qiu Family's affairs, hoping they would restrain themselves; although some things weren't said explicitly, the meaning was very clear.

However, the Qiu Family had never taken him seriously from beginning to end. Perhaps in their eyes, he was just a County Magistrate from a humble background with no connections, daring to meddle in their business.

If they were truly annoyed, they would just help Santu City find a new County Magistrate.

The Qiu Family had always been this arrogant and overbearing!

"My Lord, the Qiu Family has been wiped out. To be precise, the experts of the Qiu Family have basically all been killed. Except for a few collateral descendants, no one else survived!"

"What? Who did it? Was it a feud in the martial arts world?"

The Qiu Family was already enough of a headache, and now that the Qiu Family had been wiped out, it was even more of a headache.

That was a great family, and to have them wiped out in broad daylight like this—how was he supposed to explain it? However, it was truly well-killed; it was truly satisfying!

"My Lord, it doesn't look like a martial arts feud; it looks more like someone went to uphold justice."

"Some women escaped from the Qiu Family; they were all kidnapped by the Qiu Family, the very ones who had gone missing recently. Your subordinate heard from those women that the person who saved them was a young man."

"The frequent disappearances of women recently really were related to the Qiu Family. Well-killed!" Slamming his hand hard on the table, Lin Zhao's expression was full of hatred yet secretly gratified.

It was a pity he lacked martial arts skills, otherwise, he would have wanted to do this long ago.

"The Qiu Family trafficking women is truly detestable."

"Have you found out the identity of this young man?"

"My Lord, it seems I heard them say that the young man's name is, is Shen Yu!"

At this point, Yang Yan carefully looked up at the County Magistrate's expression. He knew all too well what this name represented, which was why he was stuttering.

"Shen Yu? Wait, Shen Yu!" The teacup in his hand clattered to the ground; upon hearing this name, Chen Zhao couldn't help but shiver.

This person who loved killing corrupt officials everywhere had come to Santu City. The woman had just been exiled by him, and Shen Yu would likely know the ins and outs of the matter.

As for what this Shen Yu, who hated evil as much as he hated a deadly enemy, would do then, it went without saying.

So, in the end, he could not escape it after all.

"My Lord, it shouldn't be that Shen Yu, right? Didn't he disappear? He has already been gone for three years, and even if he appeared, he wouldn't come to our small place!"

"Right, right, it shouldn't be, hopefully it isn't, it had better not be!"

"Are you talking about me?"