Chapter 28: Offended the Magistrate and Still Want to Leave?

"Quick, search carefully, everyone! Do not let a single detail slip by!"

"Yes!" Following the secretary's order, the soldiers he brought immediately began to act, flooding directly into the inner residence to search for the so-called evidence, as if they had rehearsed it all beforehand.

"Good, very good!" This scene, falling into Shen Yu's eyes, made his anger burn. Since they dared to come, they must have come prepared. The tactic of framing someone was old, but it was undeniably effective.

Once the so-called evidence was found inside, Shen Yu would not be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River. The prestige he had painstakingly accumulated in Baian County would also collapse completely overnight!

"Killing without drawing blood!" Only at this moment did Shen Yu truly witness the terrifying nature of that Prefect. It lay not only in his cunning and deep calculations but also in his control over Changling Jun. With a single word, he made the richest man in Baian County cooperate obediently, without leaking a single whisper of information!

"My Lord, you are a rare and good official in this world. It is my honor to serve under you! In a moment, we will fight to the death to hold them back; My Lord, you must leave here quickly!"

With his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his blade, Zhou Yuan's anxious face was filled with determination. He was a head constable, after all; how could he not know what kind of schemes the other side was playing?

It was just a pity that Baian County had finally welcomed such a good official, only for him to fall under a conspiracy before he could even begin to realize his ambitions.

However, if these people wanted to take the County Magistrate away, they would have to see if he agreed! He had sought stability for so long that he had rendered himself useless, but this time, he had finally recovered the hot-bloodedness of his youth.

"Magistrate Shen, what is the meaning of your head constable keeping his hand on his sword hilt?" How could such a small action by Zhou Yuan escape the eyes of an old hand like the secretary? After glancing at Shen Yu, the secretary looked coldly at Zhou Yuan again.

"What? Does a mere little head constable intend to commit an act of insubordination?"

"Haha, the secretary is joking. As a head constable, I often deal with criminals, so I lack a sense of security and just like to keep my hand on the hilt at all times. Some habits, once formed, are hard to break!"

Quietly walking to Zhou Yuan's side, Shen Yu lowered his hand from the hilt and then patted his shoulder. "Head Constable Zhou, take some men to fetch some good wine immediately to treat our distinguished guests from the Prefecture Office!"

"My Lord!" Unable to help but look up, Zhou Yuan quickly realized what was happening, his hand unable to resist gripping the hilt tightly once more. The County Magistrate was trying to send him away so he could face all of this alone.

"Look, why can't you break that habit!" With a *slap*, Shen Yu knocked Zhou Yuan's hand off the hilt and said quietly, "Go. Your presence here will only distract me!"

"You should know my strength, so rest assured!" Seeing that Zhou Yuan still hadn't moved, Shen Yu frowned. "What? Is Head Constable Zhou already refusing to listen to my orders?"

"My Lord! Sigh!" Taking a deep breath, Zhou Yuan couldn't help but feel resentful that his natural talent was poor, leaving him with only second-rate skills and unable to help at all.

"Secretary, Secretary..." Just then, the soldiers who had followed the secretary came running over, panting heavily and in a great hurry. Too busy to wipe the sweat from their foreheads, they rushed to whisper in the secretary's ear.

"We searched everywhere; there is nothing, we found absolutely nothing!"

"Hm!" The secretary nodded with satisfaction at first, but then he reacted. "Ah? Nothing? How is that possible? Did you search carefully?"

"Secretary, we searched very carefully. There is only that one well in the residence; it is absolutely impossible for there to be a mistake. And we searched every other place thoroughly as well. We didn't find it; the person is not inside!"

"Impossible! How could you not find it?" As he spoke, the secretary glared fiercely at Sun Heling. He had personally controlled every link in the chain; there could be no mistake. Even if there was a mistake, it must be someone else's fault.

"This, I..." Stared at so fiercely by the secretary, Sun Heling was quite bewildered. *Why are you looking at me? I'm confused too. I was only responsible for providing the person; the rest was all done by you. If something went wrong in the middle, what does that have to do with me? *

"Didn't find it?" It wasn't just Sun Heling who was stunned; Shen Yu and Zhou Yuan were the same. The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in the other's eyes. They both immediately determined that neither of them had made a move.

Especially Shen Yu; he had known nothing about this beforehand, and at this moment, he was completely baffled. If they didn't find a body, could it be that they had made a mistake themselves? This secretary from the Prefect's house wasn't very reliable after all!

"Secretary, since you didn't find anything, doesn't that prove that the Magistrate is innocent! Sun Heling is simply slandering the Magistrate! Oh, I remember now!"

As if suddenly remembering something, Zhou Yuan continued loudly, "Some time ago, the Cai Family and the Feng Family were raided, and a large number of shops belonging to them were sealed. This Sun Heling wanted to take them for himself, but the Magistrate refused him!"

"Because of this matter, he must be harboring a grudge, so he took this opportunity to retaliate against the Magistrate. His heart is truly punishable!"

"I, I didn't, it's not..."

Seeing this scene, Shen Yu couldn't help but smile slightly. This Zhou Yuan looked honest, but he could spin a yarn just as well as anyone.

Some time ago, the Cai Family and the Feng Family were taken down one after another. As one of the three remaining great families, Sun Heling was wishing he could hide away; how would he dare to show his face in front of Shen Yu?

"No?" *Clang! * He drew the sword at his waist and held it horizontally across Sun Heling's neck. "Then tell me, did someone incite you to slander the Magistrate? Who incited you? If you don't speak, don't blame me for being heartless!"

As he spoke, Zhou Yuan couldn't help but apply some force, the blade grazing Sun Heling's neck and even drawing a trace of blood.

"This, this..." The pain coming from his neck made him completely panic. This man was a ruthless character; he really dared to strike. He was terrified that if he were even slightly careless, the other man's blade would fall. Life was so beautiful, and he hadn't enjoyed enough of it yet.

"No one incited me. Per—perhaps I remembered wrong. Yes, I remembered wrong. I was drunk that day, so I don't remember clearly. It probably wasn't the Magistrate who snatched my goddaughter, it was someone else..."

"Idiot!" As soon as Sun Heling said these words, the secretary knew that this scheme was completely ruined. How did this idiot become the richest man? Oh, right, it seems he offered his daughter to the Prefect, so that explains it!

But then again, someone who looked like that could have such a beautiful daughter? And could suck up to the Prefect! He was lucky!

"My Lord, it's all a misunderstanding! I won't press charges! I'm leaving, I'm leaving right now!"

"Do you think this County Government Office is a place you can come and go as you please?" Zhou Yuan's sword held horizontally, directly blocking Sun Heling's path of retreat. You want to leave after offending the Magistrate? What a joke!