Chapter 616: Are You Talking About Me?

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

Inside the County Government Office, the County Magistrate's wife draped a coat over the 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 deep sense of powerlessness. This sense of powerlessness was something he could only reveal in front of his wife.

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

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

"Husband, what are you saying? For so many years, you have been diligent and conscientious, bearing every burden without complaint. 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 offered comfort repeatedly, though unfortunately, it had little effect.

On the face of the County Magistrate, Chen Zhao, there remained that same look of self-reproach; after one night, 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 the matter here. By then, I would release the girl and let her start her life over."

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

"Can a Prefect just disregard the laws of the land? 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 some tea and handed it to him.

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

"I know full well that it is the playboy's fault, yet I have no choice but to show bias. I am no longer fit to be an official!"

"Husband!" Leaning in, the County Magistrate's wife comforted him softly, "If you were not loyal and upright, and did not know how to flatter or curry favor, how could someone of your ability be trapped in a tiny Santu County?"

"I understand your difficulties, Husband, but you must not lose heart. If you leave and a corrupt official replaces you, it is the common people who will suffer."

"I understand your actions even better. 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 you could only come up with this method."

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

"It is not suffering; being by your side, Husband, is my honor."

"My Lord, My Lord!" Just as the couple was being affectionate in the room, the voice of the Constable, Yang Yan, suddenly came from outside.

The voice sounded very urgent, and 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, gasping for breath, "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 quite a few cases of missing women in their county, and all sorts of clues pointed directly to the people of 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, surrounded only by a few Constables and Yamen Runners. Let alone taking down the Qiu Family, if any expert from the Qiu Family came by, they could easily take him down instead.

Not only that, they could turn around and pin the label of a corrupt official on him, and even without evidence, they could fabricate it.

When the time came to kill him, not only would there be no consequences, but they would even be praised by others while wandering the pugilistic world.

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

As for him, a mere County Magistrate, who would remember him? Did it really matter if he was a corrupt official? And who would ever clear his name?

Therefore, it was not that he did not want to deal with the Qiu Family, but that he could not. Who didn't know that the Qiu Family's influence was vast? Even the Prefect had to show them some respect, let alone the Prefect.

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

"The most useless are the scholars"—only after truly sitting in this position did he understand the meaning of this phrase.

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

His dream of having a backbone of steel would likely never be realized. Being able to hold fast to his original intentions and ensure he did not fall into corruption was already the limit of his efforts; how could he have the energy to manage a family like the Qiu Family?

All he could do was offer veiled warnings. He had previously spoken to the Qiu Family Head in a roundabout way, hoping they would restrain themselves; although some things were not said explicitly, the meaning was already very clear.

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

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 pugilistic 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 large family; 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 does not look like a feud in the pugilistic world; it looks more like someone went to uphold justice."

"Some women escaped from the Qiu Family; they were all captured 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 recent frequent disappearances of women were indeed related to the Qiu Family. Well-killed!" Slamming his hand hard on the table, Lin Zhao's face was filled with hatred yet also a touch of secret pleasure.

It was a pity he lacked martial arts skills; otherwise, he would have wanted to do the same 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!"

Speaking to this point, Yang Yan cautiously raised his head to look at the County Magistrate's expression. He knew all too well what this name represented, which was why he was stammering.

"Shen Yu? Wait, Shen Yu!" The teacup in his hand clattered to the ground; upon hearing this name, Chen Zhao could not help but shudder.

This person who loved to kill 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.

What this Shen Yu, who hated evil as much as he hated a personal enemy, would do when the time came, went without saying.

So, 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; even if he appeared, he wouldn't come to our small place!"

"Right, right, it shouldn't be, hopefully it isn't, best if it isn't!"

"Are you talking about me?"