Chapter 568: Knock Out and Carry Away

The Clerk's hand trembled slightly as he struggled to maintain his expression, but perhaps due to sheer terror, the muscles on his face twitched.

Seeing this, the County Magistrate felt a surge of courage and slammed his cup down with a loud bang.

The Clerk was startled and opened his mouth to shout back with false bravado, when suddenly the screen was shoved aside—two constables burst out like wolves, and before he could speak, one delivered a sharp knife-hand strike to the back of his neck.

The Clerk's eyes rolled back and he collapsed into the arms of one of the constables.

The County Magistrate urged: "Hurry, hurry."

The other constable fumbled to pull out a sack, slipped it over the man, and slung him onto his shoulder as he rushed toward the exit.

Outside the door stood the Secretary, who, upon seeing the man carried out, whispered: "Hurry, go down the left side—I've already arranged everything. The shopkeeper and staff inside the tavern will pretend they saw nothing. Exit through the back door, then enter through the magistrate's back door…"

The constable nodded.

How convenient.

This tavern's back door faced directly onto the magistrate's office back door; technically, they weren't even on the same street, which meant those summoned had little suspicion.

It made seizing people extremely easy.

The constable carried the sack downstairs, passed through the tavern's backyard, reached the kitchen door, burst out through the back entrance, then dashed through the magistrate's back door.

The entire route was unobstructed.

The Secretary personally watched the sack enter the magistrate's back door, then exhaled in relief and hurried back to the private room to see the County Magistrate.

The County Magistrate's hand no longer shook, his sweat had been wiped clean, and when he saw the Secretary return, he even smiled—though his voice still trembled slightly: "Sent him back?"

The Secretary bowed slightly: "Safe and sound."

The County Magistrate nodded slightly: "Prepare for the next one."

The Secretary nodded.

The private room fell silent for a moment. The County Magistrate asked: "Who's next?"

The Secretary looked at him with pity: "Your Honor, the next one is the former Prefect."

Whoa—the County Magistrate's hand stopped shaking immediately.

This man was the County Magistrate's direct superior, the one he saw every few days—and each visit left him with aching dread.

Due to the Yang Ji case, this Prefect had been stripped of office and investigated.

He'd been locked up for two months; whether because the imperial court in Jingcheng was too busy with infighting or because his offenses were minor, after two months in the Jia'an Prefecture jail, he was released.

But his official position was gone—the court had already appointed a new Prefect, though the new one hadn't yet arrived. The former Prefect was still in town, packing up and selling off his assets, and hadn't left.

He'd been out only five days, and the County Magistrate had avoided meeting him entirely.

Because it was awkward.

Turning on his former superior would violate his principles and severely damage his reputation;

yet… he simply couldn't stand this former superior.

So he pretended he didn't exist.

"I never expected that after hiding for so many days, I'd still have to kick him while he's down."

The former Prefect's name wasn't on the list provided by Li Master and the County Warden, but based on his understanding of this former superior, the County Magistrate was certain—he knew about Yang Ji's actions with ninety-nine percent certainty.

So, to solve the case and finish it quickly, he had no choice but to betray this former Prefect.

The former Prefect arrived on time.

Standing at the tavern's entrance, he glanced up at the signboard, then was warmly ushered inside by the waiter.

Seeing Wu Zhihong calmly seated in the private room, the former Prefect's eyes flickered with mockery as he ascended the stairs slowly and calmly.

He'd experienced enough coldness and indifference in recent days.

The former Prefect tilted his head slightly, wondering what his former subordinate intended to do now that he saw him.

Fifteen minutes later, a constable carrying a sack passed through the tavern's kitchen and exited through the back door.

The chef, who'd been tossing food in the wok, glanced over and muttered: "What's going on? Aren't the guests still eating? Why are they hauling out sacks all the time? Who's so crude they bring goods to eat?"

And they looked like bad goods. "Don't ask. Focus on your cooking—the guests up front are calling."

But soon another constable passed carrying a sack, then another after another half-hour…

Even the head chef now sensed something was wrong. He stood at the door holding his spatula, watching for a while before his expression changed: "The contents of those sacks aren't right."

He was about to step forward when a waiter serving dishes grabbed his arm and whispered: "They're magistrate's constables…"

The head chef looked closer and realized the men carrying the sacks, though dressed in plain cloth, had familiar faces.

The constable about to leave noticed the kitchen staff staring at him. Thinking of the man inside the sack, he stumbled—his left foot tripped over his right, nearly falling.

He clutched the sack tightly on his shoulder with his left hand, frantically grabbing the doorframe with his right—bang, bang, bang—the sack slammed repeatedly against the doorframe…

The Secretary came down and saw it, his face darkened. He rushed forward and caught the falling sack: "Be careful—inside is…"

The constable steadied himself and heaved the sack upward: "Steady, steady."

To prove it, he took a big step toward the door—but moved too fast, and the dangling sack slammed against the doorframe with a loud bang.

"Ugh…"

!

A groan came from inside the sack. The Secretary immediately pushed the sack outward and shouted: "I told you to go slow! This thing isn't something you can drop—"

Though the Secretary's voice was loud, the head chef's sharp ears caught it.

He stared blankly at those around him: "Did you hear that? There's someone inside that sack."

The other cooks widened their eyes: "Yeah… we heard it too."

Everyone jumped, instinctively stepping forward to follow—until the Secretary waved them back: "Go back to work, go back to work…"

"Sir, what's in that sack?"

The Secretary glared: "Official business—no prying. This is confidential!"

The Secretary slammed the back door shut with a bang.

Once the door was shut, the cooks no longer had the courage to take another step forward.

In front of the restaurant's main door, the Shopkeeper, his face covered in sweat, saw the County Magistrate off at the entrance; looking closely, his legs were trembling a little.

Seeing the Shopkeeper's face had gone white with fright, the Magistrate patted his shoulder to soothe him: "Don't be afraid. If the sky falls, this County has you covered. Just pretend you know nothing."

The Shopkeeper gave a bitter smile and acknowledged.

The Magistrate hurried back to the county office, where the County Captain had also brought the people back.

Those openly arrested were locked up one by one in the front courtyard;

those quietly knocked out and carried back were all dumped in the rear courtyard.

At this moment, Pan Yun and a few others were standing around looking at them.

Lord Li, having nothing to do, saw that Pan Yun didn't recognize a single one of them, so he pointed at the unconscious people on the ground and introduced them to her: "This one is the former Prefect of Ji'an Prefecture, surnamed Qian."

Pan Yun: "What a fine surname!"

"He served in Ji'an Prefecture for six years. If not for that incident with Yang Ji last year, he was going to be promoted back to the capital."

Pan Yun: "Were his political evaluations good?"

Lord Li: "Ji'an Prefecture has few natural disasters, and it's the hometown of Grand Secretary Yang. Every year, the Ministry of Revenue grants every coin requested. His record was either Good or Excellent, so promotion was natural."

Pan Yun said enviously: "Then in the future, when aiming to be an official, one should just target the hometowns of Grand Secretaries and Senior Ministers—wouldn't that mean reaping the benefits without the work?"

Lord Li: "But once a Grand Secretary or Senior Minister runs into trouble, their clan and hometown are the first to be investigated."

He shook his head: "If you want to get promoted, connections may not help; but if you want to destroy a man, investigating his connections is the simplest and most effective method.

If nothing turns up on his connections, then look into the political achievements he once made, the cases he handled, the officials he recommended."

Pan Yun immediately retracted her envy: "Sure enough, high returns come with high risks." (End of chapter)