Chapter 31: Beihe County

Beihe County, it is rumored, originally had a large river flowing through the city, and was originally named Beihe County.

Later, the river course shifted south, and only then was it renamed Beihe County.

The county seat has a population of over seventy thousand, making it one of the top-tier large counties among the thirteen counties of Xingyuan Prefecture.

This figure of over seventy thousand is merely the number recorded in the registers; if one counts the hidden households and slaves, even if it does not reach one hundred thousand, it is likely not far off.

Looking from afar, the city walls of Beihe County appear old, and even slightly dilapidated.

The square bricks built of bluestone have weathered hundreds of years of time, and under the blowing wind and beating rain, they are already mottled with spots.

Many blue bricks on top of the city walls have long since rotted and fallen off, yet no one bothers to manage them.

Xingyuan Prefecture is not a border pass; there are no barbarians coming to attack the city or knock on the gates, so the officials here naturally will not waste silver to repair the city walls.

Outside the city gate, several sleepy government runners are on duty, collecting city gate taxes from passing pedestrians and merchants.

Ordinary commoners entering or leaving the city are not charged, but large livestock like oxen and horses, as well as merchants carrying goods, must pay the city gate tax before they can enter the city.

Mo Dao produced the travel permit he carried with him to prove their identities, and only then did the two enter the city.

Inside and outside the city, commoners come and go in a hurry, shops stand in great numbers on both sides of the street, and the sounds of hawking and shouting are endless.

"Let's go buy some things first, so we can go visit the County Lieutenant's residence," Mo Dao said.

Chen Mo found a market and bought some gifts such as pastries, dried fruits, tea leaves, and paper and ink, which cost a total of about three taels of silver.

Chen Mo and the others are visiting this time to represent Sun Jiangjun, so the gifts, while not necessarily extremely precious, must absolutely not be too light.

After asking the pastry merchant for the general location of the County Lieutenant's residence, Chen Mo and the others carried the gifts to pay their visit.

"May I ask who the two of you are?" The gatekeeper of the County Lieutenant's house saw that the two were tall and sturdy, and did not dare to be negligent, hurriedly greeting and asking.

"We are both guards of Xingyuan Prefecture and foster sons of General Sun Shouren. We have come today specifically to visit County Lieutenant Li." Mo Dao stated their identities and explained the purpose of their visit.

"Then please come in quickly, two sirs. Our master is currently at the county government office, so please wait a moment."

Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper hurriedly invited the two into the courtyard, and the gifts in Chen Mo's hands were taken by servants.

The residence where the County Lieutenant lives is a large bluestone courtyard with three courtyards and three exits, and several pavilions are built within the grounds.

Crossing the front courtyard to the main hall, the hall was furnished with semi-new, semi-old mahogany furniture, and hung with several paintings and calligraphies by famous masters obtained from who knows where.

Seeing that guests had arrived, two maidservants then lit the heating stove in the hall.

The County Lieutenant was not there, so the County Lieutenant's wife came out first to host the two, ordering people to serve tea and pastries.

Before long, a hearty laugh was heard, and County Lieutenant Li arrived in a hurry, dressed in his official uniform.

Judging by his appearance, he was only about forty, his round, fair, and plump face full of smiles.

In his early years, he must have possessed martial arts skills, but they had gradually faded over these years, which is why he had grown fat.

"Lord County Lieutenant," Chen Mo bowed to pay his respects.

"County Lieutenant Li," Mo Dao cupped his hands in salute. He also held an Eighth Rank official position, and since County Lieutenant Li was only of the same rank as him, he did not need to bow to him.

"No need to be so polite. Since you are the foster sons of Brother Shouren, just call me Uncle Li," County Lieutenant Li said with a relaxed expression, his tone full of intimacy.

"This is the letter from our foster father for you." Chen Mo took the letter from his bosom and handed it over with both hands.

One can never go wrong with too many gifts, and since they would need to ask for help later, being respectful was never a mistake.

County Lieutenant Li took the letter, opened it, and read it back and forth twice before looking at Chen Mo and saying, "I know about your matter. Is the contract in your hands?"

Chen Mo took the contract he had been carrying from his bosom and handed it to County Lieutenant Li. He took it, looked at it again, turned his head, and ordered the servant beside him, "Go to the East Market and call Sun Pozi to me."

A County Lieutenant is equal to a County Assistant; both are subordinate officials to the County Magistrate, in charge of a series of affairs such as public security and arresting thieves within the county. If there are small-scale mountain bandits or outlaws, the County Lieutenant will also go to suppress them, rather than directly notifying the local garrison troops.

Since Sun Pozi is a merchant, and especially a human trafficker who sells slaves, she must maintain a good relationship with him, the County Lieutenant, otherwise her business would not be able to continue.

After giving this order, he pulled the two to drink tea and chat, asking about the recent situation of General Sun.

"Master, the person has been brought!" the servant shouted loudly outside the door.

Sun Pozi walked into the hall, trembling, wearing a floral cloth and a gray padded jacket.

Along the way, she had been pondering what she could have done wrong, otherwise why would the County Lieutenant suddenly want to see her.

She clearly did not recognize Chen Mo, which was truly normal; the current Chen Mo was vastly different from when he had just fled to Xingyuan Prefecture half a year ago.

"Do you remember half a year ago, you bought a disaster victim named Zhao Yu and sold her to the Liu Family in the west of the city?" County Lieutenant Li took the contract and handed it to Sun Pozi.

She took the contract and looked at it carefully, her mind constantly falling into recollection. Half a year ago, there were too many disaster victims; she sold many people and bought many people every day, so how could she remember so clearly.

However, this contract was definitely written by her; she remembered the handwriting on it clearly.

"Replying to my lord, such a matter did indeed happen." Even if she hadn't remembered it for a moment, looking at this contract, she did not dare to deny it.

"This person is the legal wife of my foster nephew here. I will go with you to the Liu Family now to redeem her," County Lieutenant Li said as he stood up.

If only Chen Mo had come alone, he would certainly have helped with this favor, but at most he would have sent someone to handle it.

But since Mo Dao was also following, he had to accompany them personally.

The group did not take horses or sedans, but walked straight toward the Liu Family.

On the way, Sun Pozi clearly recalled Zhao Yu and could not help but glance at Chen Mo frequently.

She truly did not dare to equate the tall, sturdy man with a dragon-like gait and tiger-like steps before her with the thin, gaunt disaster victim who had fled here and nearly starved to death.

But she understood that whether she was willing or not, these two were the same person. Now she could only pray in her heart that Zhao Yu was best off unharmed and still alive.

Otherwise, she did not know what fate awaited the Liu Family, but she herself would definitely not survive!

Who could have expected that a disaster victim who had nearly starved to death while fleeing would, in just a short half-year, suddenly be connected with the County Lieutenant!

The Liu Family is not considered a noble family, but they are one of the top-tier wealthy households in Beihe.

"Why did the County Lieutenant visit suddenly today without notifying this old man in advance, so I could prepare early?"

Liu Wangshi, with graying hair and a small mustache, learned that the County Lieutenant had come in person and ran all the way out of the house to welcome him, his words carrying a bit of flattery and fear.

Their Liu Family's rise to fortune only happened in his father's generation and his own; there was plenty of money in the family, but to this day, no one had achieved any official rank.

If it weren't for the fact that he gave plenty of bribes to the officials at the county government office on weekdays, his family's wealth would never have been preserved until now.

Today, he truly could not imagine why the County Lieutenant would suddenly pay a visit.

Sun Pozi lunged forward in a single stride and whispered an explanation of the current situation.

In just a few short sentences, Liu Wangshi understood the sequence of events, and for a moment, he felt uneasy.

He had at least fifty or sixty servants in his household, and he only knew the few who served him closely; he truly had never heard of this name.

It was not exactly a common occurrence for the low-level Slaves in his household to be beaten to death or die of illness, but there were seven or eight such cases throughout the year.

Now, he could only pray in his heart that Zhao Yu was still alive; otherwise, the best outcome for him would be to exhaust his family fortune just to save his own life.

Many people had their eyes on his money, and they could seize it by trickery or force even without a reason, let alone now that there was a pretext to strike.

"Master, there is such a person, responsible for washing and starching the clothes for the young ladies and mistresses," the steward at his side hurriedly said upon hearing this.

"Then go quickly and invite the person here for me." Liu Wangshi felt a sense of relief at once.

As long as this person was still alive, that would be enough; if this person were dead, then he might as well not live either.

"I will go with you." After Chen Mo finished speaking, he followed closely behind the steward.

Thanks to book friend 04014 for the five hundred point tip!

Thanks to the cute book friend from Yan Hua for the one hundred point tip!

(End of this chapter)