Chapter 67: 67 Lend You a Hand

Chapter 67: Chapter 67 Lend You a Hand

“`

If Li Mingqi was strongly opposed, Chen Yuan could only reluctantly give up the Tie Family’s one hundred silver taels. After all, his swagger in Ping’an County relied on the County Magistrate, Li Mingqi.

He hadn’t thought about hiding it because such matters couldn’t be kept secret; sooner or later, Tie Qinghua would certainly use his name to establish a foothold in Ping’an County. If Li Mingqi learned of it only then, it wouldn’t be so simple.

Of course, Chen Yuan didn’t think that someone of Li Mingqi’s stature would care about such a trivial matter.

After Tie Xuan’s death, the Tie Family no longer caught Li Mingqi’s eye.

A County Magistrate held high authority; in Ping’an County, he was a supreme existence. Bothering with a minor force like the Tie Family was beneath his dignity.

...

“Tie Qinghua seeks your protection…” Li Mingqi’s gaze shifted suddenly, and he let out a light chuckle.

“I’ve heard that Tie Qinghua’s husband died a while ago, and now she’s a widow. You wouldn’t…”

Chen Yuan gave an embarrassed smile:

“You jest, my lord. I have no such intentions.”

“It wouldn’t matter if you did, she’s just a woman after all.”

Li Mingqi waved his hand, unconcerned.

In this patriarchal world, a man’s status indeed wasn’t something a woman could compare with.

“What have you learned from Tie Qinghua’s mouth?” Li Mingqi asked in a low voice.

“The Wang Family in South City might be colluding with those horse bandits.”

“The South City Wang Family?”

Li Mingqi frowned; he hadn’t heard of this family.

“It’s just a small family; they’ve always cooperated with the Tie Family. But since Tie Xuan’s death, they’ve essentially turned hostile, even seizing two of the Tie Family’s gambling houses.”

“Tie Qinghua has an insider in the Wang Family; these pieces of information are all from the insider…” Chen Yuan lowered his voice a bit.

“Are you certain?”

“We can’t be sure yet, we can only say the likelihood is relatively high.”

“So what you’re suggesting is…”

“Expropriate their property, execute the family, harsh interrogation and torture!”

“What if the Wang Family hasn’t been in private communication with the horse bandits?” Li Mingqi’s heart stirred, suddenly realizing that Chen Yuan was extremely ruthless, ready to annihilate families at the drop of a hat.

“If my lord says they’ve communicated, then they have…”

Chen Yuan smiled.

The insider’s matter wasn’t false; the Tie Family and the Wang Family were deeply connected. Tie Qinghua indeed had someone inside the Wang Family, but the insider wasn’t high ranking and didn’t have access to many secrets.

It was only a possibility.

But it wasn’t without credibility — several merchant caravans had been robbed within the city, yet the Wang Family had been unscathed. Alone, this fact was enough to arouse suspicion.

Therefore, at the beginning, Tie Qinghua wanted to use Chen Yuan’s power to eliminate the Wang Family.

“Chen Yuan, remember this: the County Government will never let an evil person go, but we absolutely cannot wrong a good person!” Li Mingqi said very earnestly.

Chen Yuan: “I will certainly heed my lord’s instruction…”

“This Wang Family has dared to collude with horse bandits; it’s a crime deserving of having their property confiscated. I leave it to you to handle…”

“Yes, my lord, your command shall be obeyed!”

…

…

South City.

Wang Family.

The Wang Family Head paced back and forth in the room, frowning deeply, his face showing both worry and anger. He spoke in a low voice:

“These damned horse bandits, how dare they rob all those merchant caravans!”

If only the Tie Family’s caravans had been robbed, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. After all, the Tie Family didn’t have much strength now and would suffer a major blow, but robbing the other families as well was no small matter.

They would surely report it to the authorities, and the Government might very well trace it back to the Wang Family!

“Father, what should we do now?”

“`

A young man with an ordinary countenance listened to his father’s words, and asked with some distress.

“What should we do?” The Wang Family head’s gaze flickered slightly, and after a long silence, a glint of cunning flashed in his eyes as he whispered,

“Xuan’er, have someone quickly set up a batch of fake goods and make it look like they were raided by horse bandits. No matter what, we cannot let the government officials trace it back to us.”

The only plan for now was to muddy the waters, hoping that those powers and the government would not associate this with the Wang Family.

“Father, I’ll go at once!”

Wang Xuan nodded his head and turned to leave, but as soon as he reached the door, a protector from the household rushed in hurriedly, shouting,

“Family Head, disaster has struck, the place is surrounded by constables from the government!”

Upon hearing this, the Wang Family head’s skin crawled, and he collapsed onto the chair, letting out a long breath:

“It’s over, it’s over!”

The strength of the Wang Family was meager, the strongest among them being him, with only Blood Refining Level cultivation. How could he possibly withstand the fierce and fiendish constables of the government?

At this moment, the Wang Family head felt some regret. He should have reported to the authorities immediately after being held up by the horse bandits and returning to the County Government, instead of dreaming about using these bandits to make the Wang Family prosper and grow.

Who could have foreseen that the bandits would not follow the plan and would capture all those powers in one fell swoop?

Regret for the past!

…

Not far from the entrance of the Wang Family, inside a tavern, Chen Yuan sat leisurely drinking wine, quietly listening to the sounds of killing coming from within the Wang Family, while the young servant at his side trembled slightly.

He looked at Chen Yuan with awe in his eyes.

He clearly remembered that just a moment ago, at the young man’s command, scores of government officials drew their swords and killed their way into the Wang Family, which held considerable strength in South City.

Just one word determined life and death!

The people of the Wang Family were regulars of this tavern, and even part of the tavern was owned by the Wang Family. He had seen how arrogant and overbearing they were.

This contrasted starkly with the cries for mercy that echoed over now.

“Pour the wine…”

Chen Yuan said indifferently.

The servant dared not delay, holding the wine pot steadily with both hands, filling up the cup for this distinguished young official.

“Are you nervous?” Chen Yuan glanced at the servant.

“No… not at all.”

“How is the Wang Family’s behavior on ordinary days?”

“Arrogant and overbearing, bullying others with their power…” the servant quickly replied.

“Have you read books?” Chen Yuan asked, somewhat surprised.

“Heard it from a storyteller.”

“Not bad, very fitting. The Wang Family has done many evils; I’m here today to seek justice for the common people.”

Chen Yuan felt no psychological pressure. He did not enjoy oppressing the good; it was pointless. Since his arrival in this world, he had not killed a single good person; whether it was Tie Shou, Chen Ping’an, that fellow from the Beihai Gang, or Tie Xuan.

Their hands were stained with blood; not one of them was a good person, and their deaths were of no consequence.

Chen Yuan did not want to play the hero, did not care for their way of doing things, but he was certainly not an evil person without a shred of conscience, unless a ‘good person’ gave him an undeniable reason to kill.

He wasn’t trying to flaunt anything; he was just giving himself some comfort.

“Sir, you are truly a paragon of justice in our times…” the servant said, swallowing his saliva in flattery.

“Yuan’er, you really wield great authority now,” Wang Ping said with a chuckle.

“Work hard at your cultivation, and you can have a day like this too.”

Wang Ping: “I’m too accustomed to being lax; Yuan’er, you have to support me in the future.”

“I can only support you once at most…”

————

Thanks to the likes of Lord Xuan, Hello Book Friends, Life in Confusion, and a few other book friends for their rewards and support.