Yinshan Record

Chapter 11 Making a Game
Outside the yamen gate, an old woman gripped a rolling pin with both hands and desperately pounded the wooden stick against the grievance drum.

She wielded that broken rolling pin with such force that it seemed poised to smash through Buzhou Mountain and cause the river to flow backward.

"It's a grievance..."

His gray hair was disheveled like a tangled mess of weeds; if this weren't Shanyin County, Su Che would have thought he was encountering the old ghost from Guobei County.

"What are you doing? This is a grievance drum, you can't beat it!" The yamen runner on duty stepped forward and shouted loudly, wielding a fire-and-water stick.

"Since it's a drum of injustice, why can't it be struck?" The old woman held a rolling pin across her chest, her posture upright and unwavering, exuding the air of a master.

"Let me tell you, if you don't plead your case, it won't be a big deal. Only if you do plead will your injustice be as severe as snow falling in June." The bailiff frowned and raised his hand, knocking the rolling pin out of the old woman's hand with a water-fire stick.

"Damn it, you've lost your mind! You're inviting a ghost to come home and treat you with pig's head meat? I've never seen anyone as idiotic as you."

"Ah—I can't take it anymore..."

As soon as the old woman shouted, she ran towards the yamen runner. The yamen runner was no ordinary man either; he kicked the old woman more than ten feet away.

"Damn it, you old geezer. Don't you know where you are? If you have any power, go and show it off to your father. Who are you to act so arrogantly in the county government?"

After saying that, he spat a mouthful of phlegm into the old lady's chest.

"Something that won't wake up."

Su Che witnessed this scene.

It seems that the old woman couldn't possibly be some kind of demon.

Having made up his mind, Young Master Su, hiding behind the door, waved to the yamen runner.

"come here."

The constable, who had been secretly pleased with the old jinx, suddenly heard someone shout and was about to curse back.

He turned his head and saw that it was the newly appointed county magistrate, and he thought to himself that something was wrong.

This bad luck might be because I've run into someone who wants to be the righteous judge.

"This humble servant greets you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the rather handsome officer shake his hand.

"You must be quite wealthy."

"Huh?" The constable was completely bewildered.

"Let me tell you, you wouldn't dare to do that without at least 30 million in your family."

Su Che summoned the constable and gave him a few more instructions.

"Go and ask her what happened. Don't be shy, just use the same attitude as before."

The yamen runners were immediately bewildered.

What's he up to?

"Shut up, you old hag."

The yamen runner shouted, "The yamen has its own rules. Who gave you the right to act crazy? According to the imperial court's rules, whoever beats the grievance drum will be punished with a hundred strokes of the cane first."

"Even if there's a grievance, you still want to beat me?" The old woman gritted her teeth and stared at the yamen runner. "That scoundrel is still lying here. Does he think I'm made of clay? Do you know that the newly arrived county magistrate is my distant nephew?"

Su Che almost laughed out loud.

The constable was initially startled, but then he realized what was happening.

"Impersonating an official's relative will get you twenty more lashes. Heh heh, you can keep yelling here, but once everyone's here, the brothers will all show you what our hard rods are like, and give this old woman a good beating!"

What kind of ridiculous lines are these?

The old woman was so frightened that she immediately fell silent.

This is also why the yamen runners usually act so imposing.

The bailiff held his stick horizontally and read aloud.

"I'll ask you a question, and you'll answer it. Any extra, irrelevant questions will be noted down and dealt with later."

With a thick, large stick in front of her, the old woman suppressed her anger and stopped cursing, but her eyes kept glancing at Su Che.

She was also perceptive; knowing that an officer had arrived, she didn't say much.

"What's your name? Which neighborhood do you live in?"

"My maiden name is Qin. She married Qi Zude, an oil seller in the south of the city, and they lived in Jiahe Lane."

How many people are in your family? What kind of business do you do?

"There is a son, a daughter-in-law, and an unmarried girl in the family. The family is in the tung oil business."

"Tongyou, that's a wealthy family. Why are you going to sue them?"

"My daughter-in-law is a fox spirit in disguise. She bewitched my blind old man, and my son, being naive, was also deceived by that demon. He's always causing trouble and has ruined my household..."

Next, we'll talk about how the fox demon caused all sorts of trouble at home.

"That's it..."

Su Che stopped the old woman and instructed the yamen runner, "Take her back and tell them about this old woman beating the grievance drum. Tell them to take good care of her."

Then, Su Che looked at the old woman on the other side: "You should know that once the grievance drum sounds, the case must be handled by the magistrate. If the magistrate is not in the county, even if you break the drum with that old rolling pin, no one will take care of the case."

"Sir, I'm innocent!"

"I know."

The old woman looked at Su Che.

"My daughter-in-law is a monster..."

"I know."

"I...I..." The old woman's tongue was dry.

"Bureaucratic work is about knowing everything, understanding everything, and being able to do everything, but ultimately doing nothing."

Su Che offered another interpretation of the phrase "doing nothing for a human being" in a complicated way.

"I'm sorry, you can go back to the village head and follow the proper procedures, and I will handle it properly."

Su Che asked the constable on the other side, "What's your name?"

"Ah, this humble one, Zhang San..."

"A good name." Su Che sincerely praised, "After you send her back, come back to me to report."

"The villain obeys your orders."

Watching the bailiff drag the old woman further and further away.

Su Che went back inside and tidied up, then found something and went to find Tian Zhubu.

He drank too much last night and ended up staying at the county office. He had a headache all night and couldn't sleep.

Upon seeing Su Che arrive, he couldn't help but ask a question.

"County Magistrate Su has a good capacity for alcohol, and he looks quite energetic."

Because I have a great sword.

"Brother Tian still looks as dashing as ever. His eyes are deep and his breathing is long and deep, so he must have some cultivation."

"Hehe, I also studied abroad in my early years and spent two years listening to lectures at Yuelu Mountain."

"The four schools of Confucianism in the world—the Imperial Academy, Bailudong Academy, Yuelu Academy, and Songyang Academy—are the best in both literature and martial arts, and are worthy of our admiration."

Su Che recalled a piece of writing he had seen when he passed by the Imperial College.

Learning gathers like the sea, and righteous spirit swallows the nine rivers; among the three religions and a thousand mountains, who dares to claim supremacy?

With words sharpened into a blade, and ink-stained sword cleaving through the clouds, who else but me can bring peace and order to the world?

It was handwritten by Fan Xiwen, a renowned Confucian scholar of his time.

The Martial Scholar lineage was once considered the leader among all cultivation lineages, and the words above reveal its arrogance and self-assurance in those days.

Even in this apocalyptic world overrun by demons, the four branches of Confucianism remain a force powerful enough to instill fear in demon kings and lords.

"I'm ashamed to say that I'm only at the ninth level of Qi cultivation in Confucianism."

Tian, ​​the registrar, looked at Su Che and said, "I wonder if it's convenient for you, my worthy brother..."

"I have never practiced cultivation."

That would be inconvenient.

Tian, ​​the registrar, secretly rolled his eyes at Su Che. If he didn't want to talk, he didn't want to talk. There was no point in lying.

"I have come to pay my respects to you, Lord Registrar, because I have a favor to ask of you."

“Brother, just tell me.”

“I brought some things with me when I came from home. They’re nothing special, but it would be hard to explain to my family if I lost them, so I thought I’d put them in our regular storage.”

As he spoke, Su Che handed a golden object to Tian Zhubu.

"Is that so? Of course, of course." Registrar Tian solemnly accepted it: "I'll put it in the Changying Storehouse."

This thing looks neither metal nor wood. I wonder what kind of rare treasure it is that makes this man surnamed Su value it so much. Could it be that it has the effect of assisting in cultivation?
This thing looks like a hand.

Tian, ​​the registrar, put the object in his hand and kept guessing where it came from.

"There is one more thing to report to you, sir. I have some arrangements to make today, so I will not be sitting in the office."

Su Che said with a smile, "In addition, I need to borrow a few yamen runners from you, sir."

"Of course, of course." Clerk Tian waved his hand: "Whichever one County Magistrate Su takes a liking to, just go ahead and use him."

"Then thank you, sir."

Su Che bowed to his colleague.

(End of this chapter)