Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 25 Official Power
Currently, Chen Qing has no evidence to prove that the Gu brothers were involved in Gu Shouyi's death.

However, he could be certain that these two brothers were definitely not clean.

Today was our first meeting, and they made very nice gestures, repeatedly saying that it was for the sake of the Gu family's reputation, for the sake of the bigger picture, and for the sake of Chen Qing's business.

If it were someone of Chen Qing's age, they might have been fooled by them, but Young Master Chen had lived two lives, and he could tell at a glance that these two nephews of Master Gu... had no goodwill towards him whatsoever.

Some even felt like they were being treated like fools.

These past few days have already been a bit frustrating for Chen Qing, so this time he simply stopped hiding it.

Let's just tear off the mask of civility!

The interrogation by the yamen might not yield any useful information from them, but it would be enough to demonstrate Chen Qing's attitude towards them.

Moreover, the Criminal Division, one of the six departments of the county government, is staffed with veteran officials who have served for decades. These people are quite skilled at handling matters, so what if they... find out something?

If Chen Qing were to actually get the truth out of those two brothers, he would face virtually no obstacles in the Gu family afterward.

By then, he will have ample time to turn around and look at the Chen family in the prefectural city.

Upon hearing Chen Qing's words, Magistrate Hong frowned, then looked down at the words his son had written, and his frown deepened.

"Stretch out your hand."

Magistrate Hong had a stern face.

His son, who was only seven or eight years old, immediately frowned upon hearing this, and tears streamed down his face. However, he still obediently stretched out his hand.

Magistrate Hong showed no mercy and struck him hard with a ruler.

"You've written this so many times this month, and it's still not legible. If you don't put your heart into it, you won't be allowed to eat tonight!"

The child cried out in pain, but Magistrate Hong said coldly, "Don't cry."

The child forced himself to hold back his tears and actually dared not cry anymore.

Chen Qing leaned closer to take a look and saw that the magistrate's son had written a whole row of large characters, all of them the character "月" (moon). The first few characters were quite good, but the last character was slightly crooked.

However, it is still considered neat.

Chen Qing glanced at it before speaking, "Young Master, your writing is excellent."

Magistrate Hong, with his hands behind his back, said to Chen Qing in a daze, "Don't say those words. He'll become complacent if he hears them. Let's go."

"Let's go see those two suspects you mentioned."

Magistrate Hong walked out with his hands behind his back. Chen Qing understood and followed behind him. After walking a few steps, Chen Qing said, "Why doesn't Your Excellency hire a tutor for the young master?"

Magistrate Hong was speechless and said, "In Deqing, there are probably not many teachers who are more learned than me. If there are, they are mostly retired seniors, and I'm afraid they wouldn't have the leisure to teach my son."

Over the past century since the founding of the People's Republic of China, various regions have accumulated a rich cultural heritage. In some places with a strong literary atmosphere, even a single county can produce a number of retired cabinet ministers.

In previous years, some retired officials in the neighboring prefecture had a big dispute over the uneven tax revenue between the counties. In the end, the power they actually used far exceeded that of the local county magistrates, and even far exceeded that of the prefects.

The same is true for Deqing County. Nowadays, at least three ministers of the fourth rank or above have retired and returned to their hometowns, residing in Deqing.

These families were the true local gentry. During festivals and holidays, even the magistrate, Magistrate Hong, would probably have to pay them a visit.

Compared to these local families with "elders," the Gu family can only be considered nouveau riche. After all, since the Gu family rose to prominence, no official with the surname Gu has ever emerged from the family, not even a single scholar who passed the imperial examination.

Although Chen Qing was not clear about these intricacies, judging from the county magistrate's behavior, he had gained a better understanding of this world.

In this era, most people were illiterate, and basic education was a complete mess. It was impossible for anyone other than wealthy peasants to support even one educated person.

However, the elite class, especially newly appointed scholars like Magistrate Hong, seems to be terribly obsessed with the education of their descendants.

In a sense, it resembles a country on the other side of the ocean in another world.

The county government office wasn't large. After chatting for a few minutes, the two men arrived at the entrance. Magistrate Hong called two constables to follow them, then asked casually, "Young Master Chen, the two suspects you brought wouldn't happen to be from the Gu family, would they?"

Chen Qing said calmly, "They are indeed members of the Gu family, Uncle Gu's two nephews."

Magistrate Hong stopped and looked back at Chen Qing, then said with a smile, "If you really arrest these two, you'll have really offended the Gu family." "Without evidence, I dare not let Your Excellency arrest them directly. However, I think that the child's death is most likely related to them. Your Excellency can summon them for questioning according to procedure."

"If we can get some information out of them, the case will be solved quickly. If we can't get any information out of them, it's reasonable to question the witnesses."

"Your Excellency, don't you agree?"

Chen Qing looked at Magistrate Hong.

Magistrate Hong stroked his beard, shook his head, and sighed, "If Brother Gu hadn't come to me before leaving and given me a few instructions, I really wouldn't have wanted to get involved in Young Master Chen's matter. But today's incident..."

"This county will help you one more time."

Magistrate Hong turned around, looked at Chen Qing seriously, and smiled, "Young Master Chen, you must remember this in the future."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing also became serious and bowed to Magistrate Hong, saying, "I will always remember your kindness, Magistrate."

"it is good."

Magistrate Hong walked out of the yamen with his hands behind his back and said indifferently, "Then let's go."

Chen Qing followed behind him, watching his back thoughtfully.

He knew that this was a society where officialdom was paramount.

But before this, no matter which world he had been in, he had never come into contact with any officials. At this moment, he truly felt a kind of confidence from power from Magistrate Hong.

Even though he was just a county magistrate, he already wielded considerable power in Deqing.

Soon, Magistrate Hong arrived at the door. The Gu brothers were still waiting at the door. When they saw the magistrate in his official robes, they looked at Chen Qing, who was following behind him.

The two hesitated for a moment, then quickly stepped forward and bowed in greeting.

"This humble subject greets Your Excellency."

Magistrate Hong glanced at the two men, then looked back at Chen Qing. Seeing Chen Qing nod slightly, Magistrate Hong turned back to the two men and said calmly, "Gu Shouyi's son. The coroner has examined the body. Although he was bitten to death by a poisonous snake, there are strangulation marks on his hands and feet, indicating that he was tied up and then bitten to death by a poisonous snake."

"It can be concluded that it was murder."

Magistrate Hong said slowly, "Human life is of paramount importance. Such a young child has suffered such a terrible calamity. The entire Gu family is a suspect in this matter. You two are also members of the Gu family. Since you are here, you will not leave."

"Someone is coming."

He called out, and two constables immediately stepped forward, bowing their heads and saying, "Yes, sir!"

“Take the two of them to the torture chamber, question them in detail, and compare their statements with those of other members of the Gu family.”

The two constables immediately obeyed and stepped forward to arrest the man. Gu Shouye panicked. He looked at Magistrate Hong and then at Chen Qing, and cried out, "Your Honor, my brothers and I were not in Deqing when this happened! It has nothing to do with us!"

He said loudly, "This matter has had a very bad impact. Gu Shouyi has no intention of pursuing the case any further. We brothers have come to the county government to ask the magistrate to drop the case!"

Magistrate Hong narrowed his eyes and sneered, "This case involves a death, and it will go up to the Ministry of Justice. It might even reach His Majesty's ears and end up on his desk! Do you think you can just dismiss such a case as you please?"

"A life has been lost, and it was indeed a homicide. As family members, instead of bringing the murderer to justice, you're thinking of dropping the case!"

Magistrate Hong said sternly, "Then you two are indeed suspects!"

"Men, take them to the county jail and lock them up for a day. We'll interrogate them in detail tomorrow!"

"Yes!"

Two constables immediately stepped forward and restrained the Gu brothers. The two looked at Chen Qing at the same time. Gu Shouye gritted his teeth and shouted, "Young Master Chen, are you trying to ruin the Gu family's reputation of decades in one fell swoop!"

"If my third uncle finds out, he will definitely not tolerate you!"

Chen Qing stood behind Magistrate Hong, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and gave the two brothers who were being taken away a cold look.

"I'm afraid your word doesn't count."

(End of this chapter)