It's better to be an empress than a county magistrate

Lu Xingchen took Ling Xiao and Fei Xue and walked towards the direction of the noise.

"Let her go. My daughter won't be anyone else's concubine." A man in his forties said, hugging the man's legs.

The man was selling sugar-roasted chestnuts. His stall was knocked over and the chestnuts were scattered all over the floor.

There were ordinary people watching the fun all around, but no one dared to step forward to stop it.

"My Lord, I like her and want her to be my concubine. It's her blessing, but you still don't want to. How much silver can I earn in a year by selling chestnuts with you?"

The rude man threw a large piece of silver to the stall owner. "Is it enough? Enough for you to sell chestnuts for ten years."

"But my daughter is still young. She can't be someone else's concubine." The stall owner hugged the man's legs.

The man kicked the stall owner away.

"Do you know who I am? My name is Linghu Shanzhu. Do you know who my elder brother is? His name is Linghu Qing, and he is a favorite of the warlord."

"He has been the magistrate of Song County and will be the prefect in the future. You little girl, follow me and live a life of luxury. What's wrong with that?"

Lu Xingchen frowned.

Ling Xiao was about to step forward to stop them when suddenly several people hurried over.

They were wearing yamen uniforms.

"Third Master, what are you doing again?" The leading bailiff asked helplessly when he saw that it was Linghu Shanzhu.

"Second Brother Liu, now that you are here, I want this girl to be my concubine. I have already given her money. But this old thing doesn't want to. There is really nothing I can do." Linghu Shanzhu said fearlessly.

The bailiff Liu Er pulled Linghu Shanzhu aside and whispered.

“Third Master, you can’t do this in the street… it’s hard to end such a big commotion.”

"What's so bad about ending this?" Linghu Shanzhu said as he put a silver ingot in Liu Er's hand.

"Just turn a blind eye."

"It's just that I'm taking a concubine. Besides, if she follows me into the mansion, won't she enjoy a good life?"

"There are so many people watching us today, so we can't do this. You have to secretly go to his house another day and take him away. You showed some mercy on the street, but please give me some face so that I can end this well." Liu Er said as he put the silver away.

Linghu Shanzhu frowned, "Second Brother Liu, you don't give me face."

Liu Er showed a helpless smile. "After all, it's not Linghu County Magistrate who is in charge now."

"We have to give County Magistrate Wang some face, right?"

Linghu Shanzhu finally compromised, but his face was full of reluctance.

"Okay, I get it. I'm determined to get this girl." Linghu Shanzhu said as he led his men away in a domineering manner.

"Daddy, daddy, are you okay?" A young girl of about thirteen or fourteen was released at this time. Her mouth was blocked and she couldn't make any sound.

"Dad, it's okay, it's okay." The stall owner struggled to get up from the ground and helped his daughter up.

The people around sighed helplessly.

They talked about how the Linghu family was powerful and no one dared to offend them.

Lu Xingchen's face was as cold as if it was covered with ice.

"Girl, I'm going to capture these people and chop off their heads." Ling Xiao said.

"This is not a battlefield..." Lu Xingchen said.

"This is Song County. These people are bullying men and women, and they must have done other evil things. They must be dealt with according to the law."

"You can't use the same tactics you use on the battlefield on these people."

"How could Linghu Qing spoil his relatives like this?" Ling Xiao said angrily, gritting his teeth.

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly, "This is inevitable."

"But this problem is also very serious and must be taken seriously."

Lu Xingchen brought Ling Xiao and Fei Xue to the government office of Song County.

Magistrate Wang of Song County was sitting busy in the yamen. When he saw Lu Xingchen coming in, he was distracted for a moment, thinking he had seen the wrong person. After taking a closer look, he recognized it was Lu Xingchen. He hurriedly dropped what he was doing and ran over to salute Lu Xingchen.

"Your humble servant Wang Yuan, I didn't expect the commander-in-chief to be here. I apologize for not welcoming you in person, I hope the commander-in-chief will forgive me..."

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly, his face stern and he didn't give him a good look.

Wang Yuan stood there trembling with fear.

"When did you get here, Lord Commander?" Wang Yuan walked up to Lu Xingchen and asked carefully. "I just arrived and saw something on the street. It was said that a man named Linghu Shanzhu was forcibly seizing a woman and wanted to take her as his concubine, but the woman and her father disagreed."

"It's OK for a man to take a concubine, but it has to be consensual. How can you forcibly snatch a woman from the street?"

Wang Yuan was so scared that his legs went weak and he fell to the ground.

"General, that Linghu Shanzhu is Linghu Qing, your cousin."

"He has been running rampant in the village for some time."

Lu Xingchen looked at Wang Yuan coldly.

"You are the head of a county. Since you know that he is rampant in the village, why don't you take measures?"

Wang Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and showed a helpless look.

"Rumor has it that Linghu Qing was promoted by the commander-in-chief."

"He is greatly appreciated by the military governor and will become a prefect in the future."

"I have just taken over Song County, and I dare not act on my own."

Lu Xingchen didn't say those high-sounding words.

Even if he scolded Wang Yuan, it was of no use.

At this moment, the yamen runners who were on the street just now walked in quickly.

"Sir Wang, it's just a small matter. It's okay." The leading bailiff stepped in and said casually.

Suddenly, they saw that there was a girl sitting where Lord Wang used to be.

When this yamen runner saw Lu Xingchen, his legs went weak and he immediately knelt on the ground.

"General..."

"Is it really a trivial matter?" Lu Xingchen looked at the bailiff coldly.

The bailiff prostrated himself on the ground, trembling all over.

"What I saw on the street just now is not a trivial matter. Forcibly seizing a woman and forcing her to be a concubine, is this a trivial matter? This is riding on the shoulders of ordinary people, peeing and shitting... How can this be considered a trivial matter?" Lu Xingchen slapped the table.

Several yamen runners were so frightened that they were shaking like sieves.

"It was you guys who were on the street just now... Now I'm handing this job over to you. Go and investigate. Find out everything about Linghu Shanzhu and the Linghu family in Song County, one by one, and then hand it over to Magistrate Wang."

"Moreover, Linghu Qing must not know about this matter, and the people of the Linghu family must not get any information. If the news leaks out, you will lose your heads."

"Also, after you have thoroughly investigated the case, report to the military camp and go to the front lines to fight..."

Several yamen runners collapsed on the ground.

After Lu Xingchen finished speaking, he stood up and walked out of the yamen.

"Girl, what should we do about this matter? Just leave it alone?" Ling Xiao looked puzzled when he saw Lu Xingchen leaving Songshan County like this.

"Of course we can't just let it go. We have to make a big fuss about it. The bigger the better. We want to make an example of someone else."

"However, Zhang Fan's wedding is coming soon, and I don't want to see blood before then."

"Let's go and take a look at Wanxian and Tengxian."

Wanxian has always had a good foundation, and now the political situation is stable, so Wanxian is also developing very well.

Teng County had a poor foundation, but after a period of operation, it has slowly begun to improve.

Lu Xingchen went to the horse farm in Teng County.

When Ouyang Pengfei, the manager of the horse farm, saw Lu Xingchen, his eyes were full of surprise.

His legs were not in good condition, so he limped quickly to Lu Xingchen and knelt on the ground.

"General..."

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly. "Old Ou, get up. I'll come over to check out the horse farm."