The arrogant little husband is desperately flirting with the hunter

The villagers had seen Lu Zhicheng walking around in the village in the past few days, but they only thought he was someone from the county government. They never thought that he was actually a general, although they were not sure what kind of official this cavalry general was.

"Everyone, stand up first." Lu Zhicheng's men brought a chair to the gate, and he sat on it and said, "I don't care why you are here today. Since you have gathered here, you should have an explanation. Let's wait for the county magistrate to come and make the judgment."

One of the gray-haired old men walked out of the crowd and said, "Sir, I am the head of Liujiawan Village. I came here because Lu Xue, the granddaughter of Lu Xiucai from our village, disappeared on her way to get married. I heard that Lu Xue is at Yan's house, so I came here to take her back. I am definitely not here to gather a crowd to cause trouble."

Lu Zhicheng did not speak, but his subordinates spoke up: "The county magistrate will decide right and wrong, everyone just wait."

People from the two villages looked at each other, each one like a quail, not daring to make a sound, let alone discuss things as they did in the past.

After waiting for nearly an hour, a horse and a carriage came quickly, raising dust on the ground and shaking the people in the carriage from side to side.

As soon as the carriage stopped, the county magistrate retched several times, and after a long while he tidied his appearance and got off the carriage.

The villagers, who were already afraid to make a sound, all looked over and saw a slightly fat man getting off the carriage.

He first glanced at the villagers who were watching, and then looked behind the carriage. The carriage was driving too fast today, and the bailiffs had not caught up yet.

As everyone was looking at him, he walked in front of Lu Zhicheng. After the two of them exchanged greetings, he turned around and faced everyone: "I am the magistrate of Anning County. Can anyone tell me why we have gathered here?"

After standing for an hour, everyone knelt down collectively again: "Sir."

The county magistrate was not like Lu Zhicheng who disliked others kneeling down to him. He just stood there with his hands behind his back and asked, "Is the village chief here?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. What a coincidence that the village chief didn't know anything about this today. The people from Liujiawan rushed straight to the Yan family with great momentum, and no one went to inform the village chief.

The county magistrate frowned and asked again, "Who is the leader? Come out and speak."

The chief of Liujiawan Village then stood up unsteadily and repeated what he had just said.

The county magistrate looked back at Lu Zhicheng. When he was called over, the man did not say why he came. He only said that some villagers were gathering to cause trouble and asked him to go over and solve it.

But coming to look for a missing village girl wouldn't be considered causing trouble, so why make such a fuss?

Lu Zhicheng stood up and walked to the county magistrate and said, "May I ask the village chief, how did this girl Lu disappear?"

The head of Liujiawan Village hesitated for a long time before answering, "Yes, he jumped into the river."

Everyone who came to watch the fun was surprised. Why would this girl jump into the river when she was fine?

Lu Zhicheng nodded and asked everyone's curiosity: "Why did you jump into the river?"

After a long silence, no one spoke. The head of Liujiawan Village could only bite the bullet and speak: "Sir, the Lu family wanted to marry their daughter to a man from the prefecture, but the girl didn't want to, so she jumped into the river."

Lu Zhicheng was so angry that he laughed. He was really good at avoiding the main point. Now he had to say it bluntly: "Mr. Liu in the city has one wife and three concubines, so how can Miss Lu marry into the Liu family?"

The chief of Liujiawan Village lowered his head and said nothing.

The county magistrate originally thought that Deputy General Lu had called him over just to intimidate these people, but he didn't expect that he really had something to do.

"Is the Lu family here?"

At this time, a middle-aged couple came out. The woman knelt down one step away from the county magistrate and began to cry, "Sir, you have to help me. My daughter was picked up by the Yan family. Why did they leave her in their home without informing them? What on earth are they thinking?"

"Shut up." The county magistrate was most annoyed by these unreasonable women: "First answer whether you forced your daughter to be a concubine?"

Mother Lu quickly shook her head and said, "My Lord, you are wrong. I told my daughter before she got married. Besides, Master Yuanwai did not take her as a concubine. He said she was his equal wife and married her in a formal ceremony in a sedan chair carried by eight people."

The county magistrate narrowed his eyes and said, "According to the laws of Daxia, any man who has a wife and marries another will be sentenced to one year in prison, and the woman's family will be reduced by one level. Concubines are lowly and cannot be made legitimate. Anyone who marries a concubine will be sentenced to one and a half years in prison."

Lu's mother shrank back and dared not say a word. How could she, a peasant woman, know the law? She just believed what the matchmaker said, that it was equivalent to a co-wife. No matter how Lu Chengxue explained to her, she thought that her daughter did not want to marry a man of that age.

The county magistrate continued, "Those who force a woman to become a concubine or a prostitute will be sentenced to one year in prison, and their parents will be given a one-year sentence reduction. Those who know about it but do not report it will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane."

"Oh?" Lu Zhicheng looked at the people kneeling there and trembling and asked, "It seems that we will have to break several boards today?"

Father Lu shuddered and kowtowed quickly: "My Lord, I know everything. I really didn't force her."

"When I rescued the person, I asked a doctor to take a look. The doctor diagnosed that Miss Lu had been drugged. May I ask why you drugged her if Miss Lu agreed, and why did she jump into the river?"

Lu Zhicheng had a serious face, and every word he said was like a knife stabbing into the hearts of the Lu family. No one said a word when asked.

"Sir, I, I..." Father Lu wanted to quibble, but he didn't know how to refute.

The county magistrate naturally knew the whole story when he saw him like that. He looked at the others and asked, "Who is Miss Lu going to marry? Is he here now?"

A man in his thirties walked out of the crowd, knelt down and said, "Sir, I am the housekeeper of the Liu Mansion. The master has not come yet, but I can testify that the master has never said that he wants to take a concubine. It is only because this girl Lu is a famous talented woman that he is willing to pay 100 taels of silver to take her into the mansion as a concubine. The reason why he sent her to the mansion with eight bearers is that he does not want to tarnish her reputation."

At this time, another woman spoke up: "Sir, I am the housekeeper of the Madam's courtyard. Madam and Master have been married for nearly twenty years and are in love with each other. The concubine was allowed by Madam, and the co-wife thing is absolutely false."

The county magistrate nodded. Since the mother-in-law who was in charge of the wife had come, it seemed that he was indeed taking a concubine. Otherwise, which woman would allow her husband to marry another woman who was equal to her and challenge her status as the wife?

The county magistrate looked at the three people kneeling in front of him and said sternly, "Those who lie and do not tell the truth will be punished one level higher. If you do not want to be punished more severely, then tell us exactly what happened."

"Sir, since ancient times, parents' orders and matchmakers' words are the criterion. I am trying to find a marriage for my daughter so that she can live a life of luxury in the future. What's wrong with that?" Father Lu wanted to argue with a guilty conscience.

The county magistrate's eyes turned cold: "Even if the marriage certificate is still there? Or do you think your words can override the law?"

Father Lu's face turned pale: "Sir, we country folk really don't know the law. They say ignorance is not a sin."

"If you are still making trouble, drag him away and give him twenty strokes of the cane." The county magistrate shouted, but no one responded. Then he realized that besides him, there was only one coachman, and the bailiffs had not caught up yet.

This is embarrassing. There is no one and no board, so there is no way to punish them even if they want to.