The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Fortunately, most of the people were stopped by several followers and Master Yang. Master Yang had been in a military camp, so he was quick, fierce and accurate in his moves, and every time he chopped his sword, he aimed it at the opponent's thigh.

The remaining three or two people who rushed to Zhang Laoer's side were also kicked out by Zhang Laoer and Liu Sanlang, especially Liu Sanlang, who exuded a powerful aura as he stood forward.

Soon, the others, realizing they couldn't gain the upper hand, tried to run away. Some of the slower runners were tied up by Lin Junhui and Tan Yaoqi's followers. They were so frightened that they knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, "Gentlemen, please spare us. We were all tricked here by that Wang Mazi, and our intention was not to kill anyone."

Tan Yaoqi scolded, "Humph, you lowly bastard, you dare to rob me? Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is? Do you know who my grandfather is?"

After saying this, he ordered his followers with a cold face: "Sever the tendons of their hands and feet to prevent them from escaping halfway."

Zhang Pingan, Liu Shengyuan and Li Mingxuan all turned pale when they heard this. Doing this was no different from killing someone directly.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but look up at Master Yang and Lin Junhui. These three people had the highest status and background here. Whether it was murder or private torture, it all depended on what they said.

Master Yang was a little hesitant: "After all, there are twenty or thirty people here. Five or six of them ran away, plus the seven or eight who are dead. There are only a dozen people left. If we just deal with them directly, it will be difficult to explain later!"

Tan Yaoqi interrupted and said, "Master, this matter has nothing to do with you. Leave it to me if you need any help."

Lin Junhui also thought it was feasible and nodded, saying, "If you don't remove the root of the problem, there will be endless trouble. Let's do as Brother Tan says. When we get back to the county, we'll hand it over to the government office for processing."

The tied people immediately started struggling violently upon hearing this. It would be better to be killed with a knife than to suffer such a fate.

Lin Junhui and Tan Yaoqi brought eight followers with them. After receiving the order, they quickly cut the tendons of more than a dozen people and threw them into the empty carriage.

The screams of more than a dozen people were endless, which reminded Liu Sanlang of the screams of pigs when they were slaughtered, and even more creepy.

After everything was handled, no one had the heart to eat. They quickly chewed a few mouthfuls of dry food and set off again. For the rest of the journey, no one spoke. After this incident, everyone's respect for Lin Junhui and Tan Yaoqi was mixed with a sense of fear. Even Master Yang spoke more cautiously.

Liu Shengyuan grew up in the countryside and had not experienced any family changes. After coming to the academy, everything went smoothly. This was the first time he saw the deterrence of power. More than 20 lives were dealt with at will.

"Ayuan, are you okay? You can chew some mint to refresh your mind," Zhang Pingan took out a small bag of dried mint from his bag and handed it to him. This was something his family had prepared in advance because he was afraid of motion sickness when he set out.

Liu Shengyuan took it and chewed a few slices. He felt better, but he was still a little dazed. He whispered, "No matter what, their crimes don't deserve the death penalty. What's the difference between this and killing them directly? Besides, we are not officials and have no right to dispose of so many lives."

"Ayuan, what you said makes sense, but we can't be soft-hearted in the situation just now. Swords have no eyes. After all, we are just borrowing the light. Even Master Yang and Lin Junhui didn't say anything. Do you think we have room to do anything? Besides, those people are not good people." Zhang Pingan said lightly. Although he also felt it was a bit cruel, murder for money should be sentenced to death by hanging.

Li Mingxuan asked in a low voice, "Who is that Tan Yaoqi? He doesn't care about so many lives."

Before Zhang Ping'an could think of what to say, Father Liu continued, "As the saying goes, the county magistrate changes, but the county magistrate remains. He should be related to the current County Magistrate Tan, right?"

Zhang Ping'an nodded. "Yes, I heard from Lin Junhui that his uncle is the county magistrate of this county, and his uncle is the deputy magistrate of Ezhou Prefecture. Although his father is not an official, he monopolizes the salt and grain business in this county. His family is very wealthy in this county. One of his sisters married into the Lin family, so he came to Qingsong Academy to study."

Zhang Lao Er turned around and sighed softly: "The prefect who wiped out the family and the county magistrate who ruined the family are not just talking. We ordinary people should just watch and stay out of the way."

After this incident, Zhang Ping'an, Liu Shengyuan and Li Mingxuan realized that another big difference between ordinary children from poor families and children from wealthy families is their methods of doing things. Children from wealthy families are always more decisive and ruthless, and they have the capital and confidence to do so.

The next morning at 9:00 a.m., everyone returned to the county. The carriage that carried more than 20 robbers was already smelling terrible. Blood was flowing all the way from the gaps in the carriage, and there was also feces and urine from those people in the carriage. The smell was so bad that it was beyond words.

When entering the city gate, the gatekeeper lifted the curtain, took a look and immediately vomited.

Tan Yaoqi was also unable to bear the smell, and he covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief and shouted: "Get away from me and vomit, it stinks so much, go to the yamen and call someone over!"

The death and injury of more than twenty people was not a small case in the county, so the government immediately sent people over. The leading constable obviously knew Tan Yaoqi, and after questioning them briefly, he let everyone go.

Zhang Laoer immediately sped up his car to go home. When he got home, Zhang Pingan jumped out of the car, knocked on the door, and shouted, "Mom, we're back!"

There were messy footsteps coming from inside the door, and Xu opened the door with a "swish". "You guys are finally back. You were supposed to come last night, but you didn't come back last night. I was so worried that I didn't sleep all night."

"Uncle Zhang, thank you for the journey. I will go home first. After I have packed up, I will bring my mother to thank you," Li Mingxuan said with a bow.

"No need to thank me, just go home quickly," Zhang Laoer waved his hand.

He finally got home, especially since the robbery happened. He hadn't slept for the past two days.

"Sanniang, hurry up and get some food. We are starving on the journey. Stew a chicken in the evening," Zhang Laoer instructed.

Zhang Ping'an waved his hand: "There's no rush to eat. Let's boil two pots of water first to wash up, get rid of bad luck, and eat after being clean."

Zhang Laoer knew that his son had always been particular about his manners, so he changed the subject and said, "Then boil some water first and find some clean clothes. We'll wash them first and then eat."

"Hey!" Xu responded and turned around and said, "Si Ya, come in and help. Your father, your brother and your eldest brother-in-law have suffered a lot along the way!"

Zhang Laoer took advantage of this free time to organize the things in the car, and put a pile of cloth, wine, and food.

When Xu came out and saw it, she was so distressed that she asked, "Why are you spending so much money? You should spend more money, right?"

Zhang Laoer smiled innocently and said, "Haha, this is all from our son! Maybe you don't know this, but our son passed the provincial examination this time and is now a Tongsheng Master!"

"What? Our son has become a master at such a young age!" Xu was so shocked that the clothes in her hands fell off.