Divorced woman with child travels through time

"What's going on? You've taken the horses, you have to pay the horse-leading tax, you know that?" Zhou Changqing was very annoyed when he was stopped, so he deliberately raised his voice and said with his arms outstretched.

"Insolent! Get out of here..."

"Be bold!"

Song and his subordinates frowned and rebuked him angrily.

This was the first time Song He had ever heard of a horse-leading tax. He had long heard that the new magistrate of Lijia Town was a ruthless scoundrel, but he never expected to learn something new today. He laughed in exasperation.

"Oh? May I ask how much the horse-leading tax is?" Song He waved his hand to stop his subordinates and asked slowly.

"Fifty taels, pay up!" Zhou Changqing tentatively demanded an exorbitant sum.

"Fifty taels? Are you kidding me? I wonder which law and article of our Great Song Dynasty this horse-leading tax comes from?" Song He held a riding whip, stood tall, and asked with his head held high.

"You!" Zhou Changqing was intimidated by his imposing manner and felt a little weak. He couldn't help but shout, "What law do you care which one of my laws you have to pay today, whether you like it or not?" Anyway, Magistrate Zhou was not far away and he could see him. If this man dared not pay and a fight broke out, the magistrate would definitely send someone to help. Thinking of this, Zhou Changqing instantly felt confident.

The surrounding crowd, seemingly engaged in business and hawking their wares, were actually listening intently, their eyes fixed on them, wondering how to proceed. They worried that if these outsiders actually made the deal, they wouldn't be able to escape either. What to do?

Not far away, on the second floor of Chen's Tea House, Wang Erniu, Chen Wenfang, and others were eating melons.

Ah Li sat in a noodle shop, looking out the window.

"Oh, you dare threaten me? What if I refuse to pay? I wonder what this officer wants?" Song He sneered, and actually grabbed a small stool from the vegetable vendor's stall next to him and sat down.

His provocation immediately enraged Zhou Changqing. "Brothers, let's go! If they dare not pay taxes, throw them in jail. If we don't teach them a lesson, they really think they're something special!"

Several people rushed forward to grab him. Song He hadn't expected there to be such foolish people. He had only brought three people with him, but each of them was a top-notch expert. If they were to make a move, they would surely hurt someone. Fighting in a crowd could harm innocent people, so Song He was quite hesitant.

Zhou Changqing wasn't afraid at all. These troublemakers were no good people; if they injured someone, so be it, he didn't care.

Chen Wenfang was getting anxious watching from upstairs. Wang Erniu immediately thought of something, grabbed a few pebbles from a flowerpot, and flicked them out with force, hitting Zhou Changqing's calf like he was shooting a sheep.

Zhou Changqing immediately knelt on the ground. At the same time, Ah Li's men, who were hiding in the crowd, as well as those who were already angry and disliked Zhou Changqing, threw a lot of small stones from the shops upstairs and downstairs, rushing towards Zhou Changqing and his group. Even at the vegetable stall next to them, an auntie took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to her and suddenly picked up a rotten radish and threw it at Zhou Changqing. Just as he knelt down, the radish landed accurately on his head and burst open, splattering the people around him.

"Ouch, what is this? It's filthy!" A man next to him immediately moved aside, waving his sleeve as if to clean his clothes, but accidentally pushed Zhou Changqing's attendant, causing the group to fall over together again. The attendant immediately panicked.

"You motherfucker, how dare you push me!" He brandished his knife and lunged at him. The older brother, seeing things were getting out of hand, knew he had to strike first. He swung his cloth bag and knocked the knife away. Several people rushed forward and instantly beat the man to the ground, disappearing into the crowd.

Magistrate Zhou, who was watching from another teahouse not far away, originally wanted to lead his men to provide support, but upon seeing this scene, he was instantly filled with dread.

"Damn it, these people in Lijia Town are all troublemakers! They even dare to beat up the police." He had clearly seen the stones coming from all directions. He figured these few men couldn't possibly save them, and he didn't dare go over. He sighed. Magistrate Zhou decided to return to the county office first; this matter needed careful consideration.

Seeing this, Song He laughed and sat down at his stall. He watched as Zhou Changqing and his men were beaten. Once the beating was over, the crowd, secretly pleased with themselves, scattered like birds, continuing to buy their goods or leave as if nothing had happened. Only a few constables remained, wailing and howling.

Song He walked over with a smile and said to Zhou Changqing, "Brother, do you still need to pay this tax?"

Zhou Changqing, fearing that he was also there to beat someone up, covered his wounded face with his hand and said in a low voice like a stray dog, "You don't need to pay, you can leave!"

"Sigh!!" Song He led the group away with a grin.

Song He walked downstairs to Chen Ji Restaurant and took a closer look. He happened to make eye contact with Chen Wenfang and Chen Wenfang, who were eating melons on the second floor. Song He smiled and nodded, and Chen Wenfang and Chen Wenfang returned the greeting. They both knew what had just happened, and their tacit understanding was beyond words.

Ah Li and the others watched the entire play they had led from the noodle shop next door with satisfaction, nodding in approval. "Let's go, let's continue our patrol."

Chen Wenfang and Wang Erniu also went downstairs to greet Song He. This person seemed to be in the city to discuss business. It was rare to encounter such a good guest, so they had to entertain him.

Inside the county government office, Zhou Changqing and several others, dragging their injured and ailing bodies, approached Zhou Zhengyu. "Sir, have we failed in our duties?"

Zhou Zhengyu took a sip of tea. "What a useless piece of trash. He can't even handle this simple task."

Zhou Changqing covered his face with one hand, sobbing uncontrollably, "Sir, please bring more people. We can't beat these unruly people. There aren't enough of us."

Zhou Zhengyu sighed, "Alright, alright, go down. This isn't your fault." Zhou Zhengyu was at a loss. What should he do? The deadline for paying taxes was fast approaching, and if he didn't collect the taxes, he might lose his job…

In the remote, desolate, and deserted old Li family mansion, Li Dali and Xiao Ding were discussing in detail the absurd things that had happened in the town, such as the tax-paying and tax-resistance incidents.

"Brother Dali, you didn't see it, but those skin-pickers from this week got their heads bruised and battered, and they ran away in a panic, covering their heads." Xiao Ding excitedly shared the gossip he had heard with Dali.

Dali poured himself a sip of wine, downed it in one gulp, and pondered, "Do you think we can make something of this?"

Xiao Ding was silent for a moment, then said, "Perhaps we can. We can pass a message to Zhou Bapi, saying that this idea came from the Chen family, and have him target Chen Ji specifically, using their strength against them."

“That’s one way. You write it, and I’ll deliver it.” Li Dali quickly made up his mind.

Xiao Ding immediately went to the study and wrote a letter of denunciation. Li Dali carefully folded it and put it inside his clothes, preparing to go to the county government office to deliver the letter that evening.