Divorcing your wife might feel good for a moment, but seeing me make money will make you regret it f

Qiuqiu carried the magistrate's wife on her back to the carriage: "Madam Xu, could you please lend me a hand and help me put the lady into the carriage?"

Xu Qing was overjoyed. He casually grabbed the magistrate's wife by the armpits and tossed her into the carriage.

Then another "thump" was heard.

Fortunately, the carriage was cushioned, so the noise wasn't too loud.

Qiuqiu, panting heavily, said, "Madam usually looks like a slender, delicate person, but I never imagined she would be so heavy when she lost consciousness. It's exhausting."

Xu Qing smiled but remained silent. After Qiu Qiu got into the carriage, she invited Xu Qing to get on as well, and the two of them headed to the yamen together.

Zhao Da took the lead, but the oxcart was not as fast as the horse-drawn carriage, and the group met at the entrance of the yamen.

Qiuqiu ran inside and asked someone to carry the magistrate's wife in a sedan chair, and also informed the magistrate.

Upon hearing that his wife had been drugged while attending a wedding banquet, the magistrate was so worried that he immediately ordered the best doctor in town to be summoned.

Upon hearing that Xu Qing, the person who administered the drug, had been caught, the judge immediately frowned and ordered the clerk to take the case to court.

When asked their names and hometowns, the bandits' families stammered and couldn't answer, only repeatedly shouting that they were innocent.

The clerk rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "Sir, these people look familiar, as if I've seen them somewhere before."

Xu Qing, standing to the side, said, "Woman, there are people in the village who know them. You can call them over to ask them."

The bandit's family members belatedly realized that Daya must have betrayed them!

One of them, his eyes blazing with fury, cursed, "You corrupt official, you've been so ruthless; one day you'll suffer a terrible death!"

The magistrate asked, somewhat puzzled, "Exterminate them all? What makes you mean by that? You plotted to murder my wife, and you still have the nerve to scold me?"

The people kneeling below refused to speak again, as if to say, "Do whatever you want with me."

The clerk then remembered something and whispered in the magistrate's ear:

"I remember now, isn't this the person who pleaded for those bandits before?"

My lord, perhaps they murdered the lady because they held a grudge against us for sentencing those bandits to death…

The magistrate remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was in turmoil.

He had considered that these people were mostly the elderly, weak, women and children, and sentenced them to immediate execution as bandits.

If he were more ruthless, these family members wouldn't escape either; they would also be sentenced to exile.

He also opened the granaries to distribute grain and found sweet potatoes for these people so they could return to their hometowns to grow them.

He had a clear conscience.

He did right by them.

But how did they repay him? They even tried to murder his wife!

The more the magistrate thought about it, the more he couldn't swallow his anger.

Since they want to die, let them have their way.

The magistrate slammed his gavel down: "So you are remnants of bandits. No wonder you can't distinguish right from wrong. Considering you were accomplices, exile you 3000 li away."

The bandit's family protested, "I want to report this. There are two other accomplices as well, why aren't they arrested?"

The magistrate asked, "Oh? Who are the other two? Where are they?"

"A person was hiding in a dilapidated house not far from Xujia Village. He was mute."

There was another person from Xujia Village named Daya; the two of them drew the route map for us.

The magistrate tossed down a sign: "Go immediately and arrest the two men."

The bailiffs obeyed and left, and the magistrate took a short break to visit his wife with Xu Qing.

In the backyard, after the doctor's examination, the conclusion was the same as Dr. Qian's: she would be fine after waking up.

No sooner had Qiuqiu seen the doctor off than the county magistrate and Xu Qing walked in.

Upon seeing the magistrate, Qiuqiu, with tears in her eyes, pleaded pitifully, "Your Honor, you must do justice for Madam!"

Xu Qing glanced at Qiu Qiu.

The magistrate nodded and went inside.

At this moment, the magistrate's wife slowly woke up, looking at the familiar room, still somewhat disoriented.

Wasn't she just talking to her son? How did she end up back at the government office?

Where is the son?

"hiss."

The magistrate's wife tried to sit up, but as soon as she moved, her whole body ached as if it were falling apart, especially her back.

"What's wrong with me... Qiuqiu?" the magistrate's wife cried out, grimacing.

Hearing his wife's cries of pain, the magistrate felt very sorry for her and quickly went inside, saying, "Madam, you've suffered so much. Please lie down and rest."

The magistrate's wife couldn't help but act coquettishly whenever she saw the magistrate:

"Husband, my back hurts so much. What happened to me? I was just talking to our son when I suddenly lost consciousness."

The magistrate turned his wife around, lifted her clothes and looked inside, only to see a large bruise.

Xu Qing stood quietly in an inconspicuous corner, and also glanced at it discreetly, feeling relieved.

The magistrate suppressed his anger and comforted his wife, saying, "It's nothing, she probably bumped into something accidentally. She'll be fine after a couple of days of careful rest."

After calming down the magistrate's wife, the clerk came to report that the two people confessed by the bandit's family had been arrested and brought back to the yamen. Should the court proceed with the hearing?

The county magistrate nodded slightly.

Xu Qing followed closely behind, exiting the courtyard where the magistrate's wife lived, and called out to the magistrate:

“Your Honor, I said in court that someone in our village knows that group of people, and that person is Da Ya. There is something else I have concealed from you, Your Honor, and I beg you to forgive me.”

After saying this, Xu Qing bowed to the county magistrate and apologized.

The county magistrate was startled; he had a very good impression of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing helped him deal with the bandits and the rice, and also provided sweet potatoes.

This gave him a good opportunity to impress the prefect and he received a lot of praise.

In particular, Xu Qing recently sent him a large sum of money.

That was money he earned legitimately, unlike money he obtained through bribery.

He gently helped Xu Qing up and said, "Please speak freely, Madam Xu."

Xu Qing straightened up and said with a face full of regret:

"This morning, Daya told me that a group of people were forcing her to draw a diagram of my house's layout for them."

If she didn't draw it, they would tarnish her reputation, so she had no choice but to draw it. The group of people left after they got the drawing.

Our squat toilets have been selling very well lately, which has caused dissatisfaction among some people. I thought they wanted to steal the squat toilet formula.

They even told the workers to guard the workshop, but who would have thought that these people actually wanted to harm the lady.

It's all my fault. If I had thought of it sooner or told the adults, this wouldn't have happened today.

They're turning around and accusing me now, they must know they can't escape punishment, so they're trying to drag Da Ya down with them. My lord, I urge you to investigate thoroughly.

After listening, the county magistrate comforted Xu Qing:

"So that's what it was about. I can't blame you for this. I didn't expect that these old, weak, women and children would have such audacity."

Looking back now, when others had no food, they thought about how to earn money to buy food, but their relatives could become bandits.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Clearly, this group of people isn't exactly good either. You don't need to blame yourself.

I'll find out more later and then release Daya. But what about the squat toilets that caused some people's dissatisfaction?

Xu Qing turned his head slightly towards the direction of the madam's courtyard and said:

"Sir, please go and investigate the case first. I will explain this to Madam in detail later, or I can have Chenggong tell you."

Today is my eldest brother's wedding, and there are still many things to do at home, so I won't bother you any longer.

The magistrate glanced out of the corner of his eye at a glimpse of a corner of his wife's clothes peeking out from the gate of her courtyard, and nodded helplessly.