She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

"What?! Such a thing happened? Niu Dali was eaten by a tiger?"

Upon hearing this, Jin An's eyes widened in disbelief, his body trembled uncontrollably, and his face turned deathly pale.

If he hadn't sent Niu Dali today, but had gone himself, wouldn't he be the one being eaten by the tiger right now?

Just thinking about this made Jin An shiver, and fine beads of sweat began to seep from his forehead.

It took Jin An a while to come to his senses.

If Geng Qingshi hadn't told him this, he would never have taken action against a small mountain village.

Jin An decided to pin the entire loss on Geng Qingshi and make him pay double.

Jin An shouted in a cold voice, "Immediately send men to the Geng family's silk shop and bring Geng Qingshi to me!"

Since returning from the county government yesterday, Geng Qingshi had been waiting for good news from the authorities. Upon seeing the two constables approaching, he immediately hurried to greet them.

"Sir, how did your trip to Xiaoyao Village in Qiufeng Town go today?"

One of the constables glanced at him expressionlessly and said coldly, "Does this kind of official business concern someone like you, a mere commoner? The magistrate wants to see you. Come with us."

Geng Qingshi's heart skipped a beat, a bad premonition welling up inside him, but he still forced himself to remain calm and asked with a smile, "Sir, what business does the magistrate have with me?"

"Stop talking nonsense! You'll know when you see the magistrate," the constable snapped irritably.

Geng Qingshi secretly groaned. He knew that the officials must have run into trouble when they went to Xiaoyao Village to collect taxes, but he couldn't understand how a group of county officials could not handle a group of unarmed people.

As he followed the constables, he pondered how to deal with the situation.

However, when he was taken to the county government office and saw Jin An's angry face, all his thoughts vanished.

"You bastard Geng Qingshi!" Jin An slammed his gavel. "You dared to frame me and even killed my most capable captain!"

Geng Qingshi was so frightened that he immediately knelt down. "My lord, please calm down! How could I have such a thought! I was only reporting the truth, without the slightest falsehood!"

Jin An wouldn't listen. "Hmph, do you know that Xiaoyao Village is a place protected by the mountain god? I only sent men to collect taxes because I believed your slander, and not only did we not collect a single coin, we also lost a great general. If you hadn't told me about this, none of this would have happened! Guards, give him fifty lashes!"

The bailiffs on both sides rushed forward, pinned Geng Qingshi to the ground, and raised their boards to strike him.

"Wait!" Geng Qingshi shouted, "Sir, don't be fooled by those country bumpkins! There's no such thing as a mountain god. They must have conspired to kill your men!"

Jin An glared at him, "You still dare to say that? If there's no mountain god, where did the tiger come from? Do you know that Chief Niu was eaten alive by a tiger!"

Geng Qingshi was shocked to hear this. He had thought he could use the power of the government to punish the people in Xiaoyao Village, but he did not expect to get into trouble instead.

Right now, the only thing to do is to appease Jin An and avoid this beating; otherwise, fifty strokes of the cane might cost him his life.

"My lord, I truly had no idea that Xiaoyao Village was protected by a mountain god. My lord, things have come to this point, and killing me now will not change anything. But if you are willing to let me go this time, I will definitely compensate you for your losses!"

Jin An narrowed his eyes, looking Geng Qingshi up and down, seemingly pondering his words.

After a while, Jin An spoke up: "Fine, since you are so sincere, I will spare you this time. However, you must compensate me for my losses as you have said... one thousand taels of silver will do!"

Geng Qingshi breathed a sigh of relief and kowtowed repeatedly to express his gratitude. "Thank you for your mercy, sir. I will do as you say! Even if I have to go bankrupt, I will give you this thousand taels of silver."

Jin An nodded in satisfaction. "Well, let's do it that way then. Remember, never try to deceive me again, or it won't be as simple as just compensating me for my losses!" With that, he waved his hand, signaling the constables to release Geng Qingshi.

When Geng Qingshi returned to his shop from the county government office, his heart was still pounding wildly.

He wondered to himself: Could this Xiaoyao Village really be protected by a mountain god? He had only heard of mountain gods, but had never seen one.

But if it wasn't for the protection of the mountain god, why did those tigers appear so timely, and why did they only eat Niu Dali instead of other people?

The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed, until the back of his clothes was soaked with sweat.

"Quickly prepare a thousand taels of silver notes for me; I need to send them to Master Jin," Geng Qingshi said to the shopkeeper after a long while.

"Third Master, we don't have that much money in our shop..."

"Then let's borrow it from the money exchange," Geng Qingshi said through gritted teeth. If they didn't give Jin An the money, there would definitely be more trouble later.

The shopkeeper looked troubled. "Third Master, this...this won't do. The interest on loans from money shops is quite high."

Geng Qingshi knew this all too well, but he had no other choice now. "Just do as I say, and hurry up!"

Seeing Geng Qingshi's resolute attitude, the shopkeeper had no choice but to agree.

The next morning, Geng Qingshi arrived at the county government office with a thousand taels of silver. Jin An accepted the silver and nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad, you're quite trustworthy."

Geng Qingshi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for your praise, sir. Does that mean this matter is now closed?"

Jin An smiled and said, "That depends on your performance. If I ever need your help in the future, you must do your best."

Geng Qingshi inwardly groaned, but outwardly he smiled and agreed, "Of course, of course, I am willing to serve you with utmost loyalty."

After leaving the county government office, he got into a carriage and returned to the Geng family in Lin County.

Upon seeing Geng Qingsong, he immediately burst into tears: "Brother, I almost didn't get to see you again!"

Geng Qingsong quickly asked, "What happened? Third brother, don't be anxious, tell me slowly."

Geng Qingshi recounted his experience at the county government office to Geng Qingsong, concluding with, "Luckily, I'm quick-witted, or I would be dead."

Geng Qingsong frowned upon hearing this. "Such a bizarre thing has happened... However, that Lord Jin is no benevolent person either. He will definitely find all sorts of reasons to make you do things for him in the future."

Geng Qingshi nodded. "I know, but there's no other way right now."

After discussing it, the two decided to sell their shop in Tongan County to avoid future troubles.

This time, his attack on Xiaoyao Village not only failed to bring him any benefit, but also cost him more than a thousand taels of silver. Geng Qingsong was filled with regret.