CHAPTER 363: CHAPTER 363: GONE MAD

Zou Jiang, upon seeing these two characters, the world before his eyes turned dark, and he nearly fainted. If it was really as he feared, what would become of the Zou family?

Zou Jiang hesitated, wondering whether he should show this golden lock to County Magistrate Zou.

County Magistrate Zou has already received enough shocks today; if... Zou Jiang feared the Magistrate couldn’t take it.

Guardian Master, with sharp eyes, noticed Zou Jiang’s indecisiveness. Seeing him holding something shiny, he quickly approached and asked, "Housekeeper Zou, is that item from Mrs. Zhong’s room? Did you find anything? The Old Master is waiting."

County Magistrate Zou was so angry today he wanted to kill someone. If they didn’t find something in Huilan Courtyard, County Magistrate Zou would surely think them useless and take his anger out on them.

For his own sake, Guardian Master reached out to take the golden lock, but Zou Jiang dodged, "There’s no need to trouble Master Cao, I’ll take it to the Old Master."

County Magistrate Zou was half reclined in a room on the left, receiving acupuncture from Doctor Wen. He was so infuriated by today’s events that if he didn’t let Doctor Wen stick a few needles to calm his liver fire, he feared he might succumb to a stroke.

Upon seeing Zou Jiang enter, County Magistrate Zou immediately asked, "What happened? Did you find anything?!"

Zou Jiang glanced at Doctor Wen and said, "Old Master, finish your acupuncture first. I’ll tell you afterward."

Hearing this, County Magistrate Zou’s blood surged again, knowing that Zou Jiang must have found evidence of that vile woman cheating on him, but it was inconvenient to discuss it in front of Doctor Wen.

"Lord Zou, please don’t get agitated, or this acupuncture will be for naught," warned Doctor Wen, who couldn’t afford to leave Zou Mansion if the Magistrate had a stroke.

County Magistrate Zou had no choice but to suppress the rage that was nearly erupting inside him, and waited patiently.

Thirty minutes later, Doctor Wen packed up the silver needle, and after an escort led him to the neighboring room, County Magistrate Zou, who could not wait any longer, asked, "Speak now!"

"Old Master, promise your servant you won’t get angry no matter what," Zou Jiang reminded County Magistrate Zou, then handed him the golden lock, "Please, take a look."

County Magistrate Zou snatched away the golden lock, turned it over and over, and found nothing suspicious about it. Angrily, he roared at Zou Jiang, "What’s on it, speak up!"

Zou Jiang said, "On the bottom of the arched lock bar, there are two characters."

County Magistrate Zou immediately flipped the unlocked golden lock over, and indeed saw two characters on the bottom of the arched lock bar: "Yuqian?"

County Magistrate Zou was confused for a moment, then realized, "It’s the eldest son!"

It was actually his eldest son!

"Very well, a wolf-hearted and dog-lunged bastard. This official has long known he disliked this official, wishing that this official would die soon so he could inherit my position as County Magistrate. So addicted to coveting this official’s things that he even dared to lay hands on my woman, who is his own stepmother! Cough, cough, cough!"

County Magistrate Zou cursed vehemently, coughing violently to the point where he almost choked.

Zou Jiang rushed over to pat him on the chest and help him breathe, "Old Master, you mustn’t get angry again, any more anger could break down your health..."

"Shut up! You dog slave, do you really think this official’s body can’t compare to the eldest?" County Magistrate Zou glared viciously at Zou Jiang. He could not stand being regarded as old, and he was especially afraid of death, and after being convinced that his concubine and his son were involved, he couldn’t bear to hear any words implying decrepitude or mortality.

Zou Jiang was stunned by the scolding. Over the years, County Magistrate Zou had always been good to him; even though he had sold himself into servitude, County Magistrate Zou most often said that he treated him like a brother and not a servant.

But at this moment, Zou Jiang realized... he was probably just a servant in County Magistrate Zou’s eyes.

Had this been any other time, County Magistrate Zou would have certainly put on an act, immediately apologizing to Zou Jiang. But today, he was maddened with rage and had no time for performances, and he pointed at Zou Jiang and ordered: "Go, bring that rebellious son... No, bring the entire household of Mrs. Hong to Huilan Courtyard for me, whether it be Mrs. Hong and her daughter-in-law, or the eldest and the second, or even those youngsters, capture them all! I want to personally question them about why they betrayed this official!"

Zhong Cuilan was brought into the mansion by Mrs. Hong, and it was the eldest, Mrs. Hong’s own son, who had cuckolded him. He would never believe that Mrs. Hong was unaware of this matter.

Zou Jiang, greatly alarmed, thought that County Magistrate Zou had gone mad and quickly said: "Old Master, even if the eldest has indeed done something to wrong you, there’s no need to vent your anger on his wife and Second Young Master, not to mention the other young masters; after all, they are all legitimate offspring."

Especially the wives of the eldest and the Second Young Master, these two are daughters-in-law of the Zou family, who haven’t done anything wrong. Yet County Magistrate Zou wants to drag them in for questioning. If word of this were to spread, the Zou family would be utterly despised to death.

"Ptui! Legitimate offspring? It’s precisely because they are legitimate that they can’t wait for this official to die so that they can take control of the Zou family."

What of legitimate offspring?

Without them, he still had Old Third as a son. Old Third has always been promising, and if he were to achieve great success in next year’s examinations, the Zou family would have a successor; there was no need for legitimate offspring.

County Magistrate Zou was already driven to madness and turned to Zou Jiang in a roar: "Whose servant are you? Are you even disregarding this official’s words now? Do you think this official is old, and so you wish to curry favor with the eldest to find yourself a retirement plan?"

Ha, as if Zou Jiang expected that he would let him enjoy his remaining years in peace at Zou Mansion?

Over these years, keeping Zou Jiang close was simply a way of humiliating him. After all, Zou Jiang was once a genius, while he himself was a mediocre fellow who took several attempts to pass the examinations.

County Magistrate Zou’s words were harsh. Remembering the vicious oath he had made when he sold himself to the Zou family, Zou Jiang had no choice but to comply: "Yes, this old servant will go right away."

In the previous dynasty, private armies were permitted, but after the establishment of Great Chu, although private armies were forbidden, wealthy households began to keep Protectors as an alternative form of private force.

The Zou family had as many as a hundred Protectors, and at Zou Jiang’s command, these Protectors, divided into several groups, directly stormed into the courtyards of Mrs. Zou, Zou Yuqian, Zou Yunkun, and the courtyards of the several legitimate offspring, capturing them all to Huilan Courtyard.

Mrs. Zou was investigating the incident of Zhong Cuilan falling into the lake and had just returned to the main courtyard to rest for a moment when the Protectors burst into the main courtyard, surrounded her, and escorted her to Huilan Courtyard.

Mrs. Zou was dumbfounded; her two daughters-in-law were even crying with tears streaming down their faces. They were legitimate daughters from respectable families, who had lived most of their lives and never suffered such a great and shameful indignity, to be detained by their own Protectors and taken to the courtyard of a concubine.

"You dog slaves, all of you dog slaves, let go of me at once, you are utterly rebellious... Wuu wuu wuu..." Mrs. Zou couldn’t help crying, her entire branch of the family were legitimate children, yet to be treated in such a way.

The wives of Zou Yuqian and Zou Yunkun were so indignant they couldn’t even speak. This great and shameful indignity, oh, the indignity of it all! Even if they had committed crimes, the government officials wouldn’t dare to be disrespectful to the daughters of officials this way, and yet now this was happening in their own home, they were being detained by their own Protectors and taken to the courtyard of a concubine.

Both were now filled with regret. Had they known the Zou family lacked such basic decorum, they would have rather died than married into the Zou family.