CHAPTER 393: CHAPTER 393: TESTING THE WATERS

Squad Leader Yang roared, "Shut up, all of you! Are you trying to revolt? If you have grievances, go to the government office and submit a petition, stop making noise here and don’t start a brawl. If you start a brawl, the county will send people to throw you into prison!"

Seeing Squad Leader Yang getting angry, Village Chief He quickly scolded the villagers, "Stop the noise, what are you squabbling about? Do you want to die? The Lord Official came here today to deal with Lu Zhudan’s case, if you have nothing to do, go home quickly."

Old Master Lu and Old San had already been seen and mocked, it’s best to head back quickly; creating too much commotion could anger Squad Leader Yang.

He Family People immediately shut up, but they did not go straight home; instead, they held torches and escorted Squad Leader Yang and his group out of the village.

Though they said they were escorting Squad Leader Yang, in reality, they had been oppressed for too long and had not seen enough of Old Master Lu’s miserable state, wanting to take a longer look.

The commotion in Da Feng Village was not small, and even the nearby Lianghe Village heard it, so the village chief of Lianghe Village brought a few youngsters from the village to the village entrance specially.

Seeing Squad Leader Yang escorting Old Master Lu’s family, they were shocked. Trouble has occurred, and it seems the Lu Family is doomed.

Squad Leader Yang deliberately made things hard for Old Master Lu, ordering the Government Officials to drag him and run to the town swiftly. It was only after Old Master Lu was exhausted and fell to the ground that they allowed people to lift him onto a mule cart and rushed towards the county government office.

Over an hour later, as the sky began to dawn, Old Master Lu and Old San were finally brought to the county government.

Also arrested were Old Master Lu’s eldest and second sons who lived in the county, as well as Lu Guihua and Lu Hehua, who had married into other towns.

All four families, including the children, were arrested.

The siblings were already bewildered, not knowing what had happened, and the Government Officials wouldn’t explain, leaving them only able to worry.

The children of the family, who had never seen such a scene, were now arrested and taken to the county government office, forced by the Government Officials to kneel in the hall, all crying out loud in terror.

Seeing Old Master Lu, everyone asked, "Dad, dad, what’s going on? Why did the Government Officials come to our home and arrest us?"

Lu Hehua, even more aggravated, asked, "Father, what exactly has our family done wrong? Such punishment should not extend to married daughters. I am already married, my brother is about to get married, why when my family faces trouble, even I, a married daughter, am arrested?"

Lu Hehua was very angry; she has always been dissatisfied with Old Master Lu, feeling that he was biased, arranging for his eldest daughter to marry into a village chief’s family, and his youngest daughter to marry a government official, only arranging for her to marry into a village chief’s family. Although her father-in-law’s family did have some silver and owned a shop in the county, it was nothing compared to the rank of County Magistrate Zou.

With the rough cloth gag already removed from his mouth, Old Master Lu, hearing Lu Hehua’s words, gave her a fierce glare, "Unfilial daughter!"

Then, he immediately knelt down, facing the empty main seat in the hall, and cried out, "The heavens above, Old Master, I have been wronged. What laws have I actually broken that my entire family should be arrested in the middle of the night?"

"I know I have been somewhat overbearing in the village, but which family that has a relative in an official position doesn’t show off their power? I only committed the same errors as everyone else... I realize my mistakes, I will change... But the heavens above must let me die understanding why. You cannot just arrest me without explanation... I am wronged, wronged, wu wu wu..."

Old Master Lu, with great emotion, cried out his grievance in the hall, falling to the ground sobbing. The crying was so pitiful that those who didn’t know better would think he was indeed being wrongly accused.

Gu Jin’an followed County Magistrate Xu, Steward Tian, and others, hiding behind the screen and listening. Hearing Old Master Lu’s cries and seeing his expression, he frowned deeply and whispered to Lord County Magistrate, "My lord, looking at Old Master Lu’s demeanor, he certainly won’t tell the truth. If we go out to hold court now, he will definitely deny everything adamantly."

"Now that the matter has escalated, County Magistrate Zou must have received the news by now. For the sake of Zou Yuzhen, he will surely arrive soon. Our earlier plan to hold court then toss him into the water to test if he can swim needs to be changed. Otherwise, before the lord even gets anything out of him, County Magistrate Zou will have arrived."

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Xu asked Gu Jin’an, "Young man from the Gu Family, do you have any good strategies?"

Gu Jin’an replied, "Report to my lord, I believe we should change the order—a preliminary test to see if Old Master Lu can swim. After finding out, then we hold the court to interrogate him. By then, even if he wants to deny that he cannot swim or that he escaped by swimming, he won’t be able to."

Steward Tian agreed significantly, "My lord, Good Brother An’s suggestion is excellent. It will be much easier to test Old Master Lu unprepared."

"If we first hold court to interrogate him and then test if he can swim, Old Master Lu would likely rather drown himself than admit to being able to swim for self-rescue."

"My lord, know that a surprise move is the way to ensure a quick victory."

County Magistrate Xu was very tempted, but then considered, "If we throw someone into the water for testing without having held court, and should any mishap occur, this would be disregarding human life."

Although County Magistrate Xu loved achievements, deep down he was a person who feared taking responsibility. Whatever he did, he always opted for the safest route.

Steward Tian asked, "Does my lord still remember what the Lord Magistrate said when we last visited him?"

The Lord Magistrate had said that County Magistrate Xu was overly cautious, and if one wants to be a major official of a region, one cannot afford to be overly timid. If he continues to be fearful, his official career would not last long; at most, he would only reach the level of a county official and find it difficult to advance to a higher position.

Remembering the Lord Magistrate’s words, County Magistrate Xu clenched his teeth and said, "Brother Jiang, immediately send someone to drag Old Master Lu to the pond in the backyard of the county government and test whether he can swim?"

"Your subordinate obeys." County Captain Jiang immediately led two squads of county soldiers out, pointing at Lu Xiangfu, "Come, drag Lu Xiangfu to the backyard."

The county soldiers were urgently summoned tonight from the Military Office, among them were Qin Er Lang and Qin San Lang.

Jiang Qi appreciated them; they were included in any opportunity to achieve merit.

"Yes!" the county soldiers responded and went to pull Old Master Lu.

"What are you doing? What are you doing? Let go of the old man, you want to impose punishment without holding court first, you are abusing private punishment!" Old Master Lu, with his hands tied, could not get up to escape, so he could only use his knees to hobble backward.

Seeing this, Lu Laoda, Lu Laoer, Lu Guihua, and Lu Hehua only verbally rebuked the county soldiers and did not dare to help, fearing they might be charged with obstructing Military Officer’s duties.

"Stop!" A furious shout resounded. County Magistrate Zou, supported by Zou Jiang and accompanied by Steward Shao and Master Cao, arrived at the county government. Seeing the county soldiers about to take Old Master Lu to the backyard, he hurriedly shouted, "Stop immediately! You are dragging people away without holding court first, you, you guys are..."

County Magistrate Zou had recently suffered from a bout of illness that left him gasping for breath. While he was still speaking, Qin San Lang swiftly lifted Old Master Lu and rushed to the county government’s backyard.