Chapter 73 You dare to imprison the prince? You're a really something else as a county magistrate.

"I won't rent it!"

Liu Fu was adamant: he would not rent, he simply would not rent.

"Hmph, you don't know what's good for you!"

"Guards, seize him for me!"

As soon as the master gave the order, several burly servants and guards rushed forward, all drawing their broadswords in unison.

Liu Fu initially wanted to test these people and did not immediately compromise. Instead, he rushed forward and fought with these servants and guards.

I never expected these guys to be so ruthless, clearly aiming to kill me without holding back at all.

Liu Fu was secretly astonished. Just how powerful were these local bullies? They were quick to kill at the slightest provocation, as if taking several lives was commonplace for them.

If it were someone else, they would have suffered in silence, and might already be dead.

Dealing with these servants and guards was easy; even if 30,000 soldiers came now, Liu Fu wouldn't take them seriously.

But he was determined to make a big deal out of it!

So after gesturing a couple of times, he changed his tone and started to "give in":

"Sir, I am willing to rent the land, I am willing to rent the land."

"Oh ho, now you're willing to rent land? Too late."

"The price has gone up to thirty taels of silver now. Will you rent it or not? If you don't, I'll break both your legs and cut off your nose and ears."

Liu Fu nodded immediately:

"I'll rent it, I'll rent it."

"Master, take him to sign the papers and pay the money."

After the old man finished speaking, he began to hum a little tune in the room.

Liu Fu spent thirty taels of silver to sign a ten-year land lease contract, and then signed his name, "Liu Fu," at the bottom of the contract.

After signing, he took another look at the landlord's name on the document—Jin Wenhua.

It turns out this person's surname is Jin.

Two copies of the document were made. Liu Fu took his copy and finally left the Jin family safely.

If this were any other ordinary person, being ripped off for thirty taels of silver would probably have driven them to despair and hang themselves.

But as soon as Liu Fu came out, he immediately took Xiao Ying'er to the local government office.

"Hey, hey, hey, are we going to the county government office? You're not going to file a complaint, are you?"

Xiao Ying'er was incredibly clever and already knew what Liu Fu was going to do next.

But Liu Fu now has more than just the intention to file a complaint.

He wanted to cause a huge disturbance in the entire county government, then in the entire prefecture, and finally make this matter a big fuss that reached the entire imperial court, so that all the protectors of these local gentry would be dragged out and eradicated!

Thinking of this, Liu Fu said to Xiao Ying'er:

"I'm about to do a few daring things. I might end up being listed as a wanted criminal by the imperial court and hunted down. If you're scared, blink quickly, and I'll take you to a safe place first."

Xiao Ying'er rolled her eyes at Liu Fu:

"cut!"

"Having lived in the Liao Dynasty since childhood, I am quite skilled in riding and archery, and I also know some self-defense techniques, so I have nothing to fear. As long as there are snacks to eat, I will accompany you to the ends of the earth."

As soon as Xiao Ying'er finished speaking, Liu Fu smacked her on the head.

Then I heard Liu Fu's complaining voice:

"You glutton, all you ever think about is food!"

After inquiring around, Liu Fu learned that the place was called Jinjiazhuang, and it was under the jurisdiction of Chunhe County.

Chunhe County, Chunhe County, what a good name for the county, but I wonder what the local officials are like?

Upon arriving at the county government office, Liu Fu immediately began to beat the grievance drum at the entrance.

"Hey hey hey, what are you banging on here for?"

Liu Fu was pushed out by several yamen runners; was he trying to file a complaint?

Sorry, you can't even get into the county government office for the first hurdle.

"Brothers, I really have something to report. It's urgent, a matter of life and death!"

But no matter how much Liu Fu pleaded, the other party simply wouldn't let him in:

"Are you really that clueless or just pretending? Without a few taels of silver, do you think we, the constables, are going to run around for nothing to call the master for you? Kid, if you know what's good for you, hurry up and pay up, and we'll go in and inform the master for you."

"If you still don't know what's good for you, don't blame us for beating you out with sticks!"

Liu Fu quickly took out three taels of silver and finally arrived at the county government office, where he met this "upright and just official".

"You lowly commoner, whom are you suing?"

"I am suing Jin Wenhua of Jin Family Village. Jin Wenhua attempted to kill me but failed. Then he forcibly rented me land for ten years and charged me thirty taels of silver in rent. This is a forced sale. I beg Your Honor to do justice for me!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as Liu Fu shouted, the upright magistrate sitting in the hall immediately frowned:

"You're talking nonsense!"

"Jin Wenhua is a truly good person, and he has a great reputation in this county. This county has always known him."

"Guards! This man is maliciously slandering the philanthropist Jin. Give him fifty lashes first, then lock him in the dungeon to await further orders!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Fu realized he was in trouble.

There are generally two types of prisons in government offices: the county jail and the dungeon. The dungeon is basically equivalent to a death row. Once you go in, you can never get out. You might even be used as a scapegoat and beheaded in place of someone else.

"Sir, I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

"Hmph, you still claim you're innocent? You utterly unruly commoner, I hereby sentence you to be in cahoots with the bandits and thieves who plunder the people. Throw you in the dungeon and hear your sentence later."

That's ruthless!

Rumor has it that this county magistrate is Jin Wenhua's brother-in-law, and it seems the rumors are true.

However, Liu Fu did not want to be flogged directly, so he offered one hundred taels of silver. The flogging was waived, but he and Xiao Ying'er were taken to the dungeon together.

"Hey, Liu Fu, why are you being so patient today? The mighty Prince Zhongwu of the Han Dynasty almost got a beating on the butt, and you didn't even reveal your identity and deal with this county magistrate?"

Liu Fu smiled:

"I wasn't injured or beaten. I was just harassed by them. Why should my identity be exposed now?"

"Let's wait. We've gone to so much trouble, traveling incognito all this way. It would be such a waste if we only ended up arresting a county magistrate."

Xiao Ying'er asked, puzzled:

"So what should we do next?"

Liu Fu deliberately kept everyone in suspense:

You'll find out soon enough.

Shortly after Liu Fu and his men were thrown into the dungeon, in the back hall of the Chunhe County government office, the fat-headed and big-eared magistrate of Chunhe County got into an argument with his wife:

"Go back and tell your damn brother that if he's going to do something, he should do it properly. Don't let him come to complain every few days, leaving me, his brother-in-law, to clean up his mess every time!"

"Another out-of-towner came to accuse him today. Luckily, I threw him in the dungeon. If he had gone to the Yueya to file a complaint, I would have had to ask other government offices for favors and clean up his messes every few days. It's really annoying."

The magistrate's wife, however, looked displeased and said:

"Wipe your ass? My brother hasn't been sending you enough tribute every year, has he? Why didn't you say anything when you accepted gifts from others? Now I'm asking you to settle a little matter, and look how anxious you are. You surnamed Fei, don't blame me for scolding you. Although our Jin family branch has declined, my uncle is still a second-rank official in the imperial court. If you really anger me, even distant relatives are still relatives. The first thing I'll do is have my uncle dismiss your county magistrate!"

"Oh, Madam, it's all my fault, it's all my fault," the magistrate hurriedly apologized.

"Hmph, I'll just ask you one question: what are you going to do with those two people who filed complaints at the yamen?"

Magistrate Fei chuckled and said:

“The Prefect’s nephew has committed a crime and is wondering who to find to take his place. Tomorrow will be a good day for them. I’ll drag them to the execution ground to be their scapegoats. This way, we can solve your brother’s problem and also do the Prefect’s job. Then your husband will have a good chance of getting promoted next year.”

"Oh? You mean the nephew of that prefect who rapes young girls everywhere and then kills them afterward?"

"That's right, let those two lads be scapegoats and take the blame. It's a win-win situation, hahaha."

Unbeknownst to these two, their every move was overheard by the treasure-hunting rat and relayed back to Liu Fu's ears...