Chapter 118 Run! Run! The plague god of Heqing County...

Chapter 118 Run! Run! The plague god of Heqing County...

"Sure," Du Min readily agreed, "but will Uncle Meng and Aunt Pan share the money with you?"

"You don't need to worry about that," Meng Qing said, refusing to let him ask any more questions.

Du Min scoffed and said sarcastically, "Yes, I'm your brother-in-law, not your own brother. I shouldn't meddle in other people's business."

Du Li kicked him lightly, "Are you itching for a beating?"

Du Min let out a long breath and sighed, "They're all bullying me."

"Don't be unreasonable," Du Li reminded her. "I don't even inquire about the financial dealings between your second sister-in-law and her family, so you shouldn't ask either."

"I'm just worried that my second sister-in-law will suffer a loss," Du Min muttered.

"You're meddling too much, and you're overthinking things." Du Li rolled her eyes at him. "You're surnamed Du, not Meng. How can you, an outsider, interfere in someone else's family affairs? Have you no shame?"

Meng Qing nodded.

Du Min stormed off in anger.

Meng Qing and Du Li went back to their room to sleep. As soon as the door closed, Du Li hugged her tightly and asked, "Did you get your period?"

Meng Qing nodded, "I came in the afternoon."

"Great!" Du Li cheered. "We can enjoy ourselves for another month!"

Meng Qing punched him, "Shameless."

Du Li did not refute it.

"Mother! Father! Open the door!" Wangzhou knocked on the door from the outside.

The couple quickly separated, and Du Li went to open the door, "What's wrong?"

Wang Zhou twisted and squeezed through the crack in the door. He didn't say anything, ran into the room, rushed to the bed, lay down, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep.

Meng Qing and Du Li exchanged a glance, and she asked with a smile, "Want to sleep with us tonight?"

Wang Zhou opened one eye and said with distress, "My third uncle begged me to stay home with him."

Meng Qing realized, "He's a bit of a scoundrel, it's normal that you can't refuse. Before your father and I leave, you can come and sleep with us every night."

Wang Zhou sniffed, then turned over and buried his face in his pillow, tears streaming down his face. He sobbed, "I already miss you all even though you haven't left yet."

Meng Qing lay down next to him and said, "Once we're settled, your father will come back to pick you up."

Du Li also took off his shoes and got into bed. He pinched Wang Zhou's leg and said, "Dad will go and familiarize himself with the way first. Once I know the way well, I'll come back and pick you up."

Wang Zhou wiped away his tears on his pillow and said in a sob, "Then you must come back soon."

“Okay,” Du Li agreed, and he lay down on the other side of the boat.

Wang Zhou rolled over and lay flat on his back. He lifted his legs and put them on his parents' bodies, one on each side, and said happily, "It's been so long since I slept with you."

“After all, you’re growing up. In another six months, you’ll be seven.” Meng Qing grabbed one of his hands. “Time flies. Seven years have passed in the blink of an eye. In another seven years, you’ll be fourteen. At that time, you should be studying at the county school. In another seven years, you’ll be twenty-one. At that time, you should be getting married.”

“No, I should have passed the imperial examination by then as well,” Wang Zhou corrected. “My third uncle passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-one, so I should have too.”

Meng Qing laughed out loud, "It's okay to be a few years late, you don't have to be like your third uncle."

“That could be a few years earlier,” Wang Zhou chuckled.

"What ambition!" Du Li said, folding his hands behind his head and saying with delight, "It's like a dream that I, a rough and uneducated man who can't read a single word, actually have a son who has passed the imperial examination."

Wang Zhou unconsciously straightened his chest.

“You must be dreaming. Where did you get a son who's a scholar? Your son isn’t even seven years old yet.” Meng Qing shattered his fantasy to avoid putting pressure on Wang Zhou.

“It will happen.” Wang Zhou was unmoved. He patted his chest and said, “I will definitely pass the imperial examination.”

"Alright, alright." Meng Qing sat up, unfolded the sheet that was being used as a blanket, and draped it over the three people's stomachs. "My son who passed the imperial examination, go to sleep. You have to get up early tomorrow to study."

Wang Zhou closed his eyes contentedly, but his legs were restless; his toes, draped over his parents' legs, twitched deliberately.

Meng Qing and Du Li remained silent. Gradually, their legs calmed down, and their breathing became long and even.

The couple also fell asleep.

*

The next morning, as dawn broke, Wang Zhou woke up. He tiptoed off the bed, opened the door, went out, returned to his room, put on his clothes, and then took his books to his study.

Du Min came in after him, and the uncle and nephew occupied opposite ends of the desk, one reading and the other reciting.

After finishing reciting the "Rapid Learning Manual," Wang Zhou picked up the hot water on the table and gulped down two mouthfuls. "Third Uncle, is there anything wrong with my recitation?"

"You missed this line: Handan, Hejian, Pei, Bashu, Longxi, Tianshui, Anding, and Bei." Du Min corrected him without looking up.

Wang Zhou frowned. He tried to recall carefully, and it seemed that he had missed this sentence.

“I’ll read it a few more times.” He unfolded the book. “By the way, Uncle, I told my parents that I will stay and keep you company.”

Du Min smiled and said, "I knew you were the best to me."

Wang Zhou, hidden behind the book, hummed a soft hum.

"What 'humph'?" Du Min asked. "Am I wrong?"

Wang Zhou ignored him.

Du Min shook his head, stood up and stretched, and said, "I'm going to Heyin County today. You'll come with me."

"Are you looking for Magistrate Zhao?" Wang Zhou asked.

“Yes, I’ll take you to broaden your horizons. The more you see, the more you’ll understand.” Du Min nodded. He never hid anything from Wang Zhou about family matters or courtroom affairs, and he would explain things carefully if Wang Zhou had any doubts. He wanted to repay the kindness he received from Meng Qing and Du Li by focusing on Wang Zhou. He wanted to use Wang Zhou as fertile ground to let him take root and grow freely, hoping that Wang Zhou’s official career would be smoother and more successful.

Wang Zhou agreed, and when the teacher arrived, he asked for leave and then took Du Min's hand and left.

Now Du Min no longer needs to be accompanied by yamen runners when he goes out. After the Lu Zhan case became known, everyone avoids him wherever he goes, and no one dares to make a move against him.

The uncle and nephew hired a donkey cart to reach the ferry crossing, then changed to a boat to cross the water to Heyin County.

"The magistrate of Heqing County has arrived!" someone exclaimed upon recognizing Du Min.

"Good heavens, why is he here? Is he going to intercept the funeral procession at the foot of Mount Beiman?"

"It must be. I heard that Magistrate Zhao went to Heqing County yesterday."

"Oh no, I have to go back to the village to deliver a message. I heard that our village's landlord, Dou, is about to die. I'll go back and tell them to prepare less burial goods."

Upon hearing the news, the funeral procession, which was about to turn a corner in the distance, saw its leader cracking his whip and urging the oxcart carrying the coffin to run. Those behind, carrying banners, scattering paper money, and carrying burial goods, also started running.

"Hurry, hurry, run! The plague god from Heqing County is coming!" Passersby warned one after another.

The funeral procession on the road sped up, and people nearby who were buying funeral supplies became nervous, standing by the roadside watching Du Min to see where he was going.

Du Min was secretly overjoyed, but he remained outwardly calm.

"Magistrate Du, what brings you to our county?" someone asked boldly.

"I was invited by your Magistrate Zhao," Du Min replied ambiguously.

The person asking the question gave a dry "Oh," and dared not ask any further questions.

When Magistrate Zhao heard the news at the county office, he came out to greet them. He saw the uncle and nephew, who were walking leisurely, about two miles away from the county office.

"Lord Du, did you walk all the way here? You didn't take a carriage?"

Du Min smiled, "I'll scare the people for you."

“It’s time to come over,” Magistrate Zhao immediately changed his tune. “It would be best to come every day, and next time we can go to Beiman Mountain.”

Du Min didn't reply. "Let's go back to the county office and talk."

Magistrate Zhao led the two back, and sent his servants to take Wangzhou to the government office in the back. "My youngest son is only two years older than this boy. I reckon the two of them can play together."

"No, he's well-behaved. He won't say a word if he sits next to me," Du Min waved his hand.

Magistrate Zhao was surprised.

"Let's get down to business, Lord Zhao. I've thought it over. My conditions remain the same: you want me to offend people for you, and the credit will go to me. You write to Governor Zheng, inviting me to assist in governing Heyin County. Once he approves and issues me a formal document, I'll come and help you. Without that document, if I interfere in the affairs of Heyin County, and someone accuses me, I'll be suspected of overstepping my bounds and usurping official authority."

"No, who would..."

“I checked the documents this morning, and there is indeed such a crime.” Du Min interrupted him, spreading his hands and complaining, “As you know, I am now a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone, and countless people want to kill me. Once this crime is caught, it will affect my promotion. Lord Zhao, I can understand you and I really want to help you, but I can’t be a bad person in vain.”

Magistrate Zhao fell silent.

Wang Zhou looked up at the two of them.

“I suppose Lord Zhao understands that this is the best opportunity to curb the extravagant funeral practices in Heyin County,” Du Min said slowly. “If we can work together on this case, the extravagant funeral practices in the Beiman Mountain area can be suppressed, and Lord Zhao will also benefit.”

Magistrate Zhao understood perfectly well, but he was also greedy. If all the political achievements were his, it would be the most powerful weapon for his career advancement.

"I'll personally donate a hundred boats to your county." He still couldn't bear to part with this lucrative opportunity.

Du Min shook his head, "Lord Zhao must be quite wealthy."

Magistrate Zhao was embarrassed; these one hundred ships represented all the bribes he had received during his three years in office. Alas, if he had known this day would come, he would never have reached out his hand.

"Is there really no further discussion?" he asked.

“No, what you want, I also want.” Du Min said clearly, “Actually, I don’t want to share the profits with you. I just need to wait another year. After that, Lord Zhao will be transferred, and I will petition to be transferred to be the magistrate of Heyin County. This achievement will all be mine. It’s a pity that the opportunity is not right. If Lu Zhan’s father had died a year later, that would have been better.”

"You!" Magistrate Zhao was speechless. "Whatever you say, whatever you say. You eat the meat, and I'll just have some soup. I'll write the official document right now... Never mind, I'll just go to Luoyang and talk to the governor in person."

Du Min was moved, "I'll go with you."

Magistrate Zhao glanced at him and said, "That's fine too."

"We'll set off in four or five days. My brother and sister-in-law are going to Luoyang in a few days to look for a shop to open a private school. I'll take them there." Du Min's eyes lit up. He could also visit Prefect Yin and ask him to look after them.

Magistrate Zhao looked at the young man sitting next to Du Min and said, "You have a good relationship with your brother and sister-in-law."

“Very good.” Du Min was somewhat dissatisfied with his choice of words.

"I can see that," Magistrate Zhao smiled, then said thoughtfully, "Lord Du, do you have a marriage in mind? Would you be willing to act as a matchmaker for me?"

Whose daughter is she?

"My younger sister is eighteen years old, beautiful and well-educated."

Du Min smiled and said, "I am twenty-four years old this year, past my youth, and I am afraid I am not worthy of you."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Zhao understood that he was not interested, and he did not force the issue. He said, "If I had a daughter, I would definitely marry her to you."

Du Min glanced at his face; the daughter resembled her father, but he was square-faced.

Magistrate Zhao understood his meaning, so he picked up a writing brush and threw it at him, saying, "You're not young anymore, don't be too picky, it's time to settle down."

Du Min responded, took the brush and played with it in his hand, saying, "Will you go to the foot of Beiman Mountain to oversee things then?"

“Go, we can take turns, so as not to delay the affairs of the yamen,” said Magistrate Zhao.

“I can be there all day. My subordinate, Magistrate Sun, is extremely capable. You can entrust the affairs of the yamen to him,” Du Min said. “When Lord Zhao is busy, he doesn’t have to go. I’ll cover for him.”

Magistrate Zhao suspected he wouldn't act without personal gain, asking, "What are you after this time? Why are you so eager?"

"The illegally made burial items that I seized belong to Heqing County. I want to sell them to buy boats and build bridges," Du Min revealed his purpose.

Magistrate Zhao was impressed. "You really have a lot of tricks up your sleeve. Alright, here you go."

Du Min smiled slightly; his strategist had many tricks up his sleeve.

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Author's note: See you tomorrow night at 8 PM.