The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 634 - 623: Settled Privately?

Chapter 634: Chapter 623: Settled Privately?

County Magistrate Tang stifled a laugh, reached out to tug at the back of her collar, and motioned for her to hurry up and follow.

Outside the County Governmental Office, Tang’s coachman had been waiting. The County Magistrate gestured for her to get into the carriage and told the coachman to take her home, "Once there is a result, I will send someone to inform you."

Such treatment, of course, was not available to everyone. Other plaintiffs would naturally have to come themselves to find out the details.

After Tang helped Manbao onto the carriage, he stood at the door for a while before turning and entering the County Governmental Office, "Where is he?"

The yamen runner was startled and replied, "Locked up in the cell."

County Magistrate Tang nodded, "Go find out his name and address, and have the yamen runners go to his place to ask around."

The yamen runner acknowledged the order but didn’t move.

County Magistrate Tang turned his head and looked at him, "Well, go then."

Scratching his head, the yamen runner asked, "Ask what?"

"Just ask some questions. The main point is to tell the people living nearby, especially his family members, that he has been arrested."

County Magistrate Tang waved his hand and returned to the back courtyard.

The yamen runner then went to the prison to fetch someone.

Half a day later, he returned to the back courtyard of the County Governmental Office looking constipated and reported, "Sir, he refuses to say anything. Even after I gave him two lashings, he didn’t speak."

County Magistrate Tang had just finished his evening meal and was washing his hands when he heard this. He sneered and said, "If he won’t speak, just sell him to the mines as an escaped slave."

The yamen runner took the order and bowed before retreating.

Not stating a name, not stating a residence, the government office could immediately determine that he had no household registration.

What kind of person doesn’t have a household registration?

Even vagrants have registration; they are called vagrants because they do not return home, do not work, and do not pay taxes. In this world, only two kinds of people have no registration.

One is savages, and the other is escaped slaves.

The current dynasty is rather benevolent. Most of the time, savages are settled, but there is less courtesy towards runaway slaves.

If someone dies during the arrest, it’s not considered a big deal. Once captured, slaves are thrown into the mines, or turned into government slaves, doing only the heaviest work, or sent directly to the borders to serve as military slaves.

Any of these measures were enough to scare someone to death.

So the next morning, as soon as County Magistrate Tang arrived at the government office, a yamen runner came to report, "Sir, he confessed everything in a mess."

County Magistrate Tang took his time drinking a sip of tea before saying, "Bring him in."

Manbao was unaware of all this. Bai Shanbao knew that she had been followed the previous afternoon, and this morning he urged her to wait at home for Daji to take her to the medicinal shop.

"You’ve made some enemies, probably without knowing when you offended someone. It’s better to have Daji follow you, it’s safer."

Manbao felt very aggrieved, "I’m obviously very likable, okay?"

Mr. Zhuang stopped them and said, "Since the person has been caught, it shouldn’t be difficult to interrogate him. I’ll go to the County Governmental Office myself tomorrow. Be careful when you go out these next few days."

He continued, "Anyway, you and Shanbao leave the house at different times. Let Daji take Shanbao to the academy first, then come back and take you to the medicinal shop. After you leave the bookstore in the afternoon, don’t linger outside; come directly back with Daji."

He turned to Bai Erlang and Zhou Lijun, who were seated there eating melons, "The same goes for you two. The assassination attempt was not long ago, and Yizhou City is still somewhat chaotic, so try to go out as little as possible."

Everyone agreed.

However, the next day when Manbao, carrying her bookcase, climbed into the carriage that Daji drove to the door of the medicinal shop, she found neither Shopkeeper Zheng nor Doctor Ji were there; in-charge inside was Doctor Ji’s assistant.

Because there were many patients, the assistant doctor hardly had time to talk to her, only glancing up at her.

Although Manbao was very curious as to why Doctor Ji wasn’t there, she noticed the patients lined up to the door, so she immediately set down her basket, pulled out her brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and set them on the table, then went to help.

But her cooperation with the assistant doctor was not smooth; the more she helped, the more chaotic it became. Seeing the patients’ faces getting worse, Manbao simply stopped and no longer sat with the assistant doctor repeating diagnoses, instead standing up and going to the patients...

Doctor Ji had said, when patients come to the medicinal shop, try not to upset them with the seven emotions.

This was the first time the assistant doctor had to attend to such a large number of patients alone, and he was quite exhausted. Finally, after seeing all the patients once, he poured himself half a pot of tea and said, "I don’t know what business the County Governmental Office has with my father and the shopkeeper. Why did it have to be this morning of all times?"

Manbao was surprised, "Shopkeeper Zheng and Doctor Ji have gone to the County Governmental Office?"

"Yes," the assistant doctor looked at her and said, "My father was quite worried about you last night."

No sooner had he finished speaking than two yamen runners entered the medicinal shop and, upon seeing Manbao, said, "Young Lady Zhou, the County Magistrate requests your presence at the County Governmental Office."

The assistant doctor was shocked and asked, "Why are you being summoned to the County Governmental Office too?"

Manbao reassured him, "Don’t worry. I haven’t done anything wrong; the wrongdoer is someone else. I am the plaintiff."

Turning to the two yamen runners, she greeted them with a smile and asked, "Sirs, has that bad person confessed?"

The assistant doctor thought: Are plaintiffs supposed to be this proud?

And you’re so young, still a girl, is it really good to get entangled with a lawsuit?

But the two yamen runners looked at the assistant doctor, then nodded and said, "He confessed last night, so this morning the magistrate conducted the interrogation right away. Now he’s told us everything he should and shouldn’t have, and those who instructed him have also been summoned to the office. Oh, right, your husband has gone to the office too, now only you are missing."

Upon hearing this, Manbao could no longer care about reviewing the medicinal materials after lunch. She waved goodbye to the assistant doctor and then, carrying her basket, left.

Daji had been waiting outside all this time. Seeing her come out, he stepped forward, asked her if she was ready, and then drove the carriage over.

The assistant doctor stood at the entrance watching the four people leave and suddenly felt uneasy.

His father and the shopkeeper had been summoned to the County Governmental Office; he hoped this had nothing to do with this whole plaintiff and defendant situation.

On the way, Manbao asked the two yamen runners, "I wonder who they are and why they would follow me?"

However, the yamen runners were not willing to tell her in advance, only saying, "You’ll find out when you get to the County Governmental Office."

When Manbao arrived at the County Governmental Office, she was not led to the public court but to the administrative area in the back where the County Magistrate dealt with paperwork and received guests.

Carrying her bookcase and full of confusion, Manbao followed Daji to the back office. As she entered, she saw a person kneeling on the ground, County Magistrate Tang sitting in the middle, and on either side sat her own family’s Mr. Zhuang and Manager Zheng and Doctor Ji.

Manbao looked around in bewilderment before going forward to salute County Magistrate Tang, and only after doing so, she saluted Manager Zheng and Doctor Ji, and then ran to her family’s Mr. Zhuang and asked softly, "Sir, have you all gathered here?"

Mr. Zhuang glanced at her and signaled for her to be quiet and not to be mischievous.

Manbao quieted down, and Daji, having already saluted, quietly retreated to one side.

County Magistrate Tang glanced at him but withdrew his gaze without further attention, turning instead to Manbao and saying, "The matter has been investigated. You listen first, and then decide whether to settle this privately or let me judge."

Manbao’s eyes widened. Could matters entered into the governmental office still be settled privately?