Chen Tongpao was riding a horse in the city and did not dare to go fast. He only pulled the bridle slowly and was halfway through the journey. While the two were chatting and laughing, they suddenly heard some urgent shouts behind them. They turned around and saw a policeman galloping towards them, almost knocking over the people along the road.
Chen Tongpao looked at his outfit and understood immediately. He turned back to his horse and shouted: "I won't run away. Please speak slowly if you have something to say."
The man approached, smiled and cupped his hands: "Master Chen, where are you going?"
"Scribe, you shouldn't ask this, right?" The colleague glanced at the housekeeper beside him, "Did the mansion give orders?"
"You're talking too much. But Mr. Futai said that he has something urgent to discuss with you." The clerk was sweating profusely.
When the housekeeper was about to say something, his hands were firmly held down by Chen Tongpao: "Since it's an emergency, Chen should rush back as soon as possible."
The prefect wandered in the courtyard for a while and saw Chen Tongpao returning with the housekeeper who had passed through the house. He was so surprised and happy that he took the initiative to greet him without even thinking about his words.
"Where have you two gone? I've had a hard time looking for you." The magistrate patted Chen Tongpao's sleeves with a smile on his face.
Tongpao Chen said expressionlessly: "I heard that you have something urgent to ask my subordinate."
"Ah..." The magistrate thought for a moment, "There is a civil lawsuit in the county, and it is difficult for the magistrate to resolve it. You can help me give advice. Also, Tongxuan was sick some time ago and has not returned for three to five days. You go visit him and ask him to return to the office as soon as possible..."
The two people said nothing and looked at him silently.
"Want to take a look in the study?" The prefect asked with a smile when he saw that the atmosphere was not right.
Tongpao Chen didn't refute, so he lowered his head and answered "yes" and followed him into the study.
This civil lawsuit was not difficult to handle at all. It was settled neatly without any effort. It was approved and handed over to the Jiangdu County Government for disposal.
The butler thought this scene was too funny and snorted. Unexpectedly, the prefect had sharp ears, so he immediately followed the sound and his eyes fell on his hand that was holding the approval document tightly.
"Hey, what are you holding?" the prefect asked knowingly.
The housekeeper forgot to put away the approval document for a moment. Hearing the prefect's words, he was frightened and wanted to hide: "This is... this is..."
The prefect walked over slowly and said with a smile: "Is this the official approval document?"
The steward's heart was pounding, and he was so stunned that he couldn't speak. He actually asked the prefect to seize the good batch of submissions.
The prefect picked up the paper, scanned it with his eyes, and then threw the approval document back into his hand.
"Sir, the county magistrate has the power to approve appointments." Tongpao Chen said coldly.
The prefect did not want to fight with him this time, but calmly said: "This is true. But since I am the head of Yangzhou, I must be cautious about paying taxes. Chen Tongzhi, please go back to your residence and wait for my consideration. Zhou Quan, how about I send you to get the approval document again?"
The housekeeper still wanted to argue a few words, but Chen Tongpao firmly left the study, walked to the door, and waved to him: "Master housekeeper, let's go." The housekeeper muttered and left.
Although the prefect successfully suppressed the submission, he felt that the air was not filled with joy, but full of panic and uneasiness. A deep uneasiness prompted him to issue an order: "Each office must closely monitor Chen Tongpao's recent whereabouts. If there is any abnormality, report it immediately."
The people who passed through Hunan arrived at Jiangdu City. He originally imagined that Chen Tongpao would take care of all the difficult things for him, but unfortunately things went against his expectations. He hurried back to the house and listened to the butler's explanation of the whole situation, only to realize that Chen Tongpao could not do anything about it.
"The prefect can no longer stay..." His sigh was very dangerous, "Only by uniting with Kuang Chang can we shake the prefect's position."
The housekeeper took the opportunity to say: "The current situation is changing rapidly. As the deputy of the prefect, Chen Tongzhi must have real knowledge and insights. It is better to invite him to come to the house again and ask if he has any connections."
The people from Guoxiang were about to agree, when they suddenly remembered someone and said hurriedly: "Wait a minute. When it comes to finding a way, many officials have to ask for someone."
"Who?" the housekeeper became curious.
The Xiang man made a sign on the wall with his finger. The butler understood it and his eyes flashed: "I'll go and invite him right now!"
"You want to take action so soon?" Wenzhong and the Xiang people bowed to each other and then sat down.
"Brother Wen, this is a good strategy to strike first," Guo Xiang said. "I hope you can point out a way to talk to the governor."
Wen Zhong was eager not to open a pawn shop, but the prefect had a "murderous intention", Jiangdu was in danger, and the situation was irreversible, so how could he care about it anymore. Then he said directly:
"Wen will not talk nonsense, let me tell you this. Governor Kuang has found many cousins here to have fun. One of them has a half-open door. He lives near Taiping Bridge and is the best friend of Kuang Chang. If you can ask her to Governor Kuang whispered in his ear that he would protect you from being coerced by the prefect."
After that, when he saw the dubious look on the Xiang people's faces, he thumped his chest: "Wen is a person who stirs up troubles in Jiangdu. Isn't it easy to know these things?"
The people from Hunan just nodded in agreement.
"Old shopkeeper, this cousin has to go to Kuang Chang's house every night. As soon as you heard the alarm, you sent someone to Taiping Bridge to find this woman."
"I'll write you the address where she lives. You must remember it well."
As Wen Zhong spoke, he asked for a pen, wrote out the woman's address, tore it into a piece of paper, and handed it to the Xiang people.
"Sixing, there is a curfew at night, so be careful. I will help you get here." His farewell seemed too simple, silent, and came and went like the wind. Perhaps people in Guoxiang are still satisfied with this method.
As expected, the people from Guoxiang sat there until midnight. He was already drowsy, but after hearing the sound of Bangzi, he immediately cheered up and trotted all the way to the housekeeper's house: "Don't sleep! Don't sleep!"
The housekeeper hurriedly put on his clothes and stepped out of the threshold: "Master, please give me that note."
The Xiang man fumbled around in his arms for a while, stuffed the crumpled note into his body, patted his back and told him to go.
The housekeeper set out from the mansion and was wary of soldiers and arresters all the way. He just slipped under their noses and quietly walked to Taiping Bridge. He walked along the low houses in the area and gradually arrived at the woman's door. He was afraid that he was looking at the wrong place, so he took out the note in his arms and peeked at it by the moonlight by the earthen wall.
Suddenly, there were torches on both sides, and the light was so bright that the housekeeper threw away the note and ran back. Unexpectedly, there were pursuers in front of him and interceptors in the back. He actually ran into a pile of officers and soldiers, was surrounded by several soldiers, and was subdued to the ground.
"Damn it, you dare to violate the curfew, what are you doing? Are you tired of living?!" An officer stepped on his head.
The housekeeper gritted his teeth: "I am... I am the slave of the great shopkeeper of Hunan people. Please let go!"
"A foreigner from Hunan?" The officer was suddenly startled, "The prefect said that this foreigner cannot be let go so easily. Let's go! Take him to the Yamen and let the old man interrogate him in person!"
