Chaos of Ming 1628

The boy, who was over forty, was now crying and shouting for his father to a sixteen-year-old boy. The scene was bizarre.

Luckily, he was a county magistrate; if he were an ordinary person, he would have been the subject of much laughter.

At this moment, the constables had no choice but to turn their faces away and pretend not to see anything.

The sound of kowtowing echoed loudly. With his life hanging by a thread, Zhou Ji didn't care about saving face anymore; he only hoped that Sun Qing would step forward.

Sun Qing remained seated in the carriage, unmoved.

Zhang San was dumbfounded, for the poison in his possession had been personally entrusted to him by Zhou Ji. This scene shocked him so much that his ears rang, and it took him a long time to come to his senses.

He hurried over to Zhou Ji and whispered in his ear, "Sir, why are you kneeling before him? He's eaten so much; how long can he live?"

Zhou Ji suddenly realized that his lifeline was about to die.

Startled, he grabbed Zhang San and pinned him to the ground, shouting angrily, "You audacious scoundrel, how dare you harm a member of the Sun family?!"

"Sir!" Zhang San cried out in terror, "It wasn't you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Ji stood up, drew the dagger from the constable's waist, and stabbed it into Zhang San's abdomen.

Blood spilled from Zhang San's mouth as he stared intently at Zhou Ji. But Zhou Ji gave him no chance to speak, stabbing him several times until Zhang San finally collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open in death.

His official robes were covered in bloodstains. Zhou Ji was a civil official, and he wouldn't have dared to kill someone if the other party hadn't known too much about him.

At that moment, someone died, and his hand trembled, causing the knife to fall to the ground with a clang.

The crowd seemed to wake from a dream; though surprised, they dared not utter a sound.

Zhou Ji's hands trembled uncontrollably. He slapped himself twice to calm down, knelt down, and kowtowed again: "Young Master Sun, I know you are unhappy."

"My intentions were good, but who would have thought that this wicked servant would bully his master? I vented your anger on your behalf, please forgive me, young master."

He became more and more anxious and frightened as he spoke, his voice trembling with tears: "That Lady Ke will be here soon, she and Lord Wei are very close."

"He went straight to Jiahe County after leaving the palace. I'm afraid he already knows about my memorial subtly criticizing Lord Wei, and he's here to settle accounts with me!"

Zhou Ji was truly terrified, and as she spoke, she burst into tears.

How could Sun Qing not know how formidable Madam Ke was? How could he really leave?

Where can someone without official documents and travel permits go, even if they avoid Gaoyang?

Now that Jiahe County has just started to make progress, at least the people are willing to believe in the name of Young Master Sun, making it the easiest place for them to survive.

Without changing his expression, he lifted the carriage curtain and handed over the water jug: "Lord Zhou, there's no need for any formalities between us. Look at you, drenched in sweat, have some water first!"

Zhou Ji was already parched, and Sun Qing was willing to talk to him, instantly putting his mind at ease.

After taking a few big gulps of water, I felt much more refreshed.

Sun Qing handed over another piece of bread: "Want some?"

People feel hungry once they relax. Besides, Zhou Ji needs something from him right now, and he doesn't want to lose face.

He immediately took it with both hands, took a few bites, and smiled at Sun Qing: "Young Master Sun is truly a meticulous person; he has provided ample food and water for our journey."

"Zhang San gave me so much food and drink after I left the post station. At this moment, it's nothing more than using someone else's gifts to offer to someone else."

Zhou Ji's chewing stopped abruptly, her face turning pale. She leaned to the side, gagging and vomiting.

The constables were puzzled and were about to step forward when Sun Qing slightly raised his hand, and they stopped in their tracks.

Sun Qing calmly alighted from the carriage and handed a handkerchief to Zhou Ji: "Although I am foolish, I know how to repay kindness. Lord Zhou has been so kind to me, and I must repay this favor."

"Please don't be offended, sir. I am stingy and do not wish to repay you double for the time being."

Zhou Ji understood immediately. With tears in his eyes, he knelt on the ground, choking back sobs of shame: "I was wrong."

"Consider me a rebellious son who has now come to his senses and will never dare to disobey you again."

"From now on, I will do whatever you ask me to do. I will never dare to disobey in the slightest."

How terrifying is the person before me? Although he is a young man, he has caused the death of Li Weilin, the divine punishment of Botou, and even plotted against Wei Zhongxian within ten days.

His calculations were so accurate; his eyes seemed to see right through people, leaving them nowhere to hide.

At this moment, Zhou Ji firmly believed that if Sun Qing wanted to, he could take his life at any time without anyone noticing.

They initially came after her simply because they needed someone to take the blame. If they couldn't deal with Madam Ke, at least they could hand over Sun Qing.

But now, he was genuinely afraid of Sun Qing. When Wei Zhongxian killed someone, at least you knew how you died, but when Sun Qing killed someone, even in death you would feel grateful for his kindness.

If he hadn't just wanted to warn himself, Zhou He would have died by his own hand while eating water and flatbread.

"Lord Zhou, hurry back!" Sun Qing glanced at the rising sun. "No matter how skilled the doctors in the city are, we need to hurry."

Zhou Ji truly had to swallow his pride and bear the pain. He was the one who was poisoned, while Sun Qing was the one who poisoned him. Zhou Ji even had to express his gratitude with tears in his eyes: "You have the true magnanimity of a prime minister. Thank you so much."

Three poles in the sun.

Sun Qing was already standing at the back gate of the county government office, his large chests filled ten carriages. Besides the money he had amassed since becoming magistrate, there was also the money Li Weilin had collected, and now, half of the money the imperial guards had gathered throughout the city.

After everything was packed up, Sun Qing asked, "What do you plan to do with this money?"

To be honest, it was extremely difficult for them to accumulate so much wealth over several weeks, given that the eunuch faction would plunder the capital every time someone came.

Moreover, the imperial guards had spent seven whole days searching Jiaohe County, and the amount was enormous. Zhou Ji was a greedy man to begin with; how could he not be tempted?

He wrung his hands, utterly distressed: "If we could stay, who would willingly give it up?"

"But there's really no other way. With Madam Ke here, we can only offer this money to her as a token of respect, and with Young Master Sun mediating, we hope she can calm her anger," Zhou Ji said with a sigh.

At the same time, he was also carefully observing Sun Qing out of the corner of his eye, hoping to find something unusual about him.

Sun Qing remained calm.

Sun Qing had a general idea of ​​why Madam Ke came and why she was there.

Who is Ms. Ke?

That was Emperor Tianqi's wet nurse. The reason why Wei Zhongxian was able to achieve his current status was largely due to his skillful manipulation of others, such as digging up a corner of the wall and becoming a partner of Madam Ke.

The two were deeply in love, and Wei Zhongxian had his own special skills to make Madam Ke feel comfortable.

During the Tianqi era, Madam Ke was incredibly powerful. She was bestowed the title of Lady Fengsheng, and when she left the palace, her entourage was comparable to that of the Empress. The lanterns and candles were as numerous as clouds, and more than a thousand eunuchs knelt and worshipped her along the streets.

She was largely responsible for the fact that the Tianqi Emperor had no heir.

However, according to official historical records, before dawn on the third day of the ninth month, Madam Ke was stripped of her imperial robe and left the palace in only mourning clothes. She was accompanied only by a few people, including Wang Tiqian. Not only was she not allowed to kneel to greet him, but she was also monitored and urged to leave the palace at all times. Staying even a step longer was not an option.

When she left the palace, she was just an ordinary little girl, carried by two eunuchs.

However, the eunuch faction kept this information a secret, and a minor county magistrate like himself had no chance of knowing. All he knew was that a top-quality carrier pigeon had arrived to inform the matriarch that Her Majesty was coming and that he should hurry to receive her.

Sun Qing asked, "Does Lord Zhou wish to keep it for himself?"

"That's like a dream." Zhou Ji's mind was racing, and he quickly gave a wry smile.

Sun Qing nodded and made a request: "If I safeguard this money for you, would you be willing to allocate funds for disaster relief?"

"Oh, of course." Zhou nodded repeatedly, beaming with joy. "Then I'll have to trouble you. You can arrange the manpower I have as you see fit; I won't complain at all."

"Sir, if you don't go forward, aren't you afraid I'll swallow all this money?" Sun Qing said half-jokingly.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Ji readily nodded: "How could I not trust you?"

"Just go ahead and do it."

Sun Qing tapped the time, said no more, and immediately ordered his men to take the money and leave.

No sooner had Sun Qing left than the clerk rushed up to Zhou Ji: "Sir, this is practically all the money in Jiahe County! He just took it away like that?"

"Why don't you go and see where it's hidden?"

"Do we need it?" Zhou Ji asked nonchalantly, glancing at the empty courtyard and letting out a long sigh of relief. "That was a hot potato to begin with."

"Who is Madam Ke? She is second only to Wei Zhongxian. I was punished by Heaven for petitioning Wei Zhongxian, and she would have killed me whether I offered her money or not."

"Why not just pin everything on the Sun family? I'm just a useless little magistrate anyway, I'm innocent!"

The advisor's eyes widened instantly: "Brilliant!"

"I must say, the adults are truly brilliant. They waited for them to fight it out, and then we reaped the benefits."

Zhou Ji shook his head and sighed, "Sun Qing is still too young. He's certainly meticulous and thorough, but daring to fight a thousand-year-old fox is no easy feat."

"If he doesn't pay, it would be easy for Madam Ke to kill him."

The clerk asked, puzzled, "With Sun Qing dead, aren't you in danger, sir?"

Zhou Ji spread his hands: "Sun Qing isn't here, of course. But after the two of them met, you see how arrogant the Sun family is. They even managed to loot all this money. What could I do?"

"Moreover, it was all done by that Sun family in the first place."