Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

When Wu Erlang escorted Fang Zhong'an to his doorstep, Old Fang was still wiping away tears.

He stood outside his own courtyard gate, turned around and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Wu Yan, "Captain Wu, thanks to you tonight, my legs are still trembling."

Wu Erlang usually looked down on Fang Zhong'an, but seeing how terribly frightened he was today, he had no choice but to offer a few words of comfort before taking his leave.

His wife's voice leaked through the crack in the door; she cried out in surprise, followed by Fang Zhong'an's mumbled explanation.

Wu Yan stood at the entrance of the alley for a moment, then turned and walked towards Jinshi Alley.

After a fight, his drunkenness had long since dissipated, and he walked much more steadily than before.

When they arrived at the gate of the Zhang family compound, Lü Sanbao was cautiously looking around from the gatehouse. Hearing footsteps, he peeked out and, seeing that it was an old acquaintance, nodded and let him in.

The lights were on in the main room.

Zhang Sanlang and Sun Jizu sat across the octagonal table, while Wu Yan sat down in an empty chair and took off his short stick, leaning it against the table leg.

"Was it sent back?" Zhang Sanlang asked.

"It's been sent back. Old Fang's legs were still shaking; he almost tripped over the threshold when he came in." Wu Yan picked up his iced tea and took a sip. "Sanlang, it seems you guessed who that person was. That's why you didn't let Mr. Lu chase after him?"

Zhang Sanlang leaned back in his chair, turned to look at Sun Jizu, and grinned. "During the Kaibao era of this dynasty, an imperial edict was issued prohibiting ordinary people from privately possessing swords, bows, and crossbows."

"Of the more than 28,700 people in the county, only Brother Sun is legally allowed to carry weapons. Even you, Brother Wu, can only carry weapons when arresting criminals, and you need a document jointly issued by the county magistrate's office and the military office to obtain them."

Zhang Sanlang paused, then held up two fingers. "Apart from that, only scholar-officials carrying swords is considered tacitly approved by the court. I know the background of all the local scholars in Juancheng."

"Speaking of which, I know very little about Magistrate Li and his entourage. He traveled a thousand miles to take up his post with few followers, so how could he not have a powerful figure protecting him? A pageboy and an old servant, it seems only Mr. Zhao could handle them."

"Last time Wu Haogu was beaten at the county government office, Mr. Zhao first stopped Brother Sun, and then you. Brother Sun, a military officer, was subdued in one move. Is that something a weak scholar could do?"

"Brother Wu, even when you intervened, Mr. Zhao pulled you away. With your strength, could an ordinary person have done that? If you hadn't gone too far, why would I have let He Lantou and his men finish off the beating?"

"To be able to carry a sword and know close-combat skills, it's probably only Mr. Zhao. Besides, I look closely at his figure, and it's almost certainly similar to his. Plus, you and Brother Sun deliberately let him go. If I couldn't guess, I'd be a complete idiot."

Wu Yan put his teacup down on the table, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "Sanlang, you're really smart. No wonder you were promoted to clerk so quickly, less than a year after you were promoted to assistant officer. I, Wu Erlang, am impressed!"

Sun Jizu's expression was more serious than before. "Sanlang is right. I originally intended to beat Wu Haogu so badly that he would be bedridden for half a month, but Mr. Zhao subdued me in one move."

"His technique wasn't brute force, but rather using momentum. When I charged forward, he sidestepped me, deflecting my force. If I wanted to shake him off, I would have to use all my strength, which would probably hurt him. If it weren't for the life-or-death struggle on the battlefield, I wouldn't be able to do anything to him."

Wu Yan chimed in, "That's right. That day I saw Brother Sun being stopped by him, so I had no choice but to risk taking action. Mr. Zhao looks frail, but he's quite strong; he pulled me so hard I almost lost my balance."

"The moment he reached out, I knew I couldn't hit Wu Haogu anymore. After all, Brother Sun is an official, so hitting him would be pointless. I'm just a captain, so I need a reason to hit Wu Haogu. Otherwise, if I throw a few more punches, that Wu guy will definitely pee blood on the spot."

Sun Jizu looked at Zhang Sanlang, "Sanlang, judging from Mr. Zhao's actions, he doesn't seem to have any ill intentions. He wouldn't have drawn his sword to scare you if he hadn't been forced into a corner. Since you guessed it was him, can you guess why he went on a night raid?"

Zhang Sanlang leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the lamplight. "Perhaps they've come to probe my background."

Wu Yan and Sun Jizu exchanged a glance.

Zhang Sanlang knew they still had questions, so he waved his hand and changed the subject, "Where did he come in from?"

Sun Jizu withdrew his gaze. "He climbed over the wall from the empty house on the west side. Lü Sanbao was guarding the gatehouse. He probably wanted to go around to the main hall from the backyard, but he didn't expect to be overheard by Lu Qiucheng as soon as he got there."

Wu Yan nodded upon hearing this, "Mr. Lu's ears are truly sharp. In all my years of night patrolling, I can't always hear footsteps through two walls. But he's amazing; he noticed Mr. Zhao as soon as he entered the backyard from the east wing."

Zhang Sanlang stood up. "Let's call it a day. As for Mr. Zhao's matter, just keep it to yourself; there's no need to bring it up for now."

Sun Jizu and Wu Yan knew that with their limited intelligence, they wouldn't be able to guess even if Zhang Sanlang didn't tell them, so they simply stopped asking.

Wu Yan was the first to stand up, tucked the short stick back into his waistband, and said, "I'm going back now; I still have to patrol the night."

Sun Jizu nodded to Zhang Sanlang, then turned and followed Wu Yan out of the main room. Lü Sanbao peeked out from the gatehouse, and seeing the two leave, closed the door and bolted it shut.

Zhang Sanlang stood under the porch, watching the two figures disappear at the courtyard gate, before turning and walking towards the backyard.

The lights in the backyard were on.

The door was bolted from the inside.

Zhang Sanlang raised his hand and knocked twice. "happy Mei'er, open the door. It's your father."

The bolt clicked, and the door opened a crack. Xi Mei peeked out, saw it was Zhang Sanlang, and then pulled the door open. She was still holding the fire poker, but her face showed no panic; she was far more composed than Fang Zhong'an.

"Father." happy Mei'er stepped aside to open the door.

Zhang Sanlang stepped over the threshold.

The backyard was smaller than the front yard, with five rooms in the rear building. The central room was the main hall, and there were two side rooms on each side. The doors and windows of all the rooms were tightly closed, with crossbeams added to the window frames, and the doors were barred from the inside with wooden blocks.

Zhang Sanlang went inside and saw the four children huddled together in the main room. Qingge was squatting in the corner with his book bag in his arms, Lin Xiuer was holding a short stick thicker than her arm, and Lin Qiaoer was sitting on the threshold of the side room, holding a pair of cloth-cutting scissors in her hand.

A-Yun stood in front of Qing-Ge'er, holding a laundry mallet in her hand. When she saw Zhang Sanlang come in, she loosened her grip and put the mallet back in the corner.

"Is everything alright?" Zhang Sanlang glanced around.

Xi Mei followed behind Zhang Sanlang, leaning the fire poker against the door. "It's all good. Mr. Lu arrived quickly; the thief didn't get close to the door. We blocked the door as soon as we heard the noise."

Zhang Sanlang glanced at Qing Ge'er.

The boy was squatting in the corner with his book bag in his arms, his chin resting on the bag, his face full of an expression that said, "I'm on guard too."

Zhang Sanlang reached out and lifted him up. "What use is a book bag if a thief breaks in? Are you going to read to them?"

Qing-ge'er was unconvinced and held up the book bag, shaking it. "This is full of money! If any thieves dare to come in, I can beat them to a pulp."

Zhang Sanlang was stunned for a moment, then snatched the book bag and untied the drawstring.

Besides the two old books, there were actually more than a dozen copper coins stuffed inside, wrapped in a tattered cloth and weighed down between the pages.

He was both amused and exasperated. "Trying to throw money at people? How could you even think of that!"