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

Liu Geng's smile froze on his face.

Wang Zheng was also taken aback, still holding the folding fan in his hand, not having had time to put it away.

Wu Yan had been waiting for these words. He grinned in response, turned around, and waved to the corridor, "Brothers, listen to my command! Conduct a thorough search immediately!"

The twelve archers responded and moved forward, pressing their way into the flower hall from outside.

Just as the eight guards of the Liu family were about to stop them, thirty or forty people suddenly surged in from outside the courtyard gate, led by Huo Renying.

At his shout, sixteen young men, each wielding a short stick, forcefully surrounded the eight guards. The others followed the archers and searched various areas, causing chaos and commotion in the courtyards, with the occasional shouts and cries of women echoing through the air.

It took Liu Geng a while to react. He suddenly stood up, pointed at Zhang Sanlang, his finger trembling and blurring. "Zhang Sanlang! You accepted the guarantee, and you still dare to search? What do you want to do?"

Zhang Sanlang turned to look at him, a smile returning to his face. "Lord Liu, I've kept the guarantee written by Young Master Wang. But the search of the house is an order from Magistrate Gu, so I have to comply. The two don't interfere with each other."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zheng abruptly stood up, pointed his folding fan at Zhang Sanlang, and said, "Zhang Li, you dare?"

Of the four attendants behind him, one stepped forward and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, while another approached from the side.

Upon seeing this, Wang Chao and Ma Han, without waiting for Zhang Sanlang's orders, rushed forward from behind him, one blocking the other, shoulder to shoulder, separating the two attendants. The atmosphere in the flower hall immediately became tense.

Wang Zheng was so angry that his nose was crooked. He was weighing the pros and cons when suddenly a chorus of footsteps surged into the courtyard gate again.

A large number of archers entered at the same time, forming a dense, dark mass that filled the front yard.

The first man, carrying a gun with one arm, strode into the flower hall; it was none other than Sun Jizu, the county magistrate of Juancheng!

He glanced around the hall, slammed his spear on the ground, and said, "By order of Magistrate Gu, I am here to inspect the Liu residence. Who dares to obstruct me?"

The two attendants who were confronting Wang Chao and Ma Han both took a half step back.

Liu Geng was even more overwhelmed, his legs gave way and he collapsed back to his seat.

Seeing that so many archers had come to the courtyard again, and glancing at the short spear in Sun Jizu's hand, Wang Zheng slowly closed his folding fan, a slight sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead.

Fortunately, he had seen some situations before, and although flustered, he remained calm. "County Commandant Sun, I am only here to mediate because Lord Liu is one of the four great magistrates of Juancheng. Since you are acting on orders, I will naturally not stop you."

Wang Zheng tucked his folding fan into his waistband, his voice steadying, "However, if they find nothing, tomorrow I'll submit a complaint to the prefectural government, accusing the archers of Juancheng of misconduct. At that time, County Magistrate Sun and Master Zhang will have to watch their step..."

Zhang Sanlang listened to his empty words, shook his head, smiled without saying a word, and knew that this guy was going to give up on Liu Geng.

Sun Jizu, however, did not share his good temper. He immediately raised his gun, glanced at Wang Zheng sideways, and asked, "Young Master Wang, what is your official position?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zheng naturally knew what he was about to say. Seeing his lack of respect, his face darkened. "I am a scholar of the state academy and the eldest grandson of the Wang family!"

Sun Jizu stepped forward, pointing his spear at Wang Zheng with his left hand. "Since you're a student of the prefecture, why aren't you studying properly? Why are you causing trouble in Juancheng? Wang Gong's grandson is interfering with the Juancheng county government's work. Has he not yet retired from office?"

Wang Zheng was so shocked by these words that his chest heaved. Seeing the murderous intent in Sun Jizu's eyes, he was terrified. His handsome face turned red, and he involuntarily took half a step back.

When the four guards behind him saw that Sun Jizu's spear tip was close to Wang Zhengtai, they could no longer hold back and rushed forward all at once.

The first one didn't draw his sword, but instead turned sideways and thrust his right shoulder against Sun Jizu's spear shaft, while his left hand pressed down on the spear shaft, trying to push the spearhead down.

The second man drew his sword halfway out of its sheath, holding it horizontally under Sun Jizu's wrist. He then made a slight, diagonal thrust, attempting to force Sun to release his grip on the gun and create a safe distance for Wang Zheng.

The third man circled around to Sun Jizu's right, first stepping on Sun Jizu's advancing position with his toes, then reaching out to grab his right shoulder. Although this move was insidious, it seemed he didn't intend to hurt anyone, as long as Sun Jizu dropped his gun.

The fourth one retreated to Wang Zheng's side, with his back to Wang Zheng and facing Wang Chao and Ma Han. One hand had already reached for the short knife at his waist, while the other hand was raised slightly to signal the two sides not to move.

The four of them didn't say a word, but their movements were so practiced and fluid, as if they had practiced a thousand times.

One man controlled the recoil, another flicked the wrist, one gripped the shoulder, and another kept an eye on potential threats.

They didn't want Sun Jizu dead; they just wanted him to drop the gun so Wang Zheng could calmly step back and the situation would ease.

Sun Jizu glanced at Zhang Sanlang and then grinned maliciously.

With a flick of his left wrist, he thrust the tip of his spear sharply upwards at an angle as the first guard got close.

The man's strength waned, and his body involuntarily lurched forward. Sun Jizu's spear tip had already pierced through his neck, the sound of it entering flesh dull and muffled.

He didn't even utter a sound. He subconsciously raised his hand to hold the gun barrel, then his eyes widened, his knuckles loosened one by one, and he collapsed to the ground as if his bones had been removed.

The second guard was shocked. He had just managed to parry with his sheathed sword when he missed and tried to back away.

Unexpectedly, Sun Jizu suddenly swung his hand and swept it horizontally.

The iron ferrule at the end of the spear struck his wrist, the sound of bones breaking was extremely crisp.

The scabbard flew out of his hand, hit a pillar in the flower hall, and bounced back onto the blue brick floor.

The man's right hand hung down, his wrist twisted at an odd angle.

He had just opened his mouth to shout when Sun Jizu had already withdrawn his spear and thrust it in. The spear tip pierced his throat, then he withdrew it immediately.

He missed his target, made a gurgling sound in his throat, and fell to the ground clutching his neck with his left hand, blood gushing out from between his fingers.

Before the third guard could even properly grip the shoulder, two of his companions were already dead at Sun Jizu's hands!

His face was full of disbelief, and he couldn't help but turn around to look at Wang Zheng.

Sun Jizu had no qualms. He turned around and slammed his left elbow into Sun's temple.

The sound was like cracking open a hard walnut.

The man's eyes bulged, and he flew several steps sideways, his head hitting the blue brick ground with a dull thud. His legs twitched twice and then stopped moving.

The last guard standing to the side of Wang Zheng was horrified and drew his short sword from his waist.

However, Sun Jizu's pistol also arrived.

This time, the spear tip didn't pierce his throat, but only grazed his wrist. The short knife, along with half of his hand, fell to the ground, blood spurting out and splattering onto the hem of Wang Zhengyue's white silk robe.

The man screamed in agony, clutching his severed hand and backing away.

Sun Jizu stepped forward, his gun barrel sweeping across, striking the man in the back of the knee. The man fell to his knees with a thud, his broken wrist braced against the ground, writhing in pain, unable to stand up again.

Sun Jizu holstered his gun, stood still, and slammed it to the ground. "Those who resist official duties with weapons will be killed without mercy!"

The blood on the spear tip hadn't dried yet, dripping onto the blue bricks.

Sun Jizu glared at Wang Zheng and shouted, "Young Master Wang, are you going to mediate or not? Huh?!"

The flower hall was so quiet that only the sound of dripping blood could be heard.

Wang Zheng stood there, his folding fan on the ground, his hands trembling so much he didn't dare to pick it up, his legs shaking uncontrollably, and he was unable to speak.

Liu Geng slumped in the main seat, his face pale with shock, and his crotch was soaked.

Zhang Sanlang had not expected Sun Jizu to be so ruthless, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

This is going to be difficult to handle!

Just as he was about to speak, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the flower hall.

Wu Yan strode back from the backyard, shouting at the top of his lungs before even entering the main hall, "Zhang Yashi! We've found him! We've found him!"

He was drenched in sweat from running when he stepped into the flower hall. The first thing he saw was four corpses on the ground. He paused, "What the heck? What happened?"

As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of Sun Jizu wiping the blood off the tip of his gun, then looked at Liu Geng slumped in his seat, and then at Wang Zheng standing there dumbfounded. He immediately guessed what had happened.

Wu Yan grinned, then remembered the important matter and quickly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhang Sanlang, "Zhang Yashi, in the row of small houses by the East Corner Gate, the third room has a hidden wall. Ban Ge'er and the maid are inside, still alive, but they're terribly frightened."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Sanlang's brows relaxed, and he turned to Huangfu Ce, instructing, "Mr. Huangfu, please keep an eye on things and make sure the archers don't frighten the child. Also, send someone back to the county office to inform Yan Shizhong to come and collect the child."

Huangfu Ce responded and left.

Zhang Sanlang glanced at Wang Zheng, "Young Master Wang, you dare to pledge your entire fortune to a family like this..."