In a chaotic and famine-stricken era, I picked up an empress to be my wife.

Faced with the menacing Zhang Meng, Shen An did not act subservient as he had in the past.

Although the position of head constable is a nominal one, it does bring him a lot of benefits.

This position must never be handed over.

Shen An was too lazy to waste words and slapped him across the face.

With a sharp "smack," a hand landed squarely on Zhang Meng's face.

Zhang Meng was completely taken aback by Shen An's direct attack, and was visibly stunned.

After a moment, he erupted in fury: "Damn it, you dare hit me? You're asking for it!"

Shen An didn't say anything more to him and continued his attack!

He kicked him to the ground and rained down punches on him.

Zhang Meng struggled at first, but was quickly beaten until he curled up and lost the ability to fight back.

The constables nearby then realized what was happening and were about to step forward to help.

Liu Wenyuan walked over and shouted, "According to the laws of my Great Liang, insubordination is a serious crime. Do you all want to be punished?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the constables looked at each other in disbelief, their feet rooted to the spot.

They used to dare to go against Liu Wenyuan because Ma Tianming was alive, but now that Ma Tianming is dead and has been accused of committing heinous crimes, no one has the courage to step forward again.

Seeing that they dared not move, Shen An stomped on Zhang Meng's face again, leaned down and asked, "You dog, say what you just said again?"

Zhang Meng never imagined that Shen An, who looked so skinny, would be so fierce when he got into a fight.

He lay on the ground, his eyes twitching with pain. Even though he cursed Shen An inwardly, he wasn't one to suffer a loss easily. He forced a smile and mumbled a plea for mercy: "Officer Shen, I was just... I was just joking with you. Why did you take it seriously!"

"Damn it, are you trying to fool me with that? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?" Shen An had no intention of letting him off easily.

Since the laws of the Great Liang Dynasty clearly state that subordinates must not disobey superiors, he will use this law to set some rules for Zhang Meng today.

"If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll never know what rules are."

As he spoke, he lifted his foot, about to stomp down again.

"Officer Shen!"

Registrar Qian Guangzhi stepped forward in time, reached out and stopped Shen An's arm, and said with a smile, "Give this registrar some face and let him off this time."

At this moment, Liu Wenyuan also stepped in to smooth things over: "Officer Shen, please give the registrar some face. We still have to rush to confiscate their property, and we can't afford to be late."

After thinking it over, Shen An realized that he couldn't afford to break ties with Qian Guangzhi right now, so he lowered his head, leaned close to Zhang Meng's ear, and whispered, "You bastard, our business isn't over yet."

After saying that, he straightened up, his face changing to a smile. He patted Zhang Meng on the shoulder and said in a light tone, "I just tested your strength. You don't mind, do you?"

Zhang Meng is quite the actor; Shen An's words just now clearly darkened his expression, but he quickly recovered.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "Haha, Officer Shen, how could I have any objections? I just witnessed your skills, they were truly amazing! I admire you to the core! You became an officer through genuine ability!"

"I was just lucky."

Shen An waved his hand, then looked around at everyone, his tone authoritative: "From now on, you all need to practice more. As constables, we have to catch thieves, protect the magistrate, and protect the people of this area. How can we do our job if we're not physically strong?"

"Officer Shen is right!" Zhang Meng replied quickly.

"Alright, that's enough. This constable is going to raid your house." Shen An turned and left.

"Officer Shen, shall we go with you? You and Magistrate Liu alone might not be enough manpower."

Zhang Meng came to cause trouble today precisely because he wanted to take on the task of confiscating the property.

"No need, the two of us are enough."

Shen An didn't even turn his head: "The rest of you stay here, train hard, and await orders."

Zhang Meng was rebuffed and secretly turned his gaze to Qian Guangzhi.

Qian Guangzhi made a shushing gesture.

As Shen An and Liu Wenyuan disappeared outside the courtyard gate.

Zhang Meng raised his hand to touch his swollen cheek, hissing in pain. His eyes flashed with murderous intent, almost overflowing: "That bastard Shen An, he's taking advantage of me! He dares to hit me! I'll kill you today!"

"Zhang Meng, don't act rashly." Qian Guangzhi made a gesture.

"Registrar, what do you mean?" Zhang Meng turned his head, suppressing his anger. "That brat hit me like that, and you're just going to let it go like this?"

"The magistrate still has a use for him if he lives."

Qian Guangzhi waved his fan, a cold smile playing on his lips: "You can sabotage him in secret to get revenge and teach him a lesson. When the time is right, you can tear him to pieces."

Zhang Meng spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, gritted his teeth, and said, "Fine, I'll listen to the clerk and not kill him for now, but since he dared to treat me like this, I'll make sure he's half-dead today."

"As long as no one dies, do whatever you want."

Qian Guangzhi closed his fan, tapped it lightly on his palm, and said, "Remember, I won't interfere in your feud with him, but you should be careful not to get caught off guard."

Zhang Meng's face darkened further. He dared not refute Qian Guangzhi, but he knew in his heart that Shen An's initiative just now made Zhu Guangzhi feel that he was inferior to Shen An!

This loss of face infuriated him. He turned and waved to the constables behind him, "You're all coming with me to Qingtian Village tonight to teach Shen An a lesson! If we beat him up, I'll give you half of the silver Shen An confiscated from Constable Ma's house today!"

Upon hearing this, the constables immediately became envious, rubbing their hands together and clapping their hands in approval.

In their eyes, no matter how fierce Shen An was, he was ultimately just a good-for-nothing who had climbed up from being a corpse carrier.

Dealing with him would be a piece of cake.

How could I not go to such a great opportunity?

On the other end.

Shen An had already stepped into Ma Tianming's house.

This courtyard is considered a large and spacious mansion in the county town, which shows that Ma Tianming has made a lot of money over the years.

But after all that searching, they found nothing but a few old tables and chairs and a few broken stoves; there were no valuables at all.

Shen An cursed a few times, but he wasn't really surprised.

Why would the magistrate leave such a fat sheep to him?

This job is clearly another attempt to make him take the blame; the money has probably already been pocketed by the county magistrate.

If the higher-ups find discrepancies in the confiscated accounts, he and Liu Wenyuan will be the ones to take the blame.

Liu Wenyuan squatted on the threshold, recording the confiscated items one by one in his notebook. Finally, he closed his pen, looked up at him, and said with a serious tone, "Officer Shen, do you understand now? This time, the county magistrate deliberately made us take the blame for the confiscation."

He's trying to ruin us at every turn. If we don't join forces to fight back, he'll wear us down sooner or later. Let's work together.

Shen An's heart skipped a beat. This raid on his home was supposedly a setup by the county magistrate, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that Liu Wenyuan had taken the job for him.

This guy was verbally helping him, but in reality, he wanted to use this incident to make him see the magistrate's malice so that he could force him to board the ship.

Damn it, Liu Wenyuan is no pushover either; he's setting traps for him at every turn.

He was unhappy inside, but he didn't show it on his face. He still needed Liu Wenyuan to do things for the time being, so he decided to keep him around for now.

Shen An shook his head: "I'll think about the cooperation some more. Right now, there's something I need your help with."

"What is it?"

"Isn't there a war going on in Qiangbei County? Quite a few people must have died. I'm thinking of buying some human hair to sell to merchants from the capital to make wigs." Shen An smiled. "You've been a county magistrate for so many years, you should know the ropes, right?"

"I do have a way, but my group of people are all partners. If you're willing to join forces, I'll take care of it for you." Liu Wenyuan used the opportunity to make a reverse request.

"Join?"

Shen An wasn't buying it at all and immediately retorted, "Only if you succeed can I see your sincerity; otherwise, cooperation is out of the question."

Liu Wenyuan wanted to say something more, but Shen An raised his hand and pressed down on his shoulder, preventing him from standing up.

His tone left no room for negotiation: "It's settled then. Let me see your sincerity first. I need results in two days."