"The money and goods have been settled, and everyone is happy. Congratulations to Eunuch Qian for buying such a pearl for His Majesty."
Chief Clerk Yao stuffed a contract and one tael of silver into Old Man Liu's arms, then bowed and walked up to Eunuch Qian, respectfully handed the other contract to Eunuch Qian with both hands, and complimented him flatteringly.
"Congratulations to Eunuch Qian for getting what he wished for." County Magistrate Zhang, Dianshi Li, and a group of clerks all followed suit in compliments.
"Haha, great kindness. You are very thoughtful. I will never forget what you have done."
Eunuch Qian handed the contract to the young eunuch beside him and put it away, then said to County Magistrate Zhang and others with a smile on his face.
For a moment, the inn was filled with laughter. Of course, except for Old Man Liu. Old Man Liu was forced to sell his heirloom, tears streaming down his face, beating his chest and stamping his feet, saying, "You can't do this, I won't sell it, I won't sell it..."
Naturally, no one paid any attention to Old Man Liu.
"Why hasn't Lord Zhu arrived yet? Eunuch Cong has been gone for so long, he should have arrived long ago."
Amidst the joy, Master Yao pinched his fingers and spoke to himself in front of Eunuch Qian intentionally or unintentionally.
After getting the pearl, Eunuch Qian was very happy. However, when he heard Zhu Ping'an's name, he became unhappy again. This Zhu Ping'an was really ungrateful and treated me so lightly.
"Not to mention that he didn't go to the city gate to welcome Eunuch Qian, now that Eunuch Cong has gone to invite him, he won't not come, right?! Zhu Ping'an is too arrogant, he doesn't even give Eunuch Qian face."
"We are really speaking up for Eunuch Qian."
A group of clerks added fuel to the fire.
After hearing everyone's fanning words, Eunuch Qian felt even worse.
Just as everyone was slandering Zhu Ping'an, footsteps were heard outside the inn, and then Zhu Ping'an appeared at the door, followed by more than 30 yamen runners including Liu Dadao and Liu Dachui.
"Ah, Zhu Ping'an!"
"Zhu Ping'an is here!"
A group of clerks shouted out loud.
After hearing what the clerks said, Eunuch Qian looked up at the door and realized that the person wearing the county magistrate's official uniform was Zhu Ping'an.
"Master Zhu, why did you come just now? Eunuch Qian has been waiting for you for a long time."
As soon as Zhu Ping'an showed up, County Magistrate Zhang stepped forward, stood beside Eunuch Qian, and questioned him first.
"Master Zhu, you are too arrogant. Eunuch Qian had to send people to invite you again and again before you showed up..."
A group of clerks joined in the accusation against Zhu Ping'an. They felt that Eunuch Youqian was on their side and were not afraid of Zhu Ping'an at all.
"Zhu Ping'an, where are the county annals I want? Bring them to me immediately."
Eunuch Qian sat on the chair where the young eunuch was kneeling, pointed at Zhu Ping'an from a distance with his orchid finger, and spoke in a domineering manner like a big boss.
The next second, they were all stunned, watching Zhu Ping'an pass by them without even paying any attention to them.
Zhu Ping'an actually turned a blind eye to them and pretended not to hear anything.
Eunuch Qian and others were petrified.
Zhu Pingan didn't even bother to hang them, as if they didn't exist, and went straight to Liu Dianli who was hanging on the tree as soon as he entered the posthouse. Seeing Liu Dianli in a mess, with rags stuffed in his mouth and scars all over his body, Zhu Pingan and his group were furious.
"Hurry up and untie Liu Dianli. Doctor, hurry up and treat Liu Dianli's wounds." Zhu Ping'an suppressed his anger and gave the order.
Liu Dadao and others stepped forward, carefully supported Liu Dianli, untied him, and took the rag out of his mouth.
"Your Excellency, I am incompetent and failed to look after the post house, so someone broke into it..." Liu Dianli supported himself and bowed.
"Liu Dianli, you did a great job. Come on, lie down and let the doctor treat your injuries. Leave the rest to me."
Zhu Ping'an stepped forward to support Liu Dianli, patted his shoulder, and encouraged him with concern, telling him to lie down and feel at ease.
"Zhu! Ping! An!"
Eunuch Qian almost clenched the handkerchief in his hand into pieces. He looked at Zhu Ping'an with gritted teeth, his face ashen.
"Master Zhu, what are you doing?! Eunuch Qian is here, why don't you go and greet Eunuch Qian quickly."
County Magistrate Zhang shouted to Zhu Ping'an.
"Our county lord is so arrogant that he doesn't even take Eunuch Qian seriously..."
The clerks who had been dismissed from their posts naturally would not miss this opportunity and once again fanned the flames in front of Eunuch Qian.
Zhu Ping'an still ignored them and watched with concern as the doctor examined Liu Dianli's body and checked his wounds.
"Doctor, how is Liu Dianli's injury?" Zhu Ping'an asked the doctor with concern.
"My Lord, Liu Dianli's injuries look serious. Fortunately, after my examination, I found that Liu Dianli's injuries are only superficial, and his tendons and bones are not injured. He will be able to recover in ten days or half a month."
After the examination, the doctor replied to Zhu Pingan.
Hearing this, Zhu Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief and felt much more at ease. He then turned his attention to Eunuch Qian and others who had been barking like dogs for a long time.
"Zhu Qingtian, please help me. They forced me to buy and sell my ancestral pearl. The pearl is my Liu family's heirloom. I refused to sell it, so they beat me up several times, and then grabbed my hands and forced me to put my fingerprints on the contract they drafted, with the blood on my face. A merchant once offered 150 taels of silver for my ancestral pearl, but I refused to sell it. Instead, they only gave me one tael of silver. This is the contract they drafted, and the one tael of silver. Please help me, magistrate, and help me get back my ancestral pearl."
Old Man Liu took advantage of the fact that Eunuch Qian and others had no time to pay attention to him, knelt on the ground, crawled all the way over, and lay in front of Zhu Ping'an, crying loudly as he presented the contract and one or two taels of silver, begging Zhu Ping'an to make the decision for him.
Although Zhu Ping'an had only been in office in Jingnan for a short time, since taking office he had released the people who owed grain to the government, solved mysterious cases skillfully, made brilliant judgments, slept on the city wall and vowed to live and die with Jingnan, fought bloody battles against Japanese pirates, miraculously saved Jingnan, and recovered Taiping... ... He had a great reputation among the people in Jingnan and was known as Zhu Qingtian and Zhu Mumu, so Old Man Liu was so excited to see Zhu Ping'an that he called him Zhu Qingtian and asked him to make the decision for him.
"Please stand up, old man. I will make the decision for you."
Zhu Ping'an took the contract and one or two taels of silver presented by Old Man Liu, and held Old Man Liu with both hands to help him up.
After Zhu Ping'an settled Old Man Liu, he unfolded the contract. The bloody handprint on the contract was extremely eye-catching. After reading the contents of the contract, Zhu Ping'an knew that this matter was a typical case of forced sale as Old Man Liu had said.
"Zhu Ping'an! You are going too far!"
At this time, Eunuch Qian could no longer bear it. He pointed at Zhu Ping'an with his index finger and trembled with anger.
"Eunuch Qian, please calm down. Eunuch Qian, please calm down. Zhu Ping'an, why don't you come and pay your respects to Eunuch Qian!" County Magistrate Zhang and others criticized Zhu Ping'an one after another, and they didn't even call him "Sir", but directly called him by his name.
Finally, after their attacks, Eunuch Qian saw that Zhu Ping'an finally looked at him, and was about to scold Zhu Ping'an again.
Zhu Ping'an pointed at them and shouted, "Come here, tie up that villain for me!"
ah?!
ha?!
Villain?! Me?!
Eunuch Qian followed Zhu Ping'an's finger and gaze, pointed at himself in disbelief, and immediately trembled with anger. He exploded on the spot and cursed angrily, "You thief, how dare you!"