The smile on Lao Mi's face deepened, wrinkles appeared all over his face, and he didn't care about anything else and kept kowtowed to the leader of the Jinyiwei.
He was born a scholar, but failed the imperial examinations many times. When he was 37, his family had no money to support him to continue his studies, so he found a way to get help from his relatives and finally came to Chaocheng County to become a county magistrate.
He did a good job as the county magistrate.
Chaocheng County had suffered a disaster that year, and the magistrate was dismissed for corruption, so he served as acting magistrate for more than a year. Later, word came from higher authorities that the word "acting" on his title would be removed.
He was filled with joy.
Who knew that the court would finally send Peng Derui down.
Moreover, Peng Derui is a tough guy. After he came here, he seemed to occupy this position and would not move away.
If he doesn't move, Lao Mi can only continue to be a county magistrate in frustration.
But it's too frustrating - this magistrate is not a normal official!
He did not engage in corruption or bribery, and he did not allow his subordinates to engage in corruption or bribery. He was like a clay statue of a Buddha, without any trace of human touch. Even in a major event like a year of disaster, he managed not to take even the slightest bit of bribery.
It’s not like no one has bullied him before.
He offended many people by doing things like this. Everyone in Dongchang Prefecture knew that Peng Derui was hard to mess with and hated him. One year, a team of imperial guardsmen transporting grain and silver was going to pass through here, and everyone was busy asking him to find a way to receive them no matter what. You know, the escort of the grain and silver was the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue!
But the old man is different. He doesn't.
Not only that, when the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue came to him, he approved three taels of silver!
But in the end, the Minister of Revenue didn't do anything to him.
After this incident, Peng Derui became even more famous. Everyone knew that Dongchang Prefecture had produced an upright official who was not afraid of death.
Lao Mi was made miserable by him. Before he came, he, as the acting county magistrate, had been eating and drinking well and lived a comfortable life. But after he came, he couldn't even have soup to drink.
Because of this, he wished Peng Derui was dead.
Thinking about these things was too far-fetched. Lao Mi collected his chaotic thoughts, knelt in front of the leader of the Jinyiwei, and after he finished giving his instructions, he went back to the county government excitedly.
Peng Derui lived in the backyard of the county government office. There were four people in total, including him, his mother, his wife and his son. There were no servants to look after them, so it was always quiet and deserted.
Lao Mi returned to the county government office, packed up some things, went to the market to buy a few pounds of meat, and went to visit the backyard.
He had been there once before, but at that time he didn't know that the magistrate was a fool. He bought a lot of things, but was kicked out.
He had not dared to come since then, but this time he was so excited that he didn't care about all these things. He knocked on the door with a smile. Seeing that it was Peng Derui's five-year-old son who opened the door, he respectfully called him "young master" with a smile on his face.
Although he shouted like that, he was extremely disdainful in his heart.
After all, he was the son of a county magistrate, but the clothes and things he used were not as good as those of the children of a yamen runner.
He knew the name of Peng Derui's son, and smiled as he tried to get close to him: "Young Master, is your Highness at home?"
"Dad isn't home." Ah Xiu shook his head, his eyes bright and big: "He went to the front to do some work."
Peng Derui was strict and never allowed the child to go to the front, nor did he allow the yamen runners to buy small toys for Peng Xiu to cheer him up.
Before Lao Mi could say anything more, he heard the old voice of Mrs. Peng: "Who is it?"
He hurriedly responded with a smile and then bowed to Ah Xiu: "I'll go in and see the old lady and pay my respects to her."
Ah Xiu frowned and pointed at the things in his hand: "Daddy said that people carrying things are not allowed to come in."
What a stubborn person! A stubborn person gave birth to a stubborn person!
Lao Mi was extremely impatient and cursed in his heart, but he still smiled and put the things on the ground: "I've put the things down. Can I go in now?"
A Xiu nodded, quietly opened the door, waited for him to enter, then locked the door and followed behind.
Old Mrs. Peng was tending to vegetables. Her family didn't need to buy vegetables from outside, they grew them all themselves.
It was so shabby that Lao Mi felt annoyed, but he tried to put on a friendly smile: "How are you, old lady? Greetings."
Mrs. Peng was a stubborn and old-fashioned old lady. She frowned and asked, "What are you doing here? He is working in the front. If you want to find him, go to the front."
Lao Mi was even more unhappy, but he still smiled: "I know that the master is trying a case and catching pirates for the people. I can't disturb him."
This statement did not cause any more disgust in Old Lady Peng. She raised her head from the ground, scooped some water from the well next to her to wash her hands, and nodded: "So what are you doing here?"
"Let me ask the old lady, did a group of people come to our place to look for you last night?" Lao Mi dragged a bamboo chair and sat down, smiling and said, "You know, there are many Japanese pirates here, and they are heartless..."
Mrs. Peng was a little impatient: "Isn't he interrogating me?"
"That's right." Lao Mi studied her face and smiled: "Tang Zun is trying this case, but the higher-ups..." He pointed, made a gesture and laughed again: "The higher-ups think Tang Zun is not doing a good job. He is not trying the pirates anymore, but is trying the gambling house case. Isn't this irrelevant? The higher-ups are worried that he was instigated by someone..."
Old Mrs. Peng looked surprised: "What provoked you?"
"The group of people who came yesterday." Lao Mi dragged the chair closer: "Our Master is an honest man, who sincerely wants to help the people, but there are people who want to use him as a pawn. The higher-ups are worried about the pirates and Japanese pirates colluding to murder the imperial envoy, but our Master listened to these people and started a quarrel with the higher-ups. Now he is not only preventing the trial of the Japanese pirates, but also doing other things..."
He looked distressed and said, "Old lady, you are also a wise person. The people in Chaocheng County all praise you for your good upbringing. You raised a great magistrate like our Tang Zun... ... Alas..."
Old Mrs. Peng didn't say anything.
Seeing her serious expression, Lao Mi sighed even more: "What if the trial of the Japanese pirates is really delayed? It is said that these pirates are the worst people. They are from our Great Zhou, but they are colluding with the Japanese slaves and are good at using sweet words to deceive people. If our hall master really encounters this group of people, I am afraid his reputation will be ruined..."
Mrs. Peng hesitated for a while, then said, "A group of people did come yesterday..."
It is true!
Lao Mi knew that the message he received was correct, so he asked hurriedly: "Who is it?"