"My lord county magistrate, please take pity on us, mother and daughter..."
The old woman, pulling her daughter along, knelt on the ground and kowtowed twice to Yun Daman. "We are a widowed mother and daughter. If we had any other recourse, we wouldn't be begging the county magistrate. So, so..."
"Just say what you need to say quickly!" Yun Daman frowned and slapped the table. "What problem can be solved by crying and wailing?"
He most detested people who didn't get to the point, only cried and acted pitiful.
It was as if he wasn't serving the people...
The old woman wiped her face, stopped crying, and crawled forward a couple of steps. "County magistrate, to be frank, Kexin and I are refugees from another town. Our village was completely looted by mountain bandits. They even stole our chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs. The bandit leader even threatened to take Kexin back as his bandit queen! I… I was forced to flee with her!"
At this, the old woman tugged at her daughter, giving her a look. "Kexin, quickly, quickly kowtow to the county magistrate!"
The young woman named Kexin, not fearing pain, kowtowed several times with a 'peng peng peng' sound...
Seeing this, Yun Daman pounded the table. "Stop, stop, stop! What are you doing? The matter isn't finished yet, and you're already kowtowing? First, tell me, which village are you from?"
Upon hearing this, the old woman pointed tremblingly in a direction. "We... we are from Caijia Village!"
"Caijia Village?" Yun Daman raised an eyebrow and looked at Advisor Zuo, asking, "Has Caijia Village been plagued by mountain bandits recently?"
Hearing the old woman's words, Caijia Village seemed to have become a bandit's den...
Advisor Zuo nodded. "My lord, you may not know, but in the area of Heyang County, Caijia Village is where the mountain bandits are most rampant. When Magistrate Chen was here, he also organized constables and soldiers to go into the mountains to suppress the bandits, but they all returned in defeat!"
Yun Daman: "..."
So Magistrate Chen just packed up and left, leaving him with this mess.
"County magistrate!"
The old woman cupped her hands and looked at Yun Daman, her face full of pleading. "After the bandits arrived at our village, they burned, killed, and plundered, committing all sorts of atrocities. They beat my old man to death, and even... even Kexin's husband did not escape. Please, please, county magistrate, uphold justice for us!"
Hearing this, Yun Daman rubbed his temples. After a moment of thought, he said, "Rest assured, as long as I am the county magistrate of Heyang County, I will definitely exterminate the mountain bandits. I will discuss it with Governor Chen and ask him to dispatch more soldiers to the mountains to suppress the bandits..."
If the common people didn't trust him and didn't support him, then his position as county magistrate would be over.
"County magistrate, Magistrate Chen said the same thing before, but... but he spent several years suppressing the bandits with no effect. Don't the mountain bandits still come to our village to steal things every day?"
The old woman started crying again as she spoke. "Wuwu, county magistrate, I've lived this long, and it doesn't matter if I die, but Kexin is only twenty-two this year! Can you bear to watch her be tormented and die at the hands of the mountain bandits? Wuwu..."
Yun Daman's stomach growled more as he listened, and his annoyance grew.
"I haven't said I won't help, why do you keep crying?"
Yun Daman picked up his cup and took a sip of tea. "How about this, I'll have Advisor Zuo help you two find an inn to stay in for a while. Once I've wiped out the mountain bandits, I'll send someone to escort you back to your village..."
"My... my lord!"
Advisor Zuo twitched the corner of his mouth and leaned into Yun Daman's ear. "My lord, suppressing bandits is not something that can be completed in a day or two. If you let them stay in an inn, how long will that be?"
If this matter were easy to handle, Magistrate Chen would have already done it, so why would he leave it for Yun Daman to deal with...
"Do you have a better solution?" Yun Daman glanced at Advisor Zuo.
"No, no!"
"Then that settles it."
Yun Daman stood up, walked around the table, and came before the mother and daughter. "Come, come, get up. From now on, if you have any difficulties, just find Advisor Zuo!"
Advisor Zuo: "..."
County magistrate, you really know how to take on trouble.
Just watch, after a while, it wouldn't be strange if this mother and daughter became attached to you.
Cai Kexin slowly stood up, helped the old woman up, and secretly glanced at Yun Daman...
She had heard long ago that the new county magistrate was handsome and had a good demeanor. Now that she saw him, it was indeed not bad.
Tall, strong build, thick eyebrows and big eyes. Such men were very popular with women.
"County magistrate, my surname is Kang. You can call me Madam Kang..." the old woman said with a smile.
Yun Daman let out an "Oh" and rubbed his stomach. "Advisor Zuo, is the meal ready?"
At this time of day, the aroma of dishes should have wafted from the kitchen.
But today, there was no movement from the kitchen, not even smoke from the chimney...
Advisor Zuo slapped his forehead and said helplessly, "Oh dear, you see, I was so busy that I forgot about this. My lord, the cook who was supposed to cook today had an urgent family matter and took leave. How about... how about I go out and buy you some steamed buns!"
Yun Daman: "..."
Good heavens, after waiting for so long, the stove hadn't even been lit.
Seeing this, Madam Kang quickly pulled Cai Kexin over and said with a smile, "County magistrate, Kexin is a very good cook. If you're really hungry, why don't you let her make you a bowl of pulled noodles..."
It was lunchtime, and the constables had dispersed, some going home, some going to restaurants. The county yamen was empty.
Yun Daman had planned to grab a bite at Yun Gui Fang or San Man, but it would take more than half an hour to go back and forth.
"Alright, then make a few more bowls, and we'll eat together!" Yun Daman said.
Cai Kexin was overjoyed upon hearing this. She responded and then went into the kitchen...
Advisor Zuo had no appetite and went out to attend to his business. Only Yun Daman and Madam Kang were left in the room.
"County magistrate, I heard that your wife is paralyzed and cannot even take care of herself when eating, drinking, or using the restroom. She lives a very difficult life!"
Madam Kang poured Yun Daman a cup of hot tea, her smile amiable. "You are the county magistrate, after all. You can't be working while also worrying about household matters, so... so I wanted to ask if you have any plans to find someone else?"
As the saying goes, a virtuous wife at home is better than ten thousand acres of fertile land.
If a wife is capable, understanding, and well-behaved, her husband will not suffer misfortune...
Yun Daman: "???"
Why was this Madam Kang suddenly asking about his family matters?
What did it have to do with her whether Guihua was paralyzed or not?