Chapter 1144: Chapter 1147 The Zhou Family Is Indeed Formidable_1
"Go and bring those three people here."
Early next morning, after breakfast, Yang Chuxia went to the front yard, intending to see the three individuals from yesterday.
It was clear that those three had a story; the so-called assassination attempt yesterday must have been staged on purpose. Otherwise, how could they have surrendered so easily?
A moment later, Brother Li, accompanied by two guards, brought in the three bound individuals.
"Kneel down!"
Brother Li kicked the person beside him, and then saw the three kneel without struggling.
"Speak, what was your purpose in putting on that act yesterday? What is the matter?"
Hearing Yang Chuxia ask so directly, the three were obviously taken aback.
"Why aren’t you speaking? If you don’t say why you deliberately staged that act, I’ve never seen an assassin who, clearly uninjured, lies on the ground without running away." Seeing that the three remained silent, Yang Chuxia patiently asked again.
The three had not expected their attempted assassination to be so flawed.
But now, when they were really pressed to explain their purpose, they hesitated. After all, officials tend to cover for each other, and if they couldn’t plead their case, being thrown into a dungeon would be terrible.
From the hesitant gazes of the three, Yang Chuxia had already guessed something.
She laughed, "What are you three hesitating about? Since you’re already in our governmental office, the worst outcome is that you never leave again. And whether you can leave now is not for you to decide, isn’t it? Remember, you’ve been captured, and it was your choice to be captured, so why hesitate now? All you have is one word, ’speak,’ or I will send you to the dungeon on charges of attempted assassination."
Hearing her say this, the leader, who was the beggar they first encountered, felt their hesitation was indeed ridiculous.
After thinking it over, he said, "I don’t know if we can discuss this matter with the Lord County Magistrate."
"He’s not in the office right now! He’s estimated to return the day after tomorrow, but if you trust me, it’s the same as speaking to him."
Upon hearing that Ye Zi’an would return only the day after tomorrow, the leader thought for a moment and then gritted his teeth, "Madam, please, rescue our Shoutao Village from fire and water."
"Shoutao Village?" Yang Chuxia recalled the regional atlas she had seen before; it seemed to be a village near Yanghe Town, a disaster-prone area.
"Yes, our Shoutao Village," the man continued, "is a village under the jurisdiction of Yanghe Town. Because it’s near the Yanghe, every year we live in fear of being washed away in our sleep. Therefore, every summer, when the rains are especially severe, we villagers from Shoutao try to find shelter with relatives or elsewhere. Four years ago, before the summer flood, the Land Officer led us to build shelters outside the county to evade the disaster."
Yang Chuxia had heard about this before - the overall topography of the county seat was relatively high, so some residents would rather build shelters outside than stay at home during the rainy season.
"Four years ago?"
The man continued, "Yes, four years ago when we were taking shelter outside the county, a wealthy Old Master took a fancy to our Land Officer’s daughter. He wanted to take her as his concubine; the man was even two years older than our Land Officer. Naturally, the Land Officer did not agree. Later, the man asked which village we were from and said he’d make sure we’d regret it. Afterwards, when the water receded and we returned to Shoutao Village, the governmental office distributed relief grain to every household. But our Shoutao Village, despite being the most damaged, received the least amount of relief grain."