Chapter 123: Avoiding the Encounter
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There was no shortage of bamboo around Ancient Mountain Village. All they needed was bamboo of suitable thickness, sharpen one end, and soak it in tung oil before putting it to use.
Master Niu immediately said, “The master is right. If we use bamboo spears, there is no need to forge spearheads!”
Niu Er and Niu San nodded together, clearly in agreement.
Seeing that the three Niu brothers all approved, Ning Yaxin, Xu Tieshu, and the village chief had no objections either.
After the meeting, the village chief went to arrange for the hunters to gather information about the bandits.
Xu Mo, meanwhile, instructed Xu Tieshu and the three Niu brothers to lead people in cutting bamboo and making bamboo spears, all of them no longer than nine feet.
As for the tung oil required for soaking them, Xu Mo and Ning Yaxin were just about to go into the city, so they could buy it directly.
Once everything had been arranged, Xu Mo and Ning Yaxin rode together in one carriage, while Qin Mutou drove the mule cart separately. Protected by the guards of the Ning family, the group set off for Xizhou City.
Everyone remained highly vigilant along the way, watching constantly for the slightest disturbance in the surrounding fields and woods.
However, they reached the outskirts of Xizhou City without encountering any bandits.
After entering the city, Xu Mo and Ning Yaxin went straight to the county office to request an audience with the magistrate.
Unfortunately, that day happened to be an official day of rest, and the county office was not conducting business.
Ning Yaxin was anxious and did not want to wait until the following day. She therefore gave a small piece of silver to the constable on duty and asked him to go inside and deliver a message.
When the constable learned that she was the eldest daughter of the Ning family, his manner immediately became courteous and respectful. He hurried inside to pass on the message.
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The constable soon reached the inner courtyard of the county office.
Just as he was about to enter, a middle-aged scholar came out from within, and the two nearly collided.
The scholar immediately looked displeased. “What are you doing? Why are you rushing about like that?”
The constable respectfully replied, “Master Qi, the eldest daughter of the Ning family has arrived and wishes to see the magistrate.”
The middle-aged scholar was named Qi Sheng. After years of taking the imperial examinations, he had remained only a licentiate. Later, after his family suffered a misfortune, he became an aide through the recommendation of a friend in order to make a living.
Qi Sheng frowned. “Do you not know that today is an official day of rest? The magistrate rarely gets a day off. Tell her to come back tomorrow!”
The constable hurriedly said, “Master Qi, Miss Ning says she has something extremely important to discuss with the magistrate. Perhaps... perhaps you could trouble yourself to ask him?”
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Qi Sheng replied impatiently, “No. I’m not asking. The magistrate hates being disturbed on his days off. I’m not going to invite trouble for myself.”
With that, Qi Sheng turned to leave, reminding the constable not to go inside.
The constable had accepted Ning Yaxin’s silver and felt rather guilty at the thought of failing to accomplish the task.
An idea flashed through his mind. He quickly caught up with Qi Sheng and said with a flattering smile, “Master Qi, Miss Ning has come in person, so she must have something important to discuss with the magistrate. How about this? Why don’t you meet Miss Ning first and find out what the matter is? You can then decide whether to report it to the magistrate. What do you say?”
Qi Sheng thought this made sense, so he stopped and considered the suggestion carefully.
After a moment, he nodded. “Very well. I’ll go and see her.”
Before long, Qi Sheng emerged and met Xu Mo and Ning Yaxin.
After exchanging a few brief courtesies, Qi Sheng asked, “Miss Ning, today is the magistrate’s day of rest. Is there something that truly could not wait until tomorrow?”
Ning Yaxin said solemnly, “Master Qi, our goods were robbed outside the city this morning by a group of bandits. That is why I came here in such haste to request an audience with the magistrate. I hope he can dispatch men as soon as possible to wipe out the bandits outside the city and recover our goods!”
Qi Sheng’s brows immediately drew together. “What did you say? Bandits robbed your goods?”
“Yes!” Ning Yaxin nodded emphatically. “More than half of the dozen or so people in the delivery party were injured. Every last item was stolen, causing enormous losses to our Fragrant Skin specialty shop. I ask you to understand our predicament and help inform the magistrate.”
As she spoke, Ning Yaxin bowed.
The moment Qi Sheng heard the words “Fragrant Skin specialty shop,” he hurriedly asked, “Miss Ning, how much did you lose?”
Ning Yaxin frowned. “More than thirty thousand strings of cash.”
Upon hearing that figure, Qi Sheng immediately became uneasy.
“Miss Ning, please wait a moment. I’ll report this to the magistrate at once.”
After saying this, Qi Sheng clasped his hands, turned around, and hurried into the county office.
Inside a room in the inner courtyard, Magistrate Hu Maochuan was dozing on a couch when a burst of knocking at the door suddenly woke him.
“Who is it?” Hu Maochuan asked angrily, disturbed from his sleep.
Qi Sheng’s voice immediately came from outside. “My lord, Miss Ning is waiting outside and wishes to see you. She says that the goods belonging to her Fragrant Skin specialty shop were robbed by bandits, resulting in losses of more than thirty thousand strings of cash!”
Hu Maochuan sat upright at once. He rose, opened the door, and let Master Qi into the room.
Qi Sheng said, “My lord, the robbery of the Ning family’s goods is no small matter. You should meet Miss Ning.”
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Hu Maochuan said nothing. He turned and sat down in a chair, then spread his hands and asked, “Master Qi, of course I know this is no small matter. But tell me—what am I supposed to say after meeting Miss Ning?”
His expression troubled, Hu Maochuan shook his head. “Master Qi, Miss Ning has clearly come to ask me to send troops outside the city to suppress the bandits. But you know the condition of this county as well as I do. In this impoverished county, we have neither money nor men. What are we supposed to use to suppress bandits?”
“Should I agree or refuse?” Hu Maochuan asked, spreading his hands again.
Qi Sheng naturally understood these difficulties, but he still said, “My lord, that may be true, but Miss Ning has come in person. You should at least meet her...”
Whatever else one might say about the Ning family, they were a major taxpayer in Xizhou County. Qi Sheng personally felt that the magistrate ought to show them at least some consideration.
Hu Maochuan, however, found the entire matter troublesome and inconvenient. He shook his head firmly. “I’m not seeing her. Tell her I’m ill and unable to receive her. She can come back another time!”
Qi Sheng’s brows furrowed. Though he was only an aide, he genuinely believed that Hu Maochuan was handling the matter improperly.
He was about to try persuading him again, but Hu Maochuan did not want to hear another word.
“Master Qi, could you stop talking? I’m only supposed to serve in this impoverished county for three years. I’ve already been here more than two years. In a few months, I’ll be transferred away. Why should I bother with these wretched affairs?” Hu Maochuan shouted impatiently.
Helpless, Qi Sheng could only fall silent and leave the room.
Not long afterward, Qi Sheng returned to the entrance of the county office, where he found Ning Yaxin and Xu Mo.
“I am truly sorry, Miss Ning. The magistrate is unwell and probably cannot meet you today. Once he has recovered in a few days, perhaps you may come and try again.”
After saying this, Qi Sheng clasped his hands apologetically, turned around, and went back inside the county office.
The moment the doors closed, Ning Yaxin was thoroughly exasperated.
The next instant, she could no longer contain her anger. “What kind of magistrate is he supposed to be? The people have been robbed and suffered grievous losses, yet he actually refuses to see them. This is utterly outrageous!”
Xu Mo was disappointed as well, but he had never placed much hope in reporting the matter to the authorities from the outset, so the emotional letdown was slight.
He advised her, “Miss Ning, since we cannot rely on the authorities, we might as well rely on ourselves. There is no point wasting any more time here.”
Ning Yaxin thought he was right and immediately nodded. “Young Master Xu, then let us buy the tung oil now and send it back to the village as soon as possible!”
Xu Mo nodded. He and Ning Yaxin then boarded the carriage and headed for the marketplace...
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