“What? What does this have to do with my nine clans?”
“The one I’m talking about is the current Sage!”
As he spoke, Wang Jiang even cupped his hands toward the direction of the capital.
Hearing this, Cheng Dazhuang suddenly understood!
“The Empress?!”
Wang Jiang nodded, then looked at the back of the girl sitting in the center seat of the prisoner cart with a smile and said, “I have to admit, the aura emanating from this back really does resemble hers! That kid Li Mu really has a good eye.”
Upon hearing this, Cheng Dazhuang also fell into thought.
He was just a former bandit from a small border town who had turned into a county captain, so naturally, he had never seen the Empress.
Still, his mind had already begun to imagine.
If he found a girl who looked exactly like the Empress and brought her back to offer to his boss, wouldn’t he be overjoyed?
Of course, how could there be two people in the world who looked exactly alike?
Most likely, it was just a similarity in temperament.
Thinking this, Cheng Dazhuang turned to look at Wang Jiang, then cupped his hands and said, “Duke of Xu, I shall take my leave now! I wish you a pleasant time!”
“Good!”
…
Inside the county office.
“Another win! Hehehe! Come on, come on! Let’s go again!”
By the time Cheng Dazhuang finally brought Xia Xuanmiao and the others to the office, good heavens! The entire office had practically turned into a mahjong parlor!
Of course, outsiders might not know what mahjong was, as such a thing didn’t exist in this world.
It was something Li Mu had “invented” after crossing over.
Still, even those who didn’t know what mahjong was could tell that this was clearly gambling!
Looking at the stacks of silver notes on Li Mu’s side of the mahjong table, Xia Xuanmiao was utterly furious!
She had originally thought that coming to the office would be a good opportunity to see what this Li Mu was like, but this visit had given her such a huge surprise!
The office hall, decorated like a palace, had been completely turned into a gambling den by Li Mu. Xia Xuanmiao was so angry she could barely contain herself, swearing inwardly that she would definitely kill this corrupt official! To rid the people of this scourge!
“Your Honor, it’s time for you to hold court!”
At that moment, a merchant who had lost so badly he was about to take off his fine silk clothes said with a mournful face.
Hearing this, Li Mu turned to look at Cheng Dazhuang and the others behind him.
Then he waved his hand and said, “Alright, all of you, get lost!”
“Wait a moment!”
Just as they were about to leave, Li Mu picked up the stack of silver notes on the table, pulled out a few, and said, “I remember clearly: I won one hundred and twenty strings from you, three hundred and eight strings from you, and fifty-nine strings from you. Here!”
The men looked at the notes and immediately beamed with joy. “Hahaha! Magistrate Li is truly generous! You really returned the money even though you said we weren’t playing for money?”
Hearing this, Li Mu rolled his eyes at the man and said, “I said it before: I hate gambling the most, but if we don’t play for something, it just feels a bit dull.”
“Next time, whoever loses has to call the winner ‘Dad’!”
The men were stunned for a moment.
That made it even harder to win.
Even if they won, who would dare to make Li Mu call them “Dad”?
Still, they nodded and agreed.
“Alright! Clean up and get ready for court!”
At that moment, Xia Xuanmiao and the others were completely baffled.
He hated gambling the most?
And he returned the hundreds of strings he had won?
Now Xia Xuanmiao truly couldn’t understand this Li Mu.
What was he trying to do?
“Where’s the gavel? Damn it, you useless lot! I pay you three thousand wen every month, and this is how you repay me? Can’t even handle such a simple task properly?”
Three thousand wen?!
Hearing this, Xia Xuanmiao was even more astonished!
A group of minor yamen runners working in the government office earned three hundred wen per month?
Three thousand wen meant three guan. Three guan per month added up to thirty-six guan a year!
To put it in perspective, the imperial court’s annual salary for a seventh-rank county magistrate was only thirty guan!
As for ordinary yamen runners, they weren’t even part of the imperial system and received no official salary. How much they were paid depended entirely on the discussions among the county magistrate, county deputy, and county captain.
Of course, the funds also came from the pockets of these three appointed officials.
Typically, yamen runners in various regions either received no monthly pay or very little, as the term “runner” itself implied service or conscripted labor, which theoretically shouldn’t come with wages.
Their main income came from exploiting the common people.
Of course, there were also magistrates who didn’t exploit but genuinely paid their runners well.
But such magistrates often lived worse than the common folk.
Moreover, the composition of yamen runners was quite complex, usually consisting of local bullies or idle street ruffians.
Only such individuals could intimidate the so-called “troublemakers.”
Having traveled across all nine circuits of Daxia, Xia Xuanmiao was long accustomed to local officials paying monthly wages to yamen runners.
But she had never heard of runners earning three thousand wen a month!
In small county towns, three hundred wen per month was already considered good for yamen runners!
Meanwhile, Li Mu looked at these fools earning three thousand wen a month and couldn’t help but fume, muttering to himself, “Sigh! It seems I’ll have to establish a police academy to properly train you useless lot.”
Police academy?
Hearing these two words, Xia Xuanmiao recalled the carriage paint job she had seen earlier.
In this world, yamen runners were maintained by local officials, so their attire and appearance were naturally decided by those officials.
Repainting the county yamen’s carriages was nothing noteworthy.
But the character “police” was quite interesting.
The character “警” carried meanings of danger, vigilance, and alertness, making it perfectly suited for those tasked with maintaining order.
“Court is in session!”
At that moment, Li Mu struck the magistrate’s block, startling Xia Xuanmiao and her two companions.
“Kneel!”
The county captain, Cheng Dazhuang, tore off Xia Xuanmiao’s veil and shouted.
But after removing the veil, Cheng Dazhuang froze on the spot!
Her demeanor while veiled had already sparked endless imagination, but no one expected her to be so breathtakingly beautiful without it!
Even Li Mu at the front was taken aback!
Xia Xuanmiao sneered coldly and said, “Are you sure you want me to kneel before you?”
Si Qin beside her nodded and added, “Do you know who my lady is? You’d be terrified if you found out!”
“Not to mention a petty county magistrate like you, even a duke wouldn’t dare accept my lady’s kneel!”
“Enough nonsense! Do you think my lord is easily intimidated?”
Cheng Dazhuang strode forward, ready to force them down.
But Li Mu waved his hand and said, “No need to kneel.”
“Standing is fine.”
After all, as a transmigrator, he had no particular demands about kneeling.
The next moment, Li Mu immediately tossed out a tally and declared, “Exile to Lingnan!”
“What?!”
Xia Xuanmiao frowned deeply.
Si Qin beside her spoke up on her behalf, “You corrupt official! You haven’t even held a trial yet!”
“Trial? You’ve already shown contempt for the court. What’s the point of a trial? Exile to Lingnan!”
But at that moment, Cheng Dazhuang strode over to Li Mu’s side, leaned in close, and whispered in his ear, “Sir, didn’t you fancy that girl?”
“I captured her to be your wife! How could you exile her to Lingnan?”
Upon hearing this, Li Mu was immediately taken aback and said, “You won’t let me marry a prostitute, but you want me to marry a female prisoner? And one who tried to kill me at that?!”
“Huh?”
Cheng Dazhuang was stunned.
A moment later, Cheng Dazhuang chuckled again and said, “Well, if you don’t want her, sir, can I take her as my concubine?”
“Get lost!”
Hearing this, Li Mu immediately scowled and glared at Cheng Dazhuang, saying, “You can’t have her either!”
Li Mu spoke loudly, as if addressing someone else, “Do you think the laws of Daxia are just for show? Or do you think I’m the kind of scoundrel who takes advantage of the situation, preys on others’ misfortunes, and insults female prisoners?”
“Let me tell you, Cheng Dazhuang! I have lived a life of integrity! I am strict with myself and enforce the law rigorously! How could I show leniency just because that female prisoner is stunningly beautiful?”
“The laws of Daxia must not be trampled upon!”
“Exile her to Lingnan!”
Bang!
Li Mu slammed the magistrate’s gavel once more.
At this, Xia Xuanmiao was utterly confused.
Was he a good official or a bad one?
Why was he acting like a righteous gentleman again?
And claiming a life of integrity? This county office is almost as grand as my princess’s palace back when I was a princess!