great-warnovel Chapter 149 The county magistrate was so hungry he was gnawing on the door, but the fourth son grabb
Chapter 149 The county magistrate was so hungry he was gnawing on the door, but the fourth son grabb
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, we grind tofu.
For the people of the Langya Special Zone, today is indeed the day of making tofu—the Qin family's food factory has produced a new batch of tender tofu, white and fresh, paired with Master Qin's special red chili oil, the taste of which can tantalize one's very soul.
But for Magistrate Fang, who was dozens of miles away and had just gotten up, he felt like a bean under a stone mill, being ground to dust by the great millstone called "life," leaving not even a trace.
"Squeak—"
Two heavy, mottled, and even musty-smelling vermilion doors were slowly pushed open by Magistrate Fang's trembling hands.
This is the county government's treasury.
Logically speaking, this should be the most sacred and wealthiest place in the entire county. Especially at the end of the year, it should be piled high with the tax revenue, cloth, and grain from the autumn harvest, so much so that even rats would have to lean against the wall to walk in.
Magistrate Fang, full of hope, carried the oil lamp with its tiny flame and stepped over the high threshold.
"There should at least be some..."
He muttered to himself, as if trying to encourage himself:
"Even if the land deeds for those eighteen villages were given to the Qin family, they still need to pay some of the taxes owed, right? Even a few copper coins or a few bags of old rice would be helpful..."
however.
When the dim light illuminated the interior of the warehouse, Magistrate Fang's already pale face instantly turned ashen.
air.
The emptiness is unsettling, it's despairing.
In the huge warehouse, there wasn't a single silver grain, not even a mouse hair. A thick layer of dust covered the floor, with only a few plum blossom-shaped footprints on it—evidence that mice had come and gone in disappointment.
The most conspicuous thing was the large box in the very center of the warehouse, which was used to hold cash.
The box lid was open, and inside lay a solitary, dried-out, blackened... sheep droppings.
"puff--"
Magistrate Fang felt a sweet taste in his throat, and before he could hold it in, he spat a mouthful of blood directly onto the sheep dropping.
"This is outrageous...this is absolutely outrageous!"
The oil lamp in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter; the flame struggled for a few moments and then went out.
From the darkness came the heart-wrenching wail of Magistrate Fang:
"Where is my money?! Where is my grain?! Where have all the people of my county gone?!"
"My lord! My lord, please calm down!"
Knowing the inside story all along, Master Sun (an unofficial spy for the Qin family) slowly emerged from the shadows, carrying a fake ledger in his hand:
"My lord, have you forgotten? Those eighteen villages are now all part of Madam Qin's dowry."
According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, dowry land is tax-exempt! As for the remaining scattered households... they've all gone to work in the Wolf Fang Special Zone, and their families can't even afford to cook, so where would they get the money to pay taxes?
"Then what will I eat?! What will I drink?!"
Magistrate Fang grabbed Sun's clerk by the collar, his eyes turning red:
"There's not even a chicken left in this county government office! Am I supposed to gnaw on this door?!"
Master Sun looked at him with pity and pulled out half a cold, hard cornbread from his pocket:
"My lord, if you don't mind... this is what I saved from my breakfast."
Magistrate Fang looked at the cornbread and tears streamed down his face.
He snatched the cornbread and took a big bite, as if he were biting into the flesh of the Qin family's bandits.
"No...we can't just let this go!"
He chewed on the tough, chewy cornbread while mumbling and roaring:
"Prepare the horses! No, those bastards, Master Ma, have confiscated all the horses... Prepare the donkeys! Prepare the donkeys for me!"
"I must personally make a trip to the Wolf Fang Special Zone!"
"I refuse to believe it! Does the Qin family think they can control everything? I am an official appointed by the court! I'm going to audit the accounts! I'm going to collect taxes! I'm going to... go beg for a living!"
……
at the same time.
The Wolf Fang Special Zone, the core treasury of the Qin family.
Unlike the deathly silence and cold of the county government's treasury, this place was not only warm as springtime, but also dazzlingly bright.
That's not a light.
That was golden light.
"Splash—"
A crisp, melodious metallic clang echoed through the enclosed space, filled with the scents of sandalwood and money.
Qin Yue was dressed in an extremely flamboyant purple-gold brocade robe, the collar slightly open, revealing his delicate collarbone. He was leaning lazily against a huge abacus carved from a single piece of rosewood, his slender fingers fiddling with the pure gold beads.
"Three thousand taels...five thousand taels...eighty thousand taels..."
He muttered to himself, a sly smile playing on his lips that he couldn't suppress.
Opposite him, Su Wan was slumped over a pile of newly delivered account books, rubbing her temples with utter despair.
"Fourth brother, can you please stop dialing?"
Su Wan sighed and threw down the calligraphy brush in her hand:
"This noise is giving me a headache. The accounts for those eighteen villages are such a mess. The payment for the pork from Zhao Village hasn't been settled yet, and the seedling fee for Li Village needs to be approved..."
"Is Wan'er already finding this annoying?"
Qin Yue chuckled and stopped what he was doing.
He walked around the huge table, his long legs encased in boots, step by step, until he reached Su Wan's back.
"Since Wan'er is tired, then let's not bother with that little bit of meat."
He leaned down, bracing his arms on the back of the chair beside Su Wan, pulling her into his embrace. A scent mingled with the aroma of ink and a faint hint of cologne instantly enveloped Su Wan.
"Let's take stock... of the real 'big account'."
As Qin Yue spoke, he magically produced a gold brick from his sleeve.
It was made of pure gold, heavy and with the four large characters "Qin Shi Tong Bao" engraved on it.
"This is the final payment we received from the auction house yesterday."
He held the gold brick but did not place it on the table.
Instead, he took Su Wan's hand and forcefully stuffed the cold, hard gold brick into her warm palm.
"Wan'er, weigh it, is it heavy?"
Su Wan's wrist sank under the sudden weight: "Heavy... What are you doing? Take it away."
"You can't take it away."
Qin Yue not only didn't take it, but instead reached out his big hand and tightly wrapped it around her small hand that was holding the gold brick.
His palms were burning hot, creating an extreme temperature difference with the cold gold bricks.
"This is Wan'er's private savings."
"I heard that poor, incompetent county magistrate is coming to audit the accounts?"
Qin Yue rested his chin on her shoulder, his tone filled with sarcasm and disdain:
"If he wants to investigate, then let him investigate to his heart's content."
"but……"
He grabbed Su Wan's hand, carrying the gold brick. Su Wan couldn't help but gasp, leaning back slightly, only to bump right into Qin Yue's solid chest.
"Fourth brother! You...you mustn't move..."
"I didn't move."
Qin Yue's voice was hoarse, and his eyes gleamed with greed as he stared intently at the gold brick embedded in her curves.
"I'm helping Wan'er... hide money."
"If that county magistrate dares to interfere here..."
"I'll chop off his hand and use it as fertilizer for Wan'er's flowers."
"Wan'er."
He suddenly lowered his head and, through his clothes, placed a burning kiss next to the spot where the gold brick was pressed down.
"This money is too hot...it's making my heart race."
"Wan'er, it's cold here... Perfect, help me cool down."
"You're talking nonsense... This gold is clearly ice..." Su Wan blushed and her heart raced as she was irritated by his twisted logic. She tried to push him away, but she couldn't muster the strength.
"Gold is ice."
Qin Yue raised his head, his peach blossom eyes shimmering with a captivating, alluring quality.
"But my heart for Wan'er... is burning hot."
"Did Wan'er feel it?"
He gripped her hand tightly, and the alternating hot and cold sensation made the air in the room instantly thicken.
"This gold brick... will be Wan'er's prized possession from now on."
"No one can take it away from me."
"Including that poor wretch who's about to come knocking..."
……
Half an hour later.
The city gate of the Wolf Fang Special Zone.
The cold wind howled, whipping up a flurry of snowflakes.
Su Wan finally managed to break free from the fourth brother's money-grubbing embrace, saying she wanted to inspect the city's defenses and get some fresh air.
But as soon as she stepped out of the heated carriage, before she could even feel the biting northwest wind, a heavy black bearskin cloak, as thick as a mountain, was draped over her head.
"Hmm!"
Su Wan's vision went black, and she was wrapped up like a ball.
Immediately afterwards, a pair of large, iron-like hands gripped her waist through the thick fur and lifted her up.
"Who let you out?"
Qin Lie's deep, fierce voice, filled with gunpowder, exploded overhead.
Su Wan peeked her head out from under the cloak with difficulty and saw Qin Lie standing in the wind and snow with a dark face.
He wasn't wearing a cloak, only a black, tight-fitting combat suit with the collar wide open, revealing his strong, muscular chest. Those muscles, far from shrinking in the cold wind, appeared even more taut and powerful due to the increased blood flow, like a red-hot iron.
He held a newly sharpened longsword in his hand, its blade gleaming with a chilling light.
"Big brother... let me come and see..."
Su Wan shrank her neck, feeling weak in the knees at the sight of his murderous aura.
"What are you looking at? How will that guy surnamed Fang die?"
Qin Lie snorted coldly, and pulled her into his arms with one hand, his posture domineering as if he were protecting his only cub.
With his other hand, he swiftly sheathed the Mo Dao (a type of Chinese sword) back into its sheath on his back, then turned around and roughly straightened the collar of Su Wan's cloak.
"This is no normal thing."
Qin Lie gripped the cloak's sash with his large hand, but did not tie it immediately.
His rough fingertips, calloused from years of holding a knife, rubbed hard against the delicate skin of his chin and neck.
"He always wants to crawl into Jiao Jiao's clothes."
"Just like that shameless county magistrate."
He cursed and swore as he tied the ribbon into a tight knot, as if he wanted to strangle Su Wan so that only her eyes were visible.
"Big brother...it's too tight..." Su Wan protested.
"Tighter is better."
Qin Lie lowered his head, his wild eyes fixed on her.
He suddenly reached out and, through the heavy cloak, pressed hard on her lower back, slamming her down.
"Jiaojiao".
"Do you even realize the state you're in right now...?"
"It's like a freshly baked soft cake."
"Everyone who sees it will want to take a bite."
His breath sprayed onto her exposed forehead, carrying a dangerous, bloody scent:
"If that guy surnamed Fang dares to look at you even once..."
"I'll gouge out his eyes and use them as marbles for Jiao Jiao to play with."
"obedient."
He lowered his head and bit down hard on the tip of his nose, which was red from the cold:
"Go back inside."
"It's windy here, and my brother is burning up."
"If you don't leave now..."
"Big brother is right here in the snow... I'll help you cool down."
Su Wan was startled by his naked gaze. He wasn't looking at his sister-in-law at all; he was looking at his prey, as if he was about to strip her naked and throw her into a snowdrift to devour her alive.
"I...I'll go back right away!"
Like a startled little rabbit, she turned and ran towards the carriage.
Watching the fleeing figure, Qin Lie stood in the wind and snow, stroked his chin, and a bloodthirsty smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Oh."
"Trying to freeload off the Qin family?"
He drew his longsword from his back and casually twirled it amidst the swirling snow.
With a flash of cold light, a falling snowflake was instantly split in two.
"Then we'll have to see... if your neck is as hard as my knife."
……
At dusk.
On that asphalt road leading to the Wolf Fang Special Zone.
Magistrate Fang rode a bald donkey borrowed from a villager, shivering in the wind and snow.
His official robe was frozen stiff, like a layer of iron hanging on his body. His eyebrows and beard were covered in white frost, making him look like a zombie that had just crawled out of a grave.
"Are we...almost there?"
Magistrate Fang asked the donkey-leading clerk, Master Sun, with trembling hands.
"We've arrived, sir."
Master Sun pointed ahead.
Magistrate Fang laboriously lifted his heavy eyelids and looked ahead.
That instant.
He thought he had ascended to heaven.
At the edge of the vast snowfield ahead, a huge, brightly lit city lay quietly.
Countless lights (gas lamps) he had never seen before, bright as small suns, illuminated the city as if it were daytime.
On the towering city walls, there were even red lights flashing (signal lights).
And above the city, a tantalizing aroma wafted in—the smell of braised pork, steamed buns, and a mixture of various spices.
"This...this is Wolf Fang Town?"
Magistrate Fang slid off the donkey's back, knelt in the snow, and looked at the city that never sleeps, which seemed to exist only in mythology. Tears welled up instantly.
"This is hardly a den of traitors..."
"This is clearly... the Lingxiao Palace!"
And on that city wall.
The seven Qin brothers stood atop the highest watchtower, looking down at the county magistrate kneeling in the snow, as insignificant as an ant.
Qin Mo pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, the lenses reflecting the dazzling lights below.
He turned his head and looked at Su Wan, who was surrounded by people and wrapped up like a snowball.
"Wan'er."
He reached out and took her hand in the cold wind, their fingers intertwined.
"The guests have arrived."
"Are you ready... for this grand 'collapse'?"