The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme

Chapter 608: Chapter 595: Speculation

As his words fell, Chu Jinnian emerged from behind a curtain. Exiting his carriage, he landed in front of Zhuang Qisheng.

Already exuding an intimidating aura, his frosty countenance now added increased his intimidating presence, making Zhuang Qisheng feel oppressed. Zhuang Qisheng felt slightly out of breath and showed signs of panic.

But judging by his attire, he seemed nothing more than a well-off gentleman. Zhuang Qisheng straightened his back and intentionally raised his voice, “Who are you? How dare you not kneel in front of me, an official?”

“Guards, discipline these defiant men, blind to authority with ten strokes of the cane each. That should provide them with a timely lesson in respect and propriety.”

Several aggressive servants approached, rolling up their sleeves, ready to resort to violence against Chu Jinnian and Jing Zhao.

Jing Zhao chuckled, expertly fending them off with a mix of punches and kicks. In just a moment, he had brought all the attendants to their knees, then grabbed ahold of Zhuang Qisheng’s collar.

Zhuang Qisheng had never faced such aggression before, and he was now pale, speechless from terror.

Jing Zhao despised arrogant bullies. Seeing Zhuang Qisheng in his current state only magnified his contempt. He dragged Zhuang Qisheng over to Chu Jinnian as one might carry a chicken and tossed him onto the ground.

Zhuang Qisheng was in great pain, grimacing grotesquely. But seeing Jing Zhao didn’t beat him unreservedly like most people, Zhuang Qisheng assumed it was due to his position as a Magistrate, he regained some confidence.

“You dare strike an official appointed by the imperial court!” Zhuang Qisheng tried to stand, shouting at Chu Jinnian and Jing Zhao.

Jon Zhao raised an eyebrow, kicking Zhuang Qisheng back down to the ground. “Just a Magistrate, but already so conceited and oppressive. You don’t know your place. I can only imagine how you abuse the common people. I wonder who gave you so much audacity, do you think the rule of law doesn’t exist?”

“His brazen behavior is probably because he thinks having Mr. Wei to back him up that he feels he can be so audacious.” Chu Jinnian snorted.

After mentioning just a Magistrate and knowing about Mr. Wei as his backer, Zhuang Qisheng was taken aback. He looked at Chu Jinnian incredulously, his words became stuttered, “You, who are you exactly?”

“My master’s surname is Chu, he holds an official position in the Ministry of Justice.” Jing Zhao answered coldly.

Surname Chu? An official in the Ministry of Justice?

Could it be…?

Zhuang Qisheng’s eyes widened abruptly.

Chu is the surname of the royal family. Even though there are people named Chu in the world, the only Chu that serves the Ministry of Justice and carries such an imposing aura is the beloved nephew of the current Emperor, Prince Qi, Chu Jinnian, who currently holds the position of Attending Official in the Ministry of Justice.

Although Chu Jinnian isn’t royalty and even has a tense relationship with the King of Qi, he is adored by the Emperor and highly favored by the Empress. He holds a particularly high status.

What’s more, Chu Jinnian’s maternal family is the Qiao family, one of the noble houses. As an official, he has solved numerous challenging and complex cases, and recently, he was commended by the Emperor for risking his own life to save the Fourth Prince.

It is fair to say that Chu Jinnian is currently a rising star and one of the favourites in the Emperor’s inner circle.

So, he has run into Chu Jinnian today and even managed to completely offend him on their first meeting?

Zhuang Qisheng was drenched in cold sweat, the back of his clothes was soaking wet, and he started to kowtow like a pecking chicken while begging for forgiveness, “Master Chu please forgive me, I was blind and disrespectful. I deserve to die for my crimes, I deserve to die…”

“Committing an offense against a superior officer is unforgivable.” Chu Jinnian glanced at Zhuang Qisheng, whose expressions were filled with intense fear, his voice was cold as deep winter chill, “But before I met out your punishment, let’s clarify something. What were you doing here?”

The arrival of a Magistrate, an official appointed by the imperial court, especially one that has been supported by Mr. Wei, appearing suddenly at Zhuang Qingning’s door, Chu Jinnian had to be cautious and investigate the matter.

“I, I…” It took Zhuang Qisheng a while to stammer out a full sentence.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Jing Zhao, deliver my memorandum to the capital city with the highest urgency. In it, state that the Magistrate of Ningming, Zhuang Qisheng, has been oppressing commoners and causing chaos in the countryside, and has been disrespectful to me. Ask His Majesty how the imperial court should deal with crimes of this magnitude.” Chu Jinnian ordered with a stern voice.

“Your Excellency, please forgive me…” Zhuang Qisheng was breaking out in cold sweat. His quivering lips didn’t manage to say a sentence, yet a cunning spark flashed in his eyes as he fleetingly glanced at Chu Jinnian.

“So you believe Mr. Wei can protect you?” Chu Jinnian’s scoffed. “Magistrate Zhuang, it seems you have forgotten history.”

“If I recall correctly, this former Magistrate of Shouguang, Du Yingwei…”

Chu Jinnian paused, his gaze fixed on Zhuang Qisheng.

At the mention of Du Yingwei, Zhuang Qisheng’s face turned as white as a sheet.

How could he not know about Du Yingwei’s case?

He was dedicated to Mr. Wei and did all the dirty work for him, only to find that when he needed help, Mr. Wei didn’t protect him. He heard that Mr. Wei was planning to kill Du Yingwei to silence him and he wouldn’t spare Du’s wife and children either. Now this ordeal is focused on him. One he Nedundantly knows about Mr. Wei’s ruthless behavior, Zhuang Qisheng is trembling in terror. He is so scared that if explored in detail, his affiliation with Mr. Wei would be made known and his life and family would be in danger.

Mr. Wei was known for underhanded and brutal methods, and Zhuang Qisheng didn’t just find out about it today.

The more Zhuang Qisheng thought about it, the more fearful he grew. He shook like a leaf in the wind and hastened to kowtow to Chu Jinnian, “Master Chu, spare me, spare me! I’ll tell you the truth..”

“I came here because Mr. Wei ordered me to find a girl with the surname Zhuang, who invented the waterwheel.”

As Chu Jinnian expected, he was after Zhuang Qingning.

Chu Jinnian’s expression darkened, “What is he looking for Miss Zhuang for?”

“Mr. Wei didn’t make his intentions clear, but I interpreted from the messenger that Mr. Wei seems to want to capitalize on her inventions.” Zhuang Qisheng saw Chu Jinnian’s grim expression and quickly spilled everything he knew, “But it’s just a guess, it’s not necessarily true.”

“However, I surmise this to be mostly true. So I came to find her, and…”

“And what?” Chu Jinnian asked, eyebrows knitted in impatience.

Already frigid and formidable, this impatience pressured Zhuang Qisheng. It felt as if a heavy weight were on his shoulders, preventing him from lifting his head. He stuttered, “I…I thought that since this Miss Zhuang also bears the surname Zhuang, I could accept her as my foster daughter. Then, I planned to kill her when the time was right and replace her with my own younger daughter to claim the credit..”

“However, Miss Zhuang was not swayed by any persuasion and didn’t listen to me, I was irritated and that’s why I lost my temper and cursed her.”