Chapter 103: Lord Tongpan

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Lord Tongpan

Early the next morning, at the crack of dawn, Bai Zhi was already washed and ready. Uncle Li’s ox cart was waiting at the gate of the Hu Family’s home.

Zhao Lan was a little worried. After all, the place they were going was the government office. Zhi’er was just a young girl; what would happen if she were bullied there?

Zhao Lan found Hu Feng and begged him to go with Bai Zhi.

Hu Feng nodded and was about to climb onto the ox cart, but Bai Zhi pushed him back down. "You don’t need to go. I can do this myself."

Hu Feng raised an eyebrow at her, saying nothing.

Bai Zhi added, "While I’m gone, the Bai Family might come to cause trouble again. If you’re at home, they won’t dare to act rashly. Protect my mother for me."

So that was her reason. Hu Feng nodded. "Alright."

Uncle Li, driving the ox cart, sighed. "That Bai Family... truly shameless. You’ve already split from the household, and they still won’t leave you be. They need a good, hard lesson to make them remember their place. Otherwise, life will be difficult for you down the road."

Bai Zhi nodded. "You can say that again. If we don’t fight back, they’ll think we’re easy targets. To deal with people like them, you have to be ruthless and show them who they’re messing with, or the trouble will never end." ’Her and her mother’s lives were only going to get better. But given the Bai Family’s nature, if she didn’t shut them down now, once and for all, they could forget about ever living in peace.’

The ox cart carried Bai Zhi toward town. Knowing she was in a hurry, Uncle Li didn’t even stop for a drink of water, constantly urging the ox to move faster in the hopes of reaching the government office sooner.

Although they had set out early, by the time they reached the government office from Huangtuo Village, it was already 7:45 AM—nearly nine o’clock in the morning.

’I’ll have to buy a horse soon,’ Bai Zhi thought to herself. ’This ox cart is just too slow. If there were a real emergency, I’d die from the anxiety.’

Just as she had seen on TV, two government officials in black-striped red uniforms stood outside the imposing government office.

"What do you want?" one of the government officials asked, one hand on the hilt of his sword and the other on his hip, his cold gaze fixed on Bai Zhi.

Bai Zhi didn’t know the proper procedures for filing a complaint at the government office, so she put on a smile and said to the official, "Sir, I’m from Huangtuo Village. Someone there has falsely accused my mother and me of stealing thirty taels of silver. I would like to file a complaint and ask Lord Qing Tian to bring us justice. Could you please tell me how to do that?"

The government official looked Bai Zhi up and down. Today, Bai Zhi was wearing a brand-new green linen outfit. Though it was the coarse fabric of the poor, the clothes were new and clean on her slender frame. She didn’t look like a wild country girl who would resort to petty theft.

’Besides, what kind of brazen thief steals money only to come to the government office and cry injustice?’

The government official said to Bai Zhi, "Come with me. I’ll take you to see the Lord Tongpan."

Bai Zhi thanked him profusely and followed the government official through the gates.

The government office wasn’t very large, just divided into a front hall and a rear courtyard. The front hall was where the lord handled official business, while the rear courtyard held his living quarters. The Lord Tongpan, however, had a separate office in the front hall—oh, wait, a "courtyard hall."

This "courtyard hall" was actually a detached building with its own small courtyard. A sword-bearing guard stood inside, staring blankly at the sky. Only when he heard footsteps did he turn to look at the entrance.

"What is it?" the guard asked the government official.

The government official replied hurriedly, "Jin Guard, this young lady is here to report a crime."

The Jin Guard’s eyebrows shot up, his face showing clear displeasure. "Don’t you know who handles crime reports? Why did you bring her here?"

The government official explained, "Yesterday, Lord Gu decreed that aside from life-or-death matters, all other cases are to be handled by the Lord Tongpan. So, I just—"