The Ruffian 09

"Your Honor, my daughter is only eleven years old. How could she possibly understand so much?" a commoner argued from the floor of the court.

On the other side, another commoner was weeping bitterly. His wife held a dead infant in her arms, her face filled with profound grief.

According to their testimonies, the two families were neighbors. The Wang family had a son in their later years and cherished him dearly. However, that day, the girl from next door offered to help look after the baby. Since the two families had always been on good terms, Mrs. Wang, busy with cooking, didn't think much of it.

But by the time she saw her son again, the baby had been dropped and killed.

A massive brawl broke out between the two families, drawing the attention of the local constables, which led to this argument in the courtroom.

"Your Honor, I have read a bit in my early years. The laws of our Western Shu state that if a child under twelve commits a mistake, their family can be made to pay compensation. After all, children are ignorant," the pettifogger hired by the Zhang family argued confidently.

Fang Zhiyi nodded. There was indeed such a law.

Looking at the Wang couple, who had cried until their voices were hoarse, Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "My condolences."

The pettifogger looked smug and winked at the Zhang family beside him.

The moment Fang Zhiyi stood up, the Wang couple felt all hope turn to ashes. But Fang Zhiyi suddenly seemed to remember something. "You there, little girl."

The young girl looked up, her eyes full of indifference.

"Your clothes are on backwards."

The girl looked down at her clothes and said firmly, "To reply to the magistrate, they are not backwards. I specifically straightened them out before coming here today. These are my best clothes."

The others looked at Fang Zhiyi in confusion.

Fang Zhiyi's expression suddenly turned cold. "She knows how to dress herself, and she knew to specifically pick out her clothes for today's court session. You call this ignorant? The laws of Western Shu also state that if a child knows reason yet commits a crime intentionally, they are to be processed under criminal law! Men!"

Several yamen runners, whose teeth had been itching with anger for a while, surrounded them.

"Take her away! Immediate execution!"

"Your Honor, this is against the law!" the pettifogger said in a panic. "This was clearly an unintentional accident!"

Fang Zhiyi shot him a glance, and the pettifogger immediately shrank his neck back. This county magistrate was exuding a terrifying aura, completely different from the lazy official he usually was.

"Knowing your daughter was at fault yet failing to discipline her, and instead getting into a brawl with others—the Zhang couple is to be detained together. It just so happens that a certain mine is short on labor. As for this pettifogger, who inverted black and white for a few taels of silver and dared to question this official... confiscate the silver you received! Furthermore, all of the Zhang family's property shall be awarded as compensation to the Wang couple!"

The Zhang couple stood frozen on the spot.

After his initial panic, the pettifogger suddenly calmed down. "Your Honor, I am also a scholar of this dynasty. By law, you cannot punish me."

Fang Zhiyi nodded. "Indeed. You may go."

The pettifogger was a bit bewildered, but he still flicked his sleeves and left indignantly. "Muddle-headed official! I will definitely report this!"

"Your Honor, are you just going to let him go like that? This guy is a lot of trouble. The previous magistrate was sued by him several times, and every time he had to swallow his grievances." The county deputy beside him was somewhat worried. Having been here a long time, he knew exactly what kind of people everyone was. Fang Zhiyi was a good official, and he was afraid Fang Zhiyi would get into trouble.

"I am an official, so naturally I must abide by the imperial court's laws," Fang Zhiyi said, then turned his head and muttered, "But there are always people who aren't officials."

"Your Honor, what did you say?" The deputy was a bit hard of hearing.

The next day, the yamen runners received a case. A scholar had been robbed and killed in the wilderness, and it was determined to be the work of nearby mountain bandits.

Fang Zhiyi was absolutely furious. "Eradicate the bandits! Eradicate the bandits!"

Although the number of official troops in Yang City was small, they had the Heaven-Shrouding Cult. With this excuse, the cult members put down their businesses, donned their matching uniforms once again, and picked up their blades. The people the official troops couldn't find, they could find; the things the official troops couldn't easily do, they had no qualms about doing.

A scholar had died, so Fang Zhiyi had to report the matter. His superiors expressed approval for his immediate bandit-eradication operation and issued a few taels of silver to the scholar's family as a condolence.

Under the guise of eradicating bandits, the subordinates led by Old Man Zuo enclosed all the surrounding mountain peaks into their own territory. Following Fang Zhiyi's instructions, they actually discovered two mineral veins. Old Man Zuo wanted nothing more than to enshrine Fang Zhiyi and worship him.

How was this a dog official of the imperial court? This was an absolute immortal!

The county deputy, however, thoughtfully stroked his beard and simply smiled. The highest he would ever reach in this life was county deputy, so why should he care about so much?

Meanwhile, the Heaven-Shrouding Cult's renewed expansion finally attracted the attention of a martial arts sect.

While collecting rent in the city, the senior disciple of the Twin Blades Sect accidentally bumped into a group of Heaven-Shrouding Cult members eating in a restaurant. He recognized one of them, having fought him before. He immediately grew suspicious. After tracking them, he discovered a shocking secret: the Heaven-Shrouding Cult had already infiltrated the city. No wonder they had been keeping such a low profile lately!

Watching the constant stream of people coming and going from the Heaven-Shrouding Cult's shops, he felt an inexplicable resentment. He turned around and hurried back to his sect to report the matter.

"The demonic cult actually dares to parade through Yang City and even open shops to do business?" The master of the Twin Blades Sect was furious. "They must be oppressing the commoners again! Yang Ping, go notify Sect Leader Lin of the Flying Fire Sect. The rest of you, follow me!"

"This dog official of Yang City must be blind to actually allow a demonic cult to operate right under his nose!"

Everyone was filled with righteous indignation, but when they reached the outside of the city, they were somewhat dumbfounded.

"We have to check our weapons here to enter the city?" There had never been such a rule before.

The soldier guarding the gate was a bit impatient. He had never liked these wandering martial artists.

"That's right, it's a rule set by our county magistrate. There are many foreign merchants in Yang City now. If you people wander the streets all day carrying swords, spears, and clubs, who would dare come here to do business?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" a hot-tempered disciple snapped.

The soldier didn't say a word. He merely took a step back, and the other soldiers at the gate immediately drew their swords.

"Stop." The master of the Twin Blades Sect still had some reservations about the imperial court. He shot a sidelong glare at the soldier, silently cursed him as a lackey, and ordered his disciples to surrender their weapons. Even without a weapon, with his martial arts skills, he could easily come and go.

"That's more like it. If you want to develop the economy, you first need stability. Only when it's safe will people come to do business. When more people come, our place will become prosperous, which is a good thing for you too, isn't it..." the soldier muttered as he stepped forward to collect their swords.

The sect master listened in utter confusion.

What the hell was this about the economy and stability? How long had he been in secluded cultivation? Had the world undergone some change he didn't know about?

When he entered the city and saw its prosperity, he was a bit dumbfounded. But suddenly remembering that his own sect's shops were also located here, he inexplicably found himself agreeing with what the soldier had just said. After all, that was money, wasn't it?

His good mood lasted until he saw the bustling Four Seas Trading Company. With one glance, he spotted Zuo Qianqiu sitting behind the counter, cheerfully flicking an abacus.