Reborn Before My Husband Ascends the Throne
Chapter 8

The county magistrate of Neixiang County flipped up the brim of his official hat to let in some air. Beads of sweat dripped down continuously.

He had already tried his best to stay in the shade of the trees, but the sun shone so fiercely that the air was dry and hot. This year was extraordinarily hotter than previous years. The abnormal weather made him feel uneasy, as if something was about to happen.

After resting for a bit, he stood up, "Let's go, keep walking."

It was the height of summer harvest, the busiest time of the year. He went out in person to inspect the situation.

In such turbulent times, grain was more precious than ever. The county magistrate deeply understood this principle.

Whether a county could remain stable depended entirely on whether people had full bellies.

Henan province had fertile soil, suitable for farming. As long as there were no natural disasters – droughts, floods, locust plagues – there would be a bountiful harvest most years.

This year was no exception. The rich farmland had yielded yet another bumper crop.

But it was too early to relax. He wouldn't feel at ease until the grain was stored away, guarded by soldiers, with the city gates barred shut.

As long as the granaries were full, they could seal the gates at the first sign of trouble, maintaining peace and security in most cases.

Of course, there was another prerequisite - the refugees could not revolt.

After inspecting the summer harvest here with no issues, he still needed to visit local wealthy households to request they distribute congee to the poor.

Ordinary commoners would not stir up major trouble if they had even a bowl of thin gruel to drink.

Unfortunately, things had not gone well this trip. The two local gentry he visited had both claimed poverty.

Nonsense! On his way here, he saw their tenants lugging bundles of wheat to thresh and dry. Many able-bodied men guarded the estates, holding wooden staffs and wearing steel knives at their waists, patrolling back and forth.

Yet when he turned back, there was only a fat county sheriff, a skinny clerk, and seven or eight dispirited bailiffs behind him. They were no match for the vigorous private guards.

Although he could organize some local braves, they were for patrolling the city and protecting their hometowns. He could not order them to confront refugees and clash with local elites.

The county magistrate spoke in a humble, deferential tone without any official authority. He earnestly explained the current circumstances to the elites, describing the terrible consequences if the refugees revolted.

But the elites simply waved their hands dismissively, "My estate has thick walls and sturdy gates, robust guards - we're not afraid."

These people were always so short-sighted and selfish, only caring about themselves and the present!

They could only see as far as the tips of their shoes.

No wonder the Ye Family Fort had become the local overlord.

This trip was fruitless.

Dejected on the road back, someone up ahead suddenly shouted hoarsely, "Is that the honorable county magistrate up ahead?"

The magistrate craned his neck to look. A bailiff came galloping over on a donkey, stumbling down in a frenzy, "Terrible news, Your Honor!"

At this time of year, shouting "Terrible news!" made the county magistrate's heart jump out of his chest. He anxiously asked, "Did the refugees act out?"

With sparks flying everywhere, clashes between locals and outsiders were increasing. Just one more spark could ignite the tinderbox.

The county magistrate worried himself sick every day, precisely fearing this scenario!

The bailiff had sprinted until his throat was practically smoking. In a hoarse voice he said, "It's...it's..."

The county magistrate only felt his head buzz as a wave of dizziness came over him. He had barely endured these past few years, but would this year truly be impossible to get through?

"It's...it's..." the bailiff's voice was raspy, "the Ye Family Fort!"

What a huge relief!

The county magistrate came back to life instantly! He scolded, "Give him water to drink!"

Someone immediately untied a gourd from his waist and passed it over. The bailiff guzzled it down in huge gulps, finally regaining his voice a little. He hastily explained, "Terrible news, Your Honor! The Ye Family Fort is on a killing spree!"

Shock after shock!

The magistrate had just calmed his horse when he heard the bailiff's emphatic words. He anxiously pulled the reins and jumped back on his horse. How could the peaceful Ye Family Fort suddenly start attacking locals?

This was too much. He really couldn't take it anymore.

Maybe it was time to resign and return home?

But the bailiff grabbed his horse's bridle, "No, Your Honor! The ones killed by the Ye Family Fort were not our villagers, but the refugees!"

The magistrate halted.

The bailiff continued, "Those wretched outsiders dared to raid our granaries! Not just petty theft this time, outright robbery! Clearly premeditated, all able-bodied men. The outsiders were vicious, desperate enough to kill. Our peace-loving villagers are no match for their frenzied attacks. One of our villagers was even beaten to death by the outsiders!"

"Fortunately the young miss of Ye Family Fort was out patrolling with her men! She charged in on horseback, her blade flashing, and a man's head went flying! Blood sprayed three feet high! Everyone was stunned speechless in that instant!"

"The raiders were all captured. The ringleaders inciting them were immediately beheaded on the spot! The rest were strung up and brought to our county town!"

Upon hearing the ones killed were refugees, the magistrate relaxed somewhat, though he felt conflicted.

How to put it? It was very strange. Hearing about Ye Family Fort's ruthless crackdown, he simultaneously felt relieved yet uneasy – two extremely contradictory emotions.

Relieved that Ye Family Fort had finally struck with force, suppressing the sparks everywhere.

Uneasy because he vaguely sensed an unleashed beast, now impossible to tame.

Not that they had ever tamed it before.

In short, he felt both reassured yet anxious, buffeted by both emotions and very uncomfortable.

He asked, "Why were they brought to the county town?"

The bailiff replied, "They said they were looking for you, magistrate." S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"We rushed over when we got the news. Met them halfway. Those men were covered in blood, all tied up together. The villagers didn't even stay to harvest and dry the grain, everyone ran to the main road to watch."

"Frightening, the ox cart they pulled was loaded with corpses. When it jolted, a severed head tumbled out, nearly startling my donkey!"

"Let's go, tell me more on the road." The magistrate flicked the reins.

The Ye Family members were looking for him, he had to hurry back.

Jogging along, he listened to the bailiff describe the scene in detail.

"Exaggeration!"

"This lowly one would never dare exaggerate! I saw it with my own eyes! Those necks were sliced so cleanly. Ah, well, one wasn't that neat."

"When we get back, if it's not as you said, I'll break your dog legs."

"You'll know it's all true when you see, Your Honor."

Continuing down the road under the blazing sun, when they reached a certain spot, the bailiff pointed at the ground and shouted, "Look Your Honor, there's still bloodstains."

Indeed the road had sporadic dark patches of dried blood.

Seeing the magistrate, farmers came over from the fields, clamoring chaotically, "Your Honor, outsiders raided our grain!"

"Beat our fellow villager Liu Er Zhuang to death!"

"Tragic, his son isn't even a hundred days old and has no father now."

"The young miss of Ye Family Fort left the widow some silver, enough to support her for years."

"Your Honor, we can't continue indulging these outsiders!"

"I know! This official is going back to take a look first." The magistrate wiped his sweat. "You all should return to your work, don't delay the farming season!"

Leaving the chattering crowd behind, they continued rushing back to the county town.

From a distance, he could already see many people gathered at the city gates. One glance revealed they were dressed in rags with placards hung around their necks – all refugees.

Everyone tensed up at once.

The bailiffs tightened their grips on the long spears in hand.

These were found in the armory. The magistrate had them carry spears daily to deter the masses. But they were only yamen bailiffs, knew some basic fists and kicks, and were not very skilled with long weapons.

The county magistrate also slowed his horse and touched the sword at his waist.

Just as he hesitated whether to approach, loud drumbeats sounded up ahead. Someone yelled hoarsely in an exaggerated, elongated cadence, "By order of Ye Family Fort – grain raiders beheaded! Rioters killed! Those inciting chaos and revolt dismembered! Bodies exposed for ten days!"

That voice sounded so familiar. It was Liu Ajiu from the county yamen, normally responsible for patrolling the streets beating a drum and shouting announcements.

Why was he doing this for Ye Family Fort?

The magistrate was puzzled. He rode forward, but suddenly sensed something amiss. Raising his eyes upward, he saw...

"Make way, make way! The county magistrate is back!"

The bailiff on donkeyback charged ahead to clear a path for the magistrate.

The refugees quickly moved aside. There were also many locals in front who didn't dare get close, so the locals were nearer the front.

Everyone looked to the magistrate, but saw him frozen stiff atop his horse, mouth gaping, staring blankly upwards. He seemed paralyzed, raising his horsewhip with a trembling hand, asking "That...what...what is that?"

The bailiff riding donkey glanced back after reining in his donkey. He cried "Heavens!" and tumbled right off the donkey in fright.

For hanging over the city gates were several headless corpses, with heads tied at their waists by rope.

Just the headless bodies would have been gruesome enough, with so many deaths in recent years. But one of the corpses was particularly horrifying, with over half its clothes stripped off, just a few scraps of fabric preserving modesty. The exposed body was covered in bloodstains, with white bones peeking through, like a half-butchered pig.

The county magistrate thought he had long been numbed to the sights of frozen corpses, starved corpses, violated women's corpses.

But while freezing, starving, violation deaths made one feel sad pity, the corpse hung at the city gates only inspired sheer horror!

The severed head and body were ghastly enough, but this flayed body with bones exposed – what kind of death was this?

Liu Ajiu beating the drum had someone run over, "Magistrate, you're back!"

It was none other than the county vice-magistrate.

With the magistrate and sheriff out, he had remained guarding the yamen. Suddenly encountering this incident, he could only take charge of the situation.

Today his heart, liver, lungs and eyes had all been rinsed clean by Ye Family Fort. Never again would he look upon them with his former perspective.

The county magistrate dismounted, raising his whip again: "What's that?"

The county clerk looked back once more, nearly vomiting again as he forced himself to explain: "Miss Ye of Ye Family Fort said, looters shall be beheaded, rioters shall be killed, those who incite and provoke riots shall be flayed, and their corpses left exposed for ten days."

"Those few hanging above are the ones who incited and provoked the refugees to riot. Miss Ye said they should all be flayed."

"The money butcher from the city was called to flay them. He had only slaughtered pigs before, never flayed a person, and his hands shook terribly. Plus the hot weather, Miss Ye thought it took too long, so only the one was flayed while the rest were just strung up like that."

"She said they're not to be taken down before the ten days are up."

The county magistrate badly wanted to ask: So you're just going to listen to Ye Family Fort's orders?

But the county magistrate took another look at the mutilated corpse, able to sense the deterrent force contained in each knife stroke.

Even if he had been there, he might have nodded like a chicken pecking at rice just like the county clerk, even busying himself with instructing the gate guards to string up the corpses.

What else could be done?

The county magistrate swallowed back these words and gave a stern nod: "I see."

Glancing left and right, they were either locals or refugees. He asked: "And where is Miss Ye of Ye Family Fort now?"

"She left," the county clerk said. "Went to Ruan County."

The county magistrate's shoulders relaxed slightly.

He tossed the reins to someone nearby and walked with the county clerk towards the city.

The county clerk added: "But Miss Ye left a message for you, sir."

The county magistrate tensed his shoulders again: "What message?"

"Miss Ye said that once the summer grain harvest is completed, please come to Ye Family Fort for a chat."

Somehow the words "the feast at Hongmen" flashed through the county magistrate's mind.

He shivered involuntarily.

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