Chapter 86: How Many Bowls Did You See Me Eat?

Chapter 86: How Many Bowls Did You See Me Eat?

The sky was slightly overcast.

Ever since arriving in Donghe County, Meng Yuan had been keeping an eye on Tie Niu, who followed Chen Shouzhuo around, while Meng Yuan wandered aimlessly.

Meng Yuan's habit was that whenever he arrived in an unfamiliar place, he needed to first familiarize himself with the terrain and paths.

Donghe County was a medium-sized county, and in the past few days, Meng Yuan had already grasped the layout of the county town. He knew where the local aristocrats resided, where the commoners lived, where the scholars gathered, and where corruption thrived. He had a clear understanding of every corner.

Of course, Meng Yuan was mainly waiting for Xie Shen to make his move.

But after wandering around for several days, constantly giving him opportunities and creating chances, the man stubbornly refused to take action.

Meng Yuan did notice several people tailing him, but when he turned the tables and investigated, they turned out to be sent by the local aristocrats, and he didn't find anything unusual.

Even when he secretly investigated the aristocrats' homes at night, listening in on their plans for half a day, he didn't hear anything directed at him.

"Xie Shen knows I'm here, and with his show of force, he should never let me off."

"Although I'm from Prince Xing's mansion, I'm just an idle prince without real power. At most, they'll respect and keep their distance, but they won't fear me. As long as I handle things cleanly, there won't be any issues."

"It seems he's still wary of the Ying family. That's why he's hiding in the shadows, planning to use others to do his dirty work. But with only a few eighth-rank warriors in this county, what can he possibly do?"

"Of course, it's also possible that something has come up, and he's been held back."

Meng Yuan pondered for a while but couldn't make sense of it. However, he didn't panic.

Currently without power or influence, it was normal to be surrounded by mist. But with a sword in hand, he would eventually be able to cut through the thorns, undeterred by fleeting clouds blocking his vision.

Regardless, Meng Yuan held a strategic disdain but remained tactically cautious. As soon as Xie Shen showed his hand, he would dare to strike.

Meng Yuan calmed his mind for a moment and then closed his eyes, sitting in meditation to stimulate his energy points.

After an hour, Meng Yuan exhaled deeply, feeling a sense of relief as he successfully opened another energy point.

Since leaving Songhe Prefecture, it had been seven days.

Aside from the two and a half days of travel and the two days in Donghe County, Meng Yuan had to stay vigilant. He hadn't rushed to open his energy points, but during these three days, he took the opportunity to stimulate them.

By now, he had opened twenty-eight energy points in thirty-three days. In less than five days, he would be able to open them all, and then he would only need to reflect and engrave to achieve eighth-rank perfection.

The sky was approaching dusk when Tie Niu knocked on the door, "Brother, there's a fight between students at the county academy, and Mr. Chen is going there. Are you going?"

"Just follow him. Remember, do as Mr. Chen says," Meng Yuan replied through the door.

"Okay! Are we still eating meat tonight?" Tie Niu asked again.

"Yes!" Meng Yuan was delighted to spend more money since he didn't have to pay.

"Okay!" Tie Niu, eagerly responded and hurried out.

Meng Yuan didn't trust Tie Niu, but he trusted Chen Shouzhuo.

When he first arrived at the county government office, Meng Yuan wanted to help, but Chen Shouzhuo was very skilled. He first retrieved the past records to review and ignored everyone else.

The deputy officials in the county government office were the County Deputy Magistrate and the Chief Clerk, followed by the Education Officer and the Registrar, along with six rooms of clerks. They all waited quietly.

After enduring until nightfall, Chen Shouzhuo finally called them one by one for private conversations, followed by a game of mutual accusations.

Originally, these people had their own agendas, but Chen Shouzhuo was very experienced. With a mix of soft and hard approaches, alliances, and divisions, everyone was implicated.

Chen Shouzhuo used his authority wisely, allying with the Chief Clerk and isolating the County Deputy Magistrate.

As for the six rooms of clerks, they were not ranked officials, so Chen Shouzhuo directly dismissed three of them and replaced them with new personnel.

By the end of the night, the county government office was divided into two factions. Chen Shouzhuo also reopened old cases, focusing his efforts on punishing the three established local aristocrats in Donghe County while going easy on the others. He was truly an expert at the game of 'divide and conquer.'

A clean official, and one who had been so for half his life, was not a rigid person. Instead, he was experienced and had many methods."

Moreover, Meng Yuan felt that Chen Shouzhuo was a ranked Confucian scholar, but he hadn't shown his true abilities yet.

Meng Yuan sat in meditation for a moment, waiting for his breath to stabilize and his true energy to fill his body before standing up.

By now, it was dusk, and in half an hour, night would fall. Meng Yuan slung his sword over his shoulder and stepped out the door.

Currently, Meng Yuan lived in the rear hall of the county government office. He exited through the back door and walked a few hundred steps before seeing a food stall.

"A bowl of shredded meat noodles, please." Meng Yuan sat down.

The stall owner, known as Old Zhang, was familiar to Meng Yuan as he had been eating there for the past few days.

Old Zhang quickly served a bowl of noodles, which Meng Yuan took a bite of, only to find that the taste wasn't as good as usual. Nonetheless, he finished it, dropped a copper coin, and left.

"Sir, you usually have two or three bowls. Is something wrong with your appetite today?" Old Zhang asked curiously.

"I really don't have much of an appetite today," Meng Yuan smiled.

Holding his sword, he went to buy a roast dog leg for Tie Niu.

After returning to the backyard of the County Government Office, Meng Yuan was about to write down his experiences from the demon suppression when someone came looking for him.

"Little Master Meng!" The person was dressed in a constable's uniform, the County’s Yang Captain.

This person was very experienced and had some skills, being ranked. However, his background was too low, and he lacked connections and influence.

Moreover, this person was skilled in flattery, which Chen Shouzhuo did not like, though he was not dismissed, he was put on the sidelines.

Meng Yuan and Tie Niu had no positions in the County Government Office, but the two of them alwaysMeng Yuan was called "Young Brother Meng" by Chen Shouzhuo, and he was considered Chen Shouzhuo’s distant relative. Furthermore, he had a reputation among the locals, and was known as "Little Master Meng."

Of course, Meng Yuan knew he was just a passerby, so he didn’t particularly cultivate these connections, only observing the various people and human nature.

"Yang Captain, what’s up matter?" Meng Yuan asked.

"Someone is raising a grievance. Please, Little Master Meng, go take a look!" Yang Captain said anxiously.

"Raise a grievance? Then go to the County Magistrate." Meng Yuan didn’t want to go.

Yang Captain moved closer and whispered, "It’s related to you."

"Then I definitely can’t go." Meng Yuan shrugged, "Wait for the County Magistrate to summon me when he arrives."

Yang Captain was taken aback, he wasn’t very familiar with Little Master Meng, but knew he was approachableThoughMeng Yuan Yang Captain doesn’t know, though he carried a sword every day and had never used it, while Zhao Tie Niu practiced with it every day.

As for his rank, Yang Captain didn’t know, only that Zhao Tie Niu had recently been ranked, so Meng Yuan wouldn’t be much higher.

Moreover, this Little Master Meng seemed more like a scholar, reciting a poetry competition at the wine shop just the other day, but seemed to lack literary talent, being driven out.

But no matter what, this Little Master Meng was reasonable.

Yang Captain said bitterly, "Little Master Meng, if you don’t go, they will come insAs he spoke, he actually started to pull.

"Little Master Meng, if you don’t go, they will come in."

Saying this, he actually started to pull.

Meng Yuan saw the situation, sizing up Yang Captain.

Strapping his sword at his waist, Meng Yuan followed Yang Captain to the main hall of the County Government Office.

There, he saw the hall was abustly lively. On the left sat a few elderly men, clearly respected; on the right were a few scholars, clearly well-versed in the classics.

The hall was also surrounded by several layers of commoners, with not a single constable in sight.

"Little Master Meng!" A middle-aged scholar sat unmovingly, fanning a folding fan, his gaze stern and upright.

Meng Yuan remembered him, he was a well-known scholar in the county, Mr. Qi, who usually interacted with various local aristocrats, and had some say in the County Government Office.

he

"Mr. Qi, any matter?"

"One bowl of noodles, one bowl of money!" Mr. Qi pointed at the fan, pointing to the hunched Old Zhang.

Meng Yuan glanced at Mr. Qi, then at Old Zhang, who indeed looked dejected and unable tospeak a word, looking at the crowd.

"Was it two bowls?" Mr. Qi asked, fanning the fan, pointing to Old Zhang.

Meng Yuan looked at the crowd, at the crowd, then at Old Zhang.

"Two bowls, one bowl of money!" Mr. Qi repeated, shaking the fan and pointing at Old Zhang.

Meng Yuan looked at the crowd, then at Old Zhang, who indeed looked dejected, then at the crowd, many laughing, some bewildered, and more numb.

.

Meng Yuan had encountered such tricks before.

In the past, he had been framed, even accused of being two-faced, and of being a freeloader, but he was not new to this.

But seeing the scene today, it was clearly a setup, aimed at the scholars, and local aristocrats, a County Magistrate, and his brother, he knew what was happening.

"Old Zhang, a few days ago, how could a scholar accuse a martial of not paying a bowl of noodles?

Yang Captain kicked Old Zhang in the butto's, dynamics, demanding a fair trial from the County Magistrate.

"County Magistrate Chen Shouzhuao came, he had come for the commoners, demanding justice for the people.

"Mr. Qi, the’t matter a matter of justice, how could he accuse a martial of not paying a bowl of noodles?"

Yang Captain stood up, shaking the fan, "Little Master Meng, how could he accuse a martial of not paying a bowl of noodles?

"County Magistrate came to Donghe County, refreshing the old system, and demanding justice for the people.

"Mr. Qi, how could he accuse a martial of not paying a bowl of noodles?"

The crowd nodded at the fan, "Little Master Meng, how could he accuse a martial of not paying a bowl of noodles?

"Haha!" Mr. Qi stepped forward, laughing disdainfully. "Yang Captian, are you sucking up now? Is the County Magistrate going to promote you?"

"I, Yang, only speak for justice!" Yang Captain pushed Mr. Qi away and turned to Meng Yuan, shouting, "Young Master Meng, one bowl is one bowl, two bowls are two bowls. Everyone believes you!"

"You gave one bowl of money and ate two bowls of noodles! You have no money, right?" Mr. Qi pointed at Meng Yuan's nose, "I'll help you with that! The elders and relatives are all here, and I'll let them see how the County Magistrate bullies an honest man!"

Meng Yuan pressed the knife on his waist and looked at Old Zhang Tou.

Old Zhang Tou shrank back, not daring to speak.

"What? You've hit a soft spot and want to use the knife now?" Mr. Qi laughed coldly.

"You're an evil person, and I'm a warrior." Meng Yuan loosened his grip on the knife and took out a dagger, pressing it against his own stomach, "It seems I have to cut open my stomach to prove my innocence!"

"Young Master Meng! You're so bold!" Yang Captain exclaimed.

A glint of light appeared in Mr. Qi's eyes, "Fine, if it's just one bowl of noodles, I'll kneel and be a cow or horse for Young Master Meng! Whatever the County Magistrate tells me to do, I'll do it!"

Meng Yuan took a few steps forward and said, "Then look carefully and see how many bowls of noodles are in my stomach."

Everyone in the hall stared with wide eyes and moved closer.

"I see..." Mr. Qi didn't finish his sentence when a painful cry escaped his lips.

A flash of blood burst from Mr. Qi's left eye, and then a red and white object flew into the sky.

Meng Yuan held the dagger in one hand and reached out with the other, catching the eyeball.

Mr. Qi covered his left eye, screaming in agony, "My eye! My eye!"

Everyone in the hall and outside was shocked and turned pale.

"Cutting open the stomach is too painful." Meng Yuan held the eyeball and said, "I can only invite your eye into my stomach to take a look."

For a moment, everyone stared at Meng Yuan in bewilderment. They hadn't expected Meng Yuan to gouge out someone's eye just to let others see more clearly.

"Are you all virtuous elders? May I invite you to take a look inside my stomach?" Meng Yuan turned to the few elderly scholars.

These scholars immediately shook their heads, and some even vomited.

"These few scholars who have thoroughly studied the classics?" Meng Yuan held the eyeball and looked at the scholars.

Their faces turned pale, and they didn't dare to speak.

When a scholar meets a warrior, it often ends like this.

Meng Yuan looked at Old Zhang Tou and asked, "How many bowls of noodles did you to eat?"

"..." Old Zhang Tou shivered, "One bowl."

Meng Yuan turned to Yang Captain and asked, "Yang Captain, you're the most just one, I need you to take a clear look."

"I won't look..." Yang Captain stumbled back two steps and then directly knelt on the ground, knocking his head repeatedly.

He hadn't clearly seen how Meng Yuan used the knife, but there was no doubt that Meng Yuan was far superior.

"Who else wants to take a look?" Meng Yuan held Mr. Qi's eyeball and looked around at the crowd.

No one dared to respond, and everyone remained bewildered.

Seeing this, Meng Yuan looked at the rolling Mr. Qi on the ground.

He walked forward and squatted down, and Meng Yuan said, "One eye can't discern black and white. Mr. Qi, you've studied the classics and done just deeds, but please let me take your other eye to restore justice."

Hearing this, Mr. Qi quickly covered his other eye, "No need! I can't do it!"

"So how many bowls of noodles did you eat? How many bowls of money did you give for the noodles?" Meng Yuan asked.

"One bowl of noodles, one bowl of money!" Mr. Qi's head was covered in blood, and he knelt and crawled on the ground, still covering his head and face, his voice trembling.

"Mr. Qi is indeed a just person." Meng Yuan said.

Mr. Qi didn't dare to speak further and knelt, crawling towards the door.

"Wait." Meng Yuan stepped on his clothes, "Paternal essence and maternal blood cannot be abandoned."

As he spoke, the eyeball fell to the ground.

Meng Yuan bent down and said, "Pick up your left eye, let it represent your parents, and let them take a look. How much of the classics you've studied has become embroidery, and how much has become filth."

Hearing this, Mr. Qi looked at the eyeball on the ground and froze, "Madman! You're a madman!"

He knelt and crawled away, shouting, "Mr. Li! Save me! Save me!"

Hearing this 'Mr. Li,' Meng Yuan suddenly felt something was off.

The aristocrats in Donghe County with the surname Li were only the Li family.

These past few days, the Li family has been following him. Meng Yuan visited the Li family twice but didn't notice anything unusual.

Moreover, although Chen Shouzhuo arrested their housekeeper, he didn't do anything else. Therefore, the Li family didn't collude with other aristocrats but remained honest.

So honest, yet suddenly appearing today and charging at him, Meng Yuan felt something was wrong.

He looked outside, and the evening sky was tinged with a fine sunset, the sky becoming more oppressive, clearly indicating an approaching rain.

The last time he encountered Jie Shen, the sky was vast and clear, a sign of a bright future.

(End of Chapter)

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