After Transmigrating into a Frail County Magistrate, I Became an Overlord - Chapter 3

Yun Zhensong felt a momentary daze and hurriedly bent down to help him up. The servants were shocked beyond measure, and the guards before Yun Zhensong could make a move lifted the man and forced him into a kneeling position.

This was a feudal era of strict hierarchy. Even if the county magistrate were approachable, there was no reason for servants like them to let their master reach out and do manual labor wouldn’t that break the rules?

Yun Zhensong paused, slowly withdrawing his hand, and frowned: “He is injured; be gentler with him.”

As soon as these words left his lips, the guards on both sides were thrown into a panic and knelt down with a “thump”: “This servant is in the wrong.”

This gave Yun Zhensong another shock. He had no intention of reprimanding them; he only wanted to offer a kind reminder. Now, because of his single sentence, the atmosphere had become both serious and subtle this was certainly not Yun Zhensong’s intention.

Yun Zhensong sighed. Even if he told them this time that there was no need to kneel to him in the future, it wouldn’t change anything, only increasing the panic in their hearts.

The thousand-year gulf of the era could not be changed by Yun Zhensong’s words alone. Even if he were right, so what? Yun Zhensong had no choice but to adapt to the etiquette he deemed wrong in his heart and cater to the mindsets he considered backward.

“Everyone get up. I did not mean to reprimand you,” Yun Zhensong said solemnly.

Yun Zhensong insisted on personally helping the man up. The man had saved him last night, and to Yun Zhensong, this person was a benefactor who deserved to be treated well.

Yun Zhensong’s warm, dry palms supported the man’s smooth, muscular, and alluring forearm, and he said softly: “You need not kneel to me. Sit and speak.”

The man lifted his eyelids. After a night of recuperation, his energy had recovered quite a bit, but the face of the young county magistrate before him was pale and frail. He sat in the chair beside Yun Zhensong, his voice slightly hoarse as he said “Thanks.”

Then, Yun Zhensong waved his hand and said: “You all may withdraw first. There are too many people here; I feel a bit dizzy.”

The guards departed, leaving only the four of them in the room.

Yun Zhensong pushed the tea toward the man’s hand, curled his eyes, and asked in a soft voice: “What is your name? Thank you for what happened last night.”

The man scrutinized Yun Zhensong unhurriedly, his gaze wandering over him and finally lingering for a few seconds on the thick layer of gauze wrapped around Yun Zhensong’s hand.

Qi Jianshuang retracted his gaze and lifted his eyelids. The split-second eye contact made Yun Zhensong’s heart skip a beat; he felt that the man possessed an innate air of a superior—cold, stern, and piercing. Especially when he wasn’t making an effort to control his expression, simply looking at someone quietly was enough to make one shudder.

Scars and blood only added to his ferocity; they brought not a trace of dishevelment or wretchedness.

Yun Zhensong swallowed his saliva: “You…”

“Are you just going to say it with words?” The man leaned back casually, showing absolutely no self-awareness as a guest. “Don’t you have some practical action?”

Yun Zhensong was stunned.

Yusheng stood up with his hands on his hips: “Don’t you dare push your luck! Who acts like this? Why are you suddenly making demands!”

Normally, Zhou Si might have stepped out to correct Yusheng’s uncontrollable temper, but at this moment, Zhou Si did not stop him. He remained vigilant of this man and did not dare to let his guard down.

Yun Zhensong came out to mediate: “Yusheng, don’t be hasty. I originally wanted to give you some silver as a token of gratitude, but… I am a bit poor, as you can see.”

As he spoke, he gestured with his finger toward the small reception hall and then showed him the patches on the cuffs of his private attire.

Zhou Si and Yusheng looked at each other, both feeling that their master was acting strange. Although their master had always been gentle, there was a distinction between high and low status; when had he ever been this patient with a rough man he had picked up? What if this man had blood on his hands wouldn’t that be a disaster?

“Hongke.”

“Hmm? Oh, that’s your name.” Yun Zhensong said, “Which characters are they?”

Qi Jianshuang reached out a finger, dipped it in some tea, and wrote them out stroke by stroke for Yun Zhensong.

He had given his courtesy name; in a remote area as god-forsaken as this, surely few people would have heard his name.

Yun Zhensong tilted his head to look: “Then why were you injured?”

Qi Jianshuang said: “I don’t want silver.”

Faced with his second blunt change of subject, Yun Zhensong had no temper for the man’s evasiveness and went along with him: “Then what do you need me to do? As long as I can manage it, I will certainly promise you.”

Qi Jianshuang suddenly leaned in close, his wrist bone resting on his chin as he parted his lips: “Everything?”

“Uh…” Yun Zhensong backed away slightly, and Yusheng stood up to glare fiercely at Qi Jianshuang: “Giving your body as a reward or something… is not allowed.”

Qi Jianshuang smiled pleasantly. He cast a casual glance at Zhou Si, who stood silently to the side with a fierce look in his eyes, then looked at Yun Zhensong and said: “Pretend I am a cousin who has come to seek refuge with you. As for the rest, do not ask and do not investigate. This is best for both you and me. How about it?”

Yun Zhensong frowned: “Why?”

“Do not ask.” Qi Jianshuang’s eyes darkened as he said, “I stake my life on the guarantee that the three words ‘I don’t know’ are the best protection for you all. I promise that everyone here will be fine.”

Yun Zhensong knew that the things he was hiding from him were likely matters of life and death. No ordinary person would sustain such heavy injuries and get hit by so many arrows. The only reason he had survived was pure luck, combined with Yun Zhensong’s acupuncture treatment to stop the bleeding.

But Yun Zhensong didn’t want to dig any deeper. In any case, the man had dragged his half-dead body to kill the kidnappers and save him. At the very least, up until now, the man had shown him a modicum of respect.

Whatever. It wouldn’t hurt to provide him with an extra pair of chopsticks; whether he left or stayed after his injuries healed would be up to him.

Zhou Si and Yusheng could not sway their master’s thinking; the words of dissuasion reached their lips but were swallowed back down hard.

“Rest assured, I am not foolish. You and Zhou Si keep a close eye on him; if he makes any moves, inform me immediately.” Yun Zhensong patted Yusheng’s hand, and the two watched for a moment as Zhou Si led Qi Jianshuang away.

Zhou Si settled Qi Jianshuang in, gave him some medicine and food, and then returned to Yun Zhensong’s side to serve his master as he changed into his official robes, before heading to the yamen.

A pile of official business awaited him to familiarize himself with and process.

The side courtyard was mostly occupied by servants, with almost no guards on watch. Thus, after night fell, a figure slipped into the small room where Qi Jianshuang was staying, completely undetected.

The visitor looked hurried and was dressed in black. There were no candles lit in the room; the visitor only managed to discern the person sitting on the dilapidated bed by the moonlight. Grief and joy mixed as he slid to his knees at his feet, saying with painful agitation: “This subordinate has arrived late! I beg the General to punish me!”

“Keep your voice down.” The pale moonlight spilled across one side of Qi Jianshuang’s face, while the other side remained hidden in darkness. His expression was grave, his eyes deep: “Cheng Sui, rise first.”

Their gazes met, but there was no sense of joy at having survived; instead, there was only fury and absurdity.

That was a long story.

The war with the nineteen tribes of the Northern Frontier had ended in a narrow victory. Qi Jianshuang had been summoned back to the Central Prefecture by the Emperor to report on his duties. Refugees had flocked in along the way, but the military supplies were exhausted, and the soldiers were all hungry. How could they have had extra food to spare? Helpless, Qi Jianshuang had no choice but to send his trusted aides to lead the refugees to seek help from various counties, hoping they might spare some grain.

Disaster years were constant, and times were hard; every county they reached had, without exception, turned them away.

No one had it easy. Qi Jianshuang could not bring himself to use his status as a Grand General to coerce the various counties into tightening their belts and opening their granaries.

On the day of the assassination, everything had happened extremely suddenly and coincidentally. Cheng Sui and two other trusted aides were responsible for settling refugees in Qu County. The imperial court was urging them impatiently, so Qi Jianshuang had led a small force ahead to continue the journey.

The assassins moved very fast. In the blink of an eye, the land was littered with corpses, covered in broken swords and shattered armor. Qi Jianshuang had only escaped catastrophe because his adopted son had shielded him, leaving markers along the path.

In this god-forsaken, isolated place, information was blocked, and they had no idea that the imperial court was in chaos.

Cheng Sui brought the news: the rumor was spreading throughout the court that the Grand General of the Northern Frontier had been assassinated and killed. Consequently, the nineteen tribes of the Northern Frontier, which had just suffered a heavy blow, were beginning to stir again. The new Emperor, far away in the Central Prefecture, flew into a rage and ordered the Ministry of Justice to thoroughly investigate the matter, with the assistance of the Censorate.

Cheng Sui said: “Except for the soldiers sent away in secret to protect the refugees, everyone else… is dead.”

Qi Jianshuang’s breathing stalled: “…Everyone? Including Qi Yan?”

Qi Yan the child Qi Jianshuang had raised, the adopted son who had screamed heart-wrenchingly for Qi Jianshuang to run.

Cheng Sui could not speak.

Qi Jianshuang painfully squeezed his eyes shut, his brows furrowed.

This attack was by no means accidental; it might even have been the Emperor’s own handiwork. Three months ago, the imperial court had delayed the military supplies, causing the soldiers to fight while hungry every day; medical supplies were also scarce, and many who sustained minor injuries had died because they couldn’t be treated in time. With external threats and internal troubles, Qi Jianshuang had spent those nights sleepless he had pleaded and he had knelt, and the narrow victory had been won entirely by Qi Jianshuang cutting a path through blood with his own life.

The consequence of having merits that overshadowed the Emperor was that the petty men in court accused him of intentionally delaying the war and colluding with foreign enemies, and just like that, the label of a traitor was pinned on him. Qi Jianshuang knew very clearly that even without this assassination, upon returning to the Central Prefecture, he would soon be thrown into prison on baseless charges and forced to surrender his tiger tally.

Qi Jianshuang did not want to serve Daxuan anymore. Daxuan was rotten to the core. It could not be saved.

To sell one’s life for a muddled ruler was no different than consorting with petty villains.

Qi Jianshuang’s chest was filled with fury that had nowhere to vent. He had never been so humiliated in his entire life! For a few grains of rice and a few pieces of armor, his unyielding backbone had truly been bent.

Fuck it! If I’m a traitor, I’m a traitor! I’m not playing this game anymore!

“The brothers stationed in the Northern Frontier all think you are dead, General; the military morale has long since disintegrated. If the nineteen tribes kill their way back now, we are certain to be defeated.” Cheng Sui said with difficulty. “Also, Qu County… Qu County drove us out, and three thousand commoners have been displaced.”

“General, what should we do now!” Cheng Sui cried out in despair to his only pillar of support.

A long time passed before Qi Jianshuang spoke in a hoarse voice, as if he had swallowed stones and coarse gravel: “Qi Jianshuang is dead.”

Cheng Sui’s eyes widened in disbelief. Had the General just abandoned everyone like this?

“…Do you not care about the commoners in the north anymore?” Cheng Sui’s eyes turned red instantly. “Many people have already starved to death…”

Qi Jianshuang remained silent for a long time, his inner pain and torment known to no one.

He was isolated, helpless, and at a dead end.

“Could it be that in the north… there are still commoners.” Qi Jianshuang curled his lips in a bitter laugh. “What we protected was nothing but the territory of Daxuan and the Li family’s bullshit throne!”

“Does it matter if we protect it or not.”

“But there are still…”

Footsteps sounded suddenly outside the house. Cheng Sui held his breath, and the vague voices of servants rose: “Why, I heard Qu County drove out a large group of refugees?”

“Indeed. Qu County is not that far from our Yuanqing County; those people are likely coming here.”

“Xiao Cui, isn’t the person in your family serving under the Magistrate? What did he say?”

“I saw him during dinner. He said that the Magistrate has made up his mind to open the city gates and take them in.”

“Ah? Our county is already poor enough as it is where would he find extra grain!”

“Sigh, who knows. Our Magistrate is just too soft-hearted; the county is going to be a mess soon…”

With a creak of a closing door, the conversation was shut inside.

Cheng Sui peered at Qi Jianshuang and stammered for a long while.

There was no one in the court capable of being this Grand General of the Northern Frontier. The forces in the Central Prefecture were intertwined, and to maintain the balance of power, the Profound Iron Camp could not easily enter; it would certainly continue to be stationed in the Northern Frontier. And the Northern Frontier military camp was only a mountain away from Yuanqing County, requiring only one day to travel back and forth. The Emperor was far away, and Yuanqing County was too poor to catch the eyes of the old foxes in the Central Prefecture. This was undoubtedly the safest place.

Moreover, the Magistrate of Yuanqing County, Yun Zhensong, was someone who actually cared about the hardships of the commoners and was honest and impartial.

“Have my trusted aides blend in with the commoners, settle the refugees, and bring them to Yuanqing County.”

Cheng Sui hesitated: “If the northern tribes attack…”

“I will protect Yuanqing County.” Qi Jianshuang looked past the window at the hazy moonlight and said, “As for the rest, I couldn’t care less.”