Daily Life of a Villain at Work [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: The Seventh Day of the Villain Being Emperor

Ordinary commoners dared not oppose officials. At Chu Xin’s command, even though Liu Da was extremely reluctant, he could only walk home with Lady Wang.

Half an hour later, Chu Xin arrived at the village.

As luck would have it, this was the same village Chu Xin had visited when she first went out to gather information. Among the crowd of onlookers, Chu Xin spotted the elder sister who had once given her a bowl of water. The woman recognized Chu Xin as well, her eyes widening in shock, but she quickly lowered her head and ducked away.

“Reporting to Your Honor, the young girl’s symptoms do not appear to be a cold or exhaustion. It looks more like she has ingested an excessive amount of sedative medication,” the doctor said after taking her pulse, choosing his words diplomatically.

“Search the house. See if you can find any sedative drugs,” Chu Xin ordered, her face cold.

Most of those accompanying Chu Xin now were personal guards assigned to her by Si Yu. Their efficiency was remarkable; in less than fifteen minutes, they found a medicinal packet containing an unidentified powder in a box tucked away in a corner.

The doctor took it, examined it closely, and gave a definitive answer: “This is a powder used to induce unconsciousness. Many human traffickers use this formula to harm people.”

“Liu Da, where did you get this medicine? Colluding with traffickers—do you no longer want your head attached to your shoulders?” Chu Xin reprimanded him sternly.

Seeing that the matter had been exposed, Liu Da collapsed to his knees with a thud. “Your Honor, I am innocent! Give me a hundred times the courage and I still wouldn’t dare collude with traffickers!”

“Who gave you this medicine?” Chu Xin continued her interrogation, her furrowed brows looking quite intimidating.

Liu Da swallowed hard. “It… it was bought from a thug at a brothel. He said this medicine was very effective—just a little bit could make someone sleep for a whole day.”

“A brothel?” Chu Xin’s hand, hidden beneath her sleeve, couldn’t help but tighten. “How do you know a brothel thug?”

The fact that Liu Da could find a brothel thug meant he had entertained the idea of selling his daughter into prostitution. Perhaps fearing arrest, exile, or flogging, he had switched to a more subtle method: selling her to a neighbor under the guise of a child bride.

“I… I…” Liu Da dared not speak further; to do so would be to admit to the crime of selling his daughter.

“Daring to willfully deceive this official! Men, drag Liu Da down and give him thirty strokes of the cane.” Chu Xin gave the order with a darkened face; some crimes cannot be excused simply by refusing to confess. “Disregarding the law by pawning off your daughter—add another thirty strokes. Beat him hard!”

“Yes!” The guards immediately hoisted Liu Da up by both sides. Before long, his shrill, agonizing screams echoed from outside.

Thirty strokes could take half a person’s life; sixty strokes could kill. Chu Xin was well aware of this.

Hearing Liu Da’s voice gradually weakening, Chu Xin continued her orders, “Liu Da’s neighbor, for knowing of the crime and failing to report it: ten strokes.”

The County Magistrate had not followed them, but the County Vice-Magistrate was present.

Seeing that Liu Da was on the verge of being beaten to death, the Vice-Magistrate looked hesitant but eventually chose to plead for mercy. “Your Honor, although Liu Da is suspected of pawning his daughter, the crime does not warrant death. Regarding the remaining twenty strokes, perhaps they could be deferred until another time?”

“What? Vice-Magistrate, do you wish to take the twenty strokes in his stead?” Chu Xin said eerily. “If so, I shall allow it.”

The Vice-Magistrate shut his mouth instantly, beginning to regret ever thinking Chu Xin would show leniency.

Though Chu Xin was a woman, she was also an official wielding great power and enjoying imperial favor. Among those in office, who feared having one more life on their hands?

Since Chu Xin did not call for a stop, the guards naturally did not take it upon themselves to cease. By the time the sixty strokes were finished, Liu Da was barely breathing. Unless he was nursed with expensive medicine, he would likely pass away within a day or two.

Lady Wang naturally had no intention of treating her husband; she simply knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Chu Xin.

Chu Xin helped her up and personally pulled a banknote from her own pocket to give to her, instructing her to make sure Little Ya learned to read and write.

Walking out of the house, Chu Xin rested her hand on the hilt of her sword and declared loudly: “This official is here by the Emperor’s decree to supervise the officials of Huzhou Prefecture and all related matters. If any of you have legal disputes or grievances, you may inform me, and I shall see justice done for you.”

Hearing Chu Xin’s words, the surrounding villagers looked at one another. Of course they had suffered injustices, but seeing the Vice-Magistrate standing right behind Chu Xin, they began to hesitate.

The Village Head had warned them privately that the woman in the county seat might seem like she could provide justice, but she would only be here for three months at most. In the end, Xiaofeng County would still be ruled by the Magistrate and the Vice-Magistrate. He told those who wanted to complain to think carefully and not do anything stupid.

“None of you have grievances or injustices?” Chu Xin raised an eyebrow.

Noticing that some villagers were avoiding her gaze, Chu Xin looked back thoughtfully, just in time to catch a smug, malicious smirk on the Vice-Magistrate’s face.

“Vice-Magistrate, you seem very happy?” Chu Xin asked.

“Your Honor, is it not a joyful thing that the common people have no grievances?” The Vice-Magistrate reacted quickly, cupping his hands in a polite gesture.

Chu Xin let out a cold laugh. “Where is the Village Head of this place? I have questions for him.”

“Commoner Liu Dezheng greets Your Honor,” the Village Head knelt to perform his salutations.

“Rise. I wish to ask you: was the grain harvest in the village good last year?” Chu Xin asked, her tone softening slightly.

“It was quite good, yielding over three shi per mu,” the Village Head replied.

Chu Xin: “How much farmland are there in total?”

The Village Head thought for a moment. “Thirty mu of high-grade land, one hundred and twenty of mid-grade, and eighty-six of low-grade.”

Chu Xin: “Were the autumn harvest taxes paid in full?”

“Thanks to His Majesty’s blessing, last year was a bumper crop. The land taxes were collected early,” the Village Head answered fluently, clearly well-prepared.

“I see. How many households are in the village?” Chu Xin’s tone became even more casual, and she began walking toward the fields as she questioned him.

The Village Head answered even faster: “To answer Your Honor, there are thirty-six households in total.”

Chu Xin: “How many people are in your family?”

The Village Head didn’t hesitate: “Including myself, eight people.”

“Not bad. How many shi of grain did the village submit in total?” Chu Xin asked, her tone now indistinguishable from idle chatter.

“Naturally, it was exactly one hundred and thirty-two shi.” The Village Head was used to the rapid-fire questioning and subconsciously blurted out the real number he had been ruminating on.

“One hundred and thirty-two shi? Does that not mean a yield of five and a half shi per mu?” Chu Xin stopped in her tracks. Her casual demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by the aura of a high-ranking official. Her tone turned stern. “You dare falsely report grain yields? Do you no longer want your head?”

“Your Honor, I… I misremembered. The land tax was… was…” The Village Head began to panic, stammering for a long while before finally managing to calculate a “correct” answer.

He said tremulously, “The autumn harvest tax our village paid was sixty-six shi in total. The average yield was three shi—over three for high-grade land and only a bit over two for poor land.”

Chu Xin snorted coldly. “Falsely reporting land taxes is a major crime. I am here on an imperial mission. If you deceive me, it is the crime of deceiving the Emperor, which warrants the execution of your entire clan.”

“I am giving you one last chance. How much was paid for the autumn harvest tax! If you don’t want your family of eight to be prosecuted, tell the truth!”

Hearing the mention of “deceiving the Emperor,” the Village Head collapsed to the ground, his legs shaking violently.

“Your Honor, spare me! I wouldn’t dare deceive you. One hundred and thirty-two shi were paid. This grain was weighed and carried away by people sent by the Tax Bureau Ambassador—I saw it with my own eyes. It was at least that much!”

“Why was it one hundred and thirty-two shi? Was the yield actually five and a half shi?” Chu Xin pressed sternly. “His Majesty has granted a general amnesty, exempting half of the land taxes across the country. Did you not know this?”

“I… I knew nothing of that! I only know that the tax collectors demanded we pay in full, and we didn’t dare refuse.”

The Village Head, terrified by the prospect of his family being executed, dared not lie further and answered everything Chu Xin asked truthfully.

Chu Xin said nothing. She simply looked back and saw, quite coincidentally, the Vice-Magistrate trying to sneak toward the horses.

The moment the Village Head mentioned one hundred and thirty-two shi, the Vice-Magistrate’s heart had skipped a beat. He was preparing to grease his soles and flee at any moment.

But Chu Xin was too sharp; she guessed his move instantly.

“Seize him!” Chu Xin ordered. The accompanying guards moved immediately, pinning the Vice-Magistrate and the ten bailiffs he had brought to the ground.

“Lord Chu, what are you doing? Why arrest me without cause?” The Vice-Magistrate struggled, refusing to admit he had just intended to flee his crimes.

Chu Xin didn’t hold back. She stepped forward, drew the imperial sword from her waist, and pointed the tip at the Vice-Magistrate’s forehead. “I ask you, did you know of this land tax matter?”

“I am not the Tax Bureau Ambassador, so naturally I wouldn’t know—” Before he could finish, he saw Chu Xin take another step forward, the blade now resting against his throat.

“I…” Fear began to take hold of him.

An imperial sword allowed for the execution of officials of the sixth rank and below without prior reporting. He was merely an eighth-rank Vice-Magistrate; even if she killed him without a report, it wouldn’t matter much.

Chu Xin didn’t speak. She just slowly moved her wrist, letting the cold blade press against his neck.

The Vice-Magistrate was so nervous he swallowed, but that simple action caused a sharp pain in his throat, and he felt a warm liquid begin to trickle down.

“Before I conduct a thorough investigation, if you confess and change your ways, perhaps you can save a branch of your bloodline,” Chu Xin said expressionlessly. “If you resist, then it truly will be the execution of your entire clan.”

Chu Xin appeared extremely formidable, but only she knew that her other hand—the one not holding the sword hilt—was trembling slightly.

The Vice-Magistrate fought an internal battle. He wasn’t sure how much Chu Xin had actually uncovered. A death sentence for a whole clan isn’t that easy to pass; maybe she was just bluffing? Maybe she actually had no evidence?

After all, Xiaofeng County was his turf. He had operated here for decades; which influential family in the county hadn’t had dealings with him?

If Chu Xin actually killed him, those powerful clans would not let it slide. Not to mention this matter involved many people; as long as he didn’t confess, perhaps the Prefect would bail him out.

“Your Honor, the one thousand soldiers from the nearby garrison sent to suppress bandits have arrived and are awaiting your inspection.” A Jinyiwei Centurion dismounted and reported while kneeling.

Chu Xin showed a look of joy. “Good. Let the soldiers rest outside the city for a moment; I will be there shortly.”

Seeing this, the Vice-Magistrate’s eyes widened. Upon realizing what he had just heard, his original schemes vanished instantly.

The total number of officials and bailiffs in the county was three hundred at most. Even if you tied all the guards of the local wealthy families together, they wouldn’t be enough to face a thousand armored soldiers.

Realizing that both he and the Magistrate had only one road left—death—the Vice-Magistrate lowered his head in resignation. “Your Honor… I have something to say…”