Chapter 47: Witnessing an Injustice on the Road

The next day, the two of them overslept again. Under normal circumstances, Madam Zhou would have let them sleep in, but today Third Brother had to go register for the examinations and the matter could not be delayed, so she asked Gu Qinghe to wake them up.

After hastily finishing their breakfast, they brought Gu Tingzhi’s household registration documents and went out together with Gu Qingbiao. Since their residence was also in the East Market, not far from the county yamen, they did not take a carriage. The three of them walked for about forty minutes and arrived.

However, they had arrived rather late. A small side door of the yamen had been opened for the scholars of Yun'an County to sign up and register. At this moment, the queue of scholars in front of the side door already extended all the way to the vegetable market intersection in the East Market.

There were simply too many people, and it was hard to tell how long they would have to wait. Zhen Mier felt a bit guilty; if she hadn't overslept today, they could have left much earlier. Still, dwelling on that now was useless, so the three of them obediently walked along the crowd to the very end of the line.

There were quite a few young wives like Zhen Mier accompanying their husbands to register, but certainly none as plump as she was. Everyone cast curious glances in her direction.

Zhen Mier had no time to mind their scrutiny right now. She noticed that not everyone standing ahead in the line was a scholar registering; roughly only one in every two or three was. She let out a long sigh of relief.

The three of them waited for nearly two full hours, and just as it was almost their turn, lunchtime arrived.

The county assistant in charge of the candidate registration simply abandoned them there, telling them to sort out their own lunch before coming back to resume their places in line.

Yet, after waiting for so long, if they left to eat and then returned, wouldn't they have to line up from the back all over again? A wave of complaints rippled through the crowd. Everyone felt that this county assistant was acting far too arrogant and putting on airs.

Zhen Mier was also rather irritated. With so many scholars and accompanying family members waiting here in line, causing a blockage in this entire area, the county assistant had been terribly slow while filling out paperwork and verifying household registrations. He hadn't forgotten to brew a pot of tea while making records, sipping as he wrote, which had everyone extremely anxious.

And now he just got up and left as he pleased, intending to be gone for more than two hours. He could at least have assigned someone to take his place.

At this rate, by the time he went off duty at sunset, the scholars at the back of the line probably wouldn't even get to register.

Yet he was an official while they were commoners, leaving them feeling aggrieved and yet utterly helpless.

Gu Qingbiao thought for a moment and asked Zhen Mier to stay with Gu Tingzhi and keep their place in line, while he went into the street to buy a few flatbreads and bring them back.

After he left, other family members accompanying their husbands left one after another to buy food.

Before long, Gu Qingbiao returned. He was carrying several steamed buns, a few beef flatbreads, a parcel of pastries, a cup of pear beverage, and two cups of mung bean water.

The pear beverage and pastries were for Zhen Mier. Feeling too shy to eat in front of a large crowd of staring people, Zhen Mier ran over to the corner of the yamen wall, with her back turned to everyone as she ate.

However, by the time she finished eating and walked back, the spot where she had originally stood was buzzing with noise. The people at the front of the line had formed a circle, while those at the back stretched their necks and stood on tiptoe, eager to see what was happening.

Zhen Mier’s heart skipped a beat, fearing something might have happened to Gu Tingzhi. She hurriedly squeezed her way to the front of the crowd with all her might. Seeing Gu Tingzhi standing quietly next to Gu Qingbiao unharmed, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

She hurried to Gu Tingzhi’s side and asked, "Husband, what happened here?"

Gu Tingzhi looked equally bewildered and shook his head.

Within the crowd, a young man in coarse blue garments was being shoved to the ground by a middle-aged man. The man looked ferocious, tall, and robust, with a broad back and thick waist; he looked strong enough to fell an ox with a single punch.

At that moment, the man was pointing at the young man and cursing violently, "Looking all refined and proper, yet you dared to steal my silver! Have you grown tired of living? Hand over the silver to me right now!"

Hearing this, gasps echoed through the crowd, as people found it hard to believe that such a scholarly and delicate-looking man could be a thief.

The young man’s face flushed crimson with anger and anxiety, "You are making false accusations! I did not take your silver!"

"You didn't? Then what is this?" As the middle-aged man spoke, he strode forward, shoved his hand directly into the young man's collar, and precisely pulled out a dark grey pouch. The pouch was bulging, and the amount of money inside clearly looked substantial.

"Give it back to me! This was prepared by my father and mother for me!" The young man scrambled up from the ground, trying to snatch back his money pouch.

Yet, frail and emaciated as he was, how could he possibly be a match for the middle-aged man? With a single push from the man, he tumbled to the ground once again.

"Calling me father so soon? I certainly don't acknowledge a son like you," the middle-aged man sneered.

Snickers broke out among the onlookers, though some felt the middle-aged man’s foul language and sinister appearance meant he was no good man. Still, no one dared to step forward and confront him.

The middle-aged man curled his lip and turned to leave.

How could Zhang Ziheng, lying on the ground, let him leave just like that? That silver was what his parents had saved up for him bit by bit through frugality!

He scrambled up once more, charged toward the middle-aged man, and reached out to grab the pouch again.

A fierce look flashed across the man's face, and he raised his thick, sturdy foot, preparing to kick him.

At that exact moment, Gu Tingzhi, who was standing closest to him, instinctively raised his foot as well. Before Gu Qingbiao could stop him, he saw Gu Tingzhi kick the middle-aged man clean out of the circle with a single blow. With a loud 'bang', the man crashed heavily into the ground some distance away.

The onlookers were stunned dumb by this sudden turn of events.

What had they just witnessed? This slender and handsome man, who didn't look particularly strong, had sent the bulky middle-aged man flying over a dozen feet away with just a casual kick!

Gu Tingzhi paid no heed to what the crowd was thinking. He instinctively turned to look at Zhen Mier, worried that he might have caused trouble and wondering if Manna would be angry with him.

The middle-aged man himself hadn't even processed what happened. It took him several bewildered moments to climb back up from the ground. Pointing an accusing finger at Gu Tingzhi, he cursed furiously, "Does your brat wish to die? How dare you lay hands on your grandfather!"

With that, he snatched a shoulder pole from a passing peddler and smashed it straight toward Gu Tingzhi.

"Husband, watch out!"

"Be careful!"

Zhen Mier and Gu Qingbiao cried out simultaneously, reaching out to stop the blow, but the pole was already descending right before them, too fast to block.

Gu Tingzhi, who had been keeping his eyes on Zhen Mier, sensed the approaching danger when he saw the terror on her face and rapidly spun around.

In that split second, he actually had time to dodge completely. However, had he swiftly moved out of the way, the pole would undoubtedly have struck Manna standing right behind him. Instinctively, he merely raised his arm to block it. Yet the pole was too long; while the end aimed at him was blocked by his arm, the other end, driven by momentum, struck him squarely on the forehead. With a sharp 'crack' as the pole dropped to the ground, fresh blood began to trickle down his temple.

Gu Tingzhi shook his slightly dizzy head and delivered another kick. This time, he used his full strength, sending the middle-aged man flying in an arc before crashing with another loud 'bang' right through the gates of the county yamen.