Chapter 63: Stumbling Upon Success

Qin Ming ultimately failed to find any justice.

Not only that, he did not even get to see Magistrate Ding before he was seized by the bailiffs and thrown into the dungeon.

Magistrate Ding intended to use him as a scapegoat for "collaborating with bandits" to absolve himself of blame. How could he dare to see him? He was terrified that Qin Ming, in a fit of hot-headed fury, might strike him down, leaving him to die an unjust death.

Given Qin Ming's martial arts prowess, even if every bailiff in the entire county swarmed him at once, they wouldn't be enough for him to handle single-handedly.

Yet the formidable power of the system lies precisely in this: it can make heroes bow their heads and brave men bend their knees. Even a fierce tiger descending from the mountains, once entering the system, would be reduced to a docile kitten hugging the zookeeper's leg and acting cute.

Magistrate Ding knew Qin Ming would not dare to resist, which is why he dared to send the bailiffs to arrest him.

Had Li Gui been standing here instead, Magistrate Ding wouldn't even have dared to send men to arrest him; he would have been afraid that merely sparing him an extra glance might cause Li Gui a misunderstanding.

Qin Ming was thus aggrievedly dragged into the prison, where no matter how bitterly he cried out against the injustice, no one paid him the slightest heed.

Even so, Qin Ming harbor no rebellious thoughts. He merely hoped that upon reaching the capital later on, he could state his case clearly and clear his name. Even if he were stripped of his official rank due to defeat in battle, he was willing to accept it.

Having successfully arrested Qin Ming, Magistrate Ding finally felt a great deal more at ease, yet after much thought, he still felt somewhat insecure.

After all, the imperial birthday gifts had not been recovered!

Whether he could keep his official cap on his head ultimately depended on the attitude of his superiors.

"Changping, in your view, what should I do right now to make our superiors somewhat satisfied?"

"Or whose connections should I pull to put in a good word for me?"

Master Song frowned and pondered deeply for a long time before hesitantly shaking his head and saying:

"My Lord, the current situation has deteriorated to a certain extent, and everything is disadvantageous to you."

"Yet precisely because we have no achievements to speak of on our end, even if someone were willing to accept the Lord's gifts and speak on your behalf, they wouldn't know how to broach the subject!"

"Tsk!" Magistrate Ding instantly felt a throbbing headache. With his hands clasped behind his back, he paced back and forth across the room.

Master Song was nearly made dizzy by his pacing before the magistrate suddenly stopped and said thoughtfully:

"If we had some achievements in our hands, would it be easier to talk?"

Master Song, somewhat baffled, nodded and said:

"Indeed. The mouth consists of two flaps of skin; with the upper lip touching the lower lip, one can spin a tale however one pleases."

"By then, as long as some high-ranking official is willing to utter the phrase, 'Though Magistrate Ding has repeatedly failed in his duties, he nonetheless possesses some minor merits,' it will be enough to determine the Lord's fate."

A smile instantly bloomed on Magistrate Ding's lips, and he asked with a beaming face:

"Changping, in your opinion, will our superiors carefully verify the achievements we report?"

Master Song understood instantly.

"Does the Lord mean we should falsify our achievements?"

"But the problem is, we were defeated!"

Magistrate Ding smiled and shook his head. "We cannot tamper with military achievements; too many eyes are watching those."

"I only need minor merits—for instance... arresting the nine agnatic kin of that rebel!"

"Hiss..." Master Song instantly drew in a sharp breath of cold air and tremblingly advised: "My Lord, I beg you to think thrice!"

"Though I know not why that Li Gui did not attack the county seat, it is not because he couldn't take it!"

"If the Lord arrests his close relatives, I fear our heads will no longer rest securely on our shoulders!"

"Alas..." Magistrate Ding cast a reproachful glance at Master Song. "What wild thoughts are you entertaining?"

"Naturally, I am not foolish enough to actually arrest Li Gui's parents and close family!"

"But rebels deserve to have their nine agnatic kin executed. We only need to find distant relatives of Li Gui—those with whom his relationship is poor—arrest a few of them, and use them to fulfill our quota."

"Ah!" Master Song slapped his forehead, suddenly enlightened. "The Lord's strategy is simply brilliant!"

"There are many people surnamed Li here in Yishui County, and most of them share some distant blood ties. If one were to truly trace it, I fear none could avoid a connection to Li Gui."

"We will not touch his close kin within three generations; we will only select distant relatives whose ties are tenuous. This will merely serve to fulfill our duties and establish some meager merit, without running the risk of angering Li Gui and bringing him down upon us for trouble."

"We can even select a few wealthy households to target, and line our pockets along the way."

"Truly a magnificent plan that kills two birds with one stone!"

Flattered into comfort by Master Song and having found a brilliant method to preserve his official hat, Magistrate Ding's face immediately lit up with joy, and he burst into hearty laughter.

The two discussed the details thoroughly once more before Master Song set off to execute the plan.

Although the former chief constable Li Yun was not dead, he might as well have been. The current chief constable was someone newly promoted by Magistrate Ding, named Huang Wangqing.

To avoid entanglements with Li Yun, Master Song specifically chose someone who usually kept a low profile and went unnoticed.

Though Chief Constable Huang was somewhat mediocre, a bit crude in his handling of affairs, and lacked meticulousness, he was barely serviceable. Most importantly, he was safe to use.

Investigating genealogical lineages was not difficult; by chatting a bit with some of the village elders, the connections naturally became crystal clear.

It did not take long for Master Song to obtain the list of Li Gui's three-generation kin. Tracing his nine agnatic kin might have been slightly more troublesome, but fortunately, such an investigation was entirely unnecessary.

As long as a person was not a "dangerous individual" listed within the three-generation roster, whether the rest truly belonged to Li Gui's nine agnatic kin no longer mattered.

If he said they were, they were; if they weren't, they still were!

Those wealthy households who could afford the "investigation fee" to prompt the bailiffs to conduct an extra, detailed "investigation" were naturally found not to be Li Gui's nine agnatic kin.

Yet those who could not afford it were naturally rounded up as Li Gui's nine agnatic kin.

In an instant, the county was once again thrown into turmoil as everyone scrambled to flip through their family genealogies to see if their household had any entanglements with the rebel chieftain.

Though Chief Constable Huang had been in office for only a few days, he possessed every single one of the customary bad habits, and he seized the opportunity to slip plenty of his own private vendettas into the mix.

Anyone who was on bad terms with him was rounded up as one of Li Gui's "nine agnatic kin."

A few days later, Li Gui's "nine agnatic kin" had been assembled, and Master Song brought the roster for Magistrate Ding to review.

Magistrate Ding glanced over it casually, seeing only unfamiliar names, so he laid the roster aside, looked fixedly at Master Song, and cautiously confirmed, "Are you certain there are no problems?"

Master Song smiled and cupped his hands.

"Rest assured, County Magistrate, I had Chief Constable Huang check their kinship ties one by one; none of them fall within Li Gui's three-generation kin."

"Moreover, I have inquired: Li Gui was formerly a street rascal, of a gambling nature, who squandered all his ancestral property. Even if he had close relatives, they were long ago alienated by him, and they severed all ties with him ages ago."

"As for his so-called friends, they were merely drinking buddies. Those with any genuine loyalty are probably already enjoying themselves up on Yushan Mountain."

"This matter concerns both my life and the Lord's; how would I dare not to be careful and prudent?"

Magistrate Ding was finally reassured. Smiling, he placed the roster on the desk, picked up his brush to draft the official document, stamped it with his seal, and handed it back to Master Song.

"The reinforcements from Qingzhou will arrive soon; that Qin Ming cannot be kept in the county any longer."

"Changping, make arrangements to send this batch of rebels along with the collaborator Qin Ming to the prefectural city as soon as possible."

"I have already written ahead to make arrangements in the prefecture. The prison cart will not linger in Qingzhou city; they are to be immediately escorted to the capital, making all speed paramount."

Master Song took his orders and departed. Magistrate Ding felt a sense of boundless relief, stretched lazily, and briskly went off to enjoy himself with his concubine.

A breeze drifted in through the window, gently brushing across the desk in the study, revealing names such as "Li Liye, Li Da..." written upon the roster.