Chapter 149 Beating the Drum for Justice

Chapter 149: Beating the Drum to Appeal for Justice

The middle-aged farmer, well into his forties, looked bitter. "That man is the lord landlord. My whole family's food supply depends on the land from his family. How could I dare go to his door and ask for compensation?"

Meng Wan got it instantly. "So your family are tenant farmers."

The man seemed sensitive to the term "tenant farmer" and retorted, "It's not just my family. The whole village are all tenant farmers of the Tong family."

"The Tong family?"

Meng Wan suddenly laughed. "Well, what a coincidence. Tell you what, I'll cover the cost of your father's treatment, but I need you to do something for me."

For some reason, the middle-aged man felt uneasy looking directly at Meng Wan and stammered, "Wh...what?"

Meng Wan's eyes crinkled with a smile, as if greatly pleased. "Don't worry, I won't ask you to kill or burn anything."

After leaving the clinic with Xue Sheng, Meng Wan went to find Huang Mama right away.

"Meng Fulang, that family took the extra silver you gave and has already moved to the neighboring county," Huang Mama said nervously.

Ever since she started helping this county magistrate's husband look at houses, she felt like she had done something, yet nothing at all—just showed a house to some people and said a few words as instructed.

But this husband seemed all-knowing. How did he know her shop was going to be smashed and told her to hide in advance? How did he know the original landlord was beaten and had her deliver silver to him?

She was bewildered by each and every thing, but she followed orders without understanding.

"Then please trouble Mama Huang to personally go to the neighboring county and invite them back."

Seeing Huang Mama hesitate, Meng Wan cut her off. "Mama Huang, don't be unwilling. The Huang family is just as big a clan as the Tong family, with even more members. You were bullied by Broker Tong at the huxing, and your nephew is in a tight spot at the county office too. Helping me benefits you in every way and harms you not at all."

Meng Wan wore a beautiful smile, but his words sent chills down one's spine. "And... I didn't give you the right to refuse me. The Tong family may be formidable, but my husband isn't someone to mess with either. Offending the Tong family or offending the County Magistrate—you weigh the consequences yourself."

Huang Mama shuddered and said tremblingly, "I'll go tomorrow... no, I'll go now."

Meng Wan walked up to her, still smiling. "Mama Huang, don't be afraid. My husband mentioned that Inspector Huang is quite meticulous in his work. He's young and has a bright future ahead. Besides, the official huxing is in a mess now. It wouldn't hurt to replace the broker."

Huang Mama dared not say another word. She respectfully saw off this formidable figure and immediately ordered a carriage to take her out of the city.

---

On the tenth day of the second month, the weather had just started warming up, but a drizzle brought back a chill.

A corner of the bed curtain was lifted, and a long, strong hand reached out first.

"It's freezing," the person sleeping soundly on the inside grumbled discontentedly.

Song Tingzhou, who had already sat up, helplessly hugged him back. "I'll get you another blanket?"

Meng Wan, eyes closed, wrapped himself tighter in the blanket, feeling drafts everywhere since Song Tingzhou got up.

"Yes, go get it."

Song Tingzhou leaned down and kissed his rosy cheek. His long hair fell onto Meng Wan's neck, tickling and disturbing his rest. Annoyed, Meng Wan half-sat up with sleepy eyes, hooked his arm around Song Tingzhou's neck, and bit hard on his lower lip.

"Hiss." Song Tingzhou inhaled sharply, then pulled the person about to fall back onto the pillow into a deep, lingering kiss.

After a long while, he finally withdrew from the bed curtain. "I'll get you a blanket."

Meng Wan followed him out. "Forget the blanket, I'm wide awake now."

Knowing he had upset his partner, Song Tingzhou eagerly handed Meng Wan his coat, afraid he'd catch cold in the morning chill.

After putting on two layers of outer robes, Meng Wan still felt cold. They washed up in the room with warm water Song Tingzhou fetched from the kitchen, and only then did Meng Wan warm up a bit.

In the main room, Meng Wan sipped hot porridge slowly and asked Song Tingzhou, "It's been a few days since we submitted the petition. You haven't received it, have you?"

Song Tingzhou ate quickly. "No. The petition was intercepted by Tong Ping on the first day."

Meng Wan put down his bowl and started peeling an egg. "He's really audacious to dare such a thing."

"The previous Magistrates, Wang and Ji, were too lenient. And with no county magistrate in Heshan for nearly two years, he's gotten used to being the boss," Song Tingzhou said calmly, showing no anger at being slighted by a subordinate.

Meng Wan handed the peeled egg to Song Tingzhou and said gleefully, "Let him have his fun for now. Today we'll teach him a lesson."

Chang Jinhua watched them, not understanding their conversation but sensing Wan'er was plotting against someone again. She instinctively wanted to advise the two kids not to offend too many people, but then remembered her son was now the highest local official and likely had his own plans.

She felt both happy and proud, yet also melancholy.

She was getting old and useless. In the town and prefectural city, she could still help Wan'er make clothes and run a breakfast stall, but now she could only cook for the children.

"Mom, have an egg." Meng Wan shared the love, peeling one for Song Tingzhou and another for Chang Jinhua.

He had been focusing on nurturing his health lately, and with the cold weather and his unfamiliarity with Heshan, many things couldn't be done yet.

Chang Jinhua, new to the place and elderly, missed home. She wasn't talkative by nature and seemed even more silent lately.

Thinking of this, after Song Tingzhou went to the front office, Meng Wan called to Chang Jinhua, "Mom, the weather's bad today, and we can't sunbathe anyway. How about we go check out the house at the back, pick some fabrics we brought from the capital, and start making baby clothes and blankets?"

Tax collection hadn't started this year, so their luggage had been stored in the tax warehouse. But since that wasn't proper, after buying the new house, Song Tingzhou had some officers move their belongings to the house behind that formerly belonged to the Miao family.

Chang Jinhua's eyes lit up. "Yes, we should prepare early. Once they're made, we can wash them soft and put them away for autumn."

She was eager and couldn't wait another moment. "The ground is slippery in the rain. Are you sure you want to go? Bi Yun and I can manage."

Xue Sheng had gone to the front office with Song Tingzhou, leaving only Meng Wan, Bi Yun, and Chang Jinhua at home.

"It's fine if we walk slowly. I'd be bored staying home alone anyway." Meng Wan had no special feelings yet—his lower belly had just slightly bulged, like after a full meal, barely noticeable.

Bi Yun held an umbrella and supported Meng Wan. Chang Jinhua carried a basket for fabrics and walked ahead with her own umbrella. The three exited through the east gate, crossed the road, and headed west to the Miao family's current house.

Entering the courtyard, they saw the herbs that had been drying were already stored away. The main hall of the single-story house was used as a pharmacy, its door open. A Xun was toiling away making pills, with Ren Dong assisting him. Bai Wei sat on a small stool at the doorway, catching raindrops dripping from the eaves. Her dark eyes spotted Meng Wan and the others.

"Big brother's here!"

A Xun was too busy with his work to notice Bai Wei's call, but Ren Dong turned to look. He couldn't speak and had herbs in his hands, so he just nodded at Meng Wan.

Meng Wan smiled back and waved Bai Wei over to join them in the second courtyard to play.

"Xiao Wei, what color clothes do you like? Big brother will give you some."

Bi Yun laid out all the fabrics—some bought in the capital, others by Meng Wan in Yangzhou.

Yangzhou had a suitable climate and fertile soil, producing excellent mulberry leaves for high-quality silk. Its silk fabrics were renowned nationwide.

With poor transportation and hot summers in Lingnan, Meng Wan had stocked up on quite a bit.

He picked two bright-colored bolts and one dark one, intending to give them to the Miao family.

"We don't want anything from big brother, big brother," the three-year-old girl stammered, not fully articulate, just repeatedly refusing.

Meng Wan guessed that Qing Xing or Grandpa Miao had instructed them, thinking that he had already helped them a lot and they should not ask for food or anything else.

"Anyway, you can't carry it. I'll ask Brother Bi Yun to help you take it back to the house later. You, your brothers, sisters, and grandpa can all make new clothes."

He roughly regarded the Miao family as his own employees. Since they followed him to Lingnan to reclaim wasteland, he still had to give them the employee benefits they deserved.

Chang Jinhua picked one bolt of brightly colored brocade, two bolts of gauze, and two bolts of fine cotton. On the way back, Bi Yun helped carry half, while Meng Wan returned empty-handed.

When they returned to the East Gate, they could faintly hear the deep thud of drums coming from the front gate of the county office. The drumbeats were slow and low, like a string of muffled roars, filled with powerlessness, anger, and resentment.

From the first moment the drum sounded, Song Tingzhou rose from his seat in the second hall, smoothed the wrinkles on his official robe, and had Xue Sheng support him as he walked step by step toward the first hall where trials were held.

Inspector Zhang led the constables quickly to the outside of the courtroom to maintain order. After all, Heshan County had not had a county magistrate for a long time. The common people rarely saw someone beating the drum to cry out for justice, so they all wanted to watch the excitement, and even more so to see what the newly appointed county magistrate looked like.

The yamen runners below the hall stood in neat rows on both sides of the courtroom and shouted "Oyez!" in unison to build the atmosphere and warn the jostling crowd to stay quiet.

Song Tingzhou wore a green round-collared official robe with a three-foot-wide sleeve, decorated with small miscellaneous flowers. He wore a black gauze cap on his head, a plain silver belt around his waist, and black boots on his feet. He walked from the back hall to the courtroom with measured steps, proceeded to the seat behind the magistrate's desk, and sat down.

He was composed and calm in his gaze. As he struck the gavel, his deep voice rang clearly in the ears of everyone in the hall.

"Bring the man who beat the drum to the hall."

For a moment, the yamen runners below the hall made no move. It was Inspector Huang who sensed something wrong and called his own constables to bring the man in.

Song Tingzhou's dark eyes swept over the yamen runners on both sides of the hall. They thought they had seen through who really held the power in the county office recently, and had cunningly sided with Deputy Magistrate Tong, following his orders to teach the new county magistrate a lesson.

They were all a bunch of timeservers and unranked hired hands. Song Tingzhou said indifferently, "These runners are hard of hearing and cannot assist in official duties. Strip them of their official robes and expel them from the county office. Quickly bring in the next shift of runners."

The yamen runners in the hall were shocked, and only then realized they had kicked a hornet's nest. They hurriedly knelt to beg for mercy, "Your Honor, forgive us! We were just slow to react, not hard of hearing!"

Song Tingzhou's gaze swept to the shocked Inspector Huang outside the hall, and asked coldly without any emotion, "Inspector Huang, are you hard of hearing too?"

"I obey!" Inspector Huang was terrified inside.

He quickly directed his constables to subdue all the yamen runners in the hall. For those who resisted, they simply gagged them and gave them a thrashing.

The other shift of yamen runners had not known why they were suddenly called to the hall. But when they saw that the brothers of the previous shift had all been stripped of their uniforms, they were all greatly shocked.

Inspector Huang kindly reminded them, "Quickly go to the hall to hear the county magistrate's instructions. Do not cause trouble."

These remaining yamen runners shuddered inwardly, quickly picked up their clubs, and went to the hall.

In such a short moment, a batch of yamen runners had been publicly dismissed in the courtroom. While the common people watched the excitement, they couldn't help but become alert.

This newly appointed county magistrate of theirs seemed exceptionally strict!

"Your Honor, it is this man who beat the grievance drum." The constable brought the man to the hall and respectfully reported to Song Tingzhou, afraid that the magistrate would be displeased and strip him of his uniform on the spot.

Song Tingzhou gestured for him to step back, then asked the honest-looking middle-aged man kneeling in the hall, "Who is below the hall? What is your hometown? And why did you beat the grievance drum? Do you not know that the drum cannot be struck lightly? For ordinary complaints, submitting a written petition is sufficient."

"Your Honor, I beg you! I am Tao Er, a villager from Hongshan Village in Luyun Town. A few days ago, I had someone write a petition and submitted it to the county office, but after several days there has been no response. My elderly father is still waiting for money to save his life. I had no choice but to beat the drum."

Song Tingzhou asked, "You say you submitted a petition. To whom did you give it?"

Tao Er's eyes roamed over the yamen runners below the hall. Those who met his gaze dared not look back. They often helped Deputy Magistrate Tong deliver petitions; maybe one of them really had delivered Tao Er's.

Sure enough, Tao Er's eyes fixed on one of the yamen runners and did not move. He pointed a rough finger, "Your Honor, it's him! He took my petition that day and said he would submit it for me."

The pointed yamen runner went pale. If before he had still harbored the hope of arguing with Tao Er, now, after seeing those twelve brothers so cleanly dismissed, he had no thought of resistance at all.

He threw down his club and knelt straight in the hall, "Your Honor, forgive me! It was I who took the petition. But I intended to submit it to Your Honor's desk. It was Deputy Magistrate Tong who... who told me to give the petition to him, and then... I..."

Song Tingzhou had no time to listen to his meaningless shifting blame. He casually pulled a black punishment token from the tube and threw it to the ground, "For offending a superior, reckless and audacious, daring to arbitrarily handle the petition submitted by a commoner! Twenty strokes of the cane, expelled from the yamen, never to be employed again!"

A moment ago they were colleagues, but now they had to deliver the beating.

All the yamen runners were terrified by Song Tingzhou's iron-fisted methods. None dared to step forward to plead for mercy. They pulled the kneeling runner onto a bench and raised their clubs, producing "bang bang" sounds of flogging.