XXI. A Crowd-Pleasing Staple

Putting aside everything else, that arrow the junior sister just shot was truly dashing.

And right now, in a single encounter, she had cleanly and swiftly kicked over eight hulking Kunlun slaves—without even bothering to draw her sword—and then stood there, coolly pointing her bowstring at Liu Zilin’s furious face. That was even more dashing.

Ouyang Rong began to suspect that his junior sister was one of the "Qi practitioners" that Yan Wuxu had mentioned. He just wasn't sure which lineage she belonged to—Confucian or Taoist. After all, the Xie family of Chenjun was a renowned clan of both Confucian and Xuanxue scholars, the latter of which involved Taoism.

Ouyang Rong walked over to help the Hu girl up from the ground and handed her a handkerchief to wipe herself clean.

At that moment, Yan Wuxu arrived at the end of the street, rushing over in a panic with a troop of constables, only to be stunned by the sight of two refined scholars suppressing a vicious young thug and his lackeys. Well, to be fair, it would have been the same even without one of the scholars, but the junior sister was his aide, and Ouyang Rong quite approved of this "wisdom and valor" combination. His mentor truly was far-sighted—and besides, "wisdom" was quite important, wasn't it?

"Mingtang, are you alright?"

"Did you want something to happen to me?"

"No, no, I was just surprised. I thought I’d arrived too late and was worried to death."

"You weren't late; you arrived just in time. Take good care of this... young Hu woman, and find a doctor to check if she’s injured."

"Yes, Mingtang."

Just then, the man named Liu Zilin roared angrily, "You killed my bird and you think you’re walking away!?" He turned to curse his swaying subordinates, "Stop playing dead on the ground, you bastards! Get up and call for backup!"

Even with a bow aimed at him, he remained incredibly arrogant, his eyes coldly fixed on the frowning Xie Lingjiang.

But just as one of the Kunlun slaves tried to crawl up, his leg was pinned to the ground by an arrow.

Yan Wuxu shouted coldly, "Is that any way to speak to the County Magistrate?"

Liu Zilin lifted his chin and sneered, "County Magistrate? Isn't he just a pathetic beggar? Did you come to Longcheng to scavenge for scraps? Are you here for money, women, or a promotion? Fine, go home with me and kowtow a hundred times to my eldest brother!"

Ouyang Rong smiled.

Liu Zilin glanced at the arrow in his subordinate’s leg.

"Hmph."

He let out a scoff. Ignoring the cold-faced young woman with the explosive fighting prowess and the crowd of constables, he stared down at Ouyang Rong, pointed at his face, and spat out a threat:

"You dared to shoot my bird; today's matter is not over!"

"It is indeed not over," Ouyang Rong nodded.

"Fine, you've got guts. My food upstairs is getting cold, so I’m going to eat! Don't you run; we’ll wait and play this out slowly." Liu Zilin brushed the dust off his robes and, with a sneer, turned and sauntered away as if no one else existed.

Ouyang Rong laughed softly and turned back as well.

On both sides of the long street, the scholar and the thug walked in opposite directions.

Xie Lingjiang turned to look at Ouyang Rong’s back, frowning as if about to speak.

Yan Wuxu’s expression was grave, while the other constables breathed a sigh of relief, preparing to follow the Magistrate back to the Yamen.

But the next second, Ouyang Rong’s voice, slightly curious and surprised, rang out:

"Why are you all standing there like fools? The man is about to run, hurry up and catch him. Don't tell me you actually thought his acting fooled me?"

The newly appointed official shrugged helplessly; there was truly no rapport.

"Go, take this law-abiding Longcheng resident who likes to parade his birds in the street and drag him to the Yamen. Since I’m new to Longcheng and don't have anything impressive to offer, let’s start with a classic performance that the local folks love to see...

"We are holding court today."

Xie Lingjiang suddenly beamed, and the others were stunned.

Liu Zilin’s expression shifted.

***

The Longcheng County Yamen was located on Luming Avenue on the east side of the county.

The weather was fine today, and at the Yamen gates, County Vice Magistrate Diao was waiting with a group of clerks and bailiffs, craning their necks in anticipation.

County Vice Magistrate Diao, whose name was Diao Guangdou, was a scholar of about fifty with a small goatee and a crisp official uniform. He was growing anxious, frequently peering toward the end of the street.

Finally, Diao spotted a tall, slender young scholar leading a large crowd toward the Yamen. He hurriedly led his subordinates to greet them.

"Mingtang, you’ve finally arrived!"

Being welcomed so passionately by a man old enough to be his grandfather made Ouyang Rong feel quite awkward. He silently pulled his hand away and asked casually:

"No need to inspect the appointment papers or the Ministry of Personnel documents?"

"No need, no need. We saw them the other day. You are Mingtang, the righteous official our Longcheng has been longing for."

"Very well, let’s go inside and hold court."

"Yes, yes... wait, hold court? Aren't we holding a welcoming banquet? And, uh, who are these people behind you... why is the third young master of the Liu family here?"

"When there is a grievance, one must hold court."

"But... the flood previously destroyed the Yamen, and several buildings including the main hall collapsed."

"Then move the official desk outside and hold it there. I think this street at the entrance is quite good; the foot traffic is sufficient."

"..."

Before long, an unconventional trial began right outside the Longcheng Yamen on Luming Avenue. Everyone took their places, and the street was soon packed with townspeople who had heard the news.

Ouyang Rong changed into his seventh-rank official robes and took his seat.

"Bring the parties to the court."

County Vice Magistrate Diao, sitting in the second seat, struck the gavel:

"Who stands before the court, and what is the grievance?"

Standing below were Liu Zilin and the Hu dancer named "Yingniang."

The former stood with his hands behind his back, lips curled in disdain, while the latter kept her head bowed, trembling.

For a moment, no one spoke.

"If there is a grievance, state it. If not, the court is dismissed," Diao prepared to wrap things up.

"There is a grievance! There is a grievance!"

Yingniang suddenly threw herself to the ground, but she turned toward Liu Zilin and began kowtowing frantically. "It is not my grievance, but the Third Young Master’s. I had no eyes; I spilled the Third Young Master’s food while carrying the bowl, ruining his mood to feed his hawk. I must apologize to the Third Young Master!"

Liu Zilin kicked her head aside impatiently. "I’m not aggrieved, dammit!"

"You dare say you are not aggrieved?"

Ouyang Rong stood up, grabbed a bag of dead birds from Yan Liulang, and slammed them into Liu Zilin’s face. "In this court, you will kneel for me!"

Diao hurriedly rose to intervene, whispering beside Ouyang Rong, "This is the third young master of the Liu family; perhaps we should let it go."

Ouyang Rong ignored him and nodded to Xie Lingjiang, who had been gripping her sword hilt. She immediately snatched a heavy wooden staff from a timid bailiff and walked down.

Liu Zilin blustered, "What are you doing? Daring to use private torture in a court of law? I’m going to report this to the prefecture!"

Ouyang Rong’s expression remained unchanged as he struck the gavel. "Kneel."

"I won't kneel!" Liu Zilin held his head high. "I am a student of the Prefectural Academy, and at the end of the year, my family is sending me to study at the White Deer Grotto. I am a scholar; I do not need to kneel to officials!"

Xie Lingjiang hesitated and looked back for instructions.

Diao also advised, "Indeed, he cannot be forced to kneel. Perhaps we should postpone the trial..."

Ouyang Rong suddenly laughed.

"Who said anything about him kneeling to an official?"

He pulled a jade pendant from his waist and tossed it onto the table. "What a coincidence, I am also a student of the White Deer Grotto, and my mentor is the Vice Headmaster. My seniority is higher than yours. In the Confucian school, there is a strict order of precedence—kneel down!"

Xie Lingjiang raised an eyebrow, glancing at Ouyang Rong with a hint of admiration, but her staff did not pause; she struck the young thug’s lower leg.

Liu Zilin let out a cry of agony, collapsing to his knees and clutching his leg while howling.

*Hiss.* The blow was so ruthless that the onlookers gasped.

Xie Lingjiang, who had gone to help Yingniang up, felt the gazes of the crowd and seemed a bit embarrassed. After a moment, she added coldly: "At the academy, it is quite normal to break the leg of a disgrace to the school."

The junior sister learned how to justify her actions quite quickly... Ouyang Rong suppressed a smile and struck the gavel again:

"Now that you are kneeling, let us continue the trial. You have three crimes today: First, throwing objects from a height in a busy street, injuring a passerby; second, parading birds in the street, obstructing traffic and frightening the populace; third, acting with arrogance in court, intimidating a woman, and twisting the truth."

Liu Zilin gritted his teeth in defense: "That was the food I ordered; I was delivering food to them, doing a good deed!"

Ouyang Rong grabbed a cup of hot tea from the table and splashed it onto his face. "My tea, I’m giving it to you—I’m also doing a good deed."

The crowd erupted in laughter.

Liu Zilin’s face, covered in tea leaves, turned bright red.

Ouyang Rong’s voice was steady and methodical:

"For the first crime, compensate each of the injured people on the street with ten taels of silver.

"For the second crime, compensate each frightened citizen with ten taels of silver.

"For the third crime... kowtow to her two hundred times, right now."

"She is just a lowly slave who sells herself; the Yuanming Tower belongs to my family, and you want me to kneel to her??" Liu Zilin was incredulous. "Is it just money? I have plenty! I’ll pay whatever you want!"

Ouyang Rong held up two fingers, dead serious: "If you were your eldest brother, she would have to kowtow to you two hundred times. If you were your second brother, she would have to kowtow one hundred times. Unfortunately, you are only the younger brother, so she only needs to kowtow zero times. She has already kowtowed twice; you owe her two hundred."

Yingniang was stunned. "But I only kowtowed twice."

"Even if it’s two, you must return two hundred."

"I... I..."

"Beat him!"

Liu Zilin panicked, wanting to speak, but Xie Lingjiang had already kicked him down in front of Yingniang, and Yan Liulang stepped forward with a staff to begin the flogging. The crowd roared with approval.

"Ouch, wait... wait... I’ll kowtow, I’ll kowtow!"

"You kowtow, she counts. Once you finish kowtowing and pay the silver, get out."

Ouyang Rong tossed a tally stick, stood up, and brushed his sleeves. Amidst the rhythmic sound of kowtowing, he walked to the three steps of the Yamen entrance. Facing the gaze of all the townspeople, he said in a clear, ringing voice:

"I have come to Longcheng to do only one thing:

"Provide disaster relief.

"Control the floods.

"And... bring justice!"