RPAGF Chapter 96 Zhongmei's Test
Chapter 96 Zhongmei's Test
I originally thought it was just a conflict between the two of them, which wasn't surprising given Zhongmei's personality.
Li Chong was surprised that Cui Shi dared to make such a frivolous gesture, which he found intolerable.
Zhong Mei was still furious: "I don't know where that kid got the guts. He's changed his personality all of a sudden. I've never seen him so bold before. If I hadn't reacted quickly today, who knows what else he might have said."
"Are all the servants in wealthy households like this?"
Zhong Mei looked at Li Chong with some doubt in her eyes.
Now that she knows Li Chong's true identity, she naturally knows Cui Shi's background, except that Cui Shi doesn't know her.
Choi Si's audacity made Zhong Mei feel somewhat disdainful.
Li Chong's face darkened and he shook his head: "That's not necessarily true. It's just that this kid has something to rely on, so naturally he's become bolder."
After thinking for a moment, Li Chong gradually figured out the reason for Cui Shi's change.
After the bandits were eliminated, no one could expose Li Chong's identity for a while. Cui Shi, who was previously uneasy, now seemed to have been freed from his shackles.
As we all know, human emotions are like springs; the longer they are suppressed, the stronger they tend to rebound.
Once his spirits were broken, Cui Shi naturally became arrogant.
When he spoke to Li Chong earlier, he did so in a somewhat instructive tone, telling Li Chong to kick Zhong Mei out.
He would never have said such things before.
"Rely on?" Zhongmei glanced at Li Chong's expression, seemingly understanding something.
He picked up his teacup, took a sip, his brows furrowing, and his voice turned cold: "He knows who you are. If he goes out and talks nonsense, we'll both be in trouble. Why don't we just kill him? If you can't do it, I'll do it, and that'll be the end of it!"
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
A moment later, Li Chong raised his hand.
"Snapped!"
Li Chong slapped Zhong Mei on the forehead and said irritably, "Where did you learn this from? I knew I shouldn't have let you kill Deng Meng. A girl killing people so easily, and your murderous aura is getting stronger and stronger, what kind of behavior is this!"
Zhong Mei touched the spot where she had been hit, then looked up at him: "I'm serious, aren't you worried?"
To say I'm not worried would be a lie.
Given Choi Si's appearance, now that she's freed from her constraints, who knows how many tricks she'll pull off.
But since it was because of him that Li Chong had this opportunity, it wouldn't be good to turn against him now.
Moreover, it didn't come to the point of killing someone to cover it up.
Li Chong shook his head: "That kid knows what's important. We did this together, and we both deserve to die for committing a crime. He won't tell anyone. Can you be a little more ladylike in the future? Stop thinking about fighting all the time. This is a government office."
Zhong Mei pouted and said, "I was only doing that for your own good."
Turning her head away from Li Chong's gaze, Zhong Mei revealed a slight smile.
Li Chong couldn't bring himself to harm Cui Shi, which reassured Zhong Mei considerably.
With me by his side, Li Chong probably won't deal with his two uncles and brothers in the mountains. What he said before should be true.
After testing Li Chong's attitude, Zhong Mei trusted Li Chong more.
"If it's for my own good, then you should behave yourself from now on and help me keep those people in the mountains in check. That would be helping me out."
"Hmm." Zhong Mei nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke again, "You really don't want to resolve this hidden danger?"
She was testing the waters earlier, but now she genuinely wants to help.
Li Chong expressed his resistance to being silenced, which made Zhong Mei even more eager to help. No matter what, Cui Shi was a potential threat, and if Li Chong got into trouble, she would suffer the same fate.
The next magistrate of Yanggu County may not necessarily show them any mercy.
Li Chong was silent for a moment, then shook his head with a slightly melancholy look: "Forget it, let's leave it at that for now. He has indeed helped me a lot, so I'll just support him as long as he doesn't cause any trouble. It's not a big deal to have another person to feed."
"As for what happens in the future, we'll talk about that later."
Zhong Mei fell silent. Since Li Chong had said so, then that was the only option.
After a moment, she spoke again: "The situation in the mountains..."
"Knock knock knock!"
There was a knock on the door, and Siqi said cautiously, "Master, there is a clerk named Sun outside who wants to see you. You instructed us to inform him immediately if he comes."
Seeing Zhong Mei sitting casually around the table with Li Chong, Si Qi's expression was very strange.
Li Chong stood up and waved his hand: "We'll talk about your matter later. You two help me tidy up the house. It's been a few days since I've been back, and it's got a bit dusty."
Zhong Mei shut his mouth at the right moment, stood up and agreed.
Sun Jun has arrived, and Li Chong wants to ask him many questions. It seems that all the doubts from before can now be resolved.
As Li Chong stepped outside, he heard two girls talking inside the house.
Siqi lowered her voice and said, "Baoqin, even if Master has taken a liking to you, you shouldn't be so bold. Sitting with Master, aren't you afraid...?"
Shaking his head and smiling, Li Chong continued walking out, leaving Zhong Mei to deal with other people's kindness on her own.
Upon arriving in the living room, Sun Jun was already waiting there. As soon as Li Chong appeared, he immediately got up and went forward.
"Greetings, County Magistrate."
Upon hearing the sound, Sun Jun knelt down and performed a deep bow.
Li Chong stepped forward to help him up: "What happened to Clerk Sun?"
Sun Jun, tears streaming down his face, looked up at Li Chong and said, "If it weren't for Your Excellency's leniency, I wouldn't be a clerk in this position. I will never forget Your Excellency's life-saving grace. Now that I think about it, I had previously tried every means to harm Your Excellency; I was truly worse than a pig or a dog!"
As he spoke, he raised his hand and slapped himself in the face.
Li Chong quickly stopped him and persuaded him to sit down. Once Sun Jun had calmed down a bit, Li Chong asked, "Since you say so, then I want to hear how you plotted against me back then."
Sun Jun looked guilty and directly revealed his and Yang Chengde's entire scheme.
Before the bandit suppression, Sun Jun offered to help Li Chong forge weapons. In reality, those weapons were all defective products; they looked shiny but were not.
As for the issue of leaking Li Chong's advance route, Sun Jun was even more regretful.
"That letter was written by me personally, but I never expected that the man surnamed Yang wouldn't destroy it. Instead, he's trying to turn around and bite me. He's truly despicable!"
Li Chong nodded slightly: "You failed to stop me from suppressing the bandits, so he was angry and naturally wanted to vent his anger on someone."
Sun Jun looked full of regret and repeatedly said that he deserved to die.
"Enough, enough." Li Chong waved his hand. "Things have come to this point, and I suppose you've seen through that person's true colors. If it weren't for the fact that you hesitated several times during my bandit suppression, showing that your conscience wasn't completely dead, I wouldn't have been able to save you."
"The magistrate is so magnanimous that I, a lowly person, have nowhere to hide my shame," Sun Jun sighed.
Li Chong gently comforted him, "From now on, you will work by my side. I'll need you to take good care of the summer tax matters."
Sun Jun clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I will certainly do my best to fulfill my duties without hesitation!"