PFC Chapter 34 Overconfident
Chapter 34 Overconfident
Baoqin's clumsy and impulsive manner reminded Li Chong of modern times.
This girl is a bit too lively.
"Could this really be someone raised in a humble family?" Watching the two leave, Li Chong grew suspicious. "But if Zhu Zhicheng had some kind of scheme, he wouldn't send someone like this, would he?"
Li Chong shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
These two girls are unlikely to cause any major trouble. Li Chong only took them in because he wanted someone to help tidy up the house.
Cui Shi and his yamen runners were indeed rather rough in their work.
As for tearing up their indentures and giving them their freedom, Li Chong wasn't that naive.
If they were given the choice, they would most likely choose to work for Li Chong.
Given the circumstances of ancient times, and considering their appearance, releasing them would undoubtedly be tantamount to harming them.
"Let's talk about it later."
Li Chong casually wiped the table, placed Wu Song's case file on it, and continued to study it, trying to figure out how to get Wu Song out of the prison and then recruit him to his service.
……
"Hmph hmph hmph~~~"
As dusk settled, Cui Shi, his face flushed, staggered towards the yamen, humming an off-key tune.
Choi Si-sik feels incredibly comfortable with her current life.
In the past, although he was also a close associate of Li Chong and people in the government office treated him with respect, he was still under someone's control, so Cui Shi didn't dare to be too presumptuous.
But things are different now. Cui Shi verbally agrees to Li Chong's instructions, but he doesn't listen to them at all.
As the magistrate's confidant, he acted like a rising star in the government, surrounded by friends, drinking and eating meat with great pleasure.
This is much more pleasant than the previous administration.
"Speaking of which, wouldn't I have been more comfortable being the magistrate myself?"
A thought flashed through Cui Shi's mind, and she subconsciously raised her hand to touch her cheek.
Before he could finish enjoying himself, he heard Li Chong's voice, which was filled with suppressed anger.
"Where have you been drinking so drunk again? Have you forgotten what I told you? Get over here!"
Choi Si opened her eyes and saw that it was Lee Chong.
He grinned: "Hey, why are you taking it so seriously? I'm just busy..."
"Snapped!"
Li Chong slapped him across the face, which immediately sobered Cui Shi up considerably.
"You bastard, what nonsense are you spouting?"
Choi Sil covered her face and glared angrily: "You hit me? Let me tell you..."
Suddenly noticing Siqi and Baoqin behind Li Chong, his muddled mind finally realized that there were outsiders present.
Fortunately, he was aware that if Li Chong's identity were exposed, he would also be implicated.
Cui Shi quickly lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "Please forgive me, sir. I had some wine and became a little confused."
He admitted his mistake, but his lowered eyes still betrayed his resentment.
Why did this imposter yell at me and even dare to slap me?
If it weren't for him, would he be so successful today? Where would a penniless debt collector find two beautiful women willing to offer themselves to him?
How could Choi Si, who believed he had done Li Chong a favor, be convinced of this?
Li Chong was naturally unaware of his inner thoughts.
Seeing that he had calmed down a bit and realized he shouldn't have spoken so rudely, Li Chong's anger subsided slightly.
"Come in with me, I have something to tell you." Li Chong turned around and said to the other two, "You two should also get some rest early, we'll talk about the furniture tomorrow."
Baoqin was watching the commotion with her arms crossed when she saw Cui Shi being beaten. She laughed gleefully, completely unaware of what Li Chong had said.
It was Siqi who pulled her back, and Baoqin finally realized what was happening and lowered her head.
Li Chong glanced at Baoqin again, then shook his head: "Let's go back."
Cui Shi silently followed Li Chong, and the two entered the house.
As soon as the door closed, Cui Shi immediately raised his head: "Hey, Li, what did you mean just now?"
"What do I mean? What do you think I mean?"
Li Chong, sitting in his chair, retorted without any politeness: "There were outsiders here just now. If I hadn't slapped you, would you have gotten too cocky again? What if our identities were exposed, and we were dragged to the execution ground and beheaded in the street, without even a proper corpse to be found? Let's see how you drink then!"
Raising her hand to touch her neck, Choi Si-sil's attitude softened somewhat: "Then tell me properly..."
"Speak properly?" Li Chong looked at him with disdain. "You're so drunk, do you think you'd listen to me if I spoke properly? Besides, didn't I tell you? Don't drink! Don't drink! If you say something inappropriate while drunk, you can forget about drinking for the rest of your life."
Cui Shi's attitude completely relaxed, and he muttered, "Isn't this someone else's invitation, and I can't refuse?"
Shaking his head helplessly, Li Chong didn't bother to say anything more: "Tomorrow, when you're sober, go find the prison warden, you know, what's his name again..."
"Zhang Da," Cui Shi reminded him, "we've had drinks together before."
"You certainly have a wide circle of friends," Li Chong said, glancing at him sideways.
Cui Shi was always eating, drinking, and having fun. People gave him face because he was a close confidant of the county magistrate, and he ended up having many friends in the government office.
He scratched his head: "Hehe, I was just thinking of finding out what's going on in the government office so we can prepare in advance."
"snort!"
Li Chong snorted coldly. Him? What could he possibly find out?
"Perfect timing. Since you know him, invite him out for a chat. Find out more about the situation in the prison, especially the prisoners' conditions. Come back and tell me what you've found out."
Cui Shi walked over and sat down curiously: "Why are you asking about all this? You're making me more and more confused. One minute you're talking about suppressing bandits, the next you're talking about fundraising, and now you want to know about things in prison. What exactly are you trying to do?"
"You said those bandits knew our weaknesses and wanted to silence us immediately. But you've been the county magistrate for so long, and there's still no sign of them. Aren't you getting worried?"
"Now you're getting anxious?" Li Chong sneered. "Why didn't you think of these things when we were drinking? I had my reasons for asking you to inquire; just do as I say. As for the bandit suppression, it's already being arranged, and we'll be able to take action soon."
Cui Shi nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Of course, that wasn't actually his purpose in asking the question.
Choi Si dragged his chair closer, rubbing his fingers together: "Well, since you're inviting people out for drinks, shouldn't you be... paying for this?"
Li Chong shook his head helplessly: "Just tell them I ordered them to go to the warehouse and get a few strings of cash for tomorrow. Don't forget to get information out of them."
"Alright!" Choi Sil stood up with a smile. "If there's nothing else, I'm going back to sleep."
Choi Si was clearly very happy to have a new title that would bring him some money.
But Li Chong wasn't in such a good mood. He was only worried and hoped that the kid wouldn't mess things up.
Li Chong got up and walked to his bed, falling into a deep sleep with a belly full of worries.