Chapter Eighty-Eight: Land Deed
Sun Jiali, lowest in rank, stepped forward to announce himself at the gate. “Ahem... I am the magistrate of Chang’an County. I have matters to discuss with the head of the Lin family. Inform them at once.”
The two servants looked at him.
And stood there without moving.
“You’re deaf, are you? Didn’t you hear the county magistrate?” Luo Tong said, his face dark with murder.
It looked as though he might draw his sword at any moment.
And yet...
They still wore those same obnoxious expressions.
One of them barked, “How dare you shout at us like that!”
“Magistrate Sun, is this how the county office conducts itself? You don’t even know the rules!”
Even the Lin family’s servants dared to be so insolent. It was easy to imagine how arrogant the Lin family head, Lin Gao, must usually be.
Rules?
What rules?
“You two blind dogs don’t deserve to talk to me about rules,” Li Zhi swore. “Luo Tong, smash down this gate!”
“Understood!”
Luo Tong had long since grown impatient.
Mere servants of the Lin family dared to be rude in front of them.
Who did they think they were?
Boom!
With overwhelming strength and exceptional skill, Luo Tong struck once and shattered the gate.
“You— you— you... Just you wait! How dare you force your way into the Lin estate!” The two servants tumbled and scrambled off to report.
“Hmph!”
Li Zhi strode in with great swagger, saying with obvious displeasure, “Even Changsun Chong would not be this arrogant! I’d like to see what they can do to me!”
...
Lin Gao was in the manor.
Hearing that someone had come to cause trouble at his door, he flew into a rage. “Who dares make trouble in my Lin estate?”
“Su— Sun Jiali!”
“So it’s the county magistrate... Hmph. We haven’t done anything lately that would leave him with leverage, have we?” Lin Gao thought it over carefully. The Lin family had not done anything unlawful for quite some time, nor had they had any disputes with others. Sun Jiali’s visit at this hour should not be to pick a fight.
“Come, let us see him!” Lin Gao led a group of his men to the reception hall.
When he arrived, he saw Li Zhi seated in the place of honor, one hand resting on a short sword, the other holding a teacup.
Luo Tong stood at his side, eyes full of ferocity.
Behind them stood Sun Jiali, his expression reverent beyond measure. “Your Highness, that is Lin Gao, the head of the Lin family...”
“I have no desire to waste words with him. Tell him this: sell me that district of commoners’ houses. If he refuses, then every case he has ever committed before will be reopened and tried again. And your county office will arrest him at once!”
“Very well!”
With Li Zhi standing behind him, Sun Jiali had nothing to fear.
It was time to reclaim his dignity and teach the Lin family a lesson.
“County Magistrate Sun, why have you come without warning? Is there something you need?” Lin Gao entered from the courtyard. Seeing the scene in the hall, he froze.
Good heavens...
The magistrate of Chang’an County was standing respectfully behind a little boy, his bearing and aura completely transformed from what they had been before. He even seemed full of confidence. Just what sort of person was this child?
“Tell him,” Li Zhi said.
“Yes!”
Sun Jiali slammed the table. “Lin Gao, you are bold indeed. I have visited your residence many times, yet your servants... look down on others and kept me barred outside. Is this your challenge to the county office?”
“Magistrate, you speak unfairly. The gates of the Lin estate are always open to you!”
“Then why was I stopped just now and not allowed in?” Sun Jiali pressed.
“This...”
Lin Gao looked utterly blank. It was the first time he had ever seen Sun Jiali be this serious.
If he had not been wary of the little boy beside him, whose presence was so imposing and whose identity might be extraordinary, he would already have exploded in anger.
“Haha... Since the magistrate has come, and I have not entertained him properly, the fault lies with me. I shall immediately order a banquet to make amends!”
“No need.” Sun Jiali cut straight to the point. “I have come to your estate to purchase, in my own name, the commoners’ housing district in the north city. I wonder whether you are willing?”
“In your own name?”
Lin Gao took a seat, thinking to himself, “No matter what that boy’s identity may be, he cannot simply force the purchase of my land. I have every right to refuse.”
“Forgive me, Magistrate. I will not sell the northern commoners’ district.”
“Is that so?”
That was exactly what Sun Jiali had been waiting to hear.
If Li Zhi were angered, the consequences would be severe.
But he would also regain some face.
Lin Gao... Lin Gao...
You are as good as dead.
“The housing district is my private property. Surely I have the right to dispose of it as I please? Magistrate, do not use your office to force the purchase of my land. Otherwise, my Lin family is not to be provoked!”
There was nothing wrong with those words.
But Li Zhi found them deeply displeasing.
“Hmph.”
“Then I’d very much like to see just how unprovoked the Lin family is!” Li Zhi suddenly stood. “Sun Jiali, has the Lin family ever committed crimes in the past?”
“Yes! More than I can count!”
“Were they punished by the law?”
“Not yet! They were all settled through various connections by the Lin family...”
“Then what are you standing there for? Arrest him at once! Reinvestigate everything! The county office should not let a single thief or petty criminal escape, much less a man of such vile evil!”
...
Two sentences was all it took to leave Lin Gao stunned.
Who exactly was this little boy?
Why did even the magistrate of Chang’an County obey him without question?
“There is no need for the magistrate to act. I’ll do it myself!” Luo Tong said, rising with killing intent as he stepped forward.
Frantic with fear, Lin Gao stumbled backward.
“You— you...”
He hurriedly clasped his hands and said, “May I ask, Magistrate, who are these two gentlemen?”
“You are not yet qualified to know!”
Clang!
Luo Tong drew his sword and pressed it against Lin Gao’s throat. “A mere lapdog of the Su family dares to be this insolent! Today I’ll show you whether the Chang’an County office is so easy to bully!”
“Don’t, don’t...”
Terrified out of his wits, Lin Gao forced out a smile. “My lords, it is I who have not served you properly. Please forgive me. As for the northern commoners’ district, I had long intended to sell it anyway. Since the magistrate desires it, I shall present it to him— I would not dare take a single coin!”
“Is that true?” Sun Jiali asked excitedly.
“True, true...”
Already scared senseless, how could he dare resist?
The northern commoners’ district was neither here nor there to him.
Compared with his life, it amounted to nothing.
Li Zhi snorted. “You do know how to read the situation. But today... I simply feel like making trouble for you. Luo Tong, take him!”
“Understood!”
With one hand on his sword, Luo Tong seized him and dragged him away.
No matter how Lin Gao begged for mercy, it was useless.
The county magistrate, Sun Jiali, murmured from the side, “Your Highness, do you truly intend to punish him?”
“And why not?”
Sun Jiali thought it over before replying, “With Your Highness’s status, there is certainly no issue in punishing the Lin family. Moreover, he deserves it and cannot blame anyone else. But Your Highness must not forget that Su Dingfang stands behind him. Su Dingfang followed Li Jing in battle and has earned many military merits in recent years. Even the Emperor is very pleased with him. If he appeals to the imperial study...”
“What is there to fear?”
Even if the matter reached Emperor Taizong, Li Zhi had his own answer.
He had no fear of Su Dingfang either.
In the end, it was Lin Gao who had committed the crime and deserved punishment.
“Take him away.”
“Yes!”
Amid Lin Gao’s cries for mercy, Luo Tong escorted him out of the Lin estate.
“The northern commoners’ district has a harsh environment, unsuitable for people to live in. I want to use it to build a brewery. Find a way to get me the deeds to that land,” Li Zhi said.