CMWKSD -Chapter 40 She Did It All

The assistant magistrate didn’t immediately take Ji Yiqing’s words at face value.

Instead, he sent people overnight to the place Ji Yiqing had mentioned to recover the bodies of Scar and the others.

They moved in separate teams, with some stationed at the county office to see if the county magistrate was truly in trouble.

Unexpectedly, the news that came back was all good. Not only were Scarface and the others’ bodies recovered, but most of the doctors from several medical halls in Qingshui County were also summoned to the county office in the middle of the night.

What exactly had happened to the county magistrate was unclear, but not a single doctor returned. In fact, the magistrate’s attendants even left the city under the cover of night, heading toward the provincial capital.

The assistant magistrate’s lips curved slightly. He immediately ordered his men to contact General Jiang’s army and had several of his own subordinates guard Qingshui Village, so that when Jiang’s troops arrived, they could pretend to besiege the village.

The next day happened to be a day off, and no news of the county magistrate had leaked.

The assistant magistrate didn’t panic. He merely spread word in the county that the magistrate was idle in his post, oppressing the people, and colluding with the bandits of Qingshui Village.

These weren’t rumors—they were all true.

Without a leader in the county office, the magistrate’s reputation quickly plummeted.

But timing was everything. When the assistant magistrate reached the outskirts of the city and saw the bodies of Scarface and the others, he gave himself a cut on his arm. Then, he loaded the corpses onto a cart and headed into town.

Whenever they passed through the crowds, a few nosy onlookers would ask, and the officers immediately said:

“The assistant magistrate personally helped us besiege Qingshui Village! These are the corpses of those Qingshui Village bandits!”

That single statement caused an uproar among the townspeople, especially the merchants and wealthy households inside the city.

Qingshui Village was on the main route out of the city. Over the past two years, whenever merchants transported goods, they would always pay a hefty “toll” to the village—at first, the bandits took everything, but later the merchants learned to bribe them proactively.

If they didn’t, both their money and goods would be gone. Some merchants had even lost their lives there.

Now that the scum of Qingshui Village were gone, and word spread that the bandits had been colluding with the county magistrate to cheat them out of their money, seeing the assistant magistrate personally defeat the village caused all the townspeople to cheer, calling him a just and righteous official!

His reputation soared overnight among both young and old.

As night fell, General Jiang’s troops completed the siege of Qingshui Village, killing the remaining bandits. Several carts carried away the spoils, though some were left for Qingshui County—a political favor from the assistant magistrate.

No one was ungrateful; when they returned, they mentioned it to General Jiang.

General Jiang then wrote to the imperial capital: the county magistrate was negligent, while the assistant magistrate had defeated the bandits and won the people’s hearts. The Ministry of Personnel could consider this deputy when appointing a new county magistrate.

It was all about timing. By the time the provincial capital received the news, they only knew the county magistrate was “sick.” His sister, Lady Yun, immediately cried and pleaded for doctors to be sent. She thought it was illness, never realizing he had been incapacitated.

The messenger didn’t dare mention that the magistrate had been attacked as retribution for oppressing others. They just assumed that once he recovered, he could resume his duties.

This time gap allowed the assistant magistrate to quickly consolidate power within the county office. With the magistrate bedridden and no new appointments made, the assistant magistrate naturally took the lead.

He never claimed he wanted to become county magistrate; he just handled county affairs meticulously. By the time the provincial authorities realized the magistrate was completely incapacitated, several days had passed, and the assistant magistrate already had the county office fully under his control.

It wouldn’t be easy for the provincial governor to insert someone else. After all, a county magistrate had to hold the degree of juren (provincial scholar). The governor was caught off guard. On top of that, Lady Yun came, tearfully complaining:

“Second Brother, you must help Jiabao! The doctors keep coming in waves, but it’s no use. Our family only has Jiabao!”

The governor frowned. “And what do you propose?”

Lady Yun hesitated briefly, then quickly realized that Qingshui County had become uncontrollable, leaving the governor in a foul mood. Jiabao was now incapacitated, and all sorts of issues had piled up—collusion with bandits, extorting money, oppressing the people.

But she didn’t believe the governor was unaware. After all, at least half of the money had been given to him as “gifts.” Now that Jiabao was out of commission, the governor would likely abandon him and favor his own candidate instead.

Lady Yun quickly assessed the situation, wiped her tears, and gently leaned against the governor’s chest, sobbing softly in a heart-wrenching way:

“I want to see Jiabao and find a couple of doctors skilled in medicine for him.”

The governor frowned, about to scold her, but her voice, even through sobs, carried a compelling gentleness:

“I just want to see how Jiabao is. As long as he can wake up or get better, it’ll be fine.”

The governor paused. Yes, if Jiabao recovered, he could still serve as county magistrate. A strong newcomer couldn’t surpass a local power like him. Jiabao had controlled Qingshui County for years; as long as he recovered, consolidating the county would be much easier than installing a new appointee.

The governor agreed.

…

Jiu Yue looked at the few servants in front of her, puzzled. “So what exactly are you saying?”

The steward bowed: “Our mistress specially requests that you treat our master.”

Jiu Yue had been busy these past days, treating Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian, making her own skincare products, and preparing poisons. She had completely forgotten about the county magistrate. She didn’t expect that the magistrate’s sister would actually send someone for her.

“How did you know I’m skilled in medicine?” Jiu Yue asked curiously. She hadn’t advertised her skills—after all, she still had over a thousand taels of silver and had no need to work.

The steward remained polite, probably instructed beforehand: “Our mistress and Master Wang have some acquaintance. She knows you cured Master Wang’s son.”

Acquaintance? She didn’t even know them personally. All that had happened was that Wang’s son, on the verge of death, had been saved by a miraculous doctor who quickly diagnosed the poisoning—and cured him.

Jiu Yue asked, puzzled, “Your mistress is…?”

“The county magistrate of Qingshui County’s elder sister.”

Jiu Yue’s eyes widened in shock—not fake, but genuine.

The steward was smug, thinking Jiu Yue didn’t realize the importance of the task and would rush to treat the magistrate.

But what shocked Jiu Yue was that the magistrate was now completely powerless—unable to speak, covered in wounds—and it was all her doing!