Lv Bai was beaten so badly that he couldn’t stop screaming and crying as he asked, "Wuwuwu, I’ve already agreed to the hero’s terms, why is the hero still punching and kicking ?"
You An: "This is gang rules. For those who can’t imdiately hand over silver, we must give them a beating to show our strength; otherwise, wouldn’t it tarnish the reputation of Hu Wang Gang?"
This was ordered by the boss’s brother-in-law, they had no choice but to comply, otherwise they’d face trouble upon returning. Just endure it and let us give you a beating.
Bang bang bang!
You An punched and kicked Lv Bai until even his own mother wouldn’t recognize him, then stopped and took off one of Lv Bai’s shoes, saying, "Alright, hurry and leave. Make sure to have the silver ready in five days. We’ll co to your place to get the silver on the evening of the fifth day. We’ll keep this shoe, and if you dare default on the debt, we’ll take the shoe to Shenghe Building and tell the storytellers you’re an Immortal Lord. Let them spread the word!"
Lv Bai cried so hard he could barely speak, laying on the ground and saying, "I’m not an Immortal Lord."
You An tutted and felt a bit impressed by Lv Bai, thinking his brain was quite stubborn; clearly, the Immortal Lord threat was aid at him.
"As long as you prepare the silver on ti, we’ll return this shoe to you and won’t spread rumors about you being an Immortal Lord to the storyteller."
You Er’an urged, "Brother, hurry and let him leave, don’t waste ti with him. Acting all womanly, isn’t an Immortal Lord? We should just sell him to Jiangnan as an Immortal Lord; looking at him, he could at least fetch thirty taels, far more than ten taels of silver."
You An acted as if he suddenly understood, saying, "Second brother is right, why not just sell him to Jiangnan?"
Lv Bai, hearing this, feared actually being sold as an Immortal Lord, and ran off rolling and crawling.
He dashed out to the governnt office gate, shouting loudly, "I’m from the streets; my family is a small vendor. I’m from the streets; my family is a small vendor!!"
The shout was as thunderous as a storm, startling Yao Youqian, who looked at Lv Bai, saw he was covered in injuries, and hurriedly asked, "You, were you beaten up?"
Lv Bai heard this, looked at Yao Youqian, and suddenly found his childhood friend especially lovable, cried even more, saying, "Moneybags, I was wrong, I should have listened to you from the start, wuwuwu..."
If he had listened to Yao Youqian and fulfilled the bet here from the start, he wouldn’t have been robbed, and wouldn’t have faced such humiliation.
After crying, he continued shouting, "I’m from the streets; my family is a small vendor!"
The shout was loud and unashad, scaring Yao Youqian, who asked cautiously, "Miss Lv, have you...gone mad?"
He must be mad!
Oh no, being mad is a serious condition, how much silver would it cost to treat? Lv Family is very poor, and they owe debts.
Even worse, they owe money to his family, a total of six taels and three hundred coins; if Lv Bai goes mad, Lv Family definitely won’t be able to repay, and might have to borrow more for treatnt, and his family would suffer great losses.
Lv Bai, after being beaten, finally realized the goodness of Yao Youqian, took a mont to reply, "I’m not mad...I’m from the streets; my family is a small vendor!"
Lv Bai frowned tightly, couldn’t believe Lv Bai’s stubborn mind suddenly changed, really thought he went mad, stood by without daring to move.
Lv Bai’s shout also attracted many curious onlookers, and the group of rich kids, upon hearing the commotion, ca back to watch the scene, further humiliating Lv Bai: "Yo, Lv Bai, have you figured it out? Not afraid of losing face? Hurry up and stop shouting; if you keep shouting, you’ll really lose all your face."
"Master Tongsheng, aren’t you embarrassed?"
"A dignified Tongsheng doing such a disgraceful thing, it’s truly shaful!"
Soone also threatened, "Stop shouting, if you dare keep shouting and sha us scholars, we’ll jointly file a complaint against you, letting Lord Magistrate revoke your Tongsheng qualification!"
These people cursed in many unpleasant ways, but Lv Bai acted as if he couldn’t hear, only repeatedly shouting, "I’m from the streets; my family is a small vendor!"
These rich kids were extrely angry seeing Lv Bai seed to surrender to Gu Jin’an, they imdiately entered the governnt office to file a complaint against Lv Bai.
Squad Leader Ma reported the situation to Lord Magistrate, and Magistrate Gu frowned and said, "Accusing Lv Bai of making a commotion at the governnt gate, disgracing scholars? Want to revoke Lv Bai’s Tongsheng qualification? Such nonsense; chase them out, today is a good day, don’t co causing trouble for ."
"Yes," Squad Leader Ma responded, taking orders.
Elder Tang, nearby, asked, "Sir, how do we handle Lv Bai? Just let him shout at the governnt gate? But it may damage the governnt office’s dignity."
Magistrate Gu said, "Jiangnan treasures literary style, besides noble families, we must also consider the scholars; those mad scholars love such unique actions. Moreover, that Lv Bai dares to put aside his face and fulfill his bet, can be seen as heroic, and praised by scholars; if the governnt shows leniency now, perhaps I can gain good reputation in Jiangnan."
Elder Tang, knowing Magistrate Gu aid to make a na in Jiangnan, thought it made sense, nodded and said, "Sir’s words are very true; I’ll make sure to handle this matter perfectly."
Since Magistrate Gu wanted to use Lv Bai’s incident to earn himself a good reputation, he needed to do more to enhance this reputation.
Magistrate Gu nodded with satisfaction, "Well, I’ll leave it to Elder Tang."
...
The rich kids who filed complaints against Lv Bai ended up failing and were beaten out of the governnt office by governnt officials. Later, a steward nad Tang ca out, pointing at them and scolded, "Lv Bai is at the governnt gate, not your doorstep; Lord Magistrate hasn’t spoken yet, is it your place to act arrogantly here?"
He continued, "Lord Magistrate said, Lv Bai may have erred, but he dares to bet and admit defeat, has the courage to fulfill the bet here, better than you idlers who only file private complaints."
With these words, onlookers praised, "Lord Magistrate is indeed our parental official, look at these words, truly hits the spot."
"Lord Magistrate is a good official."
In short, many praised Magistrate Gu.
And in the mule cart in the distance, Brother Cheng was stunned, asked his eldest brother, "Big brother, what did you do? Couldn’t have just ssed up Lv Bai’s brain?"
Definitely more than just a beating, brother must have done sothing else; otherwise, given Lv Bai’s stubbornness, it’s impossible to change his nature in less than three quarters of an hour.
Gu Jin’an looked at Brother Cheng and smiled slightly...
Brother Cheng shivered, rubbed his arms and said, "Big brother, don’t smile like that, it’s scary, gives goosebumps."
Gu Jin’an’s smile remained, answering him, "Indeed, I did sothing else."
Brother Cheng often followed Gu Jinli’s lead, heard many gossip with Gu Jinli. Upon hearing this, his eyes sparkled, asked with a face full of curiosity, "What did you do?"
Co on, spill, very curious.
Gu Jin’an did not imdiately reveal the answer to Brother Cheng, instead took the opportunity to teach him, "What do you think would make a person who deeply cares about face completely abandon it and undergo transformation in a crisis? I’ll give you three days; figure it out and you’ll get half off your evening howork."
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