Chapter 280: Poking the Heavens

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Poking the Heavens

Finding Ji Liantang was not a motivator, but the thought of getting money—money that would go straight into their own pockets—was another story entirely. Their enthusiasm soared.

Mrs. Zhu and Ji Lianhuai shut the door and plotted for a while. Without even stopping to eat, they went to Mrs. Zhu’s family home to find reinforcements.

Their original plan was to ask the first branch of the family for help. After all, it was a Ji family matter, and they couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

But then they remembered that branch only had two men—one old and one disabled. They wouldn’t be much help in a fight and would just be a burden.

Besides, if they did get the money back, what if the first branch wanted a cut?

No matter how they looked at it, it just wasn’t worth it, so they dropped the idea.

As for why they didn’t get help from the village, Ji Qingshan was afraid of making an even bigger scene. The Ji family had already lost all the face it had to lose.

Although Mrs. Zhu’s family was poor, she had four or five brothers and more than a dozen nephews. All her nephews had grown into strapping young men. The moment they heard they were going to back up their aunt, they rounded up their buddies. Some grabbed carrying poles, others shouldered shovels, and they all stormed off to town.

Seeing the size and strength of her posse, Mrs. Zhu completely forgot Ji Qingshan’s advice to be polite before resorting to force. She barged into the academy and cornered Mr. Tan right in the middle of his lecture.

Her booming voice didn’t hold back in the slightest. Her shouts of "Pay up!" were loud enough to shake the mountains and rivers, the echoes ringing through the halls.

The students were first struck dumb, then the entire room erupted into a clamor.

Mr. Tan’s face turned beet red. Naturally, he refused to admit anything in front of his students.

But what chance did a scholar have against a shrew?

Besides, Mrs. Zhu was shamelessly thick-skinned and had no concept of disgrace. She threw a tantrum right there in the classroom, screaming, crying, and slapping her thighs. The commotion was so great it attracted people from half the academy.

Soon, the Headmaster was alerted.

Bailu Academy had been obscure for years, but it had suddenly produced three Scholars. While one couldn’t say it was renowned throughout the Northern Pass, it had at least become thoroughly famous in Yeyang.

As a result, the academy had been exceptionally busy lately. The town’s streets were even congested with the carriages of families wanting to enroll their children.

In addition to young children of the right age, there were also older students who had studied elsewhere for years without success and were willing to pay a hefty sum to transfer in.

They came not only from the local town but from other towns as well, and even from the county seat.

Bailu Academy, long accustomed to poverty, had never experienced such a boom. Though everyone was running around in circles, their hearts were filled with pride.

They never expected such a humiliating incident to occur at this critical juncture.

The Headmaster personally came to investigate, but some things just can’t be covered up.

However, Mr. Tan would only admit to receiving ten taels from Ji Liantang; he claimed he had never seen the other twenty. Furthermore, he insisted that the ten taels were spent on legitimate expenses, which Ji Liantang was well aware of, so there was absolutely no reason to return the money.

Seeing him swear on his life but refuse to return the money, Ji Lianhuai wasted no more words. He simply had his men tie Mr. Tan up and carry him out of the academy.

It’s at critical moments that you see what people really think of someone.

Mr. Tan wasn’t very knowledgeable. He usually relied on his elder brother, a county school teacher, to run rampant through the academy. Quite a few people were displeased with him.

The Headmaster was chief among them.

Who would want to see the academy they had painstakingly built be ruined by someone who got in through connections? He had long been unable to tolerate this rotten apple.

Since the Headmaster didn’t intervene, the other teachers were happy to look the other way.

Shockingly, not a single one of Mr. Tan’s students stepped forward to stop them. A person without integrity was not fit to be their teacher.

For once, Ji Lianhuai had a clever idea. He grudgingly paid for several mule carts, and with Mr. Tan still tied up, went straight to the Yeyang County School.

When they were stopped at the gate, he wasn’t intimidated. He asked for Teacher Tan by name.

As luck would have it, not only was Teacher Tan present that day, but Academic Administrator Fang and County Magistrate Pan were there as well. They seemed to be discussing some sort of examination when they stumbled upon this scene.

Teacher Tan instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

He was all too aware of his younger brother’s character. It was precisely because he feared his brother would ruin things for him that he had arranged a position for him at a town academy, ensuring there were profits to be skimmed while also making it easy to suppress any trouble that might arise.

But now this trouble had exploded right in front of his two superiors. How could he possibly suppress it?

He’d be lucky to save his own skin!

Academic Administrator Fang and County Magistrate Pan’s expressions grew darker and darker.

When Ji Lianhuai and his group realized who they had confronted, their legs turned to jelly. They didn’t dare cause any more trouble.

Fortunately, County Magistrate Pan didn’t make things difficult for them. He simply had the government officials take Teacher Tan and Mr. Tan away.

Ji Lianhuai and Mrs. Zhu returned home, drenched in cold sweat. Once the shock wore off, they were filled with endless regret.

Teacher Tan and Mr. Tan had been taken away, so who were they supposed to get the money from now?

Ji Qingshan knew the money was never coming back; he had just wanted to trick his third son and daughter-in-law into finding his fourth son. He never imagined they would blow things up to this extent.

A county school teacher being arrested right at the school’s gate was tantamount to causing a catastrophe.

Now, not only the Tan brothers but the Ji family had also made a name for themselves.

This was especially true for Ji Liantang. His name was now registered with the County Magistrate. Whoever took over the county school in the future would surely not forget him.

Making an impression should have been a good thing, but Ji Liantang’s impression was tied to bribing a teacher!

After this, who would dare to associate with him?

Moreover, even in front of the County Magistrate, Mr. Tan hadn’t changed his story. He stuck to his claim of only receiving ten taels from Ji Liantang.

So where did the other twenty taels go?

The more Ji Qingshan thought about it, the tighter his chest felt, and waves of dizziness washed over him.

’No, I can’t collapse yet. Fourth Brother still hasn’t been found...’

That was the most worrying part.

Even after such a huge commotion, there was still no news of his fourth son. Where on earth had he gone?

This question didn’t trouble him for long, because Ji Liantang returned after dark that very day.

He was carried back.

It was the exact same scene as when Ji Huan had been carried back.

The person on the stretcher was black and blue, his face bruised and swollen. He lay there groaning incessantly, crying for his mother and whimpering in pain.

"My fourth son!"

One look was all it took for Granny Kang to feel her heart break. She lunged forward, but there wasn’t a single spot on his body she could touch—he was covered in injuries.

She whirled around and grabbed the young scholars who had brought Ji Liantang home.

"Who beat my fourth son like this? I’ll kill them! Who was it? Was it you? Was it you?"

The young men looked at each other, an expression of unspeakable bitterness on their faces.

Ji Qingshan tore his pained gaze away from his youngest son’s face and said kindly, "Just tell us the truth. We won’t blame you. In fact, we should be thanking you for bringing our fourth son back."

Hearing this, one of them hesitated before speaking up.

"Th-Then I’ll talk... Uncle Ji, please don’t be angry when you hear this. Don’t fly into a rage..."

Ji Qingshan’s eyelid twitched. He suppressed the unease that suddenly rose in his heart. "Go on. I won’t get angry."

The young man slowly began his account, and just as slowly, he finished.

The young scholar observed the expressions of everyone in the room, especially Ji Qingshan. Seeing that he showed no sign of anger, the scholar breathed a sigh of relief, yet at the same time, he found it rather strange.

’He’s not even angry about this? No wonder Ji Liantang is so lawless outside.’

"Thank you, everyone. It’s late, so I won’t keep you for a meal."

Ji Qingshan was very polite, even having Ji Lianhuai escort the young men to the village entrance.

When Ji Lianhuai returned, the atmosphere in the main hall had become utterly chilling.

Mrs. Zhu now had some serious leverage. She had wanted to seize the opportunity to make a few sarcastic remarks and pave the way for her own son’s future, but for some reason, she didn’t dare open her mouth.

Leaning against the door, Ji Qingshan fumbled behind it for a moment before pulling out a wooden club as thick as his wrist.

He carried the club, panting heavily, and dragged his feet step by step toward the stretcher.

Granny Kang’s sobs trailed off. "Husband, what... what are you doing?"

Ji Qingshan ignored Granny Kang, his eyes fixed on the unconscious Ji Liantang.

Just as everyone let their guard down, thinking he was only using the club as a walking stick, Ji Qingshan suddenly swung it and brought it down viciously on Ji Liantang.

"I’ll beat you to death, you animal!"