That person struggled desperately, mumbling some unclear words to argue.
"You're talking nonsense. You took advantage of my drunkenness to force me to press my handprint on the contract to sell myself. I'm going to report this to the magistrate to arbitrate fairly for me."
If that person didn't have disheveled hair, He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye wouldn't have recognized him. But when he started talking, his voice was quite familiar.
The two looked at each other.
"Is it Hu Cong?" He Zhiran wanted to confirm his guess.
Mo Jiuye nodded, "It's him."
According to reason, Mo Jiuye was not the kind of person who liked to meddle in other people's business. But he quite approved of Hu Cong's character, especially since he and the Mo Family were fellow sufferers.
Meeting this kind of thing on the street, he would intervene no matter what.
Mo Jiuye sent his wife to a place a little further away from the crowd, then stepped in front of the two thugs.
"Stop it."
At his shout, the two thugs who were still swaggering there were stunned on the spot.
However, they quickly reacted. After carefully looking over the person blocking their way, he was just a handsome farmer. The two didn't take him seriously at all.
The thug with slightly darker skin impatiently whipped at Mo Jiuye.
"Get lost. Don't meddle in other people's business here."
He thought a whip would be enough to frighten away the blocker. But when he swung his whip, it was grabbed by the opponent.
What's more, Mo Jiuye used a little force and sent the thug flying to the side of the road along with the whip.
This action caused the onlookers to exclaim involuntarily.
Ordinary people had seen people being beaten at most like what those two thugs did to Hu Cong. Where had they seen someone able to swing another person away just by grabbing his whip?
Stunned for a moment, the crowd was completely agitated.
Some even cheered in a low voice, "Well played!" It showed how unpopular those thugs were.
Mo Jiuye paid no attention to the spectators' discussion and strode towards Hu Cong.
The remaining thug still held Hu Cong by the hair. Seeing Mo Jiuye coming over, he was so scared that he didn't even think to let go and run away. He was lifted aside by Mo Jiuye like a little chicken.
As Hu Cong's body relaxed, he slumped to the ground instantly. But he didn't forget to look at his lifesaver's appearance.
"Master Mo the Ninth?"
"It's me. Elder Hu, why were you bullied by these people?" Mo Jiuye asked.
When asked, Hu Cong was obviously a little angry. He pointed at those two thugs, "They are from the pier shipping firm. A few days ago, I went there to help people repair ships. They said I snatched their business and had to hand over the silver I earned.
I didn't agree, so they sent people to burn down my house, then forced me to sign a contract to sell myself so that I could only repair ships for their shipping firm in the future.
I took the opportunity to escape when they were not paying attention and was going to report this to the authorities. But I was caught by them on the way..."
The thug who was thrown away by Mo Jiuye just now walked back with his whole body in pain. Although he was a little afraid of Mo Jiuye, he was still aggressive towards Hu Cong.
"Hu Cong, don't forget your status. Your contract is now in our hands. If you don't know the right thing to do, beware of suffering."
After speaking, he looked at Mo Jiuye again. His attitude was completely different from how he treated Hu Cong.
"And... and you, I advise you not to meddle too much. Be careful or Master Liu will make sure you can't stay in Yuncheng."
Facing such a bluffer, Mo Jiuye didn't even bother to give him a glance.
"Big talker." Mo Jiuye said as he had already helped Hu Cong up.
Although he didn't take those two thugs seriously, it was still best to let the government resolve this kind of thing.
"Elder Hu, let's go to the government now."
Relying on Mo Jiuye's support, Hu Cong got up with difficulty and followed him, preparing to leave.
Seeing this, the two thugs nervously stood in front of Mo Jiuye.
"We have his contract in our hands. If you forcibly take him away, we can also report this to the authorities."
Mo Jiuye glanced obliquely at them, restraining his urge to hit them, "Then you report to your official and I report to mine."
The two thugs had already experienced Mo Jiuye's prowess. Seeing that he was taking the man away just like that, they didn't dare to stop him. After exchanging glances, they fled towards the pier quickly.
Mo Jiuye supported Hu Cong to He Zhiran. He let He Zhiran sit in the carriage while he supported Hu Cong and sat outside with him. The carriage slowly drove towards the county government.
Recently, Meng Huaining hadn't been to the Mo Family. He was just troubled by the matter of Yuncheng Shipping Firm.
He had been secretly sending people to investigate evidence of the shipping firm's illegal activities. Today, he finally got some clues. He was about to take action to arrest the bosses of the shipping firm in one fell swoop.
At this moment, an officer came to report that someone was staging a protest at the entrance by beating drums and shouting grievances.
Meng Huaining was a diligent and caring official. Even if he was busy with things at hand, he would not delay justice for the common people.
Thanks to his integrity and diligence, the lives of Yuncheng commoners were getting better day by day. Obviously, those kinds of bullying men and women had almost disappeared.
His yamen had also become peaceful for a period of time.
Earlier, during the New Year, he had received a letter from his family strongly approving his intention to marry the young lady from the Mo Family. If it wasn't for the tricky matter of the shipping firm, he would have wanted to hang out at the Mo Family long ago to become familiar with Mo Hanying.
Meng Huaining brought several officers to the lobby. Unexpectedly, the one staging the protest turned out to be the Mo Jiuye couple. As for the one accompanying them, he didn't know him.
Seeing his future brother-in-law, Meng Huaining couldn't stay still.
He didn't care too much about the rules, and hurried out from behind his desk.
"Brother Mo the Ninth, Sister-in-Law, what happened?"
Looking at this scene, Hu Cong kept cursing inwardly.
In his many years as an official in the imperial capital, he had watched and participated in hearings in court halls. This was the first time he saw an official take the initiative to come out and ask questions. Even if they were acquaintances, it shouldn't be so exciting...
The Mo Jiuye couple were familiar with Meng Huaining so they didn't think too much about it.
Mo Jiuye pointed to Hu Cong beside him, "This is Hu Cong, the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Public Works who, like the Mo Family, was exiled here. He has a grievance to complain."
Only then did Meng Huaining carefully look over Hu Cong.
Hu Cong's wretched state at the moment couldn't be described in words. It would be fair to say that he looked like a beggar standing here.
Meng Huaining was not the kind of person who only looked at the surface. Although he hadn't seen Hu Cong before, he had heard his elders mention that this person was ingenious and skilled with his hands.
As for why Hu Cong was exiled to the northwest, he didn't probe too much into it. After all, it was indisputable that Emperor Shunwu was muddle-headed, and losing talents like Hu Cong was a loss for the court.
"Elder Hu, please tell this official what happened."
Although Hu Cong looked disheveled, he still retained the grace of a scholar.
He respectfully saluted Meng Huaining neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This commoner has already been dismissed and exiled. County magistrate, it would be better to address me by my name."
That person struggled desperately, mumbling some unclear words to argue.
"You're talking nonsense. You took advantage of my drunkenness to force me to press my handprint on the contract to sell myself. I'm going to report this to the magistrate to arbitrate fairly for me."
If that person didn't have disheveled hair, He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye wouldn't have recognized him. But when he started talking, his voice was quite familiar.
The two looked at each other.
"Is it Hu Cong?" He Zhiran wanted to confirm his guess.
Mo Jiuye nodded, "It's him."
According to reason, Mo Jiuye was not the kind of person who liked to meddle in other people's business. But he quite approved of Hu Cong's character, especially since he and the Mo Family were fellow sufferers.
Meeting this kind of thing on the street, he would intervene no matter what.
Mo Jiuye sent his wife to a place a little further away from the crowd, then stepped in front of the two thugs.
"Stop it."
At his shout, the two thugs who were still swaggering there were stunned on the spot.
However, they quickly reacted. After carefully looking over the person blocking their way, he was just a handsome farmer. The two didn't take him seriously at all.
The thug with slightly darker skin impatiently whipped at Mo Jiuye.
"Get lost. Don't meddle in other people's business here."
He thought a whip would be enough to frighten away the blocker. But when he swung his whip, it was grabbed by the opponent.
What's more, Mo Jiuye used a little force and sent the thug flying to the side of the road along with the whip.
This action caused the onlookers to exclaim involuntarily.
Ordinary people had seen people being beaten at most like what those two thugs did to Hu Cong. Where had they seen someone able to swing another person away just by grabbing his whip?
Stunned for a moment, the crowd was completely agitated.
Some even cheered in a low voice, "Well played!" It showed how unpopular those thugs were.
Mo Jiuye paid no attention to the spectators' discussion and strode towards Hu Cong.
The remaining thug still held Hu Cong by the hair. Seeing Mo Jiuye coming over, he was so scared that he didn't even think to let go and run away. He was lifted aside by Mo Jiuye like a little chicken.
As Hu Cong's body relaxed, he slumped to the ground instantly. But he didn't forget to look at his lifesaver's appearance.
"Master Mo the Ninth?"
"It's me. Elder Hu, why were you bullied by these people?" Mo Jiuye asked.
When asked, Hu Cong was obviously a little angry. He pointed at those two thugs, "They are from the pier shipping firm. A few days ago, I went there to help people repair ships. They said I snatched their business and had to hand over the silver I earned.
I didn't agree, so they sent people to burn down my house, then forced me to sign a contract to sell myself so that I could only repair ships for their shipping firm in the future.
I took the opportunity to escape when they were not paying attention and was going to report this to the authorities. But I was caught by them on the way..."
The thug who was thrown away by Mo Jiuye just now walked back with his whole body in pain. Although he was a little afraid of Mo Jiuye, he was still aggressive towards Hu Cong.
"Hu Cong, don't forget your status. Your contract is now in our hands. If you don't know the right thing to do, beware of suffering."
After speaking, he looked at Mo Jiuye again. His attitude was completely different from how he treated Hu Cong.
"And... and you, I advise you not to meddle too much. Be careful or Master Liu will make sure you can't stay in Yuncheng."
Facing such a bluffer, Mo Jiuye didn't even bother to give him a glance.
"Big talker." Mo Jiuye said as he had already helped Hu Cong up.
Although he didn't take those two thugs seriously, it was still best to let the government resolve this kind of thing.
"Elder Hu, let's go to the government now."
Relying on Mo Jiuye's support, Hu Cong got up with difficulty and followed him, preparing to leave.
Seeing this, the two thugs nervously stood in front of Mo Jiuye.
"We have his contract in our hands. If you forcibly take him away, we can also report this to the authorities."
Mo Jiuye glanced obliquely at them, restraining his urge to hit them, "Then you report to your official and I report to mine."
The two thugs had already experienced Mo Jiuye's prowess. Seeing that he was taking the man away just like that, they didn't dare to stop him. After exchanging glances, they fled towards the pier quickly.
Mo Jiuye supported Hu Cong to He Zhiran. He let He Zhiran sit in the carriage while he supported Hu Cong and sat outside with him. The carriage slowly drove towards the county government.
Recently, Meng Huaining hadn't been to the Mo Family. He was just troubled by the matter of Yuncheng Shipping Firm.
He had been secretly sending people to investigate evidence of the shipping firm's illegal activities. Today, he finally got some clues. He was about to take action to arrest the bosses of the shipping firm in one fell swoop.
At this moment, an officer came to report that someone was staging a protest at the entrance by beating drums and shouting grievances.
Meng Huaining was a diligent and caring official. Even if he was busy with things at hand, he would not delay justice for the common people.
Thanks to his integrity and diligence, the lives of Yuncheng commoners were getting better day by day. Obviously, those kinds of bullying men and women had almost disappeared.
His yamen had also become peaceful for a period of time.
Earlier, during the New Year, he had received a letter from his family strongly approving his intention to marry the young lady from the Mo Family. If it wasn't for the tricky matter of the shipping firm, he would have wanted to hang out at the Mo Family long ago to become familiar with Mo Hanying.
Meng Huaining brought several officers to the lobby. Unexpectedly, the one staging the protest turned out to be the Mo Jiuye couple. As for the one accompanying them, he didn't know him.
Seeing his future brother-in-law, Meng Huaining couldn't stay still.
He didn't care too much about the rules, and hurried out from behind his desk.
"Brother Mo the Ninth, Sister-in-Law, what happened?"
Looking at this scene, Hu Cong kept cursing inwardly.
In his many years as an official in the imperial capital, he had watched and participated in hearings in court halls. This was the first time he saw an official take the initiative to come out and ask questions. Even if they were acquaintances, it shouldn't be so exciting...
The Mo Jiuye couple were familiar with Meng Huaining so they didn't think too much about it.
Mo Jiuye pointed to Hu Cong beside him, "This is Hu Cong, the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Public Works who, like the Mo Family, was exiled here. He has a grievance to complain."
Only then did Meng Huaining carefully look over Hu Cong.
Hu Cong's wretched state at the moment couldn't be described in words. It would be fair to say that he looked like a beggar standing here.
Meng Huaining was not the kind of person who only looked at the surface. Although he hadn't seen Hu Cong before, he had heard his elders mention that this person was ingenious and skilled with his hands.
As for why Hu Cong was exiled to the northwest, he didn't probe too much into it. After all, it was indisputable that Emperor Shunwu was muddle-headed, and losing talents like Hu Cong was a loss for the court.
"Elder Hu, please tell this official what happened."
Although Hu Cong looked disheveled, he still retained the grace of a scholar.
He respectfully saluted Meng Huaining neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This commoner has already been dismissed and exiled. County magistrate, it would be better to address me by my name."
