Chapter 66: The Magistrate’s Apology

“No!” Lu Hongzhuang interjected sharply, cutting her off. Her gaze fixed on Su Qinghan, her voice imbued with an unprecedented resolve.

“Don’t you worry about this! I’ll find a way to get the money!” With that, she slammed the medicine bowl onto the table and turned, intending to storm out the door. Just then, a cool, small hand gently tugged at her.

Su Qinghan held Lu Hongzhuang’s hand, her grip not particularly strong.

“Don’t go.”

Her voice was soft, fragile, yet it managed to quell the fiery indignation that had surged within Lu Hongzhuang.

“Let go! I’ll get you the money! As long as you recover, I’ll even fetch you immortal elixirs from the heavens!” Lu Hongzhuang stomped her foot in frustration.

“If you leave, what will become of me?” Su Qinghan leaned against the headboard, her voice slow and deliberate as she countered. “Magistrate Jia Qinglian’s assassins have just been dealt with; who knows if he has more tricks up his sleeve? Should he send more men, I, a weak woman utterly defenseless, might truly perish.”

Lu Hongzhuang froze. The mere thought sent a shiver down her spine. Indeed, Su Qinghan was currently as fragile as a porcelain doll, liable to shatter at the slightest touch! Gritting her teeth, Lu Hongzhuang slammed her fist onto the nearby table, making the bowls and chopsticks clatter.

“Then I’ll just go and butcher him! That will settle everything once and for all!”

Su Qinghan observed her fierce, almost man-eating expression, and a faint smile tugged at her pale lips. “And then what? Assassinating an imperial official? You, the talented heroine of the Demon Exorcism Division, would instantly become a wanted criminal, wouldn’t you?” She paused, adding in her hoarse voice, with unhurried composure, “I hardly wish to spend the rest of my life wandering the world as a fugitive with you, Lady Lu.”

“You!” Lu Hongzhuang’s face flushed crimson. She was so flustered that not a single word escaped her for a long moment, ultimately forcing her to plop back into her chair, sulking.

Just then, Xiao Li, Master Qian’s Guard, stumbled and scrambled into the room, his face etched with panic.

“Miss Su! Lady Lu! This is terrible!”

“The… the Magistrate Jia Qinglian is here! Right outside the door!”

“What?!” Lu Hongzhuang shot to her feet, her hand instinctively gripping the hilt of her sword. “What audacity! I hadn’t even gone to find him, yet he dares to deliver himself to my doorstep!” A palpable aura of killing intent erupted from her as she lifted her leg, ready to charge out.

“Come back.” Su Qinghan once again tugged at her sleeve, gently shaking her head. “Let him in.” Her voice was soft, yet it carried a reassuring calm. “I want to see what scheme he’s brewing.”

Moments later, Jia Qinglian entered, accompanied by two guards, his face plastered with a wide, ingratiating smile. Upon entering the courtyard, he instructed his guards to stand by the door, then swiftly approached the guest room, bowing deeply towards its interior.

“Your humble official, Jia Qinglian, has come specifically to apologize to Miss Su!”

Stepping into the room, he saw the pale-faced Su Qinghan on the bed and the glowering Lu Hongzhuang beside her. His face immediately contorted with expressions of remorse and anguish.

“Oh, dear! Miss Su, it’s all this humble official’s fault! I was so foolish!” He slapped his thigh and beat his chest in exaggerated distress.

“This humble official merely heard of Miss Su’s exceptional wisdom and wished to invite you to my residence for a discussion, hoping you might offer some advice. I also heard that Lady Lu holds a deep affection for Miss Su, extending to everything related to you. Thus, I thought that by inviting you, Lady Lu would also frequent my home more often, perhaps even looking after my family.”

“Who could have imagined! Those ruffians, with nothing but muscle for brains, managed to turn this humble official’s simple ‘invitation’ into such a disaster! They truly deserve death a thousand times over!” His speech was delivered with such apparent sincerity and flawless logic that he seemed to be the greatest victim of all.

Lu Hongzhuang, listening nearby, rolled her eyes so hard she nearly drew her sword. Such acting talent was wasted if he wasn’t on the stage!

Jia Qinglian then shifted his tone, his face instantly clouding with sorrow as he let out a heavy sigh. “Last night, due to this unfortunate misunderstanding, you, a sixth-rank demon exorcist and the town’s foremost combatant, became embroiled… leading to evil demons running rampant outside the town, with no one to stop them.”

A pained expression crossed his face. “The Wolf King of the demon race seized the opportunity, and in a single night, massacred both Wangjia Village and Liushu Village! Corpses littered the ground, a sight too horrible to behold!”

As he spoke, he bowed deeply to Lu Hongzhuang once more, his posture exceedingly humble.

“Lady Lu, this humble official implores you, please consider the greater good! Consider the lives of Moonfall Town and the hundreds of surrounding households!”

“This humble official swears here and now that I will never again show any disrespect to Miss Su! Everything that happened before was a misunderstanding!” He straightened up, pulled a heavy pouch of silver from his robes, and offered it with both hands. “Here are two hundred taels of silver, for Miss Su’s recuperation, a small token of my apology.”

After speaking, he clapped his hands towards the doorway. Two guards immediately pushed in a brand-new wheelchair. The wheelchair was crafted entirely from fine nanmu wood, with intricate bronze fittings at its joints. Its seat and backrest were covered in soft brocade, and its armrests were carved with delicate auspicious cloud patterns, clearly indicating its considerable value.

“This wheelchair was custom-made by masters from the Mohist School last year when they passed through here; this humble official paid a hefty sum for it, intending to use it myself in my old age,” Jia Qinglian said, his face a mask of genuine heartache and reluctance. “Now, I present it to Miss Su, as compensation!”

This barrage of gestures left even Master Qian, who was standing nearby, utterly dumbfounded. Apologies, money, gifts—his posture was humbled to the dust. Was this truly the same imperious Magistrate who always had the final say?

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Jia Qinglian departed with his men, expressing profuse gratitude. The room descended into an unsettling silence.

Lu Hongzhuang’s brows furrowed into a knot; she simply couldn’t comprehend. “He… what does he mean by this? First, he sends people to kill us, and now he comes groveling, admitting his mistake?” She turned to Su Qinghan, her face filled with bewilderment. “What scheme is he truly concocting?”

Su Qinghan did not reply. Leaning against the headboard, she slowly counted the silver taels in the pouch, even biting one to confirm it wasn’t counterfeit. With a slender, pale finger propped against her chin, a playful curve appeared at the corner of her lips.

“Of course, he didn’t come to apologize.”

“Then what did he come for?” Lu Hongzhuang pressed.

“He came to beg you,” Su Qinghan said, tossing the pouch of silver casually onto the quilt, her voice languid. “Two villages were massacred by demons. If the situation isn’t contained and escalates further, do you think he’ll still be able to hold his position as Magistrate?”

“The imperial court will simply deem him incompetent and send a more capable person to replace him.”

“He isn’t afraid of us; he’s afraid of losing his official post,” Su Qinghan said, gesturing towards the door. “He doesn’t care about the common people; he cares about his career. So, his apologies and gifts today aren’t born of a sudden awakening of conscience, but because he needs you, Lady Lu, to help him salvage his official prospects.”

“These two hundred taels of silver, this wheelchair…” Su Qinghan glanced at the brand-new wheelchair and smiled. “They’re not compensation; they’re remuneration. They’re the price for you to emerge from seclusion and slay demons.”

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