The Return of the Youth, Chapter 25: Turbulence at the City Gates

"Prefect, you have wronged me! Please, allow me to explain!"

Magistrate Li dropped to his knees, wailing, "Prefect, it is like this: as soon as I received news of your arrival in Beigu City, I ordered a carriage prepared and gathered my attendants to wait for you at the city gate."

"Hmph!"

Commander Fang, standing to the side, sneered, "That is nothing but a lame excuse! If a carriage was prepared, why were we left outside the city gates to swallow dust for half the day? And in the end, we were forced to ride in a pig cart to meet you. I believe this was intentional—a deliberate attempt to humiliate the Prefect. Am I right or am I right?"

Prefect Shen stood there, draped in deep purple official robes. He was a portly man, his jade belt straining against his midsection. His triangular eyes were filled with revulsion, his thin lips pressed tightly beneath a chevron mustache, and his brows were furrowed in a deep, dark frown.

"Magistrate Li, are you truly, as Commander Fang suggests, intentionally trying to humiliate me?"

Magistrate Li hurriedly looked up, pleading, "Prefect, that is not the case! I have no intention of insulting you."

"I think you deliberately chose a pig cart just to humiliate the Prefect," Commander Fang retorted, chin held high.

At that moment, the County Clerk, having just parked the pig cart, witnessed Magistrate Li kneeling by the official carriage, weeping and lamenting while the commander mocked him. Unable to contain his fury, his head throbbing with heat, he rushed over, kicked Commander Fang from behind, and shouted, "You bastard! How dare you bully our Magistrate? I’ll kick you to death!"

Magistrate Li looked up, saw the scene, and nearly choked with rage. He wanted to tear the Clerk to pieces, thinking to himself, *Has this idiot lost his mind? Kicking Commander Fang at a time like this—is he trying to get me killed faster?*

"You son of a bitch, who kicked me?" Commander Fang scrambled up, saw the Clerk, and drew his blade. "I’ll hack you to death!"

"Help! Someone is committing murder in the streets!" The Clerk, seeing the drawn blade, turned and fled, wishing his legs were longer so he could run faster.

"You old dog, stay still if you have the guts!"

"You stay still if you have the guts!"

For a time, outside the city gate, Commander Fang chased madly with his sword drawn, while the Clerk sprinted for his life, providing the surrounding commoners with a farcical spectacle of pursuit.

"Prefect, please, listen to my explanation!" inside the carriage, Magistrate Li clung to the Prefect's leg, begging desperately.

Prefect Shen impatiently kicked his leg free, striking the Magistrate in the shoulder and sending him tumbling out of the carriage. "Speak! I want to see what kind of explanation you have."

Magistrate Li scrambled to his feet and blurted out, "Prefect, to tell you the truth, I intended to welcome you in a proper carriage, but halfway there, the wooden wheel shattered. I had no choice but to switch to a horse, but the old beast was useless—it didn't get far before it collapsed and died on the main street."

Prefect Shen’s brow furrowed, his gaze icy. "Hmph, such a coincidence? Do you take me for a fool?"

Magistrate Li wiped the sweat from his brow, his expression earnest. "My lord, it is the absolute truth! If you do not believe me, you will see the carriage and the dead horse as soon as we enter the city. If I have uttered a single lie, may I be struck by lightning!"

"Men, pass the order: we enter the city now." Prefect Shen commanded the steward waiting by the carriage. The man acknowledged and went to convey the order. The convoy began to move slowly toward the city gate.

"Prefect, since I have no carriage, I shall just squeeze in with you!" Magistrate Li shamelessly climbed back into the carriage, wrapping his arms around the Prefect’s leg, refusing to budge. He had already lost enough face; he would rather die than return to the county office in a pig cart.

"You smell absolutely foul."

Seeing he could not dislodge the Magistrate, Prefect Shen turned away, sitting in the corner and covering his nose and mouth with a handkerchief, looking at the stench-ridden Magistrate with utter disdain.

Outside the city gate, Commander Fang, realizing he could not catch the damned Clerk, stopped, panting heavily, and cursed, "That cursed clerk, how is he faster than me, a military officer? If I catch him, I’ll chop him to bits!"

*Luckily I ran fast,* the Clerk thought, *or I’d have been cut down. That would have been a massive loss.*

The Clerk saw that Commander Fang had stopped, let out a long breath, quickened his pace, and slipped through the city gates, disappearing from sight.

Prefect Shen's convoy sped through the city. At Magistrate Li’s insistent shouting, the Prefect pulled back the curtain and saw, indeed, a dead horse and a broken-down carriage. The local constables and commoners were busy moving the wreckage. Seeing that the Magistrate had not lied, the tension in Prefect Shen’s face eased slightly, though he remained displeased.

"Prefect, you must be exhausted from inspecting these various counties. I have already ordered my servants to prepare a welcoming banquet for you, and I have secretly arranged for the most beautiful courtesans from the Drunken Flower Pavilion. You must relax while you are in Beigu City."

In the current Great Wei officialdom, visiting brothels for wine had become a common custom. If an official refused, he was often mocked as pedantic and incompetent. When Magistrate Li was young and hot-blooded, he had been ignorant of such ways, hoping to achieve greatness through merit and serve the people. But soon, he realized his colleagues were obsessed with pandering to superiors, spinning through banquets and frequenting pleasure houses to build connections. He held to his principles and refused to join them, which led to constant obstruction in his work and a stagnant career, eventually offending Prefect Shen.

Prefect Shen gave a slight, cold nod, offering no reply, his distance palpable. Magistrate Li was sharp; he saw the attitude and understood that this visit was directed at him. He pondered the theft of his official seal—the news had somehow reached the Prefect a thousand miles away. He wondered which traitor in his office had leaked the information.

He snorted inwardly, dropping his fawning demeanor for a colder one. The atmosphere in the carriage grew heavy and awkward. Prefect Shen’s expression shifted, and Magistrate Li, unable to bear the pressure, leaned against the carriage wall and fell asleep, soon beginning to snore.

Perhaps the Magistrate had eaten roasted sweet potatoes that morning, for he let out a loud, thunderous fart. As the saying goes, a loud fart is not smelly, but this one was horribly pungent, laced with the scent of sweet potatoes. Prefect Shen was forced to push open the window and stick his head out to catch some air. His eyes were cold and vicious; he thought to himself, *This damned Li Changfeng is doing this to disgust me. Once we reach the office, I will make you pay. If I don't strip you of your rank, I will have wasted all these years as Prefect.*

As they neared the office, Magistrate Li began to mutter in his sleep, cursing some fellow as a hypocritical, greedy, lecherous, and two-faced man who lusted after boys. Prefect Shen could take no more; he stomped hard on the Magistrate’s foot, causing him to howl in pain.

"Ouch! Who stepped on my foot? Take them out and behead them!"

Magistrate Li clutched his foot and wailed. He felt a gaze upon him, looked up at the Prefect, and was chilled by the cold, hateful look returned to him.

"I say, Prefect, why did you step on me? Where have I offended you?"

Prefect Shen, surprised by the sudden defiance, failed to react immediately. Just then, a servant outside announced that they had arrived. "We are at the county office. It is time to disembark," the Prefect stammered.

"Hmph! Thank you for the reminder, Prefect. But let me also remind you: he who commits many injustices is doomed to destroy himself."

With that, Magistrate Li opened the door and stepped out. Prefect Shen gnashed his teeth, whispering, "That damned Li the Worm! To think he dares to lecture me. He has truly become arrogant and lawless just because he governs a backwater."

"Prefect, we have arrived at the office. Please, step down," a steward called from outside.

Prefect Shen coughed, straightened his robes, and stepped out. He looked up at the plaque of the Beigu County Office, then descended with the steward’s help. Commander Fang was busy directing his men to the side courtyard.

"Uncle Shen." Shen Ling and Kong Yue approached as the Prefect disembarked.

"Come, Ling’er, let us head into the office." Prefect Shen swung his sleeves, puffed out his belly, and strode toward the main gate, followed by Shen Ling and Kong Yue.

...

In the back courtyard, Magistrate Li grabbed the Clerk, who was hiding in the rockery. "Wang Fugai, what are you doing hiding here?"

Wang Fugai said, "My lord, I just kicked that Commander Fang at the gate. I’m hiding from him so I don't get my head chopped off!"

"This is Beigu City, not his barracks. With me here, he wouldn't dare," Magistrate Li pulled him out.

Wang Fugai looked worried. "My lord, the Prefect looks like he’s here for blood. What should we do?"

Magistrate Li curled his lip in a cold smile. "Don't worry. It won't be that easy to topple me. He has people in the capital, but do you think I have no backing? Otherwise, he would have choked me out twenty years ago. I’ve lived quite comfortably, haven't I?"

"The Magistrate is brilliant!" Wang Fugai flattered him. "Otherwise, with his status, he could have found any excuse to strip you of your post."

"Enough talk. Tell Auntie Liu to prepare tea," Magistrate Li patted his shoulder.

"I’m on it." Wang Fugai hurried off.

"Wang Fugai!" Magistrate Li called after him. "Tell her to use the cheapest tea! Don't you dare waste my good stuff!"

Inside the reception hall, the atmosphere was heavy. Magistrate Li sat in the seat of honor and gestured. "Prefect, and you two young heroes, please sit."

By protocol, the seat of honor belonged to the Prefect, but Magistrate Li knew their intentions were malicious and refused to yield. Offering them seats at all was a sign of his strained restraint. Prefect Shen snorted, sat in the chair on the left, and Shen Ling and Kong Yue followed suit.

"Auntie Liu, bring the tea!" Prefect Shen shouted.

Auntie Liu hurried in, served the tea, and retreated. Prefect Shen took a small sip and his face instantly darkened. Shen Ling was more dramatic; she spat the tea out immediately, threw the cup across the room, and shrieked, "What is this garbage? It’s bitter as hell!"

Kong Yue set his cup down calmly, his gaze fixed on Magistrate Li with an amused expression, clearly waiting for the show to begin.

"Hmph, Magistrate Li!" Prefect Shen slammed his hand on the table. "Is this how you treat guests? Serving us this swill is going too far!"

"Exactly!" Shen Ling agreed, her brows raised. "Even a pig wouldn't drink this!"

Magistrate Li remained unperturbed, sipping his own cup of rain-mist tea. "Prefect, you know that Beigu City is a remote, impoverished place. Where would I find fine tea? This is all I have, saved over three years by tightening my belt."

"You...!" Shen Ling stood up, her inner energy surging. "How dare you be so disrespectful! I’ll destroy you with a spell!"

Just then, an icy, bone-chilling voice echoed from outside:

"I should like to see who is so arrogant that they dare to threaten lives so casually!"