"County Magistrate Han, it is said that a scholar can be killed but not humiliated. Although you are the Judicial Secretary of the Pacification Commissioner's Office, you did not send any official notification or dispatch anyone to inform me before coming. As the head of this county, do I not have my own affairs to attend to?"
Han Mo was not one to take abuse without retaliation. Since this fellow had dared to bully him, he would not hold back.
"This..."
Being berated by Han Mo and Zhong Yanchong, even Ma Zhiyou couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.
Although Han Mo's official rank was not as high as his, Han Mo was a Jinshi official, while he was merely a subordinate official.
To put it bluntly, his position was directly granted by Tong Guan and was of a temporary nature.
Once the matter was concluded, this official post would naturally be revoked.
If successful, perhaps there would be hope of entering the Ministry of Personnel's transfer procedures and becoming an official of the imperial court.
But if the matter failed, and Tong Guan, the Pacification Commissioner of Shaanxi, Hedong, Western Hebei, and Eastern Hebei Circuits, was finished, they would all perish with him.
Let alone the transfer of officials, it was doubtful whether they would be held accountable for losing the army and disgracing the nation.
Now that Han Mo had the moral high ground, he truly had no way to continue arguing unreasonably.
"County Magistrate Han, please do not blame me. I did not mean anything of the sort. These dogs are usually arrogant, hence this incident!"
With those people still in Han Mo's hands, Ma Zhiyou could only swallow his anger for now.
"Since County Magistrate Ma says so, then if I were to continue pursuing this matter, it would make me appear too petty!"
"Your Excellency Han, for you to say that makes me feel ashamed!"
Ma Zhiyou immediately put on a smiling face and said.
"County Magistrate Ma, you are such a busy man, why have you come here today?"
Seeing that the act between the two had reached its climax, Zhong Yanchong smiled and spoke again.
"Secretary Zhong, you jest. Compared to you, I am merely a man of leisure!"
Upon seeing Zhong Yanchong appear, Ma Zhiyou had already begun to mutter to himself.
After all, Zhong Yanchong's presence here most likely meant he, like himself, wanted to interfere in this matter.
This was, after all, Hebei Circuit. Even though Tong Guan had been granted the position of Pacification Commissioner of the Four Circuits, it was not easy for him to openly confront Xu Churen, the Grand Administrator of Daming.
After all, the authority of the Pacification Commissioner and the Military Commissioner overlapped in a significant portion.
If he pushed things too far, wouldn't he be asking for trouble?
"Your Excellencies, perhaps we should go inside and discuss?"
"Hahaha, County Magistrate Han is right. I have been traveling for so long, and I am indeed a bit thirsty right now!"
With Han Mo's invitation, Zhong Yanchong naturally followed suit, giving Ma Zhiyou no opportunity.
After all, although neither of them held particularly high positions, they both represented their powerful patrons behind them.
To state their intentions first would not be seizing the initiative, but rather making themselves a target.
Therefore, Zhong Yanchong was naturally happy to continue delaying.
After ushering the two into the living room, Han Mo directly instructed someone to pour each of them a cup of plain water.
"Forgive my shortcomings, Your Excellencies. Now that the Transport Commissionerate is established in Hebei Circuit, this subordinate's public funds have long been depleted, and all of my salary has been put into the river embankment. Today, I can only host the two of you poorly!"
Upon hearing Han Mo's words, Zhong Yanchong almost burst out laughing.
If other county magistrates were to claim poverty, perhaps one or two out of a hundred might actually be poor.
But this young man, not only was he immensely wealthy himself, but his father-in-law's business was now flourishing.
To say he made a fortune every day was an understatement.
Now, to cry poverty like this was clearly bullying an honest man.
"It's alright, it's alright! County Magistrate Han, you too, *cough*—"
Ma Zhiyou, while speaking casually, raised the bowl of plain water and prepared to take a sip to placate himself.
However, he never expected that as soon as the water touched his lips, a sour, bitter, and salty taste surged up.
Caught off guard, he immediately spat it out.
Fortunately, Zhong Yanchong reacted quickly and narrowly dodged aside.
"I am truly sorry, Your Excellency. This subordinate did bring some gold and silver with him when I came here, but, but..."
As Han Mo spoke up to this point, he rubbed the back of his right hand vigorously against his eyes, and his eyes instantly turned red.
"I..."
Zhong Yanchong's lips twitched, and his eyeballs almost fell out.
"County Magistrate Ma..."
Han Mo spoke as he stepped forward, hugged Ma Zhiyou, and wiped his tears and snot onto Ma Zhiyou's brand new official robes.
"Hiss—"
Seeing him with tears and snot streaming down his face, Zhong Yanchong couldn't help but gasp.
Although Ma Zhiyou was a man, Zhong Yanchong knew that he had a slight obsession with cleanliness.
Not only did he bathe thoroughly after going out, but his daily clothes were also fumigated with incense before being worn again.
After this display, Zhong Yanchong began to pity the man.
"You, you, let, let go of me..."
Ma Zhiyou's voice trembled, but he was a scholar, and how could he be a match for Han Mo's natural strength?
As Han Mo's crying continued, he grabbed Ma Zhiyou's collar and began wiping his drool on it.
Even Zhong Yanchong couldn't bear to watch such a disgusting sight.
"Screeeech—"
Finally, amidst Han Mo and Ma Zhiyou's struggle, a large piece of Ma Zhiyou's newly made official robe was torn off.
"Han Mo!"
Ma Zhiyou's voice was as sharp as that of a little girl who had just been molested, capable of making the listener grieve and the observer weep.
"County Magistrate Ma, a great fire! Half a lifetime of savings! I am so miserable..."
Han Mo showed no fear, stepped forward again, grabbed Ma Zhiyou's collar, and forcefully wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth.
"Ugh..."
Zhong Yanchong shivered all over. Only then did he realize that this fellow was truly, exceptionally disgusting when he played such tricks!
"Han Mo, what exactly do you want!"
Ma Zhiyou could no longer tolerate it. With almost all his strength, he managed to pull the already sodden collar from Han Mo's grasp.
"County Magistrate Ma, Brother Han is not usually like this. His behavior today must be due to the severe losses he has incurred. Your Excellency, please do not blame him!"
Zhong Yanchong cleared his throat and unhurriedly stepped forward to mediate.
"Let's go!"
Ma Zhiyou finally lost his patience. Trembling all over, he led his men and rushed out.
"Damn, he's finally gone. I thought he was going to pull out some big move!"
Hearing Ma Zhiyou's footsteps recede, Han Mo finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"You kid, that's too disgusting. To think of such a dirty trick..."
Zhong Yanchong's lips twitched.