He did want to directly speak ill of his wife, but based on his experiences over the years, if he dared to say so, he would surely have to sleep in the study tonight.
After much thought, he decided that he could only calm his wife's emotions first before talking about other things.
"My wife is always thinking about our family and our future. How could you be wrong? Our daughter is still young and may be a bit headstrong at times. Don't take it to heart. I'll surely talk to her tomorrow."
Finally, there was someone who could understand her thoughts. The county magistrate's wife nodded with relief, and the two of them returned to their room.
...
The next day, the county magistrate still hadn't figured out how to face the national teacher when the latter came to his door directly.
When the butler told him that there were several visitors outside, he almost instinctively thought of what had happened last night.
Those who would come so early in the morning were probably none other than them.
The county magistrate felt extremely vexed. He really wanted to turn them away, but given his status, it was impossible.
Helpless, he could only put on a smile and go out to greet them.
"Oh, National Teacher, Eldest Young Master, why are you here so early? It's still too early. If we go to the prison now, the jailers may not be there yet."
The man standing at the front had a frown on his face. He was extremely annoyed.
"Are you sure you want to talk about this at the door? If you're not afraid of the common people outside hearing it, I'm not either."
Hearing this, the county magistrate finally stepped aside, and the group entered the front hall.
He greeted them with a beaming smile and ordered someone to serve tea.
"National Teacher, did you come so early because of those two criminals?"
Cui Qizhou snorted and slammed the teacup on the table, making a clear sound.
"Don't you know why I'm here?"
"I'm a bit confused by what you said, National Teacher. You're a very busy person. As a small county magistrate, I wouldn't dare to pry into the affairs of you court officials."
"Since you're not willing to admit it, there's no need for us to beat around the bush. I'm not one to mince words. Your daughter suddenly showed up in my room last night. Shouldn't you explain this to me today?"
The county magistrate originally wanted to feign surprise and claim that he knew nothing about it, but the man didn't give him a chance.
"Last night, although nothing happened between your daughter and me in my room, she made it clear that it was all your good wife's doing."
Seeing the man's serious expression and sensing that a storm was about to break out, the county magistrate gritted his teeth and decided to take the plunge.
"It was all my wife's fault. She was muddle - headed and made this mistake. National Teacher, you're magnanimous. Could you forgive her?"
The man seemed to hear something funny.
"If all mistakes could be easily forgiven, there would be no need for the court in this world."
The county magistrate felt humiliated and couldn't refute. He lowered his head and finally decided to take all the blame on himself.
"If the National Teacher wants to punish someone, punish me. They are both the most important people to me. If anything happens to them, I won't be able to live on."
A glint of amusement appeared in Cui Qizhou's eyes. "Now you realize your over - reach? If you knew this earlier, why didn't you stop your wife last night?"
The county magistrate was in a difficult situation. He had no idea when his wife had sent their daughter over.
"No matter what, it was all my wife's fault. The National Teacher can punish her however you see fit."
Just then, the county magistrate's wife walked in from outside. She saw her husband kneeling on the ground and instantly understood what was going on.
So, she stepped forward and knelt beside her husband.
"I was the one who orchestrated this. My husband knew nothing about it. I didn't want to implicate him. The National Teacher is always just and discerning. Please only punish me."
"You two are really an affectionate couple. You're both willing to take the blame for each other at this critical moment, but that doesn't mean I'll overlook what happened last night."
When the county magistrate's wife saw his cold expression, she knew she had caused a big problem.
If she had known that the National Teacher would be so terrifying when angry, she wouldn't have sent her daughter over last night.
But there was no turning back. No matter what she did now, it was useless. She just hoped that the National Teacher wouldn't punish her daughter and husband.
Cui Qizhou didn't speak for a long time. He just silently watched the two people kneeling on the ground, lost in thought. And since he didn't speak, no one else dared to say a word.
The atmosphere was tense until An Meng'er came to the front hall to look for her father and mother.
As soon as she walked in, she noticed that the atmosphere was strange. She raised her eyebrows and caught a glimpse of the man sitting in the high - position. She bowed politely.
She felt heart - ache and wanted to help her father and mother up, but they just wouldn't move.
Helpless, she could only plead with the man sitting on one side.
"Didn't the National Teacher say last night that you wouldn't care about it? We had an agreement. Are you going to go back on your word now?"
As soon as she said this, the county magistrate and his wife thought their daughter was courting disaster and wanted to stop her, but the man unexpectedly laughed.
"I really didn't expect that in this small county, the county magistrate could raise such a wonderful daughter. Yes, I did say that I wouldn't care anymore. I came here today just to teach you a lesson and finish what we didn't finish yesterday."
After receiving the compliment, An Meng'er first helped her father and mother up from the ground, and then calmly bowed to the man as a way of thanking him.
The county magistrate let out a sigh of relief and finally found an opportunity to change the topic.
"Does the National Teacher want to continue the interrogation today?"
"Yes. We don't want to waste too much time here. If we can't get any results from the interrogation, we'll just take the prisoners with us."
After what had happened before, the county magistrate didn't dare to be the least bit negligent. He quickly led the group to the prison.
This time, they first went to see Lin Sun. Old Granny Lin was an old woman, and it would surely be difficult to get her to talk. It would be better to start with Lin Sun.
Lin Sun wasn't surprised to see them. She slightly curled her lips. "I knew you wouldn't give up easily. But you won't get any useful clues from me. I won't let you have your way."
Cui Qizhou didn't answer her directly. Instead, he turned to look at the person beside him.
"Lord Lan, do you still remember the revenge for the extermination of your clan?"