Chapter 245 - 244 Midnight Arrest
On the day the matter erupted at Shen Hour, Magistrate Sir could no longer sit idly by and finally began court proceedings.
After an interrogation and learning the truth, Magistrate Sir also became furious and immediately arranged for Lord Zhang, who was in charge of criminal affairs, to investigate the case. He promptly sent people to Clear Water Village to summon the accused to court for a trial.
Lord Zhang dispatched the constables to Clear Water Village, and then advised that it was too late in the day to do anything but bring the people in for detention. The trial would have to wait until the following morning.
Lord Jiang acquiesced and announced the court would adjourn and resume early the next day for the trial.
Liang Qiyuan, waiting in his residence until the servants returned with news, couldn’t help but sneer and said to Lady Liu, "Young people just don’t understand. They don’t check to see if this is a place they can offend before they start throwing their weight around. Now, what a mess they’ve made. Tomorrow, I will write a letter of complaint and inform my brother-in-law, urging him to denounce Jiang Yifan and completely take him down. Perhaps this will even ingratiate my brother-in-law with some powerful figure in the capital. After this is over, my sister and brother-in-law will have to thank me."
Liang Qiyuan’s dreams didn’t last into the next day; at midnight, a troop of constables quietly surrounded the Liang Residence.
Someone approached to knock on the door, and as soon as the door opened, a swarm of government officers charged in. They marched forcefully into the house, stopping the servants who were on night patrol and ordering them to stay put and not wander around.
The leading constable summoned an old woman servant, inquired about Liang Qiyuan’s whereabouts, and went directly to his concubine’s quarters. Without a word, he pulled Liang Qiyuan from his bed, gagged him, silenced the concubine’s cries, and quickly bound Liang Qiyuan before taking him away. Throughout the ordeal, Liang Qiyuan didn’t even have a chance to speak up. By the time he was escorted away, he still hadn’t figured out the chaos that had erupted.