Love is More than a Word, Chapter 77: Strike First (5)...

Love is More than a Word《识汝不识丁》Shi Nu Bu Shi Ding
Love is More than a Word, Chapter 77: Strike First (5)...

The Prefectural Magistrate's face was red and blue from the questioning. Before arresting Tao Mo, he sent someone to find out about his background. He said he was from a merchant family, now in decline, his parents are dead and he has no relatives in the court. Why would a guy like that, who looks like a soft persimmon to anyone, suddenly appear as a litigation master?

He stared at Gu-She, his eyes darting to Master Advisor.

Master Advisor coughed, got up and approached the Prefectural Magistrate, “My lord, this Gu-She has some fame in Tangyang County but I heard that he has never been to court.” Gu-She's fame in Tangyang County was spread by word of mouth by Mr. Yichui and his followers but he had done nothing of great consequence. Outside of Tangyang County, Gu-She's name was lost in the crowd and when he was mentioned, he was only mentioned as Mr. Yichui's disciple who had never been to court. That is all the Master Advisor knows.

“Never been to court?” The Prefectural Magistrate's spirits were lifted and Gu-She finally found some clarity in his muddled mind from the series of questions he'd just asked.” He's a bit of a brat.”

The Master Advisor said, “It's better to be quick than slow.” Make it quick and kill the chicken in the morning, when there are still no spectators, lest, if it is delayed long enough, there should be an uproar in your caught killing a neighbor's chicken. (commit evil when you are not seen when you are see its owarida= Japanese as ‘in its over)


The Prefectural Magistrate is also of this opinion and on hearing this, he picked up the gavel and slapped the table heavily, saying: “Well you sharp-toothed shrew! How dare you openly slander and discredit me in public! Do you know where this place is? How can an ignorant citizen like you say such things? It's your first offense, so I'll let it go. Why don't you leave quickly? Or else I will show you no mercy!”

Gu-She said calmly: “Why do you have to think about it? Get to the point.”

The Prefectural Magistrate's chest was tight with anger and the shocked wood slapped twice heavily for air, “Do you really think I wouldn't dare lay a hand on you?”

Gu-She said, “We don't say in court whether we dare or not but whether we should or shouldn't according to the law. You don't know which of the laws of our dynasty you want to attack me according to?”

The Prefectural Magistrate sprang to his feet, furious: “And for your being a man of the cloth and suing me who is a Fourth-rank officer!”

Gu-She stared at him coldly.

The Prefectural Magistrate felt a chill in his heart but couldn't look at him anymore.

“In that case, just do it.” Gu-She.

Gu Xiaojia shouted in surprise, “Young Master?"

Gu-She raises his hand, with a flick.

Gu Xiaojia glared, shooting murderous glares at the Prefectural Magistrate.

The Prefectural Magistrate is not aware that the man in front of him seems impulsive and reckless but he is... actually calm and calculating! He's in a cocoon right now. He can't get down. If the magistrate of the province fights, it's going to be a big deal. If he doesn't fight, how will he save the face of the Prefectural Magistrate?

The Master Advisor approached me with a small step and whispered, “Sir, why don't you give me a few strokes as a show? I'm afraid the thin skin of a scholar will kill his backbone in a few blows. Wouldn't it be more magnanimous for you to relieve him of his back beating?”

The Prefectural Magistrate is justified. When he first met Gu-She, he was intimidated by his charisma but now that Gu-She has confessed his feelings, all he can think about is how much he wants to beat him up.

“Men!” the Prefectural Magistrate picked up the red-headed punishment gavel, “and beats him twenty times over!”

Gu Xiaojia and the others were confused.

Gu-She, for his part, crawled on the ground without waiting for the bailiffs to come forward.




It was only when the bailiff raised his staff that Gu Xiaojia awoke from his dream, shouting: “Who in this low place dares to touch my family Young Master?! My family master is Imperial court officer, Minister Gu Xiang, who dares to touch his son!”

The Prefectural Magistrate originally looked at Gu-She's face, wondering a few strokes to call for a halt but Gu Xiaojia's heartbreaking roar suddenly roared him confused and only when the bailiff hit the third time did he regain consciousness, busy shouting: “Stop... stop... stop!”

He had a white face, looked at Gu Xiaojia, then at Gu-She and said half a while later, “You just said, who is your lord?”

Gu Xiaojia was stopped outside by the bailiffs and could only open his teeth and claws: “Go blind your dog's eyes! My family's Young Master is Gu Xianzhi!”



It was obviously Gu-She who was beaten but the Prefectural Magistrate's face looked even paler than his, “You, no, I thought you said your name was Gu-She?”

Gu-She slowly opened his mouth, he had bitten off his lower lip in order to endure the pain, the blood staining his lower lip was so gorgeous that the Prefectural Magistrate was horrified but even more horrified was Gu-She's next words.” Surname is Gu, my first name is Xianzhi... The word, Xianzhi."

The Prefectural Magistrate slumped in his chair.

The Master Advisor saw that the Prefectural Magistrate was distraught, so he instructed the bailiffs to release Gu-She, let Gu Xiaojia and the others take her out and then instructed the bailiffs to find the best doctor in town. If something happened to Gu-She at the Tang City Prefecture, then not only the Prefectural Magistrate but also everyone in this room and beyond, would be involved. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted his words and wanted to swallow the words that had instigated the Prefectural Magistrate to beat Gu-She up. But this wasn't the time to be remorseful, it was time to think about how to make things right.

He's too busy pushing the Prefectural Magistrate.

The Prefectural Magistrate had been scared out of his wits and was pushed for a long while before he spoke up shakily, “Man, where's the man?”

“He's been carried away.” Master Advisor, “and I've sent for a doctor.”

“How's the wound?” The Prefectural Magistrate looked at him wide-eyed.

Master Advisor: “I don't know yet.”

The Prefectural Magistrate pounded his head and cried, “This time we are done for, we are done for, it's over...”

“My lord, we still don't know if that Gu-She is real or not.” Master Advisor.

The Prefectural Magistrate looked up, a flicker of hope in his eyes, then annihilation, “He dare to cry out in the public square, I fear it is not false.”

“Even if it's not false, he who doesn't know is not guilty. I don't think Minister Xiang would necessarily...” The Master Advisor swallowed the rest of his words at the desperate look on the Prefectural Magistrate's face.

The Prefectural Magistrate pressed his hands to his forehead and sighed, “All the time I've been shooting at geese, they've now come to peck my eyes out. It's karma.”

The Master Advisor grew anxious when he saw that he could only sigh, “My lord, this is no time for self-pity, we should think of countermeasures.”




“Countermeasures? What other countermeasures could there be? Even if Minister Xiang is a good man and doesn't mind, will the litigation students of the world let me go?” Gu Xianzhi is a model in the eyes of all the litigation students, not to mention the three canning he gave him but even three touches by him would probably cause countless students to jump on him and drown him in their own spittle.

The Master Advisor heard a chill run down his back. He thought to himself, “That's not necessarily the case. Didn't that Gu-She come here to ask for something? Let's give him what he wants and then we may ask for his forgiveness.”

The Prefectural Magistrate dumbfoundedly asked: “May?”

The Master Advisor points to the side, “Tao Mo."

Those three blows weren't for nothing. When the bailiffs saw Gu-She and the Prefectural Magistrate talking, they were all excited about it, lest they upset the Prefectural Magistrate with a light blow but it was a heavy one.

By the time Gu-She returned to the inn, he was a little disoriented.

Gu Xiaojia completely panicked, bawling his eyes out on the edge of the bed and didn't even respond to the doctor's arrival. It was Hao Guozi and Master Jin alone who pulled him away.

Because of the secrecy of Gu-She's wound (Butt’s involved), everyone was asked to leave.

After a while, the doctor came out sweating and handed over two prescriptions, one for external use, the other for internal use.

Gu Xiaojia didn't even wipe his tears, grabbed the prescription and ran out.

Hao Guozi saw him stumbling and followed him.

Lao Tao and Master Jin looked at each other, both shaking their heads inwardly.

Master Jin only just found out that the reclusive Gu-She in Tangyang County is actually Gu Xianzhi but he was quickly shocked by Gu-She's way of wounding a thousand enemies and wounding himself eight hundred times. In fact, with Gu Xianzhi's family status, if he were to negotiate with the Prefectural Magistrate personally, the Prefectural Magistrate may not necessarily not sell his face but with Gu-She doing this, the Prefectural Magistrate turned around and demanded of him.

He feared the Prefectural Magistrate was out there looking for a rope to hang himself with, right? When he thought of the face of the Prefectural Magistrate, Master Jin felt like gloating. He has been in the bureaucracy for so long and it's rare to see something so heartwarming!

Lao Tao pushes the door into the room.

Gu-She opened his eyes.

“Why bother?” Lao Tao sighed in a low voice. There's more ways to solve this.”

Gu-She slowly closed his eyes and for a moment said, “I never ask for anything.”

For him, it's the best solution. He can't use Imperial court officer, Minister Gu's name to scare the Prefectural Magistrate. And they might not buy it either. It's better to let them piss him off first, then beg him and crawl.

Lao Tao said, “What you suffer is flesh and skin.”

Gu-She: “It's worth it.”

Is it worth it for Tao Mo, or is it worth it to be able to solve the problem in this way? Lao Tao stared at Gu-She's brow, which was furrowed in pain and secretly wondered.

Gu-She said, “If Tao Mo comes back, don't let him come.”

Lao Tao said, “Are you afraid that he will cry?”

Gu-She said, “I don't want to lie down and talk to him.”

Lao Tao said, “Aren’t you lying down and talking to me right now?”

Gu-She blandly said, “You can do no harm.”

Lao Tao was puzzled: “Why is that?”

“I don't care.” Gu-She's eyebrows tightened again. [1] he doesn’t want Tao Mo to see him in pain for him... honestly with Tao Mo seeing this he will cry

When Lao Tao heard the tremors in his voice, he knew it was painful, so he sat down and distracted him with some tugging.




Gu-She didn't chase him away but listened quietly to what he had to say.





~ Love is More than A Word ~



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