I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 35 Catching the Scammer

Chapter 35 Catching the Scammer

Yang listened silently to her beloved son's words, her face alternating between pale and flushed. A strange feeling welled up inside her; in just over half a month, she no longer recognized her son. It felt as if the son before her was not the same son at all! Yet, apart from being slightly thinner, his appearance was exactly the same as before. What had happened to her son?

Seeing Zhang deep in thought, Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly. "I come from hundreds of years in the future. I can easily fool you with some nonsense."

“Mother, I am inexperienced and don’t quite understand some things. Tell me, is it a dog’s fault that it likes to eat excrement?” Wang Wenzhou asked with a smile.

"You..." Madam Yang frowned. Her precious son's story seemed reasonable, but it was actually a fallacy. You little rascal, trying to outwit your mother? I've been well-versed in the classics since I was a child, and I'm not afraid of you.

Yang asked sternly, "A dog likes to eat excrement, the dog is not wrong. Are you a dog?"

In his past life, Wang Wenzhou couldn't understand some of his parents' actions. He knew that parents mostly meant well for their children. But sometimes, they forced their children to do things they clearly didn't want to do. "Mom-forced" wasn't an insult, but rather a expression of helplessness for many children; almost everyone has been forced by their mothers at some point.

Wang Wenzhou felt that his mother, like most parents, would inevitably try to control him with her own morals. Morality is for self-restraint, not for controlling others. Whoever uses morality to constrain others is truly immoral. This is blatant moral blackmail.

"Mother, I am, after all, the head of the county. Do I need you to teach me how to solve cases? If that's the case, I'd rather be a dog. After all, dogs are born of parents, and my son has parents too." Wang Wenzhou scoffed, "If I'm a dog, then what are you?"

"You unfilial son! You unfilial son!"

Her beloved son was indirectly calling her a dog's mother, which enraged Yang. She lashed the family cane at Wang Wenzhou with a series of sharp, resounding blows.

Zhang Jiao carefully considered Wang Wenzhou's words, and she suddenly realized that the fat man's words made a lot of sense. For example, she didn't want to marry the fat man at all. But her grandfather was forcing her to marry him, and as a concubine no less. She had depended on her grandfather since she was a child, and she really couldn't bear to see him heartbroken, so she had no choice but to agree.

Seeing that Madam Yang was furious, Zhang Jiao quickly went over and took Madam Yang's arm, saying, "Mother, don't be angry! It's not good for your health if you get angry."

Yang stared blankly at Zhang Jiao, and upon closer inspection, she realized that Zhang Jiao was a girl dressed in men's clothing.

"Who are you?" Madam Yang asked.

“Mother, I am your betrothed. My husband and my grandfather have arranged our marriage. After my husband’s wedding, he will take me as his concubine,” Zhang Jiao replied.

"Hmph!" Madam Yang was even angrier. Since ancient times, marriage has been a major event, and parents and matchmakers have always been in charge. Her precious son had gone too far! He had arranged a marriage for her without her consent.

"You unfilial son! You unfilial son!" Madam Yang was furious. She pushed Zhang Jiao away and lashed the family stick at Wang Wenzhou.

The "family punishment" was a few small wooden sticks woven together, about the size of a cane. It wouldn't hurt the body, but every strike was excruciatingly painful. Especially for Wang Wenzhou, who was rather fat, every strike of the family punishment felt like it went straight to his bones.

Wang Wenzhou, terrified of being beaten, ran a few steps back and tried to coax, "Mother, please stop! I want to point out your mistakes. Even though you are my mother, I can't ignore your faults, can I?"

"Where did I go wrong?" Madam Yang asked coldly.

Wang Wenzhou smiled and said, "An unfilial son is also called an unfilial son. According to the rites, there are three unfilial acts: first, blindly following one's parents' wishes and leading them into unrighteousness; second, being poor while one's parents are old and not seeking official position; and third, not marrying and having no children, thus cutting off the ancestral line. Is this child correct?"

"That's right," Yang nodded.

Wang Wenzhou, being a conman, was very eloquent and quickly bluffed, "Ah Yi, I can't say anything wrong. For example, now you insist that I admit my mistake, and I've been beaten like this. I know I'm not wrong, and I haven't admitted it. As for my official position, I am a county magistrate, so I can't be considered an unfilial son. As for having no descendants, I've found a wife, haven't I?"

Wang Wenzhou pointed at Zhang Jiao.

Zhang Jiao rolled her eyes at Wang Wenzhou, annoyed.

Yang stared blankly at her son. Usually, a stern look from her and a few harsh words would terrify him. A single beating would send him into tears, begging for mercy. What was wrong with him today? She was almost speechless.

"it is good!"

Madam Yang took a deep breath, sat down in a chair, thought for a moment, and then said, "I admit that I went a bit too far in calling you a wicked son. But you took revenge on public duty by locking Steward Wang up in jail, wasn't that right?"

“Mother, as an official in this region, I am certainly dedicated to serving the people. How could I possibly take revenge for personal reasons? Old Wang is arrogant and disrespectful, and he beat me severely. Why can’t I detain him?” Wang Wenzhou argued.

"Hmph!" Madam Yang stood up angrily. It turned out that what Old Wang said in his letter was true. Her precious son had grown up, but he was also disobedient.

"You unfilial son! Today I will beat you to death, you heartless bastard!" Madam Yang charged forward again, brandishing the family law.

Damn it! Is this ever going to end?! She's still hitting me! Wang Wenzhou was frustrated by the beating, and his anger was finally vented by his mother. "You're not my real mother, you're just the mother of this body. Stop hitting me! This is too much!"

Wang Wenzhou roared, "Xiao Qiang, gather the constables and come to arrest the thugs!"

"Ah!" Wang Qiang was dumbfounded. Young master, what are you doing? You even want to send the old lady to jail? This... I dare not! I still want to walk on my own two feet, not with a cane.

"Bang!" Zhang Jiao kicked Wang Wenzhou, sending him sprawling to the ground. She'd been thoroughly tormented by him these past few days; this fatso had no respect for his elders, even trying to grab her own mother. She couldn't take it anymore!

"Damn it!" Wang Wenzhou jumped up and ran, shouting as he ran, "Jiaojiao, you wait! I'm going to find that old swindler right now!"

"Huff, huff..." Wang Wenzhou ran all the way to the front office in one breath.

"My lord!" Several yamen runners greeted him quickly upon seeing that it was Wang Wenzhou.

"Head of the Horse Team!" Wang Wenzhou waved to the head of the horse team.

"Your subordinate is here!" Ma Bantou was very puzzled. What happened to the lord this time? He was covered in dust, as if he had just gotten up from the ground, and the clothes on his back were torn to shreds. Had someone beaten the lord again? He heard that the old lady had come. Could it have been the old lady who beat him?

"You!" Wang Wenzhou pointed at Ma Bantou and said fiercely, "Someone is impersonating my mother. You take your men and come with me to arrest this fraudster."

"Ah..." Ma Bantou's mouth gaped open, looking utterly incredulous. "Sir, what exactly do you want? You're even arresting your own mother?"

"Hurry up!" Wang Wenzhou urged.

After thinking for a moment, Ma Bantou thought, "Anyway, she's your mother, and we all have to work under you. If you say to arrest, we'll arrest."

"Let's go!" Ma Bantou waved his hand, leading several constables to follow behind Wang Wenzhou.