Chapter 1: The Magistrate Who Was Set Up

In the fourteenth year of the Zhengde era, on Shishizi Avenue west of Hua County, in the early morning hours, a high-pitched, spirited voice of a youth drifted from a courtyard at the street entrance: "Recalling the years when tears would not dry, the husband and wife endured hardships in the cold earthen kiln..."

The young man singing Peking Opera in the courtyard at dawn was only seventeen or eighteen years old. He was tall and robust, with a jade-like face, thin lips, thick eyebrows, and large eyes—a truly outstanding figure. It was currently summer, and he was bare-chested, revealing a physique of snow-white, sinewy muscles. Not only was he strong and imposing, but he was also handsome, and his voice was full of vigor; a single vocal warm-up was loud enough for all the neighbors in the vicinity to hear clearly.

Upon hearing his vocal exercises, several neighbors began discussing in their homes: "Is that Yang family boy having another fit? It's been over a month now, and no one has thought to call a doctor to check on him."

"Who says otherwise? It's quite pitiful, really. Such a good child; first he lost his biological mother, and now his father is gone too. After falling ill, he turned into this state. What a shame."

"Yeah, who could endure that? His old man traded his life to become a Jin Yi Bai Hu, but he was only officially granted the rank of Xiao Qi. Anyone would find that unbearable. Besides, he can't command anyone; if it were anyone else, they'd have lost their temper long ago. Especially a youth in his prime—with all that frustration bottled up inside, what else could happen?"

"Don't say that, the way he sings is actually quite pleasant. I wonder where he learned that tune. He's also picked a good time; if this were during the Hongwu era, just the fact that he's of Jin Yi Army registry and singing like this would have gotten his tongue cut off."

The culprit responsible for disturbing everyone's peace so early in the morning, Yang Chengzu, did not have such many thoughts. To him, this was simply his own "lesson" that he could not neglect. That was right, this was his lesson. After all, he was originally a second-class national Peking Opera performer, a professional *laosheng* (old male role). Then, inexplicably, while in the middle of a rehearsal, he had fainted for no reason, and upon waking, he had become this unfortunate child, Yang Chengzu.

After this period of time, he had more or less fully accepted, digested, and organized the memories of the original owner of this body. He had realized that he had arrived in the Ming Dynasty; in the novels of his own era, this phenomenon was called "transmigration." The original owner of this body was named Yang Chengzu, and his father was Yang Daxing, a hereditary member of the Jin Yiwei, which according to the household registry, meant he held a military status.

The military status of the Jin Yiwei, much like the military status of other *weisuo* (guard posts) in the Great Ming, was hereditary, with sons succeeding their fathers' positions. Yang Daxing himself was a sixth-rank *Shi Baihu* (probationary hundred-man commander) officially appointed as a *Zongqi* (commander), which made him quite a significant figure in a place like Hua County.

The year before last, when the little Tartar prince invaded from the south, the Zhengde Emperor personally led a campaign to the north, and Yang Daxing was conscripted to join the army. Such conscription was common; theoretically, one could just coast through the service and return, as the Jin Yiwei were not regular soldiers and didn't need to risk their lives.

Unfortunately, the Zhengde Emperor was not one to play by the rules; he actually personally entered the battlefield and personally struck down a bandit. However, the Mongols were powerful, and the battlefield was extremely dangerous; historical records state that during that campaign, the Emperor's carriage nearly fell into peril several times. Amidst the chaos of battle, it was thanks to Yang Daxing risking his life to protect the Emperor that the imperial family's life was preserved, but he himself was struck by several Tartar arrows. Thus, Commander Yang was gloriously promoted to *Qianhu* (thousand-man commander).

Since the man had died saving the Emperor, his funeral and affairs could not be too shabby. The imperial court first rewarded him with a high-quality coffin, then ten bolts of colored silk and five hundred taels of fine silver. The official in charge, seeing how pitiful Yang Chengzu was, did not dare to be too harsh; he actually distributed three bolts of silk and one hundred taels of official silver, ensuring that the family of a meritorious official was not left disheartened.

Yang Chengzu's mother had died early, and while his father had two concubines, they unfortunately left no descendants, so there was no pressure regarding his succession. According to the rules, the Jin Yiwei usually inherited a lower rank, but since his father had died saving the Emperor, it would look bad if his rank were lowered by a full level.

Thus, he was granted a half-step increase, inheriting the rank of a sixth-rank *Baihu*. However, Yang Chengzu was too honest and did not know how to use his father's "life-buying money" to grease palms; as a result, his official appointment was suppressed by half a step, and he was only officially appointed as a *Xiao Qi*.

Of course, in a place like Hua County, which was only the scale of a *Xiaoqi* unit, there was little difference in the number of people managed whether one was a *Zongqi* or a *Xiaoqi*. However, the Jin Yiwei in this place were also hereditary.

The current serving Jin Yiwei were all veterans from Yang Daxing's generation. Aside from uncles, there were elder uncles, and one was even an elder of Yang Daxing's generation—a high-level veteran of the grandfatherly generation, each one a seasoned old fox.

Yang Chengzu was naturally a junior, and now that his rank had been lowered, he lacked both prestige and authority; those old-timers looked down on him. If he wanted to command people, he simply couldn't. Not being able to command people was a small matter, but not being able to enforce the local Jin Yiwei's customary rules was a major issue.

Right at this juncture, one of the two concubines, seeing that the Yang family had lost its backing, had actually snatched away more than half of Yang Daxing's compensation and vanished without a trace. Yang Chengzu suffered a series of blows, and a once-sturdy man simply fell ill. If not for the care of the other stepmother, Lady Liu, he might not have even kept his life.

It was precisely because his illness was so severe that Zhao Xiaoshan, this Peking Opera actor, was able to possess Yang Chengzu's body so easily. However, after transmigrating, his body recovered quickly; it didn't take much time before he regained his health.

The foundation of this body was actually quite good—strong and robust, with decent martial arts skills, and especially an exceptionally handsome appearance. This made Zhao Xiaoshan secretly thank the heavens; fortunately, he had transmigrated into such a person. If it were like those trashy books he read, where one often transmigrates into a sickly person or a family so poor they've hit rock bottom, how would he have lived?

Since he was well, he could not neglect his "lesson." That's right, this "lesson" referred to singing, not martial arts. A good fighter is inferior to a mediocre actor; Zhao Xiaoshan had martial arts skills in his previous life, and by inheriting the original owner's skills, his movements were naturally quite impressive.

However, for him, he had no desire to be a bandit or to risk his life on the front lines; the quality of his martial arts was of little significance. On the contrary, this Peking Opera was a skill he had cultivated since childhood and could not abandon. Even if he lost his source of income in the future, couldn't he just set up a troupe?

This was the Zhengde era; *Pihuang* and *Dingqiang* (early forms of opera) were matters for the Qing Dynasty, and Peking Opera was a non-existent thing; currently, it was the era of *Nanxi* (Southern Opera). However, he did not want to let this skill go to waste. And Yang Chengzu's innate vocal conditions were actually even better than Zhao Xiaoshan's; in a short time, he had already recovered about seventy to eighty percent of his former ability.

While he was performing his vocal warm-ups and exercising his muscles and bones, he heard someone outside the door ask, "Does Little Qi Yang live here?"

Because he had inherited the original owner's memories, Yang Chengzu was not unfamiliar with this voice. His brow furrowed slightly. "Why has this fellow come here?"

However, not opening the door was clearly not an option, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and open it. He saw a thin, gaunt man in his forties standing outside. He was short and stout, with a wretched appearance, a pointed chin, and monkey-like features, yet he wore a square *pingding* cap, indicating he was a man of some academic achievement. Upon seeing Yang Chengzu, a sliver of a smile squeezed out of his ugly face, revealing a mouth of yellow teeth. "Little Qi Yang, have you been well?"

There was no smile on Yang Chengzu's face, and his voice was ice-cold. "Is this not Master Jiao from the yamen? What wind blew you here today? My temple is small and cannot host a great deity like you, so I won't invite you in. Speak your piece here."

The man's face twitched a few times, but he immediately plastered on a smile and forced his way into the courtyard. "You child, what kind of talk is that? I am no outsider to you. Why are you being so polite with me? Let's talk inside the house."

Just as Yang Chengzu was about to push him out, the man lowered his voice and said, "My young master, please, just let me in. It looks like something big is about to happen in our Hua County. If you don't lend a hand, the sky is going to fall. Why are you holding a grudge against me at a time like this?"

His words were fierce, but Yang Chengzu didn't take them to heart. His arm was held out like an iron bolt. Due to the difference in their physiques, the wretched man truly could not enter the door. The man grew desperate and kept pleading, "Young master, let's just say I was an idiot in the past, alright? Right now, our County Magistrate has been taken away by others. If you keep stalling with me, something terrible is going to happen!"