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Chapter 30: A show of force

Speaking of which, this Lord Li was quite considerate. Even though he had just rushed out to greet the guests, he did not forget to instruct the servants in the back hall to bring out the best tea to prepare for entertaining the distinguished guests.

Walking closely behind the two black-clad guards of the censor, he was still thinking that the tea was probably almost brewed by now, and he had to be careful no matter what, so as not to let this censor catch him.

He had made all kinds of plans, thinking about how to be polite and courteous and how to guess the other party's thoughts. However, when he arrived at the back hall and just walked to the middle of the courtyard, the guard following the censor suddenly stopped, turned around and motioned for him to wait there.

"My lord, you must be very tired from traveling so long. You need to rest for a while. Ask someone to pack up. You wait here." The guard said in a muffled voice.

Li Wencai didn't dare to say no, so he quickly agreed and asked someone to go in and clean up the room in the back hall. After the room was cleaned up, the censor took the one who looked the most reliable in with him, and left two people standing at the door like door gods.

The person who entered the room with Lu Qing was naturally Zhu Yu. The two sat down at the table in the room. Lu Qing poured two cups of tea and pushed one to Zhu Yu.

In order to curry favor with his superior, Li Wencai was naturally willing to take out some good stuff. The tea was fragrant but not strong, and it was mellow and sweet aftertaste. Even someone like Zhu Yu who didn't know much about tea tasting could tell that it was definitely top-quality stuff.

I slowly savored this pot of tea, and almost half an hour had passed.

After drinking tea, Lu Qing rested his head on the table with one hand and closed his eyes to take a nap.

Zhu Yu watched from the side, not knowing what he was up to, and just sat there quietly with his chin in his hand, accompanying him.

This stay lasted another half an hour.

After a while, Zhu Yu couldn't sit still anymore and cleared his throat.

Lu Qing's eyelashes trembled and she opened her eyes: "What's wrong?"

"Has Li Wencai not been seen yet?" Zhu Yu asked in a low voice.

"It's not hot enough." Lu Qing glanced at the light coming through the window paper, and when he looked at Zhu Yu again, there was a hint of ridicule in his tone, "You're someone who's set his sights on the inner chamber, and you can't sit still just now?"

"I'm free and at ease." Zhu Yu didn't expect to be criticized by him, and immediately retorted in a low voice.

She knew very well in her heart that the boredom and idleness of the past hour had made her feel uneasy, and she was accidentally hit by his teasing.

The people who were panicking included not only Zhu Yu in the house, but also Li Wencai in the yard outside the house.

He had been standing outside for more than an hour, watching the sun rise higher and higher, scorching his head, making his scalp hot, his eyes black, his legs weak, and the soles of his feet numb.

Beads of sweat the size of beans flowed down Li Wencai's chubby cheeks and dripped onto the front of his official robe along his second chin. His face, which was originally as white as a steamed bun, had now turned red, as if it was about to be roasted.

He tried to hold it in, but finally couldn't bear it anymore. His body was shaking. Just as he was about to step forward to listen at the door to see if the censor inside had rested well, the strong man guarding the door stretched out his hand and snorted fiercely, scaring him so much that he quickly retracted his foot before taking a step forward.

The other bronze-faced guard was slightly more polite to him, clasping his fists towards him and saying, "Lord Li, please be patient. My master has been traveling day and night for His Majesty and is truly exhausted. A short rest will be enough."

It lasted for more than an hour, which was really quite a long rest!

Li Wencai's cheek twitched, but he had to put on a smile as usual, hurriedly saying that it was okay, and then continued to stand there sweating.

tick-

tick-

The water marks on Li Wencai's clothes grew larger and larger, and his body trembled more and more violently. Finally, under the scorching sun, County Magistrate Li, who was almost greasy from being sunburned, could no longer bear it. His eyes rolled back, and his huge body seemed to have been pulled out of its bones, and it collapsed to the ground.

The yamen runners who were standing guard at a distance came forward and tried to help him up.

Unfortunately, these yamen runners were idle on weekdays, and County Magistrate Li was a wealthy man. After three or two of them tried for a long time, they could only turn the fat white man over on the spot.

At this moment, the door creaked open, and the intimidating censor stood at the door with his hands behind his back.

"What's going on?" he asked the guard beside him.

The guard immediately replied, "Your Excellency, County Magistrate Li is probably exhausted from the daily grind of office affairs and has passed out."

"Oh? In that case, you and the other runners should escort Magistrate Li back home to recuperate.

"Remember to ensure that Lord Li's food, clothing, and daily needs are met." The censor ordered in a cold voice.

The burly guard who came with him immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order. He strode to the side of County Magistrate Li and grabbed his belt with one hand. Li Wencai, who had been unable to be lifted up by two or three yamen runners just now, was lifted up by him with one hand.

The yamen runners hurried forward and held Li Wencai on both sides.

The guard pointed at another yamen runner and said, "You lead the way."

The yamen runner dared not disobey, and hurriedly led the way. The group of people left in a noisy manner, carrying Li Wencai.

Lu Qing watched Fu Lu follow Li Wencai away, then turned back into the house and asked Fu Wen to greet the county magistrate, the chief clerk and others in the county government office. After a while, a large group of people came. Except for the chief clerk and the county magistrate who entered the house, everyone else was trembling at the door.

"Are you the County Magistrate and Chief Clerk of Qingshui County?" Lu Qing glanced at the man's official uniform and asked, "Lord Li has been feeling unwell, and I have sent someone to escort him home to recuperate.

In that case, I have something to ask you.

Is there a ghost temple outside the county town where you can pray for wealth and get wealth, or pray for wealth and lose your life?
I heard that this Ghost Fairy Temple is quite famous in Qingshui County, and many people have gone there to ask for their wishes.

Are you aware of this?"

The county magistrate and the chief clerk looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Your Excellency, I was unaware of this matter and it was a complete oversight. Please forgive me!" The chief clerk quickly bowed and said respectfully, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency, I will send someone to investigate shortly. No matter who it is, in Qingshui County, no one will be tolerated for playing tricks. I will definitely assist Lord Li in handling this matter!"

The chief clerk spoke with great sincerity. Although he had no idea about the Ghost Temple and did not think it was a big problem, he knew one thing very well.

The current emperor is extremely disgusted with the establishment of private temples. When the current emperor was still a prince, fighting with his brothers for the throne, rumors spread among the people that he was born with a calamity star and was born with evil spirits. If he were allowed to gain power, he would bring disaster to his people, and the world would be in chaos and blood would flow like rivers.

After the emperor ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to arrest those who spread this rumor among the people. He did this for two or three years, and about a hundred people were beheaded. In addition, thousands of people were implicated and exiled.

This is enough to show how taboo this kind of thing is in the emperor's mind.

The occurrence of the Ghost Fairy Temple in Qingshui County could have been a big deal or a small matter, but the appearance of the Lord Censor, who only obeyed the orders of the current emperor, made it impossible for this matter to be "small".

(End of this chapter)