At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

As Chen Ming formulated a series of disaster relief measures, the accompanying convoy immediately split into four groups.

Three of them go to the west, south and north.

The group led by Chen Ming posted disaster relief notices and built relief tents directly at the East Gate of the city.

As two large pots were set up, everyone quickly began to work on disaster relief.

Only the officials and soldiers behind Xia Yun did not participate in the entire process.

Not only that, Xia Yun even had people quickly build a sunshade, and arranged for soldiers to go to Hongyan Tower, ordering Hongyan Tower to send heat-relief medicine, wine and meat.

Such an action naturally quickly aroused Chen Ming's dissatisfaction.

"As the official in charge of Hangzhou, he totally ignored disaster relief. How despicable!" Chen Ming thought to himself.

He kept this matter in mind, waiting to find evidence of Xia Yun's corruption and abuse of power so that he could punish him together!

Time passes minute by minute.

In a blink of an eye, the sun was already high in the sky.

The scorching heat released by the scorching heat of midsummer made Chen Ming and others sweat all over.

Xia Yun and his companions hid under the awning, feeling carefree and relaxed.

……

As it was almost noon, Chen Ming finally noticed something was wrong.

According to his expectations, there should be a large number of disaster victims coming to drink porridge at this time.

However, the notice was posted for a long time.

Up to now, they haven’t seen a single disaster victim, or even the hair of a stray dog!

At this time, Chen Ming's gaze turned to Xia Yun and others standing aside.

Xia Yun and others were sitting under the awning, drinking some heat-relief medicine, fanning themselves, and looking quite relaxed.

Not only that, he also saw a group of people dressed as hotel waiters, rushing over from a distance with large lunch boxes on their shoulders.

Soon, the guys arrived at the awning.

What followed was a scene that left Chen Ming dumbfounded.

I saw a group of waiters taking out piles of carefully cooked delicacies and jars of fine wine from the lunch boxes they brought, and placed them on the tables under the awning.

Xia Yun and others did not hesitate. When the table was filled with wine and meat, they began to feast on it.

Compare the two scenes at the city gate.

Chen Ming was immediately furious.

"What a corrupt official who abuses his power and preys on the people! How dare you act so recklessly in front of me!"

Chen Ming gradually couldn't suppress his anger.

At this time, he saw that next to the group of waiters stood a middle-aged man who looked like a shopkeeper, nodding and bowing to Xia Yun and his group.

"Bring that man here."

Chen Ming gave the order immediately.

The soldiers on both sides hurried forward, came under the awning, and signaled the middle-aged shopkeeper to go with them.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper panicked for a moment, thinking he had done something wrong.

Fortunately, Xia Yun spoke up, which eased the shopkeeper's anxiety.

"Go with them."

Xia Yun, who was drinking and eating meat, nodded.

So, the shopkeeper was brought to Chen Ming by two soldiers.

"What's your name? Who are you?"

Chen Ming went straight to the point and asked directly.

"In reply to your Excellency, I am Qian Dajun, the shopkeeper of Hongyan Tower. I am here to deliver food on the orders of the prefect."

Qian Dajun responded truthfully.

Hearing this, Chen Ming frowned.

“Do they pay for their meals?”

Chen Ming then asked

In his opinion, Xia Yun's behavior was probably just to force merchants to eat and drink for free.

"You are joking, sir. Of course the prefect has to pay for the meal."

Qian Dajun didn't understand what was going on, so he had to respond truthfully.

Not hearing the expected answer, the confusion in Chen Ming's eyes became more intense.

But at this moment, a woman suddenly came over from the other end of the street.

There was a child beside the woman.

When Chen Ming took a look, he subconsciously thought that the other party came to drink porridge.

He quickly asked the soldiers beside him to prepare dishes and chopsticks.

When the woman passed by the porridge stall, Chen Ming immediately called her and said, "Come and have some porridge."

When the woman heard this, she saw Xia Yun eating and drinking under the awning not far away.

I immediately thought that Zhoupeng was set up by Xia Yun.

"Is this the porridge stall opened by Lord Xia?"

The woman walked forward to check, but when she saw that there was nothing in the porridge shed except two pots of white porridge, a look of disappointment immediately appeared on her face.

When Chen Ming heard the woman's words, confusion already appeared on his face, and now the woman's expression made him even more surprised.

Isn’t the other person hungry?

"I am the Imperial Censor sent by the court to provide relief to the disaster victims in Hangzhou. All the people affected by the disaster in Zhejiang Province can come here to drink porridge."

Chen Ming revealed his identity.

When the woman heard this, a look of sudden enlightenment appeared on her face.

"So that's how it is. No wonder there's only porridge and no vegetables."

There was a hint of disdain in the woman's voice. She ignored Chen Ming and took the child directly to the awning where Xia Yun was.

"I greet Master Xia!"

The woman knelt down and kowtowed to Xia Yun.

Xia Yun, who was drinking and eating meat, quickly wiped his hands and helped the woman up from the ground.

"It doesn't have to be this way, it doesn't have to be this way."

Xia Yun spoke repeatedly. This sudden scene was beyond his expectations.

"If you hadn't come to Hangzhou, my child and I would have starved to death. I am honored to meet you today, and I kowtow to you."

The woman tied up her hair, her face full of respect and gratitude towards Xia Yun.

"My dear lady, it's hot in the middle of the day. You should take your child home quickly and don't leave him outside in the sun."

Xu Wan'er walked forward at the right time, holding a lunch box with two dishes in it.

"Master Xu, you can't do this. You can't do this."

The woman pushed her hand away, trying to reject Xu Wan'er's kindness.

"It's okay. The child is growing. Bring the food home for the child to eat."

Xu Wan'er did not give the woman a chance to refuse and directly handed the lunch box to her.

The woman's eyes were filled with gratitude.

Chen Ming was completely stunned by all these scenes.

What exactly is going on?

Wasn't it said that Xia Yun was bullying merchants and exploiting the common people in Hangzhou? How could this be the case?

Chen Ming was very puzzled, and then turned his attention to Qian Dajun again.

"Manager Qian, I have a question for you and you must answer it truthfully."

Chen Ming's expression gradually became solemn.

"Your Excellency, please feel free to ask. If I tell you anything false, I will be struck by lightning."

Qian Dajun made this promise solemnly.

"Very good. Let me ask you, what is the disaster situation in Hangzhou? Where have all the victims gone?"

Chen Ming nodded, and then asked the biggest question in his mind.

Unexpectedly, the answer that came out of Qian Dajun's mouth was like being struck by lightning, and he stood there in a daze.

"Disaster? What disaster?"

"Since Lord Xia came to Hangzhou, the disaster has long gone. It's so hot at this time of year, and the people are eating at home."

Qian Dajun responded truthfully.