Noble Lady

"Whose idea was it to sell the grain that the merchant company shipped to Haicheng County at a high price? Whose hand was it that stamped the county government seal on the account book?"

"Also, what role did County Magistrate Wu Fang play among you?"

Xue Chenyu asked slowly.

Zheng Duoqi looked at the longevity lock in Xue Chenyu's hand, and a hint of hidden hatred flashed in his eyes.

But more of it is regret.

"Actually, you've already found out. A batch of grain was delivered to the Datong branch in Haicheng long ago. It was supposed to be sold at a fair price, just like in Zhushan County and Huaiyuan County, to regulate grain prices and ensure that ordinary people had enough to eat."

Xue Chenyu said nothing, just looked at him quietly.

Zheng Duoqi felt as if the secret in his heart was exposed when she looked at him with her calm but sharp eyes.

"It was Manager Feng who found me." Zheng Duoqi secretly breathed a sigh of relief while speaking.

"When I first arrived in Haicheng County, it was Manager Feng who received me. He thoughtfully arranged all my matters here and even offered to help me share the responsibility of supervising the private school."

"But I didn't agree until he came to me about the food."

Xue Chenyu snorted, "He was so righteous before, but now he's suddenly lost his righteousness after receiving such a huge benefit."

Zheng Duoqi's face looked unhappy, even ugly, but he had no way to refute it.

"...Yes, you said I could do anything. I was just bewildered and went along with them. But in the end, it's still your Datong Trading Company that's causing the problem."

There is indeed something wrong with what I have said about the internal problems of Datong Trading Company.

Xue Chenyu didn't say anything, but just watched him quibble quietly.

"I thought, as long as nothing happens at the private school, it won't affect Mr. Sensei's reputation, and I don't have to do anything. I just won't mention this matter in my letter to Mr. Sensei..."

Zheng Duoqi seemed quite proud. "And I didn't take much, just 10%."

Xue Chenyu sneered, "Should I praise you then, Mr. Zheng?"

Zheng Duoqi suddenly met her cold eyes and couldn't help shuddering.

"Rice worth nearly 100,000 taels was sold by you guys for hundreds of thousands of taels!"

"You said you only took 10%. But do you know that 10% you took represents the lives of countless innocent people in Haicheng County?"

Zheng Duoqi was visibly panicking. "This, this is none of my business. I just..."

"You only secretly helped to suppress the news of the famine, preventing the spread of the news that the people here were starving to death. Is that what you meant?"

Zheng Duoqi pursed his lips.

"And you're also saying that if they really have nothing to eat, they'll know to run away. But you know that we Chinese people are always attached to our land. Unless we're forced into a desperate situation, we would never abandon our homes and careers to become refugees, right?"

"Do you know how many people starved to death before they fled and became refugees?"

"You know those people could have avoided starving to death and becoming refugees, right?"

"I spent a huge amount of money to buy rice and sent it from thousands of miles away just to save their lives, but what about you, a disciple of the sages who read the books of the saints?"

"You're playing with human life. You don't treat human life as human life, yet you keep saying it, trying to portray yourself as an innocent and unaware person. Zheng Duoqi, I, Xue Chenyu, have seen many shameless people in my life, but I've never seen someone as shameless as you!"

"Can you really live comfortably with the money you earned from countless lives? With all the finery and wealth, can you really not see those innocent victims crying out for justice?!"

Zheng Duoqi was stunned for a moment and leaned against the wooden rack.

If he hadn't been tied up, he would have fallen down.

"You did it, you took the money, and you still have to pretend to be innocent. Who are you trying to show off to? It's disgusting."

Xue Chenyu didn't give him any face.

Yumei and Yuzhu also spat in disgust: "Disgusting."

"Disgusting!"

The remaining fig leaf of Zheng Duoqi was completely torn off.

His face was pale and his pride was scattered all over the ground.

Xue Chenyu put the longevity lock back into her purse.

"What role does County Magistrate Wu Fang play among you? In other words, who among you is the leader?"

"Wu Fang. He did all this."

Zheng Duoqi finally found a breakthrough here.

He answered whatever Xue Chenyu asked.

"At first, I also thought that the person behind this was Haicheng County Magistrate He Yuanju, but after more contact, I realized that he was bypassing Haicheng County Magistrate He Yuanju and even wanted to take the opportunity to bring He Yuanju down."

"There's a precedent in Dasheng's officialdom for the replacement of a county magistrate by a county magistrate. Before He Yuanju became the county magistrate, Haicheng had always been controlled by Wu Fang."

"Ever since the previous county magistrate was detained and brought back to the capital, he's been controlling Haicheng County's affairs for three years. He even thought he should be the replacement, but he didn't expect a second-place candidate to show up."

Afterwards, he confessed the involvement of the county lieutenant and others.

In fact, he was the only one who joined later, while these officials in Haicheng had already been in collusion with each other for a long time.

Xue Chenyu also understood.

County Magistrate Wu Fang had been acting as the county magistrate for a long time and, having tasted the power, refused to give it up.

So, they tried every possible means to bring down the county magistrate.

If she and Situ Zhen had not arrived, He Yuanju would have naturally become the scapegoat.

Since two consecutive county magistrates have run into problems, I'm afraid no one will be willing to take office in Haicheng County in the future.

It was only natural for Wu Fang to be appointed as the county magistrate.

Moreover, he also contributed to the case of "investigating collusion between officials and businessmen". In the eyes of the people of Haicheng County, he was naturally the best county magistrate, and his future career would be smoother.

After thinking through this series of implications, Xue Chenyu just wanted to say: human nature is sinister.

After getting what she wanted from Zheng Duoqi, she left with Zheng Duoqi's confession and the longevity lock.

As for Zheng Duoqi, although he confessed all this, he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart.

"Although I was deceived by Manager Feng, County Magistrate Wu Fang, and others and helped conceal some of the news, that grain wasn't disaster relief grain from the imperial court, so he'll be convicted of theft at most. As long as he returns the stolen money, there shouldn't be any serious consequences."

"Besides, the master has always valued me and praised my articles and policy proposals. He wouldn't easily believe the words of a young girl."

He was still thinking happily.

Little did he know that Xue Chenyu had already seen through his wishful thinking.

Zheng Duoqi is a scholar with a good reputation. If he returns the stolen money, he will insist that he did not participate in the crime of theft. Without evidence, nothing can be done to him.

Because Xue Chenyu was not an official, the questions she had just asked did not even conform to the court's inquiry procedures and were not in compliance with regulations. Her testimony was therefore not counted.

But he forgot one thing: what if the grain that he, the shopkeeper Feng, and the county magistrate Wu Fangdeng stole and sold was disaster relief grain from the imperial court?