Noble Lady

"You scholars should be honest. As the saying goes, a general in the field is not subject to the orders of his sovereign. We military generals..."

Just as Xue Hou was about to start talking, Xue Chenyu shook her head at him, "...Father."

The outspoken Lord Xue could only smile foolishly and try to get away with it.

He Yuanju paused for a moment, then understood what Lord Xue meant and could only smile bitterly.

Then he continued to tell the story.

He said that he discovered by chance that the county magistrate Wu Fang had won over people from the Haicheng branch of Datong Trading Company, and also found that Wu Fang asked the people from the trading company to help him sell grain at a high price.

As for the fact that the officials in the yamen and Wu Fang were birds of a feather, he had known about it long ago. However, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Wu Fang had been operating for many years, and he, a county magistrate from outside, could do nothing about it.

Later, he discovered Wu Fang's account book. Although he had carefully arranged people to deliver it, he was still discovered by Wu Fang, who surrounded him with the county lieutenant and others.

After that, he lost consciousness. When he woke up again, he was imprisoned in Miaoshan Village until Xue Hou rescued him.

"At first, I also knew that they were colluding with each other inside and outside, but I didn't expect that the entire county government was composed of their people." He Yuanju smiled bitterly.

Situ Zhen did not doubt these words.

County lieutenant Song Daping and his colleagues were driven by profit, not to mention the lower-level clerks.

After Wu Fang "disappeared", Song Daping and others became much more obedient.

After that, he came again, and naturally, those clerks did not dare to act recklessly and blatantly.

But he also did a lot of tricks behind the scenes.

otherwise.

Miss Xue would not have to put on a show for them about the matter of Qiuhua and Dongyue.

"Did you get any useful clues while you were in Miaoshan Village?"

He Yuanju shook his head helplessly. "The people who brought me food were all villagers there, but they kept their mouths shut. The whole village was united in facing outsiders. When they brought the food, they just brought it in and left without saying anything."

"So I did some stupid things at first."

The so-called stupid thing he did was that he went on a hunger strike.

But those people let him starve, and only fed him rice porridge when he was almost starving to death.

He survived with all this suffering, and his body became ill, which is why he is so thin now.

Listening to He Yuanju's narration, Situ Zhen slowly told him, "Zheng Duoqi, Feng, the shopkeeper of Haicheng Merchants, and County Lieutenant Song Daping have all been apprehended. But Wu Fang is still at large."

He Yuanju breathed a sigh of relief. For him, this was very good news.

Situ Zhen didn't say these things first, in fact, he also wanted to test him.

What he said now matches what has been verified.

Afterwards, He Yuanju revealed another shocking fact: "Haicheng County is not only a case of collusion between spectators, but also a case of collusion between officials and bandits."

He said that Wu Fang had been keeping bandits nearby for years, allowing them to rob passing caravans. He would get the lion's share of the spoils, while the bandits would only take a small share.

Moreover, Wu Fang did not only these things, he also secretly made friends with a high-ranking official and engaged in the trafficking of women and children.

That high-ranking official was none other than the immediate superior of Haicheng County, the prefect and a high-ranking official in the region.

Everyone present was shocked.

"Does Lord He have any evidence?" Situ Zhen asked calmly.

He remained calm even when faced with a huge crisis.

However, Xue Chenyu guessed what he meant. Only with evidence could she convince him. If there was no evidence, then they could only pretend that this matter did not exist.

Although she had previously captured Feng, the shopkeeper of Haicheng Trading Company, and helped Situ Zhen catch the corrupt officials in the county government office, she had been under surveillance since she left Beijing, and this was not something that the people of Haicheng Trading Company could do.

Moreover, the whereabouts of the grain transport team were always under surveillance.

There is clearly an invisible hand behind this.

"We did find some evidence before..." He Yuanju gave a wry smile, "But after my downfall, I'm afraid they've smoked out all the evidence and destroyed it."

That means there is no evidence.

Chen Mingxuan consoled him, "Master He, you have survived the ordeal. You should go and rest first. The people of Haicheng County still need you, their father and mother."

"Thank you, Lord Chen, for your concern. Thank you, Lord Chen, for your hard work for the people of Haicheng County during this period." He Yuanju knew Chen Mingxuan.

On the way back, Marquis Xue told him that during this period, Chen Mingxuan, Chen Jiaoxi, was in charge of the county magistrate's seal and had implemented a series of measures to benefit the people.

"Master He, you are too polite. As a fellow official appointed by the imperial court, this is only natural."

He Yuanju looked at his young and humble appearance and sighed, "If only everyone thought like Master Chen."

If you are not careful, this statement may sound like that of an angry young man, and it will generalize to the whole group.

Chen Mingxuan suddenly became embarrassed. "Master He, you are too kind. There are still many good officials."

He Yuanju realized belatedly that he had said the wrong thing, and hurriedly bowed and apologized to Situ Zhen, Xue Hou and Chen Mingxuan.

"Master He, please go and have a rest first." Situ Zhen waved his hand, and the matter was settled.

He Yuanju was also taken out by Fang Rui.

Xue Chenyu, a man without any official title, had been invisible throughout the whole process, and only at this moment did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"What does Miss Xue think?" Situ Zhen asked half-jokingly.

Xue Chenyu said seriously, "...I think I understand why a young talent like Mr. He, who passed the imperial examination at such a young age, was exiled to such a remote place to serve as a small county magistrate."

No background, but still an angry young man.

This is very easy to offend people.

Everyone in the study looked at each other, and then smiled knowingly.

What she said really hit the nail on the head.

"Prince, there is one more thing." After laughing, Marquis Xue became serious.

Seeing that his expression had become solemn, Xue Chenyu knew that he must have something important to report, so she stood up tactfully.

"Prince, Father, Lord Chen, I will take my leave now."

Xue Hou's first reaction was why was she leaving, and then he realized that this girl knew he was going to say something important.

She's really quick-witted.

"Then you take Luoluo out to play for a while, and dad will be here soon." Marquis Xue instructed.

Does he still think he is a teenager, playing sand castles with his younger siblings?

Xue Chenyu couldn't help but feel helpless, but she didn't refute it.

Situ Zhen also carefully instructed: "I also have something to discuss with Miss Xue later."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you anytime."

Afterwards, Xue Chenyu knelt down, bowed, and left.

The only people left in the study were Prince Cheng's son Situ Zhen, Marquis Xue, and Chen Mingxuan.

Marquis Xue even double-checked that there were no other spies before lowering his voice and cautiously saying, "The remaining tens of thousands of dan of grain are not in Miaoshan Village. Or rather, they have completely disappeared."

Situ Zhen's face looked slightly stern.

The grain that Xue Chenyu transported to Lingnan was divided into three parts. More than 100,000 dan of grain disappeared into the sea when it arrived in Haicheng County.

He had previously led people to seize a warehouse, and together with some account books found in the Haicheng Trading Company, it could be proved that they had only sold half of it at a high price.

The other half was transported to other places.

Marquis Xue led his troops to Miaoshan Village in the hope of finding the remaining food, but now, there was not a single grain of rice left.

"Teacher, have you found any clues?" Situ Zhen asked cautiously.

Xue Hou nodded, "Most of the people in the village have already moved away. The rest are those who were left behind and had no time to retreat."

"And County Magistrate He was thrown into a small room without even a sip of water. If we had arrived a step later, Magistrate He would have been beyond saving."