With a million soldiers, the empress begged me not to rebel

Chen Qingwan had doubts in her heart and said to Qiao'er:

"Let's go to the tea stall in front and have some tea!"

If you want to get information, you must go to places like teahouses and pubs.

This kind of place has people coming and going from all over the country, and people from all walks of life can naturally hear different news.

Qiao'er was worried that going to that kind of place would be crowded and would put Chen Qingwan in danger.

"This……"

"Stop talking about this and that, and hurry up!"

Chen Qingwan took the lead and walked forward. Since the empress had made the decision, Qiao'er naturally couldn't say much.

She had no choice but to follow behind, looking left and right, fearing that any danger might happen.

Chen Qingwan deliberately chose a tea stall with many people and sat down. She ordered a pot of tea and drank it slowly.

Hearing these people chatting, Chen Qingwan pretended to be puzzled and asked:

"Everyone, I'm from another place. Is this county magistrate really as good as you guys are at chatting? I just heard someone calling Lu Qingtian!"

"How many good deeds do you need to do for the people to deserve such a reputation?"

A big man wearing coarse clothes and with a beard looked at Chen Qingwan, then drank the tea in the bowl generously, and then spoke in a loud voice.

"You are a foreigner, and you are willing to learn from me. Let me tell you, what Lu Qingtian did is unprecedented and unparalleled. Only the word Qingtian can match him!"

The bearded man praised Lu Yan a lot before telling him what he knew.

"Lu Qingtian led the county's officers and soldiers to rob a caravan on the border. He didn't pocket the money himself, but instead gave it to all the people in our county!"

"Anyway, I've never heard of a county magistrate who would do such a heroic thing and be so considerate of the people. If this isn't what an honest and upright person is, then what is he?"

The other people nodded repeatedly, and a man who looked like a scholar shook the fan in his hand and spoke slowly.

"Lu Qingtian is even braver than some generals. He led his troops to capture many barbarians."

"As the saying goes, a man of letters can bring peace to the world with his pen, and a man of arms can shake the world with his horse. He is truly the pillar of the country, a role model for officials!"

The scholar praised Lu Yan again and then told everyone.

"Those barbarians are helping us build canals and cultivate the land. This saves us ordinary people a lot of effort and prevents us from being helpless when famine strikes!"

"You all know the bluestone road on East Street, right? That road was built by captured barbarians. Lu Qingtian didn't conscript any laborers, nor did he take money from you to build the road!"

The young man who was adding tea to a few people helped everyone finish adding tea and told everyone with a smile.

"Lu Qingtian is a hero of our county. He sees the difficulties of our people and is always trying to help them!"

"The things we bought from merchants were so expensive before, but now that Lu Qingtian is here, ordinary people like us can afford them. What's more, we can buy two for the same price as we used to buy one!"

Everyone smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

what?

Capture barbarians to do hard labor?

Robbery?

Is this something a county magistrate would do?

Hearing these people talking about Lu Yan's heroic deeds, Chen Qingwan and Qiao'er were speechless.

Chen Qingwan couldn't help but mutter under her breath.

"This...this is considered a good official for the common people. Does doing these things make him an honest official?"

Qiao'er followed with a low complaint.

"That's right. How could a good official get rich by robbing caravans? And how could a good official get rich by capturing barbarians?"

"I think it's just grandstanding. Even if they have to do these things, that's what military officers should do. How can a county magistrate do such things? This is nonsense!"

Qiao'er had a preconceived idea, so she didn't have a very good impression of Lu Yan. The reason she said this was also a disguised rebuttal of the words of these ordinary people.

She didn't dare to complain in front of the people.

Just now, the two of them were a little disrespectful to Lu Yan, and the old lady stopped them from leaving. The two of them still remembered it clearly, and Qiao'er didn't dare to cause trouble for Chen Qingwan.

Although Chen Qingwan was speechless, there was a hint of curiosity on her face.

"Who exactly is this guy? Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Why do the people accept him?"

Qiao'er shook her head honestly.

"I don't know, maybe he's not a good person, otherwise why would someone submit an impeachment memorial? Some things shouldn't be groundless!"

Chen Qingwan shook her head gently.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. We need to spend more time investigating, and then we'll naturally have a conclusion."

"If this guy really has made so many mistakes, then chop off his head. If he's really as good as the people say..."

Chen Qingwan only said half of this sentence and did not continue.

Because she also didn't know how she should make a choice if Lu Yan was really like what the people said.

Because Lu Yan did something that a county magistrate shouldn't have done, he was labeled a corrupt official by the people.

It is a good thing, but it is not something that ordinary people can do. If we arbitrarily say that it is a bad thing, that would be inappropriate.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now? Should we continue to listen to what these people have to say?"

Qiao'er thought that even if she listened to what these people said, it would be nothing more than similar things.

She couldn't guarantee that Lu Yan hadn't done so many surprising things.

But if she said in public that she wanted to investigate the bad things Lu Yan had done, she was afraid that they would not be able to leave the county.

Therefore, even if an investigation is necessary, it will be done secretly and quietly.

Instead of what I thought when I came here, many people would complain and say that Lu Yan was such a hateful county magistrate.

"It seems that things are not that simple now. Let's find an inn near the county government office first and stay there so that we can slowly and secretly investigate!"

"From there, we can have a complete overview of what's happening around the county government office, see how he handles the people's affairs, and have a basis for judgment."

Chen Qingwan’s idea is very simple. A good official will handle both big and small matters well.

Even if a person is good at pretending to be good, his true nature will still be revealed when he is unaware that someone is secretly investigating him.

This is the opportunity Chen Qingwan is looking for, and it is also the opportunity to see Lu Yan’s true face.

Qiao'er paid for the tea, and she and Chen Qingwan left the tea stall.

The two of them walked and stopped along the way, and saw the road built by the barbarians. This bluestone road was wide and flat.

soon.

They walked to the vicinity of the county government office.