Feng Shaoli sighed inwardly, but said aloud, "Sent by Lord Chu? Lord Zheng, is there some misunderstanding?"

Zheng Boyuan sneered twice and said, "Lord Feng probably doesn't know that our Lord Chu is one of the Third Prince's men. As for me, I happen to have some conflicts with the Third Prince. Lord Chu is here on the Third Prince's orders to take my life and the lives of my family."

Upon hearing this, Feng Shaoli turned pale and looked at Zheng Boyuan with some helplessness. Zheng Boyuan sighed and said, "This all started with my wife."

Zheng Boyuan recounted in detail how Xu Zhi had clashed with the Third Prince back then, and how he himself had displeased the Third Prince.

Feng Shaoli's forehead broke out in a fine sweat, but because Zheng Boyuan was present, he was too embarrassed to wipe it with a handkerchief. He just gritted his teeth and asked, "Lord Zheng, please just tell me what you need me to do. I will do my best to help you with anything I can."

Zheng Boyuan nodded in agreement. He knew that Feng Shaoli, though he looked like a somewhat frail scholar, would be able to handle things decisively when it came to matters.

Zheng Boyuan said, "My family found out about what happened here and sent some people over. My courtyard is not big enough to accommodate them all, so I would like to borrow Lord Feng's backyard for a while. I will have to trouble Lord Feng to find an empty courtyard in his backyard so that I can settle my people in. If there is any disturbance on my side, my people here can arrive in time."

Hearing this, Feng Shaoli felt pleased. These people lived in his own yard. If another thief were to sneak into his yard, would these people just stand by and do nothing?

Feng Shaoli quickly agreed, saying, "I'll have the child's mother go to the backyard to make arrangements. Lord Zheng, please feel free to ask if you have any other plans."

Zheng Boyuan cupped his hands in thanks to Feng Shaoli and said, "Thank you for your righteous assistance, Lord Feng."

Feng Shaoli waved his hand and said to Zheng Boyuan, "Lord Zheng, this is nothing serious. When we lived in the village, if someone had relatives visiting and their house wasn't big enough, the neighbors would help them make room for them to sleep. These are all minor matters. Lord Zheng, I've been thinking about something lately. You know, after this flood in Miaozhou, the imperial court will give us some relief grain or silver. When these things arrive, will they be distributed to the people?"

Seeing the seriousness in Feng Shaoli's question, Zheng Boyuan had a sudden thought and said, "This should naturally be distributed to the common people. What, does Lord Feng have some ideas?"

Feng Shaoli sighed and said, "Lord Zheng, in previous years, when the imperial court provided disaster relief grain and silver, it was always Lord Chu and Lord Wan who personally handled it. I have never been able to get involved."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Boyuan was startled and knew there was something fishy going on. He stopped hiding his intentions and said, "Lord Feng, if you have something to say, just say it directly. Although I am of low rank, I cannot stand by and watch the people suffer from disaster and then be exploited."

Feng Shaoli stood up, bowed deeply to Zheng Boyuan, and said, "Lord Zheng, I would like to ask you to help me this time so that the money and grain that should have been given to the people can be delivered to them."

Zheng Boyuan stood up, took Feng Shaoli's arm, and said, "Lord Feng, you don't need to bow so deeply to me. In this life, one must do one's duty. I have come all the way from the capital, so naturally I must do my duty. Rest assured, I don't care what others do, but if there is any injustice, I will definitely not stand idly by."

Feng Shaoli nodded and said, "Lord Zheng, Miaozhou has suffered from disasters for several years. The imperial court has been very considerate of Miaozhou. Of the relief grain and silver sent over, only one or two tenths actually reach the people."

Zheng Boyuan looked at Feng Shaoli in surprise. Feng Shaoli smiled bitterly and said, "Does Lord Zheng find this unbelievable? Lord Chu appears to be kind and refined on the surface, but he is actually cunning and treacherous on the inside. Before Lord Zheng came here, as the registrar of Miaozhou, I was only responsible for doing my job. I was not allowed to get involved in anything that involved money, and I was unwilling to get involved either. I am a farmer's son who has risen to this position through studying. I have suffered so much along the way, so I naturally know how difficult it is for ordinary people. I really do not want to be complicit with them."

While listening to Feng Shaoli's words, Zheng Boyuan was calculating in his mind how much money the imperial court had allocated for disaster relief over the years. In recent years, the imperial court had been able to recuperate and the weather had been favorable, so its wealth had actually become quite substantial. Disasters like the one in Miaozhou were not common in Daliang, so the imperial court was quick to allocate disaster relief funds to Miaozhou, and the amount was naturally considerable.

Zheng Boyuan knew that Feng Shaoli had been in charge of some of the government's account books, so he asked, "Lord Feng, do you have account books for the silver that has been allocated to lower levels?"

Feng Shaoli nodded and said, "Of course there is. I don't know how much silver came from above, but the silver that is allocated to lower levels has to go through my hands, so I naturally have the account books."

Zheng Boyuan nodded and said, "It's good to have account books. As long as there are account books, any problems can be found out. Lord Feng, you should keep those account books you made carefully."

Feng Shaoli smiled and said, "Of course. To be honest, Lord Zheng, I kept two sets of accounts. One was made according to the requirements of Lord Chu and Lord Wan, and the other was made by myself in secret. However, this matter is extremely confidential, and no one else knows about it except me."

Zheng Boyuan couldn't help but look at Feng Shaoli with new respect. He really didn't expect that this seemingly frail colleague would have such courage.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!