Chapter 304 Evil Intentions

"My Lord!" County Magistrate Jiao heard Huo Xifei's question and hurriedly said, "Since the flood, most of the villages around Yukang Prefecture have been destroyed. The villagers have either died or fled. Most of them have left now. Therefore, there are not many disaster victims gathered outside Yukang City. As for the few who have been affected, I have ordered people to resettle them outside the city and set up porridge stalls to prevent them from suffering from hunger and displacement."

"Oh?" Huo Xifei frowned upon hearing this. "Even if the victims can't survive in their own villages, if they need to make a living, isn't Yukang City the closest? But it seems to me that there are very few victims near Yukang City. Why would they go so far away? I was wondering if you, Lord Jiao, have relocated the victims somewhere, or if they've been scared away by the high prices of rice in your city."

As Huo Xifei spoke, he squinted his eyes and looked at County Magistrate Jiao, with a hint of sarcasm on his lips.

Hearing Huo Xifei's words, County Magistrate Jiao's heart skipped a beat and he laughed dryly, "You're joking, my Lord! There are places to resettle the victims both inside and outside the city. Why would I settle them separately? As for the price of rice... you know, in a year of famine, prices are bound to be higher. As long as they're not too outrageous, it's fine!"

"Hmph!" Yuan Ziyu couldn't help but sneer. "Raising prices in a year of famine is clearly taking advantage of the national crisis. Lord Jiao didn't stop it in time, but instead considered it normal. As a local official, doesn't Lord Jiao know how to sympathize with the suffering of the people? Isn't raising prices like this just making things worse for the people?"

When County Magistrate Jiao saw Yuan Ziyu interrupting without permission, he felt indignant. In terms of status, he was a local official, while the other party was just a servant beside the prince, without any official title. It was really overstepping his bounds to speak to him like this. However, due to Huo Xifei's status, he did not dare to scold him. He just raised the corner of his mouth.

"What's the matter?" Huo Xifei naturally couldn't bear to see Yuan Ziyou being wronged, so he squinted at County Magistrate Jiao and asked, "Master Jiao, are you dissatisfied with my people?"

"I dare not!" County Magistrate Jiao's heart skipped a beat and he said hurriedly.

"Hmph, what my people say represents my words. If you have any dissatisfaction, just come to me. There is no need to criticize in your heart!" Huo Xifei said with a cold snort.

"I dare not, I dare not!" County Magistrate Jiao did not dare to look down on Yuan Ziyu anymore. Even because of Huo Xifei's protective attitude, County Magistrate Jiao knew that this servant was not someone he could afford to offend.

"It would be best if you don't dare!" Huo Xifei smiled when he saw that Magistrate Jiao had given in. Then he asked, "Did you hear what my servant just said?"

“Hear…I heard it!”

"Hmm!" Huo Xifei nodded and asked, "So what do you think?"

"I think what you said makes sense!" County Magistrate Jiao didn't dare to say anything wrong about Yuan Ziyu, so he quickly replied.

Huo Xifei sneered, "It seems that Lord Jiao's words and deeds are inconsistent. He says one thing, but does another. How should I expect this prince to view you?"

"This...this..." County Magistrate Jiao's heart trembled. This prince must have looked around the city before coming to the County Magistrate's Mansion. He was deliberately looking for trouble. "Your Highness, I wanted to rebuke you before, but now this young man's words have enlightened me. I will start to rectify the price issue immediately and will not let Your Highness down!"

"It doesn't matter if I'm disappointed or not. The key is not to disappoint His Majesty!" Huo Xifei sneered, "Your Majesty has appointed you as a local official. If you can't do your job well, someone else will do it. Do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand!" County Magistrate Jiao wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile.

As they were talking, a soldier hurried into the hall and said, "Sir, the prince's guards are outside the door and want to see the prince."

"Let them in!" Huo Xifei said without waiting for County Magistrate Jiao to speak.

Seeing that County Magistrate Jiao didn't say anything, the soldier quickly responded.

After a while, Pingshan came in with a pair of soldiers and bowed respectfully to Huo Xifei: "This subordinate greets the prince!"

"Well, what's going on?" Huo Xifei asked.

When Huo Xifei asked this, County Magistrate Jiao had a bad feeling. Sure enough, he heard Pingshan say, "Your Highness, I've heard that Yukang City previously had an entrance fee of three qian of silver per person. As a result, many disaster victims were not allowed to enter."

Huo Xifei raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and turned to look at County Magistrate Jiao. "Master Jiao, what are your thoughts on this issue? This entrance fee wasn't fabricated by those who envy you, was it?"

County Magistrate Jiao hadn't expected Huo Xifei's subordinates to inquire about all this and find out everything. He felt even worse, but he still insisted, "Your Highness, these officials really don't know. Tell me, when did we in the Dali Dynasty start requiring an entrance fee to enter the city? And charging three qian of silver per person, isn't that just robbery? Besides, when you entered the city, was there an entrance fee? There wasn't any at all. This... this person who spread the rumor is simply harboring evil intentions!"

"Yes, when did we in the Dali Dynasty ever charge a city entrance fee? Even the emperor wouldn't dare do so, fearing he would lose the people's support!" Huo Xifei sneered, "I think Lord Jiao wouldn't do something that would ruin his reputation."

"Yes, yes, yes!" County Magistrate Jiao responded while wiping the sweat off his face.

Mr. He, the lawyer standing next to him, felt something was wrong and wanted to remind County Magistrate Jiao, but was glared at by Yuan Ziyu coldly. He dared not make any more moves and could only stand by and worry.

Huo Xifei smiled and glanced at Mr. He, the lawyer beside him, and said, "Since someone has spread rumors about Lord Jiao, we must get to the bottom of this matter. How about this, let's go to the city gate and clear Lord Jiao's name? How about this?"

"This... this is of course good!" County Magistrate Jiao's heart skipped a beat, and he felt even more uneasy.

"Okay, in that case, let's set off now!" Huo Xifei said, then put the teacup in his hand on the table and stood up.

"That!" County Magistrate Jiao instinctively wanted to drag Huo Xifei along, and hurriedly said, "My Lord, it's already noon. How about we have lunch first before heading to the city gate? I've already asked the kitchen to prepare food!"

"No, business is more important!" Huo Xifei glanced at County Magistrate Jiao. "How can an official of our Great Li Dynasty be slandered like this for no reason? This is simply a disregard for our Great Li Dynasty. This prince wants to see who is harboring such evil intentions and being so rampant!"

"Ah, this..." County Magistrate Jiao couldn't say anything to delay the conversation any more, so he just smiled and said, "Yes, yes, then I will accompany the prince to the city gate to take a look!"

Huo Xifei smiled and said, "That's great!"

(End of this chapter)