"Okay, I understand. Go ahead."

Lord He waved his hand, and the servant nodded and withdrew.

"Hehe, Lord Jiang, to be honest, it wasn't that I went to arrest you early this morning. It was simply to bring you to my residence and protect you before the sorceress and the prefect could do so... I hope you will forgive any shortcomings in my service..."

Lord He said apologetically.

"Hiss~! This..." Jiang Ming's heart skipped a beat.

"What crime have I committed? Why are they arresting me?"

"Hehe..." Lord He laughed, "Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. You killed the mountain god, which exposed the sorceress's lies... Who will believe her after this? Isn't this cutting off someone's livelihood and killing their parents?"

"Lord He is a wise man!"

Jiang Ming said indignantly, "The lifespan of a wild tiger is only a little over 10 years. If you feed it a woman every month for 10 years, it will eventually die. How could she come up with such a terrible idea... But that's not the key point. The key point is that such a demon talks nonsense and poisons the people. It is not enough to appease public anger if she is not killed, and it is not enough to rectify people's hearts if she is not punished!"

"Um!"

Lord He nodded in satisfaction: "That may be true, but that's just the way things are in Yan. The ruler is a firm believer in witchcraft and sorcery, and he consults divination before every major state affair. This sets a bad example for those below, thus emboldening these sorcerers..."

"Speaking of which, is this prefect truly foolish, or is he pretending?" Jiang Ming asked meaningfully.

"Oh? What makes you say that, Lord Jiang?" A sly glint flashed in Lord He's eyes.

"It's very simple!"

Jiang Ming said, "I don't believe there are really such stupid people in the world who would believe the sorceress's nonsense. The prefect is probably pretending to be ignorant, using the sorceress's nonsense as an excuse to do things that can't be done legitimately, so as to achieve his own ulterior motives... This is an open conspiracy with no solution. In the end, it's the sorceress who will be hated, and others will at most call him stupid... But the king is a firm believer in witchcraft. If you're so capable, why don't you curse the king too?"

Lord He stroked his mustache, his eyes gleaming slightly, and smiled mischievously: "Lord Jiang is indeed quick-witted, which is admirable! However, our prefect is not as wise as you say; he is truly muddle-headed!"

"Oh? Are you sure?"

"Hehe," Lord He chuckled, patting his large belly, "I'll tell you something, and you'll understand."

"Please speak, sir!"

"Ahem!" Lord He coughed and said, "The prefect's wife once had an affair. He was about to catch her on his way back, and in his desperation, she came up with a plan: she had the adulterer run out naked in broad daylight! Naturally, the prefect saw it..."

"Then what?"

"Then..." Lord He grinned mischievously, "The prefect naturally questioned his wife about who the man was. His wife looked aggrieved and said there was no man. The prefect then asked the maids and servants, who all said they hadn't seen a man. The entire mansion said they hadn't seen a man!"

"Isn't this ridiculous? Everyone's teaming up to fool him!" Jiang Ming laughed.

"Yes!" Lord He nodded with a smile, "It made the prefect a little doubtful, so he went to consult a shaman. The shaman told him... perhaps some evil spirit was deliberately playing tricks on him, and that his wife hadn't done anything to wrong him! She told him to pour the excrement and urine of five different animals on his head to ward off evil..."

"He really did that?" Jiang Ming gasped.

"Yeah! Hehe..."

Lord He laughed smugly, "The prefect not only failed to catch the adulterer, but also got his head splattered with excrement and urine! Moreover, he felt guilty for wrongly accusing his wife and loves her even more than before."

"Heh heh, so it seems this sorceress is also one of the magistrate's wives!"

"It's not really true..." Lord He said, "This sorceress is extremely greedy. She'll do anything for money. Before the prefect even consulted the sorceress, the lady had her servants send the money over."

"I see..." Jiang Ming said meaningfully, "That adulterer is quite something, managing to cuckold the prefect. You know, his name is Ji Bochang!"

"Um?"

"Uh...it's nothing, it's nothing, I just said it offhand."

"Heh," Lord He mused, "It's just playing to their tastes. The Prefect's wife loves poetry and songs, especially composing lyrics, and this adulterer, well, he has a bit of talent, so, you know..."

"Oh...I see!" Jiang Ming gasped.

"However, how did Lord He learn of such a confidential matter?" Jiang Ming asked curiously.

A hint of embarrassment crossed Lord He's face as he smiled and said, "Lord Jiang, please forgive me for not being able to tell you at the moment."

"Oh, it's alright, it's alright!" Jiang Ming said with a smile, "I know, Lord He is a good official who is wholeheartedly devoted to the country and its people! He wants to govern the country by law and make Yan prosperous and powerful! That's the most important thing!"

These words deeply moved Lord He, who rose from his seat and bowed respectfully to Jiang Ming.

"Lord Jiang, now that things have come to this point, I have a request!"

"Tsk! Oh dear!" Jiang Ming quickly got up and helped him back to his seat: "Lord He, you are a high-ranking leader. You can just give orders directly. Why go to such lengths?"

"well!"

Lord He sighed: "In the present state of Yan, the ruler is tyrannical, frequently waging wars, making enemies on all sides, and is in danger of national destruction! He also firmly believes in witchcraft and sorcery, and corruption among officials is rampant. The people are living in dire straits. For example, this time the ruler wants to levy grain and conscript soldiers again. I ordered each village to levy 300 dan (a unit of dry measure), which should have been enough. But the prefect, in order to curry favor and gain merit, insisted on levying 500 dan, and also demanded ten sets of armor from each village, and even conscripted able-bodied men... Sigh! This is going to drive the people of Dukang County to their deaths!"

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