The prefect remained silent, stroking his beard, as if thinking about what his advisor had said.
"But what if they revealed it in advance?" The prefect spoke after a while.
"Even if they did tell, do they have evidence? My Lord, you've forgotten that you and the village chief have never exchanged letters. As long as you remain undetected, the King of Jin will have no evidence. Even if he does know, he won't be able to do anything to us. On the contrary, you can still charge the Black Wind Village chief with false accusation."
"But this is the worst outcome. He will be targeted by King Jin and become a threat to you. It's better to kill him as soon as possible."
"Well, I'll do as you say." The prefect's heart sank and he turned around and sat down in front of the big round table.
Master: "Don't worry, sir. I will make sure everything is properly arranged."
"Sir, it's getting late. Let's serve the food first. You can eat first." The lawyer smiled with his eyes narrowed.
“Someone serve the food!”
The maids outside came in one by one with trays in their hands. The first dish served was steamed chicken with deer antlers, the second was Dongpo pork and pork tenderloin with lotus leaves.
Then the maid handed over a bowl of white rice. The people around couldn't help swallowing their saliva. Even the master stared at the dish with golden light in his eyes.
"Sir, there is no more deer antlers in the kitchen. This is the last meal." The lawyer replied.
"We've searched everything we could outside."
"I understand. You all can go down." The prefect was a little impatient. He picked up a chicken leg, squeezed it with his hands, and couldn't wait to eat it.
He couldn't eat these things every day. The famine outside was so severe, and there were not many animals raised in the farm, so he had to keep them for himself to enjoy slowly.
The lawyer waved to the servants behind him and asked them to leave.
"Wait a minute."
"Sir, do you have any other instructions?" The lawyer paused and turned around to ask.
The prefect took a small bowl, put two pieces of chicken in it, and a few pieces of Dongpo pork, and pushed it in front of the lawyer, "Take it and eat it."
"Remember, as long as I have a bite of meat, you will have a bite of meat too."
"Don't worry, if you stay by my side, I will never treat you unfairly."
The lawyer widened his eyes and stared at the pieces of meat in the bowl. He never expected that the prefect would share some of such precious food with him.
He bowed with tears of gratitude, "Thank you for your concern, sir. I will always be at your side and serve you loyally in return for your kindness."
The lawyer took the bowl out and returned to his room. The servant brought him a bowl of white rice, a bowl of pickles, and a bowl of chicken soup with some minced meat, bones, and deer antler residue in it. It was obvious that it was the soup left in the kitchen after the prefect had packed the dishes.
But these soups alone are delicacies that the servants dream of but cannot get.
"Sir, there is chicken soup in the kitchen today. Come and try it. It smells delicious."
The lawyer ignored him and put the bowl in his hand on the table. When the servant saw the meat in the bowl, his eyes changed.
"Your Excellency is indeed the one the prefect values most. The prefect even gave you such precious meat in the bowl."
The master was very pleased with the admiration from his servants. "Tell someone to keep a close eye on the prefect's villa and report any disturbance immediately."
"Yes, sir."
"Go ahead."
…
Outside the villa, Zhao Chengqian was helped down from the carriage by Ying Yi. Behind the carriage were two wooden carts. One cart was filled with sacks of linen, and the other was covered with a large piece of linen. People from the Prince of Jin's Mansion were watching on both sides.
"Bring the things in first."
Yingyi signaled to the guards of Prince Jin's Mansion, and they pushed the car into the door of the villa. Several servants were standing not far away, sticking their heads out to watch.
Zhao Chengqian and Yingyi entered the study of Prince Jin. There was a charcoal fire burning in the study, making it warm inside. Zhao Chengqian took off his cloak and handed it to the servant next to him. The servant brought tea and left.
"Everything in the Black Wind Stronghold has been counted. Although the food is not much, it can last for half a month." Ying Yi took out a booklet from his sleeve and handed it to King Jin.
"I have already ordered the loading, and all that is missing is the order from His Majesty."
Prince Jin took the booklet. The records of Black Wind Stronghold were not many, but there was a lot. "Well done! Send it to Qingzhou for disaster relief immediately."
"Your Highness, I will accompany the Crown Prince to bring back the food and fodder that the immortal sent. This will be enough for everyone in the palace to get by for a while."
"Ying Qi left in a hurry and gave me a letter, asking me to give it to the prince." Ying Yi took out another piece of letter from his lapel and handed it to Prince Jin with both hands.
Prince Jin took the letter, tore it open, took out the rice paper inside, read the contents, and gave the letter to Ying Yi, "Send someone to check."
Ying Yi took it and read the message inside, "If it is really as Ying Qi said, then this governor..."
"Keeping such people around is a disaster."
"Your Highness, how do you plan to deal with the child in the Black Wind Stronghold? I have sent people to investigate. The child's relatives had long been killed by the bandits in the Black Wind Stronghold, leaving only him. This time we were able to successfully capture the stronghold and find the hidden entrance to the stronghold's granary thanks to that child." Ying Yi thought of something and continued.
"Let him stay and settle down in the palace."
"Godson, go see your mother." Prince Jin turned around and sat down on a chair beside him, picking up the booklet next to him.
Zhao Chengqian bowed and took his leave, then closed the door after leaving.
The snow outside had stopped, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow. The trees in the yard were bent by the snow. He looked up at the quiet yard and was about to turn around and leave, but he saw a little head sticking out from the stone archway. The boy wanted to come over, but was stopped by the two servants guarding the door.
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