Chen Tongzhi was so angry that he almost cursed on the spot, but he suppressed his anger and cried with snot and tears streaming down his face, saying, "Sir, I have not done anything."
I have said long ago that they are a bunch of troublemakers and do not deserve your good treatment. Now that I have been beaten to this state, those troublemakers not only show no remorse.
They even threatened me, saying they would beat me every time they saw me. You cannot let them do this!
As for Supervisor Zhang, not only did he refuse to help me in my time of need, but now he's even helping those unruly people. My lord, how can someone who disregards his colleagues and has no empathy be qualified to help with disaster relief?
That bastard Zhang Duyun, he'll make sure the other party suffers too.
Lu Cijian simply said, "Then, according to Chen Tongzhi's wishes, how does he want me to deal with Supervisor Zhang and those people?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Tongzhi was immediately overjoyed. He knew that Lord Lu was definitely on his side, since he was the son of an official and would never side with the common people.
Those people dared to lay a hand on him, which was a slap in the face to all of them.
Which official could tolerate such unruly people?
Thinking it over, he immediately straightened his back and said loudly, "My lord, in my opinion, those arrogant and unruly people who dare to lay a hand on officials of the court should be left to fend for themselves."
As for Supervisor Zhang, he failed to help his colleague in his time of need and should be severely punished as a warning to others.
Zhang Duyun was so shocked that his eyes widened. He never expected that Chen Tongzhi would say such shameless things.
After fifty strokes of the cane, his buttocks will be covered in welts.
Jiang Yimian was also somewhat surprised. Those were more than a thousand lives. For Chen Tongzhi to say "let them fend for themselves" so easily was far too easy.
The officials in Yuncheng Prefecture are rotten to the core; no wonder the people in the city are so apathetic.
Those who were dissatisfied with Zhou Shiwen are probably long dead. Those who remain now are either serving these officials voluntarily or out of necessity.
Chen Tongzhi was waiting smugly for Lu Cijian to deal with Zhang Duyun when he suddenly heard that cold voice.
"Drag Chen Tongzhi away and give him fifty strokes of the cane, then lock him in jail to await further punishment."
After he finished speaking, someone immediately stepped forward and lifted up Chen Tongzhi.
Chen Tongzhi was terrified and immediately begged for mercy, "My lord, my lord, you're mistaken. It's Supervisor Zhang who should be punished, not me! My lord, my lord, spare my life, my lord."
His voice was filled with disbelief, and he wanted to say a few more words in his defense, but he had already been dragged away.
Zhou Shiwen's former subordinates now stood by, trembling with fear, afraid they would be next.
Lu Cijian coldly looked at everyone and said, "I have come to Qingnan on orders to provide disaster relief and to investigate why Qingnan suffers from floods every year. If you know anything, you must tell me. If you conceal anything, you will all be dismissed and imprisoned when I find out."
I had planned to deal with these people a few days later and stay in Qingnan for a while longer to search for Wei Jinghai's whereabouts. I never expected to find him today.
Therefore, there's no point in keeping these people around. Rather than dragging things out, it's better to resolve these hidden dangers as soon as possible, deal with the flood, and return to Beijing as soon as possible.
The danger increases every day Wei Jinghai doesn't return to the capital.
Those people quickly responded, but their hearts were filled with unease.
Lu Cijian ignored everyone and walked straight to the backyard.
Seeing this, Jiang Yimian quickly followed, asking curiously, "Why did you suddenly deal with Chen Tongzhi? Didn't you keep him around to inform Zhou Shiwen?"
This fellow is Zhou Shiwen's confidant; he'll definitely tell Zhou Shiwen about the yamen matters when he gets back today.
The other party will definitely know that Wei Jinghai was brought back by them.
And the person who escaped today might also go to the Zhou residence.
She had originally planned to take this opportunity to arrest the person at the Zhou residence.
Lu Cijian simply shook his head. "With so many people in the yamen, there must be quite a few who tipped off Zhou Shiwen."
With Chen Tongzhi imprisoned, he must be extremely anxious and might do something drastic.
Zhou Shiwen has accumulated considerable wealth over the years in Qingnan, and he has many capable people around him. If we rashly go to Zhou's residence, we may easily make things worse.
Rather than handing him the knife, it's better to wait for him to walk right into the trap.
Zhou Shiwen had been acting as a local tyrant in Qingnan for so many years that he had long since come to regard himself as the master of Qingnan. By imprisoning Chen Tongzhi, he was provoking him.
Judging from that guy's personality, he'll probably kill them ruthlessly, but I don't know what reason he'll give.
Jiang Yimian thought of the powerful guards around Zhou Shiwen and immediately nodded, "Since that guy is one of the King of Chu's men, he must have been prepared for the current situation. We're probably in danger."
Zhou Shiwen is a deep and cunning man who is always good at pretending. Now that they have discovered something amiss with the flood in Qingnan, and with Wei Jinghai involved, they will definitely not let them leave Qingnan alive.
Seeing the person beside him frown, Lu Cijian simply smiled and reached out to pinch her cheek. "Mianmian, don't worry, everything will be alright. You're injured, so get some rest."
Jiang Yimian was somewhat dissatisfied. She reached out and grasped his hand, her eyes full of suspicion. "Are you really that trusting?"
Of the men brought by the Censorate and the Ministry of Works this time, only about a hundred are skilled in martial arts. If Zhou Shiwen intends to fight to the death, this small force will surely be wiped out.
Lu Cijian just smiled and said, "Mianmian will find out when the time comes."
At this time, at the Zhou residence.
In the brightly lit front hall, Zhou Shiwen sat back in a rosewood chair, closing his eyes to rest, playing with a jade bracelet in his hand, turning it gently from time to time.
Several beautiful women were massaging his back and legs, which made him sigh with pleasure.
That bastard Lu Cijian is really arrogant for not letting him interfere in the affairs of the government.
However, this is for the best.
He wanted to see what this man was capable of; he was just a scion of a prominent family, and there might be someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes regarding the Ministry of Works.
Do you think that just because he doesn't interfere in government affairs, that guy can find out anything? That's incredibly naive.
The relationship between those unruly people and the government is not so easy to mediate. If he does something small, everything Lu Cijian has done will be in vain.
Those commoners were the most foolish, only believing what they saw, while those from the capital didn't have much patience either; they claimed to be doing disaster relief, but they were just looking to gain fame and fortune.
After being repeatedly provoked by the troublemakers, he believed that they would no longer have any intention of saving people.
That was the time for him to step in. He wrote a memorial to His Majesty, reporting that everything was fine in Qingnan, thanks to the disaster relief efforts of the officials from the Censorate and the Ministry of Works.
He received disaster relief funds, while the officials gained fame and recognition—a win-win situation.
The second year, all you have to do is repeat it. Who would refuse such a wonderful thing?
He could just wait patiently at home for Lu Cijian to arrive, or for news of his return to the capital.
Just then, someone rushed in from outside, looking panicked, and shouted, "Sir, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened at the yamen!"
Zhou Shiwen frowned, looked up at the person in front of him and said with displeasure, "What are you shouting for? What happened? Why are you in such a panic?"
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