Didn't I just have dinner?
"If you suddenly want to eat it, just make it with the vegetables in the yard."
Madam Gong looked at his departing figure and muttered, "Why does it feel weird?"
Gong Fan went to the county government office with the yamen runners. Yu Yiluo and others were sitting in the hall, apparently waiting for him.
He bowed and saluted, "I wonder why General Jin, the little princess, has summoned me here?"
"It seems that these few days still haven't been able to make you figure it out?"
Jin Ting'an looked at Gong Fan with a forced smile.
Gong Fan looked surprised. "What did you figure out? I'm stupid. I hope General Jin can explain it clearly."
"Inspector Gong, are you still pretending to be stupid?"
Yu Yiluo sighed softly, "You've made a mistake placing all your bets on me. We're all sensible people, so why bother playing tricks now?"
"I know that the gunpowder was taken by your men. As for the man you and Magistrate Liu saw, he must also be one of your men. As long as the gunpowder is loaded in advance, all it takes is a fire to destroy the dike."
Gong Fan lowered his head and closed his eyes, then slowly raised his head after Yu Yiluo finished speaking.
"Since the little princess knows this, why are you only thinking of questioning me now?"
"I was too busy the past few days and didn't have time to take care of you."
"I thought the little princess would let me go."
Gong Fan smiled bitterly, "It seems that this humble official really made a wrong bet. I didn't expect the little princess to be so hard-hearted and ruthless."
"I have a heart of stone?"
Yu Yiluo got down from the chair and walked up to Gong Fan. "How many lives have been destroyed by your fire? How many happy families have been ruined?"
"You have a family, but other people don't have families?"
Yu Yiluo stared at Gong Fan intently. "He did such a heartless thing, inciting the mob to riot and slandering Mr. Fang. Is this how Inspector Gong protects Ruihe?"
"Inspector Gong, is it really you?"
County Magistrate Liu asked, "Why did you do this?"
"Why?"
Gong Fan laughed at himself, "I just don't want my son to be like me, staying in Xinglin County and doing nothing."
He was full of ambition when he came here, but people always change after the baptism of time.
He used to hate the social customs of the capital, and when he got older, he just wanted his son to go to the capital to serve in the court, and not devote most of his life to Xinglin County like he did.
My son wants to be like him now, but will he really think like that when he grows up?
County Magistrate Liu disagreed, saying, "How can this be called inaction? Everyone is grateful for what you have done for the people."
"Grateful?" Gong Fan raised his head and laughed, "On the day the levee collapsed, they all blamed me, saying that I didn't take good care of the levee."
He still remembers the faces of the people that day: blame and hysterical abuse.
It was as if he was an unforgivable criminal, and all the good things he had done before became worthless.
"I admit that I destroyed the levee, but everything I did for Xinglin County was entirely selfless. Why would they erase all the good things I did just because of one thing?"
His great ambitions were gradually consumed by these selfish people.
"If the water overflows a little and the crops are drowned, blame me. If the livestock fall into the water and drown, blame me too. If anything related to water happens, blame me, the Inspector."
Gong Fan's eyes were red and his voice was choked. "I am a human being, and I have selfish desires. I don't want my son to have to face the same thing as me."
"Your Majesty is wise, you could have petitioned to have your child sent back to the capital, why did you do this?"
"So what if I send my son back to the capital?"
Gong Fan patted his chest heavily and said, "I am just a forgotten inspector. If I can't make some great contributions, my son won't even be able to attend a good academy in the capital."
People in the capital have always flattered the powerful and looked down on the weak. Whether his wife and son would be taken care of when they went to the capital depended on the status of him, the Inspector, in the emperor's heart.
For example, those generals who have made military achievements in going out to fight, their families will not be bullied even if they are not in the capital, because they have military achievements and others are busy trying to please them.
He was not a general and had never been to war. If he wanted his son and wife to have a smooth life in the capital, he had no choice but to take risks.
Once the Rui River embankment is destroyed, he will come out to turn the tide. Once the matter is settled, he will definitely be rewarded by the emperor.
After all, he saved the people of an entire county. Then he could ask the emperor to let his son and wife return to Beijing. That way, no one would dare to treat his wife and son badly.
He can then guard Ruihe with peace of mind, even if it means guarding it for the rest of his life.
But all this was ruined by that old man Fang, as well as Jin Ting'an and the little princess who appeared in time.
"You... these are the lives of the people of the entire county. If it weren't for Mr. Fang, Changshan County would have to pay the price."
County Magistrate Liu was so angry that his lips were shaking. As a county magistrate, he naturally knew that some people did have ugly faces, but there were still kind and honest people among them.
"Now that it's done, there's no room for change."
Gong Fan knelt heavily on the ground and said, "I plead guilty. I only ask the little princess to let me see my family."
…
I walked out of the county government office in a daze and passed through the dilapidated streets.
The streets are still covered with mud and fine stones washed down by the water.
"Master Gong, what's wrong with you?"
A woman looked at him in a trance, thinking that he was upset because the levee was destroyed, and comforted him:
"Don't blame yourself too much for this incident. Everyone has seen and remembered what you have done for the people of Xinglin County over the years. The Emperor is a wise ruler and will certainly not hold you accountable."
Then she put the egg in his hand and said, "Take it and give it to your child."
Gong Fan curled his fingers and pushed the egg back, "Save it for your child."
"My child is gone, please give it to your child to eat."
Watching the woman turn her back and wipe her tears, Gong Fan felt the egg in his hand become particularly hot.
He staggered home, the scene of living people turning into motionless corpses replaying in his mind.
These scenes overlap with the scenes of the people lining the streets to welcome him on the day he first entered Xinglin County.
Gong Fan didn't know how he got home until he stood by the door and watched his wife and son making buns, then he came back to his senses.
"Mom, Dad is back."
Madam Gong put some flour on Gong Lang's nose and said, "You little rascal, you're trying to trick me again."
"Really," Gong Lang ran to Gong Fan, "Dad, we can eat soon, just wait."
Madam Gong turned around and saw Gong Fan standing by the door. She looked at the eggs in his hand and asked, "Master, why do you want other people's eggs? Please put them here. I will return them later."
"Didn't I tell you not to accept things from the common people?"
While scolding Gong Fan, Mrs. Gong went to the kitchen and brought out the steamed buns.
Looking at her back, Gong Fan felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
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