Chapter 141: Embezzlement?
The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.
The prefect of Jinyang Prefecture, along with all the officials, both great and small, were waiting at the city gate. When they saw everyone, they knelt respectfully.
"Jinyang Prefecture Governor Liu Yu greets the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Ninth Master, and the Tenth Master. You all must have worked hard on the journey. Please come to the city and rest as soon as possible. The food in the city is ready."
The Third Master looked at the Fourth Master, and after exchanging glances, the Third Master said, "Thank you for your hard work, my Lords. However, let's go directly to the government office."
Liu Yu was stunned. "You must be tired from the journey. Why don't you go to my residence and rest for a while?"
"No." The Third Master said, "Let's go to the government office. The victims are still waiting for this food relief. We should deal with it as soon as possible. Fourth Brother, what do you think?"
The Fourth Master nodded: "Third Brother is right."
When the Third Master heard this, his chest straightened a little. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time that the Fourth Master agreed with him after all he had been out.
After being quite complacent for a while, the Third Master's face suddenly froze.
What? He is the older brother, why does he need the approval of the fourth brother?
Everyone looked at each other, and finally the prefect Liu Yu led everyone to the yamen.
Wenjiu was in the carriage and couldn't help but lift the curtain to look outside.
The road was no longer as deserted as it was last night. A few pedestrians passed by from time to time. Their clothes were worn, but still clean. However, they all seemed a little nervous.
Wen Jiu couldn't help but frowned: "Xiao Jin, do you feel something is wrong?"
Something is definitely wrong, something is very wrong. Unfortunately, your current bond with the Fourth Master isn't strong enough. It would be great if you could get a second memory fragment. Hopefully, everything goes well. Don't let the Fourth Master's Darkness increase, or your health will be completely deducted.
Wenjiu frowned slightly and said, "Yes, I hope everything goes well."
When they arrived at the yamen, several gentlemen and officials watched over the grain until it was stored in the warehouse, and then they accompanied the prefect back to his home.
The prefect was also very happy to see the food, and all he talked about along the way was the disaster.
This snowstorm came suddenly, and many houses were crushed by the snow. There were also many casualties. The prefect also set up several charity halls, and the food stored in the local area had long been used up.
In the afternoon, the Fourth Master and his men went to check on the houses that had been crushed by the heavy snow, and to offer their condolences to the people. The warm wine was left at the prefect's residence.
Before leaving, the Fourth Master left Bu Yu by her side and reminded her, "If anything really happens, you'll have someone to take care of you."
Wenjiu's eyelids kept twitching and he felt uneasy.
Sure enough, something happened that night.
The prefect suddenly ran over and complained, "How could you, gentlemen, deceive me like this? This is fatal!"
Everyone was stunned, and the Third Master immediately frowned: "What are you talking about?"
Liu Yu's eyes were red, and his hands were shaking as he said angrily, "The food you brought here was all rice bran! Now that the charity has run out of food, I wanted to allocate some relief grain to the victims, but who knew that the food was filled with rice bran? How can I swallow this?"
The Fourth Master narrowed his eyes and said, "Liu Yu, please explain clearly."
The Third Master flew into a rage. "That's right. We gave you pure rice. We watched it arrive at your yamen today. Why are you trying to turn the tables on me now? Did you embezzle the rice?"
The prefect suddenly knelt down and kowtowed several times towards the capital, his forehead bleeding. "Your Majesty, I am so sorry. I have waited day and night, only to receive a pile of rice bran. Now the victims have no rice to eat, and I haven't finished my rice soup for three days, yet I am being framed as a corrupt official. I have failed in my duty, and once I can help the victims through this winter, I will die to atone for my sin..."
"Alright!" The Fourth Master shouted, "Hurry up and take me to see it." His narrow and long phoenix eyes swept over the prefect, and then he took everyone to the yamen to check the situation.
He was afraid that someone would steal the grain, so he intentionally placed the grain in the government office. Under the watchful eyes of the public, something happened to the grain! He wanted to see who was behind this.
Wenjiu became a little worried: "Master, I want to go with you." She caught up and said.
"Stop fooling around. Just have a good rest at home." The Fourth Master frowned.
Everyone was stunned; no one had expected a woman to step forward at this moment. They all looked at Wen Jiu with strange expressions. Everyone said that the Fourth Master was upright and incorruptible, and not interested in women. Now it seemed that the rumors might not be true.
Wenjiu tugged at the Fourth Master's sleeve and wouldn't let go. It was already dark outside, and he had a feeling something was going to happen today. He couldn't find peace of mind without the Fourth Master.
The Fourth Master tried to pull her hand off, but it was of no use, so he ended up taking her with him.
Arriving at the granary, the prefect said, "Look, everyone, this granary is already empty. It's filled with the grain you unloaded today. Only the two bags I first checked are normal rice. The rest are rice bran!"
The Fourth Master stepped forward with a cold expression and said, "It's really rice bran."
Jiu Ye also hurried over to take a look, and then with a very unhappy expression, he looked at the other bags nearby, not missing a single one. He looked around and said in disbelief, "Are they really all rice bran?"
"How could this happen?" Tenth Master's face was not looking good. When they came here, they were all watching as the grain was put into the bags.
The Third Master immediately shook his head: "That's impossible. We kept our eyes on the food the entire time. There's no way it could have been leaked!"
The Emperor had ordered his brothers to come to provide disaster relief, and transporting food was a crucial step. Now, upon arriving, all the food had turned to chaff. One can imagine how furious the Emperor would be! Furthermore, the people of Jinyang were still relying on this food to save their lives. What could they do?
"No!" The Fourth Master's face suddenly turned cold: "Catch this bastard official!"
Without saying a word, he immediately arrested the prefect.
The prefect frowned deeply: "Fourth Prince, what do you mean?"
The Fourth Master narrowed his eyes and looked at him: "Master Liu, you are stealing from the public. You are really amazing."
Liu Yu frowned. "I don't know what the Fourth Master is talking about. If the food is lost, what good will it do me? Am I deliberately trying to cause trouble for myself?"
The Fourth Master looked at the bag calmly, "What do you think the weight of rice bran compared to regular rice? Our carriage is carrying grain, so how heavy is this bag of rice bran? Check the tracks left by our wheels along the way. Different loads will leave different tracks, and you'll know. I had no idea that the humble Jinyang prefect could be so capable."
The Fourth Master's voice turned cold in vain: "Liu Yu, you are so brave!"
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