Chapter 604 People from the Capital Have Arrived
Nearly a hundred villagers entered the courtyard, and each of them looked miserable.
Cheng Wanwan spoke in a deep voice, "Your Excellency the Prefect should still remember the Fifth Rank Master He who was sent to Dahe Village to take charge of Coal Hill over a year ago. After arriving in Dahe Village, that master acted recklessly and disregarded human life. He was later dismissed from office by the Emperor's decree and died suddenly on the way back to the capital. The He family blamed our Dahe Village for this. So, over a year later, the He family's eldest young master came to avenge He Yan... These villagers were all injured by Young Master He's men."
The villagers immediately began to scream in pain.
"This Lord He is exactly the same as the previous Lord He; he doesn't treat us country bumpkins like human beings."
"I'm so old, and these people who barged into the village pushed me to the ground. They're trying to kill me."
"Officials' lives are valuable, but the lives of us ordinary people are worthless. Ouch, ouch, it hurts so much, I'm really going to die..."
"Please, sir, please help us..."
The villagers cooperated fully with the performance.
Although they didn't know what the mountain woman wanted to do, they would do their best to do whatever she asked them to do.
In short, Dashan's mother would never harm them.
He Ling's temples throbbed with anger. Yesterday, when he led his men into the village, it was clearly these unruly villagers who attacked his men. Many of his guards were bitten and scratched, but he didn't say anything. How dare these unruly villagers make false accusations first!
"Nonsense!" He was so angry that his hands trembled. "Prefect of Huzhou, listen carefully! It is these unruly villagers of Dahe Village who are harboring fugitives who have colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. I came here to arrest the fugitives, but these unruly villagers have repeatedly obstructed my investigation. All of them must be arrested! If you, Prefect of Huzhou, dare to protect these unruly villagers, you are guilty of the same crime as harboring criminals! I will petition the Emperor to have you removed from your post!"
Prefect Zhu was extremely troubled by a headache.
Generally speaking, such disputes between officials only occur in the capital city, because there are many officials in the capital.
How could such a high-ranking official like Huzhou possibly clash with someone so powerful...? One is a third-rank official, while the other, though only a sixth-rank official, is favored by the emperor, and neither can be offended...
Just as they were caught in a dilemma, the village head of Dahe Village suddenly rushed in, panting: "People from the capital have arrived!"
He Ling was overjoyed. Anyone from the capital, no matter who it was, would give him, the eldest young master of the He family, face. That poisonous woman from Sui'an was doomed to die today.
Cheng Wanwan frowned slightly.
She had everything under control, and she was capable of making He Ling suffer the consequences this time.
But why are people suddenly coming from the capital?
If He Hanhai, the head of the He family, sends people to help, then she will have no chance of winning.
She looked at the village head and quickly asked, "Who from the capital has come?"
"Yes, yes..." The village head was panting heavily. "It's Eunuch Ming. He's already entered the village and will be at the gate of the house soon."
Cheng Wanwan's eyes suddenly lit up.
Eunuch Ming, this is an old acquaintance. No wonder I didn't see you when I left Beijing. It turns out you set off for Dahe Village ahead of time.
Having traveled such a long distance, it must be to deliver an imperial edict.
In other words, Eunuch Ming is one of their own.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Eunuch Ming is a favorite of the Emperor. His visit must be on the Emperor's orders, which means he represents the Emperor. Let's go out and greet him."
Prefect Zhu breathed a sigh of relief. Although Eunuch Ming did not have an official rank, his status was much higher than that of this local official. When gods fight, Eunuch Ming should be the one to judge the case. He could quit.
A group of people walked out, and the villagers followed behind.
The villagers' eyes were already shining with excitement. Whenever someone from the capital came, it meant that Aunt Dashan was being promoted. This time, Aunt Dashan was going to be promoted to the fifth rank, right? The fifth rank was still called Anren, but they didn't know what that was called. They helped each other to the gate of the courtyard.
The convoy from the capital stopped at the gate of the mansion. At the front were two messengers leading the way, and in the first carriage sat Eunuch Ming.
With the help of the young eunuch, Eunuch Ming jumped down from the carriage and said with a smile, "People of Sui'an, we meet again."
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "When I left the capital, I wanted to say goodbye to Eunuch Ming. I didn't expect that Eunuch Ming would come to Dahe Village with his men without saying a word. You must be tired after such a long journey. Why don't you take a rest first?"
"It's quite lively at Sui'an's house." Eunuch Ming looked at the villagers gathered around, then noticed the prefect and magistrate dressed in official robes. "Prefect Zhu and Magistrate Shen are here too. Oh, isn't that..."
Eunuch Ming's gaze fell on He Ling's face and was immediately fixed.
This man really looks like the eldest young master of the He family, but the eldest young master of the He family is elegant, humble and polite. No matter what, it is impossible for him to have messy hair, wear tattered clothes, and exude a disgusting smell...
“Eunuch Ming, you’ve come at the right time.” He Ling spoke directly, “Are you going to take care of the fact that the people of Sui’an and all the troublemakers in Dahe Village are harboring fugitives?”
"So it really is Young Master He." Eunuch Ming hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "I seem to have heard that Young Master He went south to find a miracle doctor for Madam He. How, how did he end up in Dahe Village, and how did he get into this state... Also, what is this about harboring a fugitive? Which fugitive?"
He Ling had already vaguely guessed that Eunuch Ming came to Dahe Village to announce the imperial edict, and he could guess the content of the edict with his toes.
Therefore, he had to ensure that this wicked woman from Sui'an had no chance of redemption before the imperial edict was announced!
He spoke slowly, "The prisoner who escaped from the dungeon two years ago was named He Xiao. Eunuch Ming, do you still remember him? He is now hiding in Dahe Village!"
Eunuch Ming was startled.
He Xiao, this is the second young master of the He family. Two years ago, he was found to have communicated with the enemy country and was thrown into a dungeon. Later, he fled for fear of punishment. I heard that he fell off a cliff and died. How come he suddenly appeared in Dahe Village?
Also, two years ago, Young Master He knelt at the gate of the imperial city for three days and three nights in order to exonerate his younger brother, which moved countless people.
Now that I look at him, it seems like Young Master He is hoping his younger brother gets arrested... Is the person in front of me really the Young Master He I used to know?
He Ling knew his image was completely ruined, but as long as He Xiao died, he had plenty of ways to rebuild his image as a gentle and refined gentleman.
He said, enunciating each word clearly, "Eunuch Ming, if you delay any longer, the fugitive will escape, and it will be difficult to find him again. Quickly send men to surround and search Dahe Village!"
“If Eunuch Ming orders a search of the village, I, the Lady, will certainly cooperate. But is it really necessary?” Cheng Wanwan said calmly. “The second young master of the He family is from the capital, and so is Lord Wu. But Lord Wu doesn’t know the second young master, so we, the people of Dahe Village, know him even less. Why would we take such a big risk to harbor someone we don’t know? I can understand that Lord He wants to avenge He Yan, but he can’t fabricate some baseless things to frame us innocent villagers. Look at how badly we are injured…”
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