One hundred and forty-six
Governor Shen was furious. He sent people to investigate and issued an order at the same time - if the situation was true, there was no need to report back, just detain the person directly!
As soon as Prefect Shen's men arrived in Xin County, the rumor also spread to Xin County.
When the magistrate of Xin County heard the rumors, he was panicked at the beginning, but he was not as terrified as he was when he heard the latter part.
All these insults were directed at the governor, how could he remain unscathed?!
Fearing that the prefect would send someone to investigate, he immediately set about dealing with the aftermath.
Let Liu Fushen clean up his mess and not reveal any flaws. He should clean up all the things he has done, otherwise he will not be able to protect him if he is found out!
Liu Fushen was counting the days for his marriage at home. He was sure that he could marry the girl the next day. He was happy for less than a moment when the county magistrate sent his staff to him.
Because he was an aide-de-camp, Liu Fushen responded politely.
The aide explained their purpose: "The Lord has asked Master Liu to clean up all the miscellaneous matters and not give them any cause for criticism. He has also canceled the Yu family marriage proposal and appeased the Yu family so that no further complications arise."
Liu Fushen, who is already 48 years old, has been indulging in lust and desire for food for many years, so he has a big belly, weak legs, a pale face, dark bags under his eyes, and looks like a hollowed-out man.
Hearing what the staff said, he was startled and asked, "But what happened?"
The magistrate's staff member said with a sullen expression, "The news of Master Liu forcing his young concubine to marry reached the prefectural governor. Someone spread the story and made Master Liu into a lawless local tyrant, and you, the Lord, into a scoundrel who was in cahoots with Master Liu."
Upon hearing this, Liu Fushen glared and said in shock, "Who is spreading rumors? This is clearly a malicious accusation!"
"Your Excellency will definitely have to thoroughly investigate who spread the rumor, but the most important thing right now is to deal with all these matters first. If any clues are uncovered, Your Excellency will not be able to protect Master Liu, let alone yourself."
The county magistrate's staff knew Liu Fushen's habits and his attitude of treating untouchables like dogs. They thought to themselves that this was not entirely a rumor and that it would be over once it was investigated.
Although he thought so, he and the adults were now grasshoppers tied to the same rope with Liu Fushen. If one suffered, all would suffer. Therefore, no matter how much he looked down on him in his heart, he did not want anything to really happen to Liu Fushen.
Liu Fushen is not stupid. Compared to taking a concubine, it is obvious that wealth and life are more important now!
He said solemnly, "Tell my lord that I will send someone to deal with the Yu family's affairs immediately."
The magistrate's staff reminded him, "The magistrate also told me to tell Master Liu that if we're going to do this, we need to do it cleanly. This isn't just about the Yu family, but also about Master Liu's previous incidents with concubines and mistresses, as well as the incidents at the casino and the brothel. All matters that could lead to accountability must be dealt with cleanly."
When Liu Fushen thought about what he had done over the years, he couldn't help but look embarrassed.
"These things can't be dealt with immediately. It will take at least a few days."
The magistrate's staff's eyes darkened, and they had to press the issue: "The rumor has already spread in the county seat, and now it has spread to Xin County. It's obvious that it was spread in the county seat even earlier. The prefect may have sent people to investigate. That's why the master asked Master Liu to resolve all the issues within two days."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "It is a fact that Master Liu took concubines. As long as those women were willing, the governor can't do anything to Master Liu. As for other matters, there are no witnesses. It will only give the people a bad reputation, which is not a big deal."
The reputation cannot be reversed, so we can only leave it alone.
"Please tell the county magistrate to rest assured that I will handle those matters thoroughly." The last few words were pronounced with particular emphasis.
After hearing what was said, the magistrate's staff said goodbye.
After the man left, the steward who had been listening said worriedly, "Master, these two days are not enough at all."
Liu Fushen's face was gloomy and ugly, his eyes were fierce: "Since time is running out, let's cut the Gordian knot. If money can't buy them off, just take them away secretly or trick them away and keep them like dogs. If someone escapes, you know what to do..."
When he said the last sentence, Liu Fushen gave the manager a meaningful look.
The steward nodded in understanding, squinting his eyes and whispered, "I know what to do."
After answering, he immediately turned around to make arrangements.
But only a few hours later, when night fell, the steward looked panicked and ran into the mansion and found Liu Fushen who was having his evening meal.
When Liu Fushen saw the steward walk in with an anxious look on his face, he had a bad feeling in his heart. He quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks and sent the servant who was serving the food away.
After only the master and servant were in the dining hall, the steward lowered his voice and spoke, "I had originally planned to send people to those houses during the day to scout them, and then use drugs to knock the whole family out and take them away at night. But we discovered something was wrong. No one had entered or left those houses. We sent people to check, and they were already deserted."
Liu Fushen opened his eyes and asked, "They're all gone?"
"Everyone is gone. It's like they knew in advance that we were going to arrest people. It's very strange!" said the manager.
Liu Fushen seemed to have thought of something and suddenly stood up. He opened and closed his mouth, too anxious to speak for a moment. After a long while, he finally said, "Something bad has happened!"
"Someone must have wanted to harm me. They spread rumors about me in the county seat ahead of time, asking the governor to send people to investigate me. They also tipped off the witnesses ahead of time, causing them to go into hiding!"
Hearing his master's words, the steward's face turned pale, he shuddered, and asked hurriedly: "Master, what should we do now?"
What else can I do?!
It was obvious that someone wanted to kill him. That person had already made all the arrangements. If he stayed, he would just be waiting to die!
Thinking of this, Liu Fushen made a quick decision: "Hurry up and pack up your valuables and take back all the money in the shop. As soon as the day breaks and the city gates open, we will leave Xinxian immediately!"
Upon hearing this, the steward asked hesitantly, "What about the magistrate?"
Liu Fushen said, "The rabbit is dead, the dog is abandoned. If anything goes wrong, he will get away with it, and I will be the only one to suffer. In this case, who can still control who? When disaster strikes, everyone will flee!"
After the manager went to pack up the scattered properties, Liu Fushen immediately turned around and went back to the house, took out the key hanging around his neck, took down the painting hanging on the wall, and opened the secret compartment.
There were two locked small doors in the secret compartment. After opening the locks with the key, there was a cabinet full of gold bars.
He got two boxes and put all the gold bars into them.
Both boxes were filled to the brim.
Although the box was small, it contained more than a hundred gold bars.
About a hundred gold bars and more than 20,000 taels of silver.
A box weighed more than 60 kilograms, and Liu Fushen had difficulty lifting it.
About an hour later, the manager took out all the money he could from the account and had someone carry back two large boxes full of copper coins, totaling 280 strings of cash.
Among the valuable antiques and treasures, I also choose to collect the most valuable ones.
These things filled three large boxes. Tomorrow he would go ahead and then take a secret route, claiming that he was moving out of the city, and bribe the guards to leave the city.
The money was packed, and the next thing was to take the people. There were many women in the harem, and he definitely couldn't take them all away. To avoid complications, he simply didn't take any of them.
As long as a woman has money and power, she can have anything and there is nothing she won’t give up.
It was still dark and the carriage was already waiting at the back door.
The servant carried the box containing the gold onto the carriage that Liu Fushen was riding in, and arranged for his confidant to take the two large boxes of copper coins away through a secret route.
In order to conceal their whereabouts and avoid attracting attention, they only had a carriage and two strong servants.
As soon as the city gate opened, the Liu family's carriage arrived in front of the city gate. Seeing that it was the Liu family's carriage, the guards did not stop it.
Liu Fushen's carriage easily left the city.
Liu Fushen touched the money box and breathed a sigh of relief, finally safe.
He left the city and headed west, not noticing anyone following him.
After traveling twenty miles west, they stopped at a small land temple and waited for money and treasures to be sent from behind.
About an hour and a half later, several carriages loaded with furniture and wooden boxes came from the direction of Xinxian, like a moving team.
There were about ten people escorting him.
When the steward saw his master's carriage parked in front of the temple, he finally felt relieved.
Everyone rushed to meet up, without any precautions.
The manager hurried into the mountain temple. As soon as he entered, he saw Liu Fushen, whose face was bruised and swollen, tied up and shaking his head at him.
The manager's eyes widened suddenly. When he wanted to retreat and escape, it was too late. A knife with a cold glow was placed on his neck.
The thugs hired by Liu Fushen only knew how to bully men and women, and had never seen real guns and swords. They were quickly subdued by a group of masked men who came out of nowhere.
Liu Fushen's men were tied up.
On a hillside not far away, there was a man riding on horseback, wearing a turban to cover his face.
Not long after, a man dressed similarly came riding up the hillside and said, "Brother Lang, the Xin County Magistrate's men have also led their men out of the city in pursuit. They've also arranged for someone to distract Prefect Shen's men, and they'll be chasing them down in about half an hour after the Xin County Magistrate arrives."
Mo Lang, his face hidden, nodded. "Have someone take away all the valuables. Before the Xinxian County Magistrate and Prefect Shen's men arrive, leave a few people to watch in the dark to prevent any accidents."
After the arrangements were made, Liu Fushen's carriage was driven away and all the valuables were taken away.
When they reached a safe place, they stopped the march and had all the boxes opened.
When they saw the golden gold, everyone's eyes lit up. It was obvious that they did not expect such a pleasant surprise.
*
At the end of November, it is almost time to collect taxes.
Under heavy taxes, the people suffered terribly.
Fu Wei came out of the county government office and saw that the people along the way all had their heads drooped, like zombies, lifeless, yet still struggling to survive.
He withdrew his gaze and was about to go home, but when he looked up, he saw Mo Lang standing in front of him holding a box.
Mo Lang glanced at the restaurant on the street, then walked towards the restaurant.
Fu Wei pondered for a moment, then walked into the restaurant.
Seeing Mo Lang go upstairs, he told the waiter that he had an appointment and went straight upstairs.
After entering the private room, I found that a table full of dishes had already been ordered.
Mo Lang, who was sitting at the table, glanced at the door and said, "Close the door first."
Fu Wei closed the door, walked straight over and sat down at the dining table.
Moran stood up and poured him a glass of wine attentively.
Fu Wei seemed to understand something and smiled: "It seems that it is done."
Mo Lang sat down and raised his glass to toast him: "Thanks to you, our Muyun Mountain has made a windfall."
Fu Wei: "I asked you to help me, and since I got unexpected money, I will also accept the reward. You don't need to thank me."
Mo Lang downed his drink in one gulp and said, "How can I not thank you? If it weren't for you and your wife, how could Governor Shen have sent people to Xin County to investigate? If it weren't for your advice, which had our people relocate and hide those who were harmed by the evil bully Liu, causing him to panic and flee with his vast wealth, how could we have obtained this unexpected gift?"
As he spoke, he poured another glass of wine. "Your letter said that Liu the bully would be reluctant to part with his wealth, but he couldn't be too ostentatious. He would definitely travel light first, then secretly transport the wealth out, and would stop along the way."
"First, let him escape, then rob him of his money, and finally pin the blame for the robbery on the new county magistrate who arrived half an hour late."
"Shou Shen's men have arrived one after another. The Liu family's property has been emptied. They will definitely not suspect Mu Yunshan. They will only suspect that the Xin County Magistrate secretly transferred the Liu family's property. This will also save Mu Yunshan the trouble. What you said is not wrong at all. How can I not thank you!"
After Yu Ying went to the county seat, Fu Wei also contacted Mo Lang and asked him to do a big deal with him.
He came up with ideas and Moran did the hard work.
Fu Wei put down his wine glass and smiled faintly: "Then I will accept this thank you."
Moran refilled his glass with wine, put down the wine pot, and opened the box on the table. It was a box of gold.
"Liu the Bully took away 30% of the family property. The other items are more, we will deal with them secretly, and only use gold to convert them. Here are 68 gold bars, each weighing one pound."
One catty weighs sixteen taels, which is equivalent to 10,880 taels of silver.
After checking the background of the bully Liu, Fu Wei naturally knew why a wealthy man from a small county could earn so much money.
Xin County is close to the border, so the bully Liu started smuggling in secret, doing all kinds of business, including jade, jewelry, and exotic beauties.
In addition to the county seat and Yu County, he opened gambling houses and brothels in several other counties. After years of operation, he had accumulated these assets.
Naturally, you will become more courageous.
It was not opened in the county seat because it was a local tyrant with the support of the prefect and was not easy to mess with.
Opening such places in other counties is a way to show respect to the local magistrate.
The meeting was not held in Yu County because the previous magistrate was removed from office for corruption. Firstly, the limelight had just passed and it was difficult for him to show up. Second, the meeting was delayed because the magistrate did not know the new person who had taken office a few years ago.
Mo Lang closed the box, locked it, and pushed the key and the box in front of Fu Wei: "Here you go."
Fu Wei glanced at the box and said calmly, "Thank your village chief for me."
Mo Lang suddenly smiled: "What a coincidence! The village chief also told me to thank you on his behalf as well."
The two smiled at each other.
Fu Weidan smiled without saying a word, and gracefully raised the wine glass and pushed it towards him.
Mo Lang also picked up the cup, clinked it with his, and drank the wine in the cup.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
