Before long, the two men came out of the government office, one heading towards the villa in the east of the city, and the other towards the house in the west of the city.
He Qiu, dressed in white but not in official robes, knelt down with a thud as soon as he arrived at Xie Linzhou's villa, before even entering the gate.
Upon seeing this commotion, the people outside quickly ran inside to report the news.
Zhang Ping came out, and when he saw He Qiu kneeling upright on the ground, he exclaimed, "What is Lord He doing? Someone, quickly help Lord He up."
The people below rushed forward to help him up, but He Qiu refused.
"General Zhang, such a thing happened in Yuanzhou, I... I really have no face to get up."
Zhang Ping smiled and said, "Oh, we understand Lord He's intentions. My young master is waiting inside. Does Lord He have anything to say?"
He Qiu was surprised that Xie Linzhou was still willing to see him, and immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Yes, yes, yes!"
He Qiu swallowed hard, stood up shakily, and followed Zhang Ping into the inner courtyard.
When He Qiu arrived in the morning, he was full of vigor, but when he came back in the afternoon, he didn't dare to raise his head.
In the past, he would always feel proud whenever he received Xie Linzhou, but today, to be honest, he only felt sorry for the general and the court for their cultivation.
Seriously, this is so embarrassing.
Xie Linzhou was holding a chess manual, with a chessboard in front of him. The black and white pieces were locked in a stalemate, and next to him was freshly brewed tea, which smelled like the finest tea leaves.
Xie Linzhou was not surprised and gestured for him to try: "Lord He, you really know how to time things right. This tea is freshly brewed, please have a taste."
He Qiu knelt down again: "General, I..."
He only managed to say the word "I" before he couldn't continue.
He didn't say anything, and Xie Linzhou didn't ask either, leaving He Qiu feeling extremely distressed.
"General, I have come to apologize."
“General, although I was unaware of this matter, such an incident in Yuanzhou City is due to my incompetence and lax governance. I have failed the Duke’s Mansion and His Majesty’s cultivation. I have no face to live in this world. Please punish me, General.”
After speaking, there was a long silence in the room. Xie Linzhou placed a piece on the chessboard and asked calmly, "Anything else?"
"Anything else?" He Qiu was taken aback, then immediately assured him, "General, General, rest assured, I will definitely handle this matter properly and settle those people in a good manner. I will never cover them up. I will come to apologize to you after this is over."
If this matter is not handled properly, he will never be able to show his face again. If the Yao family had embezzled hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, he would not hesitate to take their lives. But for just fifty taels of silver and a few hundred catties of grain, he really couldn't bring himself to do it.
Furthermore, if it were his wife's family who did such a thing today, he would not have suffered a loss even if he lost his life. But he was just a concubine, so he died a pathetic death.
Xie Linzhou took a sip of tea: "Finished?"
"I'm done talking."
"Alright, let's go back."
He Qiu was stunned for a moment, not understanding what the general meant by this.
After a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly understood and quickly kowtowed to Xie Linzhou: "Yes, this humble servant takes his leave."
He understood, he knew what to do.
"See Lord He out," Zhang Ping instructed the servants in the mansion.
"This He Qiu is quite a smart man," Zhang Ping remarked in surprise.
Looking at Xie Linzhou's expression, Zhang Ping knew his young master's temper. If He Qiu hadn't said those words today, he probably wouldn't have been able to leave this house.
"After all, he was promoted by his father, so he's not too stupid."
"Young Master, what are your plans next?"
Xie Linzhou glanced at him and said, "What do you think?"
Zhang Ping scratched his head and smiled: "Yes, yes, I was confused."
Now that everything is out in the open, of course we have to investigate.
Since such a situation exists in Tianxiang Village, it means that it also exists in other places, and such situations are definitely not uncommon.
Xie Linzhou had long disliked those local forces, and this was a good opportunity to teach them a lesson.
"Send people out and if they find any similar cases, they should be dismissed immediately. If the circumstances are serious, the county magistrate should be dealt with as well. If there are any people who are lining their own pockets or using their public office for personal gain, they should be executed."
"yes."
These people are the malignant tumors of their Jin Dynasty. They must be punctured and the pus squeezed out before anything will work.
As soon as He Qiu returned to the government office, he asked, "Where is Aunt Yao?"
"Your Excellency, Aunt Yao left right after you left. It seems she went to the outer residence."
He Qiu took a deep breath: "Prepare the car, let's go to Tianxiang Village."
On the other side, Aunt Yao saw the grain being brought in by the mule cart as soon as she entered the courtyard, and her vision went black.
When Village Chief Yao saw his daughter arrive, he quickly stood up and asked, "Xiuer, what brings you here?"
Aunt Yao's face turned cold: "If I don't come, you can all expect to collect my corpse tomorrow!"
The father and son looked at each other, bewildered: "What's going on?"
"Father, I'm asking you, did you pocket all the food and money from those refugees?"
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Yao burst into laughter, and the father and son proudly boasted about their abilities.
Village Chief Yao spoke ingratiatingly to his daughter, "Xiuer, you should give this money to your son-in-law. Your elder brother is getting on in years, and it's time for him to find a proper job."
Aunt Yao was so angry she almost fainted. This wasn't her father, this was her ancestor!
"Father, I've been in the government office for so many years, have I ever wronged you? Have I ever made you go hungry or thirsty? Are you really going to do this for such a small thing?"
Furthermore, the trees in that village are all older than you. How can you have the nerve to charge one tael of silver per tree?!
Such a thing sounds unbelievable.
Even she, her own daughter, couldn't believe that her father had done this.
Village Chief Yao was unhappy, but his daughter was the only one in the family who had married into a wealthy family. Because of this, his second and youngest sons both worked in Jiangning County next door, all thanks to his daughter.
Aunt Yao stopped hiding anything and laid it all out: "Let me tell you, the General already knows about this, and the Master has already gone to apologize. If the higher-ups blame us, not only you, but the Master and I will also be executed!"
Village Chief Yao looked up abruptly. "What?"
Did the general and the commander-in-chief find out too?
Village Chief Yao was skeptical: "Isn't this a joke? The general is such a big shot, why would he care about this? Xiuer, you're not lying to your father, are you?"
The general is in charge of these things? Nobody would believe it if you told them.
That's so stupid, so incredibly stupid. Aunt Yao doesn't have time to explain anything to them now. If this matter isn't handled properly, her husband will be finished.
"Little sister, Dad is only doing this for your own good..."
"Shut up!" Aunt Yao's eyes reddened with anger.
"Don't you understand now? Isn't it obvious? Those people know the general, otherwise why do you think the magistrate of Tianxiang County would come personally to seek justice?!"
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