Chapter 76 The Prefect Arrives!
Xiao Linyuan took her hand, indicating that she could hear him clearly.
The two moved a little closer.
Su Jingge listened as Zhao Liu pointed at Zhao Zhou's nose and cursed his people.
That person looked somewhat familiar...
"Why did you get here? Let me ask you."
Fan Tong took off his hat and asked in return, "What brings you here?"
Zhao Liu blinked: "No, I heard that people have entered the mine. Did you let someone else mine?"
Fan Tong, hands on his hips, retorted, "You're talking nonsense! How could Lord Zhao let others mine?" He sneered, "I think you're trying to play the victim. I bet you knocked those people out yourselves. Besides, we handed the mine over to someone else!"
"You son of a bitch, shut the hell up! What good will it do me to cry wolf?" Zhao Liu cursed.
"You just want a bigger share of the money!" Fan Tong said, shaking his leg.
"Say that again to my father!" Zhao Liu was furious.
Seeing the two sides arguing, Su Jingge and Xiao Linyuan tried to take the opportunity to leave the mine.
However, they found that there were too many people at the mine, and it was surrounded on all sides with no way out.
Despite his efforts to escape, he was unfortunately captured.
Fan Tong wasn't going to back down either, and was about to scold him when he heard someone shout:
"We caught two people."
"These two people are very suspicious!"
Fan Tong looked at the men and said, "Take off those two straw hats!"
Su Jingge and Xiao Linyuan's faces were revealed.
Fan Tong's pupils dilated: "How could it be you? Su Jingge? You guys??"
Zhao Liu, standing to the side, glared at him and said, "You good-for-nothing, you traitor! You still say you didn't hand over the mine to someone else? Who are these two people?"
Fan Tong frowned: "These two have nothing to do with us. We don't even know how they got in. You can't just look at them and say we gave the mine to someone else to mine?"
"Shut the fuck up! The mine is ours, you have to pay us the penalty for breach of contract!"
Fan Tong retorted sharply, pointing his finger at him: "Stop stirring up trouble and making baseless accusations. What benefit would we get from giving them the mine?"
"You still want to argue? How much money did Su Jingge give you after you handed over the mine?"
"Has Shanggu Zhai shortchanged you?"
"How many good things have we provided for you in previous years?"
Fan Tong was so angry that his face turned red and he was furious.
He immediately retorted to Zhao Liu, "Don't you dare try to pin this on me. What good would it do us to give the mine to Su Jingge?"
Zhao Liu sneered: "That Zhao Zhou is a greedy and despicable man. Besides, the situation is not good now. He transferred the mine to Su Jingge, which can be said to be a contribution to the county. Then he can pin the blame on Shangguzhai and say that our people disturbed the mine. You want to get away with it all!"
"Say that again?" Fan Tong shouted, pointing his finger at his nose.
"I already said it, so what? You dare to do it but not admit it? I'll not only curse you, I'll also curse Zhao Zhou, and I'll even curse Zhao Zhou's mother. You're all sons of bitches!"
This insult only fueled Fan Tong's anger: "You can insult me, but you can't insult Zhao Zhou's mother!"
With a command, he declared, "Today I'll show you what true power is!"
"What? You're not convinced?" Zhao Liu retorted.
The two sides were on the verge of conflict and were ready to fight.
They started fighting over a disagreement.
The scene became chaotic at one point.
Neither side would give way, and soon both were injured.
They fought like fire and water, ending up with black eyes and swollen faces.
Su Jingge and Xiao Linyuan looked at each other, wondering what had caused their internal strife.
They wanted to take the opportunity to escape, but just then Xiao Yinhe arrived with his men.
He thought Su Jingge and the others had been beaten.
But it turned out not to be.
They are Zhao Zhou and Zhao Liu's men.
He was also stunned. How could these two people be fighting each other?
He immediately ordered, "Stop it, all of you!"
The guards behind them pulled the two groups apart.
Zhao Liu became even angrier when he saw his men being beaten.
"Fine, you good-for-nothing, you've been colluding with Xiao Yinhe all along, haven't you?"
"Are you trying to use your official position to pressure us merchants?"
Fan Tong couldn't explain clearly and kept retorting:
"Let me tell you, you fatso, I didn't call them. You probably did. You've been trying to curry favor with officials who are higher in rank than us for a long time!"
"You good-for-nothing, if I don't kill you today, I'm not a Zhao!" Zhao Liu snatched the whip.
Fan Tong retreated behind Xiao Yinhe: "We're all surnamed Zhao, so why is there such a big difference? You're not even a finger of our lord's. If you've got the guts, go ahead and kill me today!"
As Zhao Liu lashed out with his whip, Xiao Yinhe roared, "Calm down, all of you!"
He didn't want to make a big deal out of it; if it did, even as a fourth-rank official, he would be guilty of condoning such behavior.
Xiao Yinhe said, "I granted permission to mine. Mining is part of the city's repair work. Even the sages advocated post-disaster reconstruction, yet you are here illegally mining. I am now taking back the mine, and I will definitely pursue this matter to the end!"
Zhao Liu dared not speak again. He knew that if Xiao Yinhe stopped him, he could easily say that the mine was used to repair the city.
Zhao Zhou will be punished.
But it won't cause a big fuss.
He has not been involved in politics for many years. If he were to take over the mine, it probably wouldn't be so easy to dig it up.
Taking the blame now is just to exonerate Su Jingge and Xiao Linyuan.
Otherwise, if the two of them coveted the mine, they would also be guilty.
Therefore, all he could say was that it was to build cities for the people.
Now, if you want to dig again, it will be difficult.
But Xiao Yinhe was, after all, a fourth-rank prefect.
I would never dare to offend them.
We can only take a step back for now.
He smiled and said to Xiao Yinhe, "Since it is the order of the lord, then I certainly dare not obstruct it. Who would dare to disobey the order of the sage?"
As he spoke, he glanced at the rice bucket.
This mine was originally promised to Shanggu Zhai by Zhao Zhou, but now Xiao Yinhe has blocked it.
Even if the mine can't be mined, we should still ask Zhao Zhou for compensation.
Give me back everything I ate!
Fan Tong dared not speak further, for he truly had not expected Xiao Yinhe to intervene in this matter.
We can only take a step back for now.
He smiled at Xiao Yinhe: "Since it is your order, then I have absolutely no objection."
Zhao Zhou thought to himself that it was good that Xiao Yinhe had blocked the mine; otherwise, if it were discovered later, Zhao Zhou would not be able to get rid of it.
Now that Xiao Yinhe is taking the blame, if the higher-ups insist on finding fault, then Xiao Yinhe won't be able to escape either.
After all, Zhao Zhou was mining, and he was a fourth-rank official. If the matter were pursued relentlessly, he would be guilty of condoning such behavior.
I'm afraid it will be a case of big problems being minimized and small problems being ignored.
Anyway, they did get the money, so it's best if they can get away unscathed.
Zhao Liu bowed and said, "Then we'll head back now."
Fan Tong also bowed: "Prefect Xiao, I take my leave."
Both sides left the mine.
Xiao Yinhe walked over, his eyes red as he looked at Xiao Linyuan: "If it weren't for the signal flare you sent me, allowing me to arrive in time, what would I do if you all died here today? How could I face your mother?"
Xiao Linyuan expressed his apology: "It was my fault."
Su Jingjing said, "I'm sorry, Prefect Xiao, it's my fault."
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