Chapter 31: Beauty Trap 9 "Little Immortal Officer, you are here again."...
After they sat down, the bailiffs escorted Li Wentao to kneel in front of the hall. Zhu Song looked at Wen Fengxuan, who nodded slightly. Zhu Song pursed his lips and smiled in response, then stopped smiling and looked at Li Wentao coldly, asking in a cold voice, "Li Wentao, do you want to say it yourself or do you want me to say it for you?"
Li Wentao looked up at Zhu Song with an innocent expression, "Sir, I know nothing about this. I really don't know where to begin."
Zhu Song stared at him with a stern look. "You don't know where to begin, so I'll tell you. Start with the fifteen times you received relief money from Lord Li. Do you want Lord Li to confront you in court?"
At the end of his words, Zhu Song slammed his hand on the table, startling Li Wentao so much that he trembled. A panicked look flashed across his face. Seeing that his plan was exposed, he quickly pleaded, "Sir, I know I was wrong. I was just blinded by greed. Please forgive me this time."
Zhu Song's gaze grew even more stern. "Last night, Lord Li reported to me. I thought you were leading the charge for someone else. I was about to commend you, but I didn't expect you to be a fraud. This is a despicable act. Come, take him away, throw him in jail, and execute him later."
Upon hearing this, Li Wentao quickly changed his tone and argued, "No, sir, I collected it on their behalf. I knew they were all sick, and I was worried that they wouldn't be able to receive the relief money, so I collected it on their behalf. I just haven't had time to give it to them yet. Sir, I really have good intentions. Sir, please have mercy!"
Zhu Song slowed down his tone and asked, "Where is the money?"
Li Wentao thought everything was fine and quickly said, "It's in my pillow at home."
Zhu Song looked at Zhu Lingye and said, "Go get the money."
Zhu Lingye cupped his hands and replied, "Yes."
Li Wentao breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't expect Zhu Song to change the subject. "Li Wentao, there's irrefutable evidence that you embezzled relief funds. Your crimes are extremely serious. You will be executed in the autumn and paraded through the streets as a warning to others."
"Sir!" Li Wentao widened his eyes upon hearing this and looked at Zhu Song in disbelief. Zhu Song waved his hand and Zhu Lingyejiu stepped forward and pulled the man away.
Zhu Song looked at the stunned people and said, "Follow them and get back the money that belongs to you."
The people then bowed their hands and sighed in admiration, "Thank you, sir. You are truly fair and just."
"Go ahead."
Zhu Lingye and his group left, and the bustling lobby instantly quieted down. Zhu Song turned his head and met Wen Fengxuan's smiling gaze. "Your Excellency is worthy of being an imperial envoy. Everything is under your control."
Zhu Song smiled modestly and said, "Your Highness, you flatter me. Lord Li never told me that someone else was overpaid. I was just trying to trick him. Who knew he was so bold and so unyielding to tricks?"
Surprise and confusion appeared in Wen Fengxuan's eyes. "How did you catch him in such a short time?"
Zhu Song explained, "I took the victim out onto the street. Everyone was curious about what happened and looked at me openly. Only Li Wentao was so guilty that he ran away when he saw me."
Wen Fengxuan couldn't believe it, "Just like that?"
Zhu Song smiled faintly and said, "I have been in the Dali Temple for many years, and I am confident that my eyesight is not too bad."
"Your Excellency is too modest." Wen Fengxuan also laughed, and then talked about Li Wentao's sentence, "But is beheading for simply falsely claiming the crime too harsh a sentence?"
Zhu Song patiently explained, "Killing a chicken to scare the monkeys will deter any evil intentions. Once this matter is over, we'll find a reason to reduce his sentence. Just a few years in prison."
Wen Fengxuan's eyes curved, his admiration evident in his words, "Your Excellency is very far-sighted. I am ashamed of myself for not being able to match your foresight."
Zhu Song smiled and waved his hands, "Your Highness's praise is so great that I almost lose my mind as to what heaven and earth are."
Wen Fengxuan said: "Your Excellency is worthy."
Amidst the conversation, a yamen runner hurried in and said, "Your Highness, sir, Miss Xue is outside the door requesting an audience."
Zhu Song lowered his eyes and responded, "Call him in."
"yes."
Wen Fengxuan picked up the teacup, blew on it, looked up at Zhu Song, and joked, "I thought the peach blossoms would disappear after spring, but I didn't expect them to be so prosperous in the summer."
A hazy mist enveloped Wen Fengxuan's face, like a celestial aura, shimmering and ethereal. Zhu Song looked at him and smiled, pursing her lips. "A peach blossom?" It was indeed a large one, a single flower that could rival tens of thousands. To describe it as flourishing was not an exaggeration.
Seeing Zhu Song remained silent, the smile on Wen Fengxuan's face faded. He lowered his eyes, put the cup away, stood up and said, "Since my lord is busy, I will not disturb you."
Zhu Song wanted him to rest, so he didn't say anything, but just said, "Your Highness, have a good rest."
Wen Fengxuan nodded, turned and left. When he was at the door, he met Xue Caining who was hurrying in.
Xue Caining was wearing a light pink skirt today, without any makeup. Her face was pale, tears welled up in her eyes, and the corners of her eyes were scarlet, making her look even more pitiful. When she saw Wen Fengxuan, she took a step back, as if she had seen some jackal, tiger or leopard. She blinked her eyelashes and tears as big as beans rolled down her face, making her look even more pitiful.
Wen Fengxuan left without looking back, his steps hurried. This scene was seen by Zhu Lingye who had just returned. He frowned slightly and walked in quickly. When he passed by Xue Caining, he asked, "Why are you here again?"
Xue Caining clenched her hands tightly together and trembled like a frightened rabbit. She looked up at Zhu Song with tears in her eyes, "Sir, I heard someone knocking on my door last night. My mother and her family had offended someone, and now that they're gone, these people are looking for me. Please save me, sir, and let me stay."
Zhu Song sighed in mock embarrassment, "He's a pitiful man, so stay at the government office and help out. We'll make plans once this matter is resolved."
Xue Caining probably didn't expect things to go so smoothly. A moment of surprise appeared on her face, but she hid it immediately and knelt down to thank him, "Thank you very much, sir. I will definitely not let you down."
Zhu Song said to the yamen runner, "The kitchen is always busy, so take Miss Xue there to get familiar with the place."
Xue Caining replied: "Thank you, sir. I will do my best."
Zhu Song said: "Let's do it for now."
"Miss Xue, please come this way." The bailiff came over and took Xue Caining away.
After everyone left, Zhu Lingye reported to Zhu Song, "Brother, the money has been recovered, not a penny less. Li Wentao is being paraded through the streets now, and he's going to have a hard time."
Zhu Song didn't say much, just nodded to show that he understood.
Zhu Lingye felt that something was wrong with Zhu Song. He stared at him for a long time before asking in confusion, "Brother, why are you always laughing?"
Zhu Song raised his eyes to look at him and asked, "Is there?"
"Yes, you've been laughing for no reason these past two days. Haven't you noticed?" Zhu Lingye became increasingly worried. "Isn't the laughter acupoint on your calf? Did Su Li prick it?"
Speaking of Su Li, Zhu Song felt as if his calf started to ache again, "Your Highness just said something to me."
Zhu Lingye was curious, "What did he say to you?"
Zhu Song said: "He said I was a romantic person."
Zhu Lingye couldn't understand what was so funny about this. "You've had a lot of romantic relationships since you were a child, right? What's there to be happy about? Could it be..." He paused for a long moment before continuing, "You're really attracted to Xue Caining?"
"What are you talking about?" Zhu Song rolled his eyes at him, his expression of resistance obvious.
There was no one else to answer, and Zhu Lingye couldn't figure out the reason. "So why is that?"
Zhu Song raised his eyebrows and said, "I can't explain it to you clearly."
Zhu Lingye snorted in dissatisfaction at being looked down upon. "I think the prince is just trying to coax you. He didn't look very happy when I came in just now."
Zhu Song disagreed with his words in the slightest. "Are you happy to be asked to stay up late? Not to mention that Your Highness is in poor health. Staying up this late is already the limit."
Zhu Lingye was easily persuaded by him again and changed the subject very tactfully. Zhu Song chatted with him for a few minutes and then sent him away.
Just as Zhu Song expected, all the victims received their money and left the city the next morning. Zhu Song struck while the iron was hot and took Zhu Lingye to finish all the matters in the afternoon. The disaster relief work was finally over.
To reward everyone, Zhu Song ordered a good meal for everyone that evening. Duan Zhenghong thought this was Zhu Song's farewell banquet and was overjoyed. He made it an exceptionally sumptuous feast, with all the officials involved in the disaster relief effort present, filling the entire courtyard.
Duan Zhenghong was so excited and animated that he skipped the congratulations altogether. He exchanged a few simple words and then fell silent, watching Duan Zhenghong's expansive speech in silence. Of course, he was mostly watching Wen Fengxuan across from him. Wen Fengxuan also seemed in a good mood, his expression bright and cheerful. He had drunk two full glasses of wine, his handsome face flushed. Perhaps he'd drunk too much, as he only stayed for half an hour before claiming to be feeling unwell and returning to his room.
After Wen Fengxuan left, Zhu Song listened to Duan Zhenghong's nonsense for another half hour. Finally, his patience ran out, and he ended the banquet with the excuse of letting everyone go back and rest.
Duan Zhenghong was so drunk that he could not even stand and had to be supported by the yamen runners. Originally, there was a room for Duan Zhenghong in the governor's office, but Zhu Song did not want to see him, so he had him sent home.
Everyone was tired during this period, and the party dispersed quickly after Zhu Song left. Zhu Song didn't drink much, but he was very sleepy. As soon as he returned to the room, he fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow.
Just as he was soundly asleep, a sharp sound of something breaking through the air made Zhu Song open his eyes sharply. He stretched out his hand and a small stone fell into his palm, causing a slight pain.
Zhu Song frowned and sat up. They had just experienced a heavy rainstorm, and the moonlight had been very good during this period. Zhu Song lowered his head and looked at the small stone lying quietly in his palm. This was the most common Yuhua stone in the flowerbed of the Governor's Yamen.
Could it be that someone has something to say to him?
After all, it would take him many years to wait for an imperial envoy.
The more Zhu Song thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case, so he quickly got up and put on his clothes. When he opened the door, he saw Wen Fengxuan sitting in the yard admiring the moon.
The moonlight is like water, the beauty is like silk, it seems like the fairyland of Yaochi.
Zhu Song paused for a moment, then walked out and called softly, "Your Highness."
Everything was quiet, the moon was at its zenith, and it was already midnight. Zhu Song had specifically ordered that no one be on duty today, and everyone should rest. Therefore, the entire Governor's Office was so quiet that Zhu Song could even hear Wen Fengxuan's breathing.
Wen Fengxuan, who was leaning against the table and looking up at the moon, looked over in the direction of the voice. When he saw the person clearly, the loneliness on his face disappeared, replaced by a secret joy, "Little Immortal Official, you are here again."
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