The rain mixed with the cold wind came, and the car curtains were blown away.
Yu Jiao and Liu Sanniang each grabbed a corner of the curtain and pressed it down hard to stop the rain from pouring in.
Yu Qizhe drove the horse faster and galloped towards the city.
In Tanzhou and Xiangyuan, heavy rain was pouring down.
Gu Yun rode alone, holding a long sword, and rushed straight into the provincial post station.
Seeing that he was full of murderous intent, the officials at the post station were so scared that they hurried in to report.
Gu Yunfei dismounted from his horse. He was soaked, his hair was disheveled, and he looked disheveled, but he couldn't hide the violent rage in his body.
The usual pampered and dandy demeanor had all disappeared, and his handsome and flamboyant face was replaced by an expression of extreme anger, coldness and ferocity.
"Where is Zhou Fang?" Gu Yun strode into the post station with a sword in hand and a cold voice.
Zhou Fang, who had already received the report from his subordinates, put on his clothes in a panic. As soon as he opened the door, a sword with a cold glow slashed across in front of him.
Zhou Fang was frightened to the point of a sword just inches away from his throat. He said in a trembling voice, "Young Marquis Gu, if you have something to say, please speak nicely. I am an official appointed by the court. Although you are a young marquis, a prince who breaks the law is guilty of the same crime as a commoner. If you kill an official appointed by the court for no reason, you will be stripped of your title and investigated."
Gu Yun was filled with murderous intent, staring at Zhou Fang with cold eyes, then raised his wrist and slashed his shoulder fiercely.
Zhou Fang screamed in pain, and seeing blood gushing from his arm, he exclaimed, "Young Marquis Gu, come quickly, protect me!"
Gu Yun's bloodshot eyes swept over the officials who were ready to take action. Everyone who was stared at by him shuddered violently and dared not step forward.
"You dog official!" Gu Yun kicked Zhou Fang to his knees, then picked him up by the collar and dragged him out.
Zhou Fang's men watched this scene and followed hesitantly.
After dragging the man to the lobby on the first floor, Gu Yun placed the sword on his neck and asked sternly, "Where is the money allocated by the court for dredging and building embankments? Bring it all out now, or I will kill you immediately!"
A bloody mark was immediately cut on the neck. Zhou Fang didn't dare to play it safe anymore. He stared at the terrifying long sword and said tremblingly, "Quick, go and get the silver!"
The officials following Zhou Fang hurriedly moved all the silver over. Five heavy wooden boxes were placed in front of Gu Yun. Gu Yun said coldly, "Open!"
Li Si, the director of the Ministry of Works' Construction Office, who came with Zhou Fang to dredge the Xiangyuan River and build a embankment, looked at Zhou Fang guiltily and did not dare to open the box at all.
Gu Yun raised his sword and swung it towards Zhou Fang's ear.
Zhou Fang felt a chill beside his ear, and a bloody object rolled to the ground. Warm blood gushed out from the right side of his face. He belatedly realized the pain and groaned, "Ah...ah...my ear..."
"Open it!" Gu Yun shouted loudly with a gloomy face.
All the officers were stunned. They didn't expect Gu Yun to be so cruel.
Li Si's face was pale, and he opened all five boxes with trembling hands.
Gu Yun glanced at the five boxes of official silver, and lifted up the neatly laid out silver on the top, revealing the stones underneath.
Li Si looked at this scene and thought to himself it was all over. His legs went weak and he fell to his knees!
Gu Yun turned over the five boxes one by one, his face grim. The five boxes were exactly the same, with a layer of official silver on top and stones filling the bottom.
Zhou Fang was reluctant to use government silver to build the Xiangyuan River embankment. He and Ziqi guessed that there must be something wrong with the silver. However, they did not expect Zhou Fang to be so bold as to swallow up only this little of the silver allocated by the court.
He ordered his men to dump the stones in the boxes and put the five boxes of official silver into one box. Gu Yun picked up Zhou Fang, who was still wailing on the ground, and said fiercely, "If you don't have the silver, you will go and build the river embankment yourself. If you can't build the embankment, I will use your body to build the embankment!"
"I am not the only one who is greedy for the silver. Young Marquis Gu, please spare my life. I will send people to repair the river bank right away..." Zhou Fang begged for mercy fearfully, not caring about his chopped-off ear.
Gu Yun sneered. There was clearly time to build dikes and dams a few days ago, but Zhou Fang, that corrupt official, delayed several times. The prefect of Tanzhou did nothing and colluded with Zhou Fang. Now it was raining heavily and the water level in the river was rising. If the flood flow from upstream of Chanzhou could not be stopped, several prefectures downstream would be flooded.
It’s a pity that this dog official died!
Gu Yun ordered his men to bring up the silver and glanced at everyone in the room, "If you don't want to die, go to the river and build a dam!"
The officials who followed Zhou Fang from the capital all looked pale and hurried to catch up.
Beside the river, dozens of men summoned by the government were carrying heavy sandbags and filling the embankment. The water level in the river had already reached above their thighs.
These people were forced by the prefect of Tanzhou to do hard labor. They worked from morning till night by the river bank and were exhausted. Not only did they not get a penny, but the government could not even provide them with enough food.
Gu Yun and Liu Ziqi had seen it all during the past few days since they came from Chanzhou, but without the emperor's order, they had no control over the officials in Tanzhou. Liu Ziqi had no official status, and although Gu Yun held the title of Marquis Gu, he was of no use in this place where people pretended to obey but actually disobeyed.
It rained so heavily today that Gu Yun was forced into a corner with a knife. He originally wanted to kill Zhou Fang, the official, but was persuaded by Liu Ziqi.
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