The educated Bai Shinian had already sensed something was up, and he feigned composure. "Master, do you mean to have Wang Wu spread the word?"
"Of course." Xu Jing said seriously, "It would be best if the people of the whole city could hear what Village Chief Shi is up to."
"Master, I don't understand what you mean." Not only was Wang Wu confused, even the educated Bai Shinian was completely bewildered.
"Wang Wu, listen carefully. Village Chief Shi took the things and turned his back on the fisherman. He then turned around and exposed the fisherman's past, confiscated his nets, and mobilized the entire town to condemn his immoral behavior.
The fisherman couldn't stand up to so many people on his own. In desperation, he came up with an idea and told the villagers that he and Widow Wang had already secretly agreed to spend their lives together. They even had a marriage contract, and all that was left was the final step of getting married. His story was so convincing, and with the eyewitness, Li Dahan, present, everyone believed the fisherman's words.
Bai Shinian asked, "What about Village Chief Shi? Village Chief Shi's status is higher than that of the Fisherman and Widow Wang. Why do others trust the Fisherman but not Village Chief Shi?"
"Because Village Chief Shi is old and no longer useful. Everyone remembers the foolish things he did in his early years. The fisherman used public pressure to force Village Chief Shi to step down early and replaced him with his son. The things that Village Chief Shi had withheld from the fisherman were returned to him amid public protests, and everyone was happy."
Bai Shinian smiled and said, "That's indeed a good story."
The ending of the story is happy, but the reality is much crueler.
Bai Yong stood behind Guard Jin. As a lackey of the imperial court, it was too easy for him to suffer.
But Xu Jing was not afraid. If the civil and military officials joined forces, the people behind the scenes would definitely be wary. If the people behind the scenes were wary, these henchmen of the court would also be in trouble.
Xu Jing was gambling on whether the person behind the plot would show some leniency towards Qi. If they didn't, don't blame him for dragging them down with him.
"Did Wang Wu understand everything?"
Wang Wu nodded. "Master, I know everything."
"I want to hear this story talked about all over the streets tomorrow. Come here." Wang Wu stepped forward as he was told. Xu Jing gave him a piece of silver. "If you can't do it, you will be beheaded."
Wang Wu couldn't hide his joy on his face. "Don't worry, sir. I will do my job perfectly."
After Wang Wu left, Bai Shinian's brows were knotted with worry. He was not like Wang Wu, a fool who only cared about money. He was considering a deeper relationship. "Master, you are openly opposing the court. Aren't you afraid that they will take action against you?"
"At this stage, they don't dare to attack me." Xu Jing played with the Jianzhan teapot that was sent to him. It was crystal clear. It turned out that the craftsmanship of things made with care was much better than that of later generations.
"Keep an eye on Luo Ying."
Bai Shinian nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, Master, I'll have someone keep an eye on you. But Master Bai and the others haven't left yet. Aren't you afraid they'll make things difficult for you if you openly contradict them?"
"That's right, Eunuch Bai is Eunuch Bai, and Guard Jin is Guard Jin. How can they be categorized as the same type of people?"
"Then the master just said..." Bai Shinian quickly covered his mouth and said, "What does the master mean?"
Xu Jing took a rectangular treasure box from the shelf. "Give these to Eunuch Bai."
Bai Shinian shook it when he took it; it was quite heavy. "What is it?"
"Ginseng from Changbai Mountain." Xu Jing held up two fingers as Bai Shinian looked at him in surprise. "Hundred-year-old ginseng."
"Huh." Bai Shinian gasped. Hundred-year-old ginseng was truly rare. Not only in the prefectural government, but even in the imperial palace, only the emperor and the empress dowager could enjoy it. Anyone else could only use the roots, and whole ginseng was out of the question.
The gift from the master is so valuable, what is he trying to do?
"Shi Nian, if the angel asks why you sent such a valuable gift, just say it wasn't a gift. It was a gift to nourish the angel out of sympathy for his hardship. If they ask anything else, just evade the question and claim you know nothing. Got it?"
Bai Shinian nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, I will definitely see to it."
Bai Shinian was busy delivering gifts, and when he passed by the dungeon, he heard that there was unrest inside.
He was busy delivering gifts and didn't care about anything else. He called an officer to see what was going on.
When the officers arrived at the dungeon, they were surprised to see Luo Ying, who had been imprisoned there, walking out openly.
"Luo, General Luo. What are you doing..." Before the officer could even finish his bold words, Luo Ying stabbed him in the face and he fainted.
The small dungeon was no place to hold him. Luo Ying was so angry that he had no place to vent his anger. After much deliberation, he decided to find the person who started this to settle the score.
He stripped the officer's clothes off, put them on himself, and then locked the officer in the dungeon.
Then, under disguise all the way, he knocked on the door of Jiang Xuqing's study.
"Come in."
As the door opened, Luo Ying closed it casually.
It was already nightfall, and Jiang Xuqing, who always preferred pleasure, was unexpectedly still working through the night. His diligence was unsure if it was a pretense or a natural one, but his diligent demeanor gave the impression of an honest official.
Unfortunately, he didn't believe it.
"Master Jiang, how are you?" Luo Ying stepped forward, grabbed Jiang Xuqing's wrist, and lowered his voice. "Jiang Xuqing, you've really done me a lot of harm."
"Who else can be like General Luo, breaking into the study late at night like it's a game?" Xu Jing said with a smile, "What are you doing here so late at night?"
Jiang Xuqing's unhurried demeanor gave Luo Ying a certain degree of delusion, as if he had gone to great lengths to escape the dungeon, thinking he could "get revenge," only to be slapped in the face by Jiang Xuqing's composure until his face was swollen. He felt like he was being toyed with.
In order to verify his guess, Luo Ying directly held his vital point and whispered, "Is Master Jiang pretending to be calm, or is he hiding something?"
"Let go." Xu Jing said expressionlessly, "If you don't want the scene from the day to happen again, just do it."
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in jail."
Instead of letting go, Luo Ying embraced Jiang Xuqing, holding him in his arms. He snorted coldly and said, "Master Jiang is really a master of tactics. Not only did he cheat the court out of the pension, but he also made me take the blame. If it weren't for my little trick, I'm afraid I would have stayed in the dungeon for the rest of my life."
"Are you stupid?" Xu Jing gave him an elbow, which hit Luo Ying's abdomen.
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