I was still thinking about what excuse to use to go in when I saw Prefect Liu, heavily pregnant, leading a group of people and wiping his sweat as they hurried over.
His face looked very ugly, and he was muttering curses as he walked.
"You bunch of good-for-nothings! The Inspector has already entered the city, and you still don't know!"
"With those two big eyes wide open, are you looking at ghosts? I'm absolutely furious with all of you pig-headed idiots!"
The man who was being scolded was bent over, wearing the uniform of a city gate guard, and looked to be a minor leader.
At this moment, he was like a turtle hiding its head, letting the saliva spray onto his face and neck, not daring to utter a single word.
Several people hurriedly entered the alley.
They went to invite the inspector to return to his official residence.
Wei Wei thought there was going to be a good show, so she and Xiao Yue'er quickly followed the crowd of onlookers into the building.
The surrounding crowd was curious about what could have made Lord Liu so anxious and upset.
Naturally, some people had already received the news.
"The inspector from the capital came here specifically to conduct an inspection."
He said, "An official who is even higher than the prefect must be served well."
It turns out a big shot has arrived; no wonder Lord Liu is so flustered.
People whispered among themselves, but their steps didn't falter at all.
Regardless of their thoughts, they dared not discuss it too much at this moment. Seeing that Lord Liu had stopped at the entrance of a courtyard, they also obediently stopped and watched.
The small, square courtyard became noisy because of Lord Liu's arrival.
Lord Liu knocked on the door himself, adopting a very humble posture.
The door opened quickly, and a young guard came out.
His gaze was sharp, and when it fell on Lord Liu's face, it was like a knife.
Lord Liu felt the pressure, and even though he was very unhappy, he had to lower his voice and ask, "Is Lord Yao here?"
Lord Yao was, of course, present.
The guards did not hide anything.
However, he continued, "Lord Yao has been injured and now needs to rest."
Lord Liu then said, "I just received the news and specially invited Lord Yao to the yamen."
“I have prepared everything over there. Although it can’t compare to the capital, it’s still much better than being in this courtyard.”
The guard frowned and looked at him expressionlessly: "Lord Yao is injured and should not move around now."
"Once you're feeling better, you'll come to see me without me having to ask."
Lord Liu's cheek twitched, revealing a very self-reproachful expression: "Alas, it's all my fault... I made such a big mistake due to negligence."
"Please convey my message for me, young man. I would be extremely grateful."
The young guard remained completely unmoved: "I'm sorry, Lord Liu, I was just following orders."
There was absolutely no room for negotiation.
Lord Liu wiped the sweat from his brow again, his tone earnest: "In the end, this is my fault—Lord Yao is injured, and my heart aches even more."
"Please ask Lord Yao to go to the yamen to rest. There are better doctors there. Let him take a look at Lord Yao, and he will recover much faster."
The guard was a rough man, and upon hearing this, his face turned impatient: "Lord Liu, can't you understand me? I've said it several times already."
A mere guard showed such disrespect to the prefect.
The high and mighty Lord Liu could no longer manage a smile.
As a fourth-rank official of the imperial court, recently even a lowly merchant's wife dared to disobey him, and now even the guards are treating him so rudely.
Prefect Liu felt he had lost both face and substance.
His face turned ugly, which his lackeys noticed, of course.
To prove that they were the most loyal ones, they vied to speak and began to scold each other.
"How dare you! Who do you think you are, to speak to us adults like that?"
"Just a watchdog, does it think it's the master?"
"Our master came to invite you immediately upon hearing the news, without even having a meal. What are you doing here, strutting around like that instead of immediately reporting to your master?!"
Lord Liu deliberately refrained from reprimanding those who had spoken on their own initiative.
He wanted to show this lowly person what words were appropriate to say and what words were inappropriate to say!
The guard, showing no fear whatsoever, sneered, "Me, arrogant? I think it's you lackeys who are arrogant!"
"Running around at someone else's gate and acting crazy, and then not letting others say anything? Is this some kind of open bullying in front of Lord Yao?"
It won't be easy to get away with this.
Lord Liu's expression changed slightly, and his eyes were filled with hidden killing intent as he looked at the guard.
The strategist immediately stopped Lord Liu from going berserk.
He stepped forward and tried to smooth things over with a smile: "Please don't be angry, sir. It was all our fault."
"It's because our Loucheng has been peaceful for too long that we haven't become vigilant, and it's because our adults haven't thought things through."
He smiled and said, "Now that everyone is here, please have this young man go in and speak to Lord Yao."
"Even if he really doesn't want to meet, he can still convince everyone."
Wei Wei looked at the petite strategist and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
They were talking in front, while the people behind were just watching the show.
That was none of their business, but now he's dragging the people into it.
It was as if the inspector's refusal to come out and meet them was a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for everyone in Loucheng.
After he said that, some people did find it reasonable.
"Sir, please come out and meet us. Our prefect has gone to such lengths."
"Yes, you can't hit someone who's smiling at you. It's too much, that's not good."
Upon hearing them speak, a hint of hesitation finally appeared on the young guard's face.
The scheming man revealed a smug look on his face; he wanted to use the people behind him to suppress the unrest.
You claim to love the people like your own children? Let these people see your true colors!
He smiled insincerely and said, "Otherwise, let Lord Liu go in and take a look, just one look will suffice."
"It's enough to know how Lord Yao is doing."
The guard's hesitation deepened.
He might disregard the fat, gruff Prefect Liu, but what about these people...?
Just as they were struggling, a deep, cold laugh suddenly came from behind the crowd: "A local bully is a local bully, trying to force a powerful dragon to the ground."
"If someone can't get up, are you telling them to crawl to get up no matter what?"
"I've never seen such an arrogant person."
The voice was neither male nor female.
For a moment, everyone stared at each other in disbelief, and when they turned around to look, they couldn't find out who had said it.
The strategist's face darkened, and Lord Liu's expression turned fierce.
The guard, who had just been in a difficult position, breathed a sigh of relief and immediately changed his attitude: "Our master is indeed not feeling well, Lord Liu, please don't make things difficult for me any further."
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