Chapter 301 Your humble servant greets the Imperial Envoy!
What is the purpose!?
An autumn breeze blew into the courtyard from the mountains, the dust on the stone table rolled like waves, and the roots of several clusters of brilliant golden chrysanthemums in the courtyard swayed.
Zhao Duan looked at the performance of the county magistrate who took the blame with a strange expression on his face, thinking that there really was such an unlucky person... He had just taken on the mess for Wang Chusheng and now he had offended him.
He shook his head and was about to speak.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside the county government office.
Accompanied by noisy movements.
"What's going on?" County Magistrate Wang, who was showing off his power with a sly look in his eyes, turned around and was stunned for a moment, not knowing what was going on.
"Someone is coming, why don't you go out and take a look?" Zhao Duan joked.
What do you care about me... County Magistrate Wang glared at him.
After a slight hesitation, he pushed open the gate, asked the constable at the door to keep a close eye on him, and ran out.
The county government office is not big. After passing through two hanging flower gates, you will reach the "Sixth Room".
As soon as County Magistrate Wang showed his head, he bumped into the captain of the police who had brought the news. He cried out in pain and was about to curse when the captain said,
"The imperial envoy and the prefect are here! They've brought a lot of soldiers with them!"
The imperial envoy went to the countryside to inspect?
County Magistrate Wang was stunned for a moment, and when he was panicking, he saw two rows of soldiers rushing into the yamen, holding swords and looking very aggressive.
Then, the group walked into the yamen surrounded by people.
At a glance, there were more than a dozen of them, the most eye-catching of whom was the prefect Sun Xiaozheng in a scarlet robe.
"Your Excellency the Governor! I apologize for not welcoming you to the county yamen..."
County Magistrate Wang immediately showed a flattering smile, and his old face was like a dried orange peel.
Sun Xiaozhun was panting, nodded slightly after hearing this, and turned to the "Imperial Envoy" beside him and said:
"Sir, this is..."
"This way."
However, the "imperial envoy" did not stop at all.
After roughly identifying the direction, he followed the instructions on the brown paper weight and led a group of people in brocade clothes, passing the other party and heading towards the side yard where the "prisoner" was held.
"Eh? Imperial envoy?"
Magistrate Sun was stunned for a moment, but had no choice but to follow again.
However, he did not notice that County Magistrate Wang, who had just been servile to him, was struck by lightning.
It was because, when he took a quick glance just now, the young man who was respectfully called "Imperial Envoy" by the prefect looked exactly like the suspect in the yamen.
Where in the world are there two people who are exactly the same?
"It's bad!" County Magistrate Wang's heart skipped a beat and he quickly turned around to catch up.
At this time, Magistrate Sun was also confused as he was dragged to the door of the side yard.
“Back off!”
Hou Ren swung out his scabbard with both swords, knocking the gatekeeper to the ground. Qian Kerou then pushed open the slightly dilapidated gate.
Squeak——
When the door opened, both parties inside and outside the courtyard could see each other clearly.
Zhao Duan smiled slightly: "You are here."
"Sir!" The round-faced secretary called out with excitement.
Magistrate Sun just managed to squeeze in from outside at this time and happened to see this scene. He was obviously stunned for a moment and his head was buzzing.
Wait…why…
He subconsciously turned his head to look at the "imperial envoy" beside him, but saw that the nobleman, who had been taciturn and expressionless since entering the city, raised his hand and wiped his face, regaining his original smiling look.
He held the colorful mask called "Jiuyi" in both hands, which was quite similar to the style of Picasso's paintings. He respectfully came to the "young master" in the courtyard, bowed, and presented it with both hands:
"Sir, return the property to its rightful owner. I can no longer pretend."
The other several close Jinyi captains stepped forward in unison and saluted at the same time:
"Subordinates, I meet the Imperial Envoy!"
The green-robed Imperial Censor Chen Hong slowly stepped forward, and the deputy saluted the two of them in turn:
"Master Zhao, Princess, I'm sorry to both of you be frightened."
Xu Junling nodded slightly, the lady from a noble family smiling without showing her teeth.
Mr. Song stood there in a daze.
Magistrate Sun was stunned.
"Your Excellency the Governor...wait a minute..."
behind.
County Magistrate Wang, who was wearing an eighth-rank official robe and a seventh-rank black hat, hurried in, shouting halfway.
Immediately, with a thud, his knees gave way and he fell to the ground. Cold sweat instantly poured out, soaking his clothes.
The shifty face looked at the scene blankly and horrifiedly, and the black hat on his head tilted and fell to the ground.
"Imperial Envoy...Princess...Princess?"
County Magistrate Wang’s eyes went dark, and he felt like he had fallen into hell and couldn’t breathe.
Zhao Duan raised his hand and took the disguise mask. He sat still, his eyes swept over the crowd calmly, finally landing on the Taicang prefect whom he finally saw at this moment, and smiled:
"Sun Xiaozhun? I didn't expect that I would meet you as a suspect in this county government office."
After a pause, he said quietly:
"You are a very good official."
In an instant, cold sweat covered Sun Xiaozhun's forehead.
…
Outside the county government office.
"Sigh..."
The two horses stopped suddenly. Coach Xie pulled the reins and looked at the county government office, which was tightly blocked by the cavalry, from afar with a strange expression.
He followed him all the way here, hoping to find an opportunity to report to the prefect in private, but unexpectedly, he followed him all the way to the county government office.
"Master, why are you here at the county government office? Oh, it's those people's carriages!"
The young boy Xiaowu suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the two carriages parked outside the yamen in the distance.
"Keep your voice down!"
Coach Xie covered his mouth with his hand, his expression solemn and his heart in turmoil.
Our master, a juren, and the man and woman from other places were in the county government office.
Just as they were arrested, the imperial envoy arrived... Could it be that those two were really the suspects? And why were they being pursued by the government?
"I'll wait here. Go back to the manor immediately and tell me about the situation here."
Coach Xie suddenly said to him:
"So that our families won't worry if we don't return home soon."
"Oh..." The young man was somewhat reluctant, but he still turned his horse around and galloped towards Songjiazhuang.
However, not long after he left, Xiaowu came back with an agitated expression:
"Master Xie, something bad has happened! Another group of horsemen has arrived from outside the town. They are all wearing robes of the same color as the prefect. They seem to be high-ranking officials and are heading this way!"
Officials of rank four and above...
In Coach Xie's mind, the images of the Governor and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner emerged, two important figures in charge of the entire Linfeng, and his heart was greatly shocked.
Suddenly overturned the previous guess.
If it was just a thief, why would so many important people come here?
"Could it be that he is some noble person? Someone who can make a second-rank official come to see him in person?"
…
…
Taicang County Government!
In the back court, in another courtyard where the county magistrate usually lived, Zhao Duan and Sun Xiaozheng walked into the courtyard one after another.
The princess and others went to the second hall in front of the county government office to rest.
Leave this place alone for them to talk.
Unlike the dilapidated yard that was idle and used as a temporary "detention center", this one is much more tidy, but still simple.
Just extra clean.
At the back is the county magistrate's private residence where he lives and works. This large courtyard occupies a very large area.
A small sunshade pavilion was built in the corner.
There is a low fence in the middle of the yard, which is filled with patches of brilliant autumn chrysanthemums.
At a glance, it almost occupies half of the yard. When you look up, standing in the yard, you can clearly see the red mountains in the distance.
The scenery is great.
In addition, there are two particularly fat white geese in the yard.
This will see strangers coming in, flapping their wings and making squawking sounds.
But after a glance from Zhao Duan, he timidly fled to a tree in the corner.
“Huahua——”
The cold autumn wind blew, and the autumn chrysanthemums in the yard swayed neatly. Zhao Duan felt the cool breeze on his face and praised with his hands behind his back:
"What a beautiful natural scenery! When I left the capital, I thought there wouldn't be much to see after leaving the bustling capital for this huge mine. But I didn't expect that after just one day in Taicang, I'd see so many wonderful sights I'd never seen before."
You'd better say "scenery" in the literal sense...
beside.
Sun Zhifu, who has a capable temperament and is known for his decisiveness in doing things, thinks to himself that he looks older than his actual age because he is dark and thin.
When walking, he lagged behind the imperial envoy by half a step.
Both of them are of the fourth rank.
However, the imperial envoy who left the capital had a status similar to that of a governor, so the provincial governor had to be treated with extreme courtesy.
He was just a prefect, and he had no temper, so he said immediately:
“When I was transferred here two years ago, I had the same idea as you.
However, the place I stayed in before was even harder, so I didn’t care. But after coming here, I realized that the scenery here was much better hundreds of years ago than it is today.
It’s because the mines are getting bigger and bigger, and there are more collapses, that the scenery is not as good as before.”
"That's a pity," Zhao Duan said in amazement. He turned his head, glanced at the Taicang prefect, and said:
"However, although the scenery is beautiful, it cannot fill the people's stomachs. Mining benefits the country and the people. When I came here, I saw that the local people were quite wealthy. For example, Songjiazhuang, I heard from the princess that it would be well-off if it was located on the Huai River."
Sun Xiaozhun was unsure of his thoughts, so he said cautiously:
"Master Zhao is absolutely right. The Taicang Silver Mine not only pays tribute to the imperial court every year, but the wages the government pays the people who work in the mines are much better than those earned from farming. Over time, it will naturally become more prosperous than other places."
Paused.
Sun Xiaozhun glanced at the young and handsome imperial envoy.
Seeing his calm expression, he said cautiously:
"Sir Zhao, I was unaware that you had come here incognito and were arrested by the county magistrate... This is truly a dereliction of duty..."
Zhao Duan waved his hand, smiling warmly, without any anger on his face:
"You are too kind, Mr. Sun. I have been making secret visits all the way here simply to see the people's conditions with my own eyes, so as not to stand too high and lose sight of the tiny dust below.
When I was in Beijing, the Grand Tutor also told me that if you serve in the court for too long, you will lose touch with the real situation, and your thoughts and decisions about national policy will tend to fall into empty space...
Moreover, when people walk on the road, strong winds can easily blind them. The higher you stand, the stronger the wind will be. Will the wind and sand cover the sky and the sun?
"For example, this case of corruption in the mining industry has blinded Your Majesty. That's why we, your subjects, have come all the way here to investigate. Don't you agree?"
Sun Xiaozhun could only nod his head:
"Master Zhao is right."
"So,"
Zhao Duan looked at him with a smile:
"Look, if I hadn't personally visited the people, how could I have encountered this?
Haha, don't worry, Mr. Sun. I am not that unreasonable. Now it's a big case and the suspect's whereabouts are unknown. You want your subordinates to be vigilant and guard against it strictly. That's what you should do.
It is not wrong to capture me, but rather it is fulfilling your duty."
"...Your Excellency is magnanimous."
Sun Xiaozhun was confused by what he said and was increasingly unsure of the imperial envoy's true intentions. He could only choose to give a safe compliment.
"but……"
The next second, Zhao Duan changed the subject, suddenly stopped, stared at him, and said with a smile:
"There is one thing I do not understand, and I would like to ask the governor to clarify it."
(End of this chapter)
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