Chapter 117 Dare to be angry but not to speak
When the prince's chilly gaze turned to him, Nie Changping suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly stepped back, still explaining.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you, just continue, continue!"
Luo Qinghan said coldly: "Stop."
Nie Changping had no choice but to stop and said with a flattering smile, "Your Highness, I was wrong. I didn't see anything. Just pretend that I was never here. I promise not to tell anyone about your affair."
Xiao Xixi let go of the prince and asked curiously, "What is that what?"
Nie Changping didn't dare to say it clearly, so he could only hint vaguely: "It's that, you all know it."
Xiao Xixi looked confused: "I don't understand, what is it? Please explain it clearly."
Nie Changping was extremely confused: "How can I explain this kind of thing clearly?"
"What can't be explained clearly?"
"Oh, it's the same thing you and the prince did."
"The prince and I were just discussing raising..."
"Okay." Luo Qinghan interrupted her and stopped her from talking about pig farming.
He would rather be misunderstood as having an affair with a young eunuch than have people know that his concubines were raising pigs in the Eastern Palace.
Luo Qinghan asked coldly: "Nie Changping, what are you doing here?"
Nie Changping then remembered that he had something to discuss with the prince, and spoke quickly.
"I went out for a stroll today and heard something. A lot of children have been missing in the city recently. The children's parents and family members went to the county government to report to the authorities, but the officials said they were busy preparing to receive the prince and had no time to take care of these trivial matters. They beat all those who reported to the authorities out."
Luo Qinghan frowned: "The city gates have been blocked recently. People inside can't go out, and people outside can't come in. If the child is missing, he must still be in the city. We can find the child by searching. Why doesn't the county government care about this?"
Nie Changping nodded: "I also think this matter is strange, so I came to talk to Your Highness about it. I want to ask if you want to check it out?"
Luo Qinghan asked back, "I asked you to investigate County Magistrate Yang yesterday. Did you get any results?"
"The full name of County Magistrate Yang is Yang Kaiguang. I heard that he is already 63 years old this year. He was transferred to Gangu County ten years ago. I heard from the people that Yang Kaiguang was quite diligent in the first two years after he came to Gangu County. He was considered a good official, but as time went on, he gradually revealed his greedy nature. Anyone who entered the yamen, no matter if they were right or not, had to pay first. If they didn't have money, they would be beaten. For the wealthy families in the city, even if they committed murder or arson, as long as they paid enough money, Yang Kaiguang could suppress the case. The people dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out."
"Two years ago, there was a scholar whose brother was beaten to death by a bully. The scholar went to the county government to sue the bully, but because he had no money to bribe the bully, he was beaten with 20 sticks by the yamen runners in the court. The scholar was also stubborn. Seeing that County Magistrate Yang was unwilling to give him justice, he decided to go to Shengjing to file a complaint. Unfortunately, before he set off, a family of four was burned to death at home. The yamen runners told the outside world that the fire in the scholar's house was an accident, but everyone knew in their hearts that the scholar's family must have been killed. With such a terrible precedent, no one in Gangu County dared to file a complaint with the emperor anymore, and they could only let Yang Kaiguang do whatever he wanted in Gangu County."
"Yang Kaiguang ordered the city gates to be closed, nominally to maintain public order in the city so as to welcome the arrival of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but in reality he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune. He stipulated that anyone who wanted to enter the city had to pay ten taels of silver, and those who did not pay were not allowed to enter the city. He also controlled the only two wells in the city that could still produce water, and sent people to guard them day and night, not allowing the people to approach. If the people wanted to drink water, they could only buy it at a high price."
(End of this chapter)
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