"What is your crime?"
“I deserve to die, I deserve to die!” Pei Xuan knelt down on the ground. “It is my fault that I am powerless to do anything, and that the people have suffered so much.”
He had expected Qi Guze to make things difficult for him, given his reputation for being influential in the local evaluation system. However, Qi Guze smiled and said, "Get up." His tone softened considerably. "You sacrificed yourself for others, even to the point that your youngest son starved to death when food was scarce. I have certainly seen this kind of official who loves the people like his own children. I will recommend you to the Censorate. After you take office, I hope you will not forget your original intentions and will continue your efforts to eliminate corrupt officials like Wang Ping'an. What do you say?"
Pei Xuan was only in his early thirties, but he looked much older than his age. People who didn't know him would think he was already fifty. Now that Qi Guze had entrusted him with an important task, Pei Xuan immediately stood up and said, "I will definitely work hard to repay Your Highness's kindness."
"Get up, the credit for this is all yours and hers..."
Qi Guze pointed to Xu Yuehuai in the distance, "This has nothing to do with me, I'm leaving."
"Your Highness, shall we go now?"
Qi Guze did not respond. Watching the ethereal figure disappear into the night, Pei Xuan turned around. His eyes were so bright, and his steps were so steady and swift.
Back inside the circle, Wang Ping'an was terrified to see Pei Xuan arrive.
"Lord Pei, we are colleagues, please show leniency, I beg you."
Wang Ping'an is now penniless. He is unsure how much the court has confiscated this time. He secretly sent over the white jade thumb ring, a scene witnessed by Xu Yuehuai.
In fact, this jade thumb ring is priceless.
Pei Xuan grabbed him, and just as Wang Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was safe, Pei Xuan sneered, "What a corrupt official! You've been causing trouble in Wuming County, poisoning the people and scheming against the farmers. Do you think I, Pei Xuan, am like you? There really aren't any good people left in Hongdong County. Come on, put Wang Ping'an in shackles and chains and send him to the capital immediately for the Emperor to decide."
The thumb ring that Wang Ping'an had given him was thrown on the ground and shattered completely.
Upon seeing this, Xu Yuehuai couldn't help but praise, "Lord Pei is of noble character and integrity, and he refuses to compromise his principles. I admire him greatly."
Pei Xuan turned and looked at Xu Yuehuai with a meaningful look in his eyes. Then, he walked up to Xu Yuehuai, bowed and said, "Miss Xu is truly remarkable. If it weren't for your leading role, this case could not have been solved so quickly. I will report to the court as soon as possible, and the court will surely reward you."
"What kind of reward do I want?" Xu Yuehuai said with a smile, but then she thought, "Wait a minute, I did such a great thing for the country, so it's only right that they reward me."
Upon thinking of this, I immediately smiled.
"Then give me a big reward, hahaha."
Only then did she notice that Qi Guze had disappeared. She hurriedly approached Pei Xuan and asked, "Where is Lord Qi? Why did he retire so successfully?"
“My lord is very busy with many affairs of state. After dealing with matters here, there are other matters to attend to. Secondly, my lord has always been discreet and does not want people to know that he is here.” Pei Xuan answered fluently.
Xu Yuehua nodded and approached Pei Xuan mysteriously.
"What official position does he hold? He must be much higher than you. You're going to the capital now, which is a promotion, so why are you still so afraid of him?"
"this……"
Pei Xuan pondered for a long time, figuring that Xu Yuehuai couldn't possibly know Qi Guze's true identity, so he quickly laughed it off, "When we arrive in the capital, perhaps you'll know who he is."
"Under One Person?"
"It's hard to say."
Pei Xuan made an excuse and hurriedly slipped away.
The next morning, everyone finally left the cliff and descended Dragon Head Mountain. Xu Yuehuai saw a large group of people, a vast and impressive crowd that surprised even Xu Yuehuai, who was used to seeing all sorts of things. Then, Xu Yuehuai saw Old Ma Shao, who was leading the group.
"Uncle Ma, you're here too."
“Ah Yue, you escaped death and made a great contribution. These are the workers who were rescued. They insisted on coming to thank you in person. I couldn’t refuse their kindness, so I brought them along.”
Upon hearing this, someone immediately brought over a bamboo basket of food. "Miss Xu, these are bayberries from our family. The harvest was good this year, so please don't mind them, have some!"
"These are my peanuts." A child ran up to Xu Yuehuai quickly, put down his basket, and left, as if afraid that Xu Yuehuai would refuse them.
"These are potatoes from my family's farm."
"Roasted chestnuts, piping hot."
As a result, countless bamboo baskets were brought over, and soon the road was blocked. Some people also brought food to Pei Xuan. At this moment, Pei Xuan heard a woman in the crowd calling "husband".
He hurriedly turned around and saw his wife.
"Third Sister, it's freezing cold, why have you come?"
The girl stood in the dawn light, a faint glow enveloping her slender figure. "You are my husband, and of course I will follow you to the death. But how are you now?"
"Everything is fine now, we're heading to the capital."
"Lang, you must not be like them. We still have much to contribute to the people."
While the two were chatting, someone quietly approached Xu Yuehuai. It was unclear who started it, but soon Xu Yuehuai was lifted up by this group of people, then thrown heavily into the air, and then fell back down.
Xu Yuehuai was terrified. After this happened several times, everyone finally went down the mountain happily.
When Xu Yuehuai and his entourage arrived at the yamen, Zhou Qionghua met her husband in the backyard.
Jiang Mingfu sat across from someone at an eight-immortal table, silent and looking preoccupied.
“Husband,” Zhou Qionghua sobbed, stepping forward to grasp Jiang Mingfu’s hand, “You’ve suffered so much, let’s go, let’s go back now.”
Having been tormented like this, Jiang Mingfu's mindset completely changed.
He was being overly sensitive and suspicious, but this might not be a bad thing. Pulled back by Zhou Qionghua, Jiang Mingfu said angrily, "Just leave like that? Wouldn't that be letting them off easy? They've kept me under house arrest here for so long, I'm not going to leave so easily."
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Zhou Qionghua glanced around the clean and tidy room.
They discovered a lifelike bronze Xie Zhi standing in the courtyard. This Xie Zhi is an ancient mythical beast, a symbol of fairness and justice.
The Xie Zhi was so enormous, with piercing eyes, a blue face, and fangs that Zhou Qionghua felt increasingly terrified the more she looked at it.
Startled, she grabbed her husband's hand again, almost in a low command, "Let's go, let's go."
A moment later, a bailiff strolled over and asked, "Are you leaving or not?"
Jiang Mingfu gathered his strength and said, "You're just going to keep me under house arrest like this? I won't leave without twenty taels of silver."
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