Lu Baichuan raised his hand to refuse: "No need. My wife and children are still waiting for me in Changzhou. I won't delay any longer. Farewell."
After saying that, he mounted his horse and galloped away.
Things went so smoothly it was unbelievable, even Bao Tianlin found it a bit absurd.
He turned to his subordinate and asked, "It's going so smoothly, could it be a trap? I've heard that this Lu Baichuan is no ordinary person."
He was always careful and cautious in his actions, and he would never reveal anything even if something happened. But this time, when Lu Baichuan came to conduct a spot check, nothing seemed to have happened on the surface, which made him feel extremely uneasy.
"In my humble opinion, you are overthinking things. You are diligent in your duties, love the people, and are honest and incorruptible. No matter how capable Lu Baichuan is, he would never try to pin something on you, would he?"
Bao Tianlin was amused by his subordinates and burst into laughter: "That's right, I am honest and upright, otherwise I would not be afraid of his investigation."
The highest level of acting is to make yourself believe that it is real.
Lu Baichuan returned to the village and relayed the information he had gathered and what he had learned from Bao Tianlin.
The Emperor Emeritus was so angry he almost overturned the table. He rarely saw such a shameless person, and he never expected to encounter one on his travels.
This person was so good at disguising himself that no one would suspect him under normal circumstances. If the villagers hadn't brought it up this time, they wouldn't have known that they had been deceived all these years.
What are you planning to do?
The Emperor Emeritus looked at Lu Baichuan and thought that Lu Baichuan had always been a thoughtful person and would definitely be able to solve the current problem perfectly.
Unexpectedly, Lu Baichuan said, "We brought relatively few people on this trip, so we can't investigate too thoroughly. We might even bring trouble upon ourselves. We can only write to the Emperor to inform him to send someone to investigate. After all, he has dared to do this for so many years without being discovered, and he has many people cooperating with him. It's impossible to resolve this in a day or two."
Lu Baichuan was already anxious to find a wife, so he naturally couldn't waste his time dealing with these trivial matters. Therefore, he did not answer according to the Emperor Emeritus's desired result.
As expected, the retired emperor immediately became displeased: "Last night I promised the villagers that I would stand up for them and help them get back the taxes they had overpaid. If I don't do this well, wouldn't I be breaking my promise?"
Lu Baichuan explained, “We didn’t bring many people with us. Once we start investigating, it will definitely bring out a lot of forces and problems, and our journey will not be peaceful. If it were just me alone, I would have my own way of escaping, but I cannot ignore the safety of His Majesty and the Empress.”
Consort Liu knew that the Emperor Emeritus was being a bit willful. The reason for their low-key travel was to ensure peace and quiet. If their identities were exposed because of this incident, or if they were targeted by enemies, they would not be in the mood for sightseeing.
"Your Majesty, please listen to General Lu. He is experienced and will definitely not let the villagers suffer."
The Emperor Emeritus acted rashly in the heat of the moment, and indeed acted without thinking. Now that Consort Liu had given him a way out, he naturally said, "Very well, very well, you can arrange it as you see fit."
Lu Baichuan breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that the Emperor Emeritus would be relentless and insist on resolving the matter before leaving, in which case when would he be able to see his wife and children?
The villagers were all waiting for them to give them a result. Lu Baichuan had just returned from being away all day, and the village chief's family didn't dare to ask too many questions, so they could only wait for him to bring it up himself.
Lu Baichuan knew they were anxious, so after speaking with the Emperor Emeritus, he went to explain the situation to the village chief.
"The imperial court will send people down to investigate thoroughly. Once the matter is resolved, the excess taxes will be refunded. Just wait patiently."
Lu Baichuan gave a brief explanation, and the village chief nodded repeatedly. He knew that this matter was of great importance, and that the benefactors had already done a lot of work. Moreover, they had been paying for so many years and their lives were quite good. Furthermore, they now had a sum of money from selling tea, and their lives couldn't be better. Naturally, they wouldn't make a big deal out of it and force the benefactors to give them an explanation.
"Thank you so much for your help! On behalf of all the villagers, I thank you!"
As he was about to kneel down, Lu Baichuan stopped him and said, "It is rare and commendable that you are willing to pass on your family's skills to the villagers and lead them to live a better life. If there were more people like you in Beiyan, the people would not be deceived and bullied like this."
The village chief was very pleased to receive such praise and humbly said, "It's all what I should do. Everyone elected me as the village chief, so I must lead the villagers to live a good life and not let any family go hungry."
Lu Baichuan nodded and said, "Alright, it's getting late, let's set off then, otherwise we'll be delayed another day."
"Won't the distinguished guest stay a few more days?"
The village chief was somewhat surprised; they had given him a lot of money for lodging, but he hadn't expected him to stay only one night.
"No, we need to get going. Village chief, we'll meet again sometime."
Having said that, the village chief didn't say anything more, but just smiled and said, "Until we meet again."
The retired emperor and Consort Liu also packed their things and came out. The others came out from other villagers' homes and gathered in the village chief's courtyard. The carriages were already harnessed, and they were ready to set off.
Cui Niu followed beside her mother and waved to the Emperor Emeritus: "Goodbye, Your Excellency."
The candy given to her by her benefactor grandfather was the most delicious candy she had ever eaten in her life. It was also her benefactor grandfather who told her that girls are not inferior people, and that many outstanding women in the world are still admired by thousands. She should also strive to grow into an outstanding woman.
Seeing Cui Niu's adorable appearance, the Emperor Emeritus couldn't help but wave to her again. When she ran over, he happily patted her little pigtails.
He took off a jade pendant from his waist, squatted down to be at eye level with Cui Niu, and patiently tied the jade pendant around Cui Niu's waist, saying, "Grow up well, learn a skill so you can support yourself. Let your grandfather teach you to read. It's always good to have more skills. When you grow up, you can live a good life even without relying on your husband's family."
Cui Niu nodded obediently, then hugged the Emperor Emeritus tightly, saying in a soft, sweet voice, "Take care, Grandpa."
"Take care, you too."
The Emperor Emeritus smiled, stood up, and walked out side by side with Consort Liu.
The villagers reluctantly saw the group off at the village entrance, each household giving them a rather formal gift and inviting them to come again next time.
The retired emperor, being old, couldn't bear to see such a scene. He lowered the carriage curtain and exclaimed, "So simple and honest, so warm-hearted!"
How could he have let these people go unchecked and become such a tyrannical ruler?
Damn it!
Empress Dowager Liu knew what he was thinking and smiled, "It's not too late for Your Majesty to realize this now. We still have plenty of time to do things that benefit the people."
"Yes, you are right. I will travel all over the country to make up for the absurdity of the past few years and so that the people will not suffer so much."
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