Chapter 82
The green grass was slender under his feet. Lin Shuge listened quietly to Ye Qi's story about his trip to Wei County. He unconsciously grabbed a bunch of green grass in his hands. Xie Chen took a handkerchief and wiped the green grass juice off his hands.
"We almost couldn't come back this time. If we hadn't met Lord Ruan and his party, you might have to pay tribute to me from afar every Qingming Festival." Ye Qi picked up the dried meat that Lin Shuge brought, took a bite and smiled.
Jian Su handed him the water.
"You said that it would be fine if I died a worthy death, and let Jiansu and Baopu find a quiet place to bury me. But it is too tragic to die at the hands of refugees and even lose my whole body. It would be better to burn me after death. Little Jiansu, did you hear me? If I encounter such a thing again in the future, sir, I would rather go with the wind." Ye Qi thought about the scene at that time and was still frightened.
Jian Su smiled slightly but said nothing. Bao Pu beside him said, "Sir, don't say that. When we were surrounded by refugees, you were the one who ran the fastest."
"Traitor, how can you talk to your teacher like that? I will expel you from the sect tomorrow." Ye Qi said angrily.
Bao Pu, who was expelled from the sect eight hundred times in one day, didn't care at all. "Then I will become Uncle Lu's disciple and call you Uncle Master. It won't be considered as a disgrace to the sect."
Ye Qi immediately got angry, but was suppressed by Jian Su. After being comforted by Jian Su for a few words, he sat down and continued to talk about what happened that day.
Lin Shuge looked at Jiansu who was talking to Baopu in a low voice not far away. This trio of master and apprentices were really interesting. He thought Ye Qi was a lively person, and his two proud disciples were calm and reliable. He didn't expect that Baopu he met today would have such a personality. What's this? Confrontation road master and apprentice? Why does it give me a feeling similar to Confucius and Zilu?
Lin Shuge suppressed his smile, took the piece of dessert that Xie Chen handed to him, took a bite, and continued to listen to Ye Qi.
"We left Ganzhou that day and rushed all the way to Weijun. We encountered too many hungry people on the road. It was really a tragedy. At the beginning, Junior Brother Lu and I would leave some food for the victims, but later we dared not take out food anymore."
"The master and his uncle were kind-hearted. When they saw a woman starving to death on the roadside and a child crying beside her, they couldn't bear to see the child so emaciated from hunger, so they gave her a piece of bread. Unexpectedly, many hungry people came out and knelt down to beg for food. We had no choice but to give them all the food we had." Jiansu added.
No one wants to guess what people will do when they are extremely hungry. Only when the granaries are full can one know etiquette; only when one has enough food can one know propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame. Everyone present knew what would happen if Ye Qi and his men pretended to be rich and well-fed in this situation.
As expected, Ye Qi said angrily, "We were about to leave after giving them the food, but we were stopped by a group of disaster victims. At first, they tried to beg us for food and money. We knew they were not good people, so we just said we had no more food and money. But they started to attack us as soon as they heard that and stopped us from leaving."
"When we saw the weapons in their hands, we realized that this group of refugees must have gathered together to rob passing merchants. The dead woman and child were just baits to lure people into the trap." Ye Qi's eyes were filled with grief.
"They were so numerous and powerful that we couldn't escape. Baopu knew some martial arts, but two fists were no match for four hands, so he couldn't stop them. In a short while, we were captured by them, and our belongings were taken away. Baopu was stabbed in the arm while trying to protect me."
Lin Shuge was shocked when he heard this, "Those people really didn't think of letting you go."
Ye Qi nodded. "There was famine in Wei County, and many refugees occupied the mountains and became bandits. They were naturally afraid that we would go out and report to the authorities. They thought that only we were left. If it weren't for Lord Ruan and his group passing by to provide disaster relief, we would have died a long time ago."
Lin Shuge sighed, "How is Weijun now?"
Ye Qi said: "On our way back, we saw that the government had already taken in a lot of hungry people. Each county set up porridge stalls and distributed food to everyone to help them get through this difficult time. Some of the victims' families were really sad, and the government even gave them money to bury their family members."
Lin Shuge sighed, "That's good."
"You still have to meet a good official. I heard that Lord Ruan killed many people who were greedy and corrupt along the way. An official should have been punished for opening the warehouse to release grain privately, but Lord Ruan thought of his eagerness to save the people and wrote to His Majesty to ask for his pardon. His Majesty also praised his good deeds."
Everyone agreed.
"We have to go back and rest for a few days. County Magistrate Lin, we'll take our leave now. Thank you for your hospitality." Ye Qi said boldly as he patted the grass in his hands.
The others also said goodbye to them.
The sound of horses' hooves treaded wild grass. Lin Shuge looked at the four people moving farther and farther away and said to Xie Chen, "Tell me, what happened to Lu Yuechuan?"
If it was just an incident of disturbance by refugees, Lu Yuechuan would not be so depressed given his personality. Besides, the Wei County incident had just been settled, so he did not need to rush back in such a hurry.
Xie Chen stood facing the wind and replied, "It should be related to the head of the Lu family."
Lin Shuge also felt the same way. After this episode, the two of them lost interest in sightseeing, so they packed up their things and rode back home.
The next day.
Lin Shuge had just entered the county government office and had not had time to deal with the official documents that were left over from his recent leave when he was called over by County Magistrate Li.
When they arrived at the lobby, Magistrate Li got straight to the point and said, "You have been away on leave for the past few days, so I have something to tell you. My term of office will end soon, and I have recommended you to Envoy Wei for the post of Ganzhou County Magistrate. I think the transfer order should come down in a few days, so you can follow me during this time to get familiar with the affairs of the county magistrate."
Lin Shuge was of course willing to do so. Ganzhou now had a new county magistrate, and no one could guarantee whether he would follow his way. If the new county magistrate stuck to the old ways and did not like innovation, that would be bad.
Moreover, if he wants to carry out construction in a big way, his position as county magistrate is indeed not enough. If he were the head of a county, he would have fewer concerns.
"Thank you, sir. I will definitely not let you down." Lin Shuge bowed to him respectfully.
Magistrate Li patted his shoulder cheerfully and said with a smile: "With your talent, you could have been the head of this county a long time ago. However, Shuge, you are too pure in character. If some things are not as expected, it is inconvenient to force it."
Lin Shuge smiled and said, "Thank you for your advice, sir."
"But thanks to your proud subordinate, I think I will get a top grade in this year's official assessment."
Considering Ganzhou's population and tax revenue this year, as well as its assistance to Weijun in gathering refugees, Li Yi will surely be able to get a good position.
"Your Excellency is upright and honest. It is a blessing for me and the people of Ganzhou County to have you in Ganzhou."
"Okay, I just said you were of pure character, but when did you learn such good words? A lot of things have piled up these days, so you should step aside and deal with them first." County Magistrate Li was pleased and said with an upright look.
Lin Shuge bowed to him and turned to leave.
When he arrived at the official residence, Zhou Du had gotten up late that day and had hurried to the county government office. He was now preparing to sneak in tiptoe.
"cough."
Zhou Du paused and turned back slowly, only to see Lin Shuge raising his eyebrows and smiling at him, "Lin Huaiting, if you scare me like this again, someone will die."
Lin Shuge smiled at him, walked to his seat, sorted out the messy documents, picked out one, and said, "Wasn't the Beixiang case approved? Why was it sent to me again?"
Zhou Du's face suddenly turned grim. "The county tried the suspect several times and he confessed everything. But for some reason, he suddenly changed his statement a while ago and said that he was from Qingquan County, Dingyuan County, and was bribed to take the blame, so we have to retry him."
"Qingquan County?"
"Yes, Qingquan County is close to the border and has to fight with the Huns all year round. Every time the Huns move south, Qingquan County is always the first to be affected. Moreover, Qingquan County is a small county with a small population. The people live in poverty, and the prisoners offer a high price. Naturally, there are people who can't survive and want to find a way out for their families." Zhou Du's expression was full of compassion.
He added: "The suspect was sentenced to death for murder. Everyone is afraid of death. I guess he was afraid before he died, so he regretted telling the whole story."
Lin Shuge hesitated for a moment, "Has the person he pointed out been caught?"
Zhou Du nodded, "Wu County Magistrate has already arrested him, and he has confessed to what he did. He is just waiting for the county government to execute him."
Lin Shuge looked through the document again and saw that both suspects had confessed their guilt. He picked up his pen and wrote a few words on the document.
"By the way, are you here from County Magistrate Li? What does he want to see you about? Tell me quickly." Zhou Du put what happened just now behind him and said curiously. He has been feeling anxious these days, but County Magistrate Li kept appearing in front of him, but he wouldn't tell him what the matter was.
"It's Ren Ling's business, but the matter has not been settled yet, so I can't say anything now." Lin Shuge replied.
"Then I know what it is. If you are promoted, it will be what everyone wants. What are you afraid of? Everyone knows it." Zhou Du said with a smile.
"No, no, getting promoted and getting rich is one of the great joys of life. You have to take me to celebrate. Let's celebrate with the hot pot that you said tastes better with chili peppers. It just so happens that your young master Wei is here too, so let's have some fun together."
Lin Shuge put the approved document aside and looked up at him. "I didn't realize that you and Zhongxuan had such a good relationship?"
"I just don't want to argue with him. I'm not trying to sow discord. I just think he treats you differently." Zhou Du thought about the way Xie Chen stared at Lin Shuge when he met him yesterday. Only Lin Shuge himself thought that they were being friendly and respectful to each other, but in his opinion, there was definitely something fishy going on.
"You're talking nonsense again. Zhongxuan just often throws tantrums like a child. He is different this time when he comes back. I feel that he has grown up." Lin Shuge continued to work with his head down, not taking what he said seriously at all.
"Look at you, you don't believe what I say. Okay, okay, let's not talk about this. Will you agree with me?" Seeing that he was not moved, Zhou Du could only keep silent about it and talk about hot pot instead.
"Of course I will. You can make it whenever you want."
"It's settled then. It won't work these days. Let's wait a few days and then we'll discuss it." Zhou Du said after thinking for a moment.
Lin Shuge naturally had no objection, and Zhou Du happily lowered his head to work.
After Lin Shuge had dealt with most of the official business, a runner suddenly came to report that the county magistrate wanted to see him and asked him to see him immediately.
He was confused. Hadn't he just seen it? Why see you again?
He and Zhou Du looked at each other, both of them looked confused. Could it be that things had changed?
Lin Shuge waved his hand to let the officers withdraw and went to find Magistrate Li.
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