His eyeballs were about to pop out, but Hou Jing didn't even look at him.
Xiao Xian's gaze was oppressive. The sweat on his forehead slid down his cheeks and soon wet his collar.
"Anything else to say?" Xiao Xian raised his voice.
"Lord Chen, I spent almost all of my salary to prepare these for you!"
Xiao Xian's eyes were filled with coldness, and murderous intent surged throughout his body.
Every time there is a natural disaster, there are always countless corrupt officials who do not think about relieving the people's worries, but always think about how to use the disaster to benefit themselves!
It is because of these corrupt officials in the court that there are things like riots by disaster victims!
He went to Pingyang just to get some food for the victims so that he could wait for the second batch of disaster relief food from the court.
Who knew that a corrupt official would be caught.
Li Qinghe's scalp was numb. He always felt that Xiao Xian's gaze was like a sharp sword that could chop off his head at any time.
"Prince Chen, can you help me distribute these foods?"
“Snap—”
A slap landed on his face, his cheek swelled up instantly, and blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.
All the people were shocked when they saw this scene.
This is……
Prince Chen actually beat Li Qinghe!
They were originally disheartened and thought that Xiao Xian was the same as Li Qinghe, but they didn't expect that he would actually make the decision for them!
The disaster victims who had followed Xiao Xian all the way from the capital raised their arms and shouted, "King Chen is mighty! King Chen is wise!"
Li Qinghe spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with two teeth.
The panic in his eyes grew thicker and his breathing became more rapid.
"Prince Chen, spare my life!"
"Zou Tao, go to the county government office and take a good look at how much salary Lord Li has received over the years!"
He deliberately emphasized the word "salary". Everyone understood that Xiao Xian did not believe that Li Qinghe was an honest official.
"I obey your orders!"
Zou Tao and his men were about to go to the county government office. Hou Jing, who had been silent the whole time, knelt down and said, "I am willing to go!"
Li Qinghe's pupils trembled, and his blood-stained lips opened and closed violently, "You, you..."
He was so angry that he couldn't utter a complete sentence, and his mind was filled with the word "it's over".
Xiao Xian looked at Hou Jing meaningfully. Hou Jing's heart was tense and he lowered his head.
"Zou Tao, let him lead the way."
Li Qinghe spat out a mouthful of blood and roared, "Hou Jing, you villain!"
He covered his chest, furious, like a trapped beast in a quagmire, his red eyeballs seemed ready to fall out at any time.
Hou Jing bowed to him and said, "Master, please don't be angry. I just can't stand you making money from the national crisis without any conscience!"
Li Qinghe was almost vomited blood again because of his shameless words.
What does it mean that he is making money from the national disaster without conscience?
Li Qinghe pointed at him, panting heavily, "You are a shameless villain! Wasn't it you who instigated me in the first place?"
Who doesn’t want to be a good official serving the people, the king and the country before becoming an official?
No official wants to be a dog official who will be infamous for eternity before he becomes an official!
The reason why it became like this is that he has been immersed in the big dye vat of officialdom for too long and has become more and more greedy.
"Guard Zou, this way please."
Hou Jing didn't want to waste any more words with Li Qinghe. He just said that Li Qinghe was deliberately slandering him and wanted him to take the blame.
Xiao Xian didn't care who was telling the truth; he just wanted to make an example of them.
As for Hou Jing, a man whose eyes are filled with greed will not get any benefits!
Hou Jing took Zou Tao and others to the back mountain.
Zou Tao was on guard.
"Guard Zou, now that I've come forward, I've completely awakened! Over the years, Li Qinghe has colluded with Pingyang's big merchants and embezzled a lot of money! Not just grain, but also salt."
Zou Tao was shocked. "What did you say? Salt?"
"Yes."
Zou Tao frowned deeply and thought carefully: "Who in the capital can support him?"
Hou Jing knew that this was a serious matter. He had been helping Li Qinghe with his plans over the years. If the case was really investigated, the charges would be serious.
In order to give himself a chance of survival, he really can't say who this backer is.
At least you can't tell Zou Tao, a guard.
Although Zou Tao was not as versatile as Guangping, he was still Xiao Xian's follower and could almost guess Hou Jing's thoughts.
"Let's get down to business first. As for what you just said, you can talk to the prince in person later."
"good."
Hou Jing led them all the way to the back mountain and saw the tight guards from afar.
There is only one river to reach the back mountain.
As long as you cross the river, you will definitely be discovered by the guards on the other side of the river.
He couldn't help but scold in his heart: Li Qinghe is also a smart man, but he doesn't use his intelligence in the right place.
Due to a severe drought in the north, the river has dried up and a simple wooden bridge has been built across it.
When Zou Tao and others appeared, the guards on the other side of the river came to the river bank with swords in hand.
Hou Jing said calmly, "I came here to look for something on the orders of Lord Li."
The guard had dealt with Hou Jing before and knew that Li Qinghe trusted him very much.
His eyes swept across Zou Tao's face and he whispered, "Who are these people? They look unfamiliar."
Hou Jing pulled the man aside and muttered something to him. The guards looked at Zou Tao from time to time.
"He has to go in with you."
This was the biggest concession the guards could make.
"Okay!" Hou Jing agreed reluctantly.
Zou Tao followed Hou Jing into the cave.
"Guard Zou, be careful. There are traps in this cave."
"Li Qinghe really works hard!" Zou Tao mocked.
Hou Jing did not respond. This was his original proposal and he also designed the mechanism.
The two carefully avoided the mechanisms and came to the innermost part of the cave.
Zou Tao looked at the boxes of silver ingots piled casually aside, and his expression became increasingly grim.
It is because of such corrupt officials that the people are living in dire straits.
"It's definitely impossible for the two of us to carry all this silver out."
Zou Tao felt that Hou Jing was exaggerating and said disdainfully, "You can just kill the guards."
"In this cave, there's not only the silver that Li Qinghe embezzled, but also the account books showing his collaboration with the big merchants to monopolize grain, salt, and iron."
Zou Tao stared at him suspiciously.
Hou Jing was stared at by his oppressive eyes, and his heart almost jumped out of his throat.
He pursed his cracked lips and whispered, "Only with the account books can we find out who Li Qinghe's backers are in the capital."
"Where are the ledgers?"
"Here!" Hou Jing pointed to a secret compartment in the cave. "However, to open it, three people need to press this stone at the same time."
"Which bastard designed this mechanism?" Zou Tao couldn't help but curse.
Hou Jing's face looked extremely strange. He was choked by his saliva and almost coughed out his lungs.
"Boss Song, Boss Qi, why are you two here?" The guard's voice came from outside.
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