"Prince Chen!" Hou Jing rushed in, barely recovered from his shock, and sank to his knees. "I was just about to deliver a message to you!"
Xiao Xian didn't believe him and glanced at him coldly.
"Open the secret compartment!"
His expression was so grim that the cave seemed to have suddenly entered a freezing winter.
"We don't know what the secret compartment is!" Boss Qi said in a trembling voice.
Xiao Xian raised his sword and swung it, leaving another wound at the corner of his mouth.
The skin and flesh were turned inside out, and the wound looked very scary.
"Open the secret compartment! Don't make me say it a fourth time!"
Boss Qi and Boss Song wanted to bite open the poison sac, but were knocked to the ground by two blasts of internal force that Xiao Xian swiftly released.
Xiao Xian walked forward and looked down at the two embarrassed men from above.
"Do you think that death can bury all sins? Do you think that if you die, I will not pursue the matter?"
The two men met his cold eyes, and their necks felt as if someone was strangling them.
Hou Jing wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Boss Song, Boss Qi, they say that a man who knows how to act is a hero. You two should stop joking with your lives!"
Seeing how obedient Hou Jing was, Zou Tao became more and more curious about why Xiao Xian was so sure that Hou Jing would come back.
In the end, Boss Qi and Boss Song could no longer bear the oppressive atmosphere that Xiao Xian was constantly releasing, and had to step forward and open the secret compartment with Hou Jing.
Xiao Xian took out the account book and asked Zou Tao: "Can you still hold on?"
"Your Highness, as long as my blood is not completely shed, I can hold on!"
“Take it back!”
Although there are account books, human witnesses are also indispensable. Boss Qi and Boss Song are the most powerful witnesses in identifying the trafficking of illegal salt.
When Li Qinghe saw the two people being brought back by Zou Tao, his eyes dimmed completely.
It's over, everything is over!
The people picked up stones on the ground and threw them at Boss Qi and Boss Song, cursing as they threw.
Boss Qi and Boss Song were bleeding and crying out in pain.
Hou Jing held his head with his hands and tried to hide behind Boss Qi and Boss Song.
When the people had almost vented their anger, Xiao Xian raised his hand and the people quieted down.
"This king will never tolerate any corrupt and treacherous person! Logically, this king should directly execute the incompetent official!"
Li Qinghe swallowed hard and felt a chill on the back of his neck.
"However, I will use these three people to identify the person behind this and find out the real mastermind behind the smuggling of salt!"
The victims and the common people were whispering to each other, and the sounds of discussion were heard one after another.
"King Chen is mighty!"
"Believe in King Chen!"
Zou Tao had just been injured, and when he heard such exciting and inspiring words, he felt as if he had taken a special painkiller, and even his eyes felt a little hot.
Xiao Xian raised his arm again, signaling everyone to keep quiet.
After everyone calmed down, Xiao Xian interrogated Boss Qi and Boss Song on the spot, and then locked them up with Li Qinghe in the jail, leaving someone to guard them.
After finding out where their stored grain was, Xiao Xian led his men there.
He left some of the stored grain behind and tied the rest to a horse-drawn carriage. After the people elected someone, he found a temporary replacement for the Pingyang County magistrate. He then set out again with his men and wrote a memorial.
The urgent report from eight hundred miles away was delivered to Emperor Kang without any obstruction, and Emperor Kang was very pleased.
But when he learned that there were people in the capital who were colluding with these local officials and big merchants to sell salt privately, the arc of relief on his face suddenly disappeared.
Eunuch Fu carefully placed a cup of tea to his left hand, then bowed and stepped aside.
"Bang--"
Emperor Kang slammed his palm on the imperial desk, and a bloody storm was in his eyes.
"Your Majesty, calm down!"
"I may have really failed over the years!" Emperor Kang stood up and stood in front of the window, the wrinkles between his brows becoming deeper and deeper.
"Your Majesty, since you ascended the throne, you have worked diligently and resolved many problems! Under your rule, the people live in peace and happiness. Natural disasters are not due to your inadequacy."
Emperor Kang turned his head and stared at Eunuch Fu with gloomy eyes.
Eunuch Fu's breathing stagnated and he knelt down: "Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
"Get up."
"Your Majesty, I am only a eunuch and shouldn't discuss such matters casually."
"I really want to do good, but I still let the people have such a hard time when they encounter disasters!"
"This isn't the emperor's fault! After all, with such a large-scale operation, you can't possibly take care of everything! This time, Prince Chen was ordered to go to the north to provide disaster relief. Who knows, he might find more problems."
Emperor Kang nodded slightly, "Grind the ink for me, I want to write an edict of apology!"
Eunuch Fu's expression changed drastically, and he knelt down again: "Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Throughout history, only emperors who made serious mistakes would write a self-criticism edict.
This natural disaster did not come because Kangdi did not do well enough.
Throughout history, corrupt officials have never been able to be killed at will. After all, clear water has no fish.
"I've already thought about it!"
He felt that a special agency should be set up to inspect various counties and government offices on his behalf.
The suffering of the people, whether the officials are competent...
He didn't do well enough. Although the secret guards kept sending him various intelligence, most of them were concentrated in the capital.
Emperor Kang finally wrote a self-criticism edict, which made everyone feel deeply moved.
The Empress Dowager even asked to go to the nunnery, eat vegetarian food, chant Buddhist scriptures, and pray for the people.
The people who had originally had complaints about the imperial court and Emperor Kang also put aside their prejudices.
As Magu listened to the people of the capital praising Emperor Kang, she felt a surge of restlessness in her heart.
A Feng's expression was indifferent: "He is the emperor after all. If he didn't have the magnanimity to easily restore the people's confidence in him with just a confession of guilt, he wouldn't have been able to govern Da Gan so well during his years on the throne!"
"You actually spoke for the Emperor?" Magu raised the corners of her eyes and spoke in a bad tone.
"I'm not speaking for the Emperor, I just think the High Priest should be able to think of this."
Speaking of the high priest, Magu became even more annoyed.
"I don't know where the high priest is now! Qu Li is full of tricks, and I don't know where the high priest is..."
“Ahem—”
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Afeng's cough.
"Why did you interrupt me?"
"Whether Qu Li is here or not, you can't even dream of becoming the high priest! I just don't want the high priest to know what you're thinking."
"I just don't understand, what's so good about Qu Li?"
Afeng didn't want to tell Magu about this kind of thing, so as not to get himself into trouble.
"The High Priest's thoughts are beyond your and my comprehension. Just knowing this is enough!"
Magu felt somewhat unhappy when Afeng reminded her with a stern face.
"I know, I know!"
"Don't just talk about it, you have to control your heart!" Afeng said earnestly.
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