Chapter 88 "What do you mean?"...
Lord Song's words must be humble. If he takes them seriously, it would be a complete act of insubordination.
In the past, the post of prefect of Jiangyang Prefecture had been vacant for a long time, and he, as the co-prefect, was in charge of the affairs of the prefecture. Now that Lord Song has come, he has transferred all the official seals and powers to him. He cannot interfere in other people's affairs, and he must not make any mistakes.
If there are disagreements during daily discussions on household affairs, it's fine. Just treat it as a discussion and exchange between colleagues.
But now, Lord Song is clearly trying to belittle himself, and...
Jia Ren was stunned for a moment before he realized that he still didn't know what Lord Song meant by this.
Forget it, he sighed in his heart, what happened to him? He has been restless since last night.
No matter what, he must not be arrogant.
"Sir Song..."
"Lin Sheng is truly not a leader. Less than two weeks after taking office, he was assassinated and nearly lost his life."
Song Linsheng's words poured out all at once, leaving Jia Ren no chance to breathe.
"What?" Jia Ren stood up suddenly, as if startled by the shocking news. "Is this really true?"
Jia Ren's heart skipped a beat. Yesterday, that person said that Lord Song was injured. He originally thought that the person had injured him accidentally, but he didn't expect that Lord Song would have such an experience.
"My lord, are you injured? How serious is your injury? I'll ask you right away..." Jia Ren said as he walked outside, as if he wanted to find some doctors.
"Master Jia, please stay." Song Linsheng's voice sounded behind him, stopping Master Jia in his tracks. "I'm fine, but my attendant Xiyan was slightly injured, but he's been bandaged."
Under Lord Jia's skeptical gaze, Xiyan stepped forward and said, "Sir, please wait a moment. I have indeed cleaned and bandaged it. Don't worry."
Only then did Jia Ren turn around and quickly return to Song Linsheng's side.
"Sir Song, what is going on?" Jia Ren's face was gloomy and his brows were furrowed.
He was not lying when he said this. He really didn't know what had happened to Lord Song and how he ended up like this.
Song Linsheng was waiting for this sentence from him. With this sentence, he could naturally "tell the truth".
"I haven't been back to Jiangyang for a long time. Yesterday, I wanted to go out of the city for a tour, so I took the inkstone with me."
Song Linsheng's eyes were extremely gentle, clear as water and bright as the moon, making it easy for people to fall into them and trust him involuntarily.
This is what Jia Ren is like at the moment.
No matter how cautious he was before, or any doubts he had, the moment Song Linsheng opened his mouth, he was completely drawn to his thoughts and only listened to Song Linsheng's statement.
"But we came across the deserted Houtu Temple outside the city and just said we'd stop there to rest for a while." Song Linsheng looked terrified, as if he was still reeling from the terrifying disaster of yesterday. "I don't know where a group of thieves suddenly appeared, intending to harm me."
As Song Linsheng spoke, he described aloud what he had seen and heard yesterday, just like a scroll reappearing before Lord Jia's eyes.
Of course, these were the speeches and experiences Song Linsheng had prepared early in the morning.
He directly pointed all the blame at himself, thinking that the group was coming for him. He did not mention Zhi Bai Niangzi and the brothers and sisters in Hou Tu Temple at all, let alone the fact that Wen Yu was kidnapped.
Just ask Lord Jia to focus his attention on him, and don't mention anything else.
Song Linsheng turned to face the inkstone on the side, and looked at the layers of bandages on his neck with great pity. It seemed that blood was oozing out, making him look even more seductive and terrifying.
"Thanks to Xiyan's selfless protection, I was able to escape, but Xiyan was also seriously injured and nearly lost his life."
Xiyan immediately understood. He took a step forward, protecting his neck with his hands. Just as he was about to speak, he started coughing uncontrollably and couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
It goes without saying how serious his injuries were.
Jia Ren's eyes shifted between Song Linsheng and Xi Yan, and for a moment he didn't know who to talk to first.
"Since you are injured, don't force yourself to speak." Jia Ren advised with concern.
Xi Yan retreated as he was told and said nothing more. He hadn't thought of saying anything in the first place. As long as the meaning was conveyed, it was fine. Since Lord Jia said so, there was no need for him to force himself.
"Sir Song, then..." Seeing that Sir Song was very sad, Jia Ren carefully considered his words and did not want to continue questioning.
"I arrived in Jiangyang several years ago, and I didn't even know how many families and wealthy people there were in Jiangyang Prefecture."
Song Linsheng was telling the truth. There were countless files in Jiangyang Prefecture. He had been reading them for several days and still hadn't finished them. So he didn't have a complete understanding of the people's livelihood in Jiangyang.
"Besides, I'm new here and have never had any grudges with anyone, yet now someone wants to harm me."
"It must be someone..." Song Linsheng slowed down his speech and said the words he had prepared for a long time, "I can't bear to see me become the prefect."
"Master Song, what are you talking about?"
Jia Ren was shocked and quickly spoke out to refute Song Linsheng's words.
Now, less than a month has passed since Lord Song took office, and such a disaster has occurred. It is probably difficult to explain this matter clearly. Although his inference did not specify it, it made Jia Ren feel like he was on the edge of an abyss and walking on thin ice.
If anyone had such ulterior motives, he, the Tongzhi who had been in Jiangyang for a long time, would probably be the first one to be unable to deny himself from the matter.
Therefore, Jia Ren's heart moved, and he quickly comforted him: "Don't worry, sir, this matter still needs to be verified, don't think too much."
"The prefectural position has been vacant for a long time. The entire prefecture and the people of Jiangyang are eagerly awaiting your arrival."
"How could anyone have such evil intentions? It must be the bandits from other prefectures causing trouble."
Jia Ren cleared Jiang Yang of all charges in just a few words.
If this matter isn't handled properly, who knows what the consequences will be. Lord Song is from Shangdu, and must be highly regarded by the court. Yet, he encountered such a disaster in Jiangyang. If the matter is investigated...
"This matter..." Jia Ren hesitated. The nature of this matter was serious and needed to be verified urgently. However, Lord Song had not given any order, so it was not convenient for him to bypass Lord Song.
He had heard a little about Lord Song's family background. It was said that he was a famous descendant of the Song family in the prefecture. However, his family was promoted later and they moved to Shangdu together. His eldest brother seemed to be serving before the saint. Even if the court did not investigate, I am afraid that the Song family would not let it go.
"Why not let Lord Jia handle this matter?" Song Linsheng went with the flow and explained his purpose at the right time.
"Sir, this?"
Jia Ren paused when he heard this and asked, "Give it to him?"
This is consistent with Lord Song's current situation, but Lord Song might be suspicious of him...
"I have been in Shangdu for a long time and am not very familiar with the situation in Jiangyang. Lord Jia, you have been in charge of the government for a long time and are the most suitable candidate."
Song Linsheng noticed the subtle changes in Jia Ren's expression and tried to dissuade him in an attempt to dispel his doubts.
If he thought he was here to "question a crime", then he would do the opposite and "ask for help" from him.
People are always more afraid of things that are beyond their control. If things go beyond their prediction, they will lose their composure.
Since the waters in Jiangyang Prefecture are already muddy, why not make them even more muddy?
Seeing Lord Jia's attitude, Song Linsheng already had an idea in his mind. What's more, even if Lord Jia did not do it for other reasons, he would not be able to refuse the position of Tongzhi.
Given the current situation, I'm afraid he will not only not refuse, but will also help with all his strength.
"Sir..." Jia Ren paused, as if he had something else to say, but then he changed the subject, "Don't worry, sir. I will conduct a thorough investigation and give you an explanation, as well as an explanation to the people of Jiangyang."
Song Linsheng's lips curled slightly, as if he had only calmed down after hearing Lord Jia's response.
"That's right. My being in danger is a minor matter, but if we can't apprehend the thief, it will inevitably cause disaster to all and hurt the people."
"Lord Jia is so righteous." Song Linsheng suppressed the worry on his face and was about to stand up and greet Lord Jia.
"Ah, Lord Song, you can't do that, you can't do that." Jia Ren hurriedly stood up and made way. "This is my responsibility. It's my fault for not managing it properly. I'm sorry to have frightened Lord Song."
It turned out that there were so many twists and turns in the middle. Last night he mistakenly thought that it was that man who injured Lord Song. Now that he knew it was not that man, then where did these bandits come from?
Jiangyang Prefecture has always been a place of peace and prosperity, with few people causing rebellion. In the early years, there were many merchants traveling on the Yuan River, and there were some bandits roaming on it. However, later on, the Yuan River was blocked and the flow was weak, so the ships gradually changed their routes. In addition, with the suppression by the government, the bandits gradually disappeared.
Now, unexpectedly, someone with unknown origins is causing chaos in Jiangyang Prefecture...
Jia Ren went over it roughly in his mind, but couldn't find any clue for a while.
Song Linsheng sat at the top of the table. Seeing Jia Ren's unhappy expression, he lowered his brows and glanced at the inkstone beside him.
"Master Jia, the group of people yesterday must not be from Jiangyang."
Song Linsheng was not very clear about the origins of those people at the moment. He only knew that they must have a close relationship with Lord Jia, but he still spoke in this way, deliberately leading the conversation in another direction.
"Oh? What do you mean, Master Song?"
"If they were ordinary thieves, they wouldn't dare show their true faces. But the group yesterday didn't disguise themselves, and they didn't even wear masks."
If he was someone from this government office, he would have been worried about being recognized all the time, so how could he have kidnapped Xiyan so blatantly?
But if he is not from Jiangyang, how could he have an old relationship with Lord Jia?
"Who is so bold as to do this? He is so arrogant and unforgivable." Jia Ren shouted indignantly, clenching his fists so tightly that the veins in his wrists bulged slightly.
Xiyan, who was standing nearby, stepped forward upon hearing the sound, took out the portrait he had prepared in his arms, and presented it to Song Linsheng with both hands.
Song Linsheng raised his hand to take it, and then walked to Lord Jia with the portrait in his hand.
"Master Jia, please wait a moment. Last night I drew the faces of all the thieves I saw. Please review them."
The portraits in Song Linsheng's hands were stacked up one after another, making it difficult to tell how many people there were. He turned around and gestured for someone to wash the inkstone. Together, they unfolded the portraits and spread them on the table in front of Lord Jia.
When Jia Ren saw this, he was surprised. Lord Song was attacked only yesterday, but now they had already prepared all the portraits of the thief.
Lord Song...why does it seem like he came prepared...
Jia Ren was overwhelmed by the endless stream of portraits before him. Faces appeared on the paper one after another, interweaving before his eyes. He didn't know where to start.
The wind blew slightly, ripping up Song Linsheng's sleeves. He raised his hand and placed a portrait in the middle of the table, facing Lord Jia.
"Master Jia, please take a look—"
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