nucmednet Chapter 441: Spreading suspicion and questioning the imperial power
Chapter 441: Spreading suspicion and questioning the imperial power
"Thank you for your concern, Governor Dingsui." Xiao Yan'an responded weakly.
"Your Highness, you must take good care of yourself." The Dingsui County Magistrate gave another instruction, "If there is anything you need me to help you with, please feel free to ask."
As soon as the Dingsui County Magistrate finished speaking, another report came from outside.
"My Lord, Madam, the governors of Yanqiu, Tai'an, and Changyan have also come to visit you."
The faces of the Qutan County Magistrate and the Dingsui County Magistrate in the room changed slightly.
At this time, the small inn was already crowded with people.
The prefects of Yanqiu, Tai'an and Changyan were also invited in.
The five people looked at each other.
Xiao Yan'an seemed to have recovered some spirit at this moment, and sat up straight with the help of Ji Chuhe.
"You guys came here so late at night, it shouldn't be just to visit me, right? If there is anything, please tell me directly." Xiao Yan'an made it clear.
"Your Highness, to be honest, I do have something else to discuss with you. I can also help with the distribution of relief supplies," the Magistrate of Changyan County spoke directly.
As soon as he said this, he was immediately met with cold stares from the other four.
He was the last one to come in, and he made up his mind pretty quickly.
"Your Highness, in fact, I have the same idea." The Tai'an County Magistrate also rushed to speak.
"I understand what you mean. In fact, you all like the supplies I brought and want to divide them up, right?" Xiao Yan'an asked them.
Several people felt awkward and looked troubled.
"Your Highness, you don't know that the food we got today is just a drop in the bucket. It won't last long. Who knows when the next batch of disaster relief food will be distributed? We have no choice but to get as much supplies as possible."
"Yes, it's hard to say when the next batch of disaster relief grain will be allocated. Perhaps, it will not be allocated at all." After Xiao Yan'an finished speaking, he pretended to cough twice.
The house fell into dead silence.
"In addition, the emperor has also sent the third prince and the former director of flood control to investigate the case of corruption in disaster relief grain. Right now, shouldn't you be worried about this matter? As county governors of various counties, you have enriched yourself and embezzled disaster relief grain, completely disregarding the lives of the people! If this is investigated strictly, it will be a heinous crime that will execute all nine generations of your clan!"
The faces of several people changed drastically, but no one spoke.
"I know that the relief grain has not been distributed at all, but you have to bear the consequences of this matter." Xiao Yan'an said indifferently.
This sentence made the faces of several county governors change again.
The prince actually knew the inside story?
The prince they knew was just a playboy who did nothing all day and was obsessed with love affairs. The sudden change made them unable to react for a while.
"Prince, since you already know that the relief grain is fake, you also know that we are wronged. Even if the Third Prince comes, he will not be able to find evidence of our corruption, and naturally he will not be able to convict us." The Magistrate of Qutan County responded.
Xiao Yan'an smiled, but just smiled and didn't say anything.
His smile made the county governors feel uneasy.
The Magistrate of Qutan County secretly glanced at Xiao Yan'an and felt that this prince was not simple.
"Qutan County Magistrate, you are really more naive than me. What the emperor needs is evidence? What the emperor needs is a criminal who can take all the blame. That person could be you, Qutan County Magistrate, or Changyan County Magistrate. It could be any one of you."
"In your opinion, Your Highness, how should we protect ourselves?" the Changyan County Magistrate asked softly.
"I just said that not all of you are guilty, it just depends on who is unlucky. You don't know my friendship with the Third Prince yet, right? No matter who is unlucky among you, since you came to visit me today, I can lend a helping hand when you are in big trouble. Don't worry now, go back and distribute the relief grain to the people first, this is the most urgent thing for all the county governors to do."
Several county magistrates walked out of the inn without saying a word, and then they all looked into the yard at the same time.
This loser Xiao Yanan thought that he could control them just because he had some supplies.
He also wanted them to curry favor with him.
Who is he?
How could they not see the current situation clearly? Do they need Xiao Yan'an to remind them?
Xiao Yan'an actually had the audacity to say that he could help them!
Even Prince Huaiyang might not dare to say such a thing!
"It seems that the prince is ready to hold those things in his hands." The governor of Qutan County spoke first.
"If the prince took out those materials and distributed them, he could increase his popularity. Unfortunately, he is still too young and not tactful enough. He offended people without realizing it."
"Young people are all like this."
"Everyone, I am the farthest away from Funing. I will leave tonight and say goodbye."
"Changyan County Magistrate, walk slowly!"
"See you another day."
"Goodbye." The Magistrate of Changyan bowed and said goodbye to everyone.
The remaining people also left one by one.
Inside the room, Xiao Yan'an got out of bed and paced around the room, stroking his chin with one hand as if thinking about something.
"Madam, they should all think what I said today is a joke. They don't believe that I have the ability to help them. They are all staring at the Third Prince. After all, the Third Prince is the one who decides their life and death."
"I asked the prince to say these words in order to disrupt their judgment. It is difficult to guarantee whether there are people among these people who want to kill the prince."
"Madam, if you say that, you are excluding the governor of Funing County. Could it be that he is the one who wants to kill me?"
"We have to choose a place to settle down. Even if he is, we can change the situation."
What's more, Ji Chuhe really excluded the Funing County Magistrate.
In her previous life, she followed Shen Chengjing to control the flood and had come into contact with these county governors. In this life, many of the flood control strategies plagiarized by the sorcerer of the Astrology Pavilion were thought up by the governor of Funing County.
The Funing County Magistrate is also the only one who puts the safety of people's lives first.
However, they were all wiped out by the sorcerer, and in this life, the Funing County Magistrate never had the chance to show himself.
In her previous life, the events in these county towns were kept strictly secret. She, who was in the imperial capital, didn't even hear much news. It seemed that this disaster had ended just like that.
If the situation in the previous life were to be exposed, then the real situation in these county towns would be comparable to hell on earth.
As the king of a country, how can you be so cruel to your own people?
You have already obtained the supreme power of Daxia, why do you still only see your own selfishness?
What he wants is for the people to live and work in peace and contentment, not for the prosperity of the Great Xia nation, but for all officials, nobles, and powerless common people to submit to him and crawl at his feet!