klisemfg Chapter 222 The Governor of Xuzhou was drenched in sweat.
Chapter 222 The Governor of Xuzhou was drenched in sweat.
No wonder Shen Zhiyi has been sneaking around all day; she's been sneaking a bite here.
The governor of Xuzhou was quite satisfied with the court attendant, and so was he.
If a woman disguised as a man appeared by the old emperor's side without incident, it could only mean that she was highly favored by the old emperor.
He needs to cultivate a good relationship with the other party and clear his name before the old emperor.
"My lord, I have a question to ask."
Tempted by the delicious food, Shen Zhiyi, caught off guard, nodded and said, "Please tell me."
"I would like to ask that gentleman what his opinion of me is?"
Shen Zhiyi replied without pausing, "Of course it's good."
The governor of Xuzhou was just about to smile.
[What a load of rubbish!]
The governor of Xuzhou's raised lips immediately fell shut.
[Such a large pleasure boat, such a large mansion, so many wives, so many children—it must have cost a fortune. It's a miracle the governor's monthly salary could support so many people.]
The governor of Xuzhou was drenched in sweat.
[Hilarious! The governor of Xuzhou, knowing the old emperor was coming, had already prepared a small residence, intending to move in with his wife and favorite concubine. He didn't plan to bring many servants, and even changed his expensive clothes to ordinary fabrics. Everything was prepared, but he didn't expect the old emperor to skip over everything and come straight for him!]
The governor of Xuzhou nodded vigorously.
Exactly! He prepared everything and spent a lot of money, but it was all for nothing!
So, the old emperor is now convinced that the governor of Xuzhou is corrupt, and I wonder what the Dragon Scale Guard has found out.
The governor of Xuzhou held his forehead, suddenly feeling that his life was about to end.
[I doubt the Dragon Scale Guard can find anything. The governor of Xuzhou is honest; there are no shoddy construction projects in his jurisdiction, only the best materials. However, when he applies for funding, he tends to exaggerate.]
For example, this time the wooden bridge broke, but he insisted on saying the main bridge broke so he could take the opportunity to get more money.
The governor of Xuzhou was screaming wildly in his heart.
That's because he wanted to replace the wooden bridge with a stone bridge!
While we're at it, let's build some more bridges for the people living near that river, so they don't have to take detours.
【Eh? 】
Shen Zhiyi ate pastries while watching the surveillance footage.
This guy really doesn't seem to be willing to embezzle the money allocated from above.
Old Emperor: How is that possible!
Governor of Xuzhou: Yes, yes, that's it!
This guy really does make a living by swindling money from wealthy businessmen, wow.
Shen Zhiyi hurriedly took a sip of tea, and a floral fragrance filled the air.
The governor of Xuzhou said eagerly, "This is flower tea. It has a wonderful aroma and is also good for your complexion. All the girls in my harem drink this, and their skin is incredibly rosy."
Shen Zhiyi was unabashedly tempted and drank a few more cups.
[This governor of Xuzhou is very much to my liking, but unfortunately he is not to the old emperor's liking.]
The governor of Xuzhou was in a panic.
Then you'd better put in a little more effort, sis! He didn't eat all that food for nothing!
[Tsk tsk tsk, the governor of Xuzhou deliberately makes things difficult for those wealthy merchants. In order to keep their businesses running smoothly, the merchants have no choice but to give him a lot of benefits.]
This guy even...
Shen Zhiyi took another sip of herbal tea to calm her nerves.
The governor of Xuzhou, for the sake of wealthy merchants' money, has truly... lost all sense of shame.
He actually had one of his sons, who had feminine features, dress as a woman and seduce the wealthy merchant's child. Then he had another son seduce the same wealthy merchant's child. In this way, the governor of Xuzhou found an opportunity to launch an attack on the wealthy merchant.
Wealthy merchants, mindful of not offending the governor, would usually pay a considerable sum of silver, sometimes even their entire shops.
After reading it, Shen Zhiyi was filled with emotion.
This governor of Xuzhou is truly a master at fleecing wealthy merchants.
The old emperor, who originally had a great deal of resentment towards the governor of Xuzhou: ...
"I don't know why, but I've suddenly developed a bit of a liking for him."
In his life, the first people he hated were heartless wealthy businessmen, and the second were corrupt officials.
"Chen Decai, summon the governor of Xuzhou to see me."
"The slave obeys the order."
After a pause, the old emperor said, "Don't let Shen Zhiyi come over. You can take her somewhere else to play later."
"Here."
Shen Zhiyi, who was enjoying her meal, noticed that the governor of Xuzhou had been summoned away.
The governor of Xuzhou walked with heavy steps.
"Shen Lang, you continue eating, I'll be back in a bit."
He turned around and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
I don't know if he'll ever be able to come back.
The Dragon Scale Guards are extremely fast at investigating cases, and the things he did in Xuzhou over the years must have been laid bare before the old emperor.
The old emperor summoned him this time, and he...
He turned around, wanting to pull Shen Zhiyi along.
We've eaten so much of his food, we can't just eat it for nothing.
As soon as he turned around, he saw the eunuch staring at him with a fake smile.
"Prefect, why aren't you going yet?"
"Okay, okay."
The governor of Xuzhou nodded and went to see the old emperor.
"master?"
The governor of Xuzhou made a tentative call.
The old emperor got straight to the point.
"In the memorial you submitted some time ago, you said that you needed five hundred taels of silver to repair a bridge? But I don't think there is any bridge that has collapsed under the weight of the snow."
The governor of Xuzhou's legs buckled and he knelt down.
"Your Majesty, this humble subject..."
"Just tell the truth. I don't like to hear lies."
The governor of Xuzhou spoke hesitantly: "It is indeed not a bridge. The matter is as follows: There is a wealthy merchant's son in Xuzhou who loves to set off firecrackers during the New Year. He has even injured people before. I thought it was time to teach this man a lesson."
"So I sent someone to tamper with the wooden bridge that the wealthy merchant's son frequented overnight."
The old emperor raised an eyebrow: Ha, there are places that Shen Zhiyi actually missed.
He said, "What kind of firecracker is so powerful that it can destroy a wooden bridge?"
"After the wooden bridge was destroyed, I went to find that wealthy merchant and, incidentally, locked his son in jail for a whole month!"
During this time, he also made sure to frantically accept silver from wealthy merchants, which, although not much, amounted to at least a hundred taels of silver.
"In order to prevent this matter from escalating, the wealthy merchant said he was willing to pay compensation and asked me to keep the matter a secret and not report it."
The old emperor understood.
So the five thousand taels of silver given by the wealthy merchant was essentially a way to keep quiet.
He stared at the table with an air of authority, and said in a deep voice, "If that's the case, why apply to the Ministry of Revenue for five hundred taels of silver?!"
If this isn't explained to him clearly, he won't be able to get over it.
How dare they cheat him out of his money! This is unacceptable!
The governor of Xuzhou wiped the sweat from his brow. He knew that if he didn't say something to satisfy the old emperor, he was not far from death.
"Yes, Your Majesty, it's like this..."