The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 746 - 735: Cause and Effect

Chapter 746: Chapter 735: Cause and Effect

County Magistrate Tang immediately sold out Manbao, saying, "At first, I thought someone was trying to sow discord. After all, as I was settling the displaced people, you started competing with me for labor. But upon closer investigation, it was she who spread rumors among the displaced people, cough cough, you know, at that time everyone was competing for labor. So I figured, why not just send the people to you? At least with you, they remain civilians. If those people take them, they become slaves or undocumented residents, and then it’s no longer up to the displaced people to decide."

Manbao really was capable of such things, but County Magistrate Yang still snorted in response.

County Magistrate Tang continued, "The incident with Counsellor Chang was also accidental. Zhou SiLang’s robbery hadn’t even come to light at that time. These events just piled up one after another."

"So you took the opportunity to stab someone in the back?"

"Hey, it’s not like I killed anyone or used them as a weapon; I just gave them a little push when the moment was right." County Magistrate Tang laughed and said, "Don’t worry, a new Counsellor will arrive soon, and by then, who will still be concerned about us?"

Yang Heshu squinted slightly and asked, "Who is the new Counsellor?"

"It’s rumored to be Zuo Tong."

Yang Heshu: ...

He took a moment to compose himself and asked, "Who did you hear this from? Your uncle?"

County Magistrate Tang just smiled without saying a word.

Yang Heshu then knew that the matter must be settled, otherwise he wouldn’t have said it like that.

He took a deep breath, not knowing whether to be happy or worried, and with a complicated expression, he said, "Zuo Tong, huh? Aren’t you afraid that after his arrival, you’ll have no peace?"

"Afraid? Hardly. After all, he is the Counsellor of the Prince’s estate, with the duty to oversee and advise the Prince of Yizhou. It has nothing to do with me, a mere County Magistrate of Huayang County. At most, he could exercise the authority of the Capital Censor to report on me, the County Magistrate of Guo County. But as I’m neither corrupt nor overbearing, just a few minor complaints... I’m not afraid. It’s you who should worry..."

Yang Heshu slapped the table with his hand and fell silent.

County Magistrate Tang laughed maliciously for a moment but then reached out to console him, "It’s alright. With the performance of your Luojiang County Governmental Office, maybe next year you’ll be recalled to the capital for a promotion. He won’t have much time to focus on you."

Yang Heshu came from the prominent Yang family, which included a royal consort who had given birth to a prince. The censors loved to make trouble for these imperial relatives combined with powerful clans.

Especially Zuo Tong, who was famously upright and relentless, as if he wished his eyes were planted on them.

However, compared to these powerful clans, County Magistrate Yang felt that Zuo Tong would definitely prefer to keep an eye on members of the royal family, especially princes like the Prince of Yizhou.

Thinking this way, County Magistrate Yang felt much better. Wasn’t he at least not the most unfortunate one?

Still, County Magistrate Yang couldn’t help asking, "How did you suddenly go up against the Prince’s estate? During the Dragon Boat Festival, I heard that you saved the Prince of Yizhou, and he even submitted a recommendation for your merit."

After drinking a cup of wine, County Magistrate Tang said, "Nonsense, when have I ever gone against the Prince’s estate? I’m simply conducting official business."

County Magistrate Yang frowned, "So the wheat seeds in Zhou SiLang’s cart, were they really ordered to be stolen by his instruction?"

County Magistrate Tang laughed, "It wasn’t quite an order, just that the prince’s clansman suggested it to the manager Sun Dashu, and after the incident, he hinted to both Chief Sun and Chief Mo to cover up the matter. There’s no real evidence, just baseless accusations and an impeachment."

But at that time, such things were sufficient.

The Prince’s estate had just had a conflict with the Ji Family, leaving a bad impression with the emperor. Counsellor Chang had been making too much noise, and with County Magistrate Tang’s impeachment, not only would his father, the Left Capital Censor, help, but Ji Xiang in the court would also lend a hand in pushing it forward.

That’s why the process was so fast. Barely after his petition reached the capital, Counsellor Chang, without even having the chance to present his defense, was demoted and called back.

County Magistrate Tang, hearing noise from the neighboring room and in great spirits, complained to his good friend, "You don’t know how hard these past three years have been for me. He’s supposed to be in charge of the Prince’s estate, not meddling in my affairs as the County Magistrate of Huayang. But everything he does seems to affect me."

"I want to reclaim wastelands, and he encloses them; I want to settle the displaced people, and he meddles by intercepting the relief grain from the court, forcing the displaced to become rootless and desperate to become undocumented laborers for him and the Prince’s estate," County Magistrate Tang grumbled. "I’m broke, yet he insists on holding extravagant dragon boat feasts during New Year, pressuring Governor Ming to put me down; on Dragon Boat Festival, I plan to build platforms for parades, and without even checking the invited troupe, they have internal strife and I’m the one who has to go all out to protect them."

County Magistrate Tang was still infuriated by the memory, "If something were to happen to the Prince of Yizhou at the Dragon Boat Feast, it wouldn’t matter if my father was just the Left Capital Censor or even a prime minister, my head wouldn’t be safe. Do you think that wouldn’t anger me?"

Yang Heshu nodded, "Angering!"

"Neither of us would survive, right? So, when I saved the Prince of Yizhou, didn’t I also save his life?"

Yang Heshu nodded, "Indeed!"

"But he’s ungrateful. I won’t even mention the matter of capturing the assassins, but after saving the Prince of Yizhou’s life, when I appealed to him to grant some wasteland to the County Governmental Office to settle the displaced, the Prince himself was almost convinced, yet he jumped out to obstruct it. Do you think I should hold a grudge against him?"

Yang Heshu nodded emphatically, "You should!"

County Magistrate Tang smacked his thigh, "So he deserves his misfortunes!"

After that, events unfolded one after another, and County Magistrate Tang would have felt wrong not to act.

Of course, before Wang San was caught, he hadn’t thought to do anything yet; even he was taken by surprise by how the Chang family seemed to be courting disaster.

Wang San, Sun Dashu, and a few others were tenants of the Chang family, with most of their land having fallen into the hands of the Prince’s estate and the Chang family.

County Magistrate Tang was self-aware, only targeting Counsellor Chang, never implicating the Prince’s estate in the slightest.

However, the Chang family was publicly known to be backed by the Prince’s estate.

County Magistrate Tang got up and walked to the window, hands behind his back, "You have no idea. When I investigated further, I discovered that the grain merchants who usually brought in new wheat seeds to your Luojiang were actually people under the Prince of Yizhou. And publicly, it’s Counsellor Chang who is in charge."

"For two years, they’ve harvested their own new wheat and had plenty of seeds, but they stubbornly refused to sell them, keeping grain and seed prices high, just to force these still unsettled displaced people into a dead end, having to work for them as undocumented laborers, hmph—"

Yang Heshu remained silent, not saying a word.

County Magistrate Tang continued, "At the time, Zhou SiLang was secretly selling new wheat seeds, stepping in ahead of them to grab the market. What do you think they felt?" With a cold laugh, County Magistrate Tang said, "It’s only because he transported one cart at a time that it was just the clansman of Counsellor Chang busying about, first going through some connections in my County Governmental Office. After they realized they couldn’t suppress it, they started instigating the tenants to rob."

Yang Heshu: "You’ve dug up quite detailed information."

"Of course, without looking into details, how would I know the causes and consequences?"

"After this incident, you won’t be able to stay in Yizhou City for long, right?" Yang Heshu asked, "Will you come back out after returning to the capital, or will you just go straight to the Ministry of Justice?"

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