Old Master Yan was fairly dumbfounded. What does he mean by inviting me to the yamen when the interrogation is done? For what purpose? Is it to bring my people back?
"What did that Wei fellow mean?" Old Master Yan immediately asked Magistrate Liao, after Helian Wei Wei and the people accompanying her had left.
Magistrate Liao's expression darkened grimly as he said, "He is merely a nobody and an insignificant pawn. Yet, he thinks that he can serve the people with mere passion. Nonetheless, he looks like he does not want to mess with us, so don't worry and continue our plan as usual. Do whatever it takes to bring that money to me!"
Chapter 464 - His Highness And Helian Wei Wei Joined Hands
"Rest assured, Lord Liao. I will ask Private Advisor Zhang to open the storehouse and sell the provisions. When the allocated funds have arrived, I will immediately find a way to steal it!" Old Master Yan said decisively, unaware that Helian Wei Wei already had a notion to arrest him...
At noon, in the Liu family's house...
Helian Wei Wei smiled gently as she looked at Liu Yin. Then, she spoke in a clear voice, "This is roughly my plan, I hope Miss Liu can come to the yamen tomorrow to testify against Old Master Yan. The outcome would be better if the other victims can step forward as well."
Liu Yin considered for a while and said, "Lord Wei, I heard that Magistrate Liao is here. He had been protecting the Yan Manor all these years. Even if we work together to make an official complaint, it will only make things difficult for you. Yan Manor has very powerful people supporting them. Magistrate Liao has it too, from even more influential backers. Lord Wei, are you really not afraid?"
"He's merely a tiny, insignificant magistrate. Our master can just flick a finger and make him..." Da Xiong had not finished speaking when Helian Wei Wei interrupted him, "Even so, he shouldn't deceive the people. There must be a way around this."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yin began wondering about her real identity, asking, "Lord Wei, do you have any connection with the Wei family in the Capital?"
"No." Helian Wei Wei smiled and asked, "Why? Is this Wei family very powerful?"
Liu Yin lowered her eyes disappointedly, lamenting, "They are one of the influential families. We might have a fighting chance against Magistrate Liao if you have their support. It would be a tough mountain to climb with merely Lord Wei alone."
"Our master would prefer it if the case is more troublesome to handle." Da Xiong realized that he said too much just now and was trying to remedy his mistakes, saying, "He favors this kind of task."
Helian Wei Wei smiled slightly and reassured her, saying, "Liu Yin, don't worry. I will definitely take the necessary measures, since I requested you all to testify against him. There's no need to worry too much, I promise to resolve those matters that are troubling you."
"I may know Lord Wei's character well..." Liu Yin hesitated before continuing, "But the others aren't like me. Everyone has been afraid of Old Master Yan for years. If we can't completely eradicate him in one attempt, it's better if we don't do anything to stir up the hornet's nest. Cases like this have occurred before. Even though the criminals were arrested, they would be released after a few days, according to Old Master Yan's commands. Furthermore, they would even take revenge. I'm not afraid of them. At worst, I'm just going to accept my fate, my parents are relocating tomorrow anyway. However, for the others, nobody would want to leave their hometown unless it is absolutely necessary."
When Helian Wei Wei finished listening to Liu Yin, she stared at her seriously and said, "I won't allow any residents in Fuping County to be chased away from their home. The one who should leave are not all of you, but Old Master Yan and Magistrate Liao."
"Lord Wei..." Liu Yin's eyes reddened as she was about to speak again. If given a choice, she would get married to a kind, honest man and never leave her parents.
Helian Wei Wei closed the paper fan in her hand and smiled, saying, "Let's put this matter aside. Since you've stayed in Fuping County for so long, I want to ask you something. Which problems do the villagers need me to resolve the most? Is it related to road construction?"
"Yet again?" Liu Yin was about to speak when Father Liu came in from outside and put away the hoe he was holding. With an extremely exasperated and forlorn expression on his face, he lamented, "There were already four road constructions in the past few years. It was painfully torturing every time it happened. Not only did they force us to cough up our savings, but our harvest was also delayed. Little Yin, it's better for us to leave Fuping County, it's impossible to stay here any longer. Dear God, are you seeing this?"
Liu Yin could not swallow the sight of her devastated father. She held him up, her eyes completely drowned in tears, as she begged, "Father, please don't be like this. Don't we have Lord Wei here now? There is still hope."
"Lord Wei." Father Liu forced a bitter laugh before continuing, "I heard your conversation just now. You would be in hot water if you continue to oppose them. Do not meddle in the road construction or you will be targeted. Truth to be told, even if the road is not built, this place is hopeless. We can no longer grow crops here. The land has completely dried out, the seeds we sowed are dying because it has not rained for half a month. The good days are gone, it's better if we leave earlier."
Helian Wei Wei took one step forward and helped Father Liu up, saying, "If you really want to leave, you won't be so sad at the moment. Father Liu, I promise you that no one will extort money from the people by using the road constructions as an excuse anymore! As for the dry farmlands, I already have a plan in mind. Even though the land in Fuping County is extremely dry, the crop yield has always been abundant every year. After all, 60 percent of the grains in the Capital comes from here. The higher-ranked officials regard this county with great importance. Unfortunately, the regional officials' mistakes have made Father Liu greatly worried. As I was traveling here, I discovered a river somewhere in Fuping County. All is not lost yet."
Father Liu's eyes glimmered with hope when he heard Helian Wei Wei mentioning a river. Then, he let out a sigh of relief, saying, "Lord Wei, you are indeed different from the others. We have had quite a few county magistrates taking office here, but none of them had noticed a river before."
"Maybe they did, but they kept it to themselves," Helian Wei Wei said calmly.
Father Liu seemed to be in a daze as he replied, "True, nobody would be willing to mention it. All of them were too busy embezzling money."
"I will solve this problem." Helian Wei Wei looked away and said, "I will make sure the water from the river would irrigate the farmlands before I tried the case in the yamen tomorrow. I hope you will allow Miss Liu to appear in the yamen to testify against Old Master Yan."
Father Liew could not believe his ears, muttering, "But it's only a day left…"
"It will be sufficient," Baili Jia Jue finally opened his mouth. Compared to Helian Wei Wei, his voice exuded an air of innate nobility, everyone could not help but respect and obey his words.
Before Father Liu could respond, Helian Wei Wei asked with a smirk on her face, "Private Advisor Long, do you have any good ideas?"
Baili Jia Jue glanced at her without uttering a word, a hint of ambiguity lurked in his smile.
His smile sent shivers down Helian Wei Wei's spine. She coughed lightly and continued, "Hmm, I understand Private Advisor Long's meaning, we should take a trip to the provincial capital, right?"
"I will do as Lord Wei ordered. I'm just a private advisor, of course, I have to listen to Lord Wei," Baili Jia Jue replied with an obviously teasing tone.
Has His Highness become addicted to this act?
Helian Wei Wei felt hurt hearing his reply, so she turned around to Da Xiong, who was equally saddened, and complained quietly in her heart to him.
"The provincial capital?" Father Liu gazed at them anxiously and hastily stopped them, saying, "That is Lord Liao's primary headquarters! Everyone there has connections with ministers in the Capital. You will lose your life if
you go there! Lord Wei, please don't act on your impulse, it won't do you any good."
Chapter 465 - Competition Of 'Family Background' With The Third Prince
Helian Wei Wei laughed and said, "Don't worry, we know our limits. Da Xiong, stay by Miss Liu's side as usual. Fight against anyone who comes here. If they continue to resist, you're free to use the gun you're carrying."
"Understood," Da Xiong obediently uttered in a quiet voice, every word he spoke had so much gravity until it seemed to rustle the hay on the rooftop.
Helian Wei Wei had her reasons to leave him here alone. He did not seem like an easy target- he was tall, buff, and exuded a prominent martial Qi. As long as his opponents did not take him seriously, he alone would be sufficient to defeat dozens of yamen runners.
The presence of a demonic god such as Da Xiong made the guards from Yan Manor cower with fear, they simply exchanged hurried glances with one another and decided to report back at the manor.
Old Master Yan, who was giddily expecting to embrace a beautiful lady, was unaware of what had happened. When he saw that the lady was absent, he kicked the guard, yelling, "Rubbish! You can't do even such a simple task!"
"Old Master, it's not that we didn't try. However, the newly-assigned Lord Wei hired a warrior to guard the gate of Old Man Liu's house. We couldn't get in even if we tried." The guard held his aching abdomen and forced himself to continue, saying, "Besides that, Lord Wei was there, so we couldn't act. According to rumors, he's heading to the provincial capital now, but we do not know his purpose of going there…"
As he was speaking, a voice echoed from outside, announcing loudly, "Private Advisor Zhang has arrived!"
Old Master Yan turned his head around and saw Private Advisor Zhang marching in exasperatedly, shouting, "Bad news, Old Master Yan, bad news!"
"What's the problem, speak slowly!" The person speaking was not Old Master Yan, but Magistrate Liao. He was walking out of the room, hugging a young lady in his arms. Her expression seemed reluctant and fearful. Thus, she let him do anything he wanted, without the courage to resist.
Magistrate Liao was in a good mood, but his tone turned icy cold when he was disturbed by the Private Advisor Zhang.
Private Advisor Zhang walked on eggshells as he spoke to Magistrate Liao, "Lord Liao, Lord Wei suddenly wanted to go to the provincial capital!"
"Now?" Magistrate Liao narrowed his eyes and asked, "What does he intend to do there?"
Private Advisor Zhang took a gasp of air and uttered, "It seems like he wants to channel the river's water into the farmlands."
"That's it?" Magistrate Liao raised his brows and asked again, "Nothing else?"
Private Advisor Zhang hesitated for a while and looked at Old Master Yan, before answering, "Apparently, he wants to punish Old Master for your crimes."
"Punish me?" The Old Master jumped furiously when he heard that. Eaten with anger, he barked, "I didn't even blame him for ruining my plan, and now he wants to report me to the provincial capital! Great, truly splendid! I'll send someone to kill him now!"
Magistrate Liao huffed at his idea and bellowed, "Don't be ridiculous! No matter what, he's still an official from the imperial court. If he dies right after he takes office, that spells trouble for us! Stop trying to stir up problems, we have a full plate now with the higher-ups watching us!"
"I didn't mean that, but look at this Wei person. He's doing this the hard way instead!" Old Master Yan stuck out his large belly, spitting everywhere as he spoke, "We just had a meal together, he should've understood it even if he's a fool. He's a low-ranked official and I'm his superior. Yet, he wants to arrest me! Doesn't this mean that he's looking down on you as well?"
Magistrate Liao was the more collected person in the room, as he uttered, "Old Yan, you're too short-tempered. Think about it, can he arrest you just because he wants to? What can he do in the provincial capital? Who would meet with him? Without connection or money, the doorman won't even allow him to take a step through the gate, let alone meeting anyone."
After hearing Magistrate Liao's explanation, Old Master Yan imagined the scenario in his head and laughed heartily. Then, he said, "You're right, why didn't I think of it? He will probably be constantly given the cold shoulder in the provincial capital! This is a golden opportunity to crush his spirit! Let him realize whose territory Fuping County is! He needs to shut up if he wants to continue working here. Otherwise, he can go fly a kite!"
"That's the spirit." Magistrate Liao took a sip of tea, his eyes grew dark as he said, "The most important thing now is that sum of money. You need to figure out a way to get it into our hands, that's more practical than anything else."
Old Master Yan nodded as he listened…
Two hours later, the people in Yan Manor were still overindulging themselves in their lavish party.
The provincial capital was more prosperous and peaceful than Fuping County, but these were all just a facade.
Helian Wei Wei was indeed rejected, failing to even pass through the gate.
However, her first reaction after being rejected was to meet Baili Jia Jue. She shook her head while speaking confidently, "I thought bringing the Third Prince with me would give us a free pass since they would recognize you."
"Very few officials have seen me in the Capital, naturally it's harder here." Baili Jia Jue nonchalantly replied while exuding his unparalleled gracefulness.
Helian Wei Wei knew the local officers had never seen the Third Prince. If they found out who the 'private advisor' they rejected outside the gate was, they would surely regret their actions very deeply, kicking themselves furiously in the guts.
However, due to the fact that local officials had never seen him before, some things could be done with better results.
Otherwise, it would be meaningless to camouflage themselves.
However…
"It seems that I have to find myself a connection after all." Helian Wei Wei smirked as she turned around the corner and arrived at an exceptionally luxurious restaurant.
Baili Jia Jue played with the silver ring on his ring finger gently, asking, "Is this a Lee family's property?"
"As expected, there's no hiding from you at all." Helian Wei Wei smiled faintly as she walked in.
The restaurant's business was doing well. In fact, it was absolutely booming, hence a sea of customers kept coming and going.
Suddenly, a big-bellied man, who was holding a wine cup, almost rammed into her. Helian Wei Wei reacted instantly, swiftly scuffling away and avoiding him.
However, he clumsily spilled the wine from his cup, staining his outer garment.
"You punk!" The man immediately exploded in anger, "Out of all the places, why did you have to stand here!"
Helian Wei Wei did not say a word, she merely stared at him placidly, as if he was a dumb*ss.
The man sneered, "What are you looking at! Peasant! Do you know how much my robe costs? You countrified bumpkin! Now that the robe is drenched with wine, it can't be washed off! Tell me, how are you going to pay for it?"
Helian Wei Wei smirked as her long, narrow eyes turned freezing cold, growling, "You ran into me, yet you want me to compensate you?"
Chapter 466 - Walking To One's Death
"Huh, are you saying you don't want to pay?" The man bellowed as he stared down arrogantly at Helian Wei Wei.
Helian Wei Wei did not fear him and retorted, "If anything, it's you who should be paying me."
"I should be paying you?" The man laughed hysterically as if he had heard a preposterous joke. Then, he attempted to push Helian Wei Wei, warning her, "Do you know who I am? In the provincial capital, no one in their right mind would dare to ask me to pay!"
Helian Wei Wei stood unmoving and steadily like a sturdy tree, and cheekily said, "That's because you haven't met me yet."
When he heard her, his entire body seemingly combusted with fury. He walked up to her and violently grabbed her clothes. Then, he spoke with a deep voice, "What did you say? I dare
you to say it again!"
When he grabbed Helian Wei Wei's collar, Baili Jia Jue's eyes instantly turned deathly cold.
If it were not for Helian Wei Wei grappling Baili Jia Jue's hand, the man would have been shred into a million pieces.
The reason Helian Wei Wei stopped him was not that she wanted to go easy on the man, but she saw a familiar face walking toward them.
When the person saw her, he immediately shouted excitedly, "Boss! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the imperial..."
"Chen Liang," Helian Wei Wei hastily interrupted him with a little grin. Then, she shrugged her shoulders and hintingly said, "Does it seem like an appropriate time for a reunion now?"
Chen Liang admitted that he was not thinking straight. He did not want to socialize with the officials, but his father's position was too high, so everyone in the provincial capital groveled to him. As he was forced to eat and drink with them every single day, he was beginning to feel irritated. I can't believe I saw her just as I came downstairs!
And… Someone is grabbing her collar?
This is unlike her usual self!
When we were at the academy, she could take on ten people by herself!
Yet, no violence is being used now… This isn't like her at all!
Despite it, he could not swallow his anger when he saw his Boss being grabbed by the collar.
He had always been hot-tempered. Born in a family with generations of generals, dilly-dallying was not in his blood.
The powerful kick distorted the man's face. As he held onto the wooden round table, he roared furiously, "You bunch of lowly villagers! How dare you hit me? All of you must be blind as a bat! Everyone, take them down!"
However, no one dared to lay their hands on them.
The man hit the table impatiently and repeated, "I said take them down for me!"
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