Chapter 497: Chapter 138: The Case Arrives—A Rebellion? (Part 3)
,,,
Lishui City isn’t too far from the Imperial City.
It takes just two days to get there.
Lishui City is surrounded by the sea on all sides; the scenery actually looks pretty nice.
By the time Ye Liuyun and the rest arrived, the people from the city yamen had already been waiting for quite a while.
When they saw this group, all dressed in flying fish robes and Brocade Spring Sabers, unmistakably Embroidered Uniform Guards, they hurried over at once.
"I am the County Magistrate of Lishui City, my lords! I greet all the Embroidered Uniform Guard sirs!"
"Let’s head into the city first."
Ye Liuyun had no intention of wasting time exchanging pleasantries with this County Magistrate. He simply waved his hand and spoke bluntly.
"Yes, yes, of course!"
The man could tell right away.
Ye Liuyun was the highest-ranking officer of this group, the one whose word truly mattered.
He hurriedly nodded in agreement.
With a respectful expression, he said,
"I have already arranged an inn for you, my lords. You must all be weary from your journey—the perfect chance to rest!"
Never mind that the official rank of the Embroidered Uniform Guard wasn’t especially high—what mattered was that their authority was anything but small.
In the Imperial City, with its teeming masses, you couldn’t always see it so plainly, but once you left the Imperial City, anywhere in the Great Qian Dynasty, the Embroidered Uniform Guard possessed absolute power—they could execute first and report later.
Even if they cut down this County Magistrate on the spot, as long as they gave some suitable justification afterward, no one would hold them responsible.
This, too, was a reason.
Why the Embroidered Uniform Guard had such a terrible reputation—everyone feared them, and over time, all sorts of ugly rumors blossomed.
,,,
The inn arranged by the County Magistrate wasn’t bad at all.
But then, Lishui City itself wasn’t particularly prosperous; being able to accommodate all these Embroidered Uniform Guards was already quite something—what more did they expect?
"Sir!"
At that moment—
Si Nan came over carrying a wooden chest.
"This County Magistrate is really sensible. He didn’t even wait for us to open our mouths—just sent the money over himself."
Evidently,
The wooden chest was filled with money sent by that very County Magistrate.
Ye Liuyun opened the chest and took a look. Sure enough, inside were neat stacks of silver notes. Judging by the denomination, there was quite a sum packed in there.
"Tch! Another corrupt official!"
At the sight of this, Shi Sheng couldn’t help but speak out from the side.
A County Magistrate’s salary wasn’t nothing, but it was far from generous.
Add in the fact that Lishui City was far from rich—the only way to scrape together money was from the pockets of the common people in the city.
For him to be able to produce this much money, he must’ve been skimming quite a lot for a while now!
"Hmm?"
But—
Seeing Shi Sheng’s reaction, Si Nan regarded him with evident surprise.
That up-and-down scrutinizing look was as if he was seeing Shi Sheng in a whole new light.
"What are you staring at me like that for?"
With Si Nan looking at him like this, Shi Sheng frowned, clearly uncomfortable.
"I just thought, with your usual temper, wouldn’t you normally insist on teaching the County Magistrate a lesson at a time like this?"
Going by Shi Sheng’s be-hatred-for-evil nature,
No way he’d just curse twice and call it good.
",,,"
So that’s all he was wondering.
Shi Sheng rolled his eyes at Si Nan, annoyed.
You’d think I was some hotheaded brute, the way you talk.
"With so many corrupt officials in the Great Qian Dynasty, if I tried to teach all of them a lesson, I’d never have a free day in my life."
All you could say was—he used to be much more naïve. Before, he’d always want to do something every time he confirmed someone was corrupt.
But ever since he started following Ye Liuyun—
Shi Sheng’s horizons had broadened; he’d seen far more, witnessed far more corruption. Practically none were clean—everyone took what they could. In the current Great Qian Dynasty,
If you don’t take bribes, you’re the strange one.
This was why Shi Sheng had become so calm about it.
"So, you’ve given up going after corrupt officials?"
Si Nan looked curious.
"Given up? Of course not!"
You’ve got to be kidding—I’d never give up.
Shi Sheng just wasn’t as impulsive as before, that’s all. But give up entirely? No way.
"I just believe—with our lord here, the future of the Great Qian will definitely get better and better!"
By the end,
Shi Sheng was looking at Ye Liuyun with sincere eyes again.
That resolute gaze—
You could tell he really believed, deep down, that as long as Ye Liuyun was here, the Great Qian Dynasty would still have hope for the future.
,,,
No, honestly, I’d like to be a corrupt official too.
Shi Sheng’s faith in him wasn’t something Ye Liuyun expected, but he didn’t object.
After all,
Ye Liuyun wanting to take a cut himself didn’t mean he wanted everyone else to be greedy too.
You must be kidding.
If all of you have picked the place clean, what’s left for me?
"Tch!"
I really shouldn’t have asked.
Looking at Shi Sheng, Si Nan couldn’t help but click his tongue.
This kind of subtle flattery—he was still lacking. Sometimes he even suspected that, for all Shi Sheng’s big eyes and bushy brows, inside he was sharper than anyone.
When it comes to kissing ass, he can’t catch up at all.
"Alright, that’s enough!"
In the end,
Ye Liuyun waved his hand and put a stop to the topic, speaking directly,
"What’s most important right now is the case. It’s getting late—everyone rest up tonight. Tomorrow we start the thorough investigation into the water bandit rebellion!"
So far, since entering Lishui City, he hadn’t noticed anything to suggest a rebellion.
Passing through the city, seeing the commoners along the way—
You could tell the people here weren’t struggling. Lishui City wasn’t rich, but being on the lake meant everyone could go fishing every day.
