“Little Wei’s situation is different as he has to assume the position at short notice.” Magistrate Liao waved his hand, indicating that he was not offended, and continued, “It isn’t too late to know me now. You really have to govern this Fuping County well.”
Helian Wei Wei smiled and replied, “Hah, I will carry out my duty accordingly. For instance, I saw two brutes violently assaulting a lady when I arrived at the yamen today. I arrested them immediately and threw them in jail. I presumed Private Advisor Zhang had told you about this.”
“Did this really happen?” Magistrate Liao blurted out with an astonished expression on his face.
Helian Wei Wei smiled again, a profound meaning lurking between the lips, and replied, “Does Lord Liao really not know anything about this?”
“Of course.” Magistrate Liao slammed the table and bellowed, “These people keep trying to deceive me and hide their crimes. It’s high time for us to teach them a lesson!”
Helian Wei Wei glanced at Old Master Yan, who was wearing a dark expression, and spoke at a normal pace, “If Lord Liao really wants to implement it, I’m sure there will be great results.”
“I don’t dare to guarantee any results.” Magistrate Liao spoke with a hidden meaning, “However, I do possess enough power to tame someone into obedience. Lord Wei, you better remember my words.”
Is this a warning to me? The grin on Helian Wei Wei’s countenance grew, but her expression remained unchanged.
On the contrary, Baili Jia Jue, who was sitting beside her, looked daggers at Magistrate Liao. An unprecedented coldness surfaced in his long, narrow eyes.
Magistrate Liao did not notice it, he merely felt a slight chill emanating from the side. He took a sip of tea to warm his body from the trembling cold and looked at Helian Wei Wei. When he saw that she did not have a great reaction, he assumed that she was mulling over his words, overtaken with fear toward him.
It will be fine if you fear me. Stop whatever you’re doing before you push my buttons.
He still wanted to have a conversation with her later, it was not worth it to sour their relationship for two mere servants.
“I came here today because I want to discuss the future development of Fuping County with you, Little Wei.” Magistrate Liao spoke as he grabbed some vegetables with his chopsticks and took a few bites. “You are knowledgeable, so please come up with some ideas to make this county prosper. I have discussed with Old Master Yan before, as he is the most successful merchant in our Fuping County. He proposed that we construct a road so that we can transport our fruits from here to be sold in the Capital.”
Helian Wei Wei put down her teacup when she heard his suggestion, remarking, “If I’m not mistaken, I remember that there’s already a road leading to the Capital from Fuping County.” Building another road despite having one already, this is obviously a ploy to embezzle government funds.
“How can one road be enough?” Old Master Yan interjected, “The more roads we construct, the greater our… I mean the Fuping County’s benefits will be.”
Helian Wei Wei smirked faintly as she looked at Old Master Yan’s and Magistrate Liao’s facial expressions. As expected, they came for money.
The road construction project had always been a gold mine for officials from every level of positions.
Imperial Grandfather had told her that he would allocate some funds for Fuping County before she came. However, he was worried that it would be peculated by government officials, thus he requested her to pay attention to it while she was there.
However, Magistrate Liao already had his eyes on the money before the fund had even arrived, spouting some nonsense about constructing a road.
It seemed that somebody from the Capital had a hand in this, but she still did not know which family was supporting Magistrate Liao.
Once I find out who they are, I’ll get rid of all of them in one swoop!
Helian Wei Wei took two sips of tea and spoke in a clear voice, “However, the yamen does not have a lot of money. I’m sure a huge amount of money would be needed to construct a new road, right?”
“Lord Wei, no worries about this,” Old Master Yan immediately answered, “As for the money, we have the methods to acquire it when the time comes.”
Helian Wei Wei simply replied, “Oh… What methods do you mean?”
“There are a lot of provisions in the yamen’s storehouse. We can earn a million silvers if we sell them. Lord Wei, what do you think about this idea?”
Helian Wei Wei wanted to kick these people and tell them that the idea was f*cking useless. It was clear as day that they were trying to use the public’s life-saving, emergency funds to satisfy their selfish, greedy desires.
Fuping County was stricken by droughts annually, although it had not arrived yet. The provisions in the storehouse were for emergencies, only to be distributed to the people when the drought came. In spite of everything, this Yan fellow actually wanted to sell these life-saving provisions for mere wealth!
Dozens of ways to murder him materialized in Helian Wei Wei’s brain. As these thoughts were swimming in her mind, her sitting posture grew steadier as the grin on her face remained undiminished. Then, she uttered, “Only one million won’t be enough.”
“It isn’t enough indeed. If it’s insufficient, don’t we still have the funds allocated by the imperial court? If we combine them together, the problem is solved!” Old Master Yan lifted his wine cup and downed a mouthful delightedly.
Helian Wei Wei grinned as she replied, “Aren’t you worried that the superiors would condemn you if the provisions are depleted when emergencies happen?”
“We are only borrowing it for a while. When we earn the money back, we can just buy new provisions to replace them, don’t you think it’s a good idea?” Old Master Yan ranted on and on about it, it seemed that the speech was rehearsed and regurgitated quite regularly.
Magistrate Liao was listening next to them while nodding his head from time to time.
Helian Wei Wei merely smiled without uttering a single word. Everyone knew that it was extremely difficult to replace the provisions when they ran out. However, to her surprise, Magistrate Liao actually agreed with him. It seemed that these two people had set their minds on devouring the provisions in the storehouse for personal gains.
Logically, it would be impossible for a magistrate and a merchant to be so audacious, someone must be supporting them from the shadows.
The reason Magistrate Liao came to Fuping County, blatantly threatening to interfere with the Fuping County politics, was glaringly obvious. It was solely for money.
Magistrate Liao wanted to make a backhanded remark when he noticed that Helian Wei Wei was silent the entire time, thus he inexplicitly said, “Little Wei, the road construction does not only benefit the people but, you too. Think about it, if you make such a huge contribution, your journey to the top would be smooth-sailing.”
“Lord Liao, your opinion of me is too far-off, I only have small ambitions. From my point of view, it isn’t bad to stay here in Fuping County,” Helian Wei Wei replied, smiling as usual.
Her roundabout refusal made Magistrate Liao curse silently in his heart. This fellow does not appreciate what’s good for him! The smile on his face turned icy cold as he said, “Since Little Wei isn’t that ambitious, just stay in the yamen and brainstorm about how to serve the people.”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been wanting all along.” Without taking even a bite of the sumptuous dishes, Helian Wei Wei abruptly stood up and uttered, “They should still be interrogating the two brutes I arrested earlier, I will invite Old Master Yan to the yamen when they are done. Lord Liao, you all, please continue eating. I shall excuse myself now.”
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!”
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