odessanovel Chapter 427
Chapter 427
Substituting a condemned prisoner for execution, no matter the era, was a capital offense. Pulling off such a feat was not something a county magistrate could simply order.A magistrate might wield considerable local power, but the county yamen also included the assistant magistrate and registrar—entrenched local powers. A magistrate, as a transferred official, would not dare take such a risk without certain assurance.
The fear was that Cao Dajun was not the first to be substituted.
"By my reckoning, the men General Shen sent to Pinglang County should arrive tonight," Yue Fuguang said, glancing at the darkened sky outside. "Tomorrow, we’ll likely be able to bring the suspects here for questioning. We’ll stay here for one more day."
She could already foresee that once today’s events spread, her reputation as the emperor’s surrogate surveying the realm would be solidified.
From now on, not a few commoners would likely seek her out to plead their cases.
Yue Fuguang retreated to the inner chamber and sat cross-legged on the bed. These days, she felt her abilities had grown somewhat.
With some effort, her rain now covered an area of about thirty to fifty miles. Fortunately, the current Dayan Dynasty was much smaller than her homeland’s territory; otherwise, it would take her forever to cover it all.
The next morning, He Jin reported that the courtyard outside the mansion was packed with citizens of Yingzhou Prefecture. Yue Fuguang had slept well the night before, nourished by the incense offerings, and her spirits were fully restored. She stretched lazily. Another day for a major push!
As Yue Fuguang walked out with He Jin, Shen Chunying, and the others, she asked about the arrest of the criminals. "Has General Wei returned?"
"General Wei came back around early morning, bringing in 153 bandits and rescuing over 500 miners."
Over 500—that must have been a sizable mine.
"Have the rescued miners been taken care of? Do we know who these miners are?" Were they all like Cao Dajun—offended someone and were sold off to the mine by enemies?
Yue Fuguang shook her head, thinking it unlikely. He Jin’s following words confirmed her suspicion.
"Rest assured, Magistrate Wu Yong registered their information this morning. But I heard from General Wei that some claimed to be from Hegou Village in Pinglang County.
The entire village was in that mine. Same for the villagers of Pinggu Village—whole villages were taken, wiped out wholesale."
Shen Chunying added, "According to those people, the elderly, weak, and sick from both villages died off last winter. Now all that’s left are the able-bodied young men. But the black mine didn’t give them enough food, and the work was brutal—they’re all in terrible shape.
Dai Yuxing said that if not for the Lady, these people would never have survived the spring with so little food and water."
Their Lady truly was a goddess—she had saved countless lives again.
Yue Fuguang caught the reverence in He Jin and Shen Chunying’s eyes and chuckled lightly. She asked about another matter: "How many came last night?"
"Master, I know that. Twenty-eight came last night. All but one lookout were caught."
Twenty-eight assassins sent just to kill those two men—the mastermind behind Hao Ren was no simple matter.
And the fact that the common folk of Pinglang County were taken as forced labor to neighboring Pingchuan County, entire families wiped out at once—this was no trivial affair.
When the villagers of two entire hamlets suddenly vanished, Yue Fuguang was certain not a single petty official in Pinglang County had failed to notice. To them, these people weren’t villagers—they were walking taxes in the form of poll taxes and corvée labor.
That no one up or down the chain investigated only reaffirmed how deep the rot ran. Pinglang County wasn’t just a problem with its magistrate; every party with a stake was complicit.
"System, how much do you know about Pinglang County?"
When it came to information unrelated to her mission, the system faced various restrictions. For instance, about Pinglang County, the system could only pull data on the case connected to Sun Min, who had appeared before her.
To learn anything else, she needed to interrogate Hao Ren in person.
"Host, I’ve already told you everything I know! I haven’t held back a bit!"
The system wished it could do more, but the data wasn’t allowed.
"I suspect the backstory behind Hao Ren isn’t simple. Maybe this will even trigger a side quest."
Little did Yue Fuguang know how prophetic her words were. By now, she had already led her people to the front courtyard of Plum Garden.
The courtyard was crowded. Inside, Feng Tang was chatting with Huang Xie, who had come for the morning roll call. Behind them stood the assembled officials of Yingzhou Prefecture, Magistrate Wu Yong, and his staff.
When they saw her approach, they broke off their conversations and eagerly came forward to greet her.
"Lady, the front gate is packed with citizens of Yingzhou Prefecture. Would you like to step outside and have a look?"
Feng Tang knew Yue Fuguang’s temper well. Although she never spoke of it, he had sensed that she was far more approachable to commoners than to some officials.
Yue Fuguang nodded. "Let’s go see."
She looked up at the late morning sun—bright and blazing, the sky a clear azure. But not a single soul in Yinchuan Prefecture was happy about such weather.
"It’s time to send down rainfall and relieve Yingzhou City’s drought," Yue Fuguang said casually. Yet her offhand remark stirred the hearts of the officials behind her.
The Junior Preceptor was still willing to look after Yingzhou Prefecture—they were finally reassured.
Eagerly, they followed Yue Fuguang out through the front courtyard and stood at the main gate. The gates of Plum Garden swung open before them. Before Yue Fuguang even stepped over the threshold, she looked up to see the area beyond the gate, ten meters away, packed with commoners in every kind of dress.
Their spirits seemed much better than yesterday, and their clothes were noticeably cleaner.
Observing Yue Fuguang’s unspoken question, Huang Xie quickly whispered, "Lady, perhaps you didn’t know. Last night, when the citizens heard that the Yinchuan River outside the city had risen, many brought their families by night to fetch water."
Word about the Yinchuan River spread quickly. While Yue Fuguang was still hearing the Cao family’s case the previous day, many onlookers had already learned about the heavy rain thirty li away that had filled that stretch of river.
Yue Fuguang nodded and stepped out through the gates.
Seeing her appear, the crowd readied to kneel. Before them stood a living goddess—how could they not kneel and offer incense?
It was then Yue Fuguang noticed that besides incense, the citizens were holding fruit, pastries, and small livestock. They were indeed offerings for a rite!
Were they about to begin worshipping her like this—a living person? Goodness, have you no manners?
Incense was one thing, fruit and pastries tolerable, but the man holding a roasted suckling pig and the one carrying a roast chicken were especially eye catching!
Although she had found such scenes unremarkable on her journey, there she had been inside her carriage. As long as she didn’t lift the curtain and the horses were fast, she wouldn’t have to witness their incense offerings.
But now the situation was completely different. Persistent as she was, she still preferred it if they kept up their incense burning subtly, out of her sight. A bit more propriety wouldn’t hurt!