noffsinger Chapter 285 Prefect of Fengming
Chapter 285 Prefect of Fengming
As Li Laoda spoke, his voice grew softer and softer until it was barely audible, barely audible to himself.
Shi Zi snorted coldly: "Hiring a physician? Buying medicinal herbs? I think it's just lining their own pockets."
He stepped forward and grabbed Li Laoda, saying, "Come on, take us to see your prefect."
How could Boss Li dare disobey? He could only grit his teeth and bow, replying, "Yes, yes, I'll take you two there right away..."
The governor's mansion in Fengming City is located in the city center. It is a courtyard that is not luxurious but quite majestic.
Two stone lions stand in front of the vermilion gate, and the three gilded characters "Prefect's Residence" hang above the lintel.
Two guards with swords at the door immediately became wary when they saw Boss Li leading two strange men over.
"These two are..."
Just as the guards were about to question him, Li Laoda hurriedly waved his hand to interrupt them: "They are distinguished guests whom the prefect wishes to see. Quickly announce their arrival!"
He dared not tell the truth, hoping only to get the Buddha statue to the prefect as soon as possible so that he could suffer less.
The guards had some doubts.
Seeing that Elder Li looked flustered, and noticing that Shi Zi and Xiao Man had extraordinary bearing, he turned around and went inside to report.
In fact, the prefect had already received the news before Shi Zi and his companion arrived.
The commotion at the city gate was quite loud, and spies had already rushed back to report.
It is said that two unidentified men injured the city guards.
They were being led by Boss Li towards the mansion.
This prefect's surname was Wang, his given name was Qinian, he was about fifty years old, with a slightly plump face and three short tufts of beard.
He wasn't exactly a clean official, but he knew how to protect himself.
Hearing that the visitor dared to make a move at the city gate and specifically asked to see him, he already had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
"Let them in," Wang Qinian ordered in a deep voice.
A moment later, Shizi and Xiaoman followed Boss Li into the main hall.
Wang Qinian looked up and sized up the two men. Although they were dressed simply, they had upright postures and bright eyes.
"I was unaware of your arrival, two distinguished guests. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly."
Wang Qinian stood up and bowed with a forced smile.
"My surname is Wang. I have heard that the two young heroes had some conflict with my... guards at the city gate?"
He was about to blurt out the words "nephew" when he quickly swallowed them back.
He only said that he was a soldier, wanting to find out more about the other party first.
Xiaoman stepped forward, took out the imperial physician's token from her waist, and said in a deep voice, "Xiaoman from the Imperial Hospital, here to inspect the epidemic by imperial decree."
Today, upon entering the city, I was confronted by the city guards of the prefect's residence who demanded an exorbitant entrance fee.
"Half an ounce for a person, one ounce for a horse—may I ask the Prefect, is this the rule of Ling Kingdom or Fengming City?"
Wang Qinian's pupils constricted slightly when he saw the token.
Were they from the Imperial Hospital? Or were they on an inspection tour ordered by imperial decree?
His heart skipped a beat, but he immediately put on a warm smile and cupped his hands, saying, "So you are the Imperial Physician, my apologies for not recognizing you!"
There must be some misunderstanding. I have absolutely not ordered any increase in the city's entrance fee!
"Misunderstanding?" Shi Zi sneered and pointed at Boss Li, who was huddled to the side.
"Then how do you explain his earlier statement that the prefect ordered an additional fee to be used to purchase medicinal herbs?"
Old Li was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a thud, banging his head on the ground repeatedly, crying out that he was innocent.
"Your Excellency, I'm innocent! I never said that you gave the order!"
"It's all this...it's all what these two officials said themselves! Please, Your Excellency, investigate thoroughly!"
Hearing him make excuses in public, Shi Zi's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he said in a deep voice, "You dare to say you didn't? Just now at the city gate, you clearly said 'the order came from above'..."
Before Shi Zi could finish speaking, Wang Qinian's face darkened and he shouted, "How dare you! You dare to distort the truth here and extort money by falsely conveying my orders!"
He turned to look at Xiaoman, a smile returning to his face, and cupped his hands in greeting, asking, "May I ask your esteemed names?"
Xiaoman and Shizi exchanged a glance, then Xiaoman returned the greeting with clasped hands: "This official is Su Zilong." "This person is Su Ziyu."
Upon hearing the name "Su Zilong," Wang Qinian's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in realization, "So it's Imperial Physician Su! I've heard so much about you!"
He then changed the subject and sighed, "To be honest, a plague broke out in the city a while ago, causing panic among the people. Many people fled and moved away, and some unruly people took the opportunity to cause trouble."
To stabilize the situation, the government had no choice but to order a city lockdown, and it took considerable effort to suppress the unrest.
He paused, then his tone became earnest.
"As for the city entrance fee, this government did have some people collect it, just to purchase medicinal materials and appease the people."
At that time, a special decree was issued, stipulating that each person would receive ten coins and each carriage twenty coins, which was already the limit.
This servant must be insatiably greedy, secretly raising prices to line his own pockets, and even dares to implicate this household! He's utterly despicable!
His words were half true and half false. It was true that he charged extra fees during the epidemic, but it was also true that he tacitly allowed his subordinates to inflate expenses and deduct money.
I never expected that this distant nephew would be so audacious.
To raise the price to such an extent, and to make matters worse, run into the Imperial Hospital staff, what bad luck!
As Wang Qinian spoke, he glanced at Xiaoman's expression. Seeing that she frowned slightly, he added, "Don't worry, Physician Su, this government will investigate this matter thoroughly and will not allow such corrupt officials to undermine the administration and betray the trust of the people."
Xiaoman frowned: "Is Prefect Wang telling the truth?"
“Absolutely true!” Wang Qinian immediately replied.
"If there is even the slightest falsehood, I am willing to accept the punishment of the King! This servant has no respect for the law and dares to tarnish the reputation of this manor! Guards!"
The guards outside immediately responded and entered.
"Drag this audacious lackey away and throw him into jail to await his fate!"
Wang Qinian said sternly, but his eyes subtly swept over Boss Li.
Li Laoda begged for mercy with a mournful face, but in the end he was dragged away.
He was still crying out, "Prefect, have mercy!"
In truth, he knew perfectly well what was going on.
This is all just for show; once these two leave, I'll surely be able to get out again.
Seeing that Wang Qinian handled the situation decisively and skillfully, Xiaoman didn't say anything more!
These are turbulent times, and he simply doesn't have time to be distracted by such trivial matters.
Anyway, as long as we can get Prefect Wang to reduce the city entrance fee, there's no need to worry about so much.
He advised Wang Qinian: "Prefect Wang, we are currently in the midst of an epidemic outbreak, and the people are already facing difficulties. Such actions will only breed resentment among the people."
The imperial court appoints officials to govern the people, not to exploit them; I hope the Prefect will remember this.
“What Imperial Physician Su said is true. I will certainly keep it in mind.” Wang Qinian nodded repeatedly, adopting an extremely humble posture.
"I will strictly discipline my subordinates from now on and never allow such a thing to happen again."
He then warmly urged them to stay, saying, "You two must be tired from your journey. Why don't you rest at my residence for a while? I'll prepare a simple feast for you..."
"There's no need for that," Xiaoman waved her hand.
"This time, it was King Ling who ordered us to come and treat the people's illnesses."
But seeing that there are very few people in the city, may I ask, Prefect Wang, are there still any sick people in the city?