Chapter 1202 Curse of the King of Dingbei

"I've heard that Prince Dingbei and Princess Anning are both good people who hate evil. Now that they've come to Laiyang Prefecture, I wonder if Prince Laiyang and the prefect know about their collusion?"

"Yes, although the Prince of Laiyang went to the capital and that corrupt official, the prefect, died of illness, his lackeys are still around. In the past, these people embezzled the disaster relief supplies sent by the imperial court, and we ordinary people didn't get a single thing."

"I heard there's a lot of relief supplies this time, I wonder how much these corrupt officials will embezzle. Heaven is truly blind! Why doesn't it send down a bolt of lightning to strike these sons of bitches dead!"

"Why don't we go to the government office and complain to the Prince and Princess? Let them teach these corrupt officials a lesson! Otherwise, once they leave, who knows how these corrupt officials will exploit us! We'll really have no way out then!"

"But I heard that if I go to the yamen to file a complaint, I have to be beaten twenty times. My body can't take that kind of beating. What if I fail to get the case resolved and end up crippled? Wouldn't that be a terrible injustice?"

"What can we do then? If the prince and princess are gone, who will uphold justice for us? Are we and our descendants destined to continue to be exploited and oppressed by these corrupt officials?"

"Well... how about we wait outside the government office and see what the Prince and Princess are here for? If they don't deal with those corrupt officials, we can try to stop their carriage and file a complaint."

"Why are you trying to stop their sedan chair? The prince and princess are both on horseback; they'll be gone in a flash. How could we possibly stop them?"

"makes sense……"

These comments only occurred after the two had sped off, so neither of them heard them.

Laiyang Prefecture, a large five-courtyard mansion located just one street away from the prefectural government office.

A middle-aged man with a round belly, as fat as a pig, lay on a recliner covered with a tiger skin, his legs crossed, leisurely closing his eyes and thinking about wonderful things.

Two braziers were burning charcoal in the room, making it warm and cozy. A young and beautiful maid was sitting at his feet, gently massaging his legs.

Such a pleasant life is the envy of everyone who sees it.

The portly butler, who personally carried in a plate of exquisite pastries, glanced at the scantily clad woman, his envious look quickly replaced by respect. He bowed to the man on the recliner and said:

"Master, that guard Mu sent someone again today to ask you to send your yamen runners to distribute porridge at the city gate. I told him that you were not feeling well and that they should send their own people. Master, that guard Mu is, after all, a trusted subordinate of Prince Dingbei. If we really do not follow his orders, aren't we afraid that the Prince will blame you?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's face stiffened for a moment, then he chuckled and said:

"What's there to be afraid of? That Prince Dingbei is just a greenhorn who took on this terrible disaster relief job for the sake of his reputation. Now he's gone to that hellish Laishui County and hasn't come out for half a month. He might have already fallen ill and died there!"

Once that wooden guard receives news of his master's death, he'll definitely lose his will to do his job. After they leave, won't all the remaining relief grain be ours? We can sell it at a high price and make a fortune.

That guy surnamed Mu is so stubborn. I told him to just cook the rice porridge a little thinner and make a show of distributing it for a few days, and I'd split the rest of the grain with him.

Even though I made it so clear, that stubborn person just wouldn't listen to reason and continued to cook thick porridge for those lowly people every day.

Seeing the grain dwindling every day is heartbreaking for me! If it weren't for his superior martial arts skills, I would have sent someone to kill him!

My food! My money!

At this point, the fat man's good mood vanished, and he was heartbroken, pounding his chest and stamping his feet in frustration.

The portly butler quickly stepped forward to comfort him:

"Master, don't be angry! Don't be angry! I've done the calculations, and there's still half of the grain left! You also said that the Prince of Dingbei might have already died of illness, and even if he's not dead yet, he probably won't survive."

Although there is now a solution to this plague, Laishui County is a severely affected area. It is likely that even the water and food they eat and drink have been contaminated. They stayed there for so long before the relief food was delivered. They either died of illness or starvation!

"Once the news arrives and that guard leaves with his men, the entire Laiyang Prefecture will be back in your hands, sir. Then, won't you be able to arrange all the grain and supplies as you see fit?"

The fat man seemed to have been persuaded, and his mood improved again.

Thinking about the carefree days he would enjoy after the death of the prefect of Laiyang, when he held absolute power in the government office and amassed wealth, he felt a sense of satisfaction.

"I hope that Prince Dingbei dies soon! So he won't get in my way of making money!"

Just as he was cursing the Prince of Dingbei to die quickly, the person he was talking about had already arrived at the government office.

"Master, Miss Qiao, you've arrived! I've been waiting for you for a long time. Has the matter in Laishui County been resolved? How are things there?"

Mu Er was handling some business at the yamen when he saw the two people striding in. His eyes lit up and he quickly went to greet them.

"Mu Er, everything is proceeding smoothly in Laishui County. How's the situation here? Are the officials cooperating?"

During this disaster relief trip, Mu Yi and his team stayed in Beijing, Mu San and his team stayed in Qingshui Village, and only Mu Er led the disaster relief team to Laiyang.

Before setting off, they had already discussed it. Qiao Ran and Mo Beihan would go to Laishui County first, while Mu Er would lead the disaster relief team to Laiyang Prefecture first, and then send half of the team to escort the supplies to Laishui County.

Mu Er took the token of the Prince of Dingbei to Li Furen, the prefectural magistrate of Laiyang, and asked him to arrange for his yamen runners to cooperate in disaster relief.

However, Li Furen completely disobeyed orders, claiming to be unwell every few days with all sorts of excuses, such as headaches, fevers, backaches, and leg pains. In short, he made every effort to avoid leading the yamen runners to cooperate with disaster relief.

Speaking of this, Mu Er felt wronged and recounted all of Li Furen's actions over the past few days.

"Your Highness, that Prefect Li is the brother-in-law of the Prefect of Laiyang. After the Prefect died, the seal was put into the control of Prefect Li, and the entire Laiyang government office was under his management. Without his orders, the yamen runners are unwilling to cooperate with disaster relief."

Our manpower is limited, and we're not familiar with Laiyang Prefecture, which makes many things difficult to get done. I think that Magistrate Li is deliberately delaying disaster relief; I wonder what his intentions are!

Looking at the sulking Mu Er, Qiao Ran shook her head and smiled faintly:

"Mu Er, when did you become so soft-hearted? That Prefect Li must be in cahoots with the Prefect of Laiyang and the Prince of Laiyang. How could he be a good person?"

He's deliberately delaying disaster relief; he must have something to gain. I suspect he wants to embezzle these relief supplies, so he doesn't want us to distribute them quickly.

In his view, these things already belonged to him; the fewer he distributed, the more he could embezzle. "Once we leave, these things can all be sold for money!"