Chapter 1203 Hehe, someone's going to be in trouble!

Mu Er was astonished:

"How dare he? This is disaster relief grain! Embezzling disaster relief grain, does he want to take his whole family to the guillotine?"

Qiao Ran chuckled:

"If these people were afraid of death, they wouldn't be corrupt and incompetent officials. In their view, it's enough to grasp the immediate benefits and make their lives a little better."

As for what would happen if things were exposed, that was not within their consideration at all. They were all strangely confident that they would not be exposed, or rather, they deliberately avoided thinking about it.

In any case, greed triumphed over everything, so no one cared about anything else. If they were truly afraid of the consequences, there wouldn't be so many corrupt and incompetent officials.

Mo Beihan asked:

"Since this Prefect Li is the Prefect's brother-in-law, they must be in cahoots, all scoundrels. If the Prefect is a corrupt official, then Prefect Li is no better. Have you uncovered any crimes committed by Prefect Li during this time?"

Mu Er quickly took out a notebook and handed it over:

"My lord, this is what I've found out about Judge Li's deeds over the past few years. His crimes are numerous and he deserves to die a hundred times over! I've been waiting for Your Highness to investigate and punish this scoundrel!"

Although he was there on behalf of his master to provide disaster relief, he did not have the power to dismiss or punish officials. Therefore, he could only collect evidence of their crimes and wait for his master to deal with those corrupt officials.

Mo Beihan opened the notebook, and Qiao Ran also leaned over to look at it.

The more they looked, the more horrified and furious they became.

Mu Er was also filled with rage as he thought about what he had discovered:

"This Prefect Li is worse than a pig or a dog! He used to collude with the Prefect to oppress and exploit the people, and amass wealth. Half of it was given to the Prince of Laiyang, and the other half was divided among these corrupt officials."

After the prefect's death, he became even more unscrupulous, not only seizing other people's houses, shops, estates, and fields, but also accepting bribes.

They even forcibly abducted women, keeping dozens of concubines in their harems, and some women who refused were beaten to death.

We found six women's corpses in a dry well in the backyard of the Li residence. We heard that some others had been thrown into a mass grave outside the city.

Mo Beihan's eyes narrowed dangerously, his tone icy:

Where is Magistrate Li now?

Mu Er replied:

"I just sent someone to the Li residence to inform Magistrate Li to bring his yamen runners to distribute porridge, but he claimed he wasn't feeling well. He's probably hiding in his residence now!"

Mo Beihan nodded:

"Okay, you can go ahead and get busy. Ranran and I are going to the Li residence."

Watching his master and Miss Qiao walk out of the government office together, Mu Er gently curled his lips:

"Hehe, someone's about to be in trouble!"

After venting his frustrations, the fat man, Li Tongpan, was in a much better mood and started talking about other things.

He asked the portly butler to bring the account books so he could take stock of the manor's recent income.

This is something he enjoys doing every day.

He listened to reports of new chests of treasures being added to his storeroom, new shops opening in the city, new farmlands and estates outside the city, and new concubines being brought into his backyard…

These are all things that Li Furen worked hard to earn, so he deserves to enjoy them!

After the portly butler finished his report, he closed the ledger and respectfully asked for instructions:

"Master, which courtyard should the two newly arrived concubines in the backyard be placed in? There are no empty courtyards in the backyard, so they can only share a courtyard with the other concubines."

Li Furen frowned:

"How come there aren't any empty yards? Didn't we just buy and combine the yards of the neighbor, Manager Chen, last month?"

The fat butler thought to himself, “They call it buying, but it’s really just snatching it from someone at an unreasonably low price.”

Since taking control of Laiyang Prefecture, the master has been relentlessly extorting money and valuables through various forceful means. The thick stack of account books in his hand records the master's extortion and plunder over the past few months.

Being a high-ranking official is really great! Being a high-ranking official in a remote area where the mountains are high and the emperor is far away is even better. The feeling of having absolute power is just too good!

Look at his master. Ever since the prefect died, he has become the most powerful person in Laiyang Prefecture. He can get whatever he wants with just a few words.

Silver, jewelry, shops, estates, land, women...

He had everything he could want; calling him a local tyrant wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Even he, the housekeeper, was promoted along with his family, and several women were brought into the courtyard.

Despite his inner grumbling, the chubby butler gave a wry smile:

"Master, you took eight concubines last month and five more this month. The courtyard is simply not enough!"

Li Furen was taken aback:

"Huh? So much? I didn't feel anything."

The fat steward couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Master, although you want to bring any beautiful woman into the mansion as a concubine, you are too fat and not good in that aspect. Many women brought into the mansion are just displayed like vases. Soon you forget what they look like. How can you remember how many people have been brought into the backyard?"

"Master, how about we send half of the concubine to the estate outside the city? Although there's a high chance that Prince Dingbei is already dead in Laishui County, what if he isn't?"

I've heard that the Prince of Dingbei is a ruthless man. He has investigated and dealt with many high-ranking officials in the capital, and most of them have been beheaded or exiled.

When he was fighting abroad, he was a ruthless killer, murdering entire families at the slightest provocation. He especially hated those who played with women, and would behead them on the spot.

What if his men discover what you've been doing lately and, in a fit of rage, investigate the entire household? You have so many women in your harem; that's a grave offense to him. It might not just be a matter of being dismissed from your post; you could very well lose your life to his sword.”

"Dare he?"

Li Furen jumped up from the recliner with a "whoosh," his whole body of fat jiggling uncontrollably, and the flesh on his face trembling excitedly.

“Here, I am the king! Besides, I have my brother-in-law’s older brother back in the capital. I have someone protecting me! If he dares to touch me, my brother-in-law’s older brother will not let him get away with it!”

The chubby butler sighed helplessly.

"My lord, the prefect is no longer here. Do you think his elder brother, the Minister, would offend that little devil for the sake of your brother-in-law? You should restrain yourself a bit! We can enjoy ourselves after the Prince of Dingbei and his men have left."

Although Li Furen was fat, he was still quite intelligent; otherwise, he wouldn't have become the prefectural magistrate.

Hearing the fat butler's words, he pondered for a moment and knew that he couldn't be too presumptuous at this juncture.

Once that annoying Prince Dingbei's men are gone, it won't be too late for him to become a local tyrant again.

Perhaps, he could succeed his brother-in-law as the prefect of Laiyang Prefecture, which would give him a more legitimate reason to "manage" this vast prefecture.

Thinking of this, Li Furen finally softened his tone:

"Alright! Go and arrange it. Send those concubines who were brought into the mansion first out. I haven't had enough fun with the new ones yet!"

"Yes, sir!"

The portly housekeeper, holding the account book, was about to go out and arrange for the concubines to be sent out of the mansion to avoid trouble.

However, before he could even step out the door, someone rushed in.