Chapter 1299 - 1260: Scared to Death_3
Yu Hong was very enthusiastic towards Yuan Li, directly inviting him to stay at the Governor Mansion.
Yuan Li declined, he didn’t even stay at the post station, and found an empty house under the name of the government in the city to stay in.
He brought with him two hundred personal soldiers, and no matter which post station, it couldn’t accommodate so many people; if he stayed at the post station, the soldiers would have to camp outside and suffer the elements.
It was already summer, so sleeping outdoors was not cold, but there were many mosquitoes outside. The flood had just passed, and it was exactly the time to be most careful about drinking water and mosquitoes, so as long as he entered a city, he would find an empty house to stay in.
The soldiers took down the door panels, with ten people sleeping in one room, and hung curtains on the doors, burning mugwort every day to drive away mosquitoes. Over a month, none in his unit fell ill.
Yu Hong had not expected him to prefer living in a leaky, old, unmaintained house rather than moving into the Governor Mansion. After pausing, he said, "General Yuan, after your long journey, I’ve prepared food and drink at the mansion to welcome and refresh you; I hope General Yuan will show me the honor."
Yuan Li, with a hint of a smile, said, "The Zhao Family Army has a strict order that soldiers are not to disturb the people or take their possessions. Yu County Magistrate is also a civilian, and we dare not break military rules."
Rejecting Yu Hong’s invitation, he directly addressed the main point, "I’ve heard that Yu County Magistrate’s wife’s brother operates a grain shop in the city?"
Yu Hong’s heart tightened, and he dared not deny it, "Not really, it’s just that his friend wanted to open a grain shop, and was short of some capital at the time, so he borrowed some from him, and he gave the money to his friend for the business."
Yu Hong said gently, "He is a scholar, usually engaged in reading books, how would he understand business matters?"
Yuan Li smiled lightly, "Is that so?"
When he smiled, the scar on his face bunched up, appearing very fierce, causing Yu Hong’s heart to tremble, and he lowered his head without saying anything.
Yuan Li had the right to act at his own discretion. Although he was punished by Zhao Hanzhang not long ago, his power was still significant, allowing him to handle cases independently.
So after meeting with Yu Hong and Xun Fan, he began investigating. He didn’t like to take things slowly; he directly split his forces into three groups: one group went among the people, to ask the city’s and outskirts’ common folks about the situation over the last three months, as the people’s feelings were most profound;
Another group went to the government office to check various documents and records, which could be compared with the voices of the people;
The last group went to meet with various grain merchants, with Yuan Li first meeting the people from the Fang family.
By evening, Yuan Li sat at the desk, reviewing all sorts of information gathered that day.
The door panel had been removed, so the wind blew straight through, leaving the large hall empty except for a long table. One of the table legs was short a section, so Yuan Li had someone bring a roughly similar-sized stone and two planks to prop it up.
Since accepting the fact that he was destined to lose wealth all his life, Yuan Li’s material desires dropped to their lowest. If it had been in his earlier years, he would certainly not bear such hardship.
It’s a joke; he followed the noblewoman through life and death, all for the sake of wealth and glory, wasn’t it?
However, now his goals were clearer; his target was distinguished and noble, while wealth was secondary.
A personal soldier saw that he only had one candle and needed to lean closer to the desk to see clearly, so he lit another candle and brought it over to make it brighter.
After placing the candle and turning around, the candle went out.
The personal soldier blinked, glanced at Yuan Li, and quickly took it to relight, yet as soon as he placed it down and even before turning around, the candle that had been fine all the way here was out again.
Personal soldier: ...
He didn’t believe in evil, and without putting it away, he casually took the candle and poked the wick of the other one, lighting it again, then placed it on the table, before shifting to block the wind coming through the door, glaring at the flame.
The flame wavered for a moment before stabilizing, and the personal soldier grinned, but then the old candle next to it went out.
The personal soldier’s smiling face froze for a moment before he quietly reached for the old candle...
The always quiet Yuan Li lifted his eyelids to glance at him and said, "No need to light it."
The personal soldier, feeling wronged, responded in a low voice and bowed out, unable to resist hitting the back of his own hand as he exited, blaming himself for meddling, knowing full well the General was unlucky...
While Yuan Li’s luck was bad, his ability was very strong. Before he could finish organizing things, someone dressed in a cloak quietly entered, following the personal soldier inside. When everyone had left, and only Yuan Li and him remained, he lifted the cloak, kneeling on the ground, revealing himself as one of the followers at Yu Hong’s side.
"This servant Du Xin greets the General."
"Rise," Yuan Li asked, "What’s the matter between Yu Hong and his brother-in-law?"
"This servant doesn’t know much about it, but Zheng Quan, Yu Hong’s confidant, surely knows. Yu Hong hides nothing from him," Du Xin said after carefully looking at Yuan Li, "This servant tested Zheng Quan, he has two sons studying along with the mansion’s lords, and their knowledge is on par with the lords. Sometimes, when the lords need to write essays, they ask them to do it. Last year, he tried to redeem his children and send them to school, but Yu Hong refused."
Yuan Li laughed, saying softly, "To cut off someone’s future is like killing their parents. The Great General has paved a prosperous path for them, yet he refuses to let go. It’s no wonder there’s resentment."
Yuan Li said, "Tell him, as long as he can help me clear this case, I will ensure his family is freed and becomes proper citizens, and the same applies to your family."
Suppressing his joy, Du Xin knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "This servant is willing to serve the General, and the Great General, with my utmost loyalty!"