Chapter 60: Corrupt Official
Commander Leng wanted to confirm with the magistrate’s mansion about the supplies again. After all, it had been too many days.
He didn’t like how Magistrate He was offering empty promises to them. If he didn’t have any supplies, he could have said so at the beginning so that they wouldn’t waste so many days staying in his county.
However, the sight that greeted him the moment he arrived in the magistrate’s mansion stunned him.
What are those?
The servants were busy moving sacks, which resembled... supplies?
Outside of the gate, there were also some rice sacks. Commander Leng walked closer, and opened one. It was really a sack filled with rice.
"Be quiet," he said to the imperial guards who had followed him there.
The imperial guards hurriedly nodded, but the surprise on their faces was apparent. They started getting closer, hiding as they listened to the servants’ discussion.
The servants had panicked looks on their faces.
"Our magistrate couldn’t go out because he was bitten by a rat... I can’t imagine how enraged he will be if he sees the scene in the front yard."
"How did the supplies suddenly move to the front yard? They don’t have arms or legs!"
"These guys who have been keeping watch at the warehouse are now shaking in fright. They tried to drag the supplies back inside before our magistrate found out."
"What if these imperial guards visit again today..."
"Quick! Quick, be quick!"
Commander Leng’s face darkened, and the imperial guards behind him became as quiet as quails. They didn’t even dare to breathe.
Whenever they met Magistrate He, he always told them that the warehouse was located in a hidden location and it would take a long time before the supplies arrived.
However, what are these rice sacks?!
The magistrate clearly just didn’t want to give them any supplies!
He turned to his men. "Investigate this magistrate."
The local yamen authorities might be in cahoots with Magistrate He too!
One imperial guard went back to the camping site, and then a few more arrived at the magistrate’s mansion. Commander Leng motioned for them to follow him.
They directly went into the mansion, shocking the servants who were currently gathering supplies into fright.
"Commander Leng..."
"Where is your magistrate? I want to meet him." His tone was hard, and his entire being radiated coldness.
Seeing them shaking and not answering, Commander Leng raised his eyebrows. "Why aren’t you answering me?"
In his bedroom, Magistrate He was groaning in pain, occasionally hissing. He was clearly in a bad mood after a rat had wounded him.
"Your Excellency, it’s bad! It’s bad!" A servant suddenly launched himself into the room, shivering in fright.
Magistrate He would have fallen asleep if not for this servant’s yelling. He became annoyed. "What is it? If it’s not an important matter, I will have you whipped!"
The servant trembled even more, but he still squeezed some words. "Commander... Commander Leng is here..."
Magistrate He’s expression turned for the worse. He sneered. "They are just eyeing my supplies. Stupid, cursed imperial guards. I can’t even transport my goods while they are here."
He waved his hand. "Drive them away. I don’t want to speak to them."
"But... but... " the servant stuttered badly. "Your Excellency, he is already inside the mansion and..."
He proceeded to tell what other servants didn’t dare to tell Magistrate He, hoping that the latter wouldn’t unleash his anger at him.
As expected, Magistrate He’s face turned pale and his expression twisted.
He struggled to get up. "Lead me there, lead me there!"
The male servant tried to help Magistrate He to get up, struggling at his master’s body weight. Magistrate He walked limply.
On the way to meet Commander Leng, he already thought of a countermeasure and wasn’t as panicked as when he initially heard the news.
"Commander Leng," he greeted the man and forced out a smile.
Commander Leng turned to him, unimpressed. "Magistrate He, you are here."
Magistrate He took in the sight of the pile of supplies in his front yard and nearly stopped breathing. There were just so many.
Who had the power to move so many things there in just one night?
His magistrate mansion was also always clean, but it was the first time that such huge rats appeared there. Were the rats also sent by the person who moved his supplies there?
Just wait, once he catches these people...
"I-I can give you some supplies." Magistrate He began. "We can make a deal that absolutely benefits you and your people..."
"What if I give you a quarter of the supplies and we can keep this between us?" Magistrate He proposed.
He gritted his teeth when he saw that Commander Leng’s expression hadn’t softened one bit. He wouldn’t believe that this man wasn’t tempted!
"I can give you more supplies in the future," he decided.
Commander Leng still seemed to be unimpressed. "Magistrate He. Along the way, we saw some people die out of starvation, their figure thin and malnourished."
"Some of your men also beat up your people," he paused. "When he asked the reason, it was because the person had committed a crime and you were punishing them for it."
He motioned for one of his guards to continue with his report. As he waited for Magistrate He to come out, the guards he had sent to investigate finally returned.
The imperial guard nodded. "Commander, the person got beaten to death because he couldn’t pay for the several times taxes that Magistrate He had implemented."
On the tree branch, the three Ye siblings were witnessing this scene.
"What a ruthless scoundrel," Ye Lanxi cursed.
His other siblings nodded in agreement.
The imperial guards continued. "Most of the people die out of starvation because they had to empty out their wealth just to pay for the taxes alone."
Commander Leng turned to Magistrate He, who was shaking so badly that he was dizzy. "Magistrate He, what do you think?"