"Say, where did all this food come from, why did you set the price so high, and who is the main messenger behind it?"

"These grains are all relief grains hired by villains to obtain, and the price is not something that villains can decide, and the main messenger of all this is the city lord."

Xie Shiyun and the others were shocked when they heard this, especially Wang Xiu, who was stunned in place. He didn't believe that his father, who had kept his duty in mind all his life and kept integrity in mind, would be the mastermind behind this ink corruption case. Wang Xiu has regarded his father as a role model in life since he was a child, and the evaluation of the city lord of Zhangzhou by the people in the city over the years has also been positive.

"No way, you must be talking nonsense to smear my father!"

"In front of His Highness, how dare the villain deceive, the villain is true."

The shopkeeper raised his head and said with a wincing voice, "The person who gave the order to the villain was the chief steward of the City Lord's Mansion, and he came to the villain with the City Lord's order and said that all this was arranged by the City Lord. ”

Xiang Xie Shiyun and others, the shopkeeper, recalled the scene at that time. At that time, the city of Zhangzhou had not yet fallen into a drought and famine, but it was estimated that the situation was almost the same, and the people of Zhangzhou had already begun to hoard food.

One day he was entertaining customers in the store when he saw the chief steward come with a team of people and chase away the other customers in the store. He is an honest man, and he has never done anything hurtful, creacherous, and treacherous, and the arrival of the chief steward makes him suspicious.

"I came today on the orders of the lord of the city."

"Increase the price of all the food you can eat at least fivefold."

"Why?"

"The city lord naturally has his plans, you don't have to ask too much, just carry it out."

Before leaving, the steward warned him not to divulge what had happened that day. Otherwise, he wouldn't want to open this little shop again.

"And after that?"

"Not long afterward, the drought was severe, and the chief steward came to buy grain with the silver taels, but the extra money did not fall into the villain's pocket, and was confiscated by the chief steward in the name of the city lord."

"After opening the warehouse and releasing grain, the chief steward issued another order to let the villain hire people to get the grain, and so on."

"What the villain said is true, if there is deception, he will be thundered by the sky!"

Xie Shiyun and Shen Sijun both frowned and glanced at each other. Then he looked at Wang Xiu, who was speechless.

"The shopkeeper has always mentioned the chief steward, he must be the one with the problem, and the main messenger behind it must not be my father."

"Your Highness, Lord Shen, please come back to the house with me, don't let him find out that he has made a move."

The three of them returned to the City Lord's Mansion and happened to meet the chief steward.

"Your Highness, Lord Shen, Young City Lord."

"Uncle Qian, we're getting ready to find you."

Wang Xiupi looked at the chief steward with a smile, and the chief steward was still that loyal and honest appearance, making it impossible to imagine that he was a corrupt thief. The name of the city lord of Zhangzhou's life of incorruptibility has been corrupted in his hands.

"Zhimori, you go and ask your father to come over."

"Yes."

"What does this mean young city lord?"

"When my father comes, Uncle Qian will know."

After a while, Zhisen invited the city lord of Zhangzhou, and the city lord of Zhangzhou was confused and didn't know what was going on.

"Uncle Qian, are you pretending to be my father's name to threaten the store with too high grain prices, and then take relief grain to squeeze the official uniform and silver taels!"

The city lord of Zhangzhou opened his eyes wide after hearing this, and Wang Xiu's words brought him a lot of shock. The chief steward had distant relatives with him, and many years ago he came to join him, and he gave him the position of chief steward without hesitation, but he did not expect him to do such a thing. He also put this dirty reputation of corruption on his head.

"Young City Lord, who is this provocative words, how could I do such a thing?"

Uncle Qian is also calm, and he can still question Wang Xiu without changing his face. Wang Xiu was almost laughed at by him, turned his head and said to Shen Sijun, "Lord Shen, please bring all the testimonies collected by Commander Yun." ”

Shen Sijun nodded, and Yun Liu stepped forward to take out a stack of testimonies, all of which were signed and signed by the owners of various rice and grain stores. They vouched with their lives that every word and every sentence of their testimony was real.

"These must be false, Lord City Lord, I have been loyal and conscientious in the City Lord's Mansion for so many years, how could I do such a thing that is contrary to your beliefs?"

After seeing these things, the chief steward's expression changed instantly, and he lost his previous confidence. The city lord of Zhangzhou looked at the testimonies one by one, and his eyes became more and more gloomy and angry.

"Qian Tong, it is in vain that I have trusted and cultivated you for so many years!"

"Lord of the City, these testimonies of theirs can be forged, you must believe me!"

While he was still defending himself, one of Wang Xiu's attendants came over and saluted Wang Xiu.

"Young city lord, my subordinates have checked the account records in the ticket number, and there are bills in the chief steward's room that correspond to them."

"Uncle Qian, do you think you have anything else to say now?"

"I—I."

The steward had no way to sit on the ground, his eyes blank. All these painstaking efforts were ruined. The city lord of Zhangzhou asked bitterly, "Why are you sitting on these hurtful things!" ”

The chief steward sneered, and didn't care about anything else, so he expressed all kinds of dissatisfaction with the city lord of Zhangzhou. Xie Shiyun and the others were stunned by his words, because his words were completely unreasonable and took a bite. Xie Shiyun felt deeply worthless for the city lord of Zhangzhou, and he just raised a white-eyed wolf that he couldn't feed.

"Qian Tong, I sit on the chair of the city lord, relying on my years of hard work, it is not the so-called destiny, and I am the most contaminated with righteous wealth for officials, why don't I collect money and be greedy, don't you know the reason in your heart?"

The City Lord of Zhangzhou sighed, and then said, "I already found out when you started making fake accounts a few years ago, just because you really put a lot of effort into this City Lord's Mansion, I have been using my money to fill the vacancy. ”

"I didn't expect that you were blinded by money, and you hit the drought and those innocent people!"

"Do you know how many people's lives can be saved by the money you squeezed, and how many people have left their homes because of food shortages!"

"They don't know if they can return to Zhangzhou alive!"

The city lord of Zhangzhou became more and more angry, and he coughed in anger, and Wang Xiu immediately stepped forward to help him calm down. The chief steward listened to his words, as if he had drunk the initiation of the first thing, and then he realized what he had done.

"Steward, have you ever seen a scene of starvation, or a refugee fighting each other for food?"