Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Fang Zheng sighed deeply and looked at the group of people in the room.

"The doctor is here. Leave one person to watch over him. The rest of you, please leave."

"Xie Xian, come with me."

Fang Zheng turned and left the room, finding a small room with Xie Xian.

As soon as they entered the room, Xie Xian immediately asked, "Sir, what happened? Did he commit suicide out of guilt?"

Fang Zheng shook his head. "No, I asked him how much silver he had embezzled and if there was anyone else behind him. Who knew he would bite his tongue and kill himself after that?"

Xie Xian was a little puzzled and said, "That doesn't make sense, does it? He was going to die sooner or later. Why put himself through this torture?"

"Yes, I can't figure it out either. Judging by this situation, there must be someone behind him."

"To make the head of a prefecture commit suicide out of fear of crime, who could have such great power? This person is probably within the imperial court... It seems we've stirred up a big trouble!"

Fang Zheng was also very puzzled. Which big shot had he offended this time?

"Do you think... what kind of handle could the person behind the scenes have on him?"

Xie Xian lowered his eyelids, thinking carefully.

Suddenly, he said, "This person is going to die anyway, at the very least, his three generations will be exterminated!"

"To make him keep secrets so fearlessly, the person behind the scenes must have the ability to protect his family."

"Perhaps the person behind the scenes has captured his children or other relatives."

Fang Zheng suddenly understood and said, "Oh! That makes sense! How did I not think of that?"

Xie Xian raised his head and sighed, "That's because you don't have children, sir!"

"Once you have children, you'll understand. If my son were in someone else's hands, I would be willing to bite my tongue and save his life!"

"Ah, the hearts of parents all over the world are the same. What, do you miss your son?" Fang Zheng looked at Xie Xian with a smile.

Xie Xian nodded and said, "Yes, it's been a few months since I came out. Of course, I miss him."

"But there's nothing to worry about. He's eating well and sleeping well in the county."

Fang Zheng walked to the table and poured him a cup of tea. "There's nothing much to do now. The rest of the time will be spent trying to provide disaster relief. You can go back whenever you miss home."

Xie Xian hesitated and said, "There's no need to go back. Sir, you need manpower urgently here. Uh, I just have something I want to ask you... Back then, when I went to the capital to take the imperial examination, was it you who had someone rob me?"

Fang Zheng was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

After laughing, he said in surprise, "You just found out?! You've been in the county for several years! What, are you holding a grudge?"

Xie Xian stammered, "That's not it. I just wanted to know. It would be a lie to say I don't regret it... Which scholar doesn't want to be an official?"

After he finished speaking, Fang Zheng immediately took off his official robe.

"Come, come, come, put on this robe. How about it?"

"If you feel that the official position is not high enough, I'll strip off Liu Xun's robe. Prefect should be enough, right!"

Xie Xian looked at the official robe that Fang Zheng handed over and licked his lips, "That's not good, sir."

Fang Zheng didn't care at all. "There's nothing wrong with it! In a couple of days, you can wear this official robe and personally go up to the city gate tower and chop down those treacherous officials."

"Ah... this? If people find out...."

"It doesn't matter, I'll explain it to His Majesty!"

Fang Zheng was too embarrassed to say that he had been throwing sand into the disaster relief porridge every day for the past few days, and many people might recognize him.

If he personally went up to the city gate tower and was recognized by the victims, he was afraid that it would be counterproductive.

"It's settled then! Come, put on the official robe and let me see."

Xie Xian nodded sharply, then took Fang Zheng's official robe and put it on.

However, Fang Zheng was taller than him, so the robe looked a lot bigger and didn't fit well.

But Xie Xian was still extremely satisfied, constantly looking at himself from left to right.

Wearing an official robe once now can be considered fulfilling his dream....

"Thank you, sir!"

Fang Zheng waved his hand. "It's just a small matter. Let's go, follow me to interrogate Liu Xun's lackey again."

The two then arrived at the room where Wei Shan was being held. At this time, Wei Shan's eyes were dull, and he was sitting paralyzed on the bed, clutching his crotch, not knowing what he was thinking.

Seeing Fang Zheng coming, he immediately shivered.

"Fang... Sir Fang."

After saying that, he saw Xie Xian wearing an official robe and pointed at Xie Xian in surprise, "You... so you are the Assistant Administrator!?"

Xie Xian's old face turned red, and he looked at Fang Zheng.

Fang Zheng smiled, "Stop talking nonsense, I'm here to interrogate you."

Wei Shan was silent for a while, "Where is Lord Liu? You are rebelling! I want to see Lord Liu!"

"Heh, Liu Xun is about to die. He committed suicide out of fear of crime and is still being rescued. All the evidence is in my hands!"

"Honestly cooperate with me, and not only can I spare your life, but I will also find someone to help you treat your illness and heal your legs."

"I ask you, how much silver did Liu Xun embezzle, and is there anyone behind him directing him?"

"I want to see Lord Liu." Wei Shan lowered his head and only said this sentence.

Fang Zheng agreed, and then called Zhang Biao to take Wei Shan to Liu Xun's room for a tour.

At this time, Wei Shan completely resigned himself to his fate, lying listlessly on the bed, muttering, "Ask... but what I know is limited. You said you would save my life... You swear, you can't kill me..."

Fang Zheng said lightly, "I never lie. If you honestly cooperate, I swear I will never kill you."

"You can speak now."

Wei Shan's hands were clutching the quilt tightly, and he said in a low voice, "... Liu Xun does have a backer behind him, but I don't know who he is."

"This person has always contacted Liu Xun directly."

"As for how much silver he embezzled, I don't know either. I only know that a batch of silver is regularly transported to the capital."

"How could you not know! Don't you have ledgers for each escort?"

Wei Shan shook his head. "No! Liu Xun keeps it all in his mind. He is personally responsible for escorting the money every time. He can remember clearly how much silver enters and leaves the treasury each time."

Fang Zheng didn't doubt what Wei Shan said. To be able to become a Prefect is already the elite among scholars.

These people were able to break through the siege of thousands of troops in the imperial examinations, and all of them were knowledgeable and had excellent memory.

He continued to ask, "When was the last shipment, and how much was shipped?"

"The last time was a day or two before you arrived, sir. I don't know the exact amount, but I only know that the situation was very special that time. A lot was transported... Almost all the silver in the prefecture treasury was transported away."

"And it was specifically stated that Liu Xun's son should personally escort it."

"The 50,000 taels of silver that were later sent to Sir Fang were the only silver left in the mansion."

Xie Xian and Fang Zheng exchanged glances. It was as expected!

However, Fang Zheng felt something was unusually strange.

How could the timing be so perfect? All the silver was sent to the capital before he took office, and Liu Xun's son was also taken away. Isn't this a bit too strange?

There were clearly still 20,000 shi of grain sent from the capital to Jianjiang, which could have made a lot of money. Why did the other party call it quits at this time?

Could it be that the other party could tell fortunes and knew that he was going to fight corruption?

I didn't even think about doing this before I came!

Coincidence... It must be a coincidence.

Fang Zheng was too lazy to think about it anymore and casually found some comfort for himself. He would leave the rest to the Emperor to solve in the future.

If he really traced it to the root, he didn't know what kind of trouble it would cause. Disaster relief was already troublesome enough. Did he want to make his head bigger?