Chapter 569: Filing A Complaint
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Si Chen was brought in through the back door of Duke Jingguo’s Residence by the guards.
He had been to Duke Jingguo’s Residence twice, so he had some impression of
it.
The guard brought him to a courtyard and asked him to wait there. After waiting for about an hour, a servant came to him and said that the Master would see him.
Si Chen stood up but he couldn’t help feeling nervous.
The servant brought him to a small courtyard in the front courtyard. “Master is
in the house. Young Master, you can go in.”
The servant pushed open the door and motioned for him to enter.
Si Chen walked in without thinking too much.
There was no one in the room. Just as Si Chen was feeling puzzled, there was a slight movement behind a screen in the room.
While feeling baffled, Si Chen heard a somewhat low voice from behind the screen. “Why do you want to see me?”
The other party’s voice was low and somewhat hoarse, which made Si Chen feel
a little puzzled. “Lord Duke, did you catch a cold?
“Cough, cough!”
The sound of light coughing came from behind the screen in response to Si
Chen’s query.
Si Chen’s eyes were filled with concern. “It’s winter now. You have to take care
of your health, Lord Duke.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Si Chen clenched his two fists in his sleeves and said after a moment of silence, -Your lowly official boldly intercepted Lord Duke today because I want to report an offense to Lord Duke about the magistrate of Kun City’s Qingyang County, Ma Zhi.”
“What matter do you want to report him for?
“I found out that he did not report to the Imperial Court after discovering a gold mine in Qingyang County. He mined the gold mine privately and even murdered those who knew about it.”
As soon as Si Chen finished speaking, the room fell into a strange silence. It was so quiet that Si Chen could only hear his own wildly beating heart.
After a long time, the person behind the screen said in a deep voice, “How did you find out about this?”
“Lord Duke, I am Si Chen, the magistrate of Yangjiao County, which is adjacent to Kun City and Qingyang County. After the earthquake, I immediately launched a disaster relief operation for the people. However, because our location was farther away, Yangjiao County wasn’t affected so badly. The people of Yangjiao County were properly settled down very soon.”
Si Chen paused before continuing, “After making proper arrangements for the matters in Yangjiao County, I brought some people to Qingyang County to help. However, I accidentally overheard the conversation between Ma Zhi and his trusted aides. At that time, I left someone to tail them and secretly followed them to the location of the gold mine. My subordinate found out that they were indeed mining the gold privately.”
“After the earthquake in Kun City, the Emperor immediately sent people to Kun City to carry out disaster relief operations. Why didn’t you explain the situation to the officials the Emperor sent? Also, have you informed the Kun City’s City Guardian about this?”
Si Chen seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes gradually turned bloodshot.
“Lord Duke, when I realized that something was wrong, I immediately went to look for the City Guardian of Kun City and requested him to take care of this matter. On the surface, he agreed and told me to go back and take care of Yangjiao County. However, not long after I returned to Yangjiao County, many accidents happened and my younger sister also disappeared.
One day, Si Chen received a letter. The people who wrote the letter threatened him to keep the matter of the gold mine to himself. If he dared to mention it again, they would make his younger sister and all his family members die without a burial place!
Si Chen was extremely furious. He had never mentioned this to anyone except the City Guardian of Kun City. Now that the matter had been leaked, he suspected that there was something not right with the City Guardian of Kun
City.
Almost all the people sent by the Imperial Court to Kun City to provide disaster relief were hanging out with the City Guardian. He didn’t dare to take the risk anymore. Not only was he worried about the safety of his family, but he was also worried that he would be secretly killed by these people. Then, no one would know about the gold mine.
“I pretended to agree to their request and asked them to let go of my younger sister, but the other party was very cunning and never handed over my younger sister. Even my mother almost got into an accident on the street.” At this point, he also realized that even if he was really willing to keep this matter to himself, those people would definitely not let him off.
Therefore, when those people let down their guard, he moved his parents at home to a safe place and then disguised himself to come to the capital city. However, he was still discovered by the other party and they sent people to hunt him down along the way. If he had not been lucky and hid in a merchant’s convoy heading to the capital city, he would have died on the way.
Previously, when he heard the medicine boy mention the Empress, he also wanted to go and look for the Empress. However, in the end, he still felt that the Empress was the master of the Imperial harem’s palace complex. This was a matter of the Imperial Court, and she could not get involved to such a great extent. He could only give up on this idea. Even if he did not want to give up, he had no choice. After all, the Empress was not someone he could see whenever he wanted.
“It’S great that I am able to meet you, Lord Duke. Please report this matter to the Emperor. We must not let those people snatch the kingdom’s property!
After Si Chen finished speaking, the room fell into a long silence.
Si Chen felt that Duke Jingguo was probably doubting the authenticity of his words.
just as he was about to say that he had evidence in his hands, he heard the Lord Duke speak first, “I am already aware of this matter. It has been hard on you to come all the way to the capital city to file a complaint. Don’t worry. I will definitely not tolerate those bold and lawless people.
Si Chen heaved a big sigh of relief when he heard what the Lord Duke said. “Thank you, Lord Duke. As long as those people receive the punishment they deserve, my minor efforts are nothing.
“By the way, besides you, who else knows about this?
Si Chen wanted a trusted subordinate of his to know, but this matter involved too many people. Moreover, that subordinate had already resigned. He did not want to pull him into this trouble again, so he answered that no one else knew except him.
“Mm-hmm. It is inconvenient for you to stay in the Duke’s Residence. I will get someone to send you to another courtyard house first. When there is progress in the matter, I will get someone to inform you.”
“Thank you, Lord Duke.”
The person behind the screen summoned someone to bring Si Chen out of Duke Jingguo’s Residence through the back door.
After Si Chen left, the person sitting behind the screen slowly walked out. He was wearing a gray official robe and looked quite similar to Duke Jingguo, but he was definitely not Duke Jingguo himself.
A moment later, a servant walked in and whispered, “Eldest Master, the person has already been sent out.”
Chu Min’s eyes darkened slightly. “Deal with him. Keep it clean.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Send a message to Kun City and tell Ma Zhi to be careful. If anyone finds out about this, he can forget about keeping his job.”
“I understand.”
The snow in the capital city was getting heavier and heavier. When the door was opened in the morning, all one could see was snow everywhere.
Ever since Xiao Jin ordered them to further reduce the expenses of the palace, the meals for Su Ying and her family had changed from four dishes and one soup to three dishes and one soup. However, the portions were still sufficient. Zhou Qing pushed open the door and walked in. “Your Imperial Highness, everything is ready. We can set off at any time..