"Yes, your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, except for the part of the food collected on weekdays, the rest has been sent to these three rice shops!"
When Hai Rui heard this, he couldn't help frowning and asked immediately.
"Then do you know who owns these three rice stores?"
After hearing this, the official shook his head, with a look of helplessness on his face.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, I'm just working for them. How could I know this kind of news?"
"But I heard that those three rice shops have a lot of background, and they are said to have connections in the capital."
Just when Hai Rui wanted to continue questioning, there was a steady sound of horse hooves coming from the road not far away, and a large number of guards were speeding towards Shiqiao Village.
Yang Yinglin was vigorously waving the whip in his hand. The maroon horse beneath him was in pain and moved faster.
"Drive!"
"Hurry up, hurry up, if anything happens to the imperial envoy, you will all be buried with him!"
Yang Yinglin looked at Shiqiao Village, which was just around the corner, with a solemn look on his face.
Earlier, Yang Yinglin followed the order of Pan Xian, the governor of Henan, and went to the inn to visit Hai Rui, intending to find out some information.
After the guard on duty came in to report, Yang Yinglin waited patiently in the waiting room.
Time passed like this minute by minute. Just when Yang Yinglin was getting impatient with waiting, the guard who had gone in to report earlier came out with a pale face and trembling body. After being stunned for a long time, he slowly said.
"Sir...sir, the imperial envoy is missing!"
"What!"
Hearing this, Yang Yinglin suddenly panicked. At this moment, he couldn't care about other matters and quickly asked the guards.
"What did you say? Say it again, the imperial envoy is missing!"
"Yes, Sir, the Imperial Envoy was still in the room last night. When I went in to report just now, I discovered that there was no one in the room. Not only that, the Imperial Envoy's personal guard Xiao Er was also missing!"
After learning the exact news from the guard, Yang Yinglin felt his scalp numb, staggered and almost fell to the ground.
He couldn't imagine what would happen to him if something happened to the imperial minister sent by the imperial court in Henan!
Soon, Yang Yinglin came to his senses. He immediately called his subordinates and asked them to inform Pan Xian of the news.
Then he mobilized his network and sent out soldiers from the entire Kaifeng Mansion to search for Hai Rui's whereabouts.
The hard work paid off, and finally, Yang Yinglin learned from a nearby street vendor that at dawn, two figures in coarse linen clothes slipped out of the side door of the inn.
After learning the news, Yang Yinglin was ecstatic and informed Pan Xian of the news immediately, and then personally led people to search for it along the way.
Finally, he found out that two men wearing coarse linen clothes went to Shiqiao Village.
After that, Yang Yinglin mounted a fast horse, took a large number of guards, and attacked Shiqiao Village, which led to the previous scene.
When Yang Yinglin saw Hai Rui's figure, he breathed a sigh of relief. However, when he saw the situation around him clearly, he couldn't help but take a breath.
"It's over. Isn't it possible that the Imperial Envoy just followed the clues and found out something?"
With such a mood, Yang Yinglin got off his horse and came to Hai Rui. After hesitating for a moment, he said respectfully.
"I have met the imperial envoy!"
When Hai Rui saw Yang Yinglin arriving at Shiqiao Village, there was no look of surprise on his face, as if he had expected this.
After looking Yang Yinglin up and down, Hai Rui withdrew his gaze, pointed at the officials beside him, and immediately gave instructions.
"You are here at the right time. Please help me deal with all these black sheep who oppress the people and extort taxes!"
Yang Yinglin looked in the direction Hai Rui pointed and saw many officials present, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to pray for Hai Rui's forgiveness.
Since Hai Rui, the imperial envoy, had spoken in person, Yang Yinglin had no reason to refuse. He waved his hand suddenly and gave instructions to the guards behind him.
"Come here, let me take down all these black sheep who are oppressing the people!"
"It must be dealt with strictly and severely!"
"Yes, Lord Chief Envoy!"
As soon as the words fell, the group of guards behind him pounced on him like hungry wolves after seeing a sheep. Soon, the previous group of officials were all controlled.
Seeing this, Hai Rui nodded slightly, as if he was quite satisfied with Yang Yinglin's performance.
Seeing that the matter was almost settled, Yang Yinglin stepped forward. After considering his words, he carefully asked Hai Rui.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, please forgive me for talking too much. What are you doing here?"
When Hai Rui heard this, he turned around and looked at Yang Yinglin, half-smiling.
"What, are you curious?"
When Yang Yinglin saw this, his expression immediately became stern, his face full of humility, and he immediately apologized to Hai Rui.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, I am just worried about you..."
Before Yang Yinglin could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Hai Rui.
"A few days ago, I heard that the scenery here is very good, so I thought of stopping by here to take a look."
When Hai Rui said this, he paused for a moment and then continued.
"Who would have thought that I would see these evil officials oppressing the people wantonly!"
"As an official of the imperial court, and also as an imperial envoy sent by His Majesty, how can I let this injustice go unchecked?"
When Yang Yinglin saw this, he suddenly felt bad, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he quickly admitted his mistake to Hai Rui.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, this is all the fault of the subordinates. They failed to manage these subordinates well, which led to them wantonly exploiting and preying on the common people!"
"When I return, I will strictly control my subordinates and try to prevent this kind of thing from happening again."
After hearing Yang Yinglin's explanation, Hai Rui responded quietly.
"Um."
After secretly observing the expression on Hai Rui's face, Yang Yinglin knew that this matter should just go away. The worst he could do was apologize to Hai Rui in person at the banquet tonight!
Immediately, Yang Yinglin turned his attention to the official who was tied up with a rope and asked Hai Rui.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, what should we do with him?"
When the official saw this, his expression became stern and his whole body was trembling as he waited for Hai Rui's decision.
Hai Rui waved his hand quite casually and said slowly.
"This man made rude remarks earlier and offended me. I plan to deal with him personally, so you don't need to worry about him!"
After hearing this, Yang Yinglin had no choice but to give up even though he was unwilling to do so.
He knew that this person had been protected by Hai Rui, and he might have told Hai Rui everything he knew.
Thinking of this, Yang Yinglin narrowed his eyes and didn't know what he was thinking.
After a long time, Yang Yinglin came back to his senses, turned his gaze to Hai Rui, and carefully gave his advice.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, should we go back?"
At this moment, the villagers of Shiqiao Village came forward one after another, wanting to thank Hai Rui in person for being their lifesaver.
However, due to the obstruction of the guards, they were stopped not far away.
Immediately, under the leadership of Li Zheng, the villagers of Shiqiao Village knelt on the ground and expressed their gratitude to Hai Rui in their own way.
"Master Qingtian!"
Seeing this situation, Hai Rui couldn't help but feel something. Regardless of the guards' dissuasion, he stepped forward and helped the villagers on the ground one by one.
(End of chapter)
