Chapter 118: Dare to be Angry or Dare to Speak

When the prince’s chilly gaze turned around, Nie Changping suddenly regained his senses and hurriedly stepped back, still not forgetting to explain.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you, you go on, go on!”

Luo Qingshan said coldly: “Stop.”

Nie Changping had to stop and smiled flatteringly: “Your Highness, I was wrong. I didn’t see anything. Just treat me as if I’ve never been here. I promise I won’t tell you anything about it.”

Xiao Xixi let go of the prince and asked curiously: “Then what is this?”

Nie Changping didn’t dare to say it clearly, he could only vaguely suggest: “That’s what it is, you all know.”

Xiao Xixi looked confused: “I don’t understand, what the hell is it? You make it clear.”

Nie Changping was very entangled: “How can this kind of thing be made clear?”

“What can’t be made clear?”

“Oh, it’s the kind of thing you and the prince have done.”

“The prince and I were discussing raising just now…”

“All right.” Luo Qingshan interrupted her, preventing her from telling her about raising pigs.

He would rather be misunderstood that he was messing with the little eunuch, than to be known that his concubines were raising pigs in the East Palace.

Luo Qingshan asked coldly: “Nie Changping, what are you doing here?”

Only then did Nie Changping remembered that he had something to discuss with the prince, and said quickly.

“I went out for a stroll today and heard about an incident. A lot of children have been lost in the city recently. The child’s parents and family members went to the county government to report to the officials, but the officials said that they were busy preparing to receive the prince. They didn’t have time to take care of these trivial matters and called out all those who reported to the officials.”

Luo Qingshan frowned: “Recently, the city gate has been blocked. People inside can’t get out, and people outside can’t get in. If the child is lost, she must still be in the city. Just search and you can find the child. Why doesn’t the county government take care of this?”

Nie Changping nodded: “I also think there is something wrong with this matter, so I came to talk to Your Highness about it. I want to ask if you want to check it out?”

Luo Qingshan asked rhetorically: “I asked you to check on Magistrate Yang yesterday. Is there any result?”

“Magistrate Yang’s full name is Yang Kaiguang. I heard that he is already sixty-three this year. He was transferred to Gangu County ten years ago. I heard from the people that Yang Kaiguang was quite diligent in the two years when he first came to Gangu County, and he was considered a good official, but over time, he gradually revealed the nature of greed for money. Anyone who enters the Yamen, whether reasonable or not, has to pay first, and if they don’t have money, they have to go to the board. Like those rich people in the city, even if they kill and set fire, as long as the money is enough, Yang Kaguang can suppress the case, and the people dare not speak out in anger.”

“Two years ago, there was a scholar. His elder brother was killed alive by a bully. The scholar went to the county government to sue the bully. As a result, because he had no money to do something, he was beaten by the magistrate on the public hall, twenty boards. The scholar was also hard-hearted. Seeing that Magistrate Yang refused to give him justice, he was about to go to Shengjing to sue the imperial court. Unfortunately, before the people set off, a family of four was burned alive at home. The officials said that the scholar’s house caught fire accidentally, but everyone knew in their hearts that the scholar’s family must have been killed. With such a terrible lesson from the past, no one in Gangu County dared to sue the imperial court, and Yang Kaiguang could only be allowed to misbehave in Gangu County.”

“The reason why Yang Kaiguang ordered the blockade of the city gate was nominally to maintain law and order in the city in order to welcome the arrival of His Royal Highness. In fact, he wanted to take the opportunity to make a fortune. He stipulated that everyone who wanted to enter the city had to pay ten teals of silver, and they were not allowed to enter the city without paying. He also controlled the only two remaining wells in the city that could still produce water, and sent people to guard them day and night. The people were not allowed to approach. If the people wanted to eat water, they could only buy it at a high price.”