A Foodie Transmigrat Chapter 143 - 142 Jinling City 14

Chapter 143: Chapter 142 Jinling City 14

"Master... Master, this is terrible! The One-eyed Dragon and his n have been captured!"

A servant boy rushed into Prefectural Magistrate Hou’s courtyard with the news.

Prefectural Magistrate Hou had just returned from that damned Yan. He had just taken off his clothes and was drinking the cool tea handed to him by one of the young beauties from his backyard when he suddenly heard the news.

BANG! He slamd the teacup onto the table.

"What did you say?"

He grabbed the servant boy’s collar.

"Who captured them, and how? Speak quickly!"

It was odd. In Jinling City, as long as he didn’t interfere, who else would dare to bypass Hou Yaozu and make an arrest with such audacity!

The servant boy, terrified, hurriedly stamred, "Reporting to Master, it was Governor Chen who made the arrest. People say Governor Chen happened to be passing by Jingtai Tower, saw a brawl, and that’s why he arrested them."

Uncertainty flickered in Prefectural Magistrate Hou’s eyes, and he hesitated for a few monts. "Really?"

"Master, every word I say is true!"

"Hmm..." Prefectural Magistrate Hou stroked his beard, pacing back and forth as he pondered.

After a mont, he asked again, "Where are they being held?"

"Right in our Yan’s jail cells. Specifically, I am not too clear on that!"

Prefectural Magistrate Hou finally felt completely at ease. That’s good.

After saying that, he instructed, "Although Governor Chen made the arrest, the jail cells are ours. Sneak in quietly and send a ssage to the One-eyed Dragon. Tell him to keep his mouth shut. If he dares to implicate , his family won’t live to see another day either!"

"Yes, Master!"

The servant boy scurried off like a wisp of smoke.

Prefectural Magistrate Hou was no longer in the mood to dote on the young beauty. With a sour expression, he returned to the front courtyard.

「The next day, it was roll call at the Yan.」

Governor Chen happened to be there as well. Prefectural Magistrate Hou felt a bit irritated upon seeing him but still greeted him with proper decorum.

"Oh, Inspector General, what brings you here?"

Governor Chen, feigning ignorance of his annoyance, said indifferently, "As the saying goes, officials must attend roll call. Although I’m currently traveling and cannot attend court, this roll call is still necessary. Surely Prefectural Magistrate Hou hasn’t been skipping it previously?"

Prefectural Magistrate Hou imdiately replied with a smile, "Of course, it is necessary!"

After speaking, he tried to probe, "Has the Inspector General co today regarding yesterday’s brawl?"

Seeing him bring it up, Governor Chen said, "Prefectural Magistrate Hou is indeed well-inford. I am here today precisely for that case!"

"What is it? Does Prefectural Magistrate Hou have sothing to say?"

After thinking for a while, Prefectural Magistrate Hou said, "Jinling City lies in Jiangnan, swarming with countless traders from all corners of the land. The streets are a lting pot of all sorts of people, so brawls are quite common. Over the years, I have gained considerable experience dealing with such matters. If the Inspector General doesn’t mind, why not entrust this matter to ?"

"Oh?" Governor Chen stroked his beard, his eyes holding a profound aning. After a mont, he declined, "Prefectural Magistrate Hou! Although I co from the Capital City, I still possess the ability to handle cases. Since I encountered this incident, it is only right that I handle it!"

Seeing he couldn’t persuade him, Prefectural Magistrate Hou dared not say anything more for the mont.

The sky outside gradually grew overcast, looking as if another torrential downpour was imminent.

Chen Juzheng suddenly rembered sothing and said, "Magistrate Hou, when I first arrived in Jiangnan, I took a water route along the Wei River and discovered that several sections of the river embanknt had been in disrepair for years. If I recall correctly, the Ministry of Revenue allocates special silver funds each year specifically for repairing and reinforcing river embanknts everywhere. I wonder, Prefectural Magistrate Hou... have you acted in accordance with the Emperor’s decree?"

There’s a saying in officialdom: everything hinges on evidence. Without evidence, one cannot speak carelessly. Had he not known that Prefectural Magistrate Hou had been engaging in buffoonery and wrongdoing for many years, he would never have used such a tone with him.

However, Prefectural Magistrate Hou didn’t seem to notice anything amiss in the tone. In fact, his heart lurched suddenly.

"M-My Lord! You must be joking. I’ve been an official in Jinling City for many years. The Wei River embanknts are repaired annually and have never had any issues. You are overly concerned!"

After speaking, he added, "There absolutely will be no problems. Rest assured!"

Chen Juzheng cast a sharp glance at him and snorted. "It had better be so!"

Having said this, Chen Juzheng left with a sweep of his sleeve, leaving only Prefectural Magistrate Hou standing there, repeatedly wiping sweat from his brow.

That was so close... so very close! Repair the river embanknt? HAH! As if. When he first took office, he would go inspect it for the first two years. There wasn’t even the slightest crack; the embanknt was incredibly solid. It didn’t need repairing at all. Later, he couldn’t even be bothered to go look. He simply ignored it. Nothing had gone wrong for so many years; surely nothing would happen this ti either! But... if his expression had been even a little bit off, the Inspector General might have noticed sothing. Phew, what a close call! Thank goodness!

While Prefectural Magistrate Hou was feeling relieved, a downpour suddenly started outside.

Chen Juzheng had just boarded his carriage when the horses outside, pelted by the downpour, began to neigh hoarsely. Wind, carrying fine raindrops, gusted into the carriage. His clothes were quickly drenched.

However, Chen Juzheng wasn’t concerned with that at the mont. He lifted the carriage curtain and commanded, "Turn the horses around, head towards Jingtai Tower!"

"Yes!"

The coachman acknowledged, put on his rain cape and bamboo hat, and drove off towards Jingtai Tower.

At that mont, an inconspicuous servant boy dashed through the sheet of rain, heading towards the Yan.

"My Lord, I heard it with my own ears! If Your Lordship doesn’t believe , you can go to Jingtai Tower yourself to verify!"

Prefectural Magistrate Hou was sowhat skeptical. "Good. Go to Jingtai Tower at once and see if Lord Chen is truly there!"

After giving the order, sothing else occurred to him, and he added, "Instruct the manager of Jingtai Tower to pay close attention to Lord Chen’s every action there—who he ets, what he says, what he does. He must report everything back to , without missing a single word! Do this well, and I, your master, will reward you handsoly!"

"Yes!" the servant boy replied enthusiastically.

Prefectural Magistrate Hou watched the servant boy’s figure dart away, a slight smile touching his lips.

Lord Chen, I was wondering, how could they arrest only one side in a brawl? And that Third Master Huang, what gave him the guts to run wild in my, Hou Yaozu’s, Jinling City! I’d long suspected he had a backer, but I never imagined it would be Lord Chen! So... it seems we’re all players in the sa ga, eh! Since we’re all players in the sa ga, why not be amicable? As the saying goes, harmony brings wealth! You do

a favor, and I won’t block your path to riches. We help each other, prosper together—how great is that!

「At that very mont, at Jingtai Tower.」

After the fight, the manager had changed their rooms. However, superior rooms were limited, and even fewer remained undamaged. Consequently, Xia Ruqing and Lan Xi ended up sharing one room, while Consort Yun had a room to herself.