The Ace Bigshot Becomes A Farmgirl

Chapter 1631: Chapter 1631: Lord Xie’s Little Schemes

Lord Xie nodded seriously with a stern expression, ”This matter is of great importance. Normally, I would inform Lord Peng about it, as it falls under his jurisdiction. He would then turn around and punish Old Master Qian, restraining him properly. But I sent Constable Jiang to Donggu County, yet he kept avoiding him. I have reason to suspect that he is sheltering Qian Fangli, and these rumors likely originated under his direction.”

Shu Yu pressed her lips to stifle a laugh; it seemed Lord Xie wasn’t entirely without temper. This was clearly an intention to report Lord Peng, avenging the rejection Constable Jiang faced yesterday.

It’s not a bad idea; Lord Xie has been in Jiangyuan County for quite some time, and it appears that the county magistrates of the surrounding towns, relying on their seniority, haven’t paid him much heed.

People say a new official burns three fires upon taking office; Lord Xie’s first fire is a bit delayed, but as long as it is effective, it will suffice.

Lord Xie, looking as serious as ever, said, ”Therefore, I plan to go to the prefecture and report this matter to the magistrate, for the magistrate to hear the case. Since this issue is somewhat related to you, and considering that Old Master Qian bribed Zhang Qing, we can combine the two matters into one. I specifically came to request Village Chief Lu Xiang to accompany me.”

Shu Yu responded cautiously, ”That’s necessary. Our Lu’s supplies the sunflower oil in the palace, and these rumors spread by Old Master Qian would implicate our Lu’s as well.”

”It’s best not to delay, shall we set off right away?”

”Alright.”

Lord Xie wasted no time and had people start the journey.

This time, not only Shu Yu went along, but also the Liang family couple, who were the aggrieved party, and Zhang Qing went together to the prefecture.

They moved quickly, but they still arrived at the prefecture by the time of Weishi (1 p.m to 3 p.m).

Lord Xie first went to see the magistrate himself; Lord Fei had been quite busy lately. However, after listening to Lord Xie’s words, he immediately sent someone to Donggu County to investigate.

The person traveled swiftly and soon brought back confirmed news.

As Lord Xie said, the rumors indeed originated from Donggu County, and Old Master Qian did illegally plant sunflowers and even renovated the workshop.

With solid evidence in hand, Lord Fei began the court trial the next day.

Old Master Qian had originally settled his heart completely; after all, several days had passed, and the constables from Jiangyuan County hadn’t come to arrest him. They had reportedly been sent back by Lord Peng two days ago, suggesting they recognized the futility.

Old Master Qian contemplated that he might need to send more gifts to Lord Peng, allowing him to continue resting easy.

But now that the sunflower theft incident had been exposed, stealing again wouldn’t be so easy.

What a pity, such a pity.

How did those few acres of his sunflowers die?

Lying on the lounge chair, sipping tea, Old Master Qian pondered where he could next obtain sunflower seeds.

As he sighed in despair without a solution, his butler, as pale as a ghost, ran in.

”Master, Master, this is not good, the officers have arrived.”

Old Master Qian’s hand trembled, spilling the teapot and soaking the clothes in front of him.

He stood up abruptly, furrowed his brow, and said, ”Let them come; why panic? I...”

Before he could finish speaking, he saw two officers stride in, asking him sternly, ”Are you Qian Fangli?”

”I am.” Qian Fangli furrowed his brows and asked, ”Are you officers under Lord Peng? I haven’t seen you before; surely you’re not from Jiangyuan County? How dare you.”