Chapter Fifty-Five: The Imperial Envoy Approaches!

Li Yun had never met this man before.

But he could easily guess who he was.

This man was likely the landlord of Li Family Village, the one who owned half the farmland in the village. The sequence of events was also quite clear.

The skinny monkey and his group had come down the mountain to buy land from him; he refused. In response, the villagers tried to frighten him.

In the past, faced with such situations, most landlords would bow their heads and submit, unwilling to oppose bandits. But times had changed. Now, in Qingyang County, a certain Li had become the Chief Constable, and in less than two months, he had wiped out two gangs of bandits.

There were even government guards protecting the roads, making trade routes across Qingyang County safe and unimpeded. By now, the stories of Chief Li had spread throughout Qingyang. So, this landlord from Li Family Village had come straight to the county seat, seeking help from the authorities to suppress the bandits.

Such a thing would have been unthinkable before. Entering the yamen, if you didn’t leave behind a few strings of coins, you could forget about getting out. In other words, Li had lifted the clouds to let the sun shine over all of Qingyang.

Of course, he had also brought a bit of trouble to his own "business."

After giving it some thought, Li Yun smiled brightly. "May I ask your surname?"

The middle-aged man hurriedly replied, "Zhao."

Li Yun kept smiling. "How is it that someone in Li Family Village is surnamed Zhao?"

"Our ancestors migrated here from elsewhere," the man answered with a forced smile. "The Zhao family has lived in Li Family Village for two generations now."

At that, Li Yun remembered that Liu Bo had mentioned this landlord a few days prior.

Decades ago, during a famine in Qingyang County, the Zhao family had brought money and bought up land cheaply—not only in Li Family Village, but in other villages as well. Their house simply happened to be in Li Family Village.

Of course, such behavior couldn’t exactly be called cunning, since the Zhao family’s money had indeed saved many lives at the time. Still, it wasn’t entirely upright, either.

Chief Li gave the middle-aged man a glance, then said with his hands behind his back, "Let’s talk inside."

Li Yun didn’t have his own office in the county yamen, so he led Landlord Zhao to a pavilion in the rear court. Once they were both seated, Li Yun coughed and said, "I’ll ask you some questions now. Please answer truthfully."

"Yes, yes," the plump man nodded hurriedly.

"What’s your name?"

"Zhao Tong."

Li Yun spoke slowly, "You say someone wants to seize your land. How do they intend to do it?"

"Chief Li, please see the truth," Zhao Tong said, growing agitated. "They want to buy my land for eight coins per mu! How can I sell the fields left to me by my ancestors? After I firmly refused, they came to my house with men just a few days later, made a scene, and beat up two of my farmhands!"

"They even threatened that if I didn’t sell, the bandits would come down from the mountains and rob my home!"

Zhao Tong ground his teeth. "They’re clearly in league with the bandits. Please, Chief Li, take your men and arrest them at once!"

Li Yun frowned. "They only threatened you verbally; it’s not as if real bandits have come to your house."

"Right now, the yamen is busy suppressing bandits everywhere and short on manpower. Without evidence of actual bandit activity, we don’t have anyone to spare for your case."

"Go home and wait for news."

With a wave of his hand, Chief Li dismissed him.

Zhao Tong hesitated, then pulled a silver ingot from his robe and held it out. "Chief Li, I know the rules. Please accept this small token of my gratitude."

Li Yun glanced at the ingot. Though not commonly used, it could be exchanged for five or six strings of coins—a generous gift.

Righteously, Li Yun frowned. "Do I look like a greedy man to you?"

"If I were after money, would I risk my life leading the constables all over the county, fighting bandits? Wouldn’t it be easier to extort a little here and there and live in comfort?"

Chief Li stood up and snorted coldly. "I was even considering sending someone to look into your situation, but to think you’d insult me like this!"

With that, he swept his sleeves and strode off.

Zhao Tong hurried after him, bowing repeatedly. "Chief Li, I was wrong, I was wrong…"

"Could you at least pay a visit to our village? Even if it’s just to scare those ruffians a bit!"

Li Yun paused and glanced back at him.

"When real bandits come to your home, I’ll bring my men and wipe them out, ridding the people of their scourge!"

…

After finally shaking off Zhao Tong, Li Yun hadn’t had much time to rest before he was summoned to Magistrate Xue’s study.

"Your Excellency," he greeted, bowing formally before the magistrate.

Lord Xue looked up at him. "Where have you been these past two weeks?"

Li Yun smiled. "Your Excellency, as you know, I was injured on duty recently and went home to recover."

"I reported my absence to the yamen before I left."

Lord Xue gave him a look of mild disinterest and continued, "So where is your home?"

With a heavy sigh, Li Yun replied, "In Li Family Village at the foot of Cangshan. Unfortunately, I’ve been gone so long that my old house is no more. I’ve had to stay with relatives and friends lately."

Lord Xue grunted.

"Didn’t you say you wanted to rid your hometown of bandits? I’ve heard there’s a bandit lair on Cangshan itself. When will you deal with those?"

With a serious expression, Chief Li replied, "Whenever Your Excellency gives the order, I’ll take my men to Cangshan at once!"

Suppressing bandits was one thing; whether he could actually get rid of them was another.

Magistrate Xue easily caught the meaning in Li Yun’s words. He glared at Li Yun and said, "Sit down."

That was the signal that Li Yun had passed his test.

With a cheerful grin, Li Yun took his seat. "Is there any task Your Excellency has for me?"

"The court is sending an imperial inspector," Lord Xue said slowly.

Li Yun was taken aback. "Because of the Shidai incident?"

The magistrate nodded silently. "More or less. Out of all the nearby prefectures, only Xuanzhou has had a peasant rebellion. Though Prefect Tian has submitted a memorial, the court still wants to send an inspector to investigate."

Li Yun curled his lip in disdain. "I’ve seen a lot of official business lately. These imperial inspectors just come to wine and dine, take their gifts, and leave. As long as Prefect Tian keeps them happy, what’s the problem?"

"This time may be different," Lord Xue did not contradict him, but said, "Word is, the inspector is a young noble who lacks for nothing."

"And because of his youth, he might actually pursue the truth to the end."

"He may even come in secret, without informing the local officials, and conduct his investigation quietly in Xuanzhou. Prefect Tian has sent word that we in Qingyang must fully cooperate and avoid any mistakes."

Li Yun sipped his tea, unconcerned. "Let him come. It’s not even an issue for Qingyang. If the court pursues anyone, it’ll be the prefecture or Shidai."

"Haven’t we in Qingyang done well enough?"

He smiled. "The tax increase has already been sent up, hasn’t it?"

Lord Xue shot him a glance and continued, "It’s true, this has little to do with Qingyang or myself. But it has everything to do with you, Li Zhao."

"After all, you were involved from start to finish in the Shidai affair."

"If the inspector wants to question someone outside of Shidai, you’ll be the best candidate. The prefecture has even sent a note for you—take a look."

He pushed a document across the table to Li Yun.

Li Yun read it through, frowning deeply.

"Three hundred coins…"

"The people of Hexi Village are known for their fierceness and disobedience. Killing government soldiers and imperial envoys is an outrage…"

Having finished the document, Li Yun looked up at Magistrate Xue with a slightly mocking smile. "Not a single loophole, is there?"

"Your Excellency, if the inspector questions me, how should I respond?"

Lord Xue’s face was expressionless.

"I’ve shown you the note; my job is done. How you answer is up to you. But let me remind you of one thing."

He took a deep breath and looked at Li Yun.

"If you aren’t absolutely certain you can bring down Prefect Tian, then you must answer according to that note."

He spoke quietly.

"The imperial inspector isn’t necessarily on the side of the people."