Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 61 Is she from the capital?

"This Zhou Sheng is the official in charge of the river transport reform this time. Before we came to Tanzhou, the cabinet gave me a document that specified his name on the list of officials who were to report to me!"

Shen Qingzhou took the document and asked as he read it, "What about the rest?"

Guo Yi then handed over another list: "These thirteen people, although they may not have had any connection with the Yan family, are all supporters of the Yan Party. Some of them have dealings with relatives and clansmen of the Yan family. Perhaps they are not even worth a second glance in front of the Yan father and son, but because they profit from the Yan Party, they have become one of the countless henchmen under the Yan family."

"Even beggars have several poor relatives. Just finding out they have connections isn't enough. Is there concrete evidence that they've been transferring benefits to higher-ups?"

“I plan not to directly alarm Zhou Sheng, but to start with the people around him. As the second most important official in Tanzhou after the prefect, I believe he must have something to hide with Yan’s faction.”

Shen Qingzhou nodded: "We've been here for two or three months now, so you need to speed things up. Staying too long will attract attention."

Guo Yi took the document, then suddenly remembered something and handed him the bundle that was lying beside him: "I just left here this afternoon. The county magistrate named He Qing in the county office handed over the bribe money given by Zhang Qi on his own. That slippery fellow seems to be afraid of being implicated by the Zhang family."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingzhou asked, "You mean, he came in?"

Guo Yi was taken aback for a moment, then realized, "He didn't come in, so he definitely didn't see you. But when I went out, I stood guard outside for a while!"

Shen Qingzhou said, "We have indeed stayed here for far too long."

……

He Qing hadn't had a good night's sleep for three days in a row.

The dealings with the Zhang family were initiated by Zhang Qi from the very beginning. It wouldn't have been a big deal to accept a little money, but in a wealthy port like Shawan, several merchants were constantly finding ways to slip money into the hands of the government.

Even if the imperial envoys came, due to time and energy constraints, they would not target these officials.

But who could have imagined that Zhang Qi would fall so suddenly! And the whole Tanzhou Prefecture knew about it! Even the Imperial Envoy personally supervised the investigation. The key point is that on the very night before the Zhang family's incident, he had taken Zhang Qi to the yamen to ask for favors!

Most importantly, since Zhang Qi went to prison, he has repeatedly asked the prison guards to pass on messages to him, wanting to see him!

Is this even allowed to be seen?
He is afraid!

He was just a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, and at forty years old, it wasn't easy for him to get this official position!
If he had power and influence, would he need to be a county magistrate here? Would he need to take advantage of him for such a small benefit?
He just doesn't have any powerful connections!

After much deliberation, he decided to turn himself in. Losing some of his belongings didn't matter; what mattered was keeping his job.

Having finally found out that the imperial envoy was at the yamen, he went there with his bundle.

Who knew that the imperial envoy wouldn't even let him in the door, just sent him back like that, and said that all officials from the prefect down needed to be investigated.

He Qing couldn't sleep.

He wanted to find a way out for himself.

He remembered that before the imperial envoy came out, he seemed to be talking angrily to someone in the courtyard. Who was that? Who could be more powerful than the imperial envoy?

"Sir, there's more news from prison."

Just as he was deep in thought with his hands behind his head, the servant came again, bringing news of Zhang Qi once more: "That Master Zhang is shouting even louder, saying he only wants to see you, sir!" "No!" He Qing was furious. "Tell him that if he keeps bothering us, I'll make sure he never leaves this house again!"

How could he not know why Zhang Qi had sought him out? Naturally, he wanted Zhang Qi to intervene and get him out of prison!

Even if He Qing were to protect himself right now, he couldn't help anymore, not even if the imperial envoy wasn't around! Zhang Qi, that idiot, couldn't even handle a widow and her child. What kind of person is he?

"But sir, Zhang Qi also said that if you are so heartless, he will expose your past!"

He Qing was so angry that her head ached.

This idiot actually dared to act so arrogantly! He even started threatening him?

After gritting his teeth for a while, He Qing had no choice but to put on his clothes and go out.

Upon arriving at the prison, enduring the stench, he approached Zhang Qi and asked the disheveled Zhang Qi, "What do you want with me?"

Zhang Qi cried out in anguish, "My lord, save me! My lord, save me!"

He Qing was irritable and pulled Zhang Wuzi to sit down: "The imperial envoy is still here. He is personally supervising this case. You want me to save you? You're giving me too much credit!"

"My lord, don't you even remember the past relationship between our two families?" Zhang Qi cried. "My daughter was just one step away from marrying into the He family. The Zhang family isn't fortunate enough to be related to you by marriage, and I don't complain. But please, my lord, consider my past sincerity and plead with the magistrate for me. The imperial envoy won't stay here forever. Once he leaves, Shawan will still be under your and the magistrate's control! Releasing me would be a simple matter for you!"

He Qing snorted coldly: "You make it sound so easy. Because of you, I've already filed a case before the Imperial Envoy. You won't be satisfied until you've dragged me to my death!"

"grown ups!"

Zhang Qi crawled forward on his knees: "This was all caused by Zhang Qiuniang and her daughter! When adults are in trouble, they should go and take their anger out on them!"

He Qing thought he was a complete idiot!

At this point, with everyone in Shawan watching, he still used himself as a pawn to deal with that mother and daughter?

He Qing didn't consider himself an honest official, but he wasn't so bad as to bully orphans and widows like that!
To avoid upsetting him, He Qing patiently comforted him, "Wait a minute, I'll think of something later. I'll do everything I can to get you out of here. After all, she's your own sister, your own niece. You'll have to get out eventually, so don't make things too—"

“She’s not my niece at all!!” Zhang Qi interrupted He Qing before he could finish speaking. “She wasn’t born to Qiu Niang at all. She’s an illegitimate child that Qiu Niang and Xie Zhang brought back from the capital!”

He Qing clicked his tongue: "The more you talk, the more—what?"

A thought suddenly struck him: "From the capital? What's going on?"

Zhang Qi had said so much without He Qing reacting, but unexpectedly, He Qing noticed this. So, He Qing went along with it and said, "Jia'er isn't their biological daughter. That year, my father brought Qiu Niang and the others back to the capital, and they had a daughter with them. But before that, we had never heard of them having a daughter!"
"And recently we also found the receipt that my father secretly spent a lot of money to register Jia'er's household registration—the yamen might even have a record of this! You can check it out, sir!"

He Qing stared at him intently for a long while before taking two steps forward: "Are you sure she's been with Qiu Niang since the capital?"

“I’m sure!” Zhang Qi said firmly. “When she arrived, she spoke fluent Mandarin, even more fluently than Qiu Niang and her husband! She was fair-skinned and delicate, clearly someone who had never suffered hardship. If it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t have believed they’d been lying for so many years!”

(End of this chapter)