Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 461 460 The Tax Official's Flaw

Understood.

The problem arose when the mute Jin asked Feng Xiuhu his name.

There were many people at the ferry crossing at the time, and Feng Xiuhu shouted loudly, so Jiangliu Temple could easily find out the name "Ma Er" with just a little inquiry.

The commotion Ma Erye caused in Zizai City may not have spread yet, but their deeds in Qianyu City were quite well-known, which is why Wu Bianluo invited Han Chanqi to mediate.

Han Chanqi gently advised, "Today's battle in the river was indeed an unintentional act by Jiang Liu Temple. You may not know this, but it is a dispute between Jiang Liu Temple and the foreigners. Obstructing ordinary people from crossing the river was a decision made out of desperation."

Feng Xiuhu picked up some food and continued talking: "No need to explain, I already know what happened. Your Jiangliu Temple and the Black Night Church are fighting over a matter of face. I was just an innocent victim. But now that things are clear, I'm willing to clear up the misunderstanding."

Han Chanqi and Wu Bianluo exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief.

Wu Bianlu smiled and raised his cup: "You have such a generous spirit, Master. I will offer you tea instead of wine to express my gratitude."

Feng Xiuhu picked up his teacup and clinked it against his, casually asking, "Speaking of which, if Jiangliu Temple really has objections to the bridge construction, why not just put pressure on the government? Why force the common people to take the lead and be used as pawns by you?"

Wu Bianluo was taken aback, then shook his head and laughed, "The master has misunderstood again. Jiangliu Temple has never forced its believers to cause trouble. The so-called obstruction of bridge construction was actually all spontaneous by the believers."

“It’s not just Tianpu River; there are many people in the towns along the three major rivers who sincerely worship Jiangliu Gong. So when they learned that building a bridge would interfere with the Jiangliu Festival, the believers inevitably felt that this would offend the lord, which is why things have escalated to this point.”

At this point, Wu Bianluo couldn't help but sigh: "To be honest, one side is for building a bridge, and the other side is for holding a river festival. It's not like we're at war, so why has the situation come to this? But the people are devout and eager to protect the Duke. The matter has already escalated. If the Jiangliu Temple doesn't step in, wouldn't it disappoint the believers?"

He smiled sheepishly at Feng Xiuhu: "That's why I had to intercept you in the river today."

Feng Xiuhu had already put the matter of fighting with the Jiangliu Temple cultivators out of his mind; he was now puzzled by something else.

According to Wu Bianluo, Jiangliu Temple originally had no intention of getting involved in the conflict between believers and foreigners; it was only out of necessity that Jiangliu Temple was forced to get involved.

But if Wu Bianluo is telling the truth, then what about what Wa Ye said?

Tax officials forced the people to go to the docks to obstruct the bridge-building team—who else but the temple could command these tax officials?
Feng Xiuhu then asked, "The common people acted spontaneously, and so did the tax officials?"

Wu Bianlu nodded: "Of course."

Feng Xiuhu didn't believe it.

There is a major flaw here—the people did not act spontaneously.

If the people acted spontaneously, then the tax officials could be explained as being "coerced by public opinion," thus joining the people in cheering for Jiangliu Gong, ultimately forcing Jiangliu Temple to stand up for the believers.

From ordinary people to tax officials and then to temples, this is a bottom-up process of influence, and it is a reasonable one.

Conversely, if the temple takes the initiative, it becomes a top-down process of influence, which is equally reasonable.

The current situation is that the people are being forced into this situation, the temple is being coerced, and neither of these two sides is the starting point. Instead, the tax collector in the middle has become the source of the incident.

This doesn't make sense.

If it were just one tax official, Wa Ye, doing this, it could be explained as the young man being loyal to Jiang Liu. But the problem is that all the tax officials are doing this, as if they all conspired together to force the people to riot, and then use this to force the temple to intervene.

Feng Xiuhu was lost in thought for a moment, and Wu Bianluo had to call him several times before he came back to his senses.

Wu Bianluo laughed and said, "Master, there is no need to be troubled. The disputes in the city are just minor matters and will not disturb your peace."

"Is he still young?"

Feng Xiuhu asked, "Judging from the situation, the two sides could start fighting at any moment. If the believers suffer losses, your Jiangliu Temple certainly can't just sit idly by, right? And if you get involved, the Dark Night Church will definitely have to follow suit, right? Then it will be a battle between the temple and the church." Wu Bianlu waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, it won't come to that."

He smiled slightly: "The government office has been pretending to be deaf and dumb for many days. Does the real person know what the government office is waiting for?"

Feng Xiuhu was annoyed by his cryptic remarks: "Just say what you have to say."

Wu Bianlu chuckled: "To be honest, the government may seem to be turning a blind eye, but it's not that they've done nothing. As early as when they realized that the bridge repair had aroused public anger, the government sent a telegram to Taijing to report the matter to the Presidential Palace."

"The official letter personally approved by the President is almost here."

Wu Bianluo said solemnly, "Building a bridge is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. As for whether the Jiangliu Festival is held a few days earlier or later, or even in a different place, it doesn't really matter. When the government comes out with the President's official letter, the Jiangliu Temple can naturally extricate itself from this matter. Although the believers may have grievances, they can only shut up."

Upon hearing this, Feng Xiuhu suddenly realized—this was indeed a proper solution, resolving the issue without offending either side.

The foreigners were able to build the bridge smoothly, and the temple wouldn't lose face. After all, this was just giving face to the president, not because they were afraid of the Church of the Night.

……

With the misunderstanding cleared up and the three of them having eaten and drunk their fill, they took their leave.

Wu Bianluo and Han Chanqi escorted the three of them to the outside of the temple.

Han Chanqi said, "If you have any needs, you may come to the temple to find me. I will be waiting for you at any time."

Wu Bianluo also cupped his hands and said, "Jiangliu Temple is the same."

Han Chanqi spoke from the heart, while Wu Bianlu was just being polite, and Feng Xiuhu didn't take it seriously either.

On the way back, when they were almost at Qinghai Inn, Shunzi went to the restaurant on the next street to return the food box, while Feng Xiuhu and Fang Youliu waited for him at the street corner.

Before Shunzi returned, Feng Xiuhu spotted a familiar figure in the distance.

"It's that tax official."

Fang Youliu also noticed: "What is he trying to do?"

Under the cover of night, Wa Ye was seen sneaking alone to the entrance of the inn. After knocking a few times, he looked around warily. When the innkeeper opened the door, he immediately slipped inside.

Feng Xiuhu narrowed his eyes and sneered: "What else can he do? Seek revenge, of course—I didn't expect him to find out where we live so quickly."

Fang Youliu was somewhat puzzled: "Just him alone?"

This is indeed a problem. Feng Xiuhu rested his chin on his hand and guessed, "Perhaps someone is hiding in the shadows."

Despite saying that, Feng Xiuhu didn't find anyone hiding there—with the Shadow Power in his hands, he could see everything clearly.

Just then, another figure walked towards them from the street in the distance.

This person was wearing a hat and bulky clothes, trying to conceal himself while also deliberately disguising himself, so others would definitely not be able to tell him away.

But Feng Xiuhu recognized him.

It's Jin the Dumb.

(End of this chapter)