Chapter 259 The turmoil outside the Wu County government office
The younger boy burst into tears when he heard this and kowtowed repeatedly to express his thanks.
Zhao Yingluo turned to Qiu Ju and said, "Take him to change into clean clothes, and then arrange some light work for him. As for the withheld relief money..."
She paused, and a cold light flashed in her eyes, "I will send someone to find out the truth and give justice to these poor students!"
After a night's rest, Zhao Yingluo finished her breakfast refreshed. The sun was shining all over the earth. At three o'clock in the morning, she was going to take Wen Boyuan and two maids, Chuntao and Luluo, to the countryside to investigate the incident of embezzlement of relief money.
However, just when Zhao Yingluo and others were about to leave Zui Furong, they suddenly heard bursts of noise coming from the distance.
They followed the sound and saw a group of people rushing towards the Wu County government office.
Zhao Yingluo's heart moved and she hurried over with Wen Boyuan and the maids.
When they rushed to the Wu County government office, they saw dozens of ordinary people gathered outside the government office.
Some of these people were in ragged clothes, and some were sallow and thin. They were obviously people living in poverty.
They were standing or sitting, talking in low voices, or shouting loudly. For a while, there was a lot of excitement outside the government office.
Among the crowd, a man dressed as a farmer and a seven or eight-year-old child were kneeling outside the government office lobby, which stood out.
The farmer's face was full of vicissitudes of life, and his hands were rough, obviously caused by long-term labor.
The child next to him had a childish look on his face and was wearing shabby clothes.
I saw the farmer raising his hands in the air and shouting at the top of his lungs: "Please ask the county magistrate to release relief money so that this child can study in a private school! Please magistrate the magistrate to have mercy!"
There was endless pleading and despair in his voice, as if this was his last hope.
The people around him also shouted in agreement, and their voices were deafening.
Zhao Yingluo and others stood in the crowd, silently observing all this.
They saw the helplessness and anger of the people, and they also saw the helplessness and desire of the child.
At this moment, the door of the government office slowly opened, and a government servant came out. He glanced at the people gathered outside the government office, and then announced loudly: "The relief money has been distributed. Don't wait any longer." If something happens, I will put you all in jail."
The people immediately exploded upon hearing this, and they rushed forward one after another to ask for an explanation.
The farmer also struggled to stand up, holding the child's hand and trying to rush into the government office.
However, he was stopped by the government officials.
Seeing this, Zhao Yingluo couldn't bear it. She took a deep breath and walked up to the farmer and said, "Uncle, don't get excited yet. Can you tell me what happened? Why didn't the county magistrate distribute the relief money?"
The farmer was stunned when he heard this, "We ordinary people have worked hard to cultivate the land for a year, but in the end we can't even eat. The court clearly allocated relief funds, but when it came to us, we only had a little bit left. This child I’m old enough to study, but because I don’t have money to pay tuition, I can only help out at home.”
After hearing what the farmers said, Zhao Yingluo felt angry.
She didn't expect that these corrupt officials would be so heartless that they would even embezzle a small amount of money from a poor student.
Yingluo took a deep breath and tried to calm down the turmoil in her heart. She turned to look at Wen Boyuan and asked in a deep voice: "Wen Boyuan, who is the magistrate of Wu County?"
Wen Boyuan frowned slightly, thought for a moment and then replied: "Princess, the magistrate of Wu County is Fan Jian."
"Fan Jian?" Zhao Yingluo repeated the name, as if searching for information about this person in her memory.
A cold glint flashed in her eyes, and she continued to ask: "How is this person's official status?"
Wen Boyuan shook his head and whispered: "My subordinates have sent people to investigate. Although this person is a county magistrate, he is not an honest official and has many corrupt practices. Princess, do you want to take this person down for interrogation?" Zhao Yingluo Hearing this, he slowly shook his head.
She looked deeply at Wen Boyuan and said softly: "No. Although Fan Jian made a small mistake, there must be a big fish behind this matter. If we act rashly and scare the snake away, I'm afraid it will be difficult to catch the big fish behind."
Wen Boyuan heard this and understood what Zhao Yingluo meant. This matter involved a lot and he must act with caution.
"What does the princess mean?"
A look of determination flashed in Zhao Yingluo's eyes, and she said slowly: "We need to collect evidence first, and then we will catch all these corrupt officials after the evidence is conclusive!"
When Wen Boyuan heard this, he suddenly felt confident. He cupped his hands and said: "Princess is wise. I will do it now."
Just when Zhao Yingluo and others were about to leave the government office, the heavy government office door suddenly opened slowly with a "squeak" sound.
The sun shines through the cracks in the door and dapples the bluestone floor, casting a long shadow.
It was the county magistrate Fan Jian who came out. He was wearing a gorgeous official uniform, with a big belly and a shiny face. He was obviously used to being pampered.
He was preparing to leave the government office to have fun and enjoy himself.
However, the noise of the common people outside the government office broke his good mood.
Frowning, he glanced displeasedly at the people gathered outside the government office, feeling irritated in his heart. These people are really troublesome! He waved his hand and ordered to the government officials beside him: "Go, capture some of those people, and disperse the rest."
After receiving the order, the government officials pounced on the innocent people like wolves and tigers.
For a time, the conflict between the government and the people suddenly escalated, with cries, curses, and begging for mercy happening one after another.
Many people were beaten to death and fell to the ground groaning in pain.
The kneeling father and son were the first to bear the brunt. They were roughly picked up by several government officials and dragged into the government office.
Zhao Yingluo witnessed all this, and a trace of anger flashed in her eyes.
She clenched her fists, stood up, and loudly accused Fan Jiandao: "Magistrate Fan, as a parent official, you don't want to ask for orders for the people, but you bully the people like this. Where is your conscience?"
Fan Jian was about to leave, but turned around suddenly when he heard this. He stared at Zhao Yingluo with his eyes widened and an angry look on his face, as if he wanted to eat her alive.
He didn't expect that a young man would dare to denounce himself in front of so many people. This was a blatant challenge to his authority! He shouted angrily: "Where did this madman come from, how dare he run wild here! Come on, help me capture him!"
Following Fan Jian's order, several government officials immediately surrounded him and wanted to arrest Zhao Yingluo.
Upon seeing this, Wen Boyuan hurriedly stepped forward and stood in front of Zhao Yingluo.
He glanced at the government officials with a cold expression and said coldly: "Let's see who dares to touch her hair!"
Chuntao and Luluo also nervously gathered around to protect Zhao Yingluo.
Fan Jian couldn't help but feel a little nervous when he saw that although the opponent's number was small, his momentum was not weak at all.
He shouted in a stern voice, "Who are you? Do you know what kind of place this is? Do you dare to run wild here and don't want to live anymore?"
Zhao Yingluo sneered and met Fan Jian's gaze without fear.
She said loudly: "It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is that as a county magistrate, you bully the people, abuse your power, and take human life lightly! Today, I will seek justice for these innocent people!"
Fan Jian was furious when he heard this. He didn't expect this young man to be so arrogant. He waved his hand and ordered to the government officials: "Stop talking nonsense to them, come on! Arrest them all!"
After receiving the order, the government officials immediately swarmed forward and wanted to arrest Zhao Yingluo and others.
