dognovel Chapter 533 The Two Types of People I Hate Most in My Life
Chapter 533 The Two Types of People I Hate Most in My Life
Since Hu Dechang has already been sold off, selling another prefect doesn't seem like a big deal.
Without hesitation, Steward Hu pointed to Huo Lingyue, the prefect of Laizhou, and said, "Your Highness, although this Prefect Huo only took Hu Dechang's daughter as a concubine, the two actually have a very close relationship."
Why were those day laborers and beggars conscripted and sent to hard labor camps?
"It was because someone in Prefect Huo's family knew how to find mineral veins that they found a small coal mine outside Yexian City."
"I once overheard Hu Dechang mention that there is a gold mine in Laizhou Prefecture, but it is too difficult to mine, and this Prefect Huo is planning to hide it."
As Butler Hu finished speaking, Huo Lingyue nearly went crazy.
How did Hu Dechang choose such an idiot as his housekeeper?
Damn it, if this idiot takes all the blame upon himself, I, as a prefect of the fourth rank, might have a chance to get him out of trouble in the future. Even if I can't, I can guarantee that his descendants will benefit immensely.
Now look what's happened. This idiot has sold me out completely, and he hasn't even gotten a damn thing.
Huo Lingyue's face was ashen, and he glared fiercely at Butler Hu.
Yang Shaofeng chuckled lightly and looked at Huo Lingyue, asking, "Prefect Huo, what else do you have to say?"
Huo Lingyue cupped his hands in greeting to Yang Shaofeng, then turned and bowed solemnly to Emperor Zhu, saying, "Your Majesty, if you say that I took Hu Dechang's daughter as a concubine because of lust, I have no way to refute that."
"But if you say that I instructed Hu Dechang to kidnap day laborers and beggars and force them to work in coal mines, I really have no way to defend myself."
"I hope Your Majesty will make a wise decision."
Turning around, Huo Lingyue gave Hu Dechang a cold glance again, then bowed to Yang Shaofeng once more and said, "I hope Your Highness can investigate this matter and clear my name."
Hu Dechang immediately realized what was going on.
I'm probably beyond saving.
But he still has a son and grandson.
If Huo Lingyue is implicated, the end result will be that everyone dies together.
If he could protect Huo Lingyue, he had to protect his son, and at the very least, his two-year-old grandson. Moreover, Huo Lingyue would have to support his grandson well in the future, otherwise his reputation would be ruined, and who would dare to associate with him in the future?
After a brief moment's consideration, Hu Dechang lowered his head, waiting for Yang Shaofeng to ask him again.
However, to Hu Dechang's surprise, Yang Shaofeng not only did not ask him, but instead looked at Huo Lingyue with great interest and said, "Since Prefect Huo says that he has no way to defend himself, why not try to defend himself first?"
Huo Lingyue smiled bitterly and said, "If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext."
“Since this steward is determined to drag me down with him, no matter how I try to explain, he will always find a new excuse.”
"The only thing I can hope for now is that Your Highness will be able to see the truth and clear my name."
After a slight pause, Huo Lingyue turned around slightly and pointed outside the yamen: "If the Prince Consort does not trust me, he can send someone to Laizhou Prefecture to take a look."
“If the people of Laizhou Prefecture also say that I am guilty and deserve to die, then I truly deserve to die.”
“If the people of Laizhou Prefecture believe that I am innocent, and only this Steward Hu says that I am guilty, then even if I die, I will not be able to rest in peace.”
Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but chuckle.
Look at this Prefect Huo!
That's what you call acting!
This is a true movie star!
All those young heartthrobs who only know how to cry in the future should take note!
Yang Shaofeng smiled, then looked at Hu Dechang and asked, "And you? Do you have anything to say?"
Hu Dechang disregarded everything else and directly called out to Yang Shaofeng, "Your Highness! The information about the Bitter Kiln comes from my ancestors. They started mining coal there as early as six or seven years ago, and they even tied up day laborers and beggars to mine coal. That also started six or seven years ago."
"This butler has completely lost his mind and is deliberately making baseless accusations!"
"Since Prefect Huo took office, he has overturned three wrongful convictions, presided over the distribution of land to the people, and even reissued the plows that had been resold. Which person in Laizhou doesn't remember Prefect Huo's kindness?"
"Although I am not a good person, I do not wish to see Prefect Huo suffer such injustice. I beg Your Highness to investigate thoroughly."
WTF?
This time, not only was Yang Shaofeng a little confused, but even Emperor Zhu was also a little confused.
Wasn't the whole thing about distributing land to the people just because that scoundrel wanted to cause trouble for people and also harm Li Shanchang and his group? That's why he came up with the land distribution based on the number of people, the prohibition of buying and selling farmland, and the progressive tax system.
The plowshare was reissued, wasn't it because that bastard exposed the plowshare case first?
How come it's Huo Lingyue's achievement that you, Hu Dechang, have to attribute to him?
You dare steal credit from Old Zhu's son-in-law and give it to your son-in-law?
The Emperor Zhu's face was ashen.
Huo Lingyue's face was even darker than ink.
I've seen stupid things.
I've never seen anything so stupid.
It's one thing to bring up the exoneration of three wrongful convictions, but why bring up the rest?
Even if we were to bring it up, we should do so when His Majesty and Yang the Madman are not around, in front of those peasants.
You dare bring this up in front of Emperor Zhu and Yang the Madman? Aren't you just asking for trouble for me?
Huo Lingyue grew angrier the more he thought about it.
Yang Shaofeng smiled and looked at Hu Dechang, asking, "You just admitted that Chen Da and those missing beggars from Yexian were forcibly taken to dig labor camps by you?"
Hu Dechang steeled his heart and gritted his teeth, saying, "Yes, this humble citizen confesses his guilt and is willing to die."
No.
So that's it? He's already confessed?
You confessed readily, but my urge to judge cases has only just begun. What will happen next?
Yang Shaofeng was displeased and directly ordered the lame Wu and the commander of the Imperial Son-in-Law's personal guards: "Divide the troops into three groups."
"Take the steward all the way to the Bitter Kiln, rescue Chen Da and all those beggars, and then send them back to Dengzhou. Those who are able-bodied will be sent to the construction site, and those who are disabled will be sent to the orphanage."
"We went to Hu Dechang's house to ransack it and brought back all of Hu Dechang's relatives."
"The last road..."
Yang Shaofeng gave Huo Lingyue a meaningful look, and continued, "Seal off the Dengzhou government office. People are allowed to enter but not leave, especially the backyard of the government office. No one is allowed to move around without permission."
Huo Lingyue was startled and turned to look at Emperor Zhu, his voice trembling as he said, "Your Majesty!"
Emperor Zhu, his eyelids drooping, sneered and said, "Huo Lingyue, do you know what kind of people we hate the most?"
Before Huo Lingyue could answer, Emperor Zhu continued, "There are two kinds of people I hate the most in my life."
"One type is corrupt officials who don't treat ordinary people as human beings and only think about making money."
"One type is the idiot who thinks they can fool us and treats us like fools."
At this point, Emperor Zhu glanced at Yang Shaofeng again and said resentfully, "And then there's this damned bastard who's always causing us trouble!"