Chapter 10, Your Excellency.

"Ah?" Hu Yunxue exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this, then asked, "What should we do?"

Lin Chong then said to Xiao Mo, "Nephew, please don't be angry. Earlier, I was with the master at home when I encountered my useless son. I learned that Ziheng had already woken up and had a way to divert the Feishui River. So... Hehe, Ziheng, since the Qiao family's matter is being handled by the master, there is no need to worry. Let's talk to the master about how to resolve the drought in this town."

Hu Yunxue bowed to Li Jixing and said, "I am Hu Yunxue, daughter of Hu Langzhong from Changle Town."

Three years without rain, in Shen County, except for a few towns with lower terrain that have successfully diverted water from the Fei River and can barely cultivate some crops, including Changle Town, Qiao'an Town, and the northwest part of Huaji Town, a large area of land, not only cannot grow crops, but even the wild grass has withered!

At this time, Li Ji said again, "Madam's heart is indeed kind, not wanting to delay Qiao Yuniang. However, in this way, the Qiao family will not let it go. I'm afraid they will go to my county yamen to file a complaint tomorrow."

Lin respectfully said, "The matter concerning the Xiao family was indeed handled inappropriately. However, I ask for your forgiveness. The Xiao family is a scholarly family in our town. The reason for the unauthorized tearing of the marriage contract at the beginning may have been out of a sense of righteousness, not wanting to delay the young lady's marriage!"

Lost in despair, Yu Niang allowed Qiao Wenxuan to help her onto the carriage, and then left Changle Town.

He is Li Ji, the magistrate of Shen County.

It is obvious that if Li Ji wants to help the Xiao family, then in court, he will compromise and confuse the case, so as not to let the Xiao family suffer losses. What does it mean to ask this in front of everyone?

Upon hearing Lin Chong's address to middle-aged individuals, Xiao Mo and Hu Yunxue exchanged knowing glances.

Thinking of this, Xiao Mo said to Li Ji: "It's all up to you, my lord. Even if you want to punish me with a cane or even sentence me to serve or be punished, I will have no complaints!"

After the middle-aged man laughed, Lin Chong felt a little embarrassed and apologized to him by clasping his fists and saying, "I apologize for making you laugh, sir."

Li Ji smiled and said to Lin Chong, "Lin Lizheng, the person you recommended to me does have some potential, but I don't know if Ziheng can really solve the crisis in Changle Town as Liang An said."

Li Jidao: "I don't know how Ziheng wants me to handle the matter between you and the Qiao family?"

When Xiao's mother heard this, she just shook her head and remained silent. It was Li Ji who said, "In my opinion, Madam may feel that the Xiao family has declined and does not want to delay the Qiao family girl. However, the Qiao family girl is a loyal person and is unwilling to leave the Xiao family. That's why this plan was devised, to make Miss Qiao Yuniang give up hope!"

However, whether the solution will work or not is hard to say. After all, Xiao Mo has been lying in bed for three years, and he has just recovered from a serious illness. He is still not well and cannot get out of bed, so he definitely does not know the situation in Changle Town and the entire Shen County.

Xiao Mowen heard the words, glanced at Li Jiyi, and didn't know what Li Jiyi meant by asking like this.

Hu Yunxue watched the carriage leave from afar before furrowing her brows and entering the Xiao family's courtyard.

However, these are not the key points. The key point is whether Xiaomo has a way to divert the Feishui River. If the Feishui River can really be diverted to Changle Town, then to Qiao'an Town and Huaji Town, even if Li Ji has to take a great risk, he will force those wealthy households to release their hoarded grain.

Li Ji heard the words and asked, "I just said that the Xiao family did nothing wrong. Why does Ziheng want to be punished so urgently?"

However, Li Ji exempted one by one. When he saw Hu Yunxuezi Heng, Li Ji was first stunned, but then he quickly returned to normal. He then said to Xiao's mother, "I don't know if what the official said just now is true?"

Qiao Zheng shouted, "Beast, is it not enough? Does the Xiao family have any connection with you?"

And what surprised Xiao Mo was the phrase "this official" from the middle-aged man's mouth!

With Li Ji's wisdom, it can be seen that Xiao's mother is lying. Therefore, it is certain that Li Ji can also see the affection Yu Niang has for herself, which is why he asked this question!

Lin Chong and Xiao Mo suddenly realized, understanding Xiao's mother's intentions, and Hu Yunxue also understood why Yu Niang had become listless and lost.

After speaking, Hu Yunxue looked at Xiao Mo with some concern. Upon hearing Hu Yunxue's question, Li Ji pointed at Hu Yunxue and asked, "Who is this young lady?"

After returning to his hometown, Li Zhun has been keeping a low profile and preparing to live a stable life for the rest of his years. As for Li Ji, he couldn't be bothered to care.

In front of Jian Xiaomo, there was some distress, but the middle-aged man next to Lin Chong laughed.

Political achievements are exactly what Li Ji needs now, because next year will be the end of his term in Shenzhen County. With such political achievements, Li Ji can be considered to have made some contributions to the local area and can be transferred to a job in the capital.

Once the problem of water source is solved, the drought situation can be easily resolved. This will not only enable Shencounty to grow crops in disaster years, but also solve the crisis of famine in the whole county. It can be said that this is a very significant political achievement!

After Qiao Zheng left a harsh remark, he also had Qiao Wenxuan take Yu Niang and walk towards the gate of the Xiao family.

After Hu Yunxue and Xiao Mu left, Xiao Mo said, "Sir, you didn't come just for Changle Town, did you?"

Even if Li Ji can persuade the wealthy households in Shenzhen County and the bookstores to release the hoarded grain, I'm afraid it won't be able to supply the large population of the entire county for long.

Xiao Mo finally sat down, but unlike Hu Yunxue and Xiao's mother, both of whom were not ill, they still needed to pay their respects.

Xiao Mo's heart shook, and he quickly supported himself with the chair and stood up, about to bow to Li Jixing.

Hu Yunxue just heard that Yunniang had disappeared, so she planned to come and take a look. Unexpectedly, she ran into Qiao Zheng and Yunniang face to face.

Moreover, since the war between An Dynasty and the northern Liao Kingdom three years ago, although the two sides finally signed a peace treaty, the treaty stipulated that An Dynasty must pay Liao Kingdom an annual tribute of 600,000 taels of silver and address Liao Kingdom as "elder brother". Therefore, in the eyes of the courtiers, this is a humiliation to the national dignity. Li Zhun was dismissed from his position and retired to his hometown in Jiangning because of this.

Xiao Mo is a scholar, and when he meets an official, he can skip the formalities. In order to show the preferential treatment of scholars by the court, officials usually address scholars by their courtesy names.

Upon seeing Lin Chong speak for the Xiao family, the middle-aged man nodded and said, "Not bad. Later, Xiao's mother forced her son to marry the Qiao family's daughter out of selfishness. It's understandable, but from what I see, the claim that Xiao's mother tore up the marriage contract just now is probably false!"

Upon seeing Xiao Mo's surprised expression, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "Not bad, I am the magistrate of Shen County!"

Xiao Mo said, "Please feel free to ask, sir!"

Upon hearing Xiao Mo's words, Lin Chong and Li Ji exchanged a smile. Xiao Mo's statement indicates that he really has a solution!

This is to discuss important matters with Xiao Mo. Hu Yunxue is very clever. Seeing Lin Chong and Li Ji's solemn expressions, she helped Xiao's mother and said to the three of them, "Aunt's body is not feeling well, I will accompany her back to the room first!"

Since Meng Qiuxiang has admitted that the marriage between Yuniang and Xiao Hao three years ago was invalid and the marriage certificate was torn up, it is meaningless to stay in the Xiao family and make noise. It is better to take Yuniang back first and then sue the Xiao family to the county government.

Xiao Mo said, "Yuniang has been with the Xiao family for three years, enduring many grievances. She has also shown kindness to me and my mother. It is only right for the Xiao family to feel guilty for the punishment Yuniang has suffered."

Xiao's mother has never left Changle Town in her entire life. How could she have seen such a high-ranking official as the county magistrate? Therefore, she dared not hide anything and could only nod her head.

Yuniang just woke up and realized that, yes, she actually has no relationship with the Xiao family at all!

When Xiao's mother nodded, Lin Chong asked, "Sister-in-law, why did you do this? Why did you tell such a lie?"

When Hu Yunxue arrived by Xiao Mo's side, she asked with concern, "Ziheng, what happened?"

The middle-aged man said, "Oh? What's so funny?"

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, Xiao Mo and Lin Chong were surprised again. Lin Chong was surprised by what the middle-aged man said, not knowing if it was true or false. If it was true, then why did Xiao Mu lie just now?

Li Ji nodded, not knowing what he was thinking. After a moment, he said, "So it was Miss Hu. What Miss Hu just said, there is no need to worry at all. Since I am aware of the actions of the Xiao family, I will make a fair judgment based on my conscience, which will not be detrimental to the Xiao family. However, I have one question, I want to ask Ziheng."

No! Xiao Mo seemed to have thought of something, and his mind started to work rapidly.

After Qiao Zheng paid attention, he left the Xiao family without looking back. Just as he stepped out of the Xiao family's gate, he ran into Hu Yunxue.

Adult ?

It turns out that Li Ji came to Xiao's house tonight, and his real purpose is for this!

Upon seeing Xiao Mo preparing to bow, Li Ji knew that Xiao Mo was ill, so he stopped him and said, "No need to bow. I am here incognito on a private visit to investigate the drought situation in Changle Town. Therefore, this gesture is unnecessary."

Hmph, today as a crude person from a merchant family, I have only just witnessed what it means to have a scholarly family's reputation. Your Xiao family has gone too far in bullying others. I, Qiao Zheng, will remember this. Let's wait and see!

Actually, with Li Zhun in the court, it wouldn't be difficult for Li Ji to get promoted. However, Li Zhun has been preventing Li Ji from being promoted all along. On the one hand, it is true that Li Ji has not achieved much in recent years. On the other hand, Li Zhun also wants Li Ji to build up his reputation outside the capital. After passing the imperial examination, scholars usually serve as officials outside the capital for a period of three years. The longer they stay outside, the better their political achievements will be, and the higher their prestige will be when they are transferred back to the capital.

Li Ji, the son of Li Zhun, a famous minister in the An Dynasty, is 34 years old this year. He is a jinshi degree holder and has been working as an official in different places for eight years since passing the imperial examination. It is said that Li Ji is upright and honest in his official duties, but his political achievements have not been outstanding. Therefore, every three years when it's time for reassignment, he has only been appointed as a county magistrate and has never been promoted!

Two and a half towns occupy 30% of the population and land in Shun County. If there is no harvest this year, the entire Shun County may suffer from famine. After three years of drought, Shun County has already been short of food, and now it is at the end of its tether.

Yu Niang's eyes were devoid of any vitality, and she seemed completely dazed. However, upon hearing Hu Yunxue's shout, she quickly regained her senses. She hurriedly broke free from Qiao Wenxuan, but was caught by Qiao Zheng. Unable to resist, Yu Niang could only shout, "Zi Heng!"

Upon seeing Hu Yunxue, Xiao Mo shook his head and let out a bitter laugh.

Yu Niang... Hu Yunxue shouted.

The hall was very quiet, Xiao Mo's face was extremely pale, Meng Qiuxiang kept her head down and remained silent, Qiao Zheng's face was very ugly, while the middle-aged man was quite interested in observing Xiao Mo.