Changli twisted the handkerchief and put it on his son's forehead. The servant came in and said, "Sir, the county magistrate is here."
Changli stood up and said, "Look after the young master. If anything happens, let me know."
"yes."
When Chang Li arrived at the restaurant's private room, the county magistrate stood up and asked, "I heard that the young master was ill. Is he feeling better now?"
Changli motioned the magistrate to sit down, without much of a smile on his face, "This prince has some doubts and wants to ask the magistrate, why didn't this place get the fish cakes and food from the court?"
The county magistrate's heart tightened and he said, "Got it."
Changli sneered, "Did you give it to the people to save their lives?"
Beads of sweat appeared on the county magistrate's forehead. "It was distributed. Every household received food and fish cakes to save their lives."
Changli has already investigated and found that the current county magistrate is not a good person. The life-saving grain was indeed distributed, but not much, and most of it was sold privately.
The county magistrate did not want to continue talking about food, so he changed the subject and continued, "It is difficult to buy meat now, and it is difficult to hunt wild animals in the mountains. The unscrupulous Wu family has set their sights on the children."
As he spoke, the county magistrate felt nauseous again. It was too disgusting.
Chang's expression was deep, but he continued the conversation. He was already angry about the Wu family, but now he was calm. "The Liu family sold out the orphan of a hero who defended his country. They are worthy of death. This prince has written down the details and sent them back to the capital."
The county magistrate's calves were trembling, and he comforted himself. He had distributed food and fish cakes to every household. He was not afraid of being investigated, and he did not dare to look the prince in the eye. "The Liu family has been imprisoned and is awaiting their fate."
Chang Li picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. "Your Excellency the County Magistrate should investigate carefully. My father once said that once a person's moral bottom line is breached, it is easy to spread. I think the Wu family buying children is not an isolated case."
The county magistrate was stunned, his lips trembling, his head buzzing. Once the investigation found out that there was more, even without investigating the embezzlement of grain and fish cakes, his official career would be over.
Chang Li put down his teacup, "It's not easy to be born as a human being. Since some people don't cherish it and insist on being animals in human skin, then treat them as animals. What do you think, County Magistrate?"
The county magistrate swallowed his saliva and said, "I will check it out right now. Check it out carefully."
All he can ask for now is to make amends for his mistakes. As for silencing the prince, forget it. He wouldn't dare to do that even if he has a brain defect.
Chang Li waited for the county magistrate to leave and sat in silence, his chest filled with anger. The Wu family bought the Liu siblings not because they were short of food. When they searched, they found that the Wu family had a lot of food. What a beast.
It was two days later that Changli's letter was sent back to the capital and was delivered directly to the Ministry of Revenue.
When Zhou Shuren received the letter, he was talking to the prince about serious matters. Shuren was very surprised when he received the letter. How did the family letter get to the Ministry of Revenue? He opened it and handed the letter to the prince, "Your Highness, take a look too."
The prince took the letter with doubt, read it and slammed the table, "You are worse than a beast."
Zhou Shuren could see his eldest son's anger between the lines. When an honest man gets angry, it's scary. This time, his eldest son will grow a lot. He regained his composure and said, "This won't be an isolated case."
The prince said coldly, "Investigate, I want to catch all these beasts."
Zhou Shuren gave an idea, "We are short of people to open up the wasteland. Since these people don't treat themselves as human beings, we can use them as animals."
The prince thought this was a good idea. "Death is a relief for them. The idea of Zhou Hou is very good. Let them open up wasteland and farm until they die."
Zhou Shuren sighed and said, "I think it would be best to send someone to counsel the orphans of soldiers who come to Beijing, so that some of them don't become extreme psychologically."
The little boy in the letter has been greatly stimulated, he must have serious psychological problems, and his three views are not well established. Just wait, there will definitely be someone from the newspaper.
The prince pondered, "My Lord is right, but who is the right person to send?"
Zhou Shuren wanted to say that he was the most suitable, and that he was the best at brainwashing, but he couldn't mention himself, "Your Highness, please ask His Majesty."
The prince asked this, but he was thinking about Zhou Hou in his heart, "Hmm."
Zhou family and Zhulan are in a good mood. In two days, the donated materials have been stored, the houses and greenhouses in the manor have been built together, and the people nearby have been hired to help. With strength in numbers, the progress is quite good.
Li has lost a lot of weight in the past two days. She is very tired. "Mom, when will the orphanage start accepting orphans?"
Zhulan's good mood was gone again. There were still too many things to do. "We can do it now. Let's start from the villages near the village."
As soon as the voice fell, the female official came in, "Old Madam, the Queen Mother sent a message that the orphans adopted by Dongcheng should be admitted to the civilian orphanage."
Zhulan was not surprised. "Yes, I will send someone to take over. When the house is built, I will take the children away."
After the female official left, Zhulan prepared to go to East City to see the children in person and asked Butler Ding to prepare the carriage.
Zhulan brought Li with her. Li sat by the window, looking outside. Zhulan asked, "What are you looking at?"
Li turned around and said, "Mom, let me see if there are any more beggars on the street."
Zhulan: "Don't look for it, it won't be there."
There are basically no beggars on the streets of the capital, all because the capital has been under reconstruction. In the absence of modern machinery, a large amount of manpower is needed. Beggars are also manpower. The older beggars are taken away to build houses and exchange their labor for food. Some of the younger ones are taken into the imperial farm to farm, and some are taken away to be trained. Over time, beggars who make a living by begging are unwilling to come to the capital, for fear that their strength will be taken away.
Li stopped talking about the beggars and asked, "Mother, how many orphans do you think there will be?"
Zhulan: "We'll know when the time comes."
When they arrived at Dongcheng, Zhulan frowned as soon as she walked in. How should she put it? The children looked dull and lacked the energy of childish people. The boys were okay, but the girls were even more numb and just believed whatever the old woman in charge said.
Zhulan observed calmly and decided that she couldn't go on like this. She couldn't just muddle through. She had hope for these orphans. Their seeds were the legacy.
Zhulan said, "The Queen Mother ordered me to take over these orphans."
The housekeeper said respectfully, "Word has been passed on. This is the list of 173 orphans."
Zhulan motioned to Li to take it and went to see how much food was left. She didn't speak to the children, as they were being taken care of by the housekeeper. She couldn't get anything out of them and went back not long after.
Li returned to the carriage and frowned, "Mother, I feel so heavy in my heart. These children are not lively at all. They hide in fear when I speak louder."
Zhulan: "I know what's going on."
She has already figured out how to change the current situation.
After hearing this, Li was no longer worried. In her heart, her mother-in-law was the most powerful, and she had learned a lot in the past few days.
Zhulan looked at Li and decided to take Li with her wherever she went in the future. Li was the future wife of Marquis Zhou, and after her death, Li would continue her ideas.