So far, in Dingxi Hou's eyes, Xiao Chen is not as upright and majestic as rumored.
On the contrary, he felt that the other party seemed to be somewhat afraid of him.
And between the lines of his words, he seemed to really not know that the prefect Gongchang was his son.
In this case, I simply made the relationship between the two clear.
Exploring each other like this, you never know when the end will come.
It's really hard to ask Kuan'er's current situation in detail without revealing his identity.
If you carry so much gold and silver with you, if you can't use it, what's the use of bringing it with you?
After making up his mind, Ding Xihou forced a smile on his face.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, do you know what my real name is?"
Xiao Chen was stunned and a little confused: "I really don't know the name of Lord Marquis. In my understanding, you are the Marquis of Dingxi, the Marquis of Dingxi personally named by Taizu. How can I dare to ask about your name casually?
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"My name is Wang Rong." Ding Xihou said with a smile.
"It turns out that Mr. Hou's surname is Wang. Maybe he is related to the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi." Xiao Chen started to ramble again.
"How could it be?" Ding Xihou waved his hand, "I am from a pure commoner family. My ancestors have been digging in the soil for generations, and the smell of books cannot be compared with me."
"Thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi. Maybe Wang Xizhi's descendants failed to live up to their expectations and fell into despair. Maybe they could only make a living by farming." Xiao Chen burst out laughing.
Hearing the words "unsatisfactory" and "down and out", Ding Xihou felt a little unhappy in his heart.
How could this person speak so carelessly?
It's really puzzling for him to be so favored by the emperor and so powerful.
Being angry, Ding Xihou didn't want to offend the person in front of him whose words were extremely inconsistent with his reputation. After all, his son was still in the other person's hands.
"Whether he is a descendant of Wang Xizhi or not, we will not study these for now. There is one thing I want to talk to the imperial envoy." Ding Xihou said with a smile.
In this current situation, it is better to keep a low profile.
As long as Kuan'er can be rescued safely, nothing else matters.
"Master Marquis, please speak." Seeing the seriousness of the other party, Xiao Chen also put away the smile on his face and became serious.
"Wang Kuan, the prefect of Gongchang, is the youngest son of this prince."
"What?" Xiao Chen's eyes widened and his mouth was half-opened, unable to close for a long time.
Such an exaggerated expression made Ding Xihou even more convinced that Xiao Chen had no idea about the relationship between the two before.
"Master Marquis, are you kidding me? The problems Wang Kuan exposed during this disaster relief are not the slightest. He is really your little son?"
After being surprised for a long time, Xiao Chen seemed to have come back to his senses and asked in a low voice.
"There are indeed many problems, and the responsibilities he has to bear are also great. However, he is indeed my son. And I made a special trip to Gongchang Mansion this time to urge him to provide disaster relief and try to make up for his mistakes. I just want to do it for him.
, I will make amends with the Imperial Envoy." Looking at Xiao Chen, Ding Xihou hesitated.
Finally, he stood up, crossed his fists, and bowed respectfully.
"I can't do it, I can't do it." Xiao Chen stood up hurriedly, "Master Marquis, you salute me like this, don't you want to offend me? You are the marquis personally conferred by Taizu, and I am a captain of Dongchang, how can I do this?
I am qualified to receive your great gift."
The Marquis of Dingxi didn't know what kind of person the purple-robed captain was.
But he has heard about every case handled by Captain Zi Yi.
Whether it was the case of Cang Cheng, the case of Liao Xianghe, the envoy of Fusi Town in Jinyiweibei Town, or the hundreds of officials implicated in the secret possession of brocade silk in Jiangnan, these cases were taken down in just a few months. The investigation of this person
Ability is absolutely no small matter.
If it weren't for the delay in disaster relief, the truth about Kuan'er's ambush on him would have been revealed within a few days.
Instead of being found out and dealt with severely by him when the time comes, it would be better to confess everything on Kuan'er's behalf and try to gain the other party's understanding.
Maybe, the captain in purple clothes really couldn't find out about this matter, but what are the chances of this?
If such a bet fails, I am afraid that he will try his best to implicate the nine clans and pull him down as well.
In the face of death, he was not afraid. But the lives of the hundreds of people in the Hou family were ruined like this. He was unwilling and would never allow it.
Let me confess first, if this purple-clad captain still wants to indulge in worldly fireworks, then send him away with gold and silver.
If he really couldn't get enough of it... Thinking of this, Ding Xihou's right fist clenched tightly again.
Then let him never come back.
"Master Imperial Envoy, I, Wang Rong, followed Taizu in the southern and northern wars. I can't say that I have made outstanding military achievements, but I can only say that I have tried my best. I am loyal to the court, and I treat the people with courtesy. But I did not expect that.
He gave birth to such an unsatisfactory son."
Ding Xihou said with a look of shame.
"Master Marquis, please sit down first, and let's talk about this matter carefully. If you stand and salute like this, if others see it, they will think that I am bullying the big one, taking advantage of the opportunity of coming to Gongchang Mansion to provide disaster relief, and deliberately give you
I have little shoes to wear." As he said this, Xiao Chen supported Ding Xihou's body and arranged him to sit down again.
"This, alas..." Ding Xihou slapped his thigh, "My old face is really embarrassed by him."
After helping Ding Xihou sit down, Xiao Chen returned to his seat.
He picked up the bamboo leaf water on the table and drank it up as if drinking soju.
He raised his sleeves and wiped his mouth again, then stared at Dingxihou, and said slowly: "It's embarrassing, I really embarrassed the Marquis this time. Such a big Gongchang Mansion, it reserves food for disaster relief, and it will last for three days."
If you insist on not going out, you still argue with me that the land in Gongchang is barren and the taxes are too heavy, so you can't save food at all. If I tell you this, Lord Marquis, would you believe me?"
Knowing that he was wrong, Ding Xihou did not refute and shook his head gently.
"Your Majesty, you should know very well how much taxes the imperial court levies on the northwest region. I think you, Lord Marquis, also know how much food can be saved after paying the taxes every year. But in the end, in the official warehouse,
, with only a hundred bags of food, it would be easy to put him in jail for just this one thing." Xiao Chen continued.
"I know this." Ding Xihou nodded hurriedly, "I don't mean to blame the imperial envoy. He deserves all this, and it is natural for him to receive some punishment."
Regarding justice, Ding Xihou was still very measured.
If it's wrong, it's wrong. There's no point in making excuses. What's important is that how to make up for the losses caused by the mistake in exchange for Xiao Chen's forgiveness is what he should consider most at the moment.
"Master Hou, you'd better take a look at this ledger." Xiao Chen pushed the ledger compiled by Wei Li on the table towards Dingxi Hou.
"I won't look at this account book. If the official warehouse is in deficit, I will bear the loss." Ding Xihou shook his head, never looking at the account book.
"Master Hou." Xiao Chen was silent for a moment, "Wang Kuan's matter is not just about the shortage of grain reserves. He secretly raised taxes and took away how much grain from the people out of thin air. So far, I have not completely understood
The number of people who died due to lack of food has not yet been calculated. These things are the important basis for his conviction. As for whether he built water conservancy projects and indirectly caused the drought, this is already trivial.
.What the Marquis said was to make up for his shortfall in food reserves, but in fact it was of no use. In my opinion, it would have been a waste of money for the Marquis."
Those words made Ding Xihou feel chilled in his heart.
Although I was a little angry in my heart, I couldn't refute everything Xiao Chen said.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, can you think of a way to be more lenient with Kuan'er?" Ding Xihou asked a little begging.
Shaking his head, Xiao Chen looked helpless: "Master Hou should understand that for such a big thing in Gongchang, someone must bear the responsibility. Wang Kuan is the prefect of Gongchang, even if he has not made any mistakes, this responsibility still needs him
He has to bear the responsibility, not to mention that the mistakes he made were not even the slightest."
"Then what are you going to do with Kuan'er, the imperial envoy?" Ding Xihou asked.
"Before, I planned to conduct a thorough investigation and then deal with it strictly according to the imperial decree. But now, I know that Wang Kuannai is the young marquis. For a moment, I am really in a dilemma."
