After being received in the neighboring county, Su Yaoguang and the others had no time to rest before immediately engaging in the action of assisting the epidemic patients.
The local county government chose spacious and clean houses for them to settle the patients and sent a large amount of supplies and medicinal materials, allowing them to focus entirely on saving people without worrying about anything else.
Su Yaoguang knew the neighboring county was bigger than theirs, but she had never seen it in person. Now that she stepped in here, she realized it was not only larger than their town but also more prosperous. Despite such abundant resources, they let so many patients die from the epidemic, which shows how little regard they had for human lives at first. Now they are putting on a grand show for the so-called Imperial Envoy.
"Boss Su, please come over for a moment." The steward entered with government officers and said to Su Yaoguang.
Su Yaoguang handed her work to Zhang Pandi next to her and followed the steward into the inner room, asking, "Steward, I’m busy here with many patients; be careful not to catch the infection."
These greedy and cowardly people would definitely not step in here without reason, and whenever they appear, nothing good can come of it. She really doesn’t want to waste time dealing with them.
"Boss Su, it’s been hard work for you all here." The steward said, signaling to the people beside him.
The two government officers each held a large box, which they opened simultaneously, revealing neatly arranged silver ingots inside.
Such plump silver ingots, each holding ten taels.
She glanced roughly at the box; each layer had thirty pieces, likely two layers, making sixty in total. Each contains ten taels, so sixty pieces account for 600 taels. There are two such boxes, so altogether, it sums up to 1,200 taels.
Though she has earned a lot before, seeing so many silver ingots still dazzled her.
"Is Lord County Magistrate letting us make the purchases ourselves?" Su Yaoguang said with a troubled expression, "But we’re unfamiliar with this area, and don’t know how to purchase effectively; wouldn’t it be better to continue having the medicines and supplies delivered directly, saving us some trouble?"
Su Yaoguang pretends not to understand the intent from the county government.
"Boss Su seems quite smart, why playing dumb at this time?" The steward said with a playful smile, "This is a gratuity from our lord, acknowledging your efforts during this period."
"That’s not appropriate; we haven’t done much." Su Yaoguang said, "Please ask the steward to take the silver back for me, and convey to the lord that it’s our honor to serve the court, how can we accept silver?"
"Boss Su, just accept it. Our lord won’t let you work in vain. He cherishes his people like children and values talent. He deeply appreciates kind-hearted and righteous citizens like Boss Su. If you ever wish to settle in our county, just come to our lord, and he’ll arrange everything perfectly for you."
"Thank you, steward. But this is too much; we feel undeserving."
"Take it; this is rightly yours. Boss Su is intelligent and surely knows what’s appropriate to say and what’s not, right? If something leaks out, Boss Su knows what to do?"
"The lord invited us here personally for the sake of the people’s illness. He’s a good official who loves his people like children and is devoted to the nation."
"Boss Su indeed is a smart person. I won’t disturb you further; I’ll take my leave now." The steward, having completed the County Magistrate’s charge, left satisfied.
After the steward left, Zhang Zhaodi and the others entered to ask what had happened.
Upon seeing the silver ingots on the table, Zhang Zhaodi’s eyes gleamed with light. She picked up an ingot and bit it, excitedly saying: "It’s real silver. How can there be so much?"
Wang Huanzhi said: "This is hush money."
"Hush money?" Zhang Pandi puzzled, "What does that mean?"
"The Imperial Envoy might already be appearing in the city in disguise, and we don’t know who he is. The only thing we can do is control our words, not let the Imperial Envoy hear anything inappropriate. Other residents live here, afraid to offend the County Magistrate, and a slight intimidation makes them obedient. We’re different; we’re from the neighboring city, and we participated in the rescue efforts. A single word from us is worth more than ten from the locals. Hence, the County Magistrate must control our tongues, ensuring we don’t speak unwisely to strangers, allowing him to pass off his achievements smoothly."
"Isn’t this deceiving people?"
"If not for deceiving, he wouldn’t call us here. He would rather kill and burn the patients or chase them to our place, spreading the epidemic, turning our county into a hell on earth, thus highlighting his outstanding achievements. If such an official continues, it’s the people who suffer. We should seize this chance to bring him down." Zhou Wangshu said, "If we don’t take action, we might lose the chance."
"Isn’t it best not to meddle in affairs?" Zhang Pandi said, "We are civilians; they are officials. How can civilians possibly overturn officials? Besides, nobody knows if the Imperial Envoy is just like him."
If the Imperial Envoy is corrupt, they won’t be able to contend. They have already done their utmost in saving lives; as long as the people survive, there’s no need to meddle further.
"Aunt, you need not worry; the Imperial Envoy will know without our doing anything." Su Yaoguang said, "With so many patients here, if you were the Imperial Envoy, wouldn’t you personally see the pandemic’s situation?"
"He’s the Imperial Envoy, a high official; shouldn’t he abstain from risk?"
"If he’s a good official, he’ll risk it personally. If he isn’t, fearful for his life, he won’t step in. So, whether he steps in determines if the truth will surface. Once he enters, he’ll know the truth." Su Yaoguang said, "Thus, it’s not that complicated. Everyone should do what they’re meant to do; the public already has a conclusion."
"Yaoguang is right." Wang Huanzhi said, "Ultimately, the choice lies in the hands of the Imperial Envoy. What truth the Imperial Envoy wants, the higher-ups will know."
The women didn’t understand these matters; they only knew to quickly care for the patients until they healed so they could return home. Otherwise, drifting outside gives them no peace of mind.
Most critically, the County Magistrate here isn’t a good person. Dealing with such a person is akin to bargaining with a tiger.
"Excuse me, is there a doctor here?" A gentle voice sounded, "Our master is coughing a bit. We’re worried it might be the rapidly spreading epidemic; could you please have a doctor examine him?"
Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu exchanged a glance.
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