“Special service???”
Li Qiushui’s face was full of suspicion, but when she saw the sly look on Lin Ming’s face, she immediately knew it wasn’t anything good. Her expression turned sour as she said, “Duke Commander, even though you are the imperial envoy and I am the deputy envoy on this mission, Her Majesty personally granted me the authority to report to her at any time if necessary! So you’d better behave yourself. Otherwise, I’ll be the first to report you!”
Before she could finish, Lin Ming suddenly leaned closer and took a deep sniff near her snow-white skin. “Lord Li, you smell really good. What kind of fragrance do you use when bathing?”
The unexpected move startled Li Qiushui. She hurriedly scrambled to the other side of the carriage, her face pale with alarm. “You… don’t come near me.”
Lin Ming gave a sinister grin, “I’m the imperial envoy, and you’re the deputy envoy. It’s only proper that we get close to discuss official matters. Besides, I’m your superior officer—shouldn’t you follow orders? Come now, don’t act so distant, Lord Li.”
Li Qiushui’s delicate face filled with panic. “I’m already married…”
“Even better. You’ve got experience—”
Hearing that, Li Qiushui couldn’t take it anymore. Her face turned pale, and her breath quickened as she shouted, “Stop the carriage! Get me another one! I refuse to share this roof with him any longer!”
As she fled in a panic, Lin Ming finally smirked with satisfaction. “Finally chased this noble lady off. With that lapdog of the Empress around, I can’t relax.”
The journey from Chang’an to Heyu spanned thousands of kilometers. Even with an escort of 500 cavalry riding in haste, it still took them more than half a month to arrive.
Upon entering the lands of Heyu, the desolate scene made their hearts tremble. It was truly a disaster—raging floods, bones littering the land, and countless refugees wandering in misery.
“This is terrible.” Li Qiushui couldn’t help shaking her head.
They soon reached the first disaster zone—Yuzhou.
At that moment, a large number of refugees were gathered under a congee tent, jostling to get life-saving porridge. But Li Qiushui sensed something was off. The porridge they were receiving was so watery it looked like plain water.
She strode forward to the congee tent in one step and looked into the giant pot. It was the same—barely any grains, just water. Her face turned furious as she shouted, “There are barely any rice grains in this pot! How is this disaster relief? Bring me the local official responsible!”
The 500 imperial guards quickly took control of the area and drove away the local militia.
Soon, a local official drenched in sweat rushed over. Upon seeing Lin Ming and Li Qiushui, he knelt immediately and said, “I am Cai Ming, the official in charge of Yuzhou’s relief efforts. I greet Imperial Envoy Lord Lin and Inspector Lord Li! I have been distributing porridge here under orders for the past seven days!”
Li Qiushui sneered, “Lord Cai, such a dutiful local official, personally overseeing the porridge tent. Tell me, are you aware of our Empire’s disaster relief protocol?”
Li Qiushui picked up a pair of chopsticks and threw them into the porridge pot. Within moments, the chopsticks floated to the surface.
“In our Empire, it is required that disaster relief porridge must be thick enough to hold chopsticks upright. If the chopsticks float—heads will roll!” Her voice turned icy. “Yet you’re diluting the relief porridge like this and feeding it to the people. Do you know how many will starve to death because of this?”
“Lord Li, you’re wronging me!”
Cai Ming’s face turned ghostly pale as he knelt trembling. “The Prefect ordered me to distribute porridge, but the total amount of relief grain allocated was only enough to feed 10,000 people for three days! Yuzhou alone has over 100,000 disaster victims. If we follow the standard portion size, tens of thousands would die of starvation within three days. I had no other choice but to dilute it!”
“And you dare shift the blame to your superior!” Li Qiushui snapped. “The Prefect of Yuzhou, Wei, is renowned as a clean official, known for his integrity and respected by the court for years. Are you saying he embezzled the relief grain?”
“I was wrong! I wouldn’t dare!” Cai Ming was so frightened he nearly fainted. He kowtowed repeatedly. “I’ll immediately order a pot of thick porridge that can hold chopsticks upright!”
Li Qiushui’s beautiful eyes flashed coldly. “Now you want to fix things? Too late! The chopsticks floated—your head must fall! Men! Drag him out and execute him!”
Over the years of following the Empress, Li Qiushui had learned much about handling court affairs. What she needed was to use this corrupt official’s head to stabilize public sentiment. Killing to establish authority was the first step in re-establishing the court’s presence in Heyu, to make the people trust the government again.
As for Lin Ming…
Li Qiushui turned her head but saw that Lin Ming had disappeared. “Hmph! Probably ran off to a local brothel again.”
She snorted coldly. “That playboy can’t be relied on. All talk, no action. Fine, for Her Majesty’s sake, I won’t argue with him this time. With him gone, I can fully exercise the highest authority as deputy envoy.”
Not long after, the imperial guards had Cai Ming tied up, ready for execution.
“Cai Ming, at this point, do you have anything to say? Confess your crimes and apologize to the people!” Li Qiushui’s tone was harsh as she stared at his ashen face.
But Cai Ming only gave a bitter smile. “I only regret not being able to fulfill my filial duty to my elderly mother. Now, I must walk the final path alone.”
“Scum! Death is upon you and you still show no remorse! Execute him! Behead him and display his head to the public!” Li Qiushui ordered coldly.
The imperial guards drew their swords, one blade raised and poised to strike down on Cai Ming’s neck.
“Stop!”
Just at that critical moment, Lin Ming’s voice thundered across the square like a great bell, stopping everyone in their tracks.
The sword halted just an inch above Cai Ming’s neck. The soldiers looked up in shock. “Duke Commander?”
“Release him,” Lin Ming said as he appeared with hands behind his back, striding forward with the grace of a dragon and the strength of a tiger.
Li Qiushui was stunned, then quickly spoke up, “Duke Commander, this man is a corrupt official who embezzled disaster relief grain and gave the people watery porridge. His actions are unforgivable! He must be executed to calm the public!”
Lin Ming said coldly, “I said, release him.”
Li Qiushui’s face turned dark. “Duke Commander, are you trying to shield a corrupt official? I won’t allow it!”
Lin Ming unsheathed the Sword of Imperial Authority, granted personally by Her Majesty. “I hold the Sword of Imperial Authority and have the right to execute first and report later. If anyone dares defy this order, it will be considered treason!”
“No one dares!”
The imperial guards, terrified, immediately untied Cai Ming, leaving Li Qiushui fuming. “Lin Ming! In front of all these disaster victims, you’ve just let a corrupt official who feeds off the people’s suffering go free! You’re worse than him! I’ll report this to Her Majesty and accuse you of abusing your power!”
“Do as you please,” Lin Ming said, shrugging indifferently.
“Thank you, Lord Envoy, for sparing my life!”
Cai Ming, having narrowly escaped death, flushed with emotion and kowtowed repeatedly.
“It’s fine,” Lin Ming said, then asked, “Cai Ming, tell me—where is your mother now?”
Hearing this, tears streamed down Cai Ming’s face as he replied in a low voice, “She… she’s among the refugees.”
BOOM!
His words hit like thunder, rendering Li Qiushui completely speechless.