Chapter 25 : Rumour

Mo Xuan narrowed his eyes and remained silent, the moonlight spread on his soft long hair as if it was fine silk with a bright lustre.

Pei Si Yan looked at the soldiers not far away and lowered his voice: ''Do you still have cash silver on hand? Or discuss with the owner of the rice shop, borrow some rice first, and double it back after a period of time."

Shi Hui shook his head with a bitter face, "It would be nice if I could, you don't know how treacherous the merchants of Xiyan county are, not to mention that in a disaster year, where would they be willing to borrow rice easily."

Pei Si Yan fumbled around in her hair bun and sleeves, finding nothing of value.

At this time, a warm ink-coloured bird and flower pattern jade pendant appeared in front of the anxious and anxious her, Pei Si Yan looked up just in time to see Mo Xuan's bright and moving black eyes.

"This is ... you."

Mo Xuan held Pei Si Yan's hand and handed the inked jade over to her, "This jade pendant is worth about a few hundred taels of silver, miss take it first to relieve your immediate needs."

Pei Si Yan hurriedly handed the jade pendant back, "How can I!"

"It is proper to seek help from the people." Mo Xuan said softly, holding Pei Si Yan's hand tightly.

Jade in her palm, refreshingly cool and silky, in the night of deep chill Pei Si Yan did not feel cold at all. She gazed at Mo Xuan's masked face, the scene in front of her eyes gradually blurred.

"Thank you, Lord Mo Xuan. As soon as I have money in my hand, I will immediately redeem the Ink Jade and return it to you, so ..." Pei Si Yan's face was coloured with a reddish hue as she skimmed her head not daring to look at Mo Xuan.

Mo Xuan responded with a bite, "Good, I'll wait for you to redeem the ink jade back."

Pei Si Yan's heart was overjoyed, and she hurriedly asked Shi Hui to prepare an upper room for Mo Xuan.

Early the next morning, Pei Si Yan carrying the ink jade quietly went to a rice shop, looking at the ink Xuan's things in the heart of a million unwilling to give up, holding the last line of hope again and again please, rice shopkeeper refused to credit, had to be very reluctant to mortgage the ink jade in the hands of others.

Rice problem solved, there is the matter of recruiting craftsmen to repair water conservancy. Pei Si Yan greeted the kitchen and asked them to cook the rice porridge a little thinner and then planned to go outside the city to visit Lord Xu who was still working tirelessly to measure the area of the fields.

Just outside the gate of the government office, Pei Si Yan saw a large group of people gathered at the gate, about a hundred or eighty people, all of them looked indignant. The time for the congee at noon had already passed, so it was reasonable that there would not be so many people at the door of the government office.

Upon seeing her come out, people swarmed up to her, halfway being stopped by the soldiers.

Pei Si Yan was escorted by a few personal guards in a safe place, she looked at the people in shock.

Could it be that someone had stirred up a big mess again?

A middle-aged man was the first to mutter loudly, "Lord Wuban, we thought that you were dedicated to the people, but we didn't realise that you're nothing but a corrupt official who has enriched himself!"

The rest of the people echoed his words, shouting noisily.

Pei Si Yan was uncertain, "Everyone, be quiet. What exactly is going on?"

The middle-aged man sneered and laughed, "Knowingly! You took the disaster relief rice allocated by the imperial court for yourself and used mouldy rice to pass it off as good, are you trying to poison us?!"

When the victims near the government office who had not dispersed heard this, they gathered together.

Pei Si Yan was shocked, where did the victims know that the warehouse was full of mouldy rice? She immediately looked behind her at Shi Hui, who quickly waved his hand in denial once he saw Lord Wuban's sceptical gaze.

"Folks, please listen to me," Pei Si Yan walked closer to the victims and said in a loud voice, "This is a rumour, do not believe it!"

"It's easy for us to believe, just open the official warehouse and let us take a look." Someone shouted.

Pei Si Yan's face turned white, the mouldy rice had not been disposed of yet, no matter what, she could not let outsiders look at it!

Seeing that Lord Wuban did not reply, another person sneered, "See, Lord doesn't dare to let us see, it means that the warehouse is full of mouldy rice, Lord is enriching himself, and is making a fortune out of the country's difficulties! Such a corrupt official, even if we die we will definitely sue the imperial capital!"

Shi Hui stepped forward, "The official warehouse is an important place, how can it be easily opened for you to see?"

"Let's send out a person to be our representative, let him take a look for us alright." The victims refused to give up.

Pei Si Yan looked at the people around her and finally locked her eyes on Mo Xuan who had been calm and composed, she gently tugged on his sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Sir Mo, do you have any solutions?"

Mo Xuan gently patted her cold hand and took a step forward, "Then please choose a person from amongst you who is highly respected and can be trusted to accompany your lordship to the treasury to check it out. Please be sure to choose someone that everyone can trust, don't say at that time that this person has been bribed by His Excellency to tell lies."

The victims looked at each other and felt that Mo Xuan had a point. Soon they were arguing over who to choose to look at the treasury.

Mo Xuan scanned a circle of the victims and added, "Lord Wuban still has important matters that need to be dealt with, so when all of you elect your representatives, just let the magistrate inform you." He then made a please gesture to Pei Siyan, and the crowd went back inside the hall.

"Lord Shi, go and greet the owners of the rice shops, don't ever leak out the matter of us buying rice, in addition in the name of checking the household registration, temporarily block the city gates, don't let the rumours spread," Pei Siyan commanded as she walked back and forth, her speed of speech was extremely fast, Shi would ponder over it for a while before she could understand what it meant, "Sir Si Shi, call all the people in charge of the warehouses, I want an inventory one by one!"

The two men received the order and hurriedly went about their business.

Mo Xuan thoughtfully brought a cup of hot tea and handed it over to Pei Si Yan, "Have a cup of tea to calm your nerves."

Pei Si Yan smiled feebly at him and said, "Many thanks to Duke Mo for the reprieve, I'm really sorry for involving you in this trivial matter."

"People in the jianghu like to help each other when they see injustice on the road. It is also an honour for Mister Mo to be acquainted with Miss Tantai." Mo Xuan said, modest and courteous, as elegant as an orchid.

Pei Si Yan lowered her head and took a sip of tea to hide the blush that coloured her cheeks.

The two were silent for a while, and were about to open their mouths when the sergeant brought all the soldiers in charge of the granary, lined up in the centre of the hall, counting but eleven people.

Pei Si Yan slowly stepped, scanning each soldier, her gaze cold, she quietly opened her mouth: ''Who leaked out the mouldy rice matter, my heart is already very clear. Maybe just unintentionally and accidentally said out, then again the drought at the moment, I don't want blood on my hands, so ..." Pei Siyan's tone was slightly higher, "I give the leaker half an hour to consider, if he comes to me to turn himself in, quietly say or say it in public, whatever! I will not pursue the offence! Otherwise ... full door to be put to death!"

Pei Si Yan's stern gaze swept through the crowd and passed a look to Mo Xuan, turning his head to head to the back hall.

The soldiers timidly glanced at her back and gulped. Without a sense of proportion, they hurriedly turned to Lord Si Shi for help.

"Whoever leaked it quickly go and turn yourselves in, Lord Tantai is in a high position of power, killing you guys is as simple as crushing a mole cricket, it's already a blessing that she won't pursue the matter. The leaker should also think about his own brother no?" Si Shi shook his head and sighed, flinging his sleeves and preparing to leave the lobby, not bothering about this group of people.

A soldier tightly grabbed Lord Si Shi's sleeve and bitterly begged, "My lord, if the leaker doesn't go to turn himself in, he will definitely involve us innocent people, please think of a way to save his subordinates."

"Lord Wuban is one of the four great auxiliary ministers of the Blue Country," Si Shi arched his hand towards the sky before dropping his head, "What am I? How can I persuade Lord Wu Pan? It's the same old saying, whoever leaked the information quickly go and turn yourself in!"

Si Shi shrugged off the man's hand and fled as if rushing out of the hall to busy himself with his own business.

Pei Si Yan went through the door of the back hall and came into the small courtyard. The clouds were heavy, the sky was hazy, the cold wind blew across her cheeks like razor blades, and a field of withered and yellowed leaves "rustling" drifted down into the distance, as if it was going to snow.

Yun Qi brought a fox fur draped over Pei Si Yan body, fox fur white hair soft and smooth, brushing the face itchy comfortable.

"The cold wind is bitter, are you cold, Mr Mo?" Pei Si Yan asked, and was about to order Yun Qi to bring another piece of clothing over, when Mo Xuan waved his hand.

"People who practice martial arts do not fear the cold, thank you for your concern, Miss."

Yun Qi looked at the polite and courteous two people and only felt that they were a match made in heaven, but she was too embarrassed to open her mouth and say it to the young lady, so she could only purse her lips and desperately try to hold back her laughter.

Pei Si Yan looked in her eyes and said, "Yun Qi, you seem to have something to say?"

Yun Qi shook her head and denied, "Slave girl doesn't."

As a gust of wind whistled by, the hairpin Pei Si Yan used to fix her hair bun fell off with a "ding dang" sound, and her ink-dyed long hair loosened up and fluttered with the wind.

"Ya!" Pei Si Yan's eyes were blocked by her hair, she knew that her current appearance must be no different from that of a madman, holding her head, she hurriedly turned her back to Mo Xuan, her face flushed red and coated with too much rouge.

Mo Xuan picked up the hairpin before Yun Qi and walked behind Pei Si Yan, using his fingers instead of a comb to comb through her messy hair. Pei Si Yan let him swing/fumble, the corner of her eye glanced at his white sleeves with silver patterned edges, suddenly her heartbeat lost its regularity, since she was a child there has never been a man who combed her hair for her ...

Mo Xuan quickly re-coiled a simple hair style and inserted the hairpin back, "Alright."

Pei Si Yan touched her hair and whispered, "Thank you."

Yun Qi at the side could already not help but turn her back and snicker. Pei Si Yan pretended to be freezing and shivering, covering her cheeks with her wide sleeves, "Let's go back to the house and wait."

After saying that, she didn't wait for the other two to speak and rushed headlong back to the study.

"Duke Mo, you are so kind to my lady." Yun Qi said, and Mo Xuan smiled warmly and humbly as he slowly walked towards the study.

Half an hour passed, the leaker didn't show up, Pei Shi Yan was both surprised and indignant, angrily returning to the lobby, when a magistrate came in to report that "the victims have already elected a representative".

Shi will even rolled crawling ran in, "Lord, now what to do?"

"Bring the man here," Pei Si Yan pulls out the key from her sleeve and plays with it twice in her hand, "We'll just show him the granary."

Shi Hui's face went white and he exclaimed, "My lord!"

Pei Si Yan smiled wryly, "I didn't say I would show him the granary now. Shi Hui, find a place to hide outside and come back in at my command." She put the key back into her sleeve again, "I'll say you went to get the key."

"But this can't be delayed for long, can it? If we tell the victims that the key is missing, they will surely think that we are deliberately delaying." Shi would be so anxious and worried that he couldn't wait to go out and kowtow to the victims and beg them to go back.

"One step is one step, the ship will naturally straighten out when it reaches the bridge." Pei Si Yan was also helpless, "You go out and hide first."

Shi would not be able to think of a better way, so he had to obediently go outside the lobby to find a place to hide.

Not long after, the representative of the victims followed the magistrate together and came in, it was an old man who looked very respected, hunched back, beard white, eyes narrowed into a slit. He hobbled with his crutches to Pei Si Yan's body and trembled as he knelt down.

"My humble servant Geng pays his respects to Your Excellency."

"Master Geng, please rise and take a seat." Pei Si Yan smiled cordially, as if she had received a client from before, "Lord Shi has gone to get the key, please wait for a moment."

"Good, good," the old man sat down on the chair, "I just hope that you, my lord, won't let us down, otherwise I'll sue you bunch of corrupt officials even if I go to the mountain of daggers and the sea of fire!"

Pei Si Yan bristled, where was the real corrupt official? Obviously there is someone stealing the beams and stealing the disaster relief rice which is not a problem, causing her to have bitter words, she can only admit her bad luck for the time being. When she returned to the imperial capital, she must find out the truth!

Before the chair was even warmed up, the old man impatiently asked, "Why haven't the keys been fetched yet? How long has this been?"

Pei Si Yan was thinking about her next response and casually said, "Master Geng, don't worry, it's almost time." She raised her eyes to look out the door and happened to see a person walking hurriedly, an expression of delight instantly appearing on her face.