The protagonist chased the villain, and Tiandao screamed in anger

After much inquiry, County Magistrate Yao spent a large amount of money and finally got the specific information from Kyoto.

The emperor has issued a purge order, and the imperial envoys have made secret visits to many counties and districts, secretly arresting several officials who colluded with businessmen and accepted bribes.

Although local officials hold low positions, they are far away from the capital and do not have to worry about the party situation in the court every day, which makes it easier for them to make money privately.

In the past, the imperial court would turn a blind eye to such matters, and as long as they did not become a big deal, they would just pretend not to see anything.

But now everything is calm and peaceful, and County Magistrate Yao really can't understand the emperor's intention.

Is it a clearing of debts? Or is it a disguised way of collecting money and filling the national treasury?

"Uncle, drink." Young Master Yao clinked his wine glass towards County Magistrate Yao, awakening the man who was in deep thought and signaling him to continue drinking.

Young Master Yao was drunk. Under normal circumstances, he would not dare to speak to County Magistrate Yao like this even if he had ten times the courage.

Madam Yao stood by and helped pour the wine. She helped Master Yao to smooth things over by saying, "Don't blame me, sir. Henglang has drunk too much."

"No problem." County Magistrate Yao took the cup, touched the back of Mrs. Yao's hand, put the wine in the cup into his mouth, leaned back in the chair, and let go of the tense burden.

I heard that the person who came from above was from the Second Prince's side. Fortunately, that old acquaintance only cared about money and agreed to help him out. Now that the other party has replied, I think it has been done!

Glancing at Yao Heng, who was drunk and behaving rudely, County Magistrate Yao smiled disdainfully and just focused on drinking.

This Yao Heng is his distant relative. If he didn't think his niece-in-law was still of some use, how could Yao Heng have relied on his power to bully others?

However, there is no need to wait any longer. According to the date, the imperial envoy will arrive in the county town tomorrow.

By then, the chess pieces will be discarded, but he will still sit firmly on the podium.

Right now, it’s a good time to relax with some wine and food.

The serving chopsticks brought side dishes to the plate, and Mrs. Yao respectfully did the work of a servant.

Magistrate Yao nodded with satisfaction and ate the cold dish leisurely.

His niece-in-law is really a person with good vision, intelligence and courage. If Yao Heng had this kind of personality, he might even look up to her.

It’s a pity that once Yao Heng is eliminated, this niece-in-law can’t be kept either!

"Uncle, uncle, this gambling business is...hiccup...it makes money, but the venue is too small. We are far away from home, so what is there for uncle to be afraid of!"

Yao Heng was drunk and was even bold enough to pull County Magistrate Yao's arm and give his suggestions.

"Nephew, you are drunk." County Magistrate Yao pushed the man away, and thinking that the other party would not live long, he became more tolerant.

When Madam Yao saw this, she first helped Yao Heng to one side, then bowed to County Magistrate Yao and asked, "Sir, I'll go get a pot of sobering soup."

Drinking would cause delays in work. Considering that he would have to muster up energy to deal with officials from the capital tomorrow, County Magistrate Yao felt that the sobering soup was essential and nodded in agreement.

"Well, go ahead"

"Yes"

Mrs. Yao politely left, locked the door, and turned to walk out of the courtyard.

This courtyard is where Magistrate Yao resides. No outsiders are allowed to approach it. The servants and concubines of Master Yao have also been expressly prohibited from entering.

However, although it was dim at night, Mrs. Yao was sharp-eyed enough to spot a figure huddled outside the wall.

As she got closer, the other party had no way to avoid her. With the help of the candlelight from the lantern, Mrs. Yao was able to see clearly that the person was Yue Niang.

"what are you doing here?"

Her face was slightly cold. She didn't know whether Yue Niang had other purposes, but her plan must not be disrupted.

Yue Niang's hand holding the wine jug was unconsciously rubbing the body of the jug. She seemed a little nervous when she was caught. She said, "Madam, I, I just wanted to come over and give you some wine."

Yao Heng has been staying at Yue Niang's place these days, and he has revealed a lot of things about this mansion in bed. Yue Niang also understands that although Madam Yao seems to be the head of the Yao Mansion, the actual head of the family is County Magistrate Yao.

If she could please County Magistrate Yao, her life would be better, right?

It’s a pity that this courtyard is guarded too strictly and concubines are not allowed to set foot in the area where the master is in charge.

"Go back!" Mrs. Yao looked Yue Niang up and down, examining the credibility of her words, reached out and grabbed Yue Niang's arm and pulled her away.

"Madam, I just want to bring some wine to my husband so that he and the county magistrate can drink!" Yue Niang was unconvinced, but she couldn't break free from Madam Yao's grip and was dragged away.

"What do you think that is a good place?" Mrs. Yao was not in a position to say more. She just felt that Yue Niang was too stupid as a pig and did not understand her repeated hints.

It was the time to close it tightly, and she didn't want to care about it anymore.

He only ordered two servants to take Yue Niang back to her room, lock the door and keep her under guard.

"Let me go! Madam, why do you restrict me? Let me go..." Yue Niang struggled all the way, but she didn't observe carefully. The road she was familiar with in the past was now too peaceful.

Yue Niang was carried back to the room with her arms held down. She heard the clanking of chains outside the door. She kicked the door in anger. When she turned around, lifted her skirt and pushed the window, she found that even the window was sealed.

Mrs. Yao prepared some hangover soup and hurried back with the tray.

The guards of the mansion were guarding not far away. If County Magistrate Yao showed any sign of misbehavior, they would rush over immediately. She didn't have much time.

After opening the door, County Magistrate Yao, who had been urged to drink many times by Yao Heng, also drank a lot and was obviously a little drunk. When he saw her come back, he was in a trance for a moment.

"Uncle, this is the sobering soup," Mrs. Yao handed it to County Magistrate Yao to drink.

Although County Magistrate Yao was somewhat inconvenienced by the influence of alcohol, his mind was still there. He was thinking about his study and spoke vaguely:

"Take Yao Heng...back"

"Yes, I'll leave now."

Mrs. Yao responded and fed him the small bowl of sobering soup.

After drinking the sobering soup, Yao County Magistrate became more and more confused. He felt dizzy and finally couldn't hold on and fell to the ground at Madam Yao's feet.

Mrs. Yao took a step back and didn't look at him. She took the remaining sobering soup in the pot and poured it directly into the drunk Yao Heng's mouth.

When County Magistrate Yao regained consciousness, he met Yao Heng's horrified gaze.

Yao Heng was very close to him. County Magistrate Yao was so frightened that he shuddered suddenly. When he stepped back, he found that he was tied to a chair, and his hands and feet were wrapped in wide coarse cloth. The wrapping was so layer by layer that he had no room to escape.

Turning to look at Yao Heng, he was also tied up with a cloth stuffed in his mouth.

"woke up?"

A familiar voice sounded above his head. Magistrate Yao looked up and saw the sharp blade of the dagger in the candlelight. Only then did he understand the meaning of Yao Heng's terrified expression.

"Yao Zhongyuan, Lord Yao, you are even more careless about human life than I thought." Madam Yao faced the candlelight, holding a thick stack of letters she found in the secret compartment of County Magistrate Yao's study. Some of the letters had turned yellow and had broken corners, showing that they had been stored for a long time.

This thing was the document she had tried so hard to obtain in order to gain the trust of County Magistrate Yao.

Unfortunately, the page that she wanted to see the most and least wanted to see was not there.