nycdaug Chapter 270: Grievances
Chapter 270: Grievances
These past two days, I met with the Emperor and accompanied him on an inspection of the waterworks. As my confidant had predicted, I received the Emperor's praise.
The Emperor was very satisfied with him. It seemed that it wouldn't be long before his governorship would be promoted again. Thinking of this, Liao Ting was even more satisfied with his confidant, and made many promises over drinks.
When the emperor went on a trip, Liao Ting was meticulous in everything he did in order to make a good impression, from the destination to the dietary preferences of the accompanying ministers.
Liao Ting originally intended to arrange for the emperor to enjoy the scenery in the city, but the emperor said he was tired of seeing these things and wanted to go outside for a stroll.
Liao Ting had no choice but to make arrangements, saying there was nothing interesting about those desolate mountains and wilderness.
The Emperor quite enjoyed this rustic charm and was in a good mood, which put Liao Ting at ease.
All the good things continued until the Emperor had just finished lunch and was preparing to rest in the tent when he suddenly heard a commotion outside.
The emperor vaguely heard some complaint, then fell silent. The eunuchs went to inquire what had happened.
"Your Majesty, a commoner has come to plead his case and file a complaint."
The Emperor got up and stepped out of the tent, where he saw Liao Ting rushing over.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! This is a troublesome commoner who has run away because he is mentally unstable. I have sent men to drag him away and keep him under strict guard."
Liao Ting was sweating with anxiety. How did those unruly people know that the Emperor was here? He had sent people to keep a close watch on him, yet they still managed to escape. They dared to come out! He would make sure they never returned!
The Emperor glanced at the sweat on Liao Ting's forehead and laughed:
"I'm bored anyway, so bring him over. I've never seen him before, so I'll let him see him today."
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, Liao Ting immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't! This kind of person is mentally unstable. What if he offends Your Majesty? In that case, I would truly be guilty of a hundred deaths!"
Liao Ting spoke earnestly, appearing extremely worried.
"Since you say so, I must see him. Go and bring him here."
Liao Ting was about to speak when the emperor's chief eunuch angrily said:
"You dare disobey the Emperor, Lord Liao?"
Liao Ting could barely stand up. He pinched his thigh. It wasn't over yet. There must be a way. Right, everything he did was for flood control. The Emperor would understand.
Before Liao Ting could even call for him, the guards had already brought him over.
Liao Tingqiang feigned calmness.
"Please make sure you all keep a close eye on him. He is ill, so you must not let him get close to His Majesty."
"Pah, you corrupt official, you're the one who's sick."
The man who was being held down cursed angrily.
Liao Ting: "You, you, you scoundrel! Your Majesty, you see, he is indeed ill; nothing he says is credible."
"Whether it's believable or not, I'll make my own judgment. You shut up for now."
The man was dark-skinned and thin, his clothes tattered. Upon hearing the emperor's words, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground and shouted:
"Your Majesty, I have been wronged! I have suffered a tremendous injustice!"
After saying that, she burst into tears.
These words were so poignant they seemed to weep blood, and even the emperor was shaken.
"What grievance do you have? Tell me and I will make the decision for you."
Liao Ting tried to interrupt, but the emperor gave him a look, and the guards beside him immediately pushed Liao Ting to the ground. Liao Ting tried to shout, but the head eunuch stuffed a cloth into his mouth.
The complaining people were overjoyed to see this.
"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, wish to file a lawsuit against Governor-General Liao Ting of Zheng He."
By altering the river course and illegally releasing water, they have endangered the lives of hundreds of people in several surrounding villages! The river has destroyed houses and farmland, leaving us homeless and destitute.
Later, this corrupt official, upon learning that the Emperor was coming, fearing exposure, imprisoned and guarded us all.
After saying that, he lifted his shirt and took out a bundle of cloth from his pocket. He opened it and found a name written in blood and a bloody handprint on it.
"Your Majesty, this is a letter written in blood by all the survivors from our villages. Please, Your Majesty, see that every word I have said is true and without falsehood. If there is any falsehood, may I be struck by lightning and never be reincarnated."
The man cried out:
"Your Majesty, we are imprisoned by corrupt officials, and we only have coarse bread every day. When we are sick, we beg them to find a doctor, but even kneeling down, we can't get one."
Our little girl is so young, and she was burning up with fever and almost died. It was no use asking for help.
We didn't know what we had done to deserve this treatment. Later, we heard the guards cursing at us, and that's when we learned that Your Majesty was coming.
"It took us a lot of effort for this humble citizen to escape with this blood-written letter."
The veins on the emperor's forehead throbbed. This was the good official he had praised so highly these past two days. He must have been blind!
The Emperor, staring at the glaring blood-written letter before him, angrily walked up to Liao Ting, kicked him, and cursed:
"You bastard! I appointed you to manage the river, made you the governor, and this is how you govern? This is how you treat my people! You deserve to die!"
The emperor was still not satisfied and kicked him a few more times.
She then stepped forward and personally helped the man up.
"I know, I'm here. I will resolve your grievances."
The emperor immediately issued an edict to send people to release all the imprisoned people and bring them over, as he wanted to personally try the case.
Liao Ting lay motionless, knowing he was finished.
Prime Minister Ji, Jia Daishan, Jia Daihua, and the other ministers have all received the news and come over.
They came over when there was a commotion, fearing something might be wrong. However, the situation was unclear, and the emperor's guards were stationed nearby, so they could only wait. They still don't know what happened.
The emperor made proper arrangements for the man, who had escaped and then found his way here, so he must not have had a drop of water.
Upon hearing that the Emperor would stand up for them and avenge them, he fainted. The Emperor immediately summoned the imperial physician to treat him.
After the imperial physician arrived, the emperor finally summoned Prime Minister Ji and the others. As they arrived, the emperor stared at the blood-written letter.
When the group arrived and saw the blood-written letter, they were shocked. What a great injustice this must have been!
As the group was about to bow, the Emperor waved his hand and said, "No need for such formalities."
"Your Majesty, what is this?"
Prime Minister Ji asked.
The emperor asked the chief eunuch beside him to recount what had happened that day. After listening, the eunuchs were all shocked. Jia Daihua was so angry that he immediately drew his knife to kill someone.
These past few days, the group had accompanied the Emperor and Liao Ting on inspections of the waterworks. They had developed a strong impression of him, believing that he was truly capable and had his own expertise in river management.
After learning that the river had not breached its banks despite the rising water levels, the group was full of praise for Liao Ting. Who would have thought that he would manage the river in such a way!
The group was also seething with anger. If they had seen through it sooner, they wouldn't have been fooled by this person.
Today, it was this man who escaped and cried out for justice. If they had listened to Liao Ting's advice and stayed in the city to enjoy the scenery, this man probably wouldn't have been able to get in, and they wouldn't have known about this enormous injustice!