GBP Chapter 80 I was terrified!
Chapter 80 I was terrified!
Magistrate Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "What nursery rhyme?"
Sometimes, nursery rhymes are often associated with prophecies, such as the Han Dynasty saying, "A thousand miles of grass, how green they are, but after ten days of divination, they will not grow."
Even if they aren't associated with prophecies, nursery rhymes are often not good things, such as the famous "A foot of cloth can still be sewn; a peck of millet can still be pounded; but two brothers cannot get along."
Now that this Master Ma has suddenly mentioned nursery rhymes, Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, is naturally uneasy, fearing that it might be associated with him.
But as Murphy once said, the more you worry about something bad happening, the more likely it is to happen.
Sure enough, just as Magistrate Yang was feeling uneasy, Ma Baoguo chuckled and said, "Before I came to Ningyang County, I heard children singing near Yanzhou Prefecture, saying that Magistrate Yang of Ningyang County is so upright that he can scour the land three feet deep and still be called a righteous official."
Upon hearing Master Ma's words, Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate who had been feeling uneasy, breathed a sigh of relief.
Damn it, it turns out they were just spreading rumors that I, Yang, was corrupt. I thought someone in Yanzhou Prefecture was spreading rumors that I, Yang, wanted to rebel and establish my own rule. I was really scared to death just now.
This Master Ma was just talking about making a lot of money and being sensible. Besides the orders from Emperor Zhu Chongba, it's probably also because of this nursery rhyme that he's so eager to test me.
Thinking of this, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng shook his head slightly: "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Master Ma. I've never heard of this nursery rhyme before, but," Magistrate Yang smiled sarcastically, "that's all the people are capable of."
these people?
Ma Baoguo was slightly taken aback and asked, "Does Magistrate Yang know who did it?"
Magistrate Yang chuckled and said, "It's nothing more than Liu Hongchang and his fellow gentry, and the people behind them."
Ma Baoguo pressed further, "Who's behind them? Does Magistrate Yang know who's behind them?"
Magistrate Yang said, "They are nothing more than local gentry who are more powerful than Liu Hongchang and his ilk, some officials who are also from local gentry backgrounds, and at most some wealthy merchants. Who else could it be but these scumbags who can't be seen in the light of day?"
Ma Baoguo was stunned once again.
After a long silence, Ma Baoguo finally spoke up: "Everyone knows it's these people, but not everyone dares to say it so openly as Magistrate Yang. Isn't Magistrate Yang afraid of offending people?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled, "If you're afraid of death, why don't you become a ghost?"
“They are maggots who cannot be brought to light, but I am not. Even if I am making money, I will do so in a fair and aboveboard manner.”
"Moreover, I am neither a rebel, nor corrupt, nor do I harm the people. Even if they are afraid, they should be the ones afraid of me. Why should I be afraid of them?"
"With their underhanded methods? Do they really think His Majesty and the court are pushovers?"
……
Master Ma Baoguo quickly bid farewell to Magistrate Yang and left, harboring deep resentment as he departed.
This is really weird, how come this Magistrate Yang is such a jerk?
Hey official, you're supposed to be an official, how come you act like such a shameless, scoundrel!
Emperor Zhu Chongba wasn't even sure if Yang Shaofeng's words about "being afraid of death but not becoming a ghost" were his true thoughts, or if he was deliberately saying them to "Ma Baoguo" and then having "Ma Baoguo" say them to him.
After Ma Baoguo left, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng breathed a long sigh of relief.
That's terrifying! That's fucking terrifying!
From the very beginning, Magistrate Yang felt that something was amiss.
As Ma Baoguo said, Magistrate Yang could tell from the beginning that Biaozi had military experience.
So here's the question: It's true that Limpy Five was discharged from the military camp, but that's because Limpy Five had a limp. The guy called "Biaozi" doesn't seem to have any injuries or disabilities. So why was he discharged?
Going back further from this point, is Ma Baoguo, who shares the same name as Master Ma, really just a simple merchant from Jiangnan? If not, why would Limpy Five help him cover it up?
Further speculation leads to something even more terrifying—of all the online novels about the early Ming Dynasty in later generations, which one mentions that Empress Ma had any cousins?
Of course, it is possible that there is no record in historical books, or that the authors of those online novels are ignorant and do not know the relevant information. But if Empress Ma really did not have any cousins, then who would dare to impersonate Empress Ma's relatives?
As the famous decadent writer Bai Zaixuan once said, after eliminating all impossible situations, whatever remains, no matter how outrageous or unbelievable, is the truth.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng did not regard Master Ma as a merchant from Jiangnan, but rather as a spy sent by Emperor Zhu Chongba.
After Master Ma claimed to be Empress Ma's cousin, only two identities remained in Magistrate Yang's mind.
Or perhaps he really is Empress Ma's cousin.
Or he's just that workaholic who loves making scarecrow figurines.
It was precisely because of this that Magistrate Yang Shaofeng uttered those outrageous remarks about breaking legs and chopping off claws.
Regardless of Master Ma's true identity, these arrogant words were exactly what Emperor Zhu Chongba (Zhu Chongba) and Empress Ma wanted to hear. The more arrogant they were, the more benefits they could gain.
More importantly, such arrogant remarks would cut off his future path to promotion. At the very least, Emperor Zhu Chongba would absolutely not promote him in the short term.
No emperor dislikes an official who is loyal to the country and to the emperor, but no emperor would keep a hothead, especially one who is foul-mouthed and arrogant, by his side to cause trouble.
Watching Master Ma's figure recede into the distance, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng turned back and glared at Limpy Five: "Well done, Limpy Five, you've kept the identity of this Imperial Uncle Ma pretty well hidden!"
The lame man immediately cried out in protest: "Your Excellency, it's not that I intentionally concealed anything. It's just that Ma Guojiu came suddenly yesterday and warned me as soon as we met. Otherwise, why would I have covered for him?"
As the saying goes, if you're going to act, you have to go all the way. Magistrate Yang snorted and then ignored Limpy Five, turning his horse around and heading towards the artificial lake.
The play is over, and little Old Zhu handled it with ease.
But the work must continue.
This is damn Maloud's destiny!