Chapter 196 Can the people be saved?
Because of Yunshu's insistence, Tang Bingfu had no choice but to follow her and prepare to walk around the embankment outside the city twice more.

The two of them came out of the house and walked to the front yard.

The officials who had returned with Tang Bingfu before had not left yet.

Yun Shu only glanced at him calmly, then continued to walk out without looking back.
Tang Bingfu deliberately took two steps behind and calmly gestured to his confidant in the courtyard.

However, he didn't know that his every move was clearly seen by the Dragon Shadow Guards hiding in the dark.

……

The group rode out of the city on horseback, which should have been much faster than taking a carriage.

But because Tang Bingfu was not very good at riding a horse, he would stagger on the horse's back if he ran a little faster, and he would cry out in pain that his old bones were about to fall apart.

Yun Shu patiently slowed down and accompanied the old man at the pace of a suburban outing, strolling towards the river bank.

We set out in the morning, and when we arrived the sun was already setting.
The road along the embankment was indeed muddy, just as Tang Bingfu had said before.

From a distance, there was an obvious layer of new mud on the river bank, but perhaps it was because some finishing work had not been completed.

Therefore, you can see many people carrying soil and stones busy going back and forth on the dike.

When Yunshu and the others passed by, many people noticed Tang Bingfu's figure and greeted him familiarly as they passed by:

"Didn't Master Tang just come here this morning? Why is he here again now?"

"just looking around."

Tang Bingfu put his hands in his sleeves and nodded cheerfully:

"You are busy, don't worry about me!"

"These workers seem to be very familiar with you, Master Tang?"

Yun Shu watched with interest, but said nothing.
It wasn't until the person who came up to say hello walked away that he raised his eyebrows slightly:
"I guess Lord Tang must have come here many times before, right?"

"Yes."

Tang Bingfu's smiling face showed some emotion:
"These people are farmers living nearby, and their lives are not easy. When farm work is not so busy, they want to find some work to earn some hard-earned money to support their families.

We provide them with two meals a day on the dike, and an additional fifty to one hundred coins as wages.
They were happy in their hearts, and naturally felt more grateful to me, the official in charge."

"I see."

Yun Shu nodded, paused for a moment, and suddenly turned around with a puzzled look on his face:

"But it took us more than two hours to get here from the Water Affairs Bureau today.
Lord Tang ran back and forth early in the morning... Didn't that take more than four hours?

Judging from the time, Lord Tang should have left home around midnight... around the hour of the Chou or even the hour of the Zi.

What happened that brought you to this dike so late at night?"

"..."

Oh no, I was so busy stalling for time on the road that I forgot there was something I needed to settle!

The smile on Tang Bingfu's face froze for a moment, and then the stiff expression turned into a sigh very smoothly.

It was as if his expression changed just because he thought of something not so pleasant:
"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by His Highness, but last night...something really went wrong."

"Oh?"

Yun Shu almost couldn't help laughing out loud.

She covered her lips and coughed lightly, trying to maintain the appearance of a naive princess:
"what's up?"

"that is……"

Tang Bingfu seemed to find it difficult to speak. He hesitated for a long time before sighing and saying:
"I just said that these people came here to build the dam and they were paid.
In addition, there are other expenses such as settlement of materials, which are also a considerable expense.

For convenience, I had two boxes delivered to me after the Ministry of Revenue allocated funds.

Normally, the money box is locked in the house, and there are guards watching it, and only our people can go in. But last night, we suddenly received news that the silver was stolen!

Although the person who came to report was a little vague in his words, he clearly said that the person who stole the silver must be a thief within our Water Affairs Bureau.

In order to investigate this matter, I summoned all the people at night.

In the end, we found out that it was really done by one of our own people."

"That man is quite courageous to steal government silver!"

In just a few seconds, he was able to come up with a story that barely made sense.

It's really a pity that Tang Bingfu doesn't contribute to her Beijing Weekly!

I don’t know who the unlucky guy is who was pushed out by him to take the blame?

Yun Shu raised his eyebrows:

"Has that man been caught?"

“…ran away.”

"Escape?"

Yun Shu's tone rose slightly:
"You had so many people and caught him, but you let him escape?"

"It is my humble fault."

Tang Bingfu said with shame:

“I am relatively familiar with the thief.

He is a very honest person in daily life. Although he doesn't talk much and doesn't like to interact with others, he never shirks his responsibilities.

But his family was poor and his father was seriously ill, so he must have been left with no other options this time. That’s why he made a momentary mistake and took the wrong path.

I was also soft-hearted for a moment... But I have already sent people to chase him.

I think we can catch him!"

"That's good."

Yun Shu nodded absentmindedly. As he spoke, he crushed the dirt on the embankment with his feet. He seemed a little uncomfortable with the environment here.

Seeing this, Tang Bingfu spoke again at the right time:

"Your Highness, you have seen the situation on the dike. It is a mess everywhere. The soil used to build the dike is scattered everywhere. There is no place to stand.

Besides, it’s getting late, how about… we go back now?”

"alright."

After this trip, I finally understood why the dam collapsed in the original plot.
Yun Shu didn't plan to stay any longer, so he turned around and walked back to the place where he had dismounted before.

She looked just like a willful little princess who was clamoring to come over to see something new, but after seeing it, she found it was not interesting and immediately turned around and left.

Tang Bingfu didn't know the truth and thought he had successfully fooled the people. His heart was finally at ease.

But Yun Shu immediately called out the Dragon Shadow Guard beside him after returning to the palace:

"Did you find anything?"

"Your Highness, after Tang Bingfu agreed to accompany you to the dam outside the city today, he secretly used gestures to instruct his trusted subordinates.

I followed that subordinate all the way to the dam and saw with my own eyes that they forcibly took a person away and planned to drown him in an inconspicuous river. "

"What about people?"

Yun Shu's expression was stern:
"Can anyone save him?"

There is one more chapter, it will be here soon~o(*////▽////*)q