Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

The yamen servant scratched his head and smiled, "It's no good. The six of us are adults' playmates since we were young. Our family has always been poor. We are not good at studying, so we only know how to chop firewood and hunt. It is difficult for us to eat enough on weekdays. Master Li didn’t let us work in the yamen, we would have starved to death long ago, how could we marry a wife and have children to support our family, now if we can help him, we would sell all our belongings.”

"What are you smirking at? You poor boys pooled money to beg for him. When he becomes a high-ranking official, he will leave here. He will never end up enjoying the glory and wealth. As for you, you probably will stay in this Yongcheng for the rest of your life as yamen servants."

"As long as Mr. Li is well, the rest of us will catch a thief. It's good to be a government servant, eat enough and dress warmly. Besides, this Yongcheng is peaceful."

"You are playmates since childhood, so are you willing to leave Master Li?"

"I'm definitely reluctant...but Mr. Li is a good official and can do great things for his family and country. If he becomes a high official, we Yongcheng people will be happy." The yamen servant put the cloth bag in Baili's hand, "Brother Bai , you just accept it, as long as it is for us adults, you let us do whatever you want."

Baili pushed back the cloth bag, "Take it back, as you said, Mr. Li is an upright and good official, just now my master took out the gold and was reprimanded by him, if he knows that you are begging for money for him, he will definitely punish you, And they will ask the imperial court for guilt, do you know that the imperial court punishes officials extremely severely for accepting bribes, ranging from being dismissed with a stick to being dismissed from office, to even losing their lives.”

Several people were stunned when they heard this, "Brother Bai...this...then..."

Baili stretched out his hand and patted the yamen servant, "Don't worry, there is still my master here. I just said it all. I will keep my word. My master will help you, Mr. Li."

"Brother Bai, is it true?"

"You all call me little brother Bai, I can still lie to you, hehehe"

A few people were talking, Defang and Li Zuoning, the county magistrate, opened the door and came out. The yamen servant hurriedly tied the cloth bag behind his waist.

Defang said, "Master Li, I will trouble Master Li to handle this matter. I will wait for good news from you."

"Yes, yes, Master Zhao, do you still want to go south?"

"Yeah, it's rare to go to Beijing for fun. The scenery in the south of the Yangtze River is so good. Maybe you can find some good ancient artifacts to bring back to the capital and put them in the main hall for the dignitaries to see. No matter how small the place is, , there are also rare treasures." Defang looked at Li Zuoning and said, "Just like this Yongcheng, I found it."

Li Zuoning was very moved when he heard this, he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you Master Zhao, if we can meet again, I..."

"Master Li, we will definitely meet again." Defang said with a smile, "If you want to say something, you might as well wait until we meet again to talk about it in detail."

"Yes Yes"

"Master Li, it's too late, so I won't disturb Mr. Li's official business, so I will leave now."

"Yes, I will send Master Zhao off."

Baili ran to Defang's side and tugged on his sleeve, "Master, I have something to say to you."

"What?"

Baili whispered a few words in Defang's ear, Defang looked at the six people next to him, and then at Baili, "Oh? Is there such a thing?"

Baili whispered a few more words in Defang's ear, and then squeezed his eyes, "Master, just promise me."

Defang looked at the six people again, then pinched Baili's ear with his hands back, "You bastard!"

"Ouch, my lord, it hurts, it hurts."