893: How should we deal with this matter?

How should we deal with this matter?

" Miss Yu? What are you doing here?"  Magistrate Li looked at Yu Dong who was striding inside her office with snow covering her shoulders and head. " Is something the matter?"  2

" There is indeed something that I need to discuss with you," Yu Dong took the initiative and sat down on the chair in front of  Magistrate Li  who was sitting behind the table and then said in a soft voice, " But firstly, I want to ask if the imperial family has thought of a way to deal with this disaster?" 

If the imperial family could not send enough grains when there was a flood, Yu Dong could still understand it but now the matter had escalated even further, whats more so many months have passed by ever since the flood took place. The winter of this year was exceptionally cold and biting, one could see that many refugees were dying because of cold and hunger yet there was not even a single noise from the imperial city. 

In the past, it could be taken as a disaster taking place without any preparation but this time around how come the imperial family did not send any grains to the villages which have been affected by the heavy flood and snowfall? Wasn't it deliberate ignorance? Like the ones who were inside the imperial palace knew that these villages were the ones who were dying but could not care less about them. 

  Magistrate Li sighed and then rubbed her forehead as she replied, "It's just as you think, Miss Yu. The eldest princess who took over the throne has a vain and vile personality, other than being selfish, she is egocentric and greedy —— because she knows that this village is under my governance and she cannot get anything from me, she is deliberately ignoring the Big River Town." 

An annoyed glint flickered in  Magistrate Li's eyes as she clenched the brush which she was holding in her hands and then continued speaking,  " Those who sucked up to her and sent gifts to her have all received disaster funds but we and some others villages who are not in cahoots with her and supporting the second princess are the ones who have been deliberately ignored." 

Yu Dong frowned and asked, " Is she trying to make use of coercion?" 

  Magistrate Li nodded and agreed, "That's indeed the case, she knows that I will not give up so easily but at the same time, she wishes for my support which is why she deliberately making use of this opportunity to teach me a lesson. In fact, she must be waiting for me to lower my head and beg her before she agrees to help me."  Magistrate Li snorted as she threw the brush down the table causing a large, round with splattered black marks to form on the surface. 

" But I will not give up, even if I have to use my own funds to save the villagers, I will do it but I am not going to lower my head,"  Magistrate Li knew that lowering her head in front of the crown princess would mean lowering her head for life. That woman must have heard about the oil-making process which was getting popular in the Big River Town and was thus greedy to get her hands on it. 

If not for the fact that she and Marquis Qiao cleaned Yu Dong's traces, that woman would have asked her guards to kidnap Yu Dong in the middle of the night. 

  Magistrate Li was sure that the second she lowered her head, the next letter would be filled with questions regarding how the oil that she was selling to the other cities and countries was made, like  Magistrate Li would allow that to happen. 

That woman will surely make use of the extra money to buy herself more comfort instead of developing her country, handing her something so precious was similar to letting a tiger inside the fence which was filled with cows in the hope that it will not eat the chubby cows. 

" Here take a look at this,"  Magistrate Li took out a letter and then placed it in front of Yu Dong who glanced down at the elegant writing and arched a brow before asking,

" Is this written by the crown princess ?" 

The letter started with questions about oil making process and ended on the same note as well, even if Yu Dong was an idiot, she would still be able to understand that this woman who was sitting in the imperial palace wanted to get her hands on the process of making oil which her family made. 

" Of course, other than her who else can write such a letter?"  Magistrate Li scoffed as she glanced at the piece of paper with a frown on her face. " Because I refused to answer her letter and did not hand the process which is why she deliberately ignored the call for help which was sent by the officers of the Big River Town. She wants me to back down and offer the process with bells and strings attached to it." 

If the eldest princess was a kind woman, she might have thought of handing the process to her but  Magistrate Li knew that even if she was to hand the process to the eldest princess, the latter was so sly that she will not only stuff the process in her pockets, she might not even send them anything. Even if she does end up sending some grains, the amount will be so pitiful that not even a single village will be able to get grains to fill their belly. 

In that case, why should she hand the process? 

Yu Dong glanced at the letter but since she had nothing to do with the political waves of the imperial city, she did not pay attention to it and then asked, " What are you going to do now then?" 

" Though the villagers are silent for now, sooner or later their patience is bound to snap and then they will certainly not sit tight. Maybe they will even rebel."

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