Shifting Blame

Liang Qu grabbed Lu Xinqing by the collar; his tall stature forced Lu Xinqing to stand on tiptoe.

Facing County Magistrate Yu, Lu Xinqing was so flustered that his forehead was covered in sweat, which reflected a layer of light under the oil lamp.

No, no, I'm just a bandit. How could I possibly deserve the attention of two high-ranking officials!

It's like a mouse dangling in front of a cat.

Lu Xinqing grabbed Liang Qu's hand, trying to pry his fingers open, but found them as hard as steel and wouldn't budge. He immediately grinned sheepishly at Yu Dayi: "Sir, you're joking. I'm just a bandit, a damned scoundrel. I haven't read many books, how would I know anything about right and wrong..."

"Good!"

Yu Dayi.

Lu Xinqing nearly bit off his tongue.

"In that case, I'd like to hear what Water Official Liang from the River Conservancy Office has to say!"

Yu Dayi glanced down at his Waist Token. He was extremely composed, showing no anger whatsoever when Liang Qu pointed his finger at him and scolded him. He was completely different from Liang Qu's "furious" demeanor before entering the room.

Lu Xinqing was terrified and almost knelt down to beg for mercy.

Today has been the worst day imaginable.

Even kidnapping a River God god wouldn't be this difficult, would it? Liang Qu remained expressionless, glancing at Lu Xinqing.

"I ask you, when did you become a river pirate?"

Lu Xinqing wondered, "About three and a half years ago..."

"Who were they hijacked on their first ship hijacking? How much silver did they steal? What became of them? Were they dead or alive?"

"A father and son who were preparing to go home to ask for their wives' return, with a total of eight taels of silver, ended up..." Lu Xinqing swallowed hard, "And died."

Yu Dayi roared, "Robbery and murder on the road deserve to be punished!"

Lu Xinqing trembled and hurriedly waved his hands, "I didn't kill him, I didn't kill him!"

"Huh? Who else could it be but you?"

"Yes, it's Lord Yu..."

Yu Dayi was taken aback.

"After I robbed that father and son, they were resentful and became river bandits themselves, and then... then they got caught..."

Lu Xinqing braced himself and recounted the story of the father and son in fits and starts.

He served as a river bandit for less than four years, while County Magistrate Yu had been the magistrate of Hua Zhu County for five or six years.

The father and son bandits were captured and sentenced to death by Yu Dayi.

"Such a thing is true..."

Yu Dayi fell into deep thought.

It wasn't too long ago, but I vaguely remember that a father and son were indeed sentenced as river bandits before.

As notorious bandits, both father and son were sentenced to death.

"Is Water Official Liang trying to say that there is a problem with my judgment?" County Magistrate Yu was unaware of Liang Qu's thoughts. "Even though the father and son were robbed first and then became bandits, which is forgivable, a crime is a crime. I believe that my judgment is correct and I have a clear conscience!"

"County Magistrate Yu's judgment according to the law is naturally without issue, but what I want to discuss is not the law! Lu Xinqing! Who do you think caused the deaths of this father and son!"

"Who?" Lu Xinqing scratched his head, cautiously probing, "Me?"

"Wrong! It's County Magistrate Yu!"

Liang Qu's answer stunned Lu Xinqing.

"It is true that Lu Xinqing caused the father and son to become bandits! But it was you, Lord Yu, who made Lu Xinqing a bandit!"

Yu Dayi frowned deeply. "What does this have to do with me? Could it be that I ordered this person to steal martial arts skills? Or that I sent him to become a river bandit?"

Lu Xinqing shook his head vigorously.

Liang Qu's gaze fell again. "Lu Xinqing, why did you secretly learn martial arts?"

Why did I secretly learn it? Because that old man wouldn't teach it!

Lu Xinqing thought to himself, but he was already out of breath and knew he couldn't say that, "Because... because I don't want to waste my life in the Martial Arts School and want to find a way out."

"If you're looking for a way out, why steal martial arts skills? If there's no hope in the Martial Arts School, can't you go to the Prefectural Office? Can't you join the Three Laws Department? Can't you earn merit in the Six Doors and learn better martial arts? There are so many paths to take, why dig your own grave?"

Lu Xinqing was speechless and choked with emotion.

With that kind of connections, why would he need to secretly learn any martial arts?

The meaning becomes clear in the silence.

"Does Lord Yu understand?" Liang Qu loosened Lu Xinqing's collar. "It's because you didn't give him a choice!"

"Lord Yu, as the county magistrate, is the people's benefactor! If Hua Zhu County were truly governed with integrity, where the capable rise and the incompetent fall, why would Lu Xinqing have needed to secretly learn martial arts and become a bandit!"

Lu Xinqing's eyes lit up.

Is this how it can be explained? "It was County Magistrate Yu's inaction that led Lu Xinqing to become an outlaw, which in turn caused the deaths of the father and son who had returned home to ask for their wives' return! How unjust!"

Yu Dayi frowned. "That's sophistry!"

Liang Qu laughed loudly, "I'm just being sophistical! County Magistrate Yu blames my River Conservancy Office for fighting with the Ghost Mother Sect, which has affected Huazhu. Instead of blaming the Ghost Mother Sect, he blames my River Conservancy Office actions. How is that any different from my sophistry?"

Yu Dayi speechless.

"Even the river bandits know to look for problems within themselves! With natural disasters raging, let alone the fact that the truth has not yet Cha Qing, even if the collapse of the Lord Qiu's Dyke was indeed the work of the Ghost Mother Sect."

Instead of searching for the culprit, County Magistrate Yu hides in his room making veiled accusations. Am I wrong to say that County Magistrate Yu is inferior to the river bandits? If Magistrate Yu is truly determined to blame my River Conservancy Office the bandit suppression, does he mean to say that my River Conservancy Office made a mistake in suppressing the Ghost Mother Sect?

"In that case, County Magistrate Yu seems quite dissatisfied with His Majesty's decision to station the River Conservancy Office Ping Yang County?"

"I wouldn't dare!"

Yu Dayi lowered his head.

For a moment, the entire room fell silent.

Glug.

Lu Xinqing swallowed hard.

He couldn't understand it, but he was deeply moved.

Seeing that Yu Dayi remained silent, Liang Qu also breathed a sigh of relief.

Successfully fooled them.

There's only so much stuff in his belly.

If we really start arguing, we might expose our weaknesses.

Does Yu Dayi really not know how to distinguish between enemies?

not necessarily.

When the floodwaters raged, Yu Dayi did not hesitate at all. He immediately assembled a fleet of boats to evacuate the people and minimize the losses as quickly as possible.

It wasn't done exceptionally well, but it was at least decent and without any major mistakes.

He makes no major mistakes and is by no means incompetent; he is unlikely to do anything absurd like blaming the River Conservancy Office at a critical moment.

As for why he made veiled criticisms and deliberately hid behind the door to curse in front of everyone,

Shifting the blame.

Yu Dayi wanted to shift the blame for the collapse of the Lord Qiu's Dyke onto the River Conservancy Office!

Can the county County Magistrate be absolved of responsibility for the collapse of a county's dike?

There was no escaping it! Although the hydrological station did not issue a warning, after several days of torrential rain, even if the Hydrology Station did not respond, Yu Dayi should have sent someone to check.

But it can be reduced! What if the collapse of the dike was a result of retaliation for the feud between the River Conservancy Office and the Ghost Mother Sect? You can only be a thief for a thousand days, how can you guard against thieves for a thousand days?

It's understandable that they couldn't prevent it.

Yu Dayi insisted that it was the Ghost Mother Sect and blamed the River Conservancy Office, completely trying to shift the focus of the dike breach from Hua Zhu County itself to the River Conservancy Office!

As an official in charge of the River Conservancy Office, could Liang Qu just stand by and watch Yu Dayi shirk responsibility? No way.

Don't you know which restaurant you're eating at? Well, Lu Xinqing provided a good story.

You're saying it's my River Conservancy Office's problem, which is like blaming Lu Xinqing for that father and son being river bandits.

Liang Qu wanted to dig a bit deeper, then throw the pot back and hold it firmly in place.

Yu Dayi was by no means a person who truly cared for the people; he saved the people in order to protect himself, his official robes, and his life.

The debate between Liang Qu and County Magistrate Yu was not about right or wrong, but about their differing stances.

One wants to shirk responsibility, while the other wants to retain it.

Whether you answer Yu Dayi's questions in a agreeable way or in a disagreeable way, they will help him to shift his attention.

If Liang Qu hadn't understood the situation before entering, it would have been easy for Yu Dayi to shift the blame onto him, thus affecting the situation of Xu Yuelong and the others.