Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 999

However, the yamen runner who would usually take it suddenly took two steps back today and avoided his hand.

The merchant was embarrassed and quickly put the hand holding the silver back into his sleeve.

Then, when he was confused, the yamen runner suddenly said:

"The prefect has more important matters to attend to. He is busy right now. He will let you know when it's time to let you in!"

In fact, the yamen runners also wanted to collect this money. After all, this was one of their very important sources of income.

But there is a great god sitting in the government office today, and they don’t want to get into trouble at this critical juncture.

There will always be opportunities to earn money in the future, but if you take the money now, it will definitely involve the news of that great god.

Once you are held responsible, you will be in big trouble, so it is best to just do your job insurance at this time.

On the other hand, the wealthy businessman saw that the yamen runner was doing his job impartially and knew that the matter must be complicated.

So he simply turned back to the crowd and whispered to them:

"Everyone, that bailiff didn't dare take my money. This must be a serious matter. Let's all be careful from now on!"

"Also, is there anyone with good information who can find out why the prefect summoned us here today?"

As soon as the businessman finished speaking, someone in the crowd immediately responded.

"I'll ask someone, maybe I can get some useful information."

After saying this, the man immediately gave an order to the servant beside him, and then the servant left quickly.

In this way, a group of wealthy businessmen and gentry waited outside the door for about a quarter of an hour before the servant finally ran back.

After whispering something in the man's ear, the man's expression changed instantly. He looked at the others and whispered:

"Everyone, we've heard the news!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes turned over, but they didn't say anything, just looked over here.

Then the person who heard the news said:

"Shortly before we arrived, a duke entered the government office. I guess that's why we're waiting here."

"Duke? We only have a few dukes in the Ming Dynasty. Why would this duke come to Suzhou?"

"I don't know."

Seeing that he couldn't get an accurate answer, the person asking the question fell silent, but then someone else spoke up.

"Then, do you know which Duke it is?"

"I know that. I heard that when he entered the palace, the people around him called him the Duke of Zhenguo!"

Duke of Zhenguo?

Everyone present was stunned when they heard this title. They looked at each other with a confused look in their eyes.

"When did our Ming Dynasty have a new Duke of Zhenguo? Why have I never heard of him?"

As soon as this question came out, someone nearby immediately spoke up and gave an answer.

"No, at the founding of our dynasty we only conferred titles on Duke of Wei, Duke of Han, Duke of Zheng, Duke of Cao, Duke of Song, and Duke of Wei."

"I've never heard of the title of Duke of Zhenguo, so either someone is impersonating him, or he's a newly appointed Duke by the imperial court!"

"However, no one would be foolish enough to pretend to be a Duke and even dare to enter the prefectural government office. Therefore, there is only one answer."

After hearing these words, everyone present frowned, and a bad premonition arose in their hearts!

It is a well-known fact that the imperial court will post an imperial edict when conferring a title on a duke.

Depending on the distance, the time it takes to post the imperial edict can be as short as three or four days or as long as more than a month.

Suzhou is not far from the capital. According to past experience, the imperial court would post the yellow notice for about three or four days.

So the question is, a newly appointed duke of the court arrived in Suzhou before the imperial edict arrived.

As soon as he arrived, he went straight to the prefectural yamen, and then summoned all of them to the yamen to discuss matters.

The people present were either wealthy businessmen or gentry. They were not fools and knew that there must be something wrong.