In the afternoon that day, Jiang Mingyu was sitting alone in the official hall of the county government office.

The sunlight streaming in through the window lattice gave the hall a lazy atmosphere.

Jiang Mingyu was wearing a light blue official uniform, holding a shriveled woofou in his hands and eating slowly, but his face showed an unconcealable look of decadence.

Since Tuxluo went to train troops and the new cook was sent to the city defense camp to help, Jiang Mingyu could not eat a formal meal these days.

At the beginning, he thought he could just deal with it casually, but after a few days, he already felt physically weak and his energy was not as good as before.

After careful consideration, Jiang Mingyu decided that even if he had no money, he should hire a cook.

Otherwise, he, the temporary acting commander-in-chief, might starve to death before the soldiers and horses are recruited.

So he called the guard guarding the door: "Go to the city immediately and find a cook. I can't stand it anymore."

These guards were all sent by Tuxlow to protect Jiang Mingyu after the assassination attempt by the bamboo pole man and the mustache failed more than ten days ago.

The guard quickly agreed and walked out of the county government office despite the wind and snow outside the window.

While he was waiting for the cook to arrive, the guard at the Yamen Gate suddenly came to report: "Sir, the Governor has sent someone here."

After Jiang Mingyu heard this, a look of joy suddenly appeared in his eyes. He put down his wowotou, straightened his official uniform, suppressed his inner excitement, and said politely: "Please come in quickly."

I saw a middle-aged scribe wearing a dark green robe and a string of jade hanging from his waist walking in.

He is about in his early forties, tall and thin, with gray hair on his temples, three strands of long beard tied casually, and a polite demeanor, which is obviously the demeanor of a scholar.

He bowed to Jiang Mingyu and started to get to the point: "I came to tell you on the order of the governor of Wang, that the governor persuaded the governors of Wangyun and Gaoyang counties to sign a million kilograms of coal supply agreement. This is an initial payment of 400,000 kilograms."

Mr. Jiang, please accept the two deposits."

Jing Xingwang respectfully added: "The governor has worked very hard to convince the governors of the two counties. I also ask Master Jiang to hurry up and do it."

After Jiang Mingyu heard this, he was both happy and grateful. He smiled brightly, showing his neat white teeth, and his eyes almost narrowed into slits.

Jiang Mingyu said excitedly, "Okay, I will report back to the governor and tell him that I will take action right away."

With that said, he took out one hundred thousand taels and handed it to Jing Xingwang without blinking: "This is a little thought for the governor, and it is not respectful."

Jing Xingwang carefully took it with both hands and nodded respectfully. Jiang Mingyu took out a stack of five thousand taels of silver notes and said, "Master Jing, thank you for your hard work coming from a long distance. I treat you as my official to treat you to tea."

Jing Xingwang had not expected to make extra money, so he was overjoyed and said repeatedly: "What the hell, Mr. Jiang has given you too much praise, why do you spend so much money...".

However, his hands quickly stuffed the banknotes into his wide cuffs, as if he was afraid that Jiang Mingyu would regret it.

Jiang Mingyu smiled calmly and said slowly: "I know Master Jing is a confidant of the Governor and has the most trust from the Governor. If anything good happens in the future, I hope Master Jing will help me more in front of the Governor."

If you say a few kind words, I would be very grateful."

Jing Xingwang smiled, his crow's feet showing, "Master Jiang is indeed wise and has a bright future. I will definitely convey your good intentions!"

Watching Jing Xingwang leave, Jiang Mingyu secretly lamented that it still hurt to take out the hundreds of thousands of silver.

But as a man of two generations, he knew very well that this money must be spent.

Reluctant to give up his children, he cannot trap the wolf, so he must win Wang Zhe to his side, so that he can fight against King Qi.

For now, maintaining a good relationship with Wang Zhe is most beneficial to the current situation.

For the time being, marrying Wang Zhe would be of no harm to him.

Just when Jiang Mingyu was thinking wildly, his stomach growled. After collecting the banknote, Jiang Mingyu smiled bitterly: "It's too far to think about these things."

Jiang Mingyu couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. He was so exhausted mentally and physically by the power dispute that he had almost forgotten the basic feeling of hunger.

"The most important thing right now is to fill your stomach first."

Just when Jiang Mingyu felt that he couldn't stand the hunger anymore, the guards he sent to the city to hire a chef finally came back.

I saw a tall and burly man following behind the guard. He was wearing a coarse cotton-padded jacket that was stained with oil and had a few buttons missing. It smelled of cooking fumes. He was obviously busy in the kitchen.

The guard respectfully raised his fists and saluted Jiang Mingyu: "Reporting to your lord, here is the cook invited from the city. His name is...what is your name?"

The man's voice was low, with obvious tension and uneasiness, and he replied in a low voice: "Sir, my surname is Che, and my last name is Hongda."

This is obviously not in line with his tall and powerful figure, but judging from his beard, gray temples, and restrained body language, it seems that he is introverted, not good at words, and is even more timid when facing officials.

At this time, the hungry Jiang Mingyu had no intention of inquiring about his origins. He quickly waved his hand and urged: "Okay, okay, go to the kitchen to prepare meals. I'm almost fainting from hunger!"

Che Hong Dalian nodded, carefully picked up a few bags of fresh ingredients beside him, frowned, for fear of offending this newly appointed big shot, and hurriedly followed the guards out of the living room.

Just when the steaming hot meal was served and Jiang Mingyu was about to enjoy it, a thin squeaking sound suddenly came from the corner.

Jiang Mingyu looked back and saw a skinny mouse staring at the food on the dinner table, looking very hungry.

Jiang Mingyu laughed at first, but soon felt pity. He waved and said: "Looking at you like this, are you as hungry as me? Come, we are destined to meet, I will reward you with a piece of fat first, then take it

Already."

After saying that, he took a small piece of fragrant braised fatty meat from the table and threw it in front of the mouse.

The mouse seemed to be really hungry and went crazy. It bit into the meat and chewed it without any fear, making a pleasant sound.

Then he raised his head and stared at Jiang Mingyu with his big watery eyes, hoping to get more charity.

Jiang Mingyu shook his head helplessly and said: "Little guy, you can't do this. I've already given you some, and I haven't eaten it yet..."

Before he finished speaking, the mouse suddenly twitched violently, foam oozed from its mouth, and soon the foam was stained bright red. It let out a weak whimper, curled up into a ball and twitched on the ground a few times, and finally became motionless.

Jiang Mingyu was so shocked by this sudden turn of events that his face turned pale, and thick cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He subconsciously threw away the chopsticks in his hand and shouted loudly: "Come here, the food is poisonous! Come here!"

When the guards who came over saw this, Jiang Mingyu had already judged from the reaction of the mice that someone was deliberately poisoning him. He immediately gave a stern order: "If anyone dares to plot against me, go to the kitchen and catch Che Hongda!"

An hour later, the guard who had gone to arrest the man walked in quickly, panting, and reported in sweat: "Sir, we have searched every corner of the county government office, and that Che Hongda has disappeared."

Jiang Mingyu frowned, his eyes were as cold as ice, and asked, "Didn't you say you met him on the street?"

The guard was so frightened by his stare that he trembled and said, "Yes, I met him on the street."

Jiang Mingyu's face was as dark as water, his eyes were like lightning, and he said word by word: "I have never met him before, so this matter is definitely strange. I'm afraid your 'accidental encounter' was also part of his plan.

"

The guard's legs were weak and trembling, and he asked cautiously: "What do you mean, sir?"

Jiang Mingyu sneered and replied in a sinister voice: "It means that he has been watching for opportunities to poison you. You just fell into his trap and played into his hands."

"Go quickly and tell Murong Yunhai to lead people to search every corner of the city. We must find this Che Hongda and bring him to justice!"

The guards agreed repeatedly and fled to perform their tasks as if they had driven away the god of death.

Jiang Mingyu knew that the mastermind behind the scenes was probably Huang Chaoran, and he immediately said harshly: "Huang Chaoran, do you think you can succeed in scheming against me? As long as I catch the cook, I will level your Huang family."
Chapter completed!