That bold idea flashed through Edmund Hale's mind and lingered there.
Such an idea was indeed bold, but not without reason.
In the eyes of the Royal Overseer Edmund Hale, who neither formed factions, sought personal gain, nor engaged in political intrigue, ten thousand taels of silver was already a huge sum.
Lucius Blackthorn received ten thousand taels of silver and only arranged for Henry Vander to become the mayor of the remote, impoverished Green River Town. How could Henry Vander not hold a grudge?
Of course, the term "remote and impoverished" refers to the time before Magnus Valorion arrived.
Therefore, it wasn't impossible for Henry Vander to seek revenge by poisoning Lucius Blackthorn.
What Edmund Hale didn't know was that ten thousand taels of silver was nothing compared to the corruption of Alp Arslan's faction, and even Edmund Aldrich's self-proclaimed clean officials embezzled far more.
The officials led by Edmund Aldrich called themselves clean and upright, but that was only in comparison.
Their so-called "cleanliness" was merely not embezzling as much as Alp Arslan's faction.
It was like the pot calling the kettle black, seeing the faults of others but not their own. The officialdom of the Great Latium Imperium had long been decayed.
Officials like Edmund Hale, who were truly clean, were as rare as phoenix feathers.
Although Edmund Hale felt Henry Vander deserved to die, he was still an official of the court.
And now, to fill the national treasury, the court had tacitly approved bribery and the purchase of official positions.
In the past, only honorary titles without real power could be bought. But now, with the officialdom's corruption, even positions with real power, like mayors, were sold.
Edmund Hale speculated that Henry Vander might have been poisoned due to his tampering with the central decree, turning a tax exemption into a 30% tax increase, causing public outrage.
This provided Magnus Valorion with a pretext to kill Henry Vander and then blame it on bandits.
"Old man, take this gem and quickly redeem your ox with this grain. You can't farm without an ox," Magnus Valorion's actions interrupted Edmund Hale's speculation.
"Oh, this is your family heirloom! I can't accept it," Ethan Thompson, who had rehearsed this scene, feigned surprise.
Magnus Valorion righteously told the old man, "If you go to redeem the ox, the seller will surely raise the price. This gem is just a dead object; once it's gone, it's gone. Don't delay, old man, go quickly!"
The old man knelt before Magnus Valorion, kowtowed, and bowed several times before limping away into a deep alley.
Magnus Valorion then pretended to rebuke Ethan Thompson, "Didn't I already tell you to inform the townsfolk not to pay taxes? Why are there still thirty or so people here today?"
"Isn't this putting the deceased mayor Henry Vander in an unjust position?"
Ethan Thompson innocently replied, "We did go door to door, but some people were out working and didn't get the message in time."
Edmund Hale was deeply moved. Magnus Valorion not only used his family heirloom to help the old man but also tried to restore Henry Vander's reputation.
At that moment, Edmund Hale felt a mysterious glow emanating from Magnus Valorion.
What a knightly gentleman!
Edmund Hale felt his previous malicious speculation about Magnus Valorion was unwarranted and unjust.
"Such a sincere gentleman wouldn't resort to framing bandits to kill someone!"
"Even if Henry Vander was indeed killed by Magnus Valorion for the sake of the townspeople, he would probably admit it openly!"
However, to thoroughly investigate the case, Edmund Hale still questioned all departments and people in Green River Town.
He even sent people to nearby villages to randomly question a few households.
Edmund Hale didn't send just one or two people but conducted a random survey across the town, even questioning children as young as seven or eight, believing they wouldn't lie.
Unexpectedly, the responses were identical: Mayor Henry Vander led his men out of town to measure fields for tax collection and encountered bandits led by Sinbad, who flew a flag with a skull and crossbones, and was killed.
To verify the truth, Edmund Hale sent people to surrounding towns and villages to see if such a notorious bandit existed.
Indeed, Edmund Hale's men heard in Willowbrook Town that Sinbad, the bandit leader, had many followers and was very arrogant. Not long ago, Sinbad led his men to massacre over 300 bandits at The Crimson Vultures.
Moreover, during the time of Henry Vander's incident, several large estates, including Briarwood Manor in Willowbrook Town, were raided by Sinbad and his gang.
Bad news travels fast. The news of Mayor Henry Vander being killed by Sinbad quickly spread to Willowbrook Town.
The Blackthorn family, Ravenswood Family, and Hawthorne Family in Willowbrook Town were now grateful they didn't resist.
Sinbad and his bandits dared to kill court officials, let alone common folk.
They were also grateful that Sinbad and his men, despite being bandits, had some code of conduct. When the families chose not to resist, the bandits took some money, grain, and livestock but didn't harm anyone or assault any women.
Whether it was in comparison to Henry Vander's fate or out of genuine gratitude, the families in Willowbrook Town began to suffer from Stockholm Syndrome.
They didn't blame Sinbad for Henry Vander's death.
Chief Sinbad is such a reasonable person. He just brought his men to the estates and said, "Open the gate" and "Do as you see fit."
The Blackthorn family wanted to give 10,000 pounds of grain, so they gave 10,000 pounds of grain. The Hawthorne Family wanted to give 3,000 chickens and ducks, so they gave 3,000 chickens and ducks. The most extravagant was the Ravenswood Family, who only gave a dozen oxen, and that was enough to send Sinbad away.
Sinbad didn't mind any of this. He accepted whatever was offered, regardless of its value, and didn't trouble anyone.
Faced with such a reasonable bandit chief, the mayor of Green River Town, Henry Vander, still got himself killed. He probably didn't want to live!
When Edmund Hale's men asked the Blackthorn family, Ravenswood Family, and Hawthorne Family how many men Sinbad had, each family exaggerated.
The Blackthorn family said Sinbad had 800 men, the Ravenswood Family said 1,000, and the Hawthorne Family said 3,000 elite infantry and cavalry.
Edmund Hale initially didn't believe Sinbad had such a strong force.
But considering Sinbad's ability to act freely in the areas controlled by these two towns, he thought the numbers might be accurate and that Sinbad's true strength could be even greater.
Magnus Valorion didn't expect his mere 200 men to be exaggerated by the nearby families into a force of thousands.
"Who would've thought that such bandit problems would arise in the border areas of Fierce Lion Province. If left unchecked, they could threaten the Great Latium Imperium's rule."
"I must report to the Emperor, requesting a military campaign to quell these audacious bandits."
At this moment, Edmund Hale was convinced that Henry Vander's death was the work of Sinbad and his bandits.
Now, the case of the mayor's murder in Green River Town was solved. But the poisoning case of Lucius Blackthorn and ten other high-ranking officials remained a mystery.