Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

"Tell me what you do, why did you come here?" Fang Zheng subtly guided Wang Erzhu with his words.

"I... I'm a farmer. Life in Xinzhang County became unbearable, so I wanted to come here and do some business," Wang Erzhu said, still somewhat afraid.

Yang Yingcai frowned and said, "Unbearable? Nonsense. Xinzhang County has always had good policies to help the people. You have land, so how could life be unbearable? You must speak clearly and not add any falsehoods."

"If you yourself are a lazy person, not thinking of progress, then you can't blame others for your bad life!"

Lazy? Am I lazy?

Wang Erzhu felt a little dizzy.

Although he lost both parents, his father died early, and he was the only strong laborer in the family, always managing the household.

Every day, he diligently farmed the land, busy from morning till night, exhausted like a dead dog.

Lazy... This was a great insult to his character.

Wang Erzhu felt extremely wronged. Anger gradually grew in his heart, tears welled up in his eyes, and he roared, "I'm already trying very hard to live! Why do you call me lazy!"

Fang Zheng felt a pang of sympathy.

Poor Wang Erzhu, even when lying flat, he was still being slandered. It was truly miserable.

"Every day, I come out to work before dawn and can only rest after the sun goes down. Before, I could barely make a living on my own."

"But after he came, everything changed!" Wang Erzhu said, angrily pointing at Sun Sheng.

Sun Sheng's eyes widened, somewhat in disbelief.

He... considered himself diligent and loving towards the people. He never thought that this bumpkin who appeared from nowhere would slander him in front of His Majesty!

Was this person a shill hired by Fang Zheng?!

Although he had this question in his mind, Emperor Jing clearly didn't trust him now.

Sun Sheng didn't dare to say much.

Wang Erzhu continued to cry, "Since this dog official took office, Xinzhang has changed."

"Originally, prices were relatively stable, but later, the government restricted others from raising prices, and things became harder and harder to buy. Eventually, you couldn't buy anything without going through back doors and paying extra. Prices in the city became higher and higher."

"Not only that, but during the agricultural off-season, I had to go to the city to find odd jobs to barely make a living. In the past, I could find a good job, selling my strength to earn some money."

"But later, some small workshops in the city were taken over. They hired fewer people, made them work harder, and the little money they earned wasn't enough to feed me. I simply stayed at home and didn't dare to go out, so I wouldn't move around and could skip a meal."

"Once you got injured from work and got sick, you wouldn't have money to treat it!" Wang Erzhu's voice grew louder and louder, "Those pharmacies were also taken over by rich people, and the prices of medicinal herbs were several times higher. Even if you got them, you wouldn't know if you bought real or fake ones! Do you know that?"

"I had a neighbor... who got a cold. Because he couldn't bear it, he sold his land to buy medicine, but in the end, his illness wasn't cured, and his land was gone!"

Wang Erzhu said with tears in his voice, pointing directly at Sun Sheng, "It's all because of you! I live in fear every day now!"

"I'm about to run out of food, and there's hardly any money left in my house!"

"The land of so many people around me has been taken away by big landlords at low prices. We wanted to appeal to the government... but we couldn't even get into the yamen's door, and they would be beaten and scolded."

"What can we do? We can only complain in private, but you don't even allow us to complain! If you're heard, you'll be thrown in jail!"

Wang Erzhu beat his chest and stamped his feet, "I'm scared... I'm afraid I won't have food to eat, I'm afraid my ancestral property will be taken away, and I'm even afraid of the court... What did I do wrong! Why do you still call me lazy?! I just want to live a normal life!"

Sun Sheng's eyes flashed with panic, "Impossible! This must either be something that happened to you alone, or you're lying!"

"I'm lying?!" Wang Erzhu pointed back at himself, his eyes wide with anger, "Dog official! You still want to blame me?!"

"Where's your conscience? Do you think you can bully me endlessly just because I'm a commoner?"

"I only have an orchard left at home, which my father passed down to me, and I don't even want it anymore... That's my ancestral property, ancestral property!" Wang Erzhu wailed loudly.

"Do you think I don't want it? I've lived in Xinzhang my whole life, but I can't live there anymore, I can't live there anymore!"

Wang Erzhu lost control of his emotions, and everyone present was secretly shocked.

It seemed there were other hidden circumstances that they hadn't seen at all.

However, Sun Sheng had already lost his composure, pointing at Wang Erzhu and shouting, "Shut up! Lies, all lies. Your Majesty, this person must have been hired by Fang Zheng to slander me... I report news from Xinzhang County every three days. How could I be unaware of the people living so miserably!"

"You son of a bitch, you still want to say I'm lying?!" Wang Erzhu was furious and lunged forward, baring his teeth and brandishing his claws.

Caught off guard, Sun Sheng was knocked to the ground, and the two began to fight.

This unprecedented turn of events stunned everyone. Yang Yingcai reacted and hurriedly shouted, "Someone! Quickly pull them apart!"

"Don't move, let them fight!" Emperor Jing said in a deep voice.

"Guo Banban, I asked you to secretly investigate Xinzhang. You should have gained something, right?"

Guo Tianyang stepped forward and said softly, "This servant has gained a lot. Does Your Majesty want to hear it now?"

"Tell them to listen."

"Yes, this servant secretly sent people to investigate many gentry families and yamen officials in Xinzhang County. As Master Fang expected, these local forces have basically united under Sun Sheng's high-pressure tactics."

"Sun Sheng was kept in the dark. The gentry families secretly and heavily bought up the people's shops and fields at low prices. And the yamen officials acted as thugs, escorting them. Whenever Sun Sheng visited the people, they would unite to put on a show."

"These incriminating evidences, this servant has already made them sign and put their fingerprints on them. Does Your Majesty want to see them now?"

After hearing this, the ministers fell into silence. Only Sun Sheng's wails and Wang Erzhu's roars remained.

Emperor Jing raised his hand, his deep gaze sweeping over the crowd, "Unnecessary. Have you all heard? So many pillars of the country, veterans of two dynasties, and not a single one of them discovered the problem! Instead, a young Fang Zheng saw through everything!"

"Zheng'er said something good: 'His feet don't touch the mud...' You all keep the people on your lips, but who really cares?"

Yang Yingcai couldn't help but argue, "Your Majesty, Sun Sheng was just deceived by villains. If they keep fighting, he'll be beaten to death!"

"Deceived by villains? Why are all the villains in Xinzhang County except for him? Weren't these villains created by him?" Emperor Jing said coldly.

"Your Majesty, if they keep fighting, he'll really die," Fang Zheng whispered as a reminder.

This Sun Sheng was just a scholar. He couldn't withstand Wang Erzhu's farmer's punches. He was basically being beaten on the ground.

He was already bruised and swollen, spitting blood, in a very miserable state.

Seeing this, Emperor Jing waved his hand.

Fang Zheng hurriedly stepped forward, wanting to pull Wang Erzhu away.

It didn't matter if Sun Sheng died, but if Wang Erzhu beat a scholar to death, that would be a big problem.

The two were fighting in a cloud of dust. Fang Zheng, disliking the dirt, took out a silver ingot from his sleeve.

He handed it to Wang Erzhu. Wang Erzhu's gaze fixed, and he stopped moving.

Fang Zheng said with a smile, "Stop fighting, Erzhu. These are all government officers."

......