After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Before dawn, the area in front of the Wuqing County government office suddenly became lively.

Wu Youfu, dressed in mourning clothes, stood at the front, followed by seven or eight servants.

The crowd carried a red lacquered coffin, which was covered with white silk.

On the second floor of the hotel across the street, Chen Nianzu sat by the window, watching every move at the yamen gate.

"The county magistrate is driving someone to their death!"

Wu Youfu let out a loud howl and collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly.

More and more people gathered to watch, forming layers upon layers, completely blocking the entrance to the county government office.

"Yesterday, Wang Shouren came to my Wu family to check the accounts under the pretext of surveying the land. I treated him to good food and wine, not daring to be negligent in the slightest. Who knew that after he had eaten and drunk his fill, he would start demanding tribute money from me! I gave him the money, but he went even further, forcing my concubine to drink with him! My poor Liu, for the sake of this family business, endured the humiliation to drink with him, and this morning... she's gone!"

Upon hearing this, the onlookers erupted in uproar!

"Soliciting bribes? Magistrate Wang would do such a thing?"

"No wonder they're investigating the farmland so urgently; they're trying to make money off it!"

"I heard those workshops made a fortune, and commercial taxes increased significantly this year. Isn't he satisfied yet?"

"The taxes belong to the government, not him. Besides, what official is ever satisfied?"

"Forcing someone's concubine to drink with them? Is this what a scholar should be like?!"

Several servants mingling in the crowd seized the opportunity to shout, "The magistrate must come out!"

"Give us, the people, justice!"

The county government office gate was tightly closed.

Wang Shouren stood in the second hall, listening calmly to the commotion outside through the screen wall.

The clerk rushed in: "Sir, a lot of people have arrived outside, carrying a coffin. They say Wu Youfu's family members have hanged themselves, and that you extorted bribes, driving them to their deaths!"

Wang Shouren frowned slightly: "Soliciting bribes?"

The advisor nodded: "Wu Youfu kept saying that you went to his house to check the accounts under the pretext of measuring the fields. He treated you kindly, but you demanded bribes and forced his concubine to drink with him. Liu was so humiliated that she hanged herself."

Wang Shouren was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled: "This move is even more ruthless than I thought."

The advisor said urgently, "Sir, you have to go out and explain! If this gets out, your reputation will be completely ruined!"

Wang Shouren smiled faintly and said, "If I go out now and say I didn't solicit any bribes, will anyone believe me?"

The advisor was taken aback.

Wang Shouren continued, "There's a dead man lying there, so nothing I say will make a difference. They're just waiting for me to come out. Once I do, whatever I say will be used against me."

The advisor was pacing anxiously: "What should we do? We can't just let them keep causing trouble outside, can we?"

Wang Shouren, however, acted as if nothing had happened, saying, "Let him make a fuss, let's continue surveying the fields!"

"Can……"

Before the clerk could say anything more, Wang Shouren had already gotten up and left the yamen.

Outside the county government office, Wu Youfu howled for a long time, but there was no response from inside.

He quietly turned his head and glanced at Chen Nianzu upstairs.

Chen Nianzu shook his head slightly, signaling him to continue.

Wu Youfu could only continue wailing, "My poor Liu! You died so unjustly! Wang Shouren, you corrupt official, hypocrite, committing all sorts of evil deeds in Wuqing County, lining your own pockets, and ruining innocent women!"

The county government gates finally opened, and Wang Shouren walked out.

Wu Youfu and the others were startled and instinctively took a step back.

Realizing what was happening, he lunged forward, shouting, "Wang Shouren! You owe me the lives of my family!"

Wang Shouren stopped and said calmly, "Wu Youfu, I spent the entire day yesterday measuring fields in Hexi Town. When did I ever visit your home?"

Wu Youfu choked on his words, then retorted defiantly, "You're lying! You clearly drank at my house yesterday, all night long! You even forced my concubine to keep you company!"

Wang Shouren remained calm: "The local village head and more than a dozen bailiffs can testify. If anyone doesn't believe me, they can go and ask them."

Wu Youfu paused for a moment, then shouted, "Of course you'll side with your own people!"

Before Wang Shouren could say anything more, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Corrupt official!"

Then a rotten vegetable leaf flew over and hit Wang Shouren on the shoulder.

"They drove someone to their death and now they want to deny it!"

"What kind of honest official are they? They're all pretending!"

More rotten vegetable leaves rained down on them.

Wang Shouren raised his hand to cover his face, trying to explain, but the people had already been aroused to anger and were no longer willing to listen!

"I am a high-ranking official of the imperial court, and you..."

Before he could finish speaking, another egg hit him on the forehead, the egg white and yolk streaming down his face.

Wang Shouren wiped his hand away, angrily shouting, "Who threw an egg at me? Do they know how expensive eggs are? I can't even bear to eat them...!"

"Old Master, hurry!"

The clerk rushed forward to protect him, shouting, "Quickly, someone come and protect the magistrate!"

With the protection of the constables, Wang Shouren retreated to the county government office in a sorry state, where the gates were tightly shut.

A cheer erupted from the crowd, seemingly a celebration of victory.

Seeing this, Wu Youfu became even more confident and shouted, "Wang Shouren, running away won't help! Human life is at stake, we can't just let this go! Let's go to Shuntian Prefecture! I refuse to believe that there is no law in the Ming Dynasty!"

The crowd lifted the coffin with their own hands and carried it in a grand procession toward the capital.

Some of the onlookers dispersed, while others followed to watch the spectacle.

Hunhe Workshop Area.

Yang Shenzheng was drawing blueprints on the table, while Zhu Houzhao squatted beside him, watching with great interest.

"Yang, what is this round house?"

"That's a monkey mountain, a place where monkeys are kept."

"And what about this puddle?"

"It's not a puddle, it's a pond, where swans are raised."

Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up: "Once the zoo is built, I'll come and feed the monkeys every day!"

The words had barely left his mouth when the door was pushed open, and Zhao Wu walked in: "Master, something's happened!"

Yang Shen looked up and asked, "What is it?"

Zhao Wu hurriedly said, "Wu Youfu and his gang carried a coffin to the county government office to cause trouble, saying that their concubine was forced to death by Magistrate Wang after he refused to accept a bribe! Now they're carrying the coffin to Shuntian Prefecture, saying they want to file a complaint! Magistrate Wang requests your presence."

"Bullshit! How could Chief Secretary Wang possibly solicit bribes! I'm going to confront them!"

Zhu Houzhao jumped up and was about to rush out.

Yang Shen grabbed him, saying, "Your Highness, don't be in such a hurry!"

Zhu Houzhao exclaimed anxiously, "How can we not be anxious? They've splashed dirty water on Wang Sizhi!"

Yang Shen pressed him back into his chair: "Your Highness is the Crown Prince. Your appearance will only complicate matters further. What if people say that the Crown Prince is abusing his power and helping Magistrate Wang oppress the people? How will you explain that?"

Zhu Houzhao was stunned for a moment, his face turning bright red as he stammered, "Then... what should we do?"

Yang Shen stood up: "Your Highness, please stay and continue drawing up the blueprints to repair our zoo. I will go and take a look."

Zhu Houzhao's eyes widened: "You're going? What good will it do you go alone?"

Yang Shen said, "I will go and discuss countermeasures with Wang Sizhi. Your Highness, rest assured, this is not difficult. I have a plan."

Before Zhu Houzhao could say anything more, Yang Shen had already put on his outer robe, pushed open the door, and left.