How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

After the two left, Shen Yuan, who was hiding on the beam, lowered his eyes and fell into deep thought.

In the 79th year of Jian'an, Pingcheng suffered a disaster and Emperor Jian allocated 60 taels of silver for disaster relief. The Ministry of Revenue surrendered to the Second Prince's party by offering silver. Xie Chengze went to Zhuolu County in person to count the silver, but was molested in the street by Zhu Xiaobiao, the son of the county magistrate.

In a rage, Xie Chengze ordered his men to beat Zhu Xiaobiao to death in the street.

This was originally a very trivial matter. Even Shen Yuan himself, when he heard that Zhu Xiaobiao had raped a woman, thought that he deserved it and that evildoers would be punished.

However, in the 85th year of Jian'an, six years after that incident, the top scholar at the Qionglin Banquet conspired with several dancers to assassinate Xie Chengze. After interrogation, it was learned that the new top scholar and these dancers were once Zhu Xiaobiao's concubines.

Most of them come from poor families and are not valued by their parents. Some are even forced into their homes by real bullies because they are too beautiful and are sold for a few taels of silver.

Zhu Xiaobiao arrived in time after hearing the noise, kicked the bully away, and took the man back home.

The handsome champion was the youngest son in the family. His father was partial to him and sent him to an official's house in order to make his elder brother, who was a scholar, have a smooth career in the government. The official had a special habit and would beat and abuse him at will. He finally escaped and fled to Zhuolu County, but was caught up by the enemy's troops.

Just as he was about to be beaten to death, Zhu Xiaobiao happened to pass by and saved him.

Zhu Xiaobiao kept him outside the courtyard, provided him with financial support every month, and even secretly hired a teacher for him. Everyone said that the county magistrate's son was not restricted by sex, but he knew that Lord Zhu was a very good person.

He just has his own reasons.

And such a good man was beaten to death in the street by the second prince.

They were just commoners, without any support, and could only endure humiliation for six years. One day, they became the new top scholar and assassinated the second prince in court to avenge Lord Zhu.

They failed, but they also succeeded.

The newly crowned number one scholar had deep feelings and loyalty but his blood was shed at the banquet. The third place scholar nine years ago was bloodied on the execution ground just because he wrote a poem praising Xie Chengze. This completely angered the students all over the world. They mourned for him, were angry for him, and wrote poems to denounce Xie Chengze, hoping that the emperor would seek justice for the two dead students.

Emperor Jian was already seriously ill at that time, and the matter ultimately came to nothing. However, Xie Chengze had already become alienated from the people, and those who lose the support of the people are doomed to end in a disastrous defeat.

But now, Xie Chengze, who should have killed Zhu Xiaobiao, let Zhu Xiaobiao go.

What was he planning? Did he take Zhu Xiaobiao away to use him for his own benefit, or to eliminate the trouble forever?

Will those so-called "beautiful concubines" die an unnatural death after they left?

How can I protect these people's lives?

Shen Yuan quickly made up his mind and jumped off the beam, intending to leave the place first. However, when he pushed the door, he found that it did not budge.

Shen Yuan:?

……

After leaving the county government office, Shen Yuan returned to the convoy entering the city.

"Lord Shen! Where is my royal brother?" Xie Zimiao ran over in a hurry and asked anxiously.

"His Royal Highness the Second Prince is resting in the family quarters of the county government office." Shen Yuan was quite polite to Xie Zimiao. After all, this child had a simple mind and a kind of stupidity that was untainted by the world, which made him less of a worry.

"Oh." Xie Zimiao wanted to find Xie Chengze immediately, but he couldn't help but be curious. He turned around and asked Shen Yuan, who was facing him with his hands behind his back, "Sir Shen, what are you hiding in your hands?"

Shen Yuan: ...

"Nothing." It was just someone's outer robe that was dirty because he was angry and knocked it off after being locked out of the silver bureau.

"Okay, then I'll go find my royal brother!" Xie Zimiao, who was very sensible, ran away in a hurry again.

The convoy stayed overnight in the county government office, and Shen Yuan was assigned to a single room in the family quarters.

Cicadas chirped incessantly at night, and the room was so hot that he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. As he was worried, he simply got up and went out to cool off.

Unexpectedly, after taking two steps, I saw a slender dark red figure and a fat golden figure squatting on the ground at the corner. The two heads, one big and one small, were put together, talking furtively, and occasionally letting out a few low, evil laughs.

It's somehow funny.

Shen Yuan coughed lightly, and then he saw the dark red figure, like a frightened little wild cat, it suddenly shrank its butt and turned back to look at this side. Its narrow and long phoenix eyes widened at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in the night it looked like a pair of small lanterns that suddenly lit up, making it impossible to take your eyes away.

Shen Yuan's eyes flashed, feeling inexplicably sad.

After seeing who had spoken, the pair of small lanterns dimmed quickly, turned around and said something to the golden figure, then stood up pretending to be calm and walked towards him.

"Your Highness the Second Prince, why is he still awake in the middle of the night, chatting here with the little mouse who stole rice?" Seeing him coming, Shen Yuan folded his arms, leaned against the pillar, and looked at him leisurely.

Unlike during the day, the sleepless man late at night is more steady and dangerous. The elegance of his white clothes and green lining cannot hide the hostility and scrutiny in his eyes. He is like a black panther hiding in the dark, waiting for an opportunity, secretly thinking about how to play with this cunning prey after catching it.

Under his white clothes, there was a stain of "black".

Xie Chengze stopped in front of him, his pair of bright and clear eyes met Shen Yuan's dark eyes directly.

After a moment, he opened his red lips and asked, "Odd changes, but even remains the same?"

Shen Yuan frowned, "What?"

Not a fellow villager...

Xie Chengze took another step forward. Shen Yuan was tall and slender, half a head taller than him, so he tilted his neck and continued to move closer to Shen Yuan, staring at him with a curious look, as if he was looking at something new and interesting.

Shen Yuan subconsciously stepped back in disgust, but he forgot that there was a pillar behind him. He was just a step slower and was trapped by Xie Chengze's arms. He was caught off guard and met the other's increasingly bright eyes.

He saw Xie Chengze slowly speaking, with a smile mixed with amusement, "Not as elegant as a certain gentleman on the beam, I think there must be a different flavor in the secret room, right?"

Shen Yuan's expression darkened, "You did it on purpose."

At that time, the guards of the silver bureau were deliberately dismissed. County Magistrate Zhu was not in the county government office, and there was no one in charge of the silver vault. Xie Chengze deliberately let Zhu Xiaobiao lock him in the silver bureau and hide in the dark to watch him make a fool of himself.

Xie Chengze pretended to be innocent again, blinked and moved closer to him, "I don't understand what Lord Shen is talking about, and I don't know where my robe is now. If it's dirty, please clean it for me."

He even saw it and took out his anger on his robe.

Shen Yuan felt a flush of shame spread across his face. In the ten years of fighting, he had rarely acted on impulse like this, and he was caught red-handed by the real culprit.

"Lord Shen?" Xie Chengze raised his eyebrows, his smile becoming more playful.

Shen Yuan looked at him solemnly. The person in front of him was smiling so proudly, like a kitten that had won a battle. He couldn't help but reveal his hidden little tail and dangle it in front of him.

In that case, he took the opportunity to grab his tail.

Shen Yuan grabbed Xie Chengze's shoulders and turned around suddenly, and the positions and situations of the two were instantly reversed.

Trapping Xie Chengze in his arms, Shen Yuan leaned over to his face, a wicked smile on his lips, "Then why don't you explain to me, Your Highness, why did the 10,000 taels end up in your hands?"