I was kicked out of the house, and I was reborn and became the emperor

Zhang Wenyuan stared at the hunter and said in a deep voice, "Brother, the reason why the Marquis and I are here is to save the people of Jiuyuan County from suffering. If you have any grievances, just tell us and we will do justice for you!"

"That's right, Brother Hunter, I would like to know first, what happened to the corpse on the scorched earth at the foot of the mountain?" Fang Yi asked.

The hunter had not expected that the two would be the first to ask about this. Fear and anger flashed in his eyes. He clutched the corners of his clothes with both hands and said tremblingly, "It was... that dog official who did this!"

"What! It was really Lu Dongxun who did it!" Fang Yi glared at Zhang Wenyuan.

Zhang Wenyuan remained calm and asked, "Why did Magistrate Lu want to harm his own people?"

"That dog official imposed heavy taxes and forced us to hand over all our grain. Some people could no longer bear it and wanted to file a complaint with the Governor's Office, but the news accidentally leaked out and the dog official found out. He then sent his private soldiers to capture everyone and... killed them all!"

The hunter gnashed his teeth and looked down the mountain.

"This damn official! Lu Wude!"

Fang Yi was indignant.

Zhang Wenyuan keenly grasped the key information and asked anxiously, "You mean private soldiers? How many private soldiers does County Magistrate Lu have?"

"Nearly a thousand people, all of whom were soldiers he recruited when he was the prefect."

Fang Yi raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing a bit of surprise, "A thousand people? As far as I know, our Jiuyuan County has a total population of only more than 10,000. The county is so dilapidated, and Lu Dongxun can still support such a large-scale private army? No wonder the people are terrified when they hear about it, and no one dares to resist."

The captain of the hunters sighed and said, "Who dares to resist? That dog official relies on his status as a royal relative, his cousin being the Grand Commander's concubine, and his accomplices sitting in Ningde Prefecture. Let alone resistance, even if he has a little dissatisfaction in his heart, he will not be able to escape death."

"He really thinks of himself as a local emperor. It seems that once the relationship falls out, Lu Dongxun will not take me seriously at all." Fang Yi glanced at Zhang Wenyuan, who was frowning, and spoke with worry.

Zhang Wenyuan's face changed slightly, and he whispered to Fang Yi: "The situation is complicated, Lord, can I have a word with you for a moment..."

The two men moved aside, and Zhang Wenyuan lowered his voice and said, "My Lord, speaking directly in front of the hunters may arouse their deeper fear, which will be detrimental to our obtaining their help."

Fang Yi nodded slightly, motioning for him to continue.

Zhang Wenyuan's voice lowered a little, "The situation is tricky now. Even if we collect evidence of Magistrate Lu's crimes, it will not be easy to bring him to justice in Jiuyuan County."

"Are you worried about the thousands of private soldiers?"

Zhang Wenyuan nodded in confirmation, and Fang Yi quickly added: "Privately raising an army is already a serious crime. Where in the Great Zhou is there a county magistrate with such power?"

"Those soldiers are actually patrol troops. They are already registered and not recruited privately by Magistrate Lu. Moreover, Jiuyuan County is surrounded by enemies on three sides, so there are legitimate reasons for reserving troops to prevent external invasion."

After hearing this, Fang Yi sighed, "Lu Dongxun is indeed a bit cunning, and is good at finding loopholes in the law. As a prince, how can I be stumped by a small county magistrate?"

"At present, the only option is to ask Zhuge Zhan to come forward. As the governor-general and governor of Yanzhou, he has the power to dismiss local officials," Zhang Wenyuan suggested.

"But Zhuge Zhan has a relationship with Lu Dongxun and is also his brother-in-law. Who can guarantee that he will be fair and selfless and not show leniency to Lu Dongxun?" Fang Yi sneered.

"Zhuge Zhan is a man of high moral character. He would never protect a corrupt official like Lu Dongxun. But he is often away leading troops and shouldering the heavy responsibility of resisting the northern tribes. He may not have the time to take care of the affairs of a mere county."

"Indeed, I cannot leave the country without permission, and you are the deputy commander of the Capital Guards. If you go there directly, it will surely arouse suspicion. So, what should we do?"

Just when Fang Yi was at a loss, an idea suddenly occurred to him, and he thought of Zhuge Jingqi. She had said before that she owed him a favor, and as the daughter of the Grand Commander of Yanzhou, she must have a solution.

After some secret planning, Fang Yi and Zhang Wenyuan worked out a plan and obtained more information from the hunter. They drove their horses to the boundary marker of Jiuyuan County under the cover of night.

"Commander Zhang, please be sure to hand this letter to Zhuge Jingqi in person. The success of our plan depends entirely on you."

As Fang Yi spoke, he handed the letter he had just written to Zhang Wenyuan.

"I will definitely fulfill my mission and rush back within five days to help you eradicate the evil! But you are in a dangerous place, so you need to be extremely careful. County Magistrate Lu has many soldiers and horses. If everything goes wrong, your safety will be in jeopardy!"

Zhang Wenyuan said worriedly.

Fang Yi smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will pretend to be completely clueless and let Lu Dongxun completely relax his vigilance. I still have this intention."

"Okay, if I can return early, I will wait for you at Dingfeng Restaurant in the county town! Take care, Your Majesty!"

Zhang Wenyuan bowed and said goodbye, then rode his horse quickly towards the Yanzhou Governor's Mansion.

Fang Yi turned his horse around and headed for the nearby county town to meet up with Xiaorou and the others.

After days of hard work, he fell into a deep sleep before explaining the details to Xiaorou.

The next morning, the convoy set off again and actually entered Jiuyuan County.

Fang Yi finally got to see with his own eyes the magistrate, Lu Dongxun, who had absolute power and influence over the entire county!

……

At noon, two horse-drawn carriages leisurely drove into the territory of Jiuyuan County. Before Fang Yi stepped on the ground, a burst of jubilant music had already taken the lead and echoed around.

When I got off the car, the scene in front of me seemed like a different world: the welcoming team stretched out like a dragon, led by Lu Dongxun with a smug look on his face, and flanked by the shrewd Master Lin.

Fang Yi was surprised to find that even the weeds around the Jiuyuan County boundary marker had been cleared away, and a bright red flower was uniquely tied to the marker.

"My Lord, this is not a welcoming ceremony, it's clearly a wedding reception."

Xiaorou smiled and whispered into Fang Yi's ear.

"Indeed, Xiaorou, it's up to you from now on. Do as we discussed last night."

Although he has already entered Yanzhou, Fang Yi no longer needs to pretend to be stupid, but in front of Lu Dongxun, he chose to be taciturn. This silence is actually the best strategy to make people unpredictable.

Therefore, Fang Yi and Xiaorou agreed in advance that Xiaorou would handle all negotiations with Jiuyuan County.

However, Xiaorou seemed a little stage-frightened at the moment. She gently tugged at Fang Yi's collar and whispered, "My Lord, I'm afraid. I'm tongue-tied and afraid that I'll delay your business."

"Aren't you usually able to chat with me?"

"That was just a joke with the Marquis, talking about irrelevant things." Xiaorou said shyly, like a shrinking kitten.

"That's great. The more clumsy you appear, the less Lu Dongxun will take us seriously... Let's go!"

After he finished speaking, Fang Yi gave Xiao Rou a gentle push, and she staggered a few steps and almost fell in front of Lu Dongxun, stammering a few incoherent official words.

Lu Dongxun found what he said confusing, but fortunately this experienced official was tactful and did not embarrass Xiaorou too much. Then, amid the sound of noisy gongs and drums, the group was welcomed into the city.