After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 211 There is a cursed lone star

The county magistrate of He County finally couldn't kneel any longer.

Damn it.

He saw a ghost.

Who is that voice? How could it know such a secret thing?

You should know that he and the mother and daughter kept it a secret very well; even Clerk Yang didn't know.

How did they know it was from that sound?!

The county magistrate was terrified.

He hurriedly stood up and looked at the newly appointed Minister of Personnel, saying, "There's a ghost."

"puff."

An Qi couldn't help but hold back, but quickly swallowed it back.

She brandished her long sword and said, "How dare you! The Minister of Personnel will definitely investigate the matter between you and Registrar Yang thoroughly. Stop playing tricks here."

“I’m not faking it, there really are ghosts, you have to believe me.”

An Qi was afraid that the county magistrate would expose him in the next second, so he simply slapped the man unconscious.

After knocking her unconscious, she cautiously glanced at the newly appointed Minister of Personnel.

Very good, the lack of expression indicates that he approves of her.

"Put both of them in jail, and then post a notice asking all the victims to come to the county government office."

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel was extremely efficient. Shen Zhiyi originally thought it would take two or three days, but to her surprise, it was all done by noon on the second day.

The group returned to the inn to report the matter to the old emperor.

"Your Majesty, a total of sixty households have been victimized, and the total amount of silver defrauded is seven thousand taels."

The old emperor was so angry that he couldn't even take a nap.

"Has the stolen money been recovered?"

"Most of the money swindled from merchants was then resold at a lower price to another merchant. The money swindled from ordinary people went directly into the names of Yang Zhubu's parents, and some went into the treasury of the county magistrate. He himself didn't keep a single penny."

"Hmph, do you think I won't pursue this matter just because the silver isn't on him? Wishful thinking."

The old emperor gestured for the newly appointed Minister of Personnel to continue.

"Your Majesty, of the seven thousand taels of silver, only two thousand taels were recovered. The rest were used by them. However, a search of the county magistrate's treasury revealed a total of one thousand taels of gold."

"One thousand taels?"

Everyone was surprised.

The Vice Minister of Revenue was shocked: "He County is poor. I never expected that a mere county magistrate could embezzle so much silver. It is truly astonishing."

"Nothing surprising."

The Minister of Works gritted his teeth and said, "A few years ago, the county said they needed to build roads. I spoke to the Minister of Revenue about it, and afterwards, a considerable amount of silver was allocated. Besides this, the construction of the canal also required a substantial sum. If they could embezzle so much..."

The rest is left unsaid, and everyone knows what's going on.

If even a minor county magistrate could embezzle so much, what about the prefect of this area?

The governor of this place really didn't embezzle.

Shen Zhiyi's thoughts chimed in.

The Minister of Works almost blurted out a reply before he could react.

But the old emperor glared at him, and he shut up.

【That’s not right either. 】

Shen Zhiyi was troubled, watching the actions of the local governor, wondering if this could be considered corruption.

The crowd: Greed is greed, how can it be considered as not being greedy?

Everyone wanted to hear more, but Shen Zhiyi got stuck in a dead end about whether it counted as greed, and couldn't come up with anything else for a long time.

"Alright, let's confiscate the property of the local magistrate and registrar first. Oh, and we must return the money we swindled from the people."

"I will receive the order."

The matter in He County was handled swiftly and decisively, which naturally alarmed the local governor.

The local governor's surname was Xu.

When Governor Xu came to see the old emperor, his official robes were patched.

The old emperor stared blankly at the patch.

Judging from this, it seems that Prefect Xu was indeed not greedy.

What exactly is Shen Zhiyi struggling with?

"I was unaware that Your Majesty had come here. I apologize for my poor hospitality. Your Majesty, would you please move your carriage here, and I will find you another place?"

"no, I'm fine."

The old emperor waved his hand.

"This place is quite comfortable, no need to move. But you, you don't know anything about what's happening in the county?"

The old emperor's gaze made Governor Xu break out in a cold sweat, and he immediately knelt down.

"Your Majesty is wise. If I had known that such a thing had happened, I would have punished it severely."

【You may not know, but you completely ignore this place.】

Governor Xu was taken aback.

What's going on?

[This Prefect Xu is truly a talent. He's a genuine example of someone who climbed his way up from the bottom. He lost his parents at a young age and grew up on the charity of the villagers. Because he had a natural talent for studying, and was sent to school through village fundraising, he proved to be very capable. He indeed passed the imperial examination and even rose through the ranks to become a prefect.]

[Exactly the same story as the one in my village who was sent to university.]

Upon hearing Shen Zhiyi's words, the old emperor's gaze towards Governor Xu softened considerably.

He too had climbed his way up from the bottom, and he naturally felt a fondness for talented people like Prefect Xu.

He stretched out his hand.

"Alright, alright, get up."

Governor Xu was flattered and wiped the cold sweat from his face.

For some reason, he felt that the Emperor could hear those sounds just now.

It was only after that voice spoke that the Emperor's attitude towards him changed.

[What happened next was interesting. Ever since this guy managed to become the governor of his hometown, he'd been relentlessly working to improve the lives of his people. He'd bring all sorts of good things to his hometown, turning the villagers who had once helped him into people with a little money. That shouldn't be considered greed, right? He didn't actually take any money; he just brought all the good stuff to his hometown, and all the money was indeed obtained through legitimate channels.]

Governor Xu dared not look the old emperor in the eye.

The old emperor was speechless and didn't know what to say.

"Is Governor Xu from this place?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The old emperor sneered, "How long have you been here?"

"Your Majesty, it has been five years."

"It's been five years..."

The old emperor drew out his words and said in a deep voice, "You've been here for five years. It's time to move to another place. What does Governor Xu think?"

Governor Xu's legs went weak and he knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I think it's excellent."

[Wow, it's been five years! This old guy has married a total of fifty wives in five years, ten a year, almost one a month!]

"Pfft, cough cough cough."

Everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Who gets married every month for no reason? It's so casual.

Governor Xu, who was known for his casual manner, gave an awkward smile.

He was certain; these people could hear that inner voice!

[How strange! This guy must have an incredibly tough life. He lost both his parents when he was young, and every wife he married after that died. He's a cursed lone star!]

This was the first time Shen Zhiyi had ever seen such an outrageous person, and she couldn't help but steal several glances at Governor Xu.

[It's a pity I can't read faces, but he looks very kind. Why is he destined to have his wife die young?]