The magistrate was brought up.
Ying Zheng asked: "Which county are you the magistrate of?"
The county magistrate said: "I am Zhao Si, the ancient and virtuous magistrate of the county."
Ying Zheng nodded: "Guxian County, if you don't follow the imperial edict and come to Beijing, what do you mean?"
The county magistrate cupped his hands and said seriously: "Because I have discovered some issues regarding Gumai Village, and I dare not not inform His Majesty."
Ying Zheng hummed and said calmly: "What is it?"
The county magistrate said: "I discovered that the villagers of Gumai Village were deceived."
At this time, everyone in the court was listening carefully and anxiously waiting for the county magistrate to give a result.
The county magistrate said to Ying Zheng: "I discovered that someone was pretending to be the emperor's messenger."
As soon as this statement came out, the officials were in an uproar.
Pretending to be a messenger from the emperor? What is the difference between this and falsely preaching the imperial edict? Even because this kind of thing was so unbelievable, the courtiers couldn't even think of what kind of punishment should be used to deal with this situation.
Ying Zheng said to the county magistrate: "Someone is pretending to be the emperor's messenger? Who is pretending to be the emperor's messenger?"
The county magistrate said: "I don't know who it is, but I know that that person is a close associate of a certain lord in the court."
Shi Wu suddenly shuddered and thought: Did this person really find out? No way, how did he find out? It's impossible.
Ying Zheng looked indifferent and asked: "How do you know that someone is pretending to be the emperor's messenger? How do you know that this person is a minister of the DPRK?"
The county magistrate said: "Because the fake envoy seemed to be quite familiar with the affairs of the court, and his words were clear and logical. He deceived the patrol officers of the county government."
"I believe that these envoys must be subordinates of the ministers of the DPRK. Otherwise, they would not be so familiar with the government."
Ying Zheng asked: "Then how do you determine that these messengers are fake?"
The county magistrate took out a piece of silk cloth from his sleeve and said: "This is the so-called imperial decree provided by the fake messenger. I think it is full of flaws."
The young eunuch took the piece of silk cloth and handed it to Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng glanced at it, sneered, and threw it to the ground: "How brave."
The magistrate lowered his head and said nothing.
Ying Zheng looked at the ministers and said calmly: "Did you do it?"
The courtiers all lowered their heads and no one spoke.
Among them, Shi Wu was trembling in his heart.
He was thinking hard, wondering if he had left any loopholes and whether others would find out.
He even started to go backwards, wondering what he should do if he was found out.
Is it to escape or...
Shi Wu was worried: Since we have come to this step, we can't be afraid or hesitate. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as it is proven that banishing immortals is shaking the foundation of the Qin Dynasty, everything will be fine.
After Shi Wu Hengxin, he became much stronger.
He imitated the behavior of the courtiers around him, looking around, as if looking for the so-called courtier.
Ying Zheng looked at the courtiers below, sneered, and gave a few instructions to the young eunuch beside him.
The young eunuch responded and hurried away.
The emperor ordered to investigate a person, how could he not be found out? It's just a matter of time, so Ying Zheng is not worried.
Ying Zheng asked the county magistrate calmly: "What did those false envoys do in your county?"
The county magistrate said: "They arrested the villagers of Gumai Village and intimidated them. They did not allow them to tell the truth and even asked them to frame them and banish them as immortals."
Ying Zheng suddenly understood, and said with an ooh, "So, the people are very supportive of Huaiguzi's method?"
The county magistrate said: "Yes."
Ying Zheng added: "So, what the villagers of Gumai Village said are actually false?"
The county magistrate nodded and said, "Yes."
At this time, Shi Wu couldn't help it.
He stood up and said to the county magistrate: "Why do I suddenly feel that this false messenger may not really exist?"
The county magistrate was stunned for a moment and said to Shi Wu: "My lord, why do you say that? The physical evidence is clear, so how could the fake messenger not be here?"
Shi Wu said: "We can make a reasonable guess. If, let's say what if. If the people are dissatisfied with the method of banishing the immortal, especially the villagers of Gumai Village, they are especially dissatisfied with the method of banishing the immortal."
"Suddenly one day, several envoys appeared who could take them to the court to complain. So these people came excitedly."
"But the Exalted Immortal heard about it, so he found a county magistrate and asked the magistrate to forge a government decree full of loopholes, and then falsely accused His Majesty's envoy of being a fake."
"If the messengers are all false, then the confessions of these people will naturally be false. Naturally, there will be countless things done."
"Then banished immortals can rest easy. Think about it, is this true?"
After hearing this, many of the courtiers nodded.
Exiled Immortal always has no rules in doing things, he does whatever he wants, and this is indeed something he can do.
Li Shui said helplessly: "Everyone, you can question my character, but you cannot question my character."
"Have I ever lied to anyone? Have I ever lied? Which of my words is not true? If you think I have lied or deceived people, please point it out and let me listen."
courtier:"……"
They were silent.
It seems that there really is no such thing.
Shi Wu said: "It is true that Ban Xian has never lied before, but that doesn't mean he won't lie now. I think there is still a high possibility that Ban Xian will lie to others. After all, it is a life and death battle now, and no possibility can be ignored. "
The courtiers all nodded, feeling that this was quite reasonable.
Li Xin looked at these people helplessly: They are just a bunch of losers.
Ying Zheng said to the county magistrate: "Do you have any news about the identities of those fake messengers?"
The county magistrate thought for a while and said: "The fake messenger once took out a jade pendant and wanted to prove his identity. My patrol officers still remembered the appearance of the jade pendant, so I asked them to draw it."
So the county magistrate took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, with a jade pendant drawn on it.
The courtiers came over to take a look and started talking about it.
Ying Zheng said calmly: "My lords, have you seen this jade pendant?"
The courtiers said: "He looks familiar, a little bit familiar. I seem to have seen him not long ago, but I can't remember exactly where I saw him."
But Shi Wu was beating a drum in his heart.
Others don't remember this jade pendant, but he remembers it clearly.
Because this jade pendant is indeed his.
A few months ago, this jade pendant was publicly auctioned at the Immortal Exile Tower, which caused a lot of heated discussion.
At that time, Shi Wudan was very generous and bought this jade pendant. No wonder so many courtiers were deeply impressed by this jade pendant.
Shi Wu did not dare to speak and waited silently. After the atmosphere of the discussion subsided, Shi Wu slowly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, no one remembered the origin of this jade pendant.
Ying Zheng said calmly: "You all go back and think about it carefully. Come back when you have thought clearly."
After Ying Zheng finished speaking, he left.
The courtiers looked at each other and then walked outside.
They habitually want to go to public residences by themselves. However, a young eunuch blocked their way and said with a smile: "My lords, where are you going?"
The courtiers were stunned for a moment and said, "Where to go? Aren't we arranged to stay there for the night?"
The young eunuch said: "Your Majesty has issued an order. Your Excellencies no longer need to be confined in the palace. You can leave."
The courtiers were surprised and delighted, and asked, "Seriously?"
The little eunuch smiled and nodded: "Of course it is true."
The courtiers were surprised and happy, and said to the young eunuch: "Then... can we go out now?"
The young eunuch smiled: "Of course you can go out now."
So, the courtiers walked outside excitedly.
From a distance, they saw that the palace door had been opened.
A few minutes later, the courtiers left the palace, like birds flying out of their cages, heading back to their homes.
However, they were stopped by others again.
The person who stopped them was a craftsman from Shangjun Courtyard.
The courtiers looked at the craftsman with some confusion: "What do you mean?"
The craftsman said: "You need to pay before you can go out."
The courtiers looked confused: "Pay the money, to whom?"
The craftsman said: "Of course I have to pay Shangjun Courtyard."
The courtiers laughed: "Pay money to Shang Jun's Villa. It's really interesting. Why do we have to pay Shang Jun's Villa? Can't we leave without paying? Is Shang Jun's Villa now a bandit? No. You can’t go home if you pay the money? What’s the point?”
The craftsman said: "Your expenses in the palace are all provided by Shang Jun's courtyard. Now that you are leaving, of course you should pay the bills."
The courtiers stared: "What Shangjun's court supplies is really unreasonable. Your Majesty kept us in the palace. We lived in the palace's houses and ate the palace's food. Farewell to Shangjun What does the hospital have to do with it?"
The craftsman coughed dryly and said, "That's right. The eunuchs and maids in the palace each perform their duties and have their own things to do. After you arrive in the palace, their workload will be very heavy."
"Whose does this extra workload belong to? It can only be attributed to you. According to the banished immortal, it should be distributed according to work. The more you work, the more you will get. If you work less, you will get less. If you don't work, you will get nothing."
"These palace maids and eunuchs have done so much work, so their salary should be more. And this extra salary should be used by your lords."
The courtiers were a little unhappy.
In the past, when Huai Guzi didn't come, they had stayed in the palace, but there had never been such messy things. This Huaiguzi... there are so many things going on.
But soon some court officials came to their senses. They looked at the craftsman and said, "That's not right. According to your theory, we owe His Majesty money. This money should be given to His Majesty. Why should we give it to Huaiguzi?"
The craftsman groaned and said: "You should indeed give the extra salary to the imperial court. There is no doubt about this. But the food you eat and the water you drink are all sent by Shangjun Courtyard."
"In our Shangjun Courtyard, the meals delivered to the palace every day are free. These are the banished immortals to honor Your Majesty. There is no problem with this."
"But you adults are also eating and drinking in the palace for free. This is unreasonable."
All the courtiers puffed their beards and glared: "What do you mean, free food? What do you mean free food?"
The craftsman coughed dryly and said to the courtiers: "Therefore, you have to pay for these meals."
The courtiers all said unhappily: "How much is it?"
The craftsman said with a smile: "It's not expensive, one piece of gold per person."
The courtiers exclaimed: "Isn't one piece of gold expensive?"
The craftsman coughed dryly and said, "My lords, you don't know something. You live in the palace. After these meals are prepared, they will be sent to the palace."
"There's a lot of traffic on this road. What if a craftsman delivering food gets hit? Is a human life worth a piece of gold?"
"In order to make this meal, the fireman must work hard to blow the fire, just in case the house is accidentally set on fire. Is this house worth a piece of gold?"
"The lady who is cooking, keeps stirring, and the oil will burst out from time to time. If it bursts into her eyes, won't she be blind?"
"Are these eyes worth a piece of gold?"
The courtiers were speechless.
The craftsman said: "So, this dish is not expensive at all."
The courtiers said quietly: "However, is the person delivering the food dead? Did the person blowing the fire set the house on fire? Is the person cooking the food blind? If not, why do you charge us so much money?"
The craftsman said: "Although nothing happened to them, we all bought insurance beforehand. The share of the insurance belongs to you."
courtier:"……"
The craftsman added: "Besides, what kind of high-end place is the palace? The palace is splendid and resplendent, with royal majesty and royal aura everywhere."
"Can eating outside be the same as eating in the palace? Even if a piece of steamed bun is a steamed bun outside the palace, it will no longer be an ordinary steamed bun in the palace. It should be worth twice as much."
"If I charge you a penny for this meal, wouldn't that mean that the palace is shabby? Wouldn't that mean that it's not noble enough? If you don't want to contribute a single penny, don't you think that the palace is not worth so much money? You don't have much respect for the palace. Too much awe, could it be that you have rebellious intentions?"
The courtiers roared and rolled up their sleeves, as if they wanted to beat up the craftsman.
Upon seeing this, Takuto quickly took a step back, ready to escape at any moment.
Who knew that those courtiers took out the gold from their bodies and threw it on the ground: "Here it is, here it is. Get the money and get out."
The courtiers left angrily. The craftsman looked at these courtiers and thought to himself: Your lords are wearing silk and satin, and they look very polite. Why are you so rude when it's time to speak?
He shook his head with some disappointment and thought: "When I ask Banned Immortal later, I should suggest to Banned Immortal that we offer an extra etiquette class in the night school."
When the craftsman thought of banishing an immortal to teach others etiquette, he didn't know why, but he felt a little excited deep in his heart.
As for Ban Xian and Li Shui, they did not leave the palace, but were called to the study by Ying Zheng.
Ying Zheng sat on the chair, looked at Li Shui, and said calmly: "Did you really not bribe the county magistrate?"
Li Shui smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty is aware of everything and already knows the truth. Why do you need to scare me again?"
