Wu Sheng's face turned pale, and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
However, his head lowered further and further, and he did not dare to raise it for fear of being noticed by Emperor Jing.
Emperor Jing stared at Wu Sheng quietly without saying a word.
Wu Sheng waited for a while before speaking: "Your Majesty, I know that Taoyuan County is a small county on the edge of Hengjiang Prefecture."
"The population is only two thousand, and there has been famine for many years. Even the county magistrate died of starvation seven years ago, so the government exempted him from taxes.
After saying that, Wu Sheng still kept his kneeling posture, motionless.
Li Yuanzhao looked at Wu Sheng curiously. This was the first time he saw an official willing to kneel for so long.
His father didn't even let him get up.
After a long while, Emperor Jing slowly spoke: "Raise your head."
Wu Sheng slowly raised his head while trembling.
"Why is your face so pale?"
Wu Sheng tried his best to smile: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. In order to meet Your Majesty as soon as possible, I have to travel all day and night, so I am a little tired."
"How many times have you been to Taoyuan County in the past seven years?"
"Back to Your Majesty, I have been here three times since I took office as the inspector."
"Is there any change in Taoyuan County?"
........
Wu Sheng hesitated for a moment and said: "Yes! Today, the number of people is still less than two thousand. However, the famine has been relieved, but they are still poor."
"Lie!" Emperor Jing slapped the table and stood up, shouting angrily: "Wu Sheng! How dare you deceive me!"
Wu Sheng looked at Emperor Jing in astonishment, and then knocked his head to the ground.
The voice was full of fear: "I don't dare! I don't dare! Everything I said is true. If you tell a lie, it will be struck by thunder and divided by five horses!"
Emperor Jing was shocked.
Judging from Wu Sheng's performance, he clearly knew the situation in Taoyuan County, but he dared to hide it like this in front of him.
He even swore a poisonous oath to hide what happened in Taoyuan County!
So what kind of magic power does Fang Zhengyi have that can make Wu Sheng use his life so hard?
Guo Tianyang stood aside in a daze, constantly thinking about this issue in his mind.
Emperor Jing sat down slowly: "Guo Banban, what should be the crime of deceiving the emperor?"
Guo Tianyang said: "It can range from beheading to implicating others. Wu Shengming is so stubborn that he even bullies the emperor in person. He deserves a severe sentence and will lead to the implication of the nine clans!"
He hadn't slept in the past two days and was too tired. When he heard that he was going to behead and implicated the nine clans, Wu Sheng's thoughts were completely confused.
The fear in Wu Sheng's heart became more and more profound, and he kept kowtowing and shouting for mercy.
"Wu Sheng! What else do you have to say?"
Wu Sheng raised his head, blood flowed down his forehead, his face was ferocious, he gritted his teeth and said: "How could your Majesty kill the minister in vain! What crime did Wu Sheng commit! At least let the guilty minister know his death."
Emperor Jing's tone was still calm: "I have already been to Taoyuan County. Do you have anything else to say?"
"What!!" Wu Sheng couldn't help but say something.
No matter how hard you think about it, you still can’t understand that the emperor could visit that place in Taoyuan County in person!
Originally, according to his thinking, it was probably the Ministry of Household Tax Inspection that discovered tax evasion in Taoyuan County for several years.
Although the situation is bad, I should be able to fool him with some quibbles. I didn't expect that the emperor had been to Taoyuan County!
Seeing his despairing expression, Emperor Jing asked again: "Wu Sheng, I'm curious about one thing now. What benefits did Fang Zhengyi give you that made you risk your life and deceive me!"
Wu Sheng's heart was filled with despair. Now that he was dead anyway, he decided to just show his cards.
He kowtowed again and said sadly: "Sinful minister! I will die!"
"But I was wronged! I have something to say! It's not that I want to deceive you, but that Fang Zhengyi is really not a human being!!"
Li Yuanzhao, who was kneeling in the corner, suddenly lit up.
It was very boring to kneel here, but suddenly there was such a big melon.
Tears and blood flowed down the corners of Wu Sheng's eyes, his face was blurred, and he cried: "My lord, I first arrived in Taoyuan County a few years ago. At that time, Taoyuan County had already developed into a large scale."
"The outer earthen city wall is even more than ten meters high. The people live a prosperous life and live and work in peace and contentment. It is completely unlike the poverty recorded before."
"I was so happy at that time that I hurriedly reported my merits to the court. Little did I know... Little did I know that Fang Zhengyi wouldn't give in!"
"He tied me to the county government office and threatened me not to tell anyone about Taoyuan County. I even saw his men sewing up a man's path on the street!"
"I am so scared that I dare not refuse..."
The other three people present immediately tightened their anus, it was so fucking bad! Is this a personnel matter?
Li Yuanzhao thought about it and trembled all over. He might have been convinced himself.
Emperor Jing and Guo Tianyang looked at each other, Zhang Biao! It must be that Zhang Biao!
But then Emperor Jing asked curiously again: "Then they let you go?"
"This is unreasonable. Since you have left Taoyuan County, why don't you report it to the superiors? Is it possible that you still have some leverage in their hands?!"
Wu Sheng seemed to be immersed in extremely painful memories. He looked up at the roof and drooled from the corner of his mouth...
Then he closed his eyes and thought: "Yes!"
"They also caught me! At that time, I had promised not to spread the news about Taoyuan County, but how could that traitor Fang Zhengyi believe me!"
"He...they stripped me of my clothes, tied me to a chair, and called a sketch artist to draw me."
"That painting... is so lifelike... I have never seen such realistic painting skills."
"After the painting was completed, they continued to threaten me. If I dared to speak out, they would print thousands of copies of the painting and spread it all over the world! I would be ruined!"
Emperor Jing and Guo Tianyang looked at each other again, showing shock.
What a shame! There are still such ministers in the world! This is banditry! Bandits are not that bad!
Wu Sheng closed his eyes and continued: "This is not over yet."
"After they finished the painting, they didn't let me put on any clothes. I was held naked in front of a loudspeaker. They... they forced me to swear a poisonous oath...say...say..."
Speaking of this, Wu Sheng's emotions seemed to be greatly stimulated, and he fainted.
Guo Tianyang quickly pressed his philtrum a few times and drank another cup of tea before he could breathe easier.
"Say! Say it quickly! What kind of poisonous oath did you make! What happens next!?"
Emperor Jing asked eagerly, that speaker must be the one that was in the room when they signed the contract!
At that time, he was very curious about Wu Sheng's performance now! Emperor Jing can be sure that the trumpet has other mysterious functions!
...........
Li Yuanzhao's eyes were full of surprises.
Well worth the trip! It’s a worthwhile trip! This melon is so delicious to eat.
He felt like a cat scratching his head now, eager to know what kind of poisonous oath Wu Sheng had sworn.
So what if I swore a poisonous oath! ?
Could it be that Wu Sheng is a fool and believed it after he swore a poisonous oath?
...
