At this time, the county magistrate in charge of this area rushed over with his runners.
"This humble official pays his respects to Your Highness!"
The magistrate first wiped the sweat from his face, then straightened his clothes before trotting over to bow before the Prince of Pingyang.
"Rise."
The Prince of Pingyang raised his hand to gesture.
The magistrate gratefully kowtowed in thanks to the Prince of Pingyang before standing up.
"This humble official did not know Your Highness was here. Please forgive my offense."
The magistrate looked at the Prince of Pingyang with a flattering expression.
"No matter. I had you come here on official business."
The Prince of Pingyang tilted his chin toward the estate manager.
"This person deceives his superiors and hides the truth from his subordinates. According to the law, how should he be dealt with?"
The magistrate turned to look in the direction the Prince of Pingyang pointed. When he saw it was the estate manager, he immediately froze.
This estate manager usually had a very good relationship with him.
Because the estate where the manager worked was backed by the Princess of Pingyang.
As a lowly ninth-grade official, the magistrate naturally wanted to build a connection with the Prince of Pingyang's estate.
As the estate manager's life got better and better, the magistrate also skimmed a lot of profit along the way.
"Your Highness, is there perhaps some misunderstanding?" the magistrate probed with trepidation.
The Prince of Pingyang stroked the jade thumb ring on his hand, looking straight at the magistrate.
"Do you think I have wronged him?"
The Prince of Pingyang's tone was sharp, scaring the magistrate so much that he immediately dropped to his knees again.
"Your Highness, this humble official misspoke. Please forgive me!"
"Wang Wu, repeat what you just said!"
The Prince of Pingyang looked at Wang Wu, who was kneeling not far away.
Seeing the magistrate's state, Wang Wu knew that his only option now was to confess and seek leniency, hoping to clear himself of involvement.
Wang Wu repeated what he had just said.
After hearing this, the magistrate was a bit unsure of what the Prince of Pingyang meant.
Although the estate manager had found someone to deceive the Prince of Pingyang, it didn't involve that much silver, did it?
What crime should he convict him of?
"To answer Your Highness, a treacherous servant like this should receive at least thirty strikes of the cane."
The Prince of Pingyang stroked the jade thumb ring on his hand and did not agree.
The magistrate knelt on the ground, feeling very uneasy.
Before long, a large group of people was seen walking toward them.
Chunsheng and the others, who had been standing to the side with wooden expressions, saw the figures of the approaching people clearly.
"Father, Mother! Eldest Brother, Second Brother!"
He went to greet them.
The other few people also saw their relatives and ran toward them one after another.
For a moment, the crowd hugged each other and cried together.
The guards who had rescued the commoners quietly returned to stand behind the Prince of Pingyang.
Chunsheng wiped his tears clean, then quickly ran to kneel before the Prince of Pingyang.
"Your Highness, this commoner wishes to sue the estate manager!"
The Prince of Pingyang's hand finally stopped moving.
He looked at Chunsheng, his tone very gentle.
"The county magistrate is here. Whatever grievances you have, feel free to tell him."
"Rest assured, if the magistrate cannot resolve it, I will personally seek justice for you!"
The magistrate trembled with fear; he understood the meaning behind the Prince of Pingyang's words.
If he dared to show even the slightest favoritism today, his career as a petty official would be over.
He kowtowed to the Prince of Pingyang, then stood up and looked at the commoners supporting each other behind him.
"Everyone, rest assured. If an official does not seek justice for the people, he might as well go home and plant sweet potatoes!"
"Whatever grievances you have, speak freely. This official will definitely bring you justice!"
Chunsheng kowtowed to the magistrate.
"This commoner wishes to sue the estate manager! He oppresses the people!"
"The Princess clearly only charges us fifty percent in rent, but he actually collected eighty percent from us!"
"A while ago, he even said that the Princess thought we paid too little rent and wanted to raise it to ninety percent!"
"We truly could not accept it and said we did not want to rent anymore."
"But he had people seize my parents and brothers!"
"Today, he even threatened me, saying that if I dared to speak out of turn, he would kill my family!"
"I beg the magistrate to seek justice for me! Give me a fair verdict!"
After Chunsheng finished speaking, the rescued commoners all knelt down.
"We beg the magistrate to seek justice for us!"
"Magistrate, this humble one wishes to accuse the estate manager of forcefully abducting civilian women!"
A sudden voice came from a distance.
Duoduo curiously peeked out from behind the Prince of Pingyang.
It turned out to be the elderly man they had first met.
Supported by his son, the old man quickly arrived before the crowd.
He and his son both knelt down.
"This commoner wishes to sue the estate manager. He forcefully abducts women and preys upon the villagers."
"My daughter was already engaged, but the estate manager saw her and insisted on taking her into his household."
"I refused, so the estate manager had his men kidnap my daughter."
"I beg you, righteous lord, please save my daughter!"
After speaking, the old man kowtowed several times with loud thuds.
The magistrate had long heard of the estate manager's behavior.
"Outrageous! To actually do something worse than a beast."
"Men! Enter the compound and search on my orders!"
"Yes, sir!" The nearby runners immediately rushed in.
Ling Feng waved his hand, and the guards followed closely into the residence.
Before long, four or five women were pushed out.
The last woman had a vacant expression and was covered in injuries.
"Hua'er!"
Seeing the woman, the old man immediately struggled to climb up from the ground.
Hua'er looked hesitantly at the old man, and when she clearly saw that it was indeed her family, she burst into loud sobs.
The old man and his son had already walked up to the woman, and she knelt down.
"Father! Forgive your daughter for being unfilial. I can only repay your kindness in raising me in the next life."
After saying this, the woman scrambled up and dashed toward the stone lion at the entrance to bash her head against it.
A guard nearby acted quickly and pulled her back.
The old man slapped the woman's arm.
"You foolish girl, it's better to live a bad life than die a good death! Your father isn't dead yet. By doing this, are you doing justice to the grace of your parents who raised you?"
The old man's son held onto his sister. "Hua'er, this is His Highness, and this is the county magistrate. They can save you!"
Hua'er's gaze swept over the Prince of Pingyang and the magistrate.
Finally, her gaze stopped on Duoduo, who was beside the Prince of Pingyang.
She walked with difficulty to the front of the Prince of Pingyang, knelt down, and kowtowed.
"Your Highness, this common woman wishes to sue the estate manager!"
"He keeps many running dogs. If anyone disobeys him, he has them killed!"
"Whenever he fancies a woman from any family, he snatches her to be a concubine. If she refuses, her fate is to be chopped up and used as flower fertilizer!"
"He... he also hoards weapons!"
"I once accidentally overheard him discussing with Advisor Jia that when the time is ripe, he will rebel and become the emperor!"
Hua'er seemed to harbor the thought of perishing together with the estate manager, pouring out everything she knew.
The magistrate was terrified.
He never expected that this estate manager, who looked quite honest and dutiful, actually had such massive guts.
"Mmph, mmph, mmph!" The estate manager off to the side kept making muffled noises.
The Prince of Pingyang's face darkened.
"Where are the weapons he hoarded?"
