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The news that Lin Yuan was planning to develop in the Capital city quickly spread throughout the whole Lin family valley, even reaching many people in Zhuma Town.

And the first to come and see Lin Yuan off was surprisingly Li Chang, which really took Lin Yuan by surprise.

Since Li Chengzhi had been beaten to death in jail, Li Chang’s spirit had been greatly affected, but fortunately, Lady Jin was a capable woman. For the sake of her younger son, Li Cheng’an, she wouldn’t let Li Chang continue to be so passive.

Upon seeing Li Chang again, although he had clearly lost a lot of weight, his spirit was still decent.

Having ushered Li Chang into the elegant room on the second floor, Shopkeeper Liu personally brought over some new tea. Xia Zheng, who typically displayed an indifferent attitude, broke precedent and actually sat down at the table, talking politely with Li Chang.

"The new year has just passed, Sir Li. Why aren’t you resting at home, instead of running over to my place?"

Upon hearing Xia Zheng’s question, Li Chang, who was originally sitting, suddenly knelt down, kowtowing to Xia Zheng, "Commandery Prince, I beg you to save my life!"

This behavior really dumbfounded Lin Yuan. Although the new year had passed, it wasn’t even the fifteenth of the first month yet. As soon as they met, he started crying for his life, crying for help. What on earth was going on?

Xia Zheng, however, appeared much calmer, obviously knowing better than Lin Yuan what had happened.

Only to hear Xia Zheng say, "Sir Li, it’s not that I don’t want to save you, but you.

.. oh, let’s not even mention how you turned a blind eye to your unfilial son pressuring an innocent girl to death.

Just speaking of yourself. At first, I thought the luxury in Li Mansion was because Madam was wealthy, but now I see, it’s not like that at all.

It’s all from your corruption and bribery! "

At this point, Xia Zheng slammed the table suddenly, which made Li Chang shudder, his cold sweat immediately breaking out.

Xia Zheng sneered coldly, "You indulge in visiting brothels, which could at most mark you as having poor character. But you need to understand, Sir Li, corruption and bribery cannot merely be settled by being denounced twice."

Li Chang was well aware of this, otherwise, he wouldn’t have run out to seek Xia Zheng’s help just after the sixth day of the new year.

"Commandery Prince, I was foolish, I know my mistakes, I truly know them, please save me!" Li Chang’s voice trembled more and more as he spoke, until he finally started to sob.

Lin Yuan furrowed her brow, having now understood what was actually going on. A corrupt official? Well, he deserved it then.

Rolling her eyes, Lin Yuan quietly continued drinking her tea.

Seeing her reaction, Xia Zheng smirked slightly, lips pursed, and said to Li Chang, "Sir Li, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but you should know how your corruption and bribery were discovered."

At this point, Li Chang really wanted to slap himself. When he heard that Tang Qing had imprisoned Li Chengzhi, he hadn’t thought twice before taking a large amount of silver to ask Tang Qing for mercy. And the outcome? Not only did he fail to save anyone, he got himself involved as well.

Speaking of Tang Qing, he was just causing trouble for no reason.

Even though he said the silver was gathered by Lady Jin’s family, Tang Qing still didn’t believe it and insisted on investigating his background personally.

Which official could withstand such scrutiny? Once he started digging, trouble arose.

While he was thinking, Xia Zheng’s voice rose again, "Sir Li, I can’t handle this matter.

This case is being personally handled by Magistrate Tang, whose backing comes from the Second Prince.

And the Second Prince and I, well, let’s just leave what happens next unsaid, but you probably know already. "

Of course, he knew. Xia Zheng and the Second Prince were virtually incompatible.

Li Chang collapsed to the ground in despair, murmuring to himself, "Is there really no other way? Must my head be chopped off to resolve this?"

"Of course not," Xia Zheng languidly sipped his tea, his words immediately pointing Li Chang to a way out.

Seeing how desperate Li Chang looked, Xia Zheng curved his lips and said, "Since you already know Tang Qing is investigating your bribery case, then you should act first."

Li Chang’s eyes widened, suddenly seeming resolved, he gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, I’ll find someone to kill him! Ouch, Commandery Prince, why are you hitting me?"

Xia Zheng glared at him, frustrated, "Hitting you? That’s the least of what you deserve! You this muddled official, don’t even know how you’ve been a County Magistrate all these years!"

Knowing that Li Chang was already too flustered to think straight, Xia Zheng stopped beating around the bush, beckoning with his finger and saying, "Since he’s already investigating, then before he reports this matter to the Emperor, submit a memorandum yourself, confessing to your crimes.

This way, although the Emperor will be angry, seeing your initiative to confess, he will surely spare your life.

However, that way, your vast wealth, tsk tsk, can’t be preserved though! "