Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Zhao Xiu opened his mouth wide and praised repeatedly: "Your Excellency is wise, Your Excellency is wise!"

Shen Zheng waved her hand at him, "Stop flattering me. If it weren't for the urgent matter, I wouldn't want to use this stupid method."

If we delay for another day, the village heads might have to pay more money, which is what Shen Zheng least wants to see, so she cannot be soft tonight, it is best to do it in one go.

Another reason is that at night the vision is obstructed, making it easier to mistake the fake for the real thing.

She looked at the chicken blood and frowned slightly, "This chicken blood is a little too bright. If you want to find something that looks like human blood, you should look for rabbit blood."

Zhao Xiu also looked at the chicken blood in the bucket and pondered, and asked, "Are you going to whip your subordinates?"

Shen Zheng nodded and asked, "According to the laws of this dynasty, how should those who betray their superiors be punished?"

Zhao Xiu was not like Xu Zhubu, who knew the law by heart. He thought for a long time before he said unconfidently, "Flogging... thirty lashes?"

"Exactly."

Zhao Xiu broke out in a cold sweat again. If he were really whipped thirty times, his skin would be torn to pieces.

Hui Niang must be heartbroken!

He didn't dare to think further and changed the subject.

"People in the county don't kill chickens many times a year. I'll tear my clothes a little. It's raining today, so I'll mix some muddy water on them. Then I'll stand with my back against the wall. If the village head doesn't come closer to look, they shouldn't be able to see it."

Shen Zheng looked at the oil lamp in the study and added, "Leave only one lamp in the room later. The light is dim, but you can't beat them too hard. After all, from their point of view, you are doing this for my own good. Even if I want to punish you, I can't be too unkind."

After the two of them discussed it, Shen Zheng walked out of the study.

She was worried that Zhao Xiu couldn't control the strength, so she warned him, "...don't beat him too hard, just a faint trace of blood will do, we will need to mix the mud later."

Zhao Xiu nodded, and Shen Zheng continued, "This set of clothes is your own. Go ask Xu Zhubu for money tomorrow and make yourself a new set."

Without waiting for Zhao Xiu to respond, Shen Zheng closed the door.

In a moment, the sound of sharp whips was heard in the study.

"Pah! Shua! Pah!"

The noise was so loud that Yu Zhengqing, who had originally returned to his room to rest, came out.

He glanced suspiciously at the study, then at Shen Zheng who was standing at the door, and asked, "Who is playing the drum in your study?"

Shen Zheng: "...It's not Tuo Luo, Zhao Xiu is pulling out the clothes."

Yu Zhengqing was even more confused, "But did the clothes offend him?"

Shen Zheng turned her head, blinked, and said helplessly: "Things are a bit complicated, I'll make it short."

She briefly recounted what happened today.

After a while, Yu Zhengqing came back to his senses, nodded and praised: "You did the right thing. A man cannot stand without trust. Moreover, he is your subordinate, so he should put you first."

He sighed again, "I saw them acting sneaky yesterday. Who would have thought they were building a shrine for you? If it were someone else, they would have announced it before they even started building it, just to save face in front of the officials. But they acted like thieves."

Shen Zheng thought about how the two of them looked yesterday and found it a little funny.

"They knew I wouldn't agree, so they did it secretly."

Yu Zhengqing looked at her deeply and said, "In your hearts, you are both thinking about each other."

In fact, Shen Zheng was still touched deep in her heart, but she was only thinking about how to refuse and ignored the intentions of the village heads.

With a smile on her face, she said in a gentle voice: "The residents of Tongan County are all very kind. It is enough for them to have this heart. As long as they live well, I will feel comfortable enough. There is no need for them to deliberately spend money for me."

"Squeak."

While the two were talking, the study was opened from the inside.

Shen Zheng looked up and was almost choked with anger.

She scolded, "I told you not to beat me too hard. This is just a small punishment, but if you act like this, the village head will think I want to beat you to death!"

Zhao Xiu's hair was messy, his clothes were torn in several holes, with bloody spots on them, his face was pale, and there was a hint of red at the corner of his mouth.

Zhao Xiu was scolded so much that he didn't dare to look at her.

In fact, he really whipped himself twice in the room, but he didn't dare to whip her too hard for fear that Hui Niang would worry.

But no matter what, he must remember what happened today. The adults don't know the truth and don't punish him, but he himself can't get over it.

Yu Zhengqing was quite satisfied with Zhao Xiu's "miserable condition" and he should be punished accordingly.

Seeing Shen Zheng frowning, he consoled her, "I know you're worried that the village chiefs will think you're too unkind. It's okay. I'll take the blame for you."

Shen Zheng glanced at Zhao Xiu and nodded helplessly. Zhao Xiu gave Yu Zhengqing a grateful smile.

Yu Zhengqing looked him up and down and said with a smile, "You must have been tortured a lot in prison. This look is so real."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiu turned around and showed his back to Yu Zhengqing.

"The face is fine, just mess up the hair a bit and stain the clothes with some blood. But the back can't stand scrutiny. If you rip through the clothes completely, you can see that my flesh is not broken, so don't hit me so hard."

Yu Zhengqing smiled and said, "It's enough to fool those village heads."

Zhao Xiu got his approval and showed his big white teeth, "I'll go and smear some more mud."

Shen Zheng looked at his miserable back, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

After he smeared the mud, he felt even more miserable. Just as he was about to show it to Shen Zheng and the others, Xiao Yuan ran in from outside.

"Brother Zhao, the village chiefs should be here soon!"

As soon as Xiao Yuan finished speaking, the iron ruler in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

He opened his mouth in disbelief and rubbed his eyes with his hands.

That’s right, this man is his good brother Zhao Xiu, but why does he look like a prisoner at this moment!

He didn't even bother to pick up the iron ruler, but ran up quickly, grabbed Zhao Xiu's arm and asked, "Brother Zhao, who hit you? I was just out for a while, what happened to you? Tell me who did it! How dare someone commit a crime in my Tongan County Office!"

In his anxiety, even he didn't notice that many of the injuries on Zhao Xiu's body were fake.

Half truth and half falsehood are the most misleading.

Zhao Xiu hissed in pain and took two steps back. It was getting darker now, so Xiao Yuan couldn't really see Zhao Xiu's expression. He only heard him speak in a hoarse voice:

"Xiao Yuan, I made a mistake. I did something... I'm sorry to you. I'm punished by you for this."

"What!?" Xiao Yuan exclaimed at first, then his voice suddenly deepened: "You deserve it!"

"what?"

Zhao Xiu was caught off guard by his scolding and was stunned.

Xiao Yuan took two steps back, the disappointment in his voice was unmistakable: "Brother Zhao, the lady treated us so well, how dare you do something to let her down? You really disappoint me."

He paused, and said word by word: "From now on, we will go our separate ways. I, Xiao Yuan, no longer have a big brother like you."

"what?"