Hidden in the court

Ji Mingshang turned around and glared at Zhou Chunfu, who immediately shrank his neck.

"I know that it's useless for me to say anything. You still think that I'm a bad person and a corrupt official like those people before. I don't want to say too much. I called you here today so that you can have enough to eat. I have ordered thick porridge to be cooked. Please line up to get the porridge."

As soon as he finished speaking, Nangong Bian appeared at the right time with the imperial guards, carrying several large pots of porridge.

Finally, there was some movement among the crowd.

The midday sun broke through the clouds, shining on the bluestone steps and also reflected on the surprised faces of the villagers.

Pots of steaming rice porridge gave off an enticing aroma. Several imperial guards held large spoons and stirred the porridge in the pots, ensuring that the aroma of every grain of rice could drift into the crowd.

The child in the crowd was the first to swallow and tried to move forward through the crowd but was stopped by the adults at home.

Seeing this scene, Nangong Xiao was even more furious, while Ji Mingshang lost his patience, "Someone, serve the porridge!"

The soldiers, holding bowls and pots, began to move among the crowd.

Hand out bowls and serve the porridge, all in one go.

"Come on, little sister, drink it, be careful it's hot."

A young guard squatted down and served a bowl to a little girl. Just in case they were worried, he took a sip himself.

The little girl's eyes gradually regained their spirit. She blinked her big eyes, then lowered her head and started drinking porridge.

Looking around, it seemed that the little girl came alone and there was no adult around.

"Little sister, where are your adults?"

The girl was stunned when she heard that, she stopped what she was doing and looked at the remaining half bowl of porridge reluctantly.

"Hey, why don't you drink?"

The little sister replied timidly: "Leave it to mother..."

"Is your mother at home?"

The little girl shook her head. "My mother said she couldn't make ends meet anymore, so she went out to beg. Today is the third day, and she hasn't come back yet."

The little girl's words shocked the imperial guards. Could it be...

"You eat first, I'll get you another bowl and you can leave it for your mother, okay?"

After saying that, he turned around and found Nangong Bian.

"your Highness……"

After the porridge was distributed, the villagers looked at the thick porridge steaming in front of them. Even though they were afraid, they could not resist the porridge in front of them and started to eat it.

At this time, Ji Mingshang spoke again: "That's right, eat slowly, and after you finish eating, follow me to do something important."

Sure enough, there is no free lunch in the world.

Everyone felt relieved and started to eat voraciously, fearing that they would starve to death and be taken advantage of.

"If anyone at home is absent, you can get another bowl and go back to save others. When you are done eating, come back here. I will be waiting."

As soon as he finished speaking, several people took a bowl of porridge and left in a hurry. Then, more than a dozen people took porridge from the pot and walked out.

"Detain these people."

Nangong Xiao immediately gave orders that none of those who came later would leave.

"Brother, why is this?"

Nangong Bian was confused, so Nangong Xiao explained, "The first few people didn't hesitate at all. They hurriedly made porridge and left. There must be people at home who were too hungry to walk. After that, they didn't think about their family members at the first time, and made thick porridge that couldn't save people. Their steps were even more unsteady. Did they still go to save people?"

"Then it's understandable that they want to eat more, right?"

"Then look at how they compare to the others, and look at their clothes, they are clearly the servants of this place."

"Brother, great job!"

Ji Mingshang gave him a thumbs up.

I couldn't hear what they were saying here, but I was also wondering what this Jinling deputy general was going to do. Even if it was just a show, it wouldn't be like this, right?

After all the people had finished their porridge and those who had gone out had returned, Ji Mingshang saw that these people had almost recovered, and then he spoke again:

"You must be wondering what I want you to do. This is not difficult, and you are all willing to do it. To be honest, I am the imperial envoy who asked you to increase your tax by 30% out of thin air, Marquis Jiangning, Ji Mingshang. And the two kind people beside me who gave you porridge are His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Her Royal Highness the Princess."

The crowd became agitated again, and everyone's hearts were once again hanging in the balance, but the most frightened person was the village head Zhou Chunfu.

What the hell, an imperial envoy?

"Take it!"

The next moment, Ji Mingshang's two personal soldiers had arrived right behind here without anyone noticing.

One person held down one shoulder, locked one arm, and kicked the man in the knee, causing him to kneel down.

"My Lord, what is this for?"

Ji Mingshang turned to the villagers and shouted, "Listen carefully. The court has not said that it will collect any more grain from you, and neither have I. It's just that your village head is corrupt, perverts the law, and forges the imperial edict. He is doing all kinds of evil. Now the grain is in his house, you can follow me to take it, and the land will also be returned to you.

But there is one more thing now. I believe that you have all been bullied by him. I will give you a chance to take revenge if you have a grudge. "

As they spoke, the imperial guards below the stage stuffed the knives into the hands of the strong laborers.

"If you want revenge, come up and chop him up, I will take care of it for you."

Zhou Chunfu was so frightened by these words that he begged for mercy again and again.

"Sir, spare me, spare me! How dare I forge an imperial decree? It's the Jinling government office..."

"Crack-pump-"

Before he could get his words out, Ji Mingshang slapped him twice in the face, causing stars to appear in his eyes. A tooth flew out of his mouth, and saliva mixed with blood foam flowed to the ground.

"Gag him."

Ji Mingshang naturally knew that he, a small village head, would not dare to do so, and there must be instructions from the higher-ups. However, could the people hear this and make them feel that their country was deliberately exploiting them?

The people below had not yet come to their senses and felt that everything was too unreal.

"Tie him to this tree."

"Wait, take off his clothes."

Nangong Xiao interrupted again, leaving Nangong Bian confused.

"Ahem, these clothes are nice, don't waste them."

Nangong Xiao could only explain awkwardly, there was nothing he could do, he was used to it.

"I, Ji Mingshang, also hate wasting things. I usually eat every grain of rice in the bowl."

Ji Mingshang used a famous quote to make a joke and was very happy.

After a while, Zhou Chunfu was stripped of his clothes, his limbs were tied into the shape of a "Tai" character and he was hung on a tree.

The older girls, younger wives, and even Nangong Bian present all turned their backs silently.

Seeing that the villagers were still standing there in a daze, Ji Mingshang offered another condition, "The first person who comes up, I'll give him a piece of clothing, a pound of grain, and an acre of land. The next person who comes up will get three pounds of grain each!"

The crowd was in commotion again, and the next second, a man jumped out.

"Someone, bring the land deed!"

The man was still a little confused as he looked at the land deed with the signature on it in his hand.

"This is real?"

"The Crown Prince gave it to you personally, how could it be fake?"

The man shook his head and said, "I don't want this land, I just want to chop him a few more times!"

Seeing that he was a strong man with a muscular build, Ji Mingshang simply ordered, "Take the deed and chop him a few more times, just make sure he doesn't die."