Zhou Yu looked up and said with a half-smile, "Huzi, are you trying to play tricks on me?"

"Hehe," Zhao Hu chuckled foolishly, "How could that be possible! Sir, I'm telling the truth! With their domineering nature, this is entirely possible!"

Zhou Yu nodded slightly and asked, "Do you know the name of the high-ranking official in their family and what position he holds?"

"I heard he's a director of the Ministry of Justice?" Zhao Hu scratched his head. "I'm not sure, but he's in charge of punishment. If anyone commits a crime, he'll arrest them and beat them to death!

"What's his name? Oh, right, it's Feng Youfang. He's Feng Youde's cousin within five generations."

Zhou Yu said he understood: "I will send someone to investigate. Feng Youde has bad behavior. Since he protected Feng Youfang, his character is naturally not much better.

"The world was in chaos before, so it's hard to guarantee that people like this wouldn't try to gain personal advantage. Who knows what the situation is like now!"

Zhao Hu nodded: "I guess it won't end well!"

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Okay, nothing else, you can go back."

"What would you like to eat tonight, sir?" Zhao Hu stood up, but didn't leave immediately. "An An and I caught a few sparrows. Would you like to try some?"

Zhou Yu waved his hand, "How much meat can there be? Let An An satisfy her craving. I enjoyed the cabbage soup from the other day, and it's cold today, so let's make another one."

Zhao Hu agreed and left with a smile.

Two days later, Zhou Yu sent for Feng Youde and several other representatives from Huitun and asked them directly, "I heard that there's a Feng Youfang in your clan who's serving as an official in the court?"

Feng Youde straightened his back immediately, "To answer your question, sir, yes! That's my cousin, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice."

"Oh," Zhou Yu nodded slightly, "Is it the one with the courtesy name Qingzheng?"

"Yes!" Feng Youde smiled. It was easy to get things done with someone in the court. A doctor in the Ministry of Justice was much more senior than a seventh-rank county magistrate! A higher rank could crush a person to death. He brought up his cousin. He didn't believe that County Magistrate Zhou would not give him face!

"That's right," Zhou Yu said calmly, "Former Criminal Department Doctor Feng Youfang was executed six months ago for his involvement in treason. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will announce the measures to deal with the traitor in the near future.

"Oh, I'm afraid you don't know yet? The Crown Prince is the former Ninth Prince, the Queen's legitimate son, and the rightful heir to the throne.

"I have already received the approval of the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan and have now entered the capital. After offering sacrifices to the ancestral temple and completing the national mourning, I will ascend the throne as emperor.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is benevolent and will only punish the ringleader, not those implicated. However, if close ties with the ringleader are discovered, they will be rigorously investigated."

After just a few words, the clothes of the Feng family members were soaked with sweat, their faces were pale, and their bodies were shaking. Although there was no wind in the room, they still felt a chill that penetrated their bones.

Zhou Yu lowered his eyes, took a leisurely sip of tea, and said calmly, "As ministers, we should share the emperor's worries. Since you are so close to the traitor in your words and deeds, you must have had dealings with him before. Therefore, we should also strictly supervise you.

"Until the facts are fully investigated, you are not allowed to leave Tongshutun without permission. The people of Tongshutun are responsible for supervising you.

“But God is merciful, and I will not watch you die of hunger and cold, so I allow you to open up wasteland nearby.

"You can temporarily borrow grain seeds from the government. Considering the difficulty of reclaiming wasteland, I will only charge you 10% interest."

"Sir!" The Feng clan members, led by Feng Youde, hurriedly knelt and kowtowed. "Sir, please understand! We and that Feng... the traitor Feng Youfang are almost five generations apart, and we have no contact with each other on a daily basis!"

Zhou Yu smiled slightly. "Oh? Why, when I mentioned Feng Youfang just now, you all seemed so proud of him?"

Feng Youde kowtowed heavily and explained in a panic, "Your Excellency is wise! Actually, we don't have much contact with Feng Youfang on a daily basis. Although this is his hometown, he doesn't usually come back. He comes back every few years to worship his ancestors.

"To be honest with you, sir, we common people have some dirty thoughts. We want to use the tiger's skin as a banner and pretend to have a close relationship with him so that no one in the village will dare to offend us.

"But you can send people to investigate. We, the little guys, only dare to occupy a few more acres of land, but we don't dare to bully others..."

"Forget it," Zhou Yu waved his hand. "No need to say more. I will send someone to investigate. Just do your duty."

Feng Youde was about to argue again when Xu Xia stepped forward and shouted, "Get out!"

Feng Youde and others were reluctant to leave.

Xu Xia drew his sword with a clang. The sharp cold light made the Feng clan members shiver. They dared not drag their feet any longer and stood up. They hunched their backs and walked away slowly with heavy steps.

After they left the courtyard, Xu Xia sheathed his sword and said with a smile, "Sir, that's a brilliant move!"

Zhou Yu sneered, "People with bad intentions are the black sheep of the group. Tongshu Village is clean and upright now, so we can't let them muddy the waters.

"Spread this information as quickly as possible, and pay special attention to Master Chen Jiu. This old man knows what's going on."

Xu Xia agreed and went out to do the work immediately.

Before going to Uncle Chen Jiu's house, he first went to the Zhao family next door and told Zhao Hu about it. Zhao Hu jumped for joy, "Wow! That's great! Lord Zhou is amazing! I'll tell my mother and sister right away!"

After saying that, he didn't care about Xu Xia anymore and ran to the backyard.

Xu Xia smiled and shook his head, "This silly boy!" and walked towards Uncle Chen Jiu's house.

Uncle Chen Jiu was more efficient. He had someone strike a gong, summoning all the villagers to his courtyard. He then climbed onto the stone pier beside the door and loudly repeated what Xu Xia had told him. Finally, he emphasized, "The matter hasn't been fully investigated yet. After all, we are all villagers, so we should help those who should be helped.

"Everyone, please stop talking nonsense. Words are not like knives, they can still hurt people!"

After that, regardless of what the villagers were whispering about, he waved his hand and said, "Okay, it's cold, everyone knows what's going on, let's go!"

When he returned to the yard, what awaited him were the frustrated and resentful eyes of Feng Youde's family.

Uncle Chen Jiu said calmly, "My nephew Youde, don't blame me. Lord Zhou has spoken, how dare an old man like me disobey him?

"Besides, this is a serious matter. If you have no suspicions, it would be fine. But if you do, wouldn't it implicate the entire Tongshu Village?

"This is a huge responsibility, and I, an old man, really can't bear it!"

As he spoke, he walked steadily into the house, leaning on his crutches.

Chen asked with a sad face, "Master, how...how did things get to this point?"

"Pa!" Feng Youde slapped her in the face, venting all his anger on her. He lowered his voice and cursed, "It's all because of you, you unlucky woman!

"How many times have I told you that we are no longer the same as we were before? We need to behave ourselves. Look at you, you are so short-sighted that I wish I could rip off Uncle Jiu's land!"

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