On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

This scene completely dumbfounded the merchants in the inner hall who were lucky enough not to be named!

They seemed to be under a spell, frozen in their chairs, their faces as pale as paper, beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads!

Looking at Wang Youde being dragged away like a dead dog, looking at the pile of gold, silver and jewelry emitting an alluring light, and then looking at Lin Zhen sitting in the main seat with an indifferent expression like a god... they only felt a chill rushing from their tail vertebrae to the top of their heads!

This His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...how could he be here to take over Hu County?

It's clear that he is the King of Hell who comes to scrape the bones to cure the poison, confiscate the property and destroy the whole family!

At this moment, Lin Zhen's gaze finally fell on them.

The gaze was calm, yet it carried a cold pressure that penetrated the soul.

"Everyone," Lin Zhen's voice broke the dead silence, "the land transaction regarding Xirang is now terminated. This prince declares that all land transaction contracts without the official approval of the court are invalid."

He paused, his tone filled with unquestionable determination, "Take your things and leave the county government office now. All the rules of the Huxian Special Zone will be re-established by this prince. If there is any cooperation in the future, it will be announced separately."

"invalid?!"

"The contract is invalid?!"

"Then what about the money we paid..."

A businessman who was wearing floral brocade, was obese and seemed to be the leader, finally couldn't bear the huge loss and frustration, and suddenly jumped up from his chair!

The fat on his face trembled, and his voice became shrill due to excitement and anger:

"Your Highness! This is against the rules! We are all doing business honestly. This contract was signed with County Magistrate Wang, and the money has been paid. It's written in black and white, and the signature is proof of it! You can't just rob me with just one word! Is there any law here?!"

He tried to embolden himself by saying "the law of the king", but his voice was noticeably trembling.

Lin Zhen's gaze slowly turned to him, his eyes were terrifyingly calm, like a deep cold abyss, without the slightest ripple.

He did not get angry, nor did he raise his voice. He simply raised his chin gently towards the fat merchant, as if brushing away a speck of dust.

"Noisy."

Two words fell lightly.

"Shh!"

As if receiving a military order, two personal soldiers under Mao Mengji rushed out from behind Lin Zhen in an instant like two black lightnings!

One of them covered the fat merchant's mouth with his backhand, while the other one locked his arms like an iron clamp!

The merchant opened his eyes wide in fear and groaned. His fat body struggled desperately like a pig waiting to be slaughtered, but he was held down by two soldiers as ferocious as wolves and tigers!

"Drag him out." Lin Zhen's voice remained flat.

"Chop it off." These two words sounded like ice beads falling on a jade plate, crisp and deadly!

"Yes, sir!" The two soldiers dragged the fat merchant, who was still struggling in vain and whose eyes were filled with great fear and disbelief, out of the inner hall without mercy, like dragging a dead dog!

The heavy footsteps and the suppressed "woohoo" sound quickly faded away and disappeared deep into the county government office.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

The few merchants left in the inner hall seemed to have lost all their strength. Their legs went limp and they slid off their chairs, kneeling on the ground!

Their faces turned pale, their teeth chattered, and their whole bodies trembled like sieves!

A faint foul smell filled the air - someone peed themselves out of fright!

Dead!

A deathly silence even more terrifying than before enveloped the inner hall!

Only the pile of gold, silver and jewelry still exudes a cold and ironic light.

Finally, a middle-aged businessman who looked a bit more alert, forced himself to stand up, almost collapsing. His face was pale, his lips trembling, and he bowed deeply in Lin Zhen's direction, his voice filled with tears and extreme fear:

"Your Highness, calm down! Calm down! I deserve to die. I'm so stupid! I just came to discuss something with County Magistrate Wang, and we haven't come to a conclusion yet! I'm leaving now, leaving now! How dare I disturb Your Highness from doing his business!"

As he spoke, he glanced at the box of silver cakes he had sent with reluctance and heartache. Finally, he gritted his teeth and rushed out of the inner hall door without looking back, as if cutting flesh!

It feels like there is an evil ghost chasing after me!

With the first example, the remaining merchants were like waking up from a dream!

The instinct for survival overwhelms the greed for money!

They rolled and crawled to their feet, not daring to even look at Lin Zhen, let alone care about the pile of gold, silver and jewelry that they had once coveted. Like stray dogs, they scrambled and fled from this inner hall that was like the palace of Yama!

In the blink of an eye, the inner hall, which was bustling with people and filled with the smell of money, became empty, leaving only Lin Zhen, Qingxia, Chengxuan and the pile of gold, silver and jewelry emitting a cold luster.

The air was filled with the fear of surviving the disaster and a heart-wrenching silence.

Just then, a sound of light footsteps came from behind the screen leading from the inner hall to the second hall.

The figures of Zhang Li, Huanbi and Qingwen appeared.

They first went to the backyard, and then came back, quietly observing the thrilling transfer of power and thundering disposal behind the screen.

Zhang Li walked in front, with a look of worldly understanding and a hint of sarcasm on her face. Her eyes swept across the pile of dazzling gold and silver, and finally fell on Lin Zhen, who was sitting in the main seat with an indifferent expression.

"Husband," Zhang Li's voice was a little playful, breaking the silence, "How do you plan to deal with this corrupt official? Do you want to chop him off directly to set an example? Or..."

The corners of her lips curled up in a shrewd arc, "Reuse the waste?"

Lin Zhen sat upright on the main armchair, his fingers unconsciously stroking the warm dragon jade pendant on his waist. His eyes swept deeply over the pile of gold and silver jewelry on the ground that emitted a cold luster, and finally fell on Zhang Li's phoenix eyes that sparkled with wisdom.

At this time, Wang Youde came back running and stumbling, knelt down with a thud, and presented an account book with both hands.

Mao Mengji took the account book and handed it to Lin Zhen. Lin Zhen flipped through it casually, took a look, and said with a sneer, "County Magistrate Wang, do you want to keep your life?"

Wang Youde shuddered like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, kowtowed repeatedly with tears streaming down his face, his forehead banging against the cold tiles. "Yes! Yes! Your Highness, please have mercy! This humble servant's life was given by the Crown Prince! Whatever the Crown Prince tells me to do, I'll do it! Without hesitation! Without hesitation!"

"Very good." Lin Zhen nodded with satisfaction, but his eyes became even colder. "I will spare your life for now. But whether you can live to the end of your life depends on your performance."

He paused, his voice filled with unquestionable command:

"First, sign and seal this account book!"

"Secondly, all ill-gotten gains in your name and those of all your relatives—land, houses, shops, gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy, and paintings—are all registered and sealed immediately! These are all stolen goods! Confiscate them!"

"Third," Lin Zhen's gaze suddenly became sharp as a knife, "all the legal land deeds, house deeds, and business contracts that you've extorted from the people over the years, and all the legal documents that bear the seal of the Hu County government that you can produce, compile them all! Don't leave any one out!"

Wang Youde was horrified when he heard this, especially the third one, which gave him a vague sense of foreboding.

But his life was hanging by a thread at the moment, how could he dare to hesitate for a moment?

He immediately kowtowed like pounding garlic: "Yes! Yes! Your humble servant obeys your command! Your humble servant will do it right away! I will do it right away! I will not dare to hide anything!"

"Mao Mengji!" Lin Zhen said in a deep voice.

"I'm here!" Mao Mengji appeared behind Wang Youde like a ghost.

"Take him down. Watch him write! Watch him hand it in! Watch him organize it!" Lin Zhen's voice was chilling. "Send your most capable personal guards to follow him everywhere! Every word he writes, every piece of paper he hands over, every ingot of silver he seals must be recorded and verified by you personally! If there is any concealment, omission, or attempt to destroy evidence..."

Lin Zhen's eyes swept over Mao Mengji's skinny hands, which contained terrifying power. "You know what to do."

A fierce gleam flashed in Mao Mengji's eyes, and a ferocious grin spread across his lips, revealing his sharp white teeth. "I understand! Your Highness, don't worry! If he dares to play any tricks, I'll let him taste what it feels like to have an Inch-Man crossbow arrow pierce his heart!"

His skinny fingers gently stroked the fine steel crossbow hanging at his waist, which was flashing with a cold light.

Wang Youde was so frightened that his soul was about to be shattered that he kept saying, "I dare not! I dare not! I absolutely dare not!"

He was almost dragged down by two ferocious Jinwu Guard soldiers, rolling and crawling on the ground. Mao Mengji followed closely behind them, like a death row prisoner.