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Inside the government office, Chen Nan held a high position.

Wu Xu stood behind Chen Nan, coldly watching the registrar and Qin Tongpan kneeling on the ground.

Chen Nan simply flipped through the documents on the table.

The topmost document had a line of large characters: "Reporting to the authorities costs ten taels of silver; additional charges apply for complex cases."

He chuckled twice: "Tsk tsk, ten taels of silver for reporting to the authorities?"

As he spoke, he looked up at the two people kneeling below and said in a calm tone, "Who set the price for this official reporting fee?"

The two looked at each other, but neither spoke.

Chen Nan had no intention of asking further questions. Instead, he got up and started walking around the government office.

At this moment, Mo Bai, who had made arrangements for the old man and the young man, jogged into the government office.

Mo Bai walked directly to Chen Nan's side.

He whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, that old man said his family's land was forcibly seized."

"He reported it to the authorities many times, but there has been no solution."

"About two weeks ago, his son went out in the middle of the night, saying he wanted to find the government to demand an explanation."

“But no one has seen him since his son left home.”

"Not only that, the old man also said that the land in their village was either forcibly requisitioned by the government or bought by some powerful families at very low prices."

"On the contrary, these common people who rely on the land for their livelihood have been reduced to doing odd jobs for powerful families in order to buy a little food."

Chen Nan then realized that the current situation of land annexation in Northern Wei was even more serious than that of the previous Da Qian dynasty.

It could even be said that we have reached the most critical moment.

If reforms are not implemented, it is only a matter of time before the Northern Wei Dynasty is overthrown.

Similarly, he was also very clear in his heart that reform would require bloodshed.

Having returned to his high position, Chen Nan slammed his gavel down.

The two people kneeling on the ground were startled and simultaneously looked up at Chen Nan with a puzzled expression.

"That registrar, summon all the people in charge of your prefectural office."

Upon hearing the sound, the registrar hurriedly got up and ran out through the gate.

Looking at the only remaining person, Chen Nan asked again to confirm, "You said you're from a side branch of Qin Academy, right?"

Judge Qin nodded like a chick.

“Since they are relatives of Qin Xueyuan, this matter will be much easier to handle.”

Upon hearing this, Judge Qin assumed that Chen Nan was yielding to him.

A smile appeared on his face, and he took two steps forward, speaking as if to remind him, "Thank you for your mercy, Your Highness. After this matter is over, I will definitely pay you a visit!"

Chen Nan toyed with the gavel in his hand, a smile playing on his lips: "A personal visit? I'm afraid you won't have that chance."

Judge Qin's expression immediately changed.

He didn't know what Chen Nan meant, and thought that Chen Nan thought his feelings weren't generous enough.

He cursed Chen Nan's greed inwardly, and casually pulled out two gold ingots from his waist.

He placed the gold on the table and pushed it towards Chen Nan.

He said with a fawning smile, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, my apology will surely satisfy you."

For a moment, Chen Nan and the others stared intently at the two gold ingots on the table.

Chen Nan accepted the two ingots of gold and looked up to meet the gaze of Judge Qin.

Seeing Chen Nan's sinister smile, the helpless Prefect Qin had no choice but to smile along.

The two laughed awkwardly for a long time.

The registrar, who had left, returned to the hall, followed by a dozen or so people.

Seeing this, Judge Qin consciously took two steps back and stood with the newly arrived registrar, whispering to comfort him, "Don't worry, I gave him two ingots of gold. From now on, the Prince of Zhennan is in the same boat as us."

Upon hearing this, the registrar's eyes widened, and he looked at Chen Nan a few more times in disbelief.

He had initially thought that the Prince of Zhennan was a very prestigious figure.

In retrospect, it seems they were just trying to make money.

Although they spoke very softly, they did not know that Chen Nan had already stepped into the realm of a half-step Grandmaster.

What the two thought was a private conversation was no different from what Chen Nan said in public.

Chen Nan cleared his throat: "Gentlemen, you are all officials of my Northern Wei. I would like to know, what is the story behind the forced requisition of land from nearby villages by the government?"

As soon as Chen Nan spoke, the faces of the officials who entered all turned ugly.

The registrar, in particular, tugged at Judge Qin's sleeve: "Didn't you say he took two ingots of gold from you? Why are you asking about the forced land requisition?"

When pressed for answers, Judge Qin blushed.

Little did he know that things would turn out this way.

But Chen Nan really did accept two ingots of gold from him!

He gritted his teeth and reminded him, "Your Highness, those were just a small gift. There will be much more generous gifts to come."

Naïve as he is, he still believes that he didn't give enough.

Chen Nan suddenly became serious: "Prefect Qin, I accept the gift you gave me."

"Now, my question is why the government forcibly seized the land from the nearby villages?"

The magistrate stared wide-eyed at Chen Nan, not understanding what was happening.

If he weren't afraid of Chen Nan's identity, he would have slapped him twice already.

You fucking took the money and didn't do the job, huh?

However, he dared not, not to mention Chen Nan's long string of prefixes.

With Wu Xu standing right behind Chen Nan, he didn't even have the courage to make a move.

The hall, which had been occupied by more than ten people, suddenly fell into complete silence; even the air seemed to stand still.

After a long while, Chen Nan said again, "Since none of you are willing to talk, then go to the prison to reflect on your actions."

He finished speaking and waved his hand dismissively.

Suddenly, dozens of soldiers entered the hall and dragged a group of people out.

Chen Nan pointed to Judge Qin and the Registrar: "These two stay."

He then instructed, "Mo Bai, bring the old man from earlier up here."

If he wants to reform the issue of forced land expropriation, he must first understand how the land is being forcibly expropriated.

The old man outside was undoubtedly the best candidate.

At this moment, in a corner of the hall, Judge Qin nudged the registrar: "I reckon Chen Nan thinks we gave him too little. Take out all the money you have on you, and I'll go give him some more. Let's just get by with this."

The reluctant clerk took out two gold ingots from his waist: "Be careful."

Chen Nan saw through their little actions.

However, he didn't say anything, just stayed silent.

Soon, Judge Qin, with a fawning smile, walked under the table and whispered, "Your Highness, I made a mistake earlier. There are four ingots of gold here. Please accept them."

The moment the gold was revealed, Wu Xu cleverly closed his eyes and turned his head away.

After silently handing over the gold, Chen Nanmo praised, "You're a good kid, you know what you're doing!"

Judge Qin smiled and echoed, "It's all thanks to the Prince's excellent upbringing."

Chen Nan changed the subject: "Since you're so helpful, why don't you tell me about the forced land seizures in the nearby villages?"

Upon hearing this, Judge Qin's smile vanished abruptly.

He looked at Chen Nan with suspicion, cursing inwardly, "Damn it, he looks young, but he's really greedy."

He took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and put on a smile again: "Your Highness is too kind. Such a small matter can be easily handled by me."

"I assure you, Your Highness, that you will never hear anything like this again."

"Oh? Judge Qin can handle something like this?" Chen Nan asked, feigning surprise.

Qin Tongpan patted his chest and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, this is something I'm very good at."

Just then, Mo Bai led an old man and a young man into the hall.