This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

The force of the slap caused Zhu Fangzheng's head to tilt sharply, and his cheek visibly swelled up.

He covered his cheek, looking at Cheng Jun in disbelief: "You dare hit me?"

Cheng Jun rubbed his hands together, looked at the newfound rationality on the other person's face, and said with a gentle and kind smile, "Don't put it so harshly. I'm just trying to persuade people with reason. Look, don't you have the word 'reason' on your face?"

Zhu Fang angrily wiped the spot where he had been hit with the back of his hand, erasing the word "reason" completely. His face was ashen as he said, "Cheng Sanlang, is your so-called persuasion through reason just physical violence?"

Cheng Jun said calmly, "I'm doing this to show you what reason is. Only when you understand it can I reason with you."

He held up two fingers and asked, "Tell me, can't that shopkeeper surnamed Liu afford the two hundred coins? You insist on taking it from my brother Jingjian, and you say it's not making things difficult? Do you believe that?"

Zhu Fangzheng angrily said, "Cheng Sanlang, the capital that the Ministry of Personnel's money-collecting clerk released to shopkeeper Liu totaled 50,000 cash, and now he can't come up with a single cash!"

“I reminded him yesterday morning to keep the two hundred coins safe, and I would ask him to come and collect them today, but he secretly lent the money to Du Jingjian yesterday afternoon.”

"I have to get them back, both morally and logically! These two people are the shop assistants in Mr. Liu's shop; they can vouch for me!"

Seeing Cheng Jun's gaze, one of the young men said, "What Zhu Fangzheng said is true!"

Cheng Jun frowned and said, "You think I should believe everything you say? Do you think I'm a child? You're all in cahoots, how can anyone believe what you say? I only believe what I see."

Zhu Fangzheng shouted, "Then you hit me! Everyone saw it!"

“Cheng Jun, no matter what, I, Zhu Yuan, am a ward official of Da'an Ward. If you assault a ward official, even if you are an imperial censor, I will still report you!”

Cheng Jun looked at him with great interest. "Since you know that I am an imperial censor, you should know even more that an imperial censor supervises all officials, including minor officials like yourself."

Zhu Fangzheng snorted coldly, took out three pieces of paper from his pocket and said, "These two contracts and one official document can prove that I have acted impartially. May I ask, Censor Cheng, where did I do something wrong?"

Cheng Jun turned to ask, "Brother Jingjian, do you think there's a problem?"

Du Jingjian said with absolute certainty, "Yes! This is a conspiracy!"

Cheng Jun turned his head with satisfaction and said, "Zhu Fangzheng, the censor not only supervises all officials, but also reports matters based on rumors. The intern Du Jingjian told me that there were doubts about this matter, so I must investigate it. I cannot just listen to your words."

Zhu Fangzheng questioned, "You haven't investigated properly, yet you hit me first. What kind of behavior is that?"

Cheng Jun said, "You have your reasons, and I have mine. I'll use my reasons to counter yours. What's the problem?"

Zhu Fangzheng gritted his teeth and said, "This subordinate has remembered!"

"If Imperial Censor Cheng is not in a hurry, please wait here for my return!"

Cheng Jun sneered, "Threatening me?"

Zhu Fangzheng said, word by word, "This humble servant only wants to argue based on reason."

Cheng Jun said, "I'll be here until this afternoon."

"This humble servant takes his leave!"

Zhu Fang clasped his hands in a salute, then turned to the two young men behind him with a dark expression and said, "Let's go!"

The two young men immediately followed him and strode away from the Du family residence.

Du Jingjian breathed a sigh of relief after they left the courtyard. Thinking about what had just happened, he felt guilty and said apologetically, "Brother Chuxia, I'm sorry, I've caused you trouble."

Cheng Jun waved his hand and said, "Didn't I just say that he came for me?"

After saying that, he looked at the middle-aged woman standing beside him in a daze, smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "This must be your mother, right? Your mother's cooking skills are superb. My father ate the flatbread you made yesterday and praised it highly at home."

Mrs. Du came to her senses, flattered and overjoyed, and said, "Really? Let me make some more for your father!"

"The fish hasn't been cooked yet, I'll go over first, you guys chat!"

She knew the two of them must have something to say, so she made up an excuse to go to the kitchen.

Only Cheng Jun and Du Jingjian remained in the courtyard.

Du Jingjian brought over two stools, handed one to Cheng Jun, and after he sat down, he said with a solemn expression, "Brother Chuxia, Zhu Fangzheng must have called for reinforcements."

Cheng Jun asked, "Do you know which reinforcements he brought?"

Without hesitation, Du Jingjian replied, "It must be the Ministry of Personnel!"

Cheng Jun nodded and said, "So, someone from the Ministry of Personnel is trying to outmaneuver me."

"I thought they would confront me directly, but I never expected them to use you to deal with me. They are truly despicable."

Du Jingjian asked in confusion, "I really don't understand how they can use me to deal with you?"

"If I don't pay back the money today, the worst that can happen is that they'll empty my house."

Cheng Jun shook his head and said, "This matter is not as simple as you think."

After saying that, he changed the subject and asked, "What does Brother Jingjian think of me?"

Du Jingjian thought for a moment and said, "Brother Chuxia is kind-hearted, knowledgeable and reasonable, a true gentleman!"

“I’m sure the other talented people in the neighborhood think the same way I do.”

Cheng Jun solemnly said, "I treat you all as brothers, and you invited me to be your guest. If I were to stand by and watch you being bullied by that neighborhood headman without doing anything, what would the other talented people in the neighborhood think of me? Wouldn't they think that I'm not genuinely befriending you, but just trying to use you to pave the way for my becoming an imperial censor?"

"In that case, will you still call me brother?"

Du Jingjian's expression changed.

Cheng Jun already knew the answer before asking the question, since any normal person would think that way, and Du Jingjian was no exception. He smiled and said, "At that time, you'll probably avoid me like the plague."

In military strategy, this is called a divisive tactic.

Du Jingjian finally understood and gritted his teeth, saying, "This is too ruthless!"

Cheng Jun nodded and said, "A mere ward head can't think this far ahead. He has a powerful backer, so I must retaliate."

"There were three reasons for slapping Zhu Fangzheng. First, it was to stand up for you. Second, it was to tell the talented people in the neighborhood that I am a true friend to you and that I will not turn a blind eye to your troubles."

"Thirdly, I am not only slapping Zhu Fangzheng in the face, but also the face of the people behind him. Once this slap is delivered, the people behind him will definitely not sit still and will make a move."

Cheng Jun laughed and said, "The military strategy is called 'luring the snake out of its hole'."

Du Jingjian said worriedly, "But if you act rashly, wouldn't you be giving them a handle to use against you? If they use this slap as an excuse, it will be bad for you!"

If things go wrong, can I intervene...? Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said, "I ask you, why are those who are punished with caning by the government not guilty?"

Du Jingjian blurted out, "Because it's legal."

Cheng Jun said, "So, all I need to do is find a legitimate reason for my slap to make it legal, and nothing will happen."

"You can do that?" Du Jingjian stared at him, slightly shocked. "Then how do we do it?"

Cheng Jun said meaningfully, "I want to have an audience with the Emperor!"

"Go find His Majesty?" Du Jingjian asked in surprise, "Would His Majesty care about such a trivial matter?"

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Jingjian, you said that this Zhu Fangzheng came to your house and made things difficult for you. Is it because you have a conflict with him?"

"Yes!"

"If I get involved, will it turn into a conflict between me and Zhu Fangzheng?"

"Yes!"

"Zhu Fangzheng has people from the Ministry of Personnel behind him. Does this mean I'm now in conflict with the Ministry of Personnel?"

"Yes..."

"If I also have someone behind me, and that person happens to be His Majesty, then wouldn't it become a conflict between His Majesty and the Ministry of Personnel?"

"..."

Du Jingjian was stunned.

Cheng Jun asked with a smile, "So, does that mean my slap on Zhu Fangzheng becomes insignificant?"

Du Jingjian was deeply shocked by what he heard; it seemed to make sense.

"This is called shifting the blame."

Cheng Jun solemnly said, "Brother Jingjian, you must remember this: we must not only be good at sharing the burdens of our superiors, but also learn to pass the buck. No matter if it's your fault or not, no matter if you can bear the responsibility, don't take it, and certainly don't admit it. You must hand it over to your superior. Think about it, you've already shared his burdens, so isn't it only right that he takes the blame for you?"

…………

Happy Lunar New Year's Eve everyone! There's an extra update today!