Only after being reborn did I realize that I was the white moonlight of a powerful minister.

The beautiful concubine fainted from fright. Jiang Zongping broke out in a cold sweat, having witnessed Xie Bohuai's terrifying nature. He immediately said, "My lord, spare my life! I'll come out right away!"

Xie Bohuai, holding a knife, forbade Jiang Zongping from putting on his clothes and led him to the front hall.

When Meng Feichi and Minister Zhou saw Jiang Zongping naked, Minister Zhou's face turned red. "What kind of behavior is this!" He ordered someone to bring clothes for Jiang Zongping, but Xie Bohuai refused.

"Lord Jiang said that he wants to talk to us like this." As soon as Xie Bohuai finished speaking, Jiang Zongping could only nod in agreement.

Minister Zhou didn't dare to look directly at him. "What kind of behavior is this? I'm asking you, you're clearly at your residence, yet you're leaving us hanging. Are you tired of being a seventh-rank county magistrate, or do you think someone in the capital is protecting you?"

"No, no, absolutely not." Jiang Zongping didn't recognize Minister Zhou. After asking, he immediately knelt down. "Minister, it really has nothing to do with me. It was the servant's fault. He probably thought I was staying at my concubine's place tonight and didn't want to disturb me."

"Don't dare to disturb? Is it that important for you to sleep with a concubine? More important than the food supply for tens of thousands of people in Huaizhou City?" Minister Zhou was furious. Now he felt that Xie Bohuai was not being unreasonable at all, and that Jiang Zongping deserved to be humiliated naked. "I ask you, why are so many fields in Huaizhou City empty?"

Jiang Zongping's account is the same as Meng Feichi's: "The people were dissatisfied with the rent and only wanted to cultivate the land for free. But at that time, the government and banks borrowed a lot of money to dig canals and build roads. We thought that two hundred coins was not much and was within the people's acceptable range. But they just didn't want to. If you don't believe me, you can ask anyone."

With so many people in the city, Jiang Zongping let Minister Zhou ask whatever he wanted, seemingly unafraid.

Minister Zhou knew, however, that the old man outside the city said it was two taels of silver, which was a world of difference from two hundred coins.

However, Jiang Zongping was very confident, and Minister Zhou turned to look at Xie Bohuai. The message he received was that Xie Bohuai was protecting Meng Feichi.

At this moment, Meng Feichi stepped forward and said, "Yes, my lords, you can ask anyone you like. There are so many people in the city, it's impossible for Lord Jiang to make everyone give the same answer."

Minister Zhou asked, "Xie Bohuai, what do you think?"

"Then let's wait until tomorrow," Xie Bohuai said.

He got up and told Minister Zhou that he was going to rest, while Qingshan stayed behind to watch over Jiang Zongping, letting Jiang Zongping stay there until dawn.

Meng Feichi wanted to say a few words to Jiang Zongping, but Qingshan kept watching, so he had to go back first.

The next morning, Minister Zhou went out to inquire, and the people all said it was two hundred coins.

"Is it really two hundred coins?" Minister Zhou asked two people in the teahouse. "If it really is two hundred coins, why are so many people unwilling to accept it?"

"Don't ask me, my family runs boats, we don't farm."

"I fish, but I'm not a brother."

"Grandpa, I don't know either, but why are you so curious? Who are you? Your accent doesn't sound like you're from Huaizhou."

To avoid being exposed, Minister Zhou said he was just asking casually and then turned and left the teahouse.

However, they hadn't gone far when the beggar waved to him, signaling him to come over.

"You're from out of town, aren't you? I don't care who you are, as long as you give me a tael of silver, I'll tell you the truth." The little beggar was about twelve or thirteen years old, tanned dark, and missing half a front tooth when he smiled.

“You little beggar, you ask for a tael of silver right off the bat. How do I know you’re not lying to me?” Minister Zhou asked.

“If you believed those people in the teahouse, you wouldn’t have come here. Since you’re willing to listen to me, you must be interested. One tael of silver, no bargaining. I’m curious about you; you’re unlikely to find another person who will tell you the truth.” The little beggar looked around and urged, “Hurry up, or I’ll leave if someone sees us.”

Minister Zhou reluctantly pulled out an ounce of silver, "Speak quickly!"

“Actually, those people are all afraid of Meng Feichi. Have you heard of Xie Bohuai, the Living Yama? He’s Meng Feichi’s backer. What two hundred copper coins? That’s clearly two taels of silver per mu of land. Think about it, where do ordinary people get so much silver? You don’t even need two taels of silver to get married, let alone buy land. Besides, that land originally belonged to the common people. We common people suffer terribly, and we have nowhere to complain.” The little beggar put away the silver and was about to leave when Minister Zhou stopped him again.

"You mean Meng Feichi? What about Jiang Zongping? He's the local official, doesn't he care?"

“Magistrate Jiang, no matter how powerful he is, he can’t be as powerful as the officials in the capital. You’re asking so eagerly, could it be that you’re from the capital?” The little beggar pried open Minister Zhou’s fingers.

"Never mind who I am, you need to explain to me clearly how Meng Feichi forced the sale of the land?" Minister Zhou grabbed the little beggar again.

The little beggar was displeased. "Old man, why are you so stubborn? How can you force me to sell the land? I'll just post a notice. Whether you buy or not is up to you, but if you cause trouble, I'll cripple you. Please let go, don't let anyone see me!"

While Minister Zhou was in a daze, the little beggar pushed him away and ran away quickly.

Minister Zhou frowned. He had indeed heard that this was the case, but when he arrived in Huaizhou City, he felt that there were suspicious points everywhere.

If Xie Bohuai is Meng Feichi's backer, then why did Xie Bohuai treat Jiang Zongping like that last night?

Judging from how Meng Feichi treats Xie Bohuai, he is indeed very close to him.

Minister Zhou couldn't figure it out, so he had no choice but to continue inquiring.

Little did they know that the little beggar in the alley, who had just received money from another person and was happily counting it, was suddenly stabbed in the throat and died on the spot.

He died with his eyes wide open, refusing to close them. His killer, however, just snorted, took back the silver he had given him, stuffed him into a sack, and threw him into the river outside the city.

When Minister Zhou returned to the Meng family, his face was extremely grim. Upon learning that Xie Bohuai had not yet returned, he packed his things and immediately prepared to leave.

The servants of the Meng family advised, "You should wait for Lord Xie to return before we talk. If you leave like this, I won't be able to explain myself."

"Explain? How do you intend to explain?" The more Minister Zhou listened to what the other party had to say, the stranger it seemed.

"I'm just worried about your safety. If you really want to leave, why don't we have our master arrange for someone to escort you? Otherwise, the mountains are high and the roads are long, and you only have one attendant with you. How will you get back to the capital?"

"Whether I can go back or not is none of your business," Minister Zhou said firmly, insisting on leaving with his entourage.

When Xie Bohuai returned and learned that Minister Zhou had left, he knew something was amiss. But Meng Feichi was still watching, so he could only chase after him alone after dark.

After dark, only a faint moonlight shone outside the city. Minister Zhou, being quite old, could not walk far. He and his entourage found a rock to shelter from the wind and prepared to make do for the night, when they heard the sound of horses' hooves.

"There he is! Seize him! Lord Xie said he must die!"

Upon hearing this, Minister Zhou got goosebumps; he knew Xie Bohuai was no good!