Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

The old man sighed helplessly and said slowly, "My family has lived here for generations. I don't know when it started, but it was probably more than ten years ago when there was a famine. At that time, we sold everything we could, even our land, just to get a little food."

The old man frowned, recalling the difficult years of the past, and continued, "Back then, many farmers like me were actually unwilling to sell their land, because the land was our root."

"However, when the famine struck, those wealthy families kept raising the price of grain, which we simply couldn't afford and had no grain to eat. So they asked us to exchange our land for grain."

The old man shook his head and said in a heavy tone, "At that time, those powerful families promised that even if we sold the land, we could continue to lease it to cultivate, saying that if we cultivated it for a few more years, we could buy the land back."

“At first, the rent wasn’t expensive. Everyone was thinking that we could buy back the land we sold after cultivating it for five or six years. But who would have thought that the rent would increase every year? The rent kept rising and getting more expensive. Gradually, our lives became more and more difficult. After paying the rent each year, there was hardly anything left. We even had trouble eating.”

His eyes revealed a hint of anger and helplessness as he continued, "Life was already very difficult, but those rich kids liked to play polo in the fields, thinking it was more fun. As a result, large tracts of land were often trampled beyond recognition."

“The fields here are often trampled and damaged, so we can’t grow crops. Then there’s no harvest. How are we supposed to survive without crops? Sigh!” The old man sighed helplessly again.

"It's illegal to wantonly trample on fertile fields. Has the old man tried to report it to the authorities?" Zheng Luoqi asked.

“Report to the authorities? In the end, this land isn’t even mine; it’s leased. Even if I report it to the authorities, it won’t do any good. Those young men will say that this is destroying their own farmland. What does it have to do with an old man like me?” the old man sighed.

"Besides, with officials and businessmen colluding, where can we ordinary people seek justice?" the old man said helplessly.

"Old man, do you know when these sons and daughters of officials like to play polo the most?" Zheng Luoqi asked with a smile.

The old man shook his head, unsure, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "The autumn harvest is coming soon, they'll definitely be here in the next few days. These young masters love to come and play in the morning."

“Young master, what brings you to inquire about these matters? Could it be… No, no, these people are not to be trifled with. Their family is powerful and influential. You mustn’t provoke them and bring bad luck upon yourself.” The old man quickly shook his head and advised.

"Hahahaha, don't worry, old man, I didn't mean that. I was just curious. Well then, I won't bother you any longer. I've seen the scenery, so it's time for me to go," Zheng Luoqi said with a smile.

Zheng Luoqi and her group then left.

The old man watched Zheng Luoqi and her group leave, then looked at the crops in the field, shook his head, and sighed, "It's tough, it's tough. How are we going to make a living like this?"

The first thing Zheng Luoqi did upon returning to the government office was to order people to keep watch in the fields outside the city and to notify him immediately if there was any news.

Another thing was to instruct the servants not to give Wen Yixuan or his men anything to eat for the next two days, to starve them for two days, so that Wen Yixuan wouldn't waste food next time.

When Wen Yixuan returned, he felt like the sky had fallen, and he even questioned Zheng Luoqi about why she hadn't given him and his men food.

Zheng Luoqi's reply to him was: "Who told you to waste food? This is just to let you experience what it feels like to go hungry."

Wen Yixuan was completely baffled. What did he mean by wasting food? Then he thought about it again and realized it must be that bowl of vegetable noodles. Was he being punished for that too? Wen Yixuan wanted to protest, but he had brought too few people and was no match for Zheng Luoqi.

In the end, Wen Yixuan and his men were starved for two days. Wen Yixuan was dumbfounded. Was Zheng Luoqi really not joking? She just starved them like that. He was, after all, the Grand Commandant's nephew. How dare she treat him like this?

After two days of hunger, on the third day, Zheng Luoqi brought Wen Yixuan some white porridge. Wen Yixuan devoured it as if he had seen some kind of divine delicacy. He swore that it was the first time he had ever thought white porridge tasted so good.

Fortunately, Wen Yixuan never dared to waste food in front of Zheng Luoqi again.

A few days later, Zheng Luoqi finally saw the young masters and ladies from those aristocratic families gather in the fields.

Zheng Luoqi had already instructed Boyu and He Jinyu to do their work, so she brought Wen Yixuan along today.

At this time in the fields

"Go, Brother Qi!" The young ladies from prominent families who came to watch the competition cheered for the person they liked.

"Go, Brother Lü!"

The young lady from a prominent family set up a makeshift thatched hut by the field to watch the young masters from other prominent families compete.

The fields were trampled wantonly by the horses of the noble families, and the once fertile soil became muddy and impassable.

The polo ball bounced back and forth across the fields, its tracks becoming difficult to spot due to the stubble of hay. To make it easier to play, the polo ball was made slightly larger, increasing the difficulty of the game compared to playing on grass, while also adding more fun.

This scene was heartbreaking for the farmers who had cultivated this land for generations. Every trampling by the horses meant damage to their hard-earned land.

The land becomes compacted from being trampled by horses, making it difficult to grow crops, and thus this fertile land will be wasted.

The farmers felt heavy-hearted, yet unable to express it. Faced with the behavior of these scions of wealthy families, they could only silently endure it, daring not to speak out easily.

After all, these scions of powerful families possessed power and wealth, while they were just ordinary farmers, powerless to oppose them.

Only they themselves truly understand the helplessness and pain they feel. Looking at the ravaged fields, their hearts are filled with unbearable sorrow.

With the autumn harvest approaching, the yield is getting worse year by year. It is uncertain whether this land will be arable next year. With one less piece of land to cultivate, it means that next year's grain harvest will only be even less.

After these young masters and ladies finished playing, they would give some money to the farmers who worked here. But that money was never enough. For the farmers, food was the most important thing. If there was a famine, what good was money? They would starve to death if they couldn't buy food.

But these young masters and ladies wouldn't understand! They had tried to resist before, but in the end they were only beaten. Gradually, the farmers stopped daring to resist.

They could only watch helplessly as their fertile fields were destroyed, and there was nothing they could do.