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

The sun was blazing overhead; it was already noon.

Two hours have passed since the young masters of noble families went to the fields to play polo this morning, and a lot has happened in those two short hours.

The scions of noble families looked at the scorching sun. Normally, they would be resting somewhere at this time.

Now they were tilling the fields. The young men from noble families had never tilled the land before, so they were very slow and tired after only a few strokes. They cried out that they wanted to rest. Zheng Luoqi was not going to indulge them, so she ordered the guards to prepare whips and to lash anyone who was slacking off.

The scions of noble families cried and begged for mercy, but dared not resist. Surrounded by soldiers, they knew that the newly arrived prefect was not someone to be trifled with, and were forced to work.

Looking at this scene, Wen Yixuan suddenly felt that being starved for two days was not so bad.

Meanwhile, the various powerful families on the other side were furious when they heard that their sons and daughters had all been sent to farm. They all gathered together to discuss how to demand an explanation from Zheng Luoqi.

Then they all rushed to the fields in the suburbs. When they arrived, they saw their sons and daughters being forced to work under the sun, and they felt so heartbroken.

When Qi Yun'er saw her father arrive, she immediately felt more confident. She put down her farm tools and shouted loudly towards Master Qi, "Father!"

Then he was whipped by a guard next to him, who coldly said, "That'll teach you to slack off."

"What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? How dare you hit my daughter? Are you tired of living?" Just as Master Qi was about to rush over to stop them, he was stopped by Zheng Luoqi's guards.

Master Qi glared angrily at Zheng Luoqi: "What does Lord Zheng mean by this?"

"I have no particular intentions. But why don't you all bow to me?" Zheng Luoqi said coldly.

Although the family heads were unwilling, they still bowed first.

Then, Master Qi roared angrily, "Lord Zheng, you clearly accepted it that day..."

Before Master Qi could finish speaking, Zheng Luoqi interrupted him, saying, "What did you receive? I advise Master Qi to be careful with your words. Slandering an official of the court is a serious crime, punishable by exile. I advise Master Qi to answer carefully."

"You...you...you..." Master Qi was so angry that he couldn't utter a single word, just pointing at Zheng Luoqi without being able to form a coherent sentence.

"Lord Zheng, I don't know what my son has done wrong that you treat them like this. You must know that my son is a law-abiding citizen who has done nothing wrong. You cannot punish him arbitrarily!" Master Zhu, who was standing nearby, questioned.

"They wantonly trampled on fertile fields, which is a serious crime! Do you think they should be punished? Moreover, they didn't even bow to me when they saw me, which only makes their crime more serious!" Zheng Luoqi replied with a sneer.

“Lord Zheng is making unfounded arguments. They destroyed already damaged farmland, so how can they call it fertile land? Besides, this land belongs to their family, so how they deal with it is their own business,” Master Zhu retorted.

"Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the emperor. By destroying the fertile fields here, you are destroying the emperor's fertile fields. How dare you say it's your own land?" Zheng Luoqi replied with disdain.

"You..." Master Zhu was speechless, and could only angrily point at Zheng Luoqi.

Master Zhu hadn't expected Zheng Luoqi to be so stubborn; it seemed reasoning with her was useless, so he had to resort to his family connections.

"Lord Zheng, do you know that the first generation of my Zhu family followed Emperor Xue in conquering this land? We still have the imperial edict left by Emperor Xue in this house," Master Zhu said proudly.

"Hahahahahaha," Zheng Luoqi was genuinely amused this time, laughing loudly and unrestrainedly.

Zheng Luoqi thought that Master Zhu was planning something, but it turns out this is all! Several emperors have ruled over this place, and it's hard to say whether the current emperor will even acknowledge it.

Master Zhu glared angrily at Zheng Luoqi, already plotting how to kill her.

The heads of the other powerful families were also furious. They had never encountered anything like this before. They usually doted on their sons and daughters, but now Zheng Luoqi had sent them to work in the fields under the scorching sun.

These family heads realized they had arrived too hastily and were unprepared, and probably wouldn't be able to save their children. They never expected the new prefect to be so unyielding.

These people were also at a stalemate with Zheng Luoqi for a while, but Zheng Luoqi didn't release them. Then they angrily flicked their sleeves and left, their resentful eyes as they left seemed to see right through Zheng Luoqi.

Zheng Luoqi didn't care at all, and turned to continue watching the young masters and ladies from wealthy families tilling the fields. They worked in the fields all day under the scorching sun.

As the sun gradually set, these young masters and ladies still couldn't stop hoeing, sweat streaming down their faces and dripping onto the ground beneath their feet.

Time ticked by, and finally, the day's work was over. Exhausted, they lay on the ground, still calling out, "Water! Water! Quickly, give this young master (young lady) water!"

The guards quickly brought out bowls of water that had been prepared beforehand and placed them in front of everyone. These people no longer cared about their appearance; they all raised their bowls and drank it down in large gulps, as if it were the most precious nectar in the world.

Seeing this, Zheng Luoqi raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said with a half-smile, "Aren't you afraid that I will poison you?"

Before she finished speaking, the faces of everyone who was drinking water turned deathly pale, their hands trembled, and they almost dropped their bowls. They stared at Zheng Luoqi in horror, their eyes filled with fear and confusion.

Immediately afterwards, some people began forcefully gagging themselves, trying to vomit the water they had just drunk. Some even knelt on the ground, desperately stimulating their throats with their fingers, trying to expel the water from their stomachs. The scene quickly descended into chaos.

Looking at the scene before him, Zheng Luoqi couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Hahahaha, alright, stop picking at it, I didn't poison you."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a sense of relief, but at the same time, they were incredibly angry. They all glared at Zheng Luoqi.

Just then, Zhu Bin was about to speak, but before he could utter a word, he seemed to remember something. He tightly covered both cheeks, a look of panic on his face. He glanced at Zheng Luoqi, then stood silently to the side, not daring to say another word.

The others glared at Zheng Luoqi resentfully, their eyes flashing with hatred.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Take them away," Zheng Luoqi ordered.

"What do you mean take us away? Aren't you going to release us?" one of the scions of noble families asked in a panic.

"Wait until you've restored the land to its original state before you talk to me about releasing the people," Zheng Luoqi said before leaving.