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

These young masters and ladies from prominent families have been suffering terribly these past few days.

Every morning, before dawn, Zheng Luoqi would drag them out and take them to the outskirts to plow the fields. Moreover, they were only provided with two meals a day, and each meal consisted of barely edible cornbread.

When these pampered young masters and ladies first tasted cornbread, they simply couldn't swallow it. Some even vomited it up and then spent the whole night hungry.

Because they didn't eat anything that night, they were hungry all night, which made them lack the strength to work the next day.

Worse still, they were whipped by the guards for being too weak to work. When the guards brought them cornbread again, they dared not complain about it anymore.

The sight of these young masters and ladies from wealthy families tilling the land was extremely rare, and the news quickly spread among the farmers. As a result, many farmers who had been persecuted in the past came to watch.

"Grandpa, are they those young masters who trample on our fields? Why are they working in the fields now?" A child standing by the field asked his grandfather curiously.

"We've met a good official!" the old man said, stroking his beard as he looked at the field.

Shortly afterward, a servant came to report and whispered a few words in Zheng Luoqi's ear.

A smile appeared on Zheng Luoqi's lips.

"Which one should we start with?" Zheng Luoqi asked in a sinister tone.

..................

As night fell, tensions rose inside and outside the He family compound. Zheng Luoqi, leading a group of guards and soldiers, had completely surrounded the He family's residence.

Seeing the situation, the servants of the He family hurriedly ran to inform the head of the He family. The patriarch of the He family was not to be outdone and came out to confront Zheng Luoqi directly: "May I ask, sir, what has my He family done? Why did you break into my He mansion at night and lead so many soldiers to surround and suppress us?"

Zheng Luoqi took out a booklet, his face solemn, and slowly said, "What crime have you committed? There are far too many charges. Let me read them to you: He Yizhou, the eldest young master of the He family, wantonly trampled on fertile land. When the farmers who leased the land tried to stop him, he became dissatisfied and accidentally killed one of the farmers' sons."

"He Yirou, the eldest daughter of the He family, was jealous of her maid's beauty and deliberately framed her for seducing the young master of the Lü family. Under this pretext, she disfigured the maid and sent her to a brothel."

"Madam He, because you, Mr. He, were having affairs outside, you tormented that woman to death, and you, Mr. He, have remained completely indifferent to the whole affair, without offering any explanation. Clearly, that woman was forced to submit to you." Zheng Luoqi coldly swept her gaze across Mr. He.

Then Zheng Luoqi read out all the things the He family had done. With each one she said, Mr. He broke out in a cold sweat, but he still tried to remain calm.

Master He remained defiant, stubbornly saying, "Does Lord Zheng have any evidence for what he said? Don't try to frame me for things without evidence. I have never done anything like this."

"Good! Good! Good! Another stubborn one. We'll find out whether you did it or not when we get back to the yamen. Take him away," Zheng Luoqi ordered.

"I'd like to see who dares to do this!" Old Madam He was helped out by her servants, her voice tinged with anger.

Madam He, because she and her husband were merchants when they were young, accidentally saved the crown prince during the reign of the late emperor, who was one of Xue Huaiyu's elder brothers.

At that time, the crown prince was being hunted down and his whereabouts were unknown. He was rescued by the old lady He. Because the He family was large and powerful, they could provide the crown prince with a lot of financial support. Moreover, when the late emperor ascended the throne, there was a famine one year, and they donated a lot of grain and silver to the court. After the crown prince returned to the palace, he asked the late emperor to grant him the title of first-rank noblewoman.

Although the crown prince did not ultimately ascend the throne, the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady of this old lady He remained.

Zheng Luoqi first bowed respectfully, then ordered the guards behind her with a blank expression, "Men, take all these people away!"

"Stop! You bunch of dogs, do you know who I am? I am a first-rank imperial lady! And you are just a lowly prefect, a mere fourth-rank official. What right do you have to arrest me? Moreover, even if you want to arrest me, you need the Emperor's permission. Otherwise, you are committing treason!" Old Madam He glared at Zheng Luoqi and shouted angrily.

Upon hearing Madam He's words, Zheng Luoqi's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and said coldly, "I naturally know that you are a first-rank imperial consort, but today's matter has nothing to do with you, so please do not meddle in other people's business."

"Furthermore, I am only acting as the prefect. To be clear, I am the Vice Censor-in-Chief, a third-rank official. As for these people, they are suspected of disrupting court order and harming innocent people. I have the right to arrest them!"

After speaking, Zheng Luoqi waved again, signaling the guards behind her to act. The guards stepped forward and seized the troublemakers.

"Mother, please save me!" Mr. He cried out to Mrs. He in terror.

Old Madam He stared wide-eyed angrily at everything happening before her. She pointed at those people and shouted, "You... how dare you be so arrogant!" However, as soon as she finished speaking, she felt dizzy and her body swayed and fell backward.

The maid who was supporting the old lady turned pale with fright. She quickly helped her up and cried out in panic, "Old lady! Old lady! What's wrong?"

The news that the entire He family had been imprisoned also reached the ears of other prominent families.

The sensible family had already sent people to investigate Zheng Luoqi's background.

When they learned that the newly appointed prefect was the prime minister's son, they immediately became more cautious and dared not provoke Zheng Luoqi.

They were terrified that their own family would be the next to be imprisoned.

The shops in Xuzhou gradually returned to their former appearance, and they dared not refuse to sell to the government.

Inside the prison, He Yizhou and He Yirou were shocked to see their parents also imprisoned. They had thought their parents would find a way to get them out, but now even their parents were prisoners.

"Father, Mother, how did you get arrested too?" He Yizhou asked, staring wide-eyed at Master He in disbelief.

"Where is Grandma? Why didn't Grandma come to save us?" He Yirou called out anxiously from the side.

"Your grandmother fainted from anger, and her life hangs in the balance!" Master He sighed helplessly.

"Oh no! What should we do? I don't want to die here! Father! Mother!" He Yizhou burst into tears.

"Stop crying, it's so annoying. If you could get out, you would have already done it," Lü Junrong shouted impatiently from the side.