Mu Yangzhi's voice was very low, but Mu Yangrun, who was standing next to him, still heard it.

He scoffed, "Dad makes the decisions, what do you know?"

Mu Yang rolled her eyes at him: "What's it to you if I'm talking to Tuantuan?"

"you!"

"Enough!" The Emperor, who had been silent until now, spoke up. He played with the fan in his hand and said calmly, "You two brothers don't need to argue. Now that we've come across this matter, we should naturally clear your names."

Da Niu and Er Niu exchanged a glance and looked nervously at the Emperor. They realized that the one in charge was still the old man sitting there.

The Emperor gave Mu Yangzhi a look, and Mu Yangzhi quickly helped the two of them up, gesturing for them to sit down.

However, the two brothers were not ignorant. Judging from the fabric of their clothes and the things they used, they knew that the family was rich and powerful. They dared not sit down and could only put half of their buttocks on the stool.

"We still need to go to the county government office," the Emperor said slowly. Seeing that the two were anxious, he quickly waved his hand and said, "Listen to me. This time we will go with you. If the prefect has really wronged you, we will naturally stand up for you."

"Master, no, that won't do..." Erniu cried out, shaking his head frantically. "If we common folk want to file a complaint, we'll get ten strokes of the cane first. In the past, we wouldn't have had a problem, but we almost lost half our lives before, we're afraid..."

"Erniu, stop talking." Da Niu interrupted Erniu, looked up at the Emperor and the people around him, and kowtowed deeply. "Gentlemen, I know you must be of extraordinary status. I am willing to go to the county government with you, but could you please let my brother stay? If you can't help me, at least my brother can take care of our old mother in the village."

"Big brother!" Erniu cried again.

Da Niu's words made Mu Yangzhi feel very uncomfortable. He quickly went over and helped him up, saying, "Don't worry, I'm determined to handle this. I will definitely get you out of the prefectural and county offices unharmed!"

"Furthermore, I've never heard of being punished for filing a complaint! Even filing a complaint with the emperor doesn't have this rule, how dare Chen Yuping!"

Chen Yuping was the name of the prefect of Dazhou.

Da Niu and Er Niu exchanged a glance, looking at Mu Yangzhi's angry expression. They moved their lips a few times, their eyes filled with confusion: "Really? Don't we get a beating? But the Prefect..."

"What kind of damned prefect is this? Father! This man cannot be forgiven!"

Mu Yangzhi's chest heaved with anger.

"Tuantuan, let's go, let's go and meet this prefect!"

Mu Yangzhi said quickly.

Bai Tuantuan quickly stepped forward and tugged at Mu Yangzhi's sleeve: "Don't worry, let's see what Uncle has to say."

The Emperor glanced helplessly at Mu Yangzhi: "Alright, you two go and meet him. Tuantuan, keep an eye on this kid for me."

As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, Mu Yangzhi grabbed Bai Tuantuan and left.

Mu Yangrun frowned, and just as he was about to say something, he heard the Emperor and Bai Han say, "That second son of yours is brainless, but he has a good heart. Let's just wait for them and Nan Xiao to come back."

Chen Luo patted Da Niu and Er Niu on the shoulders: "We know what you're saying, but we still need to verify it. Let's eat something first."

Da Niu and Er Niu looked at the food Xiao Er brought, swallowed hard, and then shook their heads: "We're not hungry, not hungry..."

"Eat."

The Emperor stood up, gave everyone a look, and then asked Ning Chengzhu to stay with the two of them while the others went to Bai Han's residence.

Ning Chengzhu, who had also climbed his way up from the bottom, naturally knew what these two were thinking. He smiled and said, "My master tells you to eat, so eat. What are you afraid of? It's all free!"

As he spoke, Ning Chengzhu picked up a sesame seed cake, took a bite, and his eyes lit up immediately: "This sesame seed cake is delicious! Back when my family was so poor that we couldn't even afford to eat, it was You Lang who gave us a sesame seed cake, which my brother, my mother, and I shared for three days!"

Hearing this, Erniu felt slightly relieved and tentatively asked, "So you guys made it through now..."

Ning Chengzhu laughed and waved his hand: "How could that be! My older brother and my mother didn't eat those sesame cakes at all, they saved them for me! They've left too, they didn't live a good life with me."

"If it weren't for my wife bringing me food, I wouldn't be here today."

While munching on a sesame seed cake, Ning Chengzhu said, "Those were such tough times! It's just a pity that I don't know where my mother and brother were reincarnated all these years, or whether they're doing well..."

Erniu was shocked and hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"It's alright," Ning Chengzhu sighed. "It's all in the past, but this grain is good stuff, so you should eat it quickly and not waste it."

Da Niu frowned and tentatively asked, "Sir, who exactly are you people?"

“They are good people.” Ning Chengzhu smiled. “You are lucky to have met us. Don’t worry, we will definitely be able to resolve your issues.”

"You don't need to worry, worrying won't do any good. You might as well eat and drink well. Even if you die, you'll die with a full stomach, right?"

Ning Chengzhu's words made sense to the two of them, so they started eating.

In the other room, Bai Han sighed: "I really didn't expect to encounter such a thing on the very first stop. I still remember Chen Yuping. I saw his exam paper when he took the imperial examination. Although it was mediocre, he had a pure heart and wanted to do practical things for the people, which is why he made it onto the list."

“People can change,” Chen Luo shook his head. “People in officialdom are even more fickle, after all, they are subject to too many temptations.”

The Emperor nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

Mu Yangzhi and Bai Tuantuan arrived at the prefectural government office. After glancing at the two yamen runners guarding the entrance, they went straight up to them.

"What are you doing?" Two constables quickly came over and stopped the two men.

After looking them up and down, he raised an eyebrow: "Are you here to complain?"

Mu Yangzhi was about to speak when Bai Tuantuan stopped him.

"Yes, we must beat the drum to appeal for justice!"

"Hahaha!" one of the yamen runners laughed. "Of course you can beat the drum to appeal for justice, but according to the rules of Dazhou, if you want to file a complaint, you'll first get ten strokes of the cane. Can you handle that?"

Another constable said, "You're from out of town, aren't you?"

Bai Tuantuan feigned shock as she looked at the two of them: "Why do I have to be beaten? Isn't there any other way? I don't want to be beaten..."

The constable stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes: "Well, there are other ways, aren't there?"

He held up five fingers and said, "Do you understand?"

Bai Tuantuan blinked her eyes: "Do you want silver? Five copper coins?"

"Hahahaha!" the constable laughed. "Five copper coins? You're giving this to a beggar? Five hundred taels!"

Bai Tuantuan's smile vanished: "Five hundred taels? Five hundred taels can support ordinary people for a lifetime! This is the prefectural government office, isn't it a place to uphold justice for the people? Why are you charging money?"

Upon hearing this, the two constables looked impatient: "Either pay up or get a beating, the choice is yours!"