Looking at the three men's faces, Jiang Mian suddenly couldn't help but laugh.

Today has truly been an eye-opener. They were the ones who greedily coveted the iron ore of Tianjiao Peak, but they were turned down and didn't get a single thing. In desperation, they sought his help as the prefect. But now, they're blaming him directly for the banditry on Tianjiao Peak.

Their intervention was actually seen as an act of kindness and assistance.

His grandfather always warned him that everyone has selfish desires, some more obvious than others, which made him always vigilant.

But these three people in front of me are not just driven by selfish motives; they are utterly shameless.

It's quite an eye-opener that he can describe his greed in such a respectable way.

The three men looked at Jiang Mian, who was bowing his head and chuckling softly, and felt a little embarrassed. "Brother Jiang, what do you mean by this?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly found it funny."

Jiang Mian put down his teacup, his expression lingering between the three of them for a moment, his tone gentle.

"Judging from the tone of the three young masters, is the bandit entrenched on Tianjiao Peak due to the poor governance of this prefecture?"

Jiang Mian's tone startled the three of them, who then suddenly realized that they had indeed used inappropriate language in their attempt to coerce him. However, they didn't intend to hold him accountable; they simply wanted to provoke him into joining them.

"Hehe... Brother Jiang, you misunderstand. We didn't mean that. Brother Jiang is so young, yet you were appointed by the King as a prefect of a region. Your abilities are beyond doubt."

"Brother Han is right. Brother Jiang need not worry. Yejun is located on the border and is a strategic pass. Since ancient times, bandits have been rampant. They only came here because they felt that it was too far away from the capital and their reach was too great. This is something that everyone knows."

As Song Yu spoke, his eyes darkened. It seemed that his dear aunt's husband and two sons were hiding in the Qinglin Mountain area, acting as bandits.

What a disgrace to the family! Humph!

Jiang Mian looked at the three scions of prominent families with a gentle expression, but the three of them inexplicably felt a sense of pressure.

Although all three were promising talents nurtured by aristocratic families, none of them ultimately became scholars. They possessed an air of elegance and nobility, but lacked imposing presence.

Therefore, whenever Jiang Mian unleashed his aura, the three of them unconsciously felt inferior.

Seeing their apologetic smiles, Jiang Mian didn't appreciate it. Instead, he took the opportunity to bring up the rumors that had suddenly appeared in the past few days.

"The Qinglin Mountains have been inhabited by bandits since ancient times, and it certainly didn't form overnight, so let's not dwell on that. But the rumors that have suddenly emerged these past few days are quite perplexing, and even I find them laughable. Now, the entire city's residents believe that your three great families are preparing to unite and oppress this poor prefect. And looking at your attitude now, it's almost exactly the same as the rumors. They say there's no smoke without fire, but even a baseless rumor needs a hole to form first, doesn't it?"

After being subjected to Jiang Mian's sarcastic and mocking remarks, the three of them fell silent for a moment.

I never knew that Jiang Mian, who looked so gentle and refined, could be so sharp and ruthless when he spoke. People who have entered the Imperial Academy are indeed different.

"Since the three of you have nothing more to say, I will not keep you company any longer. Steward, see them out."

Seeing the three remain silent, Jiang Mian smiled slightly. He had wasted the entire morning listening to a lot of nonsense. These three hadn't brought him any surprises at all. It was truly disappointing.

“Please, gentlemen. Our lord has been very busy these days, unlike you gentlemen, he still has time to travel and enjoy the scenery. He has managed to take some time out of his busy schedule to receive you today, as there are a lot of matters at the yamen waiting for his decision.”