Zhou Fugui looked at Zhou Cang, who was surrounded by everyone like a star being the moon, and his face turned ashen.

"A petty person who has gained power!" He sneered and turned to leave.

It's just grain, what's so great about it? His family has several granaries that are full. It's just a bag of grain. Look how foolish these idiots are. They're so hopeless!

Speaking of this, Zhou Fugui smiled smugly. So what if Zhou Cang, the legitimate wife, was born? She was still kicked out of the house by him, the mistress. Now, everything in the Zhou family belongs to him.

As for Zhou Cang, he can go and be a lackey of a bandit leader for the rest of his life, and it's best if he never comes back.

However, the lackeys won't have it easy either.

Zhou Fugui's eyes darted around, and the donkey cart turned a corner and headed towards the county government office.

"Rebellion? Are you sure?" Rong Bai, the magistrate of Tongning County, stared excitedly at the middle-aged man in front of him, his eyes shining like the full moon on the sixteenth day of the lunar month.

"..." Zhou Fugui felt extremely flustered under his gaze.

“Okay, it seems so,” he said hesitantly.

It's not that the magistrate is a playboy who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun, but his demeanor, appearance, and those intelligent, bright eyes really don't seem like it at all.

Zhou Fugui guiltily wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Rong Bai scoffed, raising his voice slightly annoyed, "What do you mean 'seems like'? Huh? You're trying to fool me."

"You dare report uncertain things to me? Are you tired of living?"

Zhou Fugui's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud, nodding his head repeatedly with his eyes closed.

“I am certain, I am certain, Luo Xi is going to rebel.”

After saying it out loud, he was less flustered: "My good-for-nothing brother is now her head steward. He recruited quite a few people at the entrance of the manor today."

"Although they claim to be looking for people to farm, adults know what kind of weather it is now and what kind of land is suitable for farming. In my opinion, they just want to use this as an excuse to recruit soldiers and prepare for rebellion."

"Your brother?" A playful glint flashed in Rong Bai's eyes: "Aren't you afraid of being reported to me? You'll be implicated if things come to light, and besides, he's your brother. You seem a bit hard-hearted, don't you?"

Zhou Fugui felt a moment of embarrassment, but he hid it well. When he looked up, his eyes were slightly red and his voice was hoarse: "This humble one is just afraid that my younger brother will make the same mistake again and again, so I came to tell you, hoping to help him accumulate some good karma."

"Everyone says that Your Excellency is a good official who can distinguish right from wrong. I dare not hope that Your Excellency will let him go. Whether Your Excellency cripples him or exiles him three thousand miles away, it doesn't matter."

He sobbed and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, looking as if he was thinking of his younger brother: "I only hope that you will spare my stupid brother's life in consideration of my act of putting righteousness before family."

Cripple them? Exile them? Is this for their own good? Rong Bai has learned something new again.

He shifts all the bad luck onto others, not only getting away with nothing himself but also gaining a reputation for upholding justice even at the cost of his own family.

That's a great plan!

"Alright, I understand." Rong Bai dared not say he was a good person, but he felt that even glancing at such a shameless person was an eyesore. He quickly instructed the clerk Li Jin beside him.

"Give him ten taels of silver." Then get out of here quickly.

Zhou Fugui didn't notice the disgust in Rong Bai's eyes at all. He thought he had won the favor of the county magistrate and was overjoyed.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Don't worry, sir, I will keep a close eye on them for you when I get back," he said obsequiously.

Rong Bai kept his head down, absentmindedly twirling the beads in his hands, as if he hadn't heard anything. Zhou Fugui almost lost his smile.

Finally, Li Jin spoke up, "Our master understands. You should go back now."

Zhou Fugui was not about to give up. This was a good opportunity to curry favor with the county magistrate. He said with a fawning smile, "Then I will take my leave. I will go and keep an eye on Chaoyang Manor. I will come back when I have any news. I will definitely do my job well for you, sir."

After saying that, he left in a hurry, fearing that the county magistrate would forbid him from doing it.

Rong Bai: "???"

It feels like I was force-fed a lump of... you know.

Looking at his master's wrinkled face, Li Jin asked in a low voice, "Should I have someone bring him back?"

"Forget it." Rong Bai flicked the beaded string in his hand and leaned back in his chair. "Why should I refuse a free dog that insists on guarding my door? Let him do his work."

“But…” Li Jin was somewhat worried. “This person looks like a villain. If he causes trouble, you’ll be the one to cover for him.”

"Why should I bail him out?" Rong Bai raised his fair and handsome face, full of confusion: "I don't even know him, what he did has nothing to do with me."

"..." Li Jin chuckled, "I misunderstood. It really has nothing to do with us."

For the first time, he discovered that the adult's rascal nature was actually quite endearing.

“But this Chaoyang Manor…” Li Jin began to worry again: “According to the information my subordinates have gathered, that female bandit named Luo Xi has indeed taken up arms at the Zhao family’s farm and is even recruiting soldiers in a big way. If the prefect finds out, then…”

"It's that old geezer again~" Rong Bai gritted his teeth with hatred at the mention of Du Hong, the prefect of Nanyue County. He almost crushed the beads in his hand, and he no longer cared about Chaoyang Manor.

"What? Is it not enough that he just swindled 500,000 taels of silver from me? What else does he want?"

"My lord, please be careful with your words." Li Jin sighed helplessly, "It is only right that we send some silver as a birthday gift to the Prefect."

Rong Bai chuckled, completely disregarding Li Jin's caution: "Celebrating a big birthday at thirty-five? Is he afraid he won't live to sixty?"

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