Su An blinked, still not back to her senses.

That's it?

Is it really that easy?

If she had known it was just a matter of a word from Fu Zhun, she wouldn't have bothered running around outside for most of the day.

She rubbed her aching legs and sighed, "I never thought these merchants could even bribe the yamen runners. Money really can make the devil turn the millstone!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Zhun looked at her, his expression softening, but he shook his head: "I'm afraid it's more than that."

"If you can bribe one, you can bribe another. This is an internal matter of the county government. Let Lin Yong investigate it himself."

Su An recalled Lin Yong's hectic and overwhelmed state, and silently mourned for him for two seconds.

Perhaps it was precisely because this county magistrate was so impartial that he spared no effort in investigating and prosecuting any case of a lost chicken or a stolen silver tael, that he was unaware of the infiltration that had occurred around him.

Su An didn't want to miss the satisfying scene of dealing with the unscrupulous merchant, so he endured his sore legs and went to the county government office.

"Sun Ming, who attempted murder in the street and led the charge in defying orders to raise grain prices, is sentenced to immediate execution by beheading. He will be taken to the market immediately and beheaded as a warning to others!"

When she arrived, Lin Yong was dealing with Sun Ming.

Under normal circumstances, with the added charge of attempted murder, Sun Ming might not have needed to be executed.

But now that the world is in chaos, Lin Yong desperately needs to make an example of someone!

"As for the other grain merchants in the court, after the grain decree was issued, they paid lip service to it, sold inferior goods as superior ones, and pretended to be mutton while selling dog meat. Considering that this is their first offense, all their property will be confiscated and they will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane, to be carried out immediately!"

The crowd gathered outside cheered excitedly.

"Well done! These heartless scoundrels, who greedily profited from the rich, have finally been punished!"

"Hmph, they exploit us ordinary people, they deserve to die!"

The crowd was filled with enthusiasm and followed the group escorting Sun Ming, throwing rotten vegetable leaves at them.

Su An also felt a great sense of relief and satisfaction.

Lin Yong came down from the hall and saw her. He hurriedly walked over and said, "Miss Su, please convey my thanks to the Prince. Thanks to the Prince for taking action and catching these unscrupulous merchants, the price of grain has finally been brought under control."

Su An nodded, looking at Lin Yong's exhausted appearance, and asked with concern, "So you executed Sun Ming so quickly, did you find out all the spies?"

Mentioning this made Lin Yong's face turn much uglier, and it even turned a little ashen.

When Sun Ming was brought over, he was covered in injuries and was terrified.

Before he could interrogate him, Sun Ming, in order to save his life, blurted out everything, finally claiming that he knew one of Sun Ming's concubines and begged him to show mercy!

He followed the clues and discovered that his own concubine was colluding with Sun Ming, and that many servants in the mansion had been bribed!

"The traitor has indeed been identified; bring him up!"

As soon as Lin Yong spoke, a trembling woman and four or five servants, either yamen runners or household servants, were brought over in a neat row.

They were bound hand and foot, their mouths stuffed with cloth, and could only whimper and plead for mercy.

The woman at the head of the group, in particular, had a delicate and pretty appearance. As soon as she was brought in, tears welled up in her eyes, and she stared intently at Lin Yong.

Lin Yong glanced at her briefly before clenching his fist and looking away: "Alas! To my shame, this woman was originally my concubine. I never imagined she would have an affair with a treacherous merchant and repeatedly leaked information about the government. This time, she almost harmed Miss Su."

"Bringing her here to be dealt with together is also to give Miss Su justice."

Su An was stunned for a moment, looking at Lin Yong with surprise and disbelief.

How could Lin Yong so fairly and justly speak out about such a private matter that he was being cuckolded?

A man of God!

Just as she was wondering how Lin Yong would deal with it, she heard him shout fiercely, enduring the pain, "Beat these traitors to death with sticks!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several yamen runners raised their sticks and began to smash the man down.

Because their mouths were gagged, the bound men couldn't even scream, writhing on the ground in agony, their eyes wide with pain.

The concubine, whose skin was delicate and tender, cried and tried to rush towards Lin Yong, but Lin Yong turned his back and refused to look. The concubine was then pulled back and beaten several times until she was silent.

This happened so fast that Su An was completely dumbfounded.

That concubine was so delicate and pampered; she must have been well-cared for. I never expected Lin Yong to just beat her to death like that…

He's ruthless!

The dead were quickly dragged away and disposed of. Lin Yong said solemnly, "To clean up the place, we've made a fool of ourselves in front of Miss Su."

Su An sighed slightly and changed the subject to ask about the important matter: "I've noticed that there are far fewer homeless people on the streets these days, but have they all been settled?"

"Most of them were resettled in nearby villages, and some were taken over by the surrounding counties." Lin Yong's eyes showed satisfaction as he spoke.

"The remaining refugees in the city will be arranged to build roads in our Fuyou County. After all, Miss Su's food street has been so successful that more people will come to visit in the future. The sooner the roads are completed, the sooner the county can prosper."

In the past, Lin Yong would never have dared to imagine such a thing, so he became much more respectful to Su An.

"Once those bluestone slabs arrive, we can officially start road construction."

Bluestone slabs!

Su An was shocked. The mining, processing and transportation of bluestone slabs require a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources. Although they are exquisite and grand, they are undoubtedly a huge expense.

Lin Yong's willingness to invest so much demonstrates his high regard for the development of the food street, and it can be considered a long-term investment.

However, perhaps there are better options?

Su An's heart stirred slightly, but he didn't rush to express his thoughts. Instead, he went home and began to study cement.

If it really works out, then we can talk about it later!

There is no cement in the modern sense here, but there are building materials with similar functions, and Su An vaguely remembers rammed earth.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!