Ultimately, he was two ranks below Yu Li—one a third-rank official and the other a fifth-rank official—so in Ruzhou City, whenever Yu Li was present, Prefect Liu dared not utter a word.

This has led to his current humble tone of voice, making him seem somewhat pitiful.

"One of our own?"

Yu Li sneered, "Liu Shou'er, don't try to flatter yourself. Who's on your side?"

"..."

Liu Shou'er was the real name of Prefect Liu. Since he took office as prefect, this name has rarely been used.

Those of lower rank than him should respectfully address him as Lord Liu, while those of higher rank usually call him Prefect Liu.

When Yu Li addressed him by his first name, he realized something was wrong.

The next moment, Yu Li ignored him and walked up to Jing Zhe, bowing and saying, "This humble official greets President Jing!"

"Whoosh!"

One stone stirs up a thousand waves!

The people of Ruzhou City had no idea who "Chief Jing" was, but even the third-rank governor of Ruzhou had to bow to him and refer to himself as "this humble official," so it was conceivable that his official position was definitely higher than Yu Li's!

But... he's too young!

Before he was even twenty, he had already obtained an official position higher than the third rank. The people of Ruzhou had never heard of or seen anything like it. They were all dumbfounded and extremely shocked!

However, the Crown Prince of Yu and Prefect Liu were different. Although Ruzhou City was blocking news, it only blocked the information of ordinary people. Their information was still readily available, so after hearing "President Jing", they knew who the young man in front of them was!

Some were angry, some were afraid, and some were helpless—why him of all people?

Zhou Ziqiong was also a little dumbfounded. No wonder he was so fearless. It turned out that his background was not comparable to that of Prefect Liu!

What she was more curious about was the character "荆" (jing), whether it was the same "荆" she knew.

Next, everyone looked at Jing Zhe, seemingly waiting for his answer to see if he was the "President Jing" that Yu Li had mentioned.

...

Jing Zhe smiled bitterly to himself.

He originally intended to continue concealing his identity, since finding out about Manager Hu or Prefect Liu would only make him a small fry; what he truly wanted to bring down was King Yu.

Unfortunately, since Yu Li has said so, his plan to conceal his identity has to come to an end.

"Governor Yu, you may dispense with the formalities!"

Jing Zhe smiled.

After receiving Jing Zhe's affirmative answer, Yu Li finally looked up at him.

My first impression was that he was young, and my second impression was that he was handsome.

It was only then that Yu Li understood what "young and promising" meant, and he began to understand why his elder brother, a first-rank Duke of the State, so desired his only daughter, Yu Xiangrong, to be one of Jing Zhe's many women!

Because... he deserves it!

While thinking to himself, Yu Li said aloud, "My son, Yu Haixing, just came home and said that someone was trying to frame President Jing. He rushed back to report to me and asked me to come and rescue President Jing. I hope I'm not too late."

Yu Li is quite clever.

Jing Zhe's status is rising higher and higher. Not to mention him, even King Jin and King Yu probably can't do anything to him. So making an enemy of him would be a brainless act, and his son happens to be brainless.

So he took this opportunity to say a few good words for Yu Haixing in front of Jing Zhe, hoping to resolve the conflict between the two.

Jing Zhe smiled and shook his head: "Governor Yu, you've come at the right time. Last night I made a bet with someone and won this Juxianlou restaurant. But Manager Hu of Juxianlou doesn't want to hand over the land deed, and he's even colluded with Prefect Liu to falsely accuse me of robbing Yu Haihang of the silver I have on me. Now that Governor Yu is here, please speak up for me and tell the truth!"

Yu Li's eyelids twitched. While cursing the men in his heart, he nodded and said, "How could President Jing possibly rob my son's money? That's utter nonsense, utter rubbish!"

With that, he turned and glared fiercely at Prefect Liu and Manager Hu, saying coldly, "Prefect Liu Shou'er of Ruzhou and Manager Hu Yitong of Juxianlou, you have colluded with merchants to distort the truth, and your crimes are unforgivable. Moreover, you have fabricated rumors to frame important officials of the court. I suspect that you are conspiring together to rebel, which is an even greater crime. I hereby order your men to arrest you both and imprison you in the imperial jail to await your fate!"

"..."

Yu Li is quite clever.

He heard from Yu Haixing that from beginning to end, the person who came to him to frame Jing Zhe was the Crown Prince of Yu, so the mastermind behind this matter was the Crown Prince of Yu, not these two worthless scoundrels.

However, he also knew that even if Jing Zhe had enough power now, he couldn't bring down the Crown Prince of Yu because of this one incident. If the Crown Prince of Yu denied it, the matter would most likely end inconclusively.

Therefore, he simply avoided mentioning the name of the Crown Prince of Yu, firstly to avoid offending him, and secondly to avoid putting Jing Zhe and himself in an awkward position. In this way, he had done favors for both sides. As for the Crown Prince of Yu, if Jing Zhe really had any ideas, he would have to figure it out himself in the future.

He didn't want to get involved in the struggle with the royal family right from the start.

After Yu Li finished speaking, Prefect Liu and Manager Hu were on the verge of tears.

How did it get associated with "treason"?

And how did they end up in the "heavenly prison"?

You see, the two of them wanted to frame Jing Zhe, but if this were to be judged, it wouldn't be a life-threatening matter. At most, they would just be locked up in jail for a while.

After Jing Zhe leaves, the Crown Prince of Yu will surely find a way to release them.

But what the hell is "treason"?

In any country, treason is a capital offense! Anyone even remotely associated with treason is dead!

Moreover, most cities only have prisons in the government offices, where people are imprisoned after committing crimes. Ruzhou City prison happens to be under the jurisdiction of Prefect Liu, so he won't suffer if he's imprisoned there.

The Imperial Prison, under the jurisdiction of the governor, was specifically used to imprison serious criminals of the imperial court. Once imprisoned, it was extremely difficult to get out. Putting them in the Imperial Prison now was no different from sentencing them to death.

Prefect Liu and Manager Hu cried out in unison, "We are innocent! We are truly innocent! We know we are guilty, but we do not deserve to die!"

"He doesn't deserve to die!"

The waiters at Juxianlou and the constables brought by Prefect Liu also shouted loudly, pleading for the two men.

The common people below were also whispering among themselves, seemingly feeling that it was inappropriate to sentence the two to such a heavy punishment for such a trivial matter.

Jing Zhe sneered and said, "Governor Yu, haven't you properly introduced me to everyone yet?"

Now that his identity has been revealed, he has to put on a good show. Of course, it's better for someone to subtly help him by putting on a show himself than for him to do it himself!

Yu Li was taken aback for a moment, but immediately understood.

For an official, showing off is a required course.

Of course, he can pretend it himself.

He's even better at making others look good when they're dressed up!

————