I'm just a lowly seventh-rank official; as the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. This old man Sun has plenty of ways to deal with me.

So all I can do is take precautions, but the theft of sweet potato, potato, and potato seeds is simply impossible to prevent.

To this day, I still can't figure out how or what kind of people stole these sweet potato and potato seeds.

After all, Old Master Sun's household only has a few dozen or a hundred people at most; they simply can't handle such a large workload.

Zhu Yunwen stroked his chin and said:

"It seems you know quite a lot, at least you know who the mastermind is, but you dare not investigate."

As an official appointed by the imperial court, such timidity and cowardice are truly inappropriate.

Do you deserve the official position the court has given you? Do you live up to the high expectations the people have placed in you?

With his head bowed, he said with a hint of helplessness:

"Your Highness, I also want to be a good official, to be worthy of the court and the people, to give the court a satisfactory answer, and to do some practical things for the people."

But I can't do it. In this matter, I am like an ant in front of that old man Sun.

If we were to actually investigate him, I'm afraid before we even begin, the provincial government would issue a dismissal order immediately, and I would be easily replaced.

At that point, let alone investigating this matter, it will be very difficult to even stand up for the people.

The power these local gentry and landlords wielded in the area had reached an unimaginable level, far beyond the control of an ordinary county magistrate like myself.

These words shocked Zhu Yunwen, who knew that the local gentry wielded considerable power.

But no one expected it to have grown so large that Magistrate Dong was helpless and even somewhat afraid of it.