Viper's Move

Li Yuanfang, standing behind him, said, "Why should they?"

The old man said as well, "Exactly. Everyone exploded in outrage and argued with Zhao Si, but Zhao Si used his power to bully us. He brought county soldiers, arrested several ringleaders, and beat them viciously.

"The villagers refused to accept it. They wanted to file a complaint with the prefecture, so they chose more than a dozen people, hired someone to write a petition, and pooled enough travel money for them. The next day, they came to Youzhou. But that Lord Governor was even worse. He would not even let them speak. He tore up the petition, arrested them, and accused them of being rebellious troublemakers gathering a mob to cause unrest. That was punishable by beheading!"

Di Renjie, Hu Jinghui, and the others all grew grave as they listened.

The old man continued, "Lord of the Land, the officials will not let us live. We have no money and no land, so what are we supposed to eat? Are we supposed to stand by helplessly and watch these three hundred people starve to death?"

After saying that, he could not help weeping bitterly. Seeing this, Di Renjie said, "The officials are driving the people to rebellion. Old man, rest assured. I will see justice done for you."

The old man was delighted to hear this. "Lord of the Land, with those words from you, we can rest easy."

Hearing this, Li Xiao felt even more contempt for Li Qingxia's actions.

And she still wanted to be emperor? What a fool's dream.

Little did he know that the fleeting expression had fallen into Di Renjie's eyes, making Di Renjie even more suspicious of him.

On a stormy night outside Youzhou, in a dilapidated shrine to the Land God.

Li