A clerk being dismissed from public office for taking three taels of meat might have seemed insignificant, but every scholar in Xiang Prefecture was discussing it. Even the Discourse Ranking was filled with scholars debating the matter.
Beneath the article exposing the incident, many voices of opposition appeared.
The string of incidents over the past few days had shifted the prevailing winds on the Discourse Ranking.
A few days earlier, almost everyone had overwhelmingly supported Fang Yun. But as news from Xiang Prefecture continued to reach the Discourse Ranking, many gradually stopped speaking up for him, while voices criticizing him grew more numerous. Since those criticisms were relatively rational, few people rebutted them, even when their wording was fierce.
The clerk, Wang Nian, went everywhere protesting his innocence. He said he had not brought any money that day and had merely intended to pay the following day. He also knew the butcher well and would never have refused to pay. But no one listened, and no one paid him any attention.
Everyone cared only that the administration of Xiang Prefecture had begun veering toward extremes, and they began questioning Fang Yun's ability.
Afterward, several more incidents occurred across Xiang Prefecture.
Several Literary Academy instructors paid out of their own pockets for a meal together, eating on their own time after leaving the government offices. Yet the county authorities denounced it as extravagant feasting, confiscated their salaries, and even prepared to send their case to the prefectural authorities for severe punishment.
A middle-aged Provincial Graduate had gone many years without a child. After he was blessed with a daughter, he invited close friends to celebrate her hundredth day. Given the sensitive circumstances, he invited only two tables of guests, yet the prefectural authorities deemed it wasteful extravagance, decadent misconduct, and defiance