"This is treating human lives like weeds! The Zhang Household will not obey this order!"
"The Sun Household won't accept it either! This is outrageous! Chen Fangtai may be the Prince of Nankang, but this is Shouchun, not Lingnan! Let him come. I'll confront him in the hall myself!"
"General Wu promised us everything would stay as it was. Even His Majesty agreed! Does the Prince of Nankang refuse to heed His Majesty's word? Does he have any respect for the law?"
"I have connections at court! I'll write to report him at once!"
"We'll write too! All of us!"
While Chen Cuo remained in seclusion, seeking insight, Shouchun—the city chosen as the trial site—was already in an uproar!
Having seen even a Deity bow to his brother, Chen Fangtai naturally dared not defy him. However unwilling he was, he still issued the order.
But...
"I only told Shouchun's clerks to sort out the Registered Commoners. How did word about the later redistribution of land spread too?"
At the yamen gate, Chen Fangtai, whom the Deity had brought there, steeled himself and walked inside. But as he heard the arguments within, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"This is the backlash of the people's will," said Jing Huannian, who had followed him. He sounded unsurprised. "These Aristocratic Clans and wealthy local gentry are snakes entrenched on their own ground, with followers and disciples everywhere. Forget the fields and villages—even the government offices are riddled with their people. What news could they fail to hear? And with so many hands to gather, they can make quite a show of force. Even ordinary cultivators often prefer not to get involved."
Chen Fangtai grew anxious. "We haven't even begun, and they're already making trouble. It'll only get worse. What if every