In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

"Report—"

A farmhand hurried upstairs and knelt on one knee.

"Old Tian, ​​the county officials are here!"

"How many people did you bring?" Tian Boyong sat up abruptly.

"There were only ten guards, but..." The servant swallowed hard, "but the magistrate came in a carriage with his wife."

"Madam?" Tian Boyong was taken aback. "That Princess Yanhe?"

Zheng Yuan's eyes, which had been slightly narrowed, snapped open instantly, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He originally intended to use his official rank and the power of the prefecture to force Yang Xuan to submit, but if Princess Yanhe also came, the situation would be completely different.

That was a legitimate member of the Li Tang imperial family. Although he was not favored, in name only, even he, as the prefectural magistrate, had to pay great respects to him!

"That little fox, he actually used a woman as a shield!" Tian Boyong cursed through gritted teeth.

"What's the panic?" Zheng Yuan snorted coldly, regaining his composure. "So what if she's a princess? In Jiannan Circuit, far from the emperor's reach, the title of imperial clan member won't put food on the table. Prepare to welcome our guests!"

……

The carriage slowly came to a stop below the Wangjiang Tower.

Pei Zhao led ten fully armed salt guards, forming an iron wall to protect the carriage.

They wore dark leather armor newly made by Cui Shenxin, with fine steel swords hanging at their waists, and each of them exuded a terrifying killing intent forged in the bloody battle of Black Wind Gorge.

The guards and servants of the Tian family originally wanted to step forward to question and search them, but after being swept by Pei Zhao's cold, knife-like gaze, they involuntarily took two steps back.

Yang Xuan got off the carriage first, then turned around and very naturally reached out to help Yanhe down.

Yanhe's attire tonight perfectly showcased the nobility of the Tang Dynasty's imperial family.

She ignored the menacing servants around her, and instead raised her chin slightly, like a queen surveying her territory, and slowly walked into Wangjiang Tower accompanied by Yang Xuan.

The two ascended the stairs, with Pei Zhao and two guards following closely behind.

The moment they stepped into the penthouse, the previously noisy music abruptly stopped.

All eyes were on the young couple.

Yang Xuan glanced around, his gaze sweeping over Lei Laohu, Hu Rong, and others before finally settling on Zheng Yuan, who was sitting in the main seat.

He showed no panic whatsoever; instead, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"This humble official, Yang Xuan, the magistrate of Yanjing County, greets Commander Zheng." Yang Xuan bowed slightly, performing a standard greeting between equals, without showing any obsequiousness despite the other party's higher rank.

Zheng Yuan did not return the greeting immediately. Instead, he sat down in his chair and stared at Yang Xuan with a gloomy gaze, trying to intimidate him with his official authority.

However, before Zheng Yuan could speak, Yan He had already stepped forward.

She didn't look at Zheng Yuan or Tian Boyong, but instead calmly swept her gaze over everyone present, her voice clear and authoritative.

"Princess Yanhe, a member of the Tang Dynasty imperial family, is here. Gentlemen, why do you not kneel before me?"

These words, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, resounded on the top floor of Wangjiang Tower.

The entire private room fell into a deathly silence.

Tian Boyong and the others' expressions turned extremely ugly.

They originally came to give Yang Xuan a hard time, but who would have thought that before the banquet even started, this princess's wife would directly bring out her status and take the lead!

Zheng Yuan's expression also froze.

He wanted to kneel, but the laws of the Tang Dynasty were strict. With the imperial family in front, it would be a serious offense for a fifth-rank official like him not to kneel.

Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but now it's happening in front of so many people. If he tries to stand up for himself, Yang Xuan could impeach him tomorrow.

"Your humble servant... Zheng Yuan, Prefect of Yaozhou, pays respects to Princess Yanhe."

Zheng Yuan gritted his teeth, stood up reluctantly, walked to Yanhe, and bowed deeply.

As soon as the Prefectural Magistrate lowered his head, Tian Boyong, Hu Rong, and the others dared not stand any longer and all left their seats to kneel on the ground.

"This humble subject pays respects to Your Highness!"

A meticulously planned trap was turned upside down in an instant by Yanhe's single sentence.

"Rise, all of you." Yanhe said indifferently, as if he were doing something insignificant.

Ignoring Zheng Yuan's unpleasant expression, she walked straight to the seat that originally belonged to Zheng Yuan and sat down calmly.

Yang Xuan smiled and sat down next to Yan He.

Zheng Yuan was forced to retreat to the guest seat, his beard trembling with anger.

"The county magistrate has quite the airs, troubling the princess with a simple meal." Tian Boyong stood up and made a sarcastic remark with a forced smile.

"Old Master Tian, ​​you jest." Yang Xuan picked up the wine cup on the table, toying with it. "This Yaozhou city is turbulent and stormy. I'm new here, and my wife was worried I'd get drunk and lose my way home, so she came to fetch me. What, Old Master Tian, ​​aren't you welcoming me?"

"How dare I, how dare I?" Tian Boyong chuckled twice and gave Zheng Yuan a wink.

Zheng Yuan took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and decided to get straight to the point.

"Magistrate Yang, I have come here today at the invitation of Elder Tian because I have heard that some unpleasant things have recently happened in Yanjing County." Zheng Yuan adopted an official demeanor, his tone stern. "Someone has accused you of unjustly sealing off Qing'ao Well, forcibly invalidating old salt tickets, and even ordering your troops to commit violence and kill innocent people. Do you know your crime?"

Upon hearing this, Lei Laohu, Hu Rong, and the others immediately perked up and looked at Yang Xuan with provocative eyes.

This is a challenge personally launched by the Prefectural Magistrate. Let's see how Yang Xuan responds!

"Letting troops commit murder? Slaughtering innocent people?" Yang Xuan feigned surprise as he looked at Zheng Yuan. "Lord Sima, are you referring to the One-Eyed Dragon of Black Wind Stronghold, or Mo San who smuggled government salt? Or perhaps Liu Shenxing who falsified accounts?"

Yang Xuan's gaze suddenly sharpened, piercing Tian Boyong like two awls.

"If all these people are considered good, then wouldn't the laws of the Tang Dynasty become nothing more than empty words?"

"Outrageous!" Zheng Yuan roared, slamming his fist on the table. "Yang Xuan, you're nothing but a demoted county magistrate! Who gave you the audacity to set up a private court in Yaozhou and indiscriminately kill innocent people? Do you even respect the prefecture? Do you even respect the imperial court?"

Faced with Zheng Yuan's furious rage, Yang Xuan remained surprisingly calm.

He didn't stand up or argue, but instead pulled a thick ledger from his sleeve and slammed it onto the table.

"Lord Sima, please calm down. Whether I have any respect for the court or not, you can see that by looking at this account book."

When Tian Boyong saw the account book, his eyelids twitched, and an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.

Zheng Yuan picked up the account book with a puzzled look, opened it, and his expression changed drastically.

This was the actual loss account book that Old Huang gave to Yang Xuan, as well as the actual output data of Qing'ao Well that Cui Shen had recalculated.

"This...this is..." Zheng Yuan's hands were trembling.

"These are the true accounts of Qing'ao Well for the past three years." Yang Xuan's voice wasn't loud, but it could be clearly heard in the quiet private room. "The Tian and Hu families concealed the amount of salt they produced and forged salt tickets. In these three years, the amount of official salt they embezzled, equivalent to hundreds of thousands of strings of cash!"

"Nonsense!" Tian Boyong could no longer sit still. He pointed at Yang Xuan and cursed, "You're framing me! You forged this ledger!"

"A frame-up?" Yang Xuan sneered. "Old Huang is in the county government office right now, and Liu Shenxing and Mo San are in death row. If Elder Tian doesn't believe me, we can go to the county government office to confront them right now."

Yang Xuan turned to look at Zheng Yuan, whose face was pale.

"Minister Zheng, I sealed off the Qing'ao Well to recover this enormous deficit for the court. Do you, sir, consider this an act of indiscriminate killing?"

Cold sweat beaded on Zheng Yuan's forehead.

Although he knew the Tian family was greedy, he never imagined they would be so ruthless and insane!

Hundreds of thousands of strings of cash!

If this gets reported to the imperial court, not only will the entire Tian family be executed, but he, the prefectural magistrate who accepted bribes, will also lose his head!

He originally thought Yang Xuan was just a reckless and ignorant young man, but he never expected that this kid would hold such a deadly trump card.

This is no more of a trap; it's clearly a death trap set by Yang Xuan for them!