After marrying the fierce god, her handsome young husband was pampered to the extreme.

Yan Fulang scolded, "You really are something. You knew perfectly well that the man was sent by Tian Hai, yet you still invited him for drinks."

"I think that guy is pretty good," Yan Zhen said. "And sparring with him is really enjoyable."

Yan Fulang: "..." Speechless. Does this martial arts fanatic have anything else on his mind besides sparring?

Yan Fulang said, "Since Tian Hai has started sending people again, things are unlikely to be peaceful anytime soon. Tell the brothers to increase patrols and make sure the elderly and children in the village don't go out unless necessary."

"I know," Yan Zhen said. "Xiao Yu, don't worry, with me here, our village is perfectly safe."

Yan Fulang poked the man's pectoral muscle. "Stop grinning like that. Be careful lately, don't let Tian Hai take advantage of you."

Yan Zhen smiled ingratiatingly and took her husband's hand, "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say."

……

After descending the mountain, Yin Cheng loosened his Zhou fur coat.

"Brother Zhou, honestly, if your martial arts aren't good, you should just stay away." Yin Cheng started to shift the blame. "That leader is already difficult to fight, and I also have to spare some attention to protect you. It's really difficult for me."

Zhou Qiu remained stunned for a long time, his face filled with fear and lingering dread, seemingly still immersed in the crisis of that moment.

Yin Cheng sighed inwardly: No way, this guy is Tian Hai's second-in-command, how come he's so timid?

It's no wonder Zhou Qiu is timid; he's come to Longyin Village to challenge them before, relying on his superior numbers.

However, the first few times they were beaten, it was always the subordinates who were hit. He and Tian Hai were quick to dodge and were rarely affected.

This was truly the first time he had ever felt the fear of death.

All around was the sound of the silent wind and the rustling of the leaves.

Zhou Qiu finally came to his senses.

"Brother Da Hu, thank you so much for today. I'm so glad you were here, otherwise I would have lost my life here today."

Yin Cheng thought to himself: If you weren't still useful, I would have chopped you up first.

He said politely, "Oh, Brother Zhou, what are you saying! Saving you is the right thing to do, isn't it? We're in this together!"

Zhou Qiu then felt a sense of relief, and his trust in Yin Cheng reached an unprecedented level.

"I, Zhou Qiu, acknowledge you as my brother."

He patted Yin Cheng on the shoulder. "Let's go back first and then discuss this further."

Yin Cheng thought to himself, "If I had known this person's trust was so easy to gain, I should have put on an act."

This opened up a new avenue for Yin Cheng.

He started thinking about whether he should find someone to beat up Tian Hai, and then pretend to save him.

Then, through Tian Hai, we can get close to Pang Hong and wipe out all the evil forces in Hongfeng County.

Originally, Tian Hai also wanted to use Yan Zhen to test Wang Dahu's skills. Now there are many masters in the martial arts world, and you never know when a chivalrous hero might come and take his life.

Although he was rich and powerful, it would be difficult for him to bribe a martial arts master to work for him.

Moreover, the Tian family has a shallow foundation and no connections to powerful sects.

Upon hearing that Wang Dahu could fight Yan Zhen to a draw, Tian Hai immediately kept Wang Dahu by his side as his bodyguard.

For several days in a row, Yin Cheng's task was to eat, drink, and have fun with Tian Hai.

Although Tian Hai indulged in all the vices of eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring, he was quite shrewd in business.

Yin Cheng secretly calculated that the Tian family's businesses accounted for almost 80% of Hongfeng County's GDP, taking the collusion between officials and merchants to its extreme.

On the other side, Lan Shu and an imperial bodyguard disguised themselves as a married couple and bought a shop in the bustling city to open a general store.

Yin Cheng used the pretext of secretly meeting with her husband to spread news about Tian Hai.

Tian Hai knew that he liked to sneak out to meet other people's husbands in the middle of the night. At first, he sent people to follow him secretly, but later he found out that the man was indeed going to meet someone in secret, so he withdrew the people who were following him.

In the room of the house in the backyard of the general store, the guard dutifully rocked the bed, while Lan Shu ate grapes and babbled softly, doing her job very well.

"Alright, they're gone," Yin Cheng said. "Give me some grapes."

Lan Shu reluctantly gave away a small portion of the grapes, saying, "You're so rich, how dare you steal grapes from me?"

Yin Cheng said, "Because I have thick skin."

Lan Shu: "..."

After Lan Shu finished eating the grapes, she picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped the juice off her hands.

He then began to get down to business.

Lan Shu said, "The relationship between Tian Hai, Pang Hong, and the others has been clarified."

Yin Cheng said, "Tell me more."

"Let's talk about Pang Hong first. He was originally the chief clerk of the previous prefect Yuan Xuan. Because he was meritorious in reporting Yuan Xuan, he was promoted to prefect by the prefect of Huzhou."

"The situation with the Tian brothers is even simpler. The elder brother was Pang Hong's concubine. With this marriage relationship, Tian Hai amassed wealth everywhere and used it to bribe officials for Pang Hong."

"Tian Hai's wealth accumulation was inseparable from Pang Hong's protection, while Pang Hong's success in officialdom was inseparable from money. The two complemented each other."

Lan Shu lowered her voice, "Also, I heard from your brother that Hongfeng County hasn't paid its taxes in full for several years in a row. When asked, they just cry poverty and say they don't have any."

"Did he embezzle it?"

Lan Shu slapped his thigh enthusiastically, "Of course! Otherwise, with such favorable weather every year, where would all the grain go?"

"Your brother means that Pang Hong's dirty work was probably all handled by Tian Hai, so Tian Hai might have evidence of Pang Hong's corruption and abuse of power. You need to find a way to sneak into Tian Hai's study and find evidence of the two of them colluding."

It wasn't difficult to sneak into Tian Hai's study. Yin Cheng nodded, "Okay, I understand."

As usual, Yin Cheng told Lan Shu about Tian Hai's whereabouts afterward before leaving.

Unfortunately, Tian Hai was a cautious and suspicious man, and no useful evidence could be found in his study.

Not long after, the people Tian Hai sent to Song County to gather information also returned.

According to that person, Song County is indeed looking for a criminal named Wang Dahu, who is a deserter with several murders on his hands.

The man also brought back the arrest warrant.

Tian Hai glanced at the wanted poster and laughed a few times.

He said "Heaven is helping me!" several times in a row.

For Tian Hai, it was better to bind his subordinates with money and wealth than to seek their illusory loyalty.

Yin Cheng was ruthless when taking money, and this mercenary attitude completely put Tian Hai at ease.

With Zhou Qiu speaking favorably of him, Tian Hai had no more reservations and began ordering Yin Cheng around even more frequently.

The autumn harvest has arrived, and it's time to pay the grain tax.

Tax collection usually takes place over a period of time, ranging from half a month to one or two months.

Yin Mo sent people to keep an eye on the entrance of the prefectural government office. They saw that a small portion of the grain had been transported back to the warehouse, but the whereabouts of the rest were unknown.

Yin Cheng later discovered that most of the remaining grain had been transported to Tian Hai's warehouse.

Once the tax issue was settled, Yin Mo was certain that Pang Hong's embezzlement was a done deal.

He had no idea that a mere prefect would dare to deceive his superiors and embezzle public funds.

His arrogance suggests that someone in the court must be backing him up.

We need to find this person.

On a whim, Yin Mo sent Zhao Su as an imperial envoy to investigate the tax revenue of Hongfeng County.

The better they hide, the easier it is for these corrupt officials to slip up in inconspicuous corners.