My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare! Chapter 616 - 381: Encountering an Old Friend Again2

Even the Imperial Censor couldn’t inspect Bing State.

But this ti was an exception, no one expected that Inspector Li Nuo, after dealing with the officialdom in Huang State, would arrive at the Bing State governnt office in less than a day.

The officials of Bing State governnt office warmly received Li Nuo, and as usual, they opened the governnt office doors to allow the common people to seek justice, but very few people ca forward, and the cases involved were trivial.

Li Nuo inspected the governnt office’s prison, where every prisoner held had a justified and docunted reason for their imprisonnt.

On the surface, Bing State was the most well-administered of all the states Li Nuo had inspected.

Not only theft and criminal cases were rare, but even civil disputes were much fewer compared to other states.

Li Nuo carefully reviewed various docunts in Bing State; be it the format or process, these docunts were impeccable, and they didn’t appear falsified.

However, experience told Li Nuo that the more perfect things seem, the more likely there are problems.

Even though Senior Dongfang had calculated that they weren’t good officials, without substantial evidence, he couldn’t do anything about them.

Walking down the streets of Bing State, Li Nuo didn’t notice anything unusual.

The streets here were clean, and everything was in order; from the citizens’ deanor, it didn’t seem like a place of broken security.

Outside a cloth shop, several workers were unloading goods; Li Nuo approached and asked one of them, "Young man, may I ask how much is your monthly wage?"

The worker hesitated before saying, "Two silver taels."

As if afraid Li Nuo would ask further, he lowered his head and carried a bolt of cloth into the shop right after he spoke.

In fact, his monthly wage was only one tael; the shopkeeper would give him two silver taels monthly, then have him return one. If outsiders asked, he was to tell them his wage was two silver taels.

It’s said that workers in Chang’an were not allowed to earn less than two silver taels monthly, or the shopkeeper would be heavily fined; if he repeatedly failed to comply, he would be imprisoned.

Although he also wished to earn two silver taels a month, if the shopkeeper got caught, he wouldn’t even have one tael, and his family would starve.

Dongfang Xuan said, "He is lying."

Li Nuo also knew the worker was lying, but without the person reporting, he had no reason to investigate.

More importantly, this wasn’t Chang’an; he couldn’t fundantally solve the problem. Investigating one shop, or a shopkeeper or two was aningless. Acting rashly might harm these bottom-level citizens.

As Li Nuo walked through the city, he found all the major pharmacies closed.

A crowd of patients waiting for dicine gathered at the pharmacy doors.

"Why have the pharmacies closed down suddenly?"

"It’s said the Lord Imperial Censor is here, and they fear being inspected; they’ll wait until he leaves before reopening."

"When will the Imperial Censor leave? I’m waiting for dicine to save my life!"

"Why doesn’t the Imperial Censor stay put in Chang’an, coming to Bing State unnecessarily..."

"I’ve heard the dicine prices in Chang’an are only a tenth of ours here. The court doesn’t allow pharmacies to sell expensive dicine, hence why they’re afraid of the Imperial Censor..."

"That must be false. A tenth is too cheap. Where would you find such cheap dicine? Don’t believe everything you hear!"

...

Walking around Bing State City gave Li Nuo the impression it was like a separate court independent of Chang’an.

The court’s various reforms couldn’t take root here at all.

From the governnt down to the civilians in Bing State, everything was tightly controlled by an invisible force.

Is this the famous family?

Passing by a high wall, Li Nuo montarily paused.

He heard a group of children studying aloud from inside the wall.

"Want to cultivate oneself must first rectify one’s mind; to rectify the mind, one must first be sincere in one’s intentions..."

"When people rejoice in their joy, they also rejoice in the joy of the people; when people worry in their worry, they also worry in the worry of the people."

"Worry before the worries of the world, rejoice after the joys of the world."

"Cannot be swayed by poverty, cannot be corrupted by wealth, cannot be subdued by power."

"When poor, they maintain self-integrity; when prosperous, they benefit the world..."

The voices were crisp and bright, sounding quite youthful, indicating the speakers were young, and these words were what Li Nuo had taught those students in tutoring sessions or when lecturing at various state schools.

Later, when writing a book, Li Nuo included these sayings, and they were sold in various bookstores throughout Chang’an. What surprised him was how quickly these quotations had made their way to Bing State.

What surprised Li Nuo even more was feeling a faint Vast Qi emanating from within this high-walled premises.

This residence housed a genuine Confucian disciple.

Judging by the aura, the person had already reached the Second Realm of Confucian cultivation.

Li Nuo simply sat down at a tea stall opposite, ordered a pot of tea, and slowly savored it.

After approximately two quarters of an hour, several children dressed elegantly, clearly from wealthy families, ca out of the courtyard and bowed to a figure, saying crisply, "Goodbye, Teacher!"

A middle-aged man in Confucian attire watched them, admonishing, "Don’t forget to finish today’s howork..."

"Yes, Teacher!"

After responding, the children scattered, discussing whether they should fly kites or catch crickets after completing their howork...

Li Nuo gazed at the figure standing at the gate, a hint of surprise appearing on his face, muttering, "It’s him..."

At the courtyard gateway, the middle-aged man was about to turn back when he suddenly sensed sothing and looked up towards a certain spot across the street.