As Lin Yi's figure landed on the roof, the sounds from inside immediately reached his ears.

After all, the soundproofing of these houses was nothing like in modern times; buildings in this era were mostly made of wood.

More importantly, glass didn't exist yet at this time, so most windows were covered with paper. With only a thin layer of paper in between, sound was not going to be blocked out.

Precisely because of this, as Lin Yi stood on the roof, he heard everything inside loud and clear. From time to time, bursts of loud laughter floated out from the room.

He could also hear that these people were currently eating and drinking.

From the occasional clinking of cups, he could make out everything clearly.

By now Lin Yi was already somewhat numb to this. He had made up his mind that no matter what, he would have these bastards dismissed from office.

He absolutely would not allow this kind of "meat rotting behind vermilion gates while out on the road lie the bones of the frozen dead" to appear within his fief.

What was even more important was that at a glance, these people were clearly a bunch of corrupt officials.

In a not-so-wealthy place like East County City, for them to live so luxuriously—who would believe there was no corruption involved?

Of course, he had often read that saying in books before, "meat rotting behind vermilion gates, while out on the road lie the bones of the frozen dead," but he had never understood it this deeply.

Only at this very moment did Lin Yi truly and vividly feel the real meaning of that sentence.

Yes, that kind of sorrowful feeling really made one uncomfortable.

This society was filled with slavery and oppression.

Just like now, those people in the room were basically the local "Emperors" of East County City.

They were the sky here; their word decided everything. If they let you live, you lived. If they wanted you dead, you had no choice but to die.

Perhaps that sounded a bit too arrogant, but even the Emperor was nothing more than that.

Yet in this kind of society, grassroots officials were precisely this rampant and overbearing. After all, imperial power took time to trickle down.

What's more, "the heavens are high and the Emperor is far away" had always been a very apt description since ancient times.

"Lord Liu, we just caught another one. This guy claims he was sent from above to replace the old ones."

All of a sudden, a voice caught Lin Yi's attention.

Only because what the man said contained something he wanted to know—news about his soldiers who had been sent out to read the newspaper decrees.

Hearing this, he shifted his body slightly and carefully pried up a tile on the roof.

Immediately, a faint, hazy light filtered through the gap between the tiles, and only then did Lin Yi see clearly.

In the main hall of the room, a table piled high with dishes and wine was laid out, with seven or eight people seated around it. These seven or eight all wore various splendid robes.

Just from their clothing alone, one could tell these people were either rich or noble.

At the very center among them, the head seat at the table, a fat old man sat there at ease, his face full of arrogance.

It was obvious this guy had to be Liu Buping.

As the Commander of this region, he himself ate so well that he'd become plump and greasy. That alone showed he'd been lining his pockets plenty in daily life.

At this moment, after hearing his subordinate's report, Lord Liu's brows knitted slightly. He looked at the man who had spoken and asked:

"You caught another one? Looks like that dog Emperor really wants to completely change the setup down below.

Hmph, he's thinking far too wishfully. This is not a place where his word counts for anything. His imperial edicts can only circulate within the Capital City at best. Trying to control things out here—heh—what a delusional fool."

After pausing for a moment, he continued:

"Did this man confess anything important? And what's the deal with this newspaper?"

Hearing this, the man immediately shook his head and said:

"He hasn't confessed clearly yet. That guy's got a sharp tongue and a fiery temper, and he's putting on this arrogant attitude, like he doesn't take us seriously at all.

Also, he keeps shouting non-stop that he wants us to take him to see that previous squad."

Upon hearing this, Lord Liu instantly frowned and said:

"You haven't worked on him yet?

You think it's hard to make a man open his mouth?

Go break all his fingers for me. I don't believe he's that tough.

Hmph, trying to act tough in front of me? He's not qualified. Don't say him—even if that dog Emperor came here, I still wouldn't give a damn about him.

Also, if he keeps insisting, then let him go keep those ten men company. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Didn't he just keep yelling that he wanted to find that squad?

Then send him down to them as well. But the bodies must be handled properly, absolutely no one can find out.

Even though we don't fear that dog Emperor, it's still best not to create extra trouble."

After receiving Lord Liu's instructions, the man immediately nodded and said:

"Understood, Lord Liu. I'll go take care of it shortly. Please rest assured—now that I have your word, I'll have no scruples about using torture.

Heh heh, in my hands, there has never been a tough guy who could hold out.

Please be at ease, my lord. Whatever you want to know, I will definitely pry it out of him."

Hearing this, Lord Liu burst into hearty laughter, then raised the wine bowl in front of him and gestured slightly toward the man, saying:

"Ha ha, I can rest easy when you handle things. Come, come, don't let these trivial matters spoil our mood. We'll drink and chat at the same time."

With that, he tilted his head back and poured the whole bowl of wine into his stomach. Then, with his fat hand, he wiped his mouth, grabbed a huge chunk of beef, and shoved it into his mouth, chewing in big bites.

This scene naturally fell into Lin Yi's eyes as well. Listening to these people casually toss out "dog Emperor" with every other sentence, and then seeing this guy eating meat, Lin Yi's frown deepened.

What this man was playing with in his hand at this moment was nothing else but a big slab of beef.

You had to know, in this society at this time, the status of cattle was extremely high.

As for why, of course it was because cattle were the main labor force for plowing the fields.

In this society, the weight cattle carried was very heavy indeed, even far above the status of ordinary people.

[To be continued....]