As soon as Fan Mingyuan finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

“You came to the wrong place. How can I save them?” Song Jingchen laughed at himself and looked at Fan Mingyuan coldly.

His grandfather and father had not misjudged him. Fan Mingyuan had not changed at all. He was still a good official who only wanted to work for the people. Song Jingchen was the one who had changed.

Fan Mingyuan lowered his head and clenched his fists. He was struggling internally.

He knew that he shouldn’t have come today, let alone said this. However, when he thought about the commoners who were homeless because of the harsh winter and were hungry because there was no food, he really couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Looking at the suffering victims, he seemed to see his younger self, who had once fled with his parents. If only he had helped them back then, his parents would not have died so early.

Moreover, when he was still young, his father often told him about the difficulties of the common people during war.

At the thought of this, he loosened his clenched fists and lowered his head again. He said angrily, “The county magistrate of Anyang County is incredibly greedy. He is corrupt, taking advantage of the commoners and abusing them.”

He continued through gritted teeth. “Now that a disaster had descended from the heavens, not only did he not consider the wellbeing of the citizens, but he also stocked up on food and maliciously raised the price of food. He is trying to kill all the citizens in Anyang County!”

“I, Zixiu, cannot stand by and watch so many people die in vain.”

“Teacher always said that Eldest Young Master is a rare person with great wisdom. Zixiu believes that Eldest Young Master definitely has a way to deal with corrupt officials and save the people from danger. Eldest Young Master, please help.”

“Hah!” Song Jingchen suddenly sneered, then laughed wildly. “Hahaha…”

This was the first time Shen Yijia had seen him show such emotions.

She wrinkled her nose and looked at Fan Mingyuan again. She no longer felt as righteous as before. He was clearly annoying.

“Brother Fan, you always say that my grandfather gave you a new lease of life, and my father nurtured you,” Song Jingchen said.

“Then my father and grandfather died tragically, and the Bulwark Duke’s residence was slandered, and the duke’s reputation was dragged through the mud. Have you ever thought of doing anything for them?” After saying that, Song Jingchen’s eyes turned red as he stared fixedly at Fan Mingyuan, who was cowering on the ground.

If Fan Mingyuan did not want to be implicated and stayed away from the Song family, he could still understand.

However, he really could not forgive this person who kept saying that he respected his father. He had once sincerely treated him as his elder brother. However, this man only came to beg Song Jingchen for the sake of the people, without considering the Song family’s circumstances.

How could Fan Mingyuan not know that if Song Jingchen interfered and was discovered by the capital, his entire family would die?

“I…” Fan Mingyuan was ashamed. He looked up and wanted to explain, but when he met Song Jingchen’s gaze, he couldn’t say anything.

Wasn’t the reason why he didn’t dare to come previously because he was afraid of being implicated?

If the emperor wanted his subjects to die, they had to die.

“It was Emperor Chong’an who caused the tragic deaths of the two elders. What can I do, can I stage a revolt and overthrow the current emperor? But if that happened, there would be war again. What would the commoners do then?” These thoughts raged in Fan Mingyuan’s mind.

As for the consequences Song Jingchen was thinking about, it wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of them. He just felt that with his ability, he definitely wouldn’t make any mistakes.

Song Jingchen seemed to have seen through his thoughts. He closed his eyes and found it ridiculous.

When he opened his eyes, his expression was cold. “Lord Fan, you overestimate me. Please leave. I’ll treat it as if you never came today.”

Fan Mingyuan clearly did not give up. He gritted his teeth and said, “Can you really watch those innocent citizens freeze to death and starve to death? When the old master was alive, he…”