The scholar was somewhat afraid.

He said, “It was just inspected. There’s nothing inside.”

Li Cheng raised his chin, looking down his nose at him, and said, “But this lord didn’t see it just now, so it needs to be inspected again. Open it, quickly.”

The scholar shrank his neck, not daring to resist. He could only obediently take down his bundle and hand it over.

Who could have known that after Li Cheng snatched it over, he directly threw it on the ground.

The bundle came undone, and several sets of clothing and books fell out.

Seeing this, the scholar was about to bend down to pick them up when Li Cheng stopped him.

“My lord?”

“These things, I’m taking them.”

“They’re just a few worn-out garments and some old books. I beg my lord to show mercy.”

“That this lord has taken a liking to your things means he thinks highly of you.” Li Cheng spoke with grand righteousness, then ordered his people, “Take the things away.”

The guards behind him picked up the items from the ground, held them, and stood to the side.

Looking like complete lackeys!

The scholar’s face was full of distress. Watching his belongings being taken away while being powerless to do anything about it, he hated his humble origins that made him unable to contend with officials. He could only silently endure this grievance and this loss.

He had no choice but to leave.

Everyone at the city gate witnessed this scene!

They all gossiped and criticized!

Li Cheng didn’t care at all and continued sitting back in his chair, watching leisurely.

At this time, a group of merchants passed inspection and entered.

Li Cheng called out to stop them again!

The lead merchant was a man in his fifties with a gentle appearance.

The merchant asked, “I wonder what matter my lord has?”

“This lord is just taking a casual look.” Li Cheng looked at the large and small boxes they were transporting by cart.

The merchant quickly said, “My lord, we’re all legitimate, proper businessmen. Every year we come to Gaoding to do business at this time. We absolutely haven’t brought anything we shouldn’t have!”

“Then open them up and let me see!”

“My lord…”

“What? If you don’t open them, how will this lord know whether there’s anything inside that shouldn’t be there?”

At this moment, a guard ran to Li Cheng’s side and quietly reminded him, “My lord, these veteran merchants all have cargo transit tokens. There’s no need to open their boxes.”

Li Cheng glared at him fiercely. “Recently Gaoding hasn’t been peaceful, and the imperial examinations are about to be held. What if something goes wrong? Neither you nor I could bear the responsibility. So what if they have tokens? This lord says the boxes must be opened for inspection.”

“But…”

“Shut up.” Li Cheng turned to the merchant. “You heard that. Hurry up and open the boxes for this lord to see clearly. There are still many people waiting behind you.”

The merchant really had no choice but to open all the goods he’d brought one by one for inspection.

Inside was all silk!

Li Cheng used the folding fan in his hand to poke through them one by one.

He scattered those items everywhere.

A complete mess.

Clean silk fell on the ground, stained with dirt and ash.

The merchant was on the verge of tears, his cheeks twitching.

That was all money!

He also pleaded bitterly on the side, “My lord, there really is nothing inside. It’s all just silk. The way you’re handling it, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sell these things anymore. I beg you to show mercy.”

Li Cheng felt things hadn’t gotten big enough yet, so he continued throwing the silk and satin from the boxes onto the ground piece by piece, even stepping on them directly with his feet.

The merchant felt like dying. With the silk and satin trampled like that, it was essentially ruined!

He knelt down directly. “My lord, I beg you. I have elderly parents above and young children below. I depend on selling these goods to make a living. My lord, I beg you to show mercy and let me go.”

His voice choked with emotion.

Li Cheng thought to himself that he’d caused enough trouble.

So he stopped!

He waved his folding fan and said, “Alright, go on.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

The merchant quickly had his subordinates gather everything up and pushed the cargo away.

This commotion directly caused a sensation at the city gate.

Those entering the city behind him both hated and feared Li Cheng, afraid he would cause them trouble.

Finally, the gate guards really couldn’t stand watching anymore and quietly sent someone to the Marquis of Pingyang’s residence to report this matter to the Marquis.

Li Cheng wanted to make a big scene precisely because only this way could he be stripped of his official position and continue living carefree and unrestrained.

Soon, someone from the Marquis of Pingyang’s residence arrived.

“Heir Apparent, the Marquis summons you to return.”

“Perfect timing, I’m tired of playing anyway.”

He dusted off his sleeves and went back.

Order at the city gate gradually returned to normal.

That little tyrant truly lived up to his reputation.

No wonder many people in the city were afraid when they saw him.

…

Since Li Cheng dared to do this, he naturally knew this matter would definitely alarm the Marquis of Pingyang. So he’d already thought of an excuse and would just brazenly perform it in front of his father later.

When he arrived at the residence, the Marquis of Pingyang was waiting for him in the main hall.

Burning with fury.

He scolded him, “This is only the first day, and you’ve already caused chaos and turmoil at the city gate. It seems I’ve truly been lax in disciplining you all along, which has cultivated your current fearless character.”

Li Cheng said, “Father, I didn’t do anything.”

“For scholars taking the examinations, those books are extremely important to them, yet you confiscated their belongings and spoke so brazenly! You’re an official, not a bandit. Those merchants coming to Gaoding to do business, as long as they have special permits, can be exempted from cargo searches. Yet you scattered their goods all over the ground. Do you know that if you weren’t my son, you’d already be thrown in prison by now? You might have even brought fatal disaster upon yourself.”

Was it really that serious?

Li Cheng said with conviction, “Father, I was merely conducting routine inspections. I didn’t commit any errors at all. That scholar—if he was coming to take the examinations, the books he carried should be ones he reads regularly. But his books were brand new. And those garments—though they appeared patched and worn out, the fabric of the clothes was clearly not old, and there were no signs of them ever being worn. It’s obvious the clothes were deliberately made to look patched. His identity must be suspicious. I was right to confiscate his things. Once I verify there are no problems, I’ll naturally return them to him. As for that merchant, although he had a special permit, it’s still possible he harbored ill intentions. Opening his boxes for inspection wasn’t unusual. How was I to know that silk is so light and flimsy—as soon as I turned them over, they fell to the ground and scattered everywhere? That can’t be blamed on me.”

“You certainly explain everything so clearly.”

“If Father feels I’m causing trouble, you can easily have Left Minister Gong revoke my official position. I’m not cut out to be an official anyway.”

“So this was your calculated plan all along.”

Wasn’t it?

Li Cheng admitted it directly. “Father, having Elder Brother help you in court is already enough. If I really entered the court in the future, I’d only add to your troubles.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I have my reasons for having you enter the court, but you don’t need to know them now. You just do your current job properly. Remember, your every word and action will affect our Li family.”