"Let's go! We will plead on behalf of Peony today! "
With Zheng Chang leading the way, a group of scholars headed for Princess Garden in the east of the city. They were prepared to question Mo Jiazi in front of everyone and expose his sinister intentions. They wanted to make him lose all standing and reputation.
When Zheng Chang and his group rushed into the Peony Garden, they saw the huge crowd in the Peony Garden and couldn't help but go crazy with jealousy. If they hadn't discovered it this time, these citizens would definitely be kept in the dark by the Mo family. Even if they stole the sky and swapped the sun in the future, there would be no evidence.
"Young Master Zheng, please don't make things difficult for us." Zheng Chang and company rushed over angrily, which naturally alarmed the Luoyang county yamen runners who came to maintain order. They hurriedly went forward to stop them.
"Scram. I have something to report to the county magistrate. This concerns the dignity of my Luoyang City." Zheng Chang pushed away the runners who came forward to stop him and said proudly.
The runners did not dare to forcefully stop him and could only retreat.
"Oh! Young Master Zheng, I would like to hear what you have to say! " Zhou Hongde's dignified voice sounded from behind. Someone had already rushed back to report to Zhou Hongde when Zheng Chang and company came to cause trouble.
When Zheng Chang saw Zhou Hongde, he was immediately delighted. "Lord Zhou, you have to uphold justice for Luoyang's Peony!"
"Luoyang's Peony?" Zhou Hongde could not help but be stunned when he heard that. He had resolved countless cases in his life, but he had never resolved a case for Peony. Even the surrounding citizens looked at Zheng Chang as though he was a fool.
Zheng Chang was immediately infuriated. If not for Zhou Hongde's presence, he would have flipped out on the spot. All he could do was hold back his anger and say, "Your Excellency, I would like to sue Mo Jiazi for forcibly transplanting peonies while neglecting flowers. I would like to accuse Your Excellency and the citizens of Luoyang of his crime."
"Transplanting peonies!" After Zheng Chang said that, everyone was in an uproar. They could not believe their ears.
Zhou Hongde's heart jolted as he suddenly said, "Are you saying that Mo Jiazi's peonies were transplanted?"
Zheng Chang nodded solemnly and said, "That's right. Apart from Hu Daonong's peony garden, which has the original peonies, the other four peony gardens have newly transplanted peonies. As everyone knows, the best season for planting peonies is autumn. Now, Mo Jiazi has forcefully transplanted peonies for his own selfish reasons, deceiving the entire city of Luoyang. It's an unforgivable crime. "
"What's even more pitiful are these peonies. Now is not the flowering season. Once they are transplanted, the best outcome is that they will never bloom in the future. In less than three to five days, the petals will wither and the peonies will wither and die. I'm afraid all the peonies in these four peony gardens will be wasted!" Behind him, the Zheng family's gardener complained.
"Milord, you must punish Mo Jiazi severely!" One by one, the scholars and scholars complained. It was as if if Mo Jiazi was not punished, the common people's anger would not be appeased.
"Ah! There's actually such a thing! "
The onlookers immediately burst into an uproar. Although they were grateful that Mo Jiazi had allowed the commoners to enjoy the flowers, the peony was a symbol of Luoyang. How could they forgive Mo Jiazi for destroying so many peonies at once?
Furthermore, most of them had planted peonies before, so they naturally knew the tradition of peonies not being transplanted in spring. They could not help but believe Zheng Chang's words a little.
Zhou Hongde's expression could not help but sink as he felt extremely conflicted. Now that the Peony Flower Association had become the pride of Luoyang, he did not wish for this hard-won situation to collapse. He could not help but have thoughts of covering up the matter. Even if Mo Jiazi had really transplanted the peonies, he wanted to handle the matter privately.
When Zheng Chang saw Zhou Hongde's hesitation, he could not help but snort coldly in his heart. Since he had come to question him, he had naturally made sufficient preparations. He would not give Mo Jiazi any chance to make a comeback. With a wave of his hand, four commoners immediately walked forward.
"These four are the owners of the four courtyards. Mo Jiazi bought the courtyards from them. I believe he knows best if there are any peonies in their courtyards." Zheng Chang delivered the fatal blow.
Zhou Hongde sighed. Now, even he could not cover up the matter. All he could do was continue investigating.
"The four of you must speak the truth. If there are any lies, don't blame me for being heartless," Zhou Hongde bellowed.
What he was most afraid of now was that Zheng Chang would slander the Mo Family's son for the sake of revenge. That was why he warned him.
The four original owners looked at Zheng Chang before looking at Zhou Hongde. They said helplessly, "Your Excellency, this lowly one's courtyard is an ordinary one. Usually, there are only a few peonies. How could there be so many?"
In truth, the four of them had no intention of getting involved in this matter. Firstly, Mo Jiazi's price was not cheap. Secondly, Mo Jiazi and Princess Changle were famous. However, Zheng Chang and the others were the local tyrants of Luoyang. They could not afford to offend them. They had no choice but to do so.
Zhou Hongde could not help but frown. He did not know if the four were speaking the truth.
The original owner of the northern courtyard panicked. "Your Excellency, please do not worry. This lowly one is speaking the truth. If this lowly one really had such a beautiful peony garden, how could this lowly one not know about it? This lowly one is not the only one who can testify. Even our neighbors can testify. They have all been to my house as guests. How could they not know?"
Zhou Hongde waved his hand. Immediately, a group of bailiffs were dispatched to invite the neighbors over.
"Your Excellency, these courtyards originally did not have many peonies."
"This lowly one once stood in his courtyard and saw with my own eyes Hu Daonong leading Brother Mo Jiazi to transplant peonies."
"Yes, we have also seen it before."
…
With the neighbors' testimonies, everyone pointed to the fact that the peonies had just been transplanted. Didn't that mean that Zheng Chang and company's accusations were true?
Instantly, the winds in Luoyang City changed. The public opinion was not in Mo Jiazi's favor.
"Mo Jiazi is here!"
With an exclamation, everyone immediately looked at Meton with complicated gazes. This was the person who had brought Luoyang City's Peony Blossom Festival, causing Luoyang's reputation to soar. However, no one expected that these peonies were only flourishing in front of their eyes. Furthermore, they would soon wither. Although Mo Jiazi had contributed, no one could forgive Mo Jiazi's actions of destroying the peonies.
"Merton, is what these citizens said true? These peonies were really transplanted, "Zhou Hongde said with a heavy expression.
Looking at the expectant gazes of the surrounding citizens, Meton said calmly, "How can a mere peony garden accommodate such passionate citizens of Luoyang? In order to let more citizens come to visit the Peony Blossom Festival, I decided to transplant the peonies, resulting in today's grand occasion."
"Ah! They really were transplanted. "
Everyone immediately burst into an uproar as they looked at Meton with disappointment.
"Hmph! Mo Jiazi, let's see how you make a comeback this time. " When Zheng Chang heard Mo Jiazi admit it in front of everyone, he was immediately overjoyed. This time, he was definitely going to expose Mo Jiazi's hypocritical face and make him lose all face.
Zhou Hongde immediately closed his eyes in pain. These young people were really inexperienced in their actions. He originally thought that the Mo Family had created miracles time and time again, but he did not expect them to be so eager for quick success and instant benefits. The Mo Family only needed to wait for a year before they could calmly lay out their plans. In the coming year, Luoyang City would definitely be filled with flowers.
As for Mo Jiazi, in order to fulfill his promise to Princess Changle, he had taken the risk and chosen to transplant the peonies. Despite the prosperity in front of him, he had smashed the Peony Blossom Festival's reputation and destroyed Luoyang's good situation.
However, Meton's expression did not change. "Of course, all of this is not my credit. The true contributor is the farmer's senior, Hu Daonong. The Mo Family Village deserves the most credit for the peonies transplant."
As Meton spoke, he pushed Hu Daonong to the front.
"Most credit!"
"Contributor!"
Everyone looked at Mo Jiazi and Hu Daonong in disbelief. They had destroyed four peonies in one fell swoop, yet they claimed credit.
"Hu Daonong, you hypocrite. To think that you claim to be infatuated with flowers. Now, you are aiding the evildoer and destroying so many precious peonies. You are the sinner of Luoyang!" the Zheng family's gardener rebuked Hu Daonong angrily.
The two of them were experts at planting peonies in Luoyang City. They had always been equally famous, but they had long had a grudge. The Zheng family's gardener cultivated precious peonies to serve the rich and powerful. As for Hu Daonong, he was infatuated with peonies, so how could he be willing to hand over the peonies he cultivated? If not for Princess Changle's reputation, Hu Daonong probably would not have been able to sell his peonies.
In the past, the Zheng family's gardener had tried to curry favor with the rich and powerful by pulling strings to purchase Hu Daonong's peonies, but had been sternly rejected by Hu Daonong. Furthermore, there had been several cases of peony seeds being stolen from Hu Daonong's peonies, and they were all related to the Zheng family's gardener. The two of them were like fire and water. Now that Hu Daonong was embroiled in this matter, how could the Zheng family's gardener not seize the opportunity to add insult to injury?
Hu Daonong coldly glanced at the Zheng family's gardener and said, "So it was you, a despicable person who used peonies to curry favor with the rich and powerful. Who is the one who accused you of destroying these treasures?"
The Zheng family's gardener's face was ferocious as he said, "You are still quibbling even now. There is already a witness who saw you transplant the peonies. Do you still need the Old Man to personally dig out the peony book as evidence? Or do you want to wait for three to five days until the peonies in your four gardens wither before you give up?"
Now that there was a witness and evidence, he did not believe that Hu Daonong still had a chance to turn things around. Seeing that Hu Daonong was about to be unlucky, the years of accumulated resentment in his heart were instantly swept away. He looked at Hu Daonong with satisfaction.
However, what disappointed him was that Hu Daonong did not appear to be panicking at all. Instead, he said with an angry face, "The Old Man did transplant these peonies, but who told you that these peonies would wither in three to five days?"
The Zheng family's gardener said proudly, "Isn't it obvious? The peonies planted at the spring equinox will not bloom until they die of old age. This is the maxim of us gardeners. Even the women and children in Luoyang know this. You can ask everyone if they know this. "
Many people heard this and nodded. This was the maxim of transplanting peonies. In the past, many people did not believe in this, but without exception, the peonies died or never bloomed at all.
"That was before. You did not understand the peonies and damaged the vitality of the peonies. That was why the peonies did not bloom," Hu Daonong said proudly.
"We did not understand the peonies!" The Zheng family's gardener was instantly angered. Although his character was not good, he was still obsessed with the peonies. Now, Hu Daonong actually said that he did not understand the peonies.
Hu Daonong looked around and said firmly, "The Old Man transplanted these peonies using the latest peony transplant secret technique. This secret technique is the latest achievement of the School of Agriculture and the School of Mohism. The transplanted peonies will not wither in three to five days, nor will they damage the flowering period. Furthermore, 90% of the peonies will bloom next year."
"Peony transplant secret technique!"
"The latest secret technique of the School of Agriculture and the School of Mohism!"
"90% of the peonies will bloom next year!"
…
After Hu Daonong said that, there was an uproar. No one expected the situation to take such a turn.
Zhou Hongde was delighted when he heard about the School of Agriculture and the School of Mohism's secret technique. He never expected Mo Jiazi to counterattack and come up with a peony transplant secret technique. If it was really as Hu Daonong said, not only would the transplanted peonies not be at fault, they would even be of great merit. From then on, Luoyang's peony cultivation techniques would reach a brand new height.
The surrounding commoners were also in an uproar as they questioned, "Why haven't I heard of the School of Agriculture's secret technique before?"
"You haven't heard of it? This was just developed by the School of Agriculture and the School of Mohism."
"But will it work?"
A youth said firmly, "This is nothing. Mo Jiazi's grafting secret technique can make a tree bear different fruits. The greenhouse can allow one to eat vegetables that are out of season in winter. In comparison, what's the peony transplant secret technique?"
As soon as this was said, many people immediately nodded. Indeed! The School of Mohism had created too many miracles in the School of Agriculture. In comparison, the peony transplant secret technique was not that amazing. This was also the reason why Hu Daonong unconditionally believed in Mo Jiazi's 90% survival and flowering rate.
Soon, with everyone's discussion, the direction of the Peony Gathering changed again.
Everyone was angry that Mo Jiazi had destroyed the peonies. Now, not only was there a possibility that the peonies were not destroyed, but the peonies' cultivation techniques had also reached a new level. A bad thing had turned into a good thing. Naturally, no one blamed Mo Jiazi.
Zheng Chang's face immediately sank as an ominous feeling welled up in his heart.
It was the same thing again!
Back then, when his Luoyang family joined forces to encircle and annihilate the son of Mo family, it was the same situation. They clearly had the absolute advantage, and the victory was already decided. However, the Mo family village was overturned one by one.
He did not expect history to repeat itself this time. Zheng Chang was immediately unconvinced and immediately signaled the Zheng Family's gardener to continue asking questions.
"This Old Man also wants to see how magical the peony transplant secret technique is!" The Zheng Family's gardener gritted his teeth.
Hu Daonong saw that the Zheng Family's gardener was unwilling to give up. He looked at Meton and said proudly, "If I don't demonstrate it myself, I'm afraid you will not be convinced. Now, I happen to have a peony Wei Zi that has not been transplanted. It can prove the farmer's secret technique."
"Wei Zi!"
The Zheng Family's gardener was shocked and looked at Hu Daonong in shock.
The people around who knew flowers all looked at Hu Daonong in shock. Wei Zi was the peony of peonies and had always been known as the Flower King. It was extremely rare, but they did not expect it to appear here. Moreover, Hu Daonong was willing to use the farmer's secret technique to transplant Wei Zi, which immediately made everyone believe him.
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