Chapter 63 What's wrong with being a wealthy idler...?

In the following days, the rain in Quzhou gradually subsided, and the remaining tasks were the resettlement of the people in the disaster-stricken areas.

Li Yu had come all the way from Yujing, having made ample preparations. With the addition of manpower and resources transferred from neighboring Pingzhou, the disaster relief work was progressing smoothly.

That evening, a discreet carriage slowly drove out from the backyard of the prefect's mansion. Inside were Gui Xiang, who had left under the pretext of visiting her older sister, and Chen Yu, who had been secretly stuffed into the carriage.

At this moment, Li Jian, who had been keeping a close eye on things in the mansion, learned that the person Gui Xiang visited every month was none other than Kazama Noko, whom he and Hira Sosuke had been searching for for nearly ten years.

"Bang!" The sound of porcelain shattering was followed by his angry curses: "What a traitor! She actually hid someone right under my nose!"

The hunchbacked man advised him, "Sir, you are far more skilled; no demon or monster can escape your eyes."

Li Jian chuckled: "At least you didn't miss it this time. I don't need to teach you the rest, right?"

The hunched man hesitated, after all, Gui Xiang was Li Jian's beloved concubine, "This..."

Before he could finish speaking, the cold gaze of the person above him fixed on him, "A few worthless lives are nothing. I want you to get what Kazama Noko has in your hands, no matter the cost."

"Besides," Li Jian lowered his eyes as if casually, "what has my dear elder brother been up to lately?"

That night, in Li Yu's room.

"May I ask what brings Lord Qiu here so late at night?"

Some time after parting ways with Shen Guitang, Qiu Yun immediately sent people to secretly investigate the financial income and expenditure of various counties in Quzhou over the years. However, the more he investigated, the more alarming the situation became.

It wasn't that the accounts looked bad; in fact, no major errors or omissions were found in the county ledgers. The various taxes collected and their uses were clearly recorded. Just looking at the accounts, one couldn't help but praise that the money was taken from the people and used for the people.

However, if the disaster relief efforts hadn't included statistics on the population and casualties in each county, who would have imagined that so many Japanese pirates were mixed in with the people? In reality, the funds were indeed taken from the people of the Great Jin Dynasty, but were used against Japanese pirates!

"I have come here to ask Lord Li, after ten years in this wealthy land, do you still possess the same spirit as before?" Qiu Yun's gaze was fixed on Li Yu opposite him.

The flickering candlelight cast shadows on the man's handsome face, making his expression appear inscrutable. It must be said, Li Yu was indeed a handsome man; though nearing forty, he was still considered one of the most strikingly handsome men.

No wonder the famous young lady of the Xiao family, who once captivated countless talented men, was so devoted to him...

"Ha, a land of luxury." Li Yu chuckled self-deprecatingly.

He toyed with the teacup in his hand. “Lord Qiu, there’s no need to flatter me. Everyone in Yujing knows that I, Li Yu, am nothing but a drowning dog. I’m lucky to be able to live by relying on His Majesty’s whims.”

Qiu Yun stared intently at him, not missing any change in his expression. Seeing that Li Yu still refused to look up, he suddenly smiled: "So Lord Li is quite clear-headed. That's true. Lord Li's surname is Li, and in this prefect's mansion, I am the outsider."

“However,” his voice suddenly turned cold, “I have already reported to His Majesty what your Li family has done in Quzhou. This family will be destroyed whether you like it or not.”

He threw all the charges against Li Jian that he had found onto the table in front of Li Yu, saying, "The Li family is doomed. Lord Li, you'd better watch yourself." After saying that, he turned and left without waiting for Li Yu to see him off.

Li Yu was left sitting in the room with his eyes closed. He didn't even need to glance at it to know what it was. How could he, who had been aiding and abetting evil, not understand the burning ambition of the Li family? But if he had known this would be the outcome, why did he do it in the first place?

"Knock knock~" is the sound of knocking on the door.

"who?"

"Sir, I... I saw that your light is still on so late, so I came to ask if you need anything?" It was the child's timid voice outside the door.

Li Yu scoffed, "If you have nothing better to do, go to sleep. Don't loiter around here."

Rejected at the door, Er Gou rolled her eyes brazenly, taking advantage of the fact that they were separated by a door. This corrupt official was truly impervious to reason, treating her like a thief. He had been in Quzhou for so many days, and had never let her into his room even once.

However, while she was seething with hatred inside, she obediently replied, "Then you should get some rest."

Li Yu shook his head and smiled, but then suddenly remembered something and said in a deep voice, "Don't go out these next few days, especially don't come near me, if you want to live."

Since Er Gou came to his side, he had threatened her with her life almost every day. However, after so long, she had vaguely realized that Li Yu would not really kill her, so she did not take his words to heart and casually replied, "I know."

Li Yu knew her character all too well. He pressed his throbbing temples and thought, "Well, things shouldn't have gotten to that point yet."

After several more days of this undercurrent, Qiu Yun finally received Ji Heng's edict. He glanced at it only briefly, and Qiu Yun immediately let out a gasp of surprise.

He jumped up from his chair and paced around the room several times before carefully examining the imperial edict he was clutching in his hand. He knew Ji Heng would not let Li Jian off the hook, but he hadn't expected Ji Heng to be so ruthless.

The secret execution of the main branch of the Li family meant that he wasn't even given a chance to seek justice.

However, once he calmed down a bit, he understood Ji Heng's intention. Li Jian knew far too many secrets. Since he had already harbored disloyal intentions, only by eliminating him completely could the problem be prevented from ever recurring!

"I need to wait and see about Li Yu's stance."

At that moment, Li Yu, whom he was talking about, was in the room greeting his cousin.

"Now that the disaster relief work has been completed, my brother and I finally have time to catch up," Li Jian said respectfully.

Li Yu took the tea he offered, took only a sip, and put it down, saying, "We brothers don't need to be so formal."

Li Jian concealed the disdain in his eyes. The Li family was a large and prosperous clan, with the eldest and third branches being the direct line, and the second branch being a concubine's branch. As the eldest son of the eldest branch, Li Jian's status was extremely noble, while Li Yu, the son of the second branch, had only obtained the position of prefect by luck by marrying Xiao Pingjiang's sister. Otherwise, who in the Li family would have given him a second glance?

However, Li Yu was still somewhat useful to him at this moment, so he didn't mind flattering him: "Brother, you are magnanimous, but etiquette should not be disregarded."

Li Yu glanced at him, too lazy to say anything more.

"Brother, do you know that Lord Qiu sent a letter to Yujing some time ago?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu's expression shifted slightly. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then said, "Oh? Is that so?" His tone was natural, as if he had only just learned of this matter.

Li Jian sneered inwardly. If he hadn't had people constantly monitoring the situation here, and hadn't actually found some things in his room, he would have been completely fooled.

"Brother, do you know what was written in that letter?"

Li Yu looked at him with a half-smile, "Lord Qiu is Ji Heng's confidant, while I am just a useless son. Why would he tell me what he does?"

Li Jian knew that he still harbored resentment about what happened back then, and he looked somewhat embarrassed: "Back then, the Li family did wrong you, but in the end, it all came down to Ji Heng being too suspicious. If he wanted to keep you under his watchful eye, who would dare to object?"

"Besides, what's wrong with being a wealthy, idle person?"

Back then, the Li family had already declined, and Li Yu did indeed become the prefect of Quzhou because of Xiao Pingjiang's influence. However, this did not make the Li family behind him grateful; instead, it fueled their arrogance.

When Li Yu was serving as the Prefect of Quzhou, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Li family. However, the Li family was still not satisfied and only wanted to rise to the top. The late emperor saw through the Li family's ambition and, through Ji Heng's mediation, betrayed Zhennan.

Li Yu wasn't entirely unmoved at first; after all, Xiao Pingjiang had treated him exceptionally well, and Xiao Wu was already pregnant with their child. However, the consideration for the family's future was deeply ingrained in his bones, and his branch of the family truly had little right to resist…

He admitted that he had let Zhennan and Xiao Wu down, but how could Ji Heng and Li treat him like this? Ji Heng treated him like a dog, and Li kicked him away as soon as she saw that he was no longer useful.

What a fine prince consort! What a wealthy and idle man!

Li Yu's expression turned indifferent: "I am unaware of Qiu Yun's plans. Prefect, you are very busy, so I will not see you off."

Seeing his impoliteness, Li Jian also bluntly said, "Li Yu, don't forget who you are!"

Li Yu sneered, "I only ended up like this because I remember my surname is Li! You've been sitting comfortably in your position as the prefect of Quzhou all these years, haven't you?"

Before Li Jian could answer, he laughed, his laughter seemingly laced with poison: "It doesn't matter if you're not feeling well, you won't be sitting for many more days anyway."

Li Jian was suddenly startled. He had thought there was still room for maneuver, but now, hearing what Li Yu said, could it be that everything was already settled?

He pulled a stack of papers from his pocket, the very papers Qiu Yun had left in Li Yu's room that day. They listed Li Jian's crimes over the years, one by one, clearly. "So it really was you who instigated that old scoundrel Qiu Yun to harm me! Wasn't it enough that you betrayed your own family more than a decade ago? Now you want to do it again!"

Li Yu knew he had misunderstood, but he was too lazy to explain to him. Even when Li Jian grabbed his collar, he just brushed his hand away in annoyance. "Instead of spending your time complaining about me, you should think about your last words."

Li Jian was instantly enraged and grabbed the man by the collar, pulling him up from the chair: "The Li family has fallen, do you think you'll have a good end? You're just relying on what you had back then..."

At this point, his mind, which had been clouded by anger, finally cleared up for a moment. "I just remembered, Ji Heng's letter from back then is still in your hands."

He dragged the man directly from the center of the hall to the wall. Li Yu was just a civil official, and in recent years he had been practically imprisoned in the Princess's mansion. How could he possibly win against him?

"Bang, bang," dull thuds rang out as Li Jian slammed his head against the wall. "Hand over the letter, or you won't leave this house alive today!"

Li Yu's face was already bruised and swollen, and blood was gushing from his forehead, which had hit the wall. However, he seemed to feel nothing at all, and even let out bursts of low laughter: "Souvenirs? I burned those things long ago! It doesn't matter if I die, hahaha, it's not a loss if the entire Li family dies with me."

"Burned?!" Li Jian's voice was full of disbelief. He stopped what he was doing and turned Li Yu's face toward him. "Impossible! If it had been burned, why would Ji Heng have kept you alive until now?"

"Hahaha! You're so silly, my little brother!" Li Yu laughed even more heartily despite the blood streaming down his forehead. "It's because you all thought it was impossible that I've lived this long, hahaha!"

After a burst of wild laughter, he suddenly lowered his voice and uttered words as venomous as a snake: "Otherwise, why do you think the Princess hasn't been able to find anything on me for over ten years?"

Li Jian tightened his grip on his hair instantly, then slammed his head against the wall with even more force, roaring repeatedly, "You deserve to die! You deserve to die! Since you're not leaving me a way out, you might as well go first!"

Li Yu's gaze gradually unfocused, and he seemed to see the bright smile of a beautiful woman before him. She touched her protruding belly and asked him shyly, "Husband, what do you think we should name our child? How about Li Zhi for a boy and Li Buyu for a girl?"

At that time, he was troubled by the alliance proposed by Ji Heng, and casually replied, "Okay."

But in the end, the thin child he met at the Princess's residence, who bore a striking resemblance to her, was named Xiao Hui...

Just as his eyes were about to close, the door to the room was suddenly kicked open from the outside, and he heard the frail child's perpetually timid voice: "You, you stop!"

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-03-24 22:02:04 and 2024-03-31 01:07:33!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: North Wind (14 bottles); Fu Bao Duanduan (1 bottle of good luck);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!