Chapter 69 Breathtaking

[However, someone was sent to the palace to ask the imperial physician for a consultation that night. Could it be that Gu Zexian was poisoned?]

[Isn't there still half a month left? How come the poison is taking effect so quickly?]

Chu Liuzheng was curious and couldn't help but quietly open the system.

I just took a quick look...

Hearing these words, Xiao Jingfan's brows relaxed, it's done!

——Thanks to this woman's stupidity, I finally found an opportunity to change the topic.

Chu Liuzheng was flipping through the system like a thief while paying attention to the emperor in the room.

The young man held a cup of hot tea in his hand, sipping it slowly with his handsome features lowered. He showed no intention of speaking to her, nor of leaving. Chu Liuzheng simply ignored him and focused on gossip related to the Gu Mansion.

[No wonder he invited the imperial physician. An official from Jiangnan knew that Gu Zexian was a womanizer, so he specially sent him a skinny Yangzhou horse, hoping that Gu Zexian would show some favor when he went to Beijing to report on his work next year.]

Gu Zexian, the old scoundrel, tried to woo that skinny girl last night, but she was too strong and his own body wasn't up to the task. He nearly died from excessive excitement on the woman's belly.

[Wow, Miss, this poison is really powerful. Even the imperial physician couldn't figure it out. Hmm...it's just a little difficult to make. Many of the ingredients were acquired by chance. It's just that Miss was lucky to have gathered them all.]

Chu Liuzheng sighed secretly, this is the retribution for doing too many evil things in this life.

After this, Gu Zexian's body is completely broken. Even with the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician, he can only live for three to five days at most. If the young lady gets impatient and adds some more ingredients, oh no! His soul will return to the underworld!

Xiao Jingfan fiddled with the tea leaves floating on the water and secretly glared at the woman on the bed.

——Don’t say these useless things, just look at the list!

Zhou Yuande, who was watching from the sidelines: "..."

It’s too shameful to look at.

The eunuch has endless worries.

Your Majesty, you are the ruler of a country after all. Who can disobey you? Why are you always sneaking around Miss Liu Zheng?

Watch it if you want!

Look!

[Tsk! Tyrant, you're so slow drinking your tea! Isn't he busy with all sorts of things? Why isn't he leaving yet?]

Chu Liuzheng also withdrew some of his attention from the system and secretly glanced at Xiao Jingfan.

She couldn't understand what this big guy was trying to do. She could only sit there and stare blankly. She might as well continue to brush the system and watch the show.

[Speaking of which, if Gu Zexian died, would the business of reselling firearms to Japan still be able to continue?]

Chu Liuzheng dug up the previous gossip.

[Let me figure it out. The masterminds behind this are Gu Zexian and the Admiral of the Armaments Bureau... Uh, that guy's name is hard to recognize, Pan... Chong? It sounds similar to 'Chong', right? One of them is responsible for falsifying the accounts and secretly shipping the goods out, while the other is responsible for recruiting allies. They work together so well.]

If Gu Zexian were to fall, only Han Ruoyu, the head of the Ministry of Justice, could take his place among these accomplices. He's a worthy member of the Ministry of Justice, possessing a strong sense of crisis and anti-reconnaissance capabilities. If he hadn't warned them, Pan Chong and his gang's dealings with Japan would have been discovered long ago.

Chu Liuzheng couldn't help but curl his lips. If he had this ability, why didn't he use it to investigate the case?

It would be a good deed if we could reduce the number of unjust, false and wrong cases.

[Oh, I overestimated Gu Liumang. It turns out he was able to connect with Pan Chong thanks to Han Ruoyu's help. He was just a target pushed out in the open by Han Ruoyu. When something really important happened, Pan Chong only discussed it with Han Ruoyu and finally told Gu Zexian the result.]

Gu Liumang does all the dirty work of recruiting people, while Han Ruoyu hides quietly behind the scenes, waiting for his share of the profits. It's a shame that Gu Liumang still thinks highly of himself, believing that he is so smart and resourceful that nothing can be done without him.

[Tsk tsk, if a smart person thinks he is smart, then he is not far from being stupid.]

The doubts in Chu Liuzheng's heart were finally resolved.

If Gu Zexian really had the ability to resell firearms without the tyrant's knowledge, how could he still be a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel at the age of nearly sixty? He should have been studying to become a minister or a chancellor, right?

She originally thought that Gu Zexian was hiding his abilities, but she didn't expect that this guy was really stupid, and the truly powerful one was Han Ruoyu.

Han Ruoyu was also quite stable. He had long known how to advance his official rank, but because he was afraid of being noticed by the tyrant and thus being investigated by the Imperial Guard, he continued to make minor mistakes and not move up.

Xiao Jingfan silently wrote down the seven characters "Han Ruoyu, Director of the Ministry of Justice" in the little notebook in his heart.

Don’t want the Jinyiwei to investigate?

Then he would ask the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate this person thoroughly.

Chu Liuzheng was immersed in the melon field and couldn't extricate himself.

Han Ruoyu was very careful in choosing his allies. Every single one of the accomplices on this list was a low-ranking official who held real power and was also very short of money.

The first one is Ni Dayou, the Deputy Director of the Honglu Temple's Sibin Office. He's in charge of receiving foreign guests and has legitimate access to foreign envoys. I'm a huge collector of antiques, but my family is poor, so I can't afford to buy them.

Next up are the following three: Yue Cun, Li Senxian, and Yao Sixiao, centurions of the Wucheng Military Command. They are responsible for patrolling the city and can provide cover for those transporting firearms. These three share one trait: a love of gambling.

As the saying goes, nine out of ten gamblers lose money. What gambler doesn't need money? But if they can turn a blind eye and cover up when necessary, they can make a lot of money. Why wouldn't they join the gang?

[The following person is Cheng Yi, the head of the Ministry of Rites’ Department of Guests…]

Chu Liuzheng counted them one by one.

The accomplices on the list involve almost all departments, it is simply a small court.

Xiao Jingfan, who was eavesdropping, subconsciously slowed down his breathing. He didn't even care about being angry, and quickly wrote down the names of the treacherous ministers in his mind.

This opportunity may only come once, if you miss it, you will never have it again.

Zhou Yuande saw that the tea Xiao Jingfan was holding was no longer hot, and was about to go forward to change a cup, but unexpectedly he was given a deathly glare from Xiao Jingfan.

Stay still!!

Zhou Yuande: ???

Is there anything wrong with being considerate?

Manager Zhou felt wronged, but he didn't say anything.

Xiao Jingfan couldn't take care of him for the time being, and forgot that he was still holding the tea. He was like an old monk in meditation, engraving each name firmly in his mind.

If it weren't for the inappropriate timing and the fear of being discovered by Chu Liuzheng, he would have wanted to ask someone to send him pen and ink to record it.

Those who enjoy collecting famous calligraphy and paintings, those who have emptied their savings into buying a house and have no food to eat, those whose wives are squanderers, those whose fathers are always ostentatious and take advantage of them, those who are addicted to gambling, those whose relatives are too extreme and always come to ask for money, those who love to drink and listen to music... Tsk tsk, they say every family has its own problems. The reasons for being short of money are truly varied and almost never the same.

Chu Liuzheng went through the list one by one and was simply amazed.

Han Ruoyu is truly amazing. Honestly, it must have taken a lot of effort to pinpoint these individuals among the hundreds of officials. This guy is meticulous, insightful, and proactive. What can't he accomplish?

If I were Han Ruoyu, I'd have to be a favored minister to the tyrant. Just look at Lord Xie, and you'll see. The tyrant is very generous to his favored ministers. Not only do he reward them with houses and gold, but he also gives them betrothal gifts when they marry. How impressive!

Chu Liuzheng was really curious about Han Ruoyu, and began to dig deeper into the gossip related to Han Ruoyu.

Just then, a new one came out.

She glanced over and her watery almond eyes suddenly widened.

[Frog fun! Someone surnamed Han is going to cause trouble!]

(End of this chapter)