After getting rid of He Shaoqi, Du Pengzhi hurried to Du E'li's room.
Unable to contain her anger, Du E'li sternly demanded, "I told you not to accept it, why didn't you listen to me?!"
Du Pengzhi was stunned. "That's ten taels of silver. Why won't you accept it?"
Du E'li's chest heaved with anger. "Ten taels! If you had refused, he would have given you fifty taels! Or even a hundred taels! I haven't made any mistakes, but look how many you've made!"
Du Pengzhi felt a pang of heartache at the thought of the hundred taels he had missed, but he sneered, "Didn't miss it? Do you want to see what you looked like just now? Even the lowest prostitute is cleaner than you!"
Du E'li's face turned pale, and she slapped Du Pengzhi across the face. "How could you say such a thing to me? Who am I doing this for?!"
Du Pengzhi froze for a moment, about to teach Du E'li a lesson, but then he realized that if she became the prefect's wife and whispered in his ear, his future would be completely ruined. So he pressed down on his fist.
Immediately, he put his arm around Du E'li's shoulder and said, "Little sister, oh my, my good little sister, you did a good job! I was confused just now!"
Du E'li turned around forcefully, ignoring him.
Du Pengzhi's eyes were sinister as he slapped himself hard across the face several times. "Good sister, are you feeling better now? Alright, your brother thinks you're the best woman in the world. Don't be angry anymore."
Du E'li stretched out her hand to him, "The ten taels of silver are mine."
The moment money was involved, Du Pengzhi's smile vanished, only to return in an instant. "My dear sister, you're so foolish! You'll soon have countless riches. I'll keep these ten taels for you."
Du E'li sneered inwardly. "Guaranteed, that's a nice way to put it." She smiled and said, "But brother, I've just entered the prefect's backyard, so I can't be short of money to bribe people. Otherwise, I won't be able to send a servant to see you."
Du Pengzhi's eyes were dark and unreadable, and he was conflicted. "Then I'll give my sister three taels first. If my sister has any money later, it would be best if I kept it safe outside. In case the prefect's ship sinks, my sister will have the confidence to make a comeback."
Du E'li nodded obediently, "I'll listen to my older brother."
She's not that stupid. If the money isn't in her own pocket, can it really be considered her own?
That night, Du Pengzhi took one tael of silver to a brothel in Shuzhou.
He was a man who had lost his virginity, and a scholar who had achieved some success. In a couple of days, he would become the brother-in-law of the prefect. He also lost his proper wife. Having been pent up for so long, he naturally had no choice but to go to a brothel to release his pent-up desires.
Du E'li was completely unaware of this.
The following afternoon, the streets were bustling with people and filled with noise.
Du Pengzhi was still hungover and had a terrible headache, so he lay in bed without moving.
Du E'li's right eye kept twitching.
He Shaoqi came in from outside, looking at Du Pengzhi with what seemed like an unspeakable secret.
Du Pengzhi was furious. "Brother He, please speak your mind."
He Shaoqi stopped hesitating and said, "Brother Du, the study is too cold. Why don't we switch back?"
Du Pengzhi frowned as he looked at him. The prefect had just come yesterday. Did he not want his bright future?
He Shaoqi refused to say anything more and turned to leave the house.
Du Pengzhi dragged himself out of the house and onto the street.
Leading the group was Wang Hezhi, who was wearing only a white undergarment in the dead of winter, his hair disheveled, being led away from the county by soldiers with knives.
Wang Hezhi suddenly looked more than ten years older.
Du Pengzhi stared blankly at the long line of people behind Wang Hezhi, including a group of young women, barefoot, some of whom had their clothes torn to shreds.
"He has committed countless evils! Look at how many beautiful women he has married, he deserves to be exiled!"
"Hey, you have no idea how much property we confiscated from the Wang family! We carried nearly a hundred boxes and transported them all to the capital!"
"There are nearly a hundred now, but I wonder how many will be presented to His Majesty."
Du Pengzhi took a step back in disbelief, pulled someone aside, and asked, "Why was the prefect exiled?"
The man glared at him and flung his hand away, saying, "Do you think I'm the emperor? How would I know!"
Du Pengzhi walked quickly inside, his mind in turmoil. He bumped into the threshold and fell hard to the ground.
He cried out in pain and rushed straight into Du E'li's room, shouting, "It's over, it's over, it's all over!"
Du E'li felt disgusted by his flustered appearance. "Brother, don't panic. What's over?"
"The prefect's entire family has been exiled! Your wife, the prefect, is gone!" Du Pengzhi shouted.
Du E'li stepped forward and covered his mouth, "Walls have ears, sit down first!"
Du Pengzhi looked at her, puzzled. "How can you be so calm?"
Du E'li smiled and said, "I couldn't have prevented him from being exiled, but I escaped a calamity and even got ten taels of silver. Shouldn't we be happy about that?"
She breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't have to serve the old man.
God knows, she absolutely hated it.
Du Pengzhi was not happy. "But we can't get in touch with the prefect anymore, let alone the sixth prince."
He's already thirty years old and only just passed the county-level imperial examination. His chances of passing the provincial-level imperial examination on his own are slim.
Without a powerful brother-in-law, he could only teach at the village school at best, earning very little money and having no power or influence, and he would be unable to leave the small county of Qingshui.
Du E'li took a piece of paper, picked up a pen, and began to write, "Shuzhou, the Wang family, the Qian family, the Zhu family..."
She crossed out the Wang family name.
"Brother, the Wang family is gone, but there are other families. Tell me what you know about these prominent families in Shuzhou now."
Du Pengzhi looked at his sister, took a deep breath, and began to speak, "The current head of the Qian family is named Qian Yangping. I heard that his biological son is an advisor to the Third Prince, a fifth-rank official, and he also has a third-rank Hanlin Academician..."
...
When Yan Yu arrived at the Su residence, Su Yan had just returned home from the palace.
As a prime minister, in addition to attending court every day, he had to work in the Xuanzheng Hall, reviewing all matters, drafting important documents, and issuing important decrees.
They would be summoned by the emperor for meetings from time to time. There was only the possibility of working overtime 365 days a year, and it was absolutely impossible to have a few extra days off.
If it weren't for his martial arts training, which he still dedicates time to practicing every day, his body would have been ruined sooner or later.
Yan Yu didn't have time to tie up her horse; she hurriedly flew into the Su residence and handed the letter to Su Yan.
Su Yan still violently tore off the cloth seal and opened the two letters to read them.
He observed quickly, and Yan Yu watched as his expression grew increasingly grim.
Unlike the gloomy atmosphere last time, this time it was filled with intense anger.
Yan Yu took a small half-step back without saying a word.
"This is hell on earth! I underestimated human evil! So many lives lost!" Su Yan's eyes were fierce.
He really wanted a sword to slay all the evil people in the world.
Bullying the weak, what kind of person are they!
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