"Achen!" Zhou Lin tried to call out to Zhou Chen.
Zhou Chen didn't even glance at her out of the corner of his eye. He took Su Jin's arm and said with concern, "Sister, are you tired? Sit down and rest for a while."
Thus, everyone watched as Su Jin stepped down from the imperial throne.
At this moment, everyone had mixed feelings.
When Zhuang Jun grew stronger, people began to say that a female emperor might appear in the world in the future.
Later, Su Jin died, and many people felt sorry for her.
Of course, some people believe that this is just a joke among the common people, and that the imperial court has never recognized Su Jin's status.
Now it seems that if Su Jin hadn't withdrawn halfway through, the throne might have belonged to someone else!
"Go get some snacks for your sister, so she doesn't go hungry."
Zhou Chen gave the order.
Everyone was puzzled again. Where did the sister's statement come from?
One of the bolder individuals, who didn't associate with the Prime Minister, asked, "Why does Your Majesty address Prince Zhuang as 'elder sister'?"
Zhou Chen glanced at him. "What's it to you?"
...
No one dared to say another word. They only listened to Zhou Chen showing concern for Su Jin. Before long, the two started talking about changing the country's name and establishing a new dynasty.
Just because Su Jinxia said that the corruption of the previous dynasty is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, they now distrust you. You need to take a stand first. Changing the name of the country will make the people feel that a new era is coming and they will have more expectations for the future.
Zhou Chen thought it made perfect sense.
So the two of them started discussing how to change it and which word would be more suitable.
Those below were itching to chime in and offer suggestions, but whenever they spoke, the guards' swords would move two inches closer to them.
So everyone, itching with curiosity, had to suppress their own desires, and many of the suggestions they thought were good had to be kept to themselves.
Zhang Qi acted swiftly, and an hour later, he sent someone to report that a large quantity of gold and silver treasures had been found in the Prime Minister's residence. The initial estimate was that the amount of gold and silver was as high as one million taels of gold, and the number of antiques, paintings, fields, and estates was enormous, and they had not yet had time to be counted.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister's residence contains numerous secret rooms and passages, and the search continues!
The news shocked the entire hall.
The Prime Minister's mansion alone has accumulated a million taels of silver. What does that mean?
"Your Majesty, how much money is in your national treasury?" Su Jin asked softly.
Zhou Chen's face turned ashen. "The national treasury is empty. The money we seized from corrupt officials in the court recently has all been sent to the Northwest for disaster relief."
The court was already indulging in debauchery and the national treasury was empty. They relied entirely on extorting money from the people for their own enjoyment. After a long period of war, things got even worse. How could they possibly have any money?
When Zhou Chen first saw the national treasury, he was stunned; he had never seen such a large empty building before!
Upon hearing this, Su Jin clapped her hands lightly, her eyes brightening. "I've suddenly thought of a great way to get rich!"
Zhou Chen exchanged a glance with her and realized the same thing.
Instead of increasing taxes to fill the national treasury, it would be better to confiscate the assets of these corrupt officials, which would not only please the people but also reduce their burden.
Zhou Chen glanced at the people standing below, his brow furrowing slightly. But confiscating property couldn't be done arbitrarily; there had to be a pretext, just like the recent raid on the Prime Minister's residence.
If Xiangwei's affair hadn't been exposed, Zhou Chen wouldn't have been able to suddenly raid her home.
What excuse should we use?
Su Jin smiled and patted Zhou Chen's hand, telling him to calm down and deal with the Prime Minister first.
The Prime Minister had collapsed to the ground, limp and lifeless. Su Jin smiled mockingly, "Prime Minister, do you have anything else to say?"
The prime minister's face turned ashen, as if his spine had been removed, and he could no longer utter a word to defend himself.
Zhou Chen stepped forward and immediately pronounced the verdict: "The Prime Minister is guilty of corruption and perverting the law. He is sentenced to be beheaded at the Meridian Gate in three days and his head will be displayed to the public! All officials within his nine generations of family shall be subject to investigation!"
"Xiangwei, the maid, be beaten to death!"
The guards stepped forward and dragged the prime minister, his son-in-law, and Xiangwei, who was begging for mercy, away together.
After that, the court fell silent, not daring to utter a single word.
Zhou Chen waved his hand and dismissed the court.
After leaving the court, the ministers gathered in twos and threes to discuss the matter.
Two of them discussed it quietly.
"Do you think there was a deeper meaning behind the words exchanged between King Zhuang and His Majesty?"
"Which words?"
"It's all about getting rich! Is he planning to confiscate all our homes to fill the national treasury?"
"I think that's the idea. Be careful lately, and make sure you don't get caught doing anything wrong, otherwise..." The man shook his head, with a mysterious expression.
The other person, feeling uneasy, hurriedly left.
Upon returning home, he immediately organized his trusted confidants to pack up all the money and valuables in his home and quickly send them out of the city.
At the same time, many veteran officials shared the same idea and sent their ill-gotten gains to safe places.
However, to their utter surprise, the treasure was stolen by bandits as soon as it left the capital!
Several senior officials were heartbroken and cursed, but they had no choice but to suffer in silence. They dared not speak out, let alone report it to the authorities.
During this process, the palace was also extremely busy.
As soon as Zhou Chen and Su Jin left the court, they immediately dispatched troops to guard the city gates and plunder treasures.
Then they believed the money being counted...
The money was sent to the palace openly and without any detours, keeping Zhou Chen and Su Jin very busy; they almost couldn't count it all.
Afterwards, Zhang Qi brought a lot of evidence of corruption and embezzlement found in the Prime Minister's residence. This evidence had a wide-ranging impact, and Su Jinxia and Zhou Chen investigated it all night.
"well!"
It was late at night, and Su Jinxia, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, slumped onto the table, saying weakly, "You should just release Han Qing; he's the best at handling these kinds of things!"
Zhou Chen was also a little confused. He rubbed his sore neck and said defiantly, "As long as my sister agrees to let me stay in the palace, I will release him immediately."
Su Jin rolled her eyes at Zhou Chen, "Impossible!"
Zhou Chen flung the paper in his hand and turned his head to the side.
Su Jinxia was also angry. She was willing to discuss everything else, but there was no way she would be allowed to be with Shen Qianxue.
Su Jin got up from the table and said angrily, "See for yourself, I'm going back to sleep."
As they reached the door, Su Jinxia turned back and said earnestly, "Achen, this world belongs to you, not mine. There are some things you should bear on your own."
"You can sit here or not. I'm not forcing you, so I don't owe you anything."
"If you find it difficult, I can teach you and help you, but that doesn't mean I should bear the burden and give up the life I want."
I hope you understand.
Su Jin finished speaking, turned around, opened the door, and strode out.
A cold wind blew in, and Zhou Chen felt a chill all over his body.
His eyes were filled with tears, brimming with sadness and loss.
He murmured, "Sister, I don't want anything, I just want you, okay?"
Can't!
Zhou Chen knew all too well that if he lost the throne, he would lose all right to speak and would be unable to hold onto Su Jin's resolute departure.
By then, he will only be an unimportant younger brother.
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