Chapter 45: Desperate
Cai Shaotan stuttered for a moment and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"This... this is nonsense. I am innocent. How could a dignified official of the Jing Kingdom do something that would bring disgrace to our family just for a little money?"
Instead, the general became even more excited and asked again very quickly.
"So what you're saying is, you give people hookups for free?"
The other generals looked at him encouragingly and urged him to keep going.
These military generals are not good at speaking and can rarely win an argument over the civil officials.
Every time I had a disagreement with the civil servants, they would make me speechless and I would be so angry that I almost died.
This time it's different.
Cai Shaotan rehearsed step by step in his mind how to exonerate himself.
Before Cai Shaotan could react to the general's question, the words had already slipped out of his mouth.
When he realized what he had said, he quickly changed his words.
“Yes…No, no!”
The general looked at Cai Shaotan meaningfully.
"If you say it's not, then it's not!"
Cai Shaotan's throat choked. "That's it?" Why did he feel so uncomfortable all over?
[Hahahahahahaha... Such a perfunctory reply! Yu Chenguang can still be so eloquent!]
Yu Chenguang raised his chin slightly, and the smugness in his eyes could not be ignored.
The other generals, like You Rongyan, had expressions that were completely consistent with Yu Chenguang's.
Cai Shaotan looked at the court with bloodshot eyes, which seemed very harmonious because of him. He knew that he might not be able to escape the crime today, but he was unwilling to accept it.
It is not easy for him to get to where he is today. His sacrifices and efforts are really too great.
If he were to go back to the time before liberation, no, it might even be worse than before he passed the imperial examination. As long as he thought about it, he would find it difficult to suppress the anger and hatred in his heart.
At this time, the system picked up Jinghan's words and continued to "publicly execute" Cai Shaotan!
[That's right, people, it's best not to do bad things! Look at Cai Shaotan, he's being hated by the entire court. Tsk tsk, how pitiful!]
It sounds really pitiful, but in fact everyone knows that this kind of pity is not the same as that kind of pity.
[He used the money he earned from selling government property to bribe people to find out about the family situation of sixth- and seventh-rank officials, and then bribed some small-time hooligans to rescue his wife!]
His wife knew that human nature could sometimes be very bad, but she had no idea it could be this bad. Cai Shaotan could be said to have been humble and subservient to his mother and father. One day, many years ago, he heard his mother and father talking about trying to help his wife, starting with a lowly official position!
Cai Shaotan hated them immensely at that moment. He felt like he had been a slave to his wife's family, yet in the end, he was still the one being abandoned!
Is everything alright? Is Cai Shaotan alright? Who forced him to be such a slave for his wife's family? It's normal for them to do everything for their own daughter. How could he, an outsider, have the nerve to resent them? Without Cai Shaotan, their family wouldn't be so poor, right? After all, he's an official. While not necessarily wealthy, he certainly doesn't have to worry about the daily necessities of life!
He shamelessly schemed against others, and now that they are supposed to be thinking about his daughter, he is jealous. He is really both humble and arrogant. If he had the ability, he could climb up the ladder on his own merits. What's the point of scheming against his innocent wife and her family?
Jing Han scolded them, and the originally angry civil and military officials in the court suddenly felt relieved.
Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess is still the best at scolding people.
That’s what the hell.
The contemptuous looks of the crowd were like the sun's rays, which Cai Shaotan could not ignore.
The hatred in his heart was so intense that if he could, he would have killed Jing Han and the system a thousand times.
[Host, calm down. It's not worth it to do this for such an inhuman thing. Even more cruel things are yet to come!]
Jing Chengji and all the civil and military officials in the court slowly began to question themselves.
besides? !
Okay, okay, then they will listen attentively.
[Also, tell me, let me see how inhuman this bastard can be!]
[The host is even less human than you think! It was because of that that he gave his wife a weakening drug. So, seeing that Cai Shaotan still cared about their daughter and never left her side, his mother and father thought this son-in-law was reliable and tried their best to help Cai Shaotan get a small official position of eighth rank. Although it's a small position, if he shows some achievements, he can be promoted!]
With the support of his wife's family, Cai Shaotan finally became a sixth-rank official. After all, he was only a Juren (a juren), and even if he was only a sixth-rank official, it was already thanks to the unwavering support of his wife's family. His wife's mother could have been promoted, but for the sake of her daughter, she willingly gave the opportunity to Cai Shaotan!
All the civil and military officials in the court were sighing in their hearts, and no one expressed their agreement.
If it is really for the good of her daughter, she should take a high position. That way, even if Cai Shaotan really has some bad intentions, he would not dare to act rashly, and her daughter can live a better life.
Confused, really confused!
"I've been listening for a long time. I'm afraid his wife's parents are fools. If they really want their daughter's best interests at heart, they should have completely suppressed Cai Shaotan!"
[Who says it's not true?! This system of mine can't figure it out either, but Cai Shaotan dared to drug his wife before he became an official. Even then, his mother was still an official, but she couldn't suppress Cai Shaotan. Cai Shaotan is just too good at disguising himself!]
[Ah~]
Jinghan didn't know how to evaluate the old couple and could only sigh.
When his wife was about to give birth, Cai Shaotan orchestrated an accident, killing both her mother and father. Then, his wife, overwhelmed by the situation, went into premature labor, nearly resulting in a double loss. But Cai Shaotan remained silent, acting as he had before. With his mother and father gone, he was even more heartbroken than his wife! Anyone who saw this would say something. What a filial son-in-law!
[But his wife always felt something was amiss, but she hadn't found out what it was. Once she felt a little better, she took control of the family's money. However, she was still blinded by Cai Shaotan's ten years of constant care and love. To repay Cai Shaotan's sincerity, she changed her son's last name to his!]
Jinghan typed three big question marks.
【???】
Not only Jing Han, but Jing Chengji and all the civil and military officials in the court also couldn't understand it.
This is a family of fools. They asked Cai Shaotan to sell them out and even helped Cai Shaotan count the money.
When Cai Shaotan heard about his own "success", the anger in his heart actually dissipated a little, and a smug smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Now thinking about the past, his heart was filled with joy.
So what if he was born in a poor family? So what if he failed the imperial examination?! He could still hold a high position.
Those who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters, and you should be happy to be their stepping stone.
[Haha, this is a family of naive people. I don't know how they managed to survive to that point. It's really hard to judge!]
If my guess is correct, Cai Shaotan not only doesn't feel grateful for the help from his wife's family, but he probably blames them for not being able to push him to a higher position. Furthermore, he believes that he has achieved his current position as a fourth-rank official due to his own abilities. Does he think that even without his wife's family, he could still be successful?!
Cai Shaotan slowly retracted the smile from his lips.
How could Her Royal Highness guess his thoughts so accurately? Could it be that Her Royal Highness is like the person chosen by God as described in the picture book?
Cai Shaotan thought that his every thought and action had not been discovered by anyone, but many people noticed that in the system and Jinghan's thoughts, Cai Shaotan's facial expression changed with their words.
Jinghan just spoke again.
[Heh, although ability is one thing, if there is no opportunity, what use would Cai Shaotan have. At least half of the credit for Cai Shaotan's current status is due to his wife's family. If he hadn't drugged his wife, his wife might not have been higher than him. He took the position that originally belonged to his wife, didn't treat her family well, and instead killed his wife's mother and father!]
[What a heartless, ungrateful, and shameless beast! ]
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