Chapter 95 Only Twenty-Three
Recently, there has been a new spectacle to be seen in Shengjing City.
Zhou Zhining, who had been hiding for nearly a month, was caught red-handed by the Prefect of the Capital. At that time, she was disguised as a courtesan and hiding in a carriage. Accompanying her was her son, who was not yet three years old.
The imperial court finally gave the people an explanation: the Zhou family, exiled to the northern border, would not receive preferential treatment, and Zhou Zhining would be punished by being confined to government slavery under the unified management of the Ministry of Agriculture, along with her son. The youngest son of the Zhou family, who had been taken in by distant relatives, was also notified by the local government that he could not be taken in and was sent to work at the local medical office.
The people felt relieved, and their curses, along with those from the Censorate, moved from the Zhou family to the Duke of Shen's mansion and Prince Xin's residence.
First was Prince Xin, who was high-profile and extravagant, and his licentious and dissolute lifestyle spread throughout the capital. He was not ashamed and instead associated with the remnants of the criminals, disgracing the royal family.
However, Zhou's confession did not mention Prince Xin, and there was no concrete evidence that he had accepted bribes. He was severely scolded by the Empress Dowager and confined to his quarters for a month to reflect on his actions. Emperor Jingyan was in the process of establishing his authority, so he had Prince Xin beaten with twenty strokes of the cane and ordered him to donate 300,000 taels of silver for disaster relief.
Now, even without the Empress Dowager's confinement, he couldn't leave the house.
The situation is more complicated for the Duke of Shen. He initially denied taking in Zhou Zhining and her son, but was caught red-handed by the Prefect of the Capital, which proved him wrong.
They could only change their story and say that they took pity on her and her child, which was why they took them in.
Similarly, without concrete evidence of Shen Guogong's embezzlement and bribery, the Censorate could only issue accusations. Furthermore, Shen Guogong was from the maternal family of the Dowager Consort Shu, and the late Emperor had only been dead for five years. If Shen Guogong were severely punished for this matter, people would inevitably say that he was bullying the Dowager Consort. What else could they do but criticize him?
However, the common people were quite scathing in their criticism.
Poor Zhou and her son, a widow and orphan, why give her a luxurious villa? Why not pity the homeless refugees and vacate their houses for them? Why not give up a piece of fertile land for the refugees to cultivate so they don't starve?
The eldest prince, born to Consort Shu, who is now the Prince of Zhao, is even more low-key.
Emperor Jingyan faced significantly less resistance in implementing his new policies.
The biggest beneficiaries of this affair were the Emperor and Empress Dowager Jiang; Princess Deyang's move once again earned her favor with the Empress Dowager and the new Emperor.
...
Hongsheng Restaurant.
Yao Qingling kept an eye on what was going on outside.
Zhou Zhining was only punished by being confiscated and sent to the Ministry of Agriculture to become a government slave?
Normally, the children of officials who commit serious crimes are either exiled, sent to the army, or forced into prostitution.
The authorities did not find the so-called account book on her.
The Duke of Shen's mansion and Prince Xin were only scolded; they were not seriously injured.
No other officials were implicated.
It seems that the ledger does exist.
Otherwise, with such strong public opinion, the imperial court would not have let the matter drop so easily.
The Duke of Shen's mansion and Prince Xin were not betrayed because they protected Zhou Zhining.
Those officials who haven't been caught yet must have also contributed, but they punished Zhou Zhining by making her a government slave, just to show the people and quell public opinion and court disputes.
"...Zhou Zhining plays the zither very well; she should go to the brothel as a zither player," Tao Ye said sarcastically.
Qingling glanced at her and smiled: "In any case, she's gone to the Ministry of Agriculture, so she can have some peace and quiet for a while."
Prince Xin and that young master of the Tao family should also keep a low profile and won't show their faces again anytime soon.
She can now focus on bigger things.
Yao Qingling was in a good mood and ordered the waiter to bring a few more dishes.
She invited Lin Shiyuan to dinner at a restaurant.
The restaurant's best wine was served, and Yao Qingling personally poured it, saying, "If it weren't for your information, the Zhou family would still be living a carefree life in their villa. By joining forces, we can be considered to have rid the people of a scourge."
This hat is big, but it's not very useful.
Now everyone knows that the Zhou family still has a powerful backer. If they use this to claim credit in the imperial court, they might not receive any reward, but they will offend that unassuming backer and become a target.
Neither Yao Qingling nor Lin Shiyuan had any power or influence, so they didn't want to provoke that trouble.
She has already defeated Zhou Zhining, so she should know when to stop; if Zhou Zhining causes trouble again, she will deal with her then!
Lin Shiyuan did Yao Qingling this favor out of gratitude, and he drank the wine that Yao Qingling poured for him.
However, this phrase "joining forces" binds them together to some extent.
Lin Shiyuan smiled without saying a word, fiddling with the wine cup.
Yao Qingling picked up another wine pot, poured herself some "wine," and sipped it.
This time, she brought Lou Yue and Xia Chan with her. After the first cup of wine, she had the two maids serve Lin Shiyuan, serving him food and pouring him wine.
Lin Shiyuan glanced at Yao Qingling, and the smile on his lips gradually turned cold.
Is this a case of using a beautiful maid to bribe him?
On the way back, Lin Qiao said, "You can't expect a young lady to serve you, can you, brother?"
Lin Shiyuan thought for a moment.
When he was in southern Xinjiang, local officials and gentry, in an effort to curry favor with him, would often send women to him at banquets; some would even send them directly to his home.
Not to mention pretty maids, they also sent their illegitimate daughters and concubines without hesitation.
And the spies sent by Japan were even more ruthless.
He and Yao Qingling only shared a secret. Yao Qingling came from a noble family, so it wasn't impossible for her to send a maid to bribe him to do things.
However, Yao Qingling is a descendant of a general and is also divorced, so there is a lot of discussion about her.
When she poured him wine, it was a genuine expression of gratitude, showing both sincerity and respect; having a maid serve him was a sign of her careful speech and self-respect.
Thinking about it that way, he was overthinking it.
The slight gloom in Lin Shiyuan's heart dissipated.
Yao Qingling remained in the private room of the restaurant.
She looked at the table of leftovers.
Lou Yue and Xia Chan were both a little uneasy: "Miss, General Lin has no interest in either of us."
Qingling nodded.
This banquet was both an expression of gratitude and a test.
Compared to Zhou Zhining, what she had to do next was more important, and Lin Shiyuan was the one who knew her secret.
Although she only knew half of it, if he sold her for the sake of his official position, her fate would be even worse than Zhou Zhining's.
Yao Qingling had no powerful backing, and no one in the court would plead for her. Her uncle and aunt, in order to protect themselves, would only sever ties with her.
Furthermore, the bandits who weren't caught would only assume that she had betrayed them.
If she offends these people, they will hunt her down no matter where she goes; she has no chance of survival.
Yao Qingling had to be extremely cautious.
After much thought, he decided to send women to Lin Shiyuan as a test.
This is a common tactic used in any power circle.
If he accepts her, it means he's just a hypocrite, and his previous gentlemanly demeanor was merely to gain her trust and obtain the secret of Que'er Mountain. In that case, Lou Yue and Xia Chan staying by his side would only deepen their connection.
She can also take precautions and be wary of this person.
But he treated her two maids as nothing, and even though he saw through her intentions, he just remained indifferent and left with Lin Qiao.
He is a gentleman and a friend worth getting to know deeply.
Qingling felt relieved.
She had given the bandits three days to consider, and three days later, Ruan Da Hu Zi gave her a message, instructing her to properly distribute the silver notes, gold, and jewelry.
Most of the bandits on Que'er Mountain wanted to take silver home.
It's actually quite easy to understand.
They had committed murder, a heinous crime, and even if they weren't caught by the authorities, it would still haunt them. Rather than live in fear, they decided to stay away from the capital.
Furthermore, once they got the money, it was theirs. They trusted neither Ruan Dahuzi nor Yao Qingling, a woman.
While in the city, Yao Qingling not only watched the excitement, but also spent her time in her boudoir working on her abacus and assigning jobs.
She kept her promise, gave them the money, and told them to leave and never set foot in the capital again; if they met again, they should pretend not to know each other and not care about each other's lives.
There are 323 people left...
Whether by coincidence or not, this number is the same as the number of people who died that night at Yongning Temple.
Yao Qingling stood in the mountain valley, looking at these people, letting them make another choice.
As a result, of the three hundred people who wanted to follow Ruan Da Hu Zi to do canal transport, only twenty-three old, weak, sick and disabled people were willing to follow Yao Qing Ling.
This was a choice made out of necessity. The canal transport business was hard work, and the bearded man didn't want them. They could at least do odd jobs in shops. Staying in the capital meant they could marry a city woman and have a warm home with family.
Yao Qingling looked at the twenty-three elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people and said, "..."
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