Chapter 27 Offers Advice to Take Her to See Shen Zhao
Seeing Shen Hegui suddenly rubbing his temples, Lu Wensheng naively thought he had a headache and kindly wanted to rub them for him.
"Sit back down across from me and don't come any closer." Shen Hegui's voice was tense, and his hand movements stopped abruptly. He opened his eyes too quickly, and his sharp single eyelids instantly stretched into long, narrow double eyelids.
Lu Wensheng reluctantly withdrew her hand and returned to her original position. She first explained, "I only came up with this method later. It wasn't something I kept hidden in court before."
She needs to prove herself as a learned official, a rare talent. As long as she doesn't end up in the imperial prison, there's always a chance for things to turn around.
Shen Hegui nodded, then sat down in front of the car door, quietly distancing himself from Lu Wensheng.
Lu Wensheng: "Yesterday at the temple fair, I saw several monks in yellow robes. There were four of them, three fat and one strong, and they looked better than most of the officials in the government office."
Shen Hegui listened attentively with his eyes lowered, showing great patience.
"I remember that the founders of Buddhism set a rule for the Sangha: 'Constantly wandering, not settling down,' hoping they would remain mobile, going to different places to practice and spread the teachings. Since ancient times, wandering monks have not only relied on begging for alms for a living, but also on trade activities they carried out along the way. They often bought goods in one place and then sold them in another place, earning the price difference. It can be said that Buddhism in its early days was highly intertwined with commerce. Monks were never detached from worldly affairs, and those numerous temples had a strong economic attribute."
Lu Wensheng paused for a moment: "There's a Buddhist concept called 'Inexhaustible Treasury,' which holds that the assets of Buddhist temples appreciate in value through interest, a manifestation of good deeds. To put it nicely, it's actually usury. Besides lending, Buddhist temples also grow and process tea, run inns for rent, renting out good locations to the living and remote areas to the dead, developing funeral and elderly care businesses. They're not just monks, they're merchants—merchants of the traditional Chinese social classes!"
"Our dynasty's taxes are divided into 'fu' and 'yi'. 'Fu' includes land tax, poll tax, etc., while 'yi' refers to corvée labor, which is the payment of unpaid labor." In a moment of slipping out, Lu Wensheng realized that her last sentence was too blunt. She glanced at Shen Hegui's expression and, seeing that he was not displeased, continued.
"At this time, monks with legal ordination certificates are not only exempt from corvée labor, but also have their taxes reduced. The imperial court treats monks and commoners well, granting temples 'permanent land' without collecting any taxes. The original intention was to use the income from these lands to maintain incense offerings and support the monks. However, in the last ten years or so, in order to raise funds for military expenses, disaster relief, etc., the imperial court began to sell ordination certificates on a large scale, resulting in a surge in the number of monks. In order to evade taxes, many commoners donated their land to temples. In name, it was a donation, but in reality, they became tenants of the temples."
"The taxes of the nation mainly come from ordinary people, but these people have become monks or voluntarily evaded taxes, resulting in a large loss of the country's basic tax revenue and further exacerbating land annexation."
"There are also monks who lend money at exorbitant interest rates, driving farmers to their deaths. I've seen account books in the backyards of temples as thick as city walls, and officials who accept bribes from monks are as numerous as hairs on a cow. The donation boxes under the Buddha statues, with each inflow and outflow, turn embezzled funds into charitable donations. Monks are ordinary people, merchants are ordinary people, yet their treatment is completely different!"
It was probably too cold in the morning, but now that the sun was out, she actually felt a little warmth from the cold wind.
Shen Hegui rested his hands on his knees, gently stroking the fabric: "So you mean you want me to investigate the temple?"
Lu Wensheng nodded: "If we want to raise the most money in the shortest amount of time, and the officials can't be touched for the time being, then we can only rely on monks. Moreover, most of the wealthy merchants are in the south, which is too far away, and it would be too much trouble to collect evidence. It's not as fast as going to a Buddhist temple. Last December, there was a tragedy where a woman was forced into prostitution and someone died. Your Highness can follow the clues to investigate. There's also a nunnery twenty miles outside the city, which is actually a brothel. The head nun there and the head monk of the largest Buddhist temple in Yanjing have both had two sons."
The dust motes in the air shimmered with tiny golden light, and Chen Hegui remained silent.
Lu Wensheng felt very uncomfortable under Shen Hegui's gaze. She coughed lightly and explained, "I've mingled with all sorts of people, so I'm quite well-informed about the lower classes. I've never been to that nunnery. Only people I like are allowed to touch my body."
"Oh." The single word, "I understand," was delivered by Shen Hegui with a profound and complex effect.
Lu Wensheng had no time to ponder the details. She moved forward slightly, her face full of anticipation: "I offered a suggestion, so could we avoid going to the Zhaoyu Prison?"
Shen Hegui was utterly ruthless: "No way!"
Lu Wensheng: "..." You son of a bitch! You've wasted your brains! If she could get out, she'd definitely buy ten bighead carp to replenish her energy!
The carriage carrying Lu Wensheng, whose mind was full of profanities, stopped at the entrance of the Zhao Prison. The trees not far away swayed in the wind, and the downy hairs on the new buds were dyed a deep gold by the sunlight, full of vitality.
Across the tree, Lu Wensheng raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight. Looking at Shen Hegui's lonely figure, a plan suddenly came to mind.
If you don't run now, when will you?
She dashed off at the speed of a 100-meter sprint.
Sensing the unusual airflow, Shen Hegui slowly turned around, raising his long eyebrows. What was Lu Wensheng up to now?
Shen Hegui stood still, raised his hand and pressed forward, and instantly a group of people emerged from various strange places and surrounded Lu Wensheng.
Shen Hegui's calm voice came from behind: "Where are you going?"
Faced with a group of burly men, Lu Wensheng's confidence instantly waned, and he admitted defeat: "I...I need to pee, I really need to pee!"
Thinking of those two bowls of chicken soup, Shen He returned to his belief: "The outhouse isn't over there, I'll take you there."
After a while, Lu Wensheng walked towards Shen Hegui, who was waiting for her ten steps away, with a face full of shame. She never expected that Shen Hegui would come to the outhouse with her to take care of this important matter.
Hmm...judging from the voice, it perfectly matches the size that can't be covered by one hand; it's quite strong. Wait, stop! Don't make it like the original character, turning her into a little yellow girl!
Lu Wensheng unconsciously muttered the words "original character design" under his breath. Just then, Xiao Yuan's voice rang out, reminding him: "Host, don't forget the mission."
Lu Wensheng scratched the sole of his shoe with his toes: "It's not that there's no time limit, let's do it when Shen He returns to the East Palace." Things that won't bring benefits, let's put them off as long as possible, and deal with them when we can't put them off any longer.
Xiao Yuan: [There should be a time limit, because I encountered a problem and it didn't display.]
Lu Wensheng: "!!!"
Xiao Yuan: [Logically, the main quest should take at least 48 hours, but to be on the safe side, it's better for the host to finish quickly.]
Lu Wensheng took a deep breath: "You and Shen Hegui are both my ancestors!" Shen Hegui hasn't been back to the Eastern Palace since he returned; he's living in the Imperial Palace now! Despair, utter despair!
After finishing his business with the Imperial Guards, Shen Hegui looked up at Lu Wensheng and asked, "What's wrong?" It was just a trip to the outhouse, why does he look so utterly hopeless?
"Nothing much." Lu Wensheng said weakly, his heart ashen. "Your Highness, please remember to lock me up tightly. It's best if you never let me out. Considering my suggestion, could you please arrange my meals? I don't need fancy food, just a balanced diet. In winter, please send me a few more quilts, as I'm afraid of the cold. I don't ask for much, and I don't eat much. I'm easy to keep locked up."
Shen Hegui frowned: "When did I say I was going to lock you up in this place?"
Um? !
Lu Wensheng looked up, a light shining in his eyes.
So it wasn't meant to lock her up! But even if Shen Hegui didn't lock her up, there were still some lousy tasks waiting for her. She didn't want to do them; they were too difficult. She wanted to give up.
The light in her eyes went out in an instant.
Shen Hegui glanced at the outhouse, then at Lu Wensheng, and, as if making a connection to something, guessed, "Is he sick? Is he feeling unwell?"
Lu Wensheng nodded, then shook his head.
Shen Hegui assumed she was just avoiding medical advice and didn't say anything more. He said, "I'll take you to see someone first."
Lu Wensheng, barely alive and in a state of utter emptiness, said: "Oh." Go ahead and see me, it doesn't matter who you see, even ghosts.
The prison was extremely cold. Lu Wensheng followed Shen Hegui from a distance. She could clearly see that the prison had been cleaned and there was no dirt or odor.
As she ventured deeper into the area, without encountering any prisoners along the way, Lu Wensheng harbored doubts but had no desire to speak, for her mind was preoccupied with the 'Eastern Palace'.
She had been an official for four years, but she had never been inside the Eastern Palace, so she didn't know the way inside. Even if she successfully drugged Shen Hegui and managed to carry him in, it would probably be difficult for him to get out. Besides, with her thin arms and legs, it was impossible for her to carry the tall and strong Shen Hegui.
Thinking of a possible possibility, Lu Wensheng called out to Xiao Yuan: "Is it possible that you saw it wrong, that you entered the palace at night, not the East Palace?"
Xiao Yuan poked her yellow head out from her sleeve: "I wasn't mistaken, it's the Crown Prince."
Lu Wensheng expressionlessly stuffed it back in: "Don't come out, it's better for you to stay in your sleeve!" If she looked at it a few more times, she was afraid she would lose her temper and stew the system, even though it wasn't its fault.
Shen Hegui stopped in his tracks and opened the largest water dungeon in the Zhaoyu Prison: "Go."
Lu Wensheng turned to look at Shen Hegui: "Your Highness, aren't you going?"
"I'll wait for you outside."
"Oh." The Eastern Palace has been empty for over a year, so there shouldn't be any soap that Shen Hegui used.
A sliver of light shone through the extremely high window. Lu Wensheng casually raised his eyes and exchanged a deep gaze with the person in the water dungeon opposite. The two looked at each other.
"How did you get here?" The chains rattled.
"Prince Su?" Lu Wensheng took a few steps forward, then came to his senses.
"You've submitted to Shen Hegui?" Aggravated by the wound on his back, Shen Zhao retreated and stood in the shadows.
This wasn't an easy question to answer, so Lu Wensheng avoided it: "Yesterday in the alley, Your Highness shot an arrow at me from the shadows?"
Shen Zhao laughed loudly, his words ambiguous, as blood slowly seeped from his wound. He seemed oblivious to the pain: "So be it. The victor is king, the loser is villain. It's normal for you to choose a wise ruler. I shot you in the dark, but you're still alive and well!"
"Didn't you ever think about the possibility that I might die if I got infected?"
Shen Zhao smiled: "You can't see clearly from down below, but I can see it all clearly from up above. Shen Hegui protects you better than himself. How could he bear to let you die from an arrow wound? Shen Hegui is a monster, do you know that?"
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