Chapter 1136: Shen Zhongli (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Imperial type of Radiance?
The term "good intentions" is baffling.
Adhering to the principle of humbly asking questions when one does not understand, Chu Yao asked, "Does Yu Yu Lei Yao concern the Lord's current situation?"
Shan Nian paused in her pear-eating motion, seemingly organizing her thoughts: "As for the situation... well, if Yao Yao interprets it that way, that's fine too. But Yao Yao, don't worry, even if she changes her mind and stops liking you, it's okay, You Li will still like you."
Chu Yao didn't quite understand.
I barely understood that the Lord is in a safe situation, and that's good enough.
Only Gu Chi remained speechless and choked with emotion: "..."
Is Wanwan like a courtier, and Yuyu like a celestial being?
Gu Chi was momentarily speechless, unsure whether to be angry or amused. His master's charm was astounding; after only three days of wandering, he had already found a replacement for Chu Yao. He revealed a mischievous grin: "Wu Hui, perhaps what this prince means is—His master has taken in another new concubine."
Chu Yao: "..."
Gu Chi added, "This newcomer is probably somewhat similar to Wu Hui, perhaps in temperament, appearance, or ability."
Shan Nian took a smooth bite of the pear and said, "It's an experience."
Gu Chi chimed in, "That's quite something! Given the Lord's consistent pity and respect for Wu Hui, and the fact that this newcomer has a similar experience to Wu Hui, he'll be showered with favor from the start!"
Shan Nian added, "There's also De De Si Liang."
This sentence almost made Gu Chi choke, and he suddenly turned towards kindness.
I almost lost my temper: "You said two?"
In the early days of the Kang Kingdom, when everyone lacked manpower, money, and land, anyone willing to join was a welcome addition. But now that Kang Kingdom is the dominant power in the Northwest, recruiting new members requires caution—offering too low a position might scare away newcomers, while offering too high a position might offend established members. Furthermore, it's crucial to thoroughly investigate the backgrounds of any new recruits!
What secrets can be revealed in just three days?
Gu Chi's sarcastic tone is also based on this consideration.
Although Kangguo has fought two major wars in succession, successively annexing vast territories of Beimo and Gaoguo, and the royal court and local counties are indeed short-handed, recruitment of talents can be done through formal channels. There is no need for the lord to pick one out from the east and one out from the west! Kangguo does not consider the social status of scholars and commoners when recruiting talents, but there is a political review process. Can these two people pass the review?
Shan Nian looked at Gu Chi with her almond-shaped eyes expectantly.
Gu Chi felt weak under her gaze and tentatively asked, "Three?"
Why did Chu Wuhui and Qi Yuanliang get replacements, but I didn't? Is my position in the Lord's heart inferior to theirs?
Shan Nian said, "That Dede guy, his surname is Gu."
Gu Chi felt a surge of relief.
"Oh, perhaps we were from the same clan eight hundred years ago."
Chu Yao felt utterly humiliated and wished he could cover his face with his sleeve; the others also looked ashamed to watch. The court historian, holding the book and pen, was completely at a loss for words—the eccentric rulers and ministers of Kangguo all possessed a kind of madness that disregarded the fate of historians.
Is this content suitable for future generations to see?
Let future generations sigh with admiration—
Your Kang Kingdom was truly in a strangely chaotic state.
Just imagining that scene makes my vision go black.
Just when they thought things were already chaotic enough, Shangnan County sent people to make matters worse, asking what was happening at the main camp and saying that because of the main camp's problems, Shangnan was severely short of manpower and hoped that Chu Wuhui would quickly transfer someone who could keep things in check.
Chu Yao asked in bewilderment, "When did the main camp become a burden to Shangnan?"
We're also short-staffed on our side.
First, her master had passed away, disappearing for several days, forcing her to postpone many matters that needed her finalization. Then, the refugees in the Gao Kingdom's capital needed careful resettlement to prevent unrest instigated by malicious individuals. At the same time, she also had to focus on recovering the rest of Gao Kingdom's territory; she couldn't let others claim the spoils. Chu Yao was also overwhelmed; where could she possibly spare anyone else?
If things aren't urgent in Shangnan County, let's hold off for now.
The messenger could only tell the truth.
In short, Qi Zhongshu, who was stationed in Shangnan, got a fishbone stuck in his throat. He happened to be inspecting the river embankment when he fell in headfirst. The others quickly rescued him, and after some effort, Qi Zhongshu was able to spit out the water he had swallowed. That night, he developed a high fever.
However, this is a very strange thing.
It's completely unimaginable that Qi Zhongshu would be inspecting the riverbank while eating raw river fish or fish sashimi. Otherwise, there's no way to explain the presence of that fish bone. It's impossible for someone to fall into the water and then eat the fish! Qi Zhongshu is not a good swimmer and doesn't like to eat river fish.
In conclusion, Qi Zhongshu fell ill.
So they sent him over to demand justice and to get someone back.
Chu Yao: "..."
——
"Stop playing dead, get up!"
In her dazed state, Shen Tang felt someone kick her.
Not only did they kick him, but the other party also started cursing.
[Damn it, who kicked me?]
She winced in pain, curled up her legs, and weakly opened her eyes.
My eyes froze halfway open.
"No way, this is the third time already! Are you crazy?!"
Why is it the same line three times, and why does she have to be kicked? Can't she just not kick and yell? Shen Tang sat up, her resentment so intense it could kill several evil sword immortals. Her dark eyes were filled with resentment, looking at everyone as if they were already dead. The old woman who kicked her felt a chill run down her spine under her gaze, and a sense of unease crept into her heart: "You little brat, still pretending to be dead?"
As he spoke, he reached out to twist Chen Tang's ear.
Shen Tang moved with lightning speed, grabbing the old woman's hand and twisting it backward, pressing her bloated body firmly onto the cold bed. Calling it a bed wasn't entirely accurate; it was actually just a tattered, blackened straw mat. The surroundings were damp and dark, filled with an indescribable stench of decay, and black and blue mold crawled along the corners of the walls. Shen Tang narrowed his eyes: "Old hag, are you looking for death?"
Practice makes perfect.
This time, Shen Tang went straight to the right place and shouted "nothingness".
What kind of awful place is this?
A weak voice said, "It's a dental clinic."
The original owner of this body seized the opportunity to jump into the well and commit suicide, but due to inexperience, she made too much noise and was pulled out of the well. She then contracted a cold and died. Before coming to the brokerage firm, she had suffered severe beatings, and after arriving, she was bullied in various ways, making her extremely pitiful.
Shen Tang asked again, "Why did I come?"
Wu You earnestly suggested, "Why don't we ask Kang Jishou?"
Shen Tang: […Never mind, my heart aches just hearing Ji Shou's name. Even the strongest lord can't withstand this kind of abuse.]
As long as the lord is not killed, keep killing him.
While others spend money to become stronger, he becomes stronger by countering the main character, growing stronger the more he counters them. Listen to this! Is there no justice? Is there any fairness left?
What about this old man?
Wu Youdao: [The injuries, both overt and covert, on this body were inflicted by her and her man; there's no need to hold back.]
In chaotic times, human life is cheaper than grass. Brokers buy people for low prices, sometimes without even paying a penny; a bite to eat is all it takes to take a person away. Whenever they are unhappy, they take it out on these goods. There are at least thirty to fifty corpses buried in their backyards, if not hundreds.
The reason for rescuing the body from the well was not out of pity for the dead cargo, but because the cargo's death in the well would affect the drinking water.
The old woman, though outwardly fierce, was inwardly weak and began to shout and threaten.
Shen Tang grabbed her head with both hands and pinched it with the opposite force.
With a sharp crack, the old woman, who had been facing away from Shen Tang, now faced him, her neck twisted in a strange position. The burly old man outside, hearing the commotion, rushed in. He saw the girl, who had been sickly and barely clinging to life just days before, now kneeling on top of the old woman, who remained motionless beneath her. Due to the angle, he couldn't see the old woman's expression. The old man only saw the wretched girl staring intently at him, a sinister sneer on her pale, sickly face: "What's the rush? It's your turn now."
Another crisp snapping sound.
Shen Tang dragged a corpse by the neck with one hand, pulling them from the dark, cramped room all the way to the backyard of the brokerage where bodies were disposed of. Sitting at the well, he leisurely washed the blood off his hands and looked at his reflection in the water: "Not bad looking."
Despite being a bit thin and sickly, she had thick, black hair, and she loved touching her braids.
Little did they know how terrifying this scene would appear to outsiders.
Dozens of pairs of eyes, filled with fear, stared at her from the darkness.
Despite the small size of the brokerage's backyard, it had been partitioned into nearly a hundred tiny, dark huts, each barely big enough to fit a straw mat. Each hut housed two or three goods, who ate, drank, and relieved themselves there. In the sweltering heat, the smell was unbearable. The fact that Shen Tang's body had a single room was a precaution, to prevent her illness from affecting the other goods—a common cold could be fatal in this era.
It would be best if the body's owner could survive; such a resilient girl is favored in many places. If she couldn't, she wouldn't even need to be wrapped in a straw mat before being buried. Of course, if the body's owner wasn't so thin and had a little bit of flesh, the corpse might find another place to go.
Human flesh is still flesh, after all.
While getting information from Wu You, Shen Tang tidied up.
He sighed, "How pitiful."
Wu You said with pity, "The child's last dream was nothing more than having a full meal and a piece of clothing to wear."
Speaking of clothes, Shen Tang looked down at herself.
A few tattered pieces of cloth, so black they were unrecognizable, barely covered some parts of the body; no wonder it was so cool. She frowned, and under the watchful eyes of dozens of people in the shadows, she rose and walked to the bodies of the old woman and man. She stripped off their clothes, reluctantly rubbing them clean, and wrung them out before putting them on. The sun was blazing outside; even without using her inner energy to dry them, they would dry in half an hour.
Before long, hurried footsteps approached.
Judging from their attire, they should all be thugs hired by the brokerage firm.
The eyes in the shadows were so frightened that they disappeared.
Shen Tang grinned: "Coming here to get yourself killed?"
Before long, several more thug corpses appeared next to the old man and his wife's bodies. By then, Shen Tang had almost finished washing up. She shook the water off her hands and said, "You don't have many chances left. If you want to run, do it now. You can divide the spoils among yourselves."
There was no movement in any of the cubicles.
No one spoke, and no one came out.
Shen Tang: "..."
Wu Youdao: [You scared them.]
No one had the courage to approach a strange man whose feet were surrounded by corpses, especially since the man had just received an ultimatum from the King of Hell a couple of days ago. Now, not only was he experiencing a brief moment of lucidity before death, but he was also ruthless, capable of snapping a person's neck with a single hand, leaving the victim no chance to struggle.
This is so strange, it must be possessed by an evil spirit!
Shen Tang knew that if he stayed any longer, the people inside wouldn't dare come out, so he turned around and looted the brokerage's money, keeping two coins for himself and throwing the rest beside the well: "You can divide this among yourselves. Everyone gets some. If you're still greedy—"
Her cold gaze swept over each of the dark, cramped huts.
"Their fate will be the same as these corpses."
After saying that, he patted his behind and left.
She needed to find out what was happening outside and first determine the exact location.
The brokerage firm was located in a somewhat desolate small town, sparsely populated, and outside the town lay a wasteland; the official road was abandoned, and unburied skeletons were scattered everywhere. According to the information she gathered within the town, a war was raging in the vicinity.
After leaving the city, Shen Tang hurried in one direction.
They didn't see any soldiers, but they did see a convoy from a great distance.
The caravan was well-equipped, with even the exterior of the carriages displaying exquisite craftsmanship and intricate details. Besides servants, young maids accompanied them. Shen Tang saw them, and they naturally saw Shen Tang as well. They happened to be traveling on the same road.
"Your VIP car, why aren't you moving?"
The guards leading the way held whips in their hands, making a threatening gesture.
Shen Tang stepped aside, and inadvertently glanced up, noticing the decorative patterns on the carriage in the center. The style seemed familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before. Wu You thought to herself: [It's Cui Kewu.]
I've seen this style on Cui Hui!
As the carriage at the front of the convoy passed, the "Cui Clan" flag on the carriage behind was revealed. Shen Tang's eyes lit up, and she immediately thought of a staged accident. With a cry of pain, she fell heavily inside the convoy, blocking their progress. The guards clearing the way heard the commotion and rushed over. Seeing the ragged Shen Tang, they were furious.
Just as the whip was about to fall, someone spoke up to stop it.
"What is it?"
A middle-aged steward stepped down from the largest carriage.
Upon seeing the newcomer, the guards immediately put away their whips like mice seeing a cat, respectfully clasped their hands, and said, "It's nothing serious, just a clueless refugee. I'll take care of her right away..."
Shen Tang retorted indignantly, "It was clearly you who hit me!"
Her voice was loud and somewhat shrill.
The manager frowned upon hearing this.
He turned to the guard and said, "Don't make too much noise."
The guard replied, "Yes, I know."
The steward glanced back at the carriage and said, "The head of the household has been in a good mood lately, so don't spoil his fun. I think this girl is pitiful too; give her some money to appease her and prevent her from causing trouble with the head of the household."
The guard nodded repeatedly, looking as if he had learned something.
"Who cares about your worthless money? If you don't apologize to me today, this isn't over. Just because you have a few coins doesn't mean you can push people around!" Shen Tang shouted at the top of her lungs, her curses clearly audible even from several meters away. Seeing her turn the tables, the guard immediately lost his patience and tried to force her, but Shen Tang bent over and nimbly slipped under his arm, disappearing into the caravan in a flash, all the while yelling, "This is outrageous! This is blatant disregard for human life! This dog is using its master's power to kill people!"
The guard shouted angrily, "Grab her!"
But this person is as slippery as an eel, impossible to catch.
Shen Tang took several large leaps and was about to approach the center of the convoy.
Before they could even get close, they were stopped by an invisible barrier.
It's a barrier to literary atmosphere!
Shen Tang was terrified: "A ghost! A ghost!"
The guards arrived just in time, their faces turning pale with fright.
"Parents, please forgive us!"
"I will take this lowly commoner away immediately!"
As he spoke, he reached out to pull Chen Tang away, but a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
At that moment, a familiar female voice came from inside the carriage.
"Wait!"
|ω`)
Sigh, it's almost the end of the month, but I still haven't written the special signature for the simplified Chinese book, sob sob... Mushroom's handwriting is so ugly, I don't want to write it at all.
(End of this chapter)
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