After the court session, several officials gathered at Mr. Song's home again.
"Sir, what should we do? Our batch of silver is gone. What if those people from the East Factory trace it back to us?"
"Judging from His Majesty's attitude today, it's clear that he's suspicious of us, but he just can't produce any evidence yet. But if we don't deal with that batch of silver, who knows what they might actually find out."
"It's all the fault of those useless bastards. They had food, money, and weapons, yet they were still able to be attacked and killed by other thieves! What bad luck!"
"Luckily, they were all killed. Now there's no evidence. Even if His Majesty and An Zhongyi suspect us, they won't be able to find any proof. We just have to deny it. It's a shame that the one million taels went to those damned bandits for nothing."
When Prime Minister Song attended court today, he felt that the emperor's patience with him was running out, and he even saw murderous intent in his eyes.
He knew that the little emperor had wanted to kill him for a long time, but today he couldn't help it and let it out.
It seems that the rebellion in the north and the discovery of the silver really upset the young emperor.
"Why are you panicking? Who can prove that the 1 million taels are related to us?" Prime Minister Song said calmly.
"Master Xu, I remember that the deputy general who suppressed the rebellion this time was your son-in-law?"
Lord Xu said, "Yes, Lord Song, what are your instructions?"
"Tell your son-in-law to be careful when he goes to suppress the bandits. Those bandits must not be left alive."
The original group of bandits have been killed by this group of bandits, but no one can guarantee whether they have any evidence in their hands. After all, they have been in contact with that group of bandits for so many years, and they may have left some clues. Lord Song has to be careful.
"Don't worry, Lord Song," said Lord Xu.
"What should we do with the silver?" someone asked.
"What's the point of caring about money now?"
"I think you're obsessed with money. If you weren't so greedy, how could we have reached this point? If An Zhongyi caught us by the tail, he would definitely bite off a piece of our flesh!"
The crowd, which had calmed down for a while, started arguing again.
…
Throughout the winter, the rebels who occupied the two cities in the north were not completely wiped out, but the two cities they occupied had been taken back.
This year is the year of the imperial examination, and many scholars have gathered in Kyoto. The whole city is crowded with people, and the restaurants are doing a booming business.
The father and son went out to have dinner at Yuxuanju together.
I happened to hear some scholars talking loudly nearby.
"The north is finished now. First, the heavy snow killed many people, and then the rebellion killed many more. Many scholars who were going to take the imperial examinations were killed by the rebels on their way. It's really hateful!"
"That's right. Luckily we all live in the south, so those of us who arrived first live closest to the area."
"Why did it snow so heavily out of nowhere? I heard from the elders that this kind of snow has only been seen once in decades. Many people's houses were completely snowed in, and entire families were crushed to death."
A scholar lowered his voice and said mysteriously:
"I heard that this was God's punishment because An Zhongyi committed atrocities and murdered countless people in the court."
The other students looked thoughtful, but dispersed, not wanting to be contaminated by the other party. "Brother, please don't speak carelessly. I didn't hear what happened today. I'll go back and review my lessons first."
"Yes, yes, yes. I'm busy buying some pens and ink. So, I'll take my leave now."
Everyone found various excuses to leave, obviously frightened by the scholar who spoke without thinking.
They dare to talk big in private, but they dare not say such things in front of the public. If they are heard by the guards of the East Factory, they will be thrown into prison and no one will be able to get them out.
An Zhongyi glanced at the scholar who said he had killed people like crazy, and held down the guard who was about to take action.
An Zhongyi's reputation is as dark as ink, all thanks to the officials in the court.
There are countless people in the world who want to kill him, so every time he goes out, he dresses casually and keeps a low profile.
The scholar downstairs obviously didn't know that he had just brushed shoulders with death.
Come to the box.
"Dad, aren't you angry when he said that to you?" An Jingzhi joked.
An Zhongyi said nonchalantly, "People have their own mouths. You can't stop the world from talking. As long as my son doesn't misunderstand me, that's all that matters."
An Jingzhi didn't expect that An Zhongyi was more open-minded than he imagined.
Everyone understands this truth, but not many people can truly be happy about it.
In the past, many people were arrested and imprisoned in the Dongchang Prison for speaking ill of An Zhongyi and criticizing him, but that was not directed by An Zhongyi himself. It was the Dongchang guards under his command who could not stand others slandering An Zhongyi.
It is impossible for An Zhongyi to care about every single thing that happens below.
After dinner, An Zhongyi went back to continue dealing with things, but An Jingzhi did not go home.
His father didn't care, but as a son, he couldn't pretend not to hear it. He wouldn't do anything to the other party, but he could still beat him up.
After waiting in another teahouse for a while, Su Jiangtao came up to him and said, "Brother Jing, I've done it. I beat that guy so badly that he's so bruised and battered that he won't even recognize his father."
"Are you not seriously injured?" An Jingzhi just wanted to teach the other person a lesson, but he didn't really want to destroy him.
"No, Brother Jing, how dare I disobey your orders? I have a way of beating people. I asked Brother Liu for advice. I guarantee that he will look very serious, but in fact, it is just painful and will be healed after a while."
Su Jiangtao couldn't quite see An Jingzhi clearly. Sometimes he felt that he was cruel and ruthless, and sometimes he felt that he was too kind to be the son of a powerful family.
He had all the beggars who had offended him sent to prison and beheaded them, but he only beat up the scholar whom he heard insulting his father.
If it were him, he would have broken the other person's hands and feet. He still wants to take the imperial examination? Eat shit!
Since the deal with Suning was reached, Su Jiangtao and he have become much closer, and he would let Su Jiangtao do some of the work on weekdays.
"There are more and more scholars in the capital. They are really annoying. When I walk on the street, I can hear their pedantic voices shaking their heads. It makes me feel dizzy." Su Jiangtao complained.
"Then why don't you just go out less?"
An Jingzhi didn't have the patience to listen to the other party's complaints, so he got up and left after chatting for a few words.
Ride your horse to the Black Mountain outside the city.
This mountain can never be fully mined even if it is mined for decades.
A space has been slowly being dug out in the mountain.
On weekdays, a large amount of food is transported in.
There were many workers coming and going, and no one checked carefully.
An Jingzhi passed through layers of strict guards and reached the deepest part of the interior.
"Owner."
The crazy beggar eventually fell into An Jingzhi's hands and helped him train soldiers.
The crazy beggar is a member of the Han family. His father is a staunch monarchist and supports the emperor's personal rule. However, the emperor is weak. His family suffered from the harm caused by villains because they supported the emperor's personal rule. He escaped death by chance and has been pretending to be crazy and stupid in the capital ever since then.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com