Chapter 105
Who wouldn’t say that Prince An’s actions are outrageous?
Everyone who heard it was shocked, especially the old master.
The old man, who had lived through two dynasties and witnessed countless storms, remained silent for a long time. Finally, he said, "System, thank you very much."
If Chu Huan and the system had not been curious about Prince An and had not heard about the scandal at the Fugui Casino, and the court had not arrested Prince An so quickly, it is unknown whether something even more outrageous would have happened.
For example, the imperial seal of Dasheng fell into the hands of Xirong, and was used to stamp some documents that were humiliating to the country.
At that time, Xirong said that this was a promise made by your Emperor Dasheng, and your imperial seal was on the document, which was irrefutable evidence. Dasheng said that we had never signed such a regulation, and both sides had some excuses.
Regardless of whether he could win the argument or not, once that thing came out, the people's morale would be shaken, and even the imperial court would fall apart.
The old master felt numb all over at the thought of that situation, so his thanks were as sincere as possible.
The system happily accepted it: [You’re welcome~]
Since leaving the factory, Xiao Shatong has never been thanked so solemnly. He always feels that eating a melon is like doing something great. He is very excited and was still not calm until he saw Shang Lu in the evening.
[Beautiful Shanglu, I want to tell you...] He chattered on and on, talking about the melon he had eaten this afternoon.
Shang Lu originally wanted to talk to the system about the title, but was surprised by the melon that Prince An made a dragon robe, dragon throne and jade seal. Later, he heard the melon that Prince An hid the jade seal in the toilet, and he had a rare chance to talk about sex.
"With the Jinyiwei's ability, how could they not find it?"
When they were at the Chu family, because the story of the imperial seal being hidden in the toilet was too shocking, they were worried that the old tutor would not be able to bear it if they continued to talk about it, so they ended the story there.
When she arrived at Shang Lu's place, Chu Huan was finally able to start a conversation.
"Rumor has it that even a few words exchanged between the couple late at night would be heard by the Imperial Guards, so the common people would not dare to say anything bad about them. If they did say anything, they would only speak in a figurative way."
Jia Yi and Cai Gang: "..."
So, in your opinion, how dishonest are the Jinyiwei? Do they have nothing to do all day but eavesdrop on couples' beds?
Shang Lu did not enter the court and had no connection with the Pacification Office. The Jinyiwei he had seen the most were Jia Yi and Cai Gang, who followed Chu Huan every day. He really had no idea what the Jinyiwei did on a daily basis.
As far as he knew, Jia Yi and Cai Gang interrogated and killed the assassin who came to assassinate Chu Huan, eavesdropped on Chu Huan and the system eating melon, and reported them to the emperor.
No matter how you look at it, it's not a serious matter.
Shang Lu: "I don't go out much, but I know that the people of the capital turn pale when they hear about the Jinyiwei. They call them the court's lackeys, and they use the term hawk-dog to refer to the Jinyiwei."
Modern otakus and housegirls can still get information through the Internet. Ancient otakus and housegirls, specifically Shang Lu and Chu Hua, never went out or communicated, and their information was very out of date.
Chu Hua: "I heard that when the Jinyiwei raided the homes of corrupt officials, they would lift up every floor tile and dig deep into the ground. So I don't understand why the jade seal wasn't found even though it was hidden in the toilet. It's unlikely that it fell into the toilet like that pearl, so..."
At this point, Chu Huan and Shang Lu thought at the same time: If this is the case, it is normal that the Jinyiwei cannot find out.
No matter how powerful the court henchmen are, they would not fish things out of the toilet.
Jia Yi and Cai Gang's faces turned pale and blue. They didn't know whether they should go in and say a few words to the small talk going on inside.
Jia Yi winked: Go and tell him?
Cai Gang shook his head frantically: If Miss Chu asked me whether the Jinyiwei would rummage through the toilet, what would you say?
Jia Yi looked up at the sky silently: Ah, the stars are so beautiful tonight.
The system didn't know what kind of lawsuit Chu Huan and Shang Lu were involved in, but it always felt that they were doing something behind its back.
The excluded system was unhappy and said the second half of the Jade Seal Melon: [The court knew that Prince An had done so many cruel things, how could they not investigate Prince An's residence thoroughly? ]
Almost all of Zhouzhou's taxes went into Prince An's pocket. No matter how much he spent, he couldn't possibly spend it all. The Imperial Guards searched every room and every wall of Prince An's mansion, fearing that some treasure might be hidden inside.
[Even the lotus pond in Prince An's mansion was scooped dry to see if there was anything buried in the mud.]
Chu Huan just used an exaggeration. The area of the palace was measured in "10,000 square meters". Everyone knew how troublesome it was to dig bricks and dig three feet into the ground. But who would have thought that the Jinyiwei actually did it.
If we search in such a detailed manner, it will take at least two months to complete the task.
No wonder Wang An was not sentenced until seven or eight months after being arrested!
Chu Huan looked at Shang Lu with admiration clearly written in her eyes: When it comes to confiscating property, the Jinyiwei are professionals!
Shang Lu himself didn't realize that the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, just a shallow arc, but he was indeed smiling.
A beautiful woman's smile brightens the whole room.
Chu Hua didn't care: [So, is there something in the mud?]
How can a beauty be as delicious as a melon?
System: [There really are some! Jade pendants and pearls! I fished out a whole box of them.]
At first, the Imperial Guards thought Prince An had thrown the money somewhere inconspicuous, hoping it wouldn't be discovered. These items weren't hidden in a single, easily visible spot, but rather scattered around, near and far. Rather than hidden treasure, they looked like they were just randomly thrown into a lotus pond.
Later, servants at Prince An's mansion confessed that when Prince An and Princess An were in a bad mood, they would throw things, using pearl and jade pendants as if they were rocks, and playing skipping stones in the lotus pond.
Chu Huan: “…”
Phytolacca: “…”
Even the emperor didn't dare to treat pearls as toys, but Prince An could throw pearls as if they were stones. It seems that he is really rich.
Chu Huan sighed heartfeltly, "If the imperial court had decided to arrest Prince An sooner, why would the treasury have been empty for so many years?"
The system was about to speak, but was unexpectedly interrupted by Shang Lu: "Perhaps it is because Zhouzhou's taxes have not been paid that the national treasury is in a tight spot?"
After all, Zhouzhou is the richest state in the Jiangnan region. One state is equivalent to three or four states and accounts for a large part of the national tax revenue.
The system reminded: [Have you forgotten? Prince An's money doesn't primarily come from local taxes. It also comes from money collected from gambling houses across the country, money sent from the Western Rong, and money he extorts from the local people.]
If the imperial court had raided the palace earlier, Prince An's mansion might not have contained so many treasures. After all, the Western Rong had spent a great deal of money in the past two years to create internal strife between the Dasheng imperial court and Prince An.
Chu Huan: "It's good to be able to take it back. After removing Prince An, this cancer, Zhouzhou should be able to slowly get back on track."
As for the pain and suffering that the people endured during the years that Zhouzhou became King An's fiefdom, these sufferings could only be slowly healed by King An's death and the passage of time.
The system returned to the previous topic: [Just now we were talking about the lotus pond. With so much treasure falling into it, someone must have gone to pick it up.]
When Prince An learned of this, he didn't stop him. Instead, he organized a competition. He ordered his servants to go down and collect lotus flowers when the lotus pond was frozen in the cold winter. He decided the time. If anyone surfaced before he gave the time, he would hit them under with a stick.
If anyone truly met King An's requirement to hold their breath in a frozen lotus pond for three minutes in the dead of winter, any treasure found during that time would be theirs to take. King An kept his word, so many servants secretly practiced holding their breath.
Both Chu Huan and Shang Lu had the experience of falling into a lake in the middle of winter, suffering from a high fever and falling into a coma. They almost died, and even after being rescued, they were left with sequelae that took a long time to treat. Therefore, they could not imagine why someone would enjoy doing this.
In King An's eyes, human life is just a tool for entertainment.
Perhaps in his eyes, the jade seal that has special significance to Dasheng and the emperor is just a toy.
As the system spoke, Chu Huan tried it. She didn't have a stopwatch, so she could only roughly count using her heartbeats.
"I just tried it, and I can only hold my breath for about half a minute. If I practice holding my breath specifically, I might be able to hold it for a minute or two. But holding your breath for three minutes in sub-zero lake water while searching for something in the mud is very easy to kill."
Vigorous exercise and panic will consume more oxygen, which will greatly shorten the time you can hold your breath.
The system's response confirmed this suspicion: [Yes, Prince An really is going too far.]
He initially only required one minute of breath-holding, but as more and more people fished treasure out of the lotus pond, he kept adding more time. This wasn't announced in advance; it was a last-minute adjustment during the competition. When a servant saw the one-minute limit was up, he would knock them down with a stick.
[Suddenly, an accident occurred. Several people panicked and drowned. Some were even knocked unconscious by a pole. King An forbad anyone to rescue them, and watched them drown. His exact words were: "Not everyone can take what belongs to me. If you want to take it, you must be prepared to die!"]
He even experienced a similar joy from hitting people on the head with a pole, similar to the game of whack-a-mole. Regardless of whether the time was up or not, as long as someone popped up from the lake, he would hit them with the pole until they were all dead or he got tired of playing.
Prince An's actions frightened people like Jia Yi and Cai Gang who came from the Pacification Office.
Chu Huan didn't believe that this was the only thing Prince An did. "Anything else?"
The system suspected that the host had evolved under the guidance of the old foxes, and would no longer show obvious anger when hearing such things.
Or maybe it was because he already knew who Prince An was, so he wasn't surprised at all?
He would also have his servants hold fruit on their heads while he and others drew their bows and shot arrows. If the arrow hit the fruit, the servant would receive one ounce of silver. If the arrow missed the fruit but hit the body, the servant would receive ten ounces of gold.
Shang Lu's face was stern: "This is the money to buy my life."
The gatekeepers Jia Yi and Cai Gang were shivering all over, and they were sure they would hear something even more terrifying later.
System: [Ten taels of gold equals one hundred taels of silver. A hundredfold difference is enormous! This amount was established with ill intentions from the outset, to encourage people to take risks.]
Most people wouldn't play this dangerous game. Some who wanted to try would replace the metal tips of their bows and arrows, either by shaving them off and replacing them with wax or wrapping them in cloth to reduce the impact and destructive power. King An and his companions used real arrows.
[Some servants' families were poor, their family members were seriously ill and they had no money to pay for doctors, or they had too many brothers and sisters to support. They felt that since their lives were worthless, it was worth it to die alone so that the whole family could live.] They were slightly moved by the archery tools of Prince An and his men.
[When balancing fruit on one's head, if one accidentally hits the face or eyes, it's a disaster. It requires a lot of skill to hit the target. If the servant had moved just a little bit, he would have been dead. Ten taels of gold were delivered to his home.]
Seeing that Prince An actually gave money, he didn't care about the servant's deliberate act of committing suicide. Instead, he laughed heartily at the servant's trembling, fear, and death reactions before death. The other servants followed suit, and during that period, many corpses were dragged out of Prince An's mansion every day.
The entire store was silent.
Shang Lu's servant ran out of the door in fear. He really didn't want to hear such horrifying news, as it would give him nightmares.
Chu Huan thought that after more than two months of solving cases, she had seen many people committing crimes for power and profit, and had a deep understanding of the evil of human nature. She did not expect to experience such evil.
She didn't know and didn't care what Prince An, a prince who was spoiled by the late emperor since childhood and had everything he wanted, even the imperial seal, could play with at will, had experienced to become what he is now.
She only knew that such people would never escape legal punishment!
Prince An regards human life as a toy for his amusement. What is even more terrifying is that the people dragged into the game by Prince An do not care about their own lives.
In their eyes, their lives are only worth one hundred taels.
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