Chapter 11
The last emperor of the previous dynasty was extravagant and lustful. He held a grand beauty pageant every three years, not counting the beauties presented by officials in the capital, local officials, and wealthy businessmen through various channels.
During his 18 years in power, there were as many as 813 beauties in his harem, including those palace maids who were favored but not given official titles. He plundered a large amount of people's wealth to build magnificent palaces and a veritable world of wine and meat, and lived a life of extravagance.
Even though there were so many concubines in the harem, the last emperor still felt it was not enough and often went to brothels with a large entourage.
The emperor did this, and the practice of officials visiting prostitutes became prevalent.
There were brothels everywhere in the capital, and there was also a red-light district: two entire streets were filled with brothels and prostitutes.
Officials mostly held talks and social events in brothels. A group of people would drink some wine, eat some snacks, and then sleep with the girls in the brothel after the deal was done. Some officials would stay in the private rooms of brothels for a long time and could not go home several times a month.
Having been accustomed to such a life of drunkenness and extravagance, with their bodies and wills hollowed out by alcohol and sex, how can officials still work seriously?
The founding emperor of the Dasheng Dynasty learned from the lessons of the previous dynasty's demise and issued an express order prohibiting officials from visiting prostitutes. He also formulated severe penalties: a fine of 1,000 gold coins and demotion of two levels.
Chu Huan was very curious: [Is visiting prostitutes so exciting?] Such severe fines couldn't stop officials from visiting prostitutes.
System: [I'm just an ordinary melon-eating system. How would I know if visiting a prostitute is exciting or not? Perhaps it's the inherent bad nature of men. A wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a secret lover, and secret lover is not as good as a prostitute.]
The men present: "..."
Don't let men take the blame so easily! There are still many good men in the world!
Some officials glanced at the Second Prince and said: Look! Isn't the most chaste virgin in the Great Sheng Dynasty right here?
Some officials also went to see the Minister of Revenue: Look! Isn’t this the good man who doesn’t take concubines, has no mistresses, or visit prostitutes?
Second Prince: “…”
Minister of Revenue: “…”
The two of them didn't really want to understand the way their colleagues looked at them, but their eyes that said "Here is our role model!" were too obvious!
Chu Huan ate melons while saying, "System, continue."
While making trouble: "I have a report to make."
The emperor was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that Chu Huan was about to fight back, and said cooperatively, "Approved."
Yu Jiayan anticipated what Chu Huan was going to say and quickly stepped out to stop her.
If he continues like this, he will be fined a thousand gold coins and demoted two levels. It will be difficult for him to explain to his wife and father-in-law when he returns. I'm afraid he's finished!
But if he wants to stop Chu Huan, he has to see whether the emperor and officials who are happy to watch the show will allow him to do so?
The officials around Yu Jiayan either held his hands, covered his mouth, or blocked his way, just to prevent him from showing his head. Even his father-in-law, the Minister of Justice, stopped him with his eyes: Go back!
Chu Huan lowered her head slightly and said, "I would like to report Yu Jiayan, the Junior Minister of the Honglu Temple, for visiting prostitutes."
The time, the people, and the evidence were all missing. Yu Jiayan wanted to struggle again, but he saw the emperor's cold gaze on the high platform passed over him, and the second prince at the top gave him a warning look, and even the Grand Tutor and the Grand Preceptor in the front row looked over.
At that moment, he finally realized that he had angered the public: he had to listen to this news today whether he wanted to or not, otherwise he would be doomed!
Yu Jiayan's legs went weak and if he hadn't been supported by someone, he wouldn't have been able to stand.
Chu Huan didn't notice their exchange of glances and immediately began her performance, just like a celebrity giving a concert with earphones. The system spoke in her head, and she listened to a section before telling everyone else, creating a time difference.
In order to avoid making mistakes while multitasking, she also made some improvements to the system to make her words easier for others to understand.
The emperor and all the officials were forced to do two things at once by Chu Huan's actions. They also had to be careful not to confuse her mental dialogue with the system as real words. If they responded without thinking, it would be all over.
Hey, don’t say that, it’s really exciting!
However, the reality was very different from what they expected.
System: [Don't be fooled by Yu Jiayan's decent appearance. He always acts submissive in front of his wife, acting like a good husband who always thinks his wife is right. In fact, he has been a prostitute for a long time and regularly. This is not honest! Such people should be exposed and nailed to the pillar of shame to be ridiculed for the rest of their lives!]
Chu Huan began calmly, "Master Yu has been visiting prostitutes regularly and for a long time."
emperor:?
Officials:?
Hmm? Did you omit too much?
System: [The bastard's family fell on hard times, and many of their valuables had been pawned. They were truly destitute. He calculated the cost of taking a concubine and felt it wasn't worth it, so he decided not to take one. However, he couldn't resist, so he went to a brothel.]
At the time, he was still a juren. He went there more often, and seeing that he was not discovered, he became more and more bold. Later, after he got married and was recommended by his father-in-law, he entered the Honglu Temple and did not fall behind.
Chu Hua concluded, "Sir Yu was still a Juren when he first visited a prostitute. He repeatedly broke the rules for the next twelve years and never repented."
emperor:? ?
Officials: ? ?
No, if you do this, you will miss out on the essence of eating melons!
System: [This bastard's salary isn't much; he relies primarily on his wife's dowry and the money he earns from managing his business. Ever since he expressed his desire to take a concubine, his wife, knowing he was becoming ambitious, has strictly controlled the amount of money she gives him. If he withdraws more than ten taels of silver from the accounting office, he must report it, otherwise the accountant won't pay him. But his wife never imagined that the devil would outsmart him.]
He actively participated in social events, always reporting extra expenses whenever he went out for drinks. If someone treated him, he could still pocket a good chunk of the money. He'd use excuses like, "I met a poor beggar today and gave him ten taels," or "I saw a young girl selling herself to bury her father and gave her ten taels," to ask his wife for money. This not only solidified his reputation as a kind man in her eyes, but also allowed him to get money with just a few words. And don't you think he'd save quite a bit over time!
Chu Huan angrily concluded: "The money that Lord Yu used to visit prostitutes was swindled from the Madam." A gigolo who cheats money to visit prostitutes, how shameless!
emperor:? ? ?
Officials: ???
Chu Huan managed to combine two long paragraphs, full of details, into such a small sentence, which shocked the emperor and his officials who were multitasking.
How can you spread the word like this?!
No, they have to rely on themselves to eat melons!
The emperor and all the officials unanimously ignored Chu Huan's brief speech and focused their attention on listening to the system's detailed version of the big news.
The unsuspecting system continued to reveal: "You say this guy cheated his wife out of money, so he cheated her out of money, and he visited prostitutes, so he visited prostitutes. He even kept a little notebook, recording each time, under what pretext, how much money he cheated his wife out of, and how much money he spent on prostitutes on each day. I'm really a little bit of a fool!"
The emperor and officials: "..." They were also amazed, really.
Chu Huan exclaimed repeatedly, "Good boy! Is he courting death? I was worried that after so much time, I wouldn't be able to find evidence to incriminate him, but I didn't expect he'd already prepared it for me. Where's the little notebook?"
System: [He placed it on the desk at the Honglu Temple. He'd previously hidden it in his bedroom, under floor tiles, on a carriage cushion, and in his toilet, but he decided it wouldn't be safe anywhere else, as his wife might find it, so he simply placed it at the Honglu Temple. The officials at the Honglu Temple wouldn't touch his things, so he kept it there openly.]
Chu Hua concealed some information: "Master Yu hid the evidence of his prostitution in the Honglu Temple."
The emperor and his officials saw Yu Jiayan's pale face. What else could they not understand? The system was right.
Emperor: "Lin You, go search."
"I obey your order." Lin You strode away.
The system was a little confused: [Sister Huan, can't you be more specific?]
Chu Huan said gravely, "Of course not. How can I, an ordinary little girl, be more capable than the Imperial Guard? I can only give them a vague scope to give them room to maneuver. Emperors and officials are all very discerning. They only believe in hard-earned evidence. If I appear too clever and speak too precisely, they'll think easily obtained evidence is fake."
The system was full of disdain: [How difficult to please. ]
emperor:"……"
Officials: "..."
They admit that they have their own ideas, but isn’t eight hundred a bit too many?
Afterwards, the king and his ministers reflected on themselves silently. They seemed to be, seemed to be, perhaps really like Chu Huan said, indulging in conspiracy theories every day. They did not believe the evidence that was in front of them, thinking that it was all smoke and mirrors, and that the real evidence was hidden beneath the smoke.
Yu Jiayan placed the evidence under the noses of all the officials in the Honglu Temple for so many years and no one noticed it. Doesn't that mean he saw through their psychology?
Well, I feel complicated.
Soon, Lin You brought back the evidence.
After the emperor read it, all the officials read it and were amazed. It was just as the system said. Every detail was recorded, including the time, place, and information about the prostitute. There was no prisoner more proactive and cooperative than Yu Jiayan.
The Minister of Justice was so busy that he didn't care that the criminal was his own son-in-law. I really hope that all the criminals in the world will be like Yu Jiayan and hide the evidence where they can reach. That would be so much easier!
The Dali Temple Minister looked at him dimly: I understand you!
The evidence was conclusive and irrefutable. As soon as the officials around Yu Jiayan let go, Yu Jiayan collapsed to the ground.
Chu Huan continued, "The imperial court has issued a clear decree prohibiting officials from visiting prostitutes. Lord Yu knowingly violated the law and repeatedly disregarded the emperor and the law for twelve years. If he is not severely punished, it will not be enough to appease the public anger."
[If we don't make an example of someone to scare the monkeys, we'll never be able to eradicate this evil trend.]
The monkey officials who were warned: "..."Are you polite?
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