Chapter 47
On that day, the commander and deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard led their teams to raid the gambling house and the Lu family respectively.
Lin You captured a group of Western Rong spies from the gambling house. Some of them resisted and escaped during the capture and were killed, while the rest were all taken back to the imperial prison for interrogation.
The gambling house belongs to Xirong. Regardless of whether it will be transferred to someone else for operation in the future, all the deposits in it currently belong to Dasheng.
Compared to moving silver and copper coins from the warehouse and checking the account books of the gambling house, killing and arresting people are actually easier jobs.
Lin You sighed. If he had known that the gambling house was so troublesome, he would have switched with Pei Mingcheng.
The Lu family's situation is much simpler.
The Jinyiwei surrounded the Lu family and subdued the head of the household. As soon as they entered Lu Zhengye's yard, the servant's brother who had been tortured to death immediately surrendered and took the initiative to lead the Jinyiwei to find the secret room.
The secret room contained a lot of cash, cinnabar, and some account books.
The reason why not all of them was that Lu Zhengye felt that the consequences of privately mining cinnabar would be serious if it was discovered, so he burned some of the account books after reading them, leaving only the monthly, quarterly and annual general accounts.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards searched the entire Lu family but could not find any other cinnabar mine account books. They thought they had to rush to the place where cinnabar was mined to get detailed account books, but they did not expect that the servant's younger brother had a simple account book he had made himself.
"I secretly recorded these. They're not complete, but I guarantee they're accurate."
"The Lu family caused my brother's tragic death, and they show no remorse or guilt. I'm here to avenge him. I'll answer any questions you have, as long as they get the retribution they deserve!"
When the Lu family heard this, they immediately started beating and kicking him.
The servant's younger brother had already completed most of his revenge. He did not resist even when he was beaten, but instead smiled at them, as if he was watching the last struggle of a group of drowned dogs before death.
Seeing this, the Lu family became even angrier and beat him even harder. While beating him, the servant's brother's sleeve slipped off, revealing his wrist covered with scars and bruises.
"Let go!" The Jinyiwei pulled the angry Lu family away.
Pei Mingcheng pulled open the sleeves of his servant brother. There was not a single piece of intact flesh on his body. It was covered with scars from whips, sticks, and knives. One could imagine how much torture he had endured while following Lu Zhengye over the years.
He lay in wait for many years, enduring humiliation, just for revenge.
It would be a shame not to include such a good seedling in the Jinyiwei.
Pei Mingcheng decided to go back and talk to Lin You to see if he could get this guy out.
The Lu family is a century-old family with a very rich family background. They have houses and shops all over the capital, and there are also several farms outside the capital. Even the Jinyiwei, who are used to confiscating houses and are very efficient, are very busy.
I copied down the stuff, but it was too much, too diverse, and too messy, so it took me most of the day just to categorize and organize it.
Pei Mingcheng felt that this was not feasible and sent his men to the Ministry of Revenue.
When the Minister of Revenue heard that all the money would be put into the national treasury, he immediately became excited and took the officials from the Ministry of Revenue with him and left.
After walking for a long distance, he looked back at the women and felt that it was a bit unfair to leave them here to work while all the men went to watch the fun.
"Everyone..." The Minister of Revenue didn't know how to address them, so he simply didn't address them at all. "Together?"
"Of course I must!" Concubine Wu had never participated in a house search before. She had really wanted to go, but was too embarrassed to ask. Since the Minister of Revenue had already asked, she picked up her skirt and ran, "Let's go, let's go watch the fun!"
"Okay!" The girls took paper, pen and abacus and ran, each one faster than the other.
Minister of Revenue: “…”
Ministry of Revenue official: “…”
The girls were just there to watch the fun, but they were still very efficient at their work.
Especially calligraphy and paintings, antiques, gold and silver jewelry, many things that the Ministry of Revenue officials and the Embroidered Uniform Guards did not recognize, they knew them like the back of their hands, recorded the names and estimated their value.
With their help, work speed is more than twice as fast.
Many Jinyiwei secretly gave Pei Mingcheng a thumbs-up: "Deputy Commander is great! Why have they never thought of seeking external help?"
Pei Mingcheng rolled his eyes.
Given the emperor's protective attitude towards Chu Huan, it was only a matter of time before she would restore her original appearance and attend court in women's clothing. As the emperor's confidant, he had to lay the groundwork first.
Of course, there is another reason: the emperor is so angry that the results must be submitted within today.
No matter what means are used, as long as it is legal and reasonable and gets the job done, the emperor will definitely not dwell on this small detail.
Wouldn't the money seized from the confiscation of property ultimately go into the national treasury and through the Ministry of Revenue? What's wrong with having them come early to audit the accounts and expedite the process?
After hearing this, Lin You said, “…”
Good boy, you can guess the emperor's intentions better than me?
To be honest, the gambling house is no easier to deal with than the Lu family, so he also sent his men to find the Minister of Revenue.
Minister of Revenue: “…”
In the past, the Jinyiwei refused to have anything to do with them, but now when they encounter problems, they come to them for help and happen to meet them at the same time.
However, the Jinyiwei did this because they had a system.
As soon as the system saw the news, it knew that the Jinyiwei asked them for help just for convenience and there was no private dealings between them, which could prove their innocence.
The Minister of Revenue assigned some people to the gambling house, and at the same time sent people to the second prince's mansion to borrow people.
Because Chu Huan left the Ministry of Revenue and there was nothing to do, some girls who just wanted to do something and had no ambition returned to the Second Prince's Mansion. He invited them back to help on the pretext of "watching the fun".
The girls had indeed never seen a house raid or been to a gambling house, and they actually agreed to this.
With the joint efforts of both parties, all the matters concerning the gambling house and the Lu family were completed by dusk.
The account details were first presented to Long An, and then the confessions were obtained from the Lu family.
The Western Rong spy kept his mouth shut and could not be pried open for the time being. When the Lu family learned that Lu Zhengye had given one million taels to the Western Rong, they thought they would be charged with treason and their entire family would be executed, so how could they dare not cooperate?
In the imperial study, the emperor and the officials could not help but reflect on themselves after reading the account books and confessions.
When the emperor and his ministers heard that Lu Zhengye had lost one million taels, they did not think anything was wrong.
The ancestors of the Lu family followed the founding emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty to conquer the world, and they received many preferential treatments as founding heroes. The Lu family has been in the timber business for more than a hundred years, and Lu Zhengye stole so many things from the national treasury and private treasury. Isn't it normal for him to have one million?
Furthermore, there have been more house searches recently, with millions being confiscated from one family and millions from another. They have gotten used to it after hearing it for a while, and the Minister of Revenue even thinks it is not enough.
If Chu Huan hadn't roughly calculated it, they might have to wait until they searched Lu Zhengye's secret room to find it.
No, I need to reflect on this.
You can't set your sights too high just because you see a few million, and ignore the small amounts of money of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands!
The Dali Temple official took a more impartial perspective: "Lü Zhengye's crimes are extremely serious and he deserves to be severely punished according to the law. The other members of the Lu family were not involved and should be given a lighter sentence."
The Minister of Justice disagreed: "Lü Zhengye has stolen from the national treasury and the emperor's private treasury, tortured and murdered several people over the years, illegally mined cinnabar, and sent 120,000 cinnabar to the Western Rong. This is aiding the enemy!"
"Which of the above-mentioned crimes is not extremely serious? The other members of the Lu family are not equally guilty. They are also responsible for negligence, the crime of shielding and condoning."
One was punished leniently, the other was punished severely. Their positions were clear and their reasons were even clearer.
With the two of them taking the lead, the other officials expressed their opinions and the discussion became very heated.
Some of them were related to the Lu family by marriage and were asked to speak well of them.
"If a son is not well educated, it is the fault of his father. The Lu family is indeed guilty of negligence. Since no serious consequences have occurred, please give him a lighter punishment."
Some people have been taken care of by the Lu family and need to repay this favor:
"The people Lu Zhengye killed were all slaves who had signed indentures. He already held the power of life and death. The Lu family also properly arranged for their families afterwards. His crime shouldn't be this serious, right?"
There are also people who have nothing to do with the Lu family, but simply dislike what they do.
For example, Wang You, the Left Censor-in-Chief, said: "Slaves who have signed indentures are human beings, not animals. They cannot be beaten and killed without reason."
"If a person commits a serious offense, he can be punished or beaten, but not executed. The prerequisite for holding the power of life and death is that if a slave betrays his master, someone must be sent to Shuntian Prefecture to report the case, rather than being dealt with arbitrarily in private."
"If everyone were to deal with their own slaves at home, without respecting the law, without fearing the law, without obeying the law, and without following the law, then what would be the use of the government? What would be the use of this great law?"
As expected of the Censor!
Just can talk!
The Minister of Justice suddenly changed his opinion of the old man.
The Right Censor-in-Chief delivered a second blow: "Lü Zhengye has committed such a grave offense. If the Emperor does not punish him severely, it will be a message to the world that the imperial family is beyond the reach of the law."
"If Lü Zhengye could escape harm by aiding the enemy today, why can't Chen Zhengye rebel tomorrow? And why can't Song Zhengye collaborate with the enemy and betray the country the day after tomorrow? They are all royal relatives!"
"If the Emperor lets Lü Zhengye go today, countless people will flee Dasheng to Xirong tomorrow, because Xirong doesn't have such a merciful emperor!"
emperor:? ? ?
Officials:!!!
These words shocked the Left Censor-in-Chief so much that he fell back and gave the Right Censor-in-Chief a look of surprise, which said, "Good fellow! Are you really going to die?"
The Right Censor-in-Chief ignored him and was already looking at the pillars of the imperial study. He seemed to be planning to test the hardness of the pillars himself immediately if the emperor objected or scolded him.
emperor:"……"
Officials: "..."
It comes again, can't you let the poor pillar go?
The Right Censor-in-Chief was so passionate that he confused the Minister of Justice.
He just wanted to deal with the Lu family according to the law. It would be even better if the punishment could be increased, but it would be too not worth it to sacrifice the life of the Right Censor-in-Chief for this.
The Minister of Justice quietly observed the emperor: "You're not angry, are you? You don't want to chop off anyone's head, do you? You won't bother with the Right Censor-in-Chief, will you?"
Others were also observing quietly, ready to speak for the Right Censor-in-Chief at any time.
The Right Censor-in-Chief's words were unpleasant to hear, and even a bit alarmist, but honest advice hurts, and every word was the truth! Most people wouldn't dare to say it.
The emperor was not angry, but he felt that "Maybe the Right Censor-in-Chief has some kind of incurable disease and wants to die in a way that will make his name known to the history books?"
It is a great fortune for the country to have officials who can step forward at critical moments to pour cold water on the emperor.
He just wanted to hear some unpleasant and heartbreaking truths. The emperor would not be stupid enough to really take action against the Right Censor-in-Chief, as that would chill the hearts of his trusted ministers.
"Alright." The emperor pondered when he would have the Imperial Medical Bureau examine the Right Censor-in-Chief. "When did I ever say I would spare him?"
All the officials were silent, including the Right Censor-in-Chief.
Thinking back, the emperor did not say it, but they subconsciously thought that the emperor would cover it up.
It seems that sending money and cinnabar mines to the Western Rong really touched the emperor's bottom line and made him want to kill.
Before that, the emperor still had to cover up for Lu Zhengye.
Lu Zhengye has done too many bad things, so he definitely cannot be protected.
Those officials who were related to the Lu family no longer pleaded for him, but instead pleaded for other members of the Lu family.
After another round of verbal battle, the Lu family was finally punished for multiple crimes including negligence, sheltering and connivance. Most of their property was confiscated, their official positions were taken away, and they became penniless.
Thousand Paintings Residence.
The system informed Chu Huan of the Lu family's punishment: "I thought there would be another rule added later: no official position for three generations."
[From this perspective, the emperor still showed mercy to the Lu family.]
Chu Huan could understand: [After all, there was no actual treason, so the punishment couldn't be that severe.]
[The punishment was so severe that the emperor and his ministers probably wanted to make an example of him, warning the royal family members not to act recklessly by relying on their status.]
The Emperor also needs to consider Consort De and her two children. If the Lu family is barred from officialdom for three generations, the Fourth Prince will not receive support from his mother's family.
System: [Does the Emperor want the Fourth Prince to inherit the throne?]
Chu Huan: [The Emperor can live for at least another twenty years. What if the First and Second Princes die unexpectedly in twenty years?]
[If the Fourth Prince loses his chance to grow now, and if something unexpected happens and he dies, only a mediocre person will be left, will he inherit the throne or not?]
system:【……】
It found that it was just like humans and suffered from decision-making difficulties.
Being an emperor isn't easy.
Chu Huan just smiled and said nothing.
The emperor enjoys the fortune of a country and is supported by the people of a country. If it were easy to become the emperor, wouldn’t it be a mess?
[What happened to the servant brother who exposed Lu Zhengye? ]
System: [Hmm... Let me see, Pei Mingcheng fished him out.]
After achieving his revenge, the man lost his purpose in life and waited only to learn the fate of the Lu family and bring the results to his brother in the underworld. Pei Mingcheng saw this and recruited him into the Jinyiwei, starting from the bottom.
Chu Hua: [The Imperial Guards need to go through multiple rounds of screening before they can enter, but this time we've made an exception.]
It's good that an exception can be made, at least a life was saved.
With this man's tenacity, forbearance and determination to never give up until he achieves his goal, he will surely stand out in the Jinyiwei and soon have his good days.
This is also rare good news.
I hope that after all your hard work, you will finally have a happy ending, and that the world will treat you kindly every day in the future.
Chu Huan was in a good mood and suddenly thought of something: "Tong'er, tomorrow we will go together to find the daughter of the Minister of Justice."
System: [What?]
Chu Hua: [Chat with her and ask her if she wants to lose weight.]
The one-on-one conversation was quickly passed up.
Chu Huan's subsequent attention to this matter was not unexpected, but when she ran into the daughter of the Minister of Justice...
The Second Prince couldn't help but sympathize with the Minister of Justice for a second.
After his wife met Chu Huan, the whole backyard has not been quiet until now. No one knows what kind of magical changes will happen to the daughter of the Minister of Justice after she meets Chu Huan.
You know what, I'm really looking forward to it :)
The Minister of Justice wanted to send a message to his daughter, but he was afraid that his daughter would reveal the truth in front of Chu Huan. He could only toss and turn with this worry and couldn't fall asleep.
Unlike him, the emperor and all the officials were looking forward to what new news would come out tomorrow. They fell asleep with anticipation, and their sleep quality improved a lot.
The next day, Chu Huan first reported to the Ministry of Industry and then took a look around the National Treasury.
Regarding the matter of Miaoshou Kongkong, she already had specific rules and regulations. The emperor mentioned it to the Minister of Works a few times, and the Minister of Works no longer bothered to ask the system to improve the mechanism - that was not what the melon-eating system was good at.
Chu Huan strolled around and then left openly, rushing to the residence of Yu Jiayan, the former Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple.
When we got there, I don’t know whether to say it was a coincidence or an unfortunate thing, Yu Jiayan got off the carriage with a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts and hurried home.
The two met at the door of Yu Mansion.
When enemies meet, they are especially jealous of each other.
Yu Jiayan looked at Chu Huan as if he wanted to stab her, but when he saw the two Jinyiwei following her, he immediately smiled servilely.
"I am honored to meet you, Lord Chu. I wonder what brings you to my humble abode?"
The system was amazed: [Wow—is this the legendary lackey? I've learned a lot!]
Yu Jiayan's eyes twitched, and he didn't dare to make any movement. He had not forgotten how he was treated the last time he wanted to reveal the truth.
Jia Yi and Cai Gang held back their laughter and were always on guard against every move of their surroundings and Yu Jiayan.
Chu Huan remained calm and said, "Back in the court, I said I would consult Madam Yu another day. Isn't this how I came?"
Yu Jiayan was like a frightened fish, with his mouth open and unable to speak for a long time.
You've forced me to lose my official position and reputation. I'm afraid of being criticized by others and dare not get together with others. I can only live at home and rely on my wife for my livelihood. Why won't you let me go?!
Chu Huan smiled: "Brother Yu, please."
At this moment, Chu Huan was an evil ghost in Yu Jiayan's eyes, an evil ghost that would kill him.
He wanted to refuse, but he saw Jia Yi and Cai Gang's hands on the Embroidered Spring Knife, implicitly threatening him: You'd better do it!
Yu Jiayan said with a sad face: "Master Chu, please come in." It's over! He's finished!
When the group entered the mansion, the gatekeeper heard the noise and went to invite the lady.
When Jiang heard that Lord Chu, who had reported her husband for having an affair with a prostitute, had arrived, she hurried to greet him.
The legendary Lord Chu has a slightly childish face, smiles at everyone he sees, and seems to be a good-tempered person.
This made Yu Jiayan next to him look even more servile, and it also showed how blind he was to fall for such a thing that was worse than pigs and dogs.
Jiang's heart was secretly beating fast, and she quickly bowed: "Greetings, Master Chu."
"Madam, please stand up quickly." As soon as Chu Huan opened her mouth, the female voice exposed the fact that she was disguised as a man.
Yu Jiayan and the Jinyiwei showed no signs of unusual behavior. Jiang had already learned some of the details from her father, but she didn't reveal anything. "I wonder why Lord Chu came here today?"
As soon as the question was asked, Yu Jiayan looked very peaceful.
There are Jinyiwei who stop Chu Huan, and those who target Chu Huan will be retaliated, so... is today the day he dies?
Chu Huan had already targeted Yu Jiayan once and didn't have time to keep staring at him.
She had already told the system the real purpose of her visit last night: "I want to ask Madam, are you satisfied with the current situation?"
Yu Jiayan snapped back to reality. Huh? Didn't Chu Huan come here to complain?
Jiang Shi didn't quite understand Chu Huan's intention, "What do you mean, sir?"
Chu Hua: "If Madam is not satisfied with your current situation, I am willing to provide you with some assistance."
Yu Jiayan's heart was in turmoil again. Unsatisfied? Was it referring to him?
Jiang thought so too. She glanced at Yu Jiayan and asked, "Are you a widower?"
Yu Jiayan's face turned pale instantly, and he screamed wildly in his heart: Ahh ...
If he had known this day would come, he would have taken care of his lower body and not cheated his wife out of her money to visit prostitutes everywhere!
Chu Huan also glanced at Yu Jiayan and said meaningfully, "This is Madam's own choice. I am only here to help you change yourself, such as—"
Yu Jiayan:?
Jiang:?
"Would you like to know more about scientific weight loss?" Chu Huan said with a smile.
Jiang understood and smiled bitterly: "To be honest, sir, I have tried many methods over the years, but with little success."
Chu Hua: "How about I make a bet with Madam?"
Jiang was slightly curious: "What bet?"
Chu Hua: "I will give you a scientific weight loss method. If you lose weight after a month by following my method, you will have to do something for me."
"On the other hand, whether the lady has gained weight or not, you win, and I will do something for you. Of course, this matter must be within the capabilities of both of us, not against morality, and will not hurt others."
Jiang had failed to lose weight many times and had given up long ago, but he became a little interested when he heard about the bet.
But she wasn't looking forward to losing weight. She was just curious about why Chu Huan did this. "Why is Lord Chu so bothered?"
Chu Huan smiled: "Women have a hard time in this world. I'll help anyone I can."
Jiang's heart moved. She had heard that Chu Huan had dragged the women from the Second Prince's house to the Ministry of Revenue to settle accounts.
"Then...what if they are all hopeless?" She didn't know what she was testing or expecting.
Chu Huan knew that the fact that Jiang asked such a question meant that she was already wavering in her heart.
"Everyone is responsible for their own life. I extended a helping hand. It's their ability to grasp it, and it's their choice to let it go."
"You only have one chance." Chu Huan placed her palms upwards in front of Jiang.
Jiang knew that Chu Huan was waiting for her to make a choice.
She asked herself: I only have one chance, should I try again?
The worried look of her friend, the gossip of others, Yu Jiayan's cold words, the suspicion behind her parents-in-law, the kind words of advice from her parents, and the childish words of her daughter...
Those sounds and images reappeared in his mind repeatedly, and every word and sentence turned into a sharp sword that pierced Jiang's heart.
She asked herself: If I know it's useless, why try again? Why let others laugh at me?
But a voice deep in her heart told her: Chu Huan came with good intentions, so she must be sure of what she is doing.
She asked herself again: How do you know Chu Huan has good intentions? What if she is here to harm you?
At this moment, a strange child's voice rang out in my ears: [Sister Huan, what if you lose?]
Chu Huan's reply was exceptionally confident: [Lose? I've never lost in my life.]
"But..." she said hesitantly, "If I really lose, I'll strip Yu Jiayan naked and have the Imperial Guard hang her at the city gate for three days and three nights."
Yu Jiayan:!!!
What does this have to do with me?!
Jiang: ???
There is such a good thing?!
"I bet!" Jiang immediately grabbed Chu Huan's hand, "Master Chu, I bet with you!"
Whether or not I lose weight is not important, the main thing is to see Yu Jiayan hanging at the city gate like bacon for three days and three nights :)
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