Chapter 94 The Treacherous Minister II
Xiaodunzi hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Qingqing...why are you smearing yourself like this?"
Although he was illiterate, Shinjuku transmitted the text to him telepathically, and then Shinjuku relayed it to others, who could then write it down with pen and paper and print it out.
Shinjuku only vaguely said, "This was bound to happen sooner or later... I was just speeding it up." He didn't have enough time.
Xiao Dunzi didn't understand, but he blindly trusted Shinjuku and did whatever Shinjuku told him to do.
“Kidun will take care of it,” he assured Masakuni.
"Little Dunzi is really amazing." Shinju chuckled, his voice going directly into Little Dunzi's mind, but Little Dunzi felt that the laughter was coming from his chest, and then he trembled slightly, his chest burning.
.
Shinju was confined to his quarters, but no one dared to object as the King of the Scorpion Palace wanted to visit him. So the King of the Scorpion Palace would occasionally visit, and even his three meals a day were overseen by him. Apart from not being able to move around freely, everything was not much different from before, and it even had the feel of keeping a mistress hidden away.
However, a comprehensive investigation into the Imperial Horse Administration is also underway.
"Judging by their quality, these horses are clearly of the northern breed, but there are no relevant records at the border, so they can only have been smuggled in. Such a large quantity and such large-scale smuggling indicate that the power behind them should not be underestimated," the Ministry of Justice stated.
"Our country's warhorse resources have always been weak. Only the warhorses of one or two cities on the border can rival the 'Danlu Horses' of Feng Kingdom. Although the Northern Kingdom is not as blatant as Feng Kingdom, they still rely on their superior horse breeds to invade the north during the harsh winter." The implication is that these warhorses can become an indispensable fighting force for the north, and such a cold-resistant and superior breed is enough to make up for the shortage of high-quality warhorses in our country.
"We can only say that some people have bad intentions, but they did good deeds." Everyone in the Ministry of Justice shook their heads.
Before long, they had completed their investigation; surprisingly, the matter was not difficult to uncover. They then went to report to the King of Poison.
"How is the investigation into the Imperial Horse Stables going?" The Prince of Zhen's face was somber, and his imposing presence was even greater than before. Everyone trembled in fear. After a moment of deliberation, he finally spoke in detail.
"Your Majesty has discovered that the Imperial Horse Administration endorsed the smuggled horses, personally obtaining official certification, and then purchased these warhorses at extremely high prices. The financial transactions behind this have violated the law. I urge Your Majesty to order the arrest of Qing Zhangyin and authorize the Ministry of Justice to imprison and interrogate him."
The King of Zhen frowned and suddenly gripped the purple brush in his hand tightly.
Having waited a long time for the Emperor's decree, the officials of the Ministry of Justice below couldn't help but look up and urge him with their eyes.
With a "crack," the purple brush snapped in half at the bottom, and then the Poison King said, "We'll talk about the arrest later; I'll interrogate him myself."
Having said that, King Zhen took the outer cloak from the head palace maid Zhixi. The black cloak swirled in a circle of ink waves on the spot before being draped over King Zhen's shoulders. Then he was about to move to the Scorpion Shadow Palace.
The official from the Ministry of Justice kowtowed and pleaded, "Your Majesty! This is not...this is not in accordance with the rules!"
However, the figure of the King of Zhen had already left, and the ministers felt a chill in their hearts, knowing that the King of Zhen would not be able to bring himself to do it, and that he would probably still be unable to deal with Shinju this time.
How utterly incompetent! With treacherous ministers in power, what future can the nation hope for?! The ministers couldn't help but think this.
Scorpion Shadow Palace.
When the King of the Void entered Majutsu's room, Majutsu was huddled in the corner of the bed, his shoulders trembling slightly, his back to the door.
The King of Zhen strode closer and sat on the edge of the bed. Remembering the chill emanating from him, he casually took off his outer cloak and hung it on the shelf at the corner of the bed. Inevitably, his gaze fell upon the crab lamp on the cabinet. After a moment of staring, his icy gaze softened.
When the King of Poison turned to Shinju, Shinju had already turned over, holding a piece of osmanthus cake in his hand and eating it. The crumbs that fell onto his lips and collar got into his collar, so he busied himself crushing them with his other hand.
"..." Thinking he was crying, I seemed to be blinded by anger. The King of Poison's eyes darkened, and he scolded, "Don't eat lying down, aren't you afraid of choking?"
Then, holding Majutsu's hand, he brought the remaining small piece of pastry to his mouth and ate it.
Shinjuku's golden eyes widened immediately, and he subconsciously licked his lips, but he didn't argue with the King of Poison. He sat up and asked, "Why has Your Majesty come before dinner?"
King Zhen remained silent, glancing around at the haphazardly piled-up money, silk, books, and paintings before finally fixing his gaze on Zhen Su's face. "The matter of the Imperial Horse Stables has been investigated. Is there anything you wish to say to me?"
Shinju observed the expression on the King of Zhen's face, hesitated for a moment, and said, "They told me that they only lost the certificate for entering the pass, which can be replaced, but it will take half a month. His Majesty's procurement plan only has ten days, so we had no choice but to take a shortcut. Anyway, they are all good horses, aren't they?"
The King of Poison was also sizing up Shinju. In the past, Shinju would never have spoken to him so casually and arrogantly about serious matters. Had he been too indulgent with Shinju lately, spoiling him so much that Shinju had become completely unrestrained in his actions?
Although he was unwilling to be bound by the rules and regulations of the palace, he was still living in the dynasty. Now, the reputation of the emperor was almost the same as his reputation. Although the power of the maternal relatives and aristocratic families represented by the empress dowager had been eliminated, the faction of Pan Chengfang still existed.
The King of Poison wiped the crumbs of the pastry from Shinju's lips with his fingertip, then put it in his mouth and tasted it. It was very sweet.
"Then I will confiscate half of the money used to purchase the horses. Is there any objection?"
Shinjuku wanted to say "whatever," but remembering he had to maintain his image as a sycophant, he quickly changed his mind and said, "Half? That's too much!"
The King of Zhen lowered his head and chuckled, "Fine, I'll pay for this this time. But there won't be a next time."
Shinjuku was momentarily speechless, his gaze fixed on the King of Poison's chin with a complex expression, without looking up to meet the King's gaze directly. He paused, then said, "Thank you, brother."
Even though she knew that Shinju would only address him that way when he wanted something, the King of Poison was still easily swayed and his lust was ignited.
“It’s not night yet, Your Majesty,” Shinjuku struggled to say.
The King of Zhen suddenly stood up, surprising Zhen Su, who thought the King of Zhen had actually listened. But he found that the King of Zhen did not leave. Instead, he went to light the oil wick in the crab lamp. The dim blue light was not obvious in the brightly lit room, but the King of Zhen said, "The lamp is on. Who says it is not night?"
"..." Shinjuku could only let the king, who was lying through his teeth, push him down, his black hair spreading out on the bed like ink splashed on the floor.
A sudden, heavy inhalation sounded.
.
The case of the head of the Imperial Horse Administration for forging official documents and amassing wealth has been resolved with the confiscation of all embezzled funds and a twenty-day suspension. The local power brokers who supplied the smuggled horses have also been thoroughly investigated, and they will likely be apprehended and brought back to the capital soon.
The way the King of Zhen treated Shinju was truly astonishing. The public outcry against this treacherous minister grew even stronger.
The Pan residence, a secret room.
A ragged retainer was forced to kneel before Pan Chengfang. Despite Pan Chengfang having ordered his torture, the retainer crawled frantically to Pan Chengfang's side, begging for mercy: "Master! I just couldn't stand that Qing fellow climbing over you! He clearly relies on his beauty to serve you, so what right does he have to represent all the eunuchs! Those opportunists who only fawned over you before have all sided with you now. I just... I just couldn't swallow this insult!"
Pan Chengfang glanced at him sideways, then with a sudden burst of force from his raised leg, kicked the retainer so hard that his jawbone shattered. The retainer rolled backward several times before stopping, coughing up blood that instantly stained his entire shoulder and neck.
Before he could cry for help, another eunuch beside him lashed him with a whip, shouting, "Useless thing! We eunuchs have been suppressed for years, and this time we're just planning to use this opportunity to rise in rank! You lowly servant, you went and spread rumors about Master Qing, aren't you just bringing shame upon our master! Not to mention that His Majesty hasn't yet discarded that man like a worn-out shoe, if they investigate, the first one to come after you, you idiot, will be the one to be investigated. You think you're only representing yourself, but what about the people outside? Will they think this was just your idea, without the master's authorization?!"
The more he talked, the angrier he became, and the disciplinarian gave the blood-covered retainer two more lashes.
The wails echoed throughout the Pan residence.
Pan Chengfang's pinky finger, which was slightly raised as he held the teacup, twitched nervously. He slammed the cup down, his face expressionless, but in reality, he was furious. His gaze was like lightning, piercing in the direction of a non-existent person.
The rumors spread so quickly in the city that there must be someone behind them, but who exactly is it... Pan Chengfang couldn't figure it out, but since he had already been dragged into the mess and pushed to the forefront, he had no choice but to prepare a backup plan.
Those around Pan Chengfang were involved in spreading rumors, and they were quickly delivered to the King of Zhen in the form of a secret letter.
"Heh, the remnants of the previous dynasty, they finally couldn't sit still." The Poison King sneered, lit the secret letter on the candle flame, threw it into the brazier at his feet, and watched it burn to ashes.
However, the source has yet to be identified. The other party is like a rat lurking in the filth of a street corner, acting skillfully and secretly, protected by everyone, and unyielding to both soft and hard tactics. They are truly a tough nut to crack.
But the secret guards were highly trained, and the more difficult the case, the more their fighting spirit was ignited. The entire Silver Scorpion organization, having received the imperial order, plunged into the crowds, searching through streets and alleys to uncover clues.
A moment later, a man dressed in black, wearing a hooded cloak, emerged from the shadows. He had no waist badges, only a broken piece of jade hanging from his waist, with the character "虿" (scorpion) carved next to the broken piece.
Before the other party could speak, the Poison King swiftly extinguished the candle and then used his internal energy to transmit his voice to the man in black.
"White pieces".
"My lord," the man in black said without moving, transmitting his voice through his inner strength, "there's progress on the matter."
The King of Zhen grunted in agreement and waited for him to continue.
"The strange and wicked techniques such as 'possession' have never been heard of in our country or in neighboring countries and tribes. As for 'ghost possession,' there has never been any such thing."
Upon hearing this, the King of Zhen visibly paused, and the atmosphere in the room instantly became as cold and gloomy as the weather outside, which was filled with icy particles.
"This... is impossible..."
The man in black was clearly frightened by the Poison King's emotional outburst; the wavering in his voice made him call out to the Poison King a few times in concern.
But the King of Poison seemed not to hear. His phoenix eyes became somewhat unfocused as he stared at the water-colored sachet at his waist for a long time. He tentatively touched it with his fingertips before finally clenching it in his palm.
The men in black continued to report their findings from different directions, including mysterious and enigmatic theories such as 'puppet manipulation,' 'twins,' and 'disguise,' none of which were overlooked. However, none of the results suggested that such a flawless and undetectable investigation was possible.
Speaking of Wu Duo, although he was a veteran imperial chef and they had met quite a few times, Masakuni was so close and familiar with Wu Duo that there was no way he could mistake him for someone else. Masakuni's explanation was that Wu Duo was possessed, but he never denied that the body belonged to Wu Duo himself.
When it comes to aura and various details, he considers himself more perceptive than Shinjuku, as even Shinjuku couldn't detect the problem.
That's Wu Duo.
But he did not expect that the dynasty had no beliefs such as 'possession' or 'ghost possession'!
It's impossible for anything beyond what's known in historical records to appear within this small world. Therefore, the other being attached to Wu Duo must have come from outside this realm.
If Shinjuku is a projection, and this projection was born from the Book of History and is subject to the 'Way of Heaven', then he should have absolutely no connection with the outside world.
But why would an being from outside the realm head straight for Shinjuku?
Therefore... has he been overlooking a possibility all along...?
That is—
Shinjuku is an outsider, not a projection!
-----------------------
Author's Note: [Edited] The wording has been changed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
