Zhangzhou was home to many salt merchants, a place where even farts were greasy. As the saying goes, when people are well-fed and warm, they think of lust. If people eat too much, they are prone to becoming perverted.
Those high-ranking officials and nobles were so perverted that it was outrageous. They loved to look at beautiful women, and even more so, they loved to see them shed tears. They tortured them with all sorts of unspeakable means.
This pair of gentlemen, outwardly refined but inwardly stern and unyielding, were all the more enjoyable to humiliate.
The marks on Gu Qing and Gu Ming's necks were from that time, and besides that, there were countless other scars on their bodies. They dared not recall how many days had passed like that; every moment felt like an eternity.
When Duanrong found them, the two were barely clinging to life. They had been tricked by a customer who mistakenly believed he would help them escape. They were caught and beaten half to death by the people in the brothel, and their mouths were stuffed with rags to prevent them from committing suicide.
They had already fainted and were infected with the disease. If it had been discovered a few days later, even the most powerful immortals would have been helpless.
After that, the two of them recuperated in the backyard of the princess's residence for a full six months before their health improved. However, they never communicated with Princess Duanrong until she showed them letters from their families. Only then did they learn that Princess Duanrong had secretly saved their families, and they finally spoke up.
Although they knew that Princess Duanrong was no pushover and that she had ulterior motives for controlling their families, they believed that no situation could be worse than theirs. Even if it meant giving their lives, at least their families would be taken care of.
Duanrong didn't beat around the bush with them. She promised that as long as they worked for her, she would find a way to avenge them, and their surviving family members would naturally remain safe and sound.
Duanrong wanted them to go to Zhangzhou, a place they considered a nightmare, but unlike their previous fear, this time the two were ready to die.
Zhangzhou is a coastal city rich in salt and iron, and it is clearly a place overflowing with wealth, yet the people live in poverty, and beggars can be seen everywhere on the streets.
Fishermen lived in dire straits, with all industries secretly monopolized by local officials. But this was Zhangzhou, a coastal city, and if fishermen were struggling like this, what about everyone else?
Zhangzhou forbids its people from producing salt themselves, and fishing requires bribing officials at various levels, in addition to heavy taxes.
The common people suffered terribly, while officials amassed enormous fortunes.
But why did no one expose it? Because the person behind the salt merchant was Kou Ningyu, the Empress Dowager's own brother. The Kou family wielded immense power, and the emperor was their puppet. Before the impeachment memorial even reached the emperor, the soldiers who had arrested the officials had already stormed to the door of the person who was impeaching them.
Who would dare to expose this? That would be risking their own life and putting their entire family in danger.
Zhangzhou was far from the emperor's reach, and Kou Ningyu lived a life of extravagance and debauchery. He even built his own "palace," which resembled the imperial palace in appearance. His harem had at least eighty or a hundred people, both men and women, and was not picky about food or drink. His harem was more prosperous than the emperor's, and he had thirty-eight sons, more than Gan Qiongying's shadow guards.
Even more terrifying is that he also enjoys torture and killing.
Many young men and women who mysteriously disappeared in villages were mostly related to him. Parents who lost their children had nowhere to turn for help. If Kou Ningyu was in a good mood, they might receive some money as compensation. If he was in a bad mood, the whole family would hardly escape disaster.
Zhangzhou was a den of demons that sucked the blood and flesh of the people. Princess Duanrong had already made plans on the day the Gu family suffered, but the time was not ripe. Later, when she learned that the two young masters had been sold to Zhangzhou, she did not rush to rescue them, but secretly rescued their families.
She only intervened when the two were at their wits' end, their pride and integrity shattered, and they were desperately clinging to life on the brink of death.
She easily won over two people to her side.
She hired people to teach the two young masters various skills and to create two figures according to Kou Ningyu's preferences. Of course, all of this was done voluntarily by the two men, who wanted to avenge their family, and this was the only way forward.
The two did not hesitate at all to walk the thorny path they had once walked before. Using their beauty to serve others was something they were forced to accept in Zhangzhou, but now they would use it to gather evidence of the crimes committed by Kou Ningyu, the salt capital of Zhangzhou.
Their previous experiences had given them some understanding of salt merchants, and no one was more suitable than them to go to Zhangzhou to gather information.
The two of them had not fully recovered and were supposed to rest, but recently someone in the family fell ill. During this period, because Li Hua was in charge of the princess's residence, all expenses were reduced, and they could not provide enough money for the family.
They were unaware that Li Hua was controlling the spending, and the fact that he hadn't been able to spend any money several times made them think that they were useless and had been abandoned.
Without the princess's protection, their families would have nowhere to go. The family members of the disgraced officials who were being harbored would do nothing but become targets of public criticism if they showed their faces.
They simply could not survive.
Thinking of this, Gan Qiongying looked at the two people kneeling on the ground. According to Princess Duanrong's arrangement, these two people were basically going to Zhangzhou and never returning.
But the unwavering determination in their eyes clearly showed that they had already risked their lives for their families.
So many people in this world have no choice, like Princess Duanrong, and like these twins. Gan Qiongying was filled with emotion; wasn't she one of them now?
What Gan Qiongying didn't know was that Gu Qing and Gu Ming had already prepared poison, which was currently hidden in their teeth. If it failed, they would take their own lives and not implicate anyone.
"Princess!"
Gu Qing knelt on the ground, his head kowtowing heavily. "We brothers will definitely find evidence to bring down Zhangzhou Salt Capital for the princess," he said firmly. "We will do everything in our power to collect clues. If we fail, we will take our own lives."
Gan Qiongying pondered, thinking of Kou Ning'an's attire and the furnishings in Yinian Palace. Even as the Empress Dowager, it was somewhat extravagant. The Kou clan was a huge clan, and the amount of money they needed to spend in various aspects was countless. However, no matter how much an official in the court embezzled, it could not compare to the income of a salt merchant.
Kou Ningyu was truly audacious. He exploited the people of Nanzhao, sold smuggled salt, and even colluded with the Beiyu Kingdom across the sea.
They monopolized fishing and smelting, and maintained close ties with Beiyu, a country that relies on the sea for its livelihood.
Beiyu is skilled in naval warfare, but its territory is small and it needs to purchase a large amount of food from Nanzhao. Kou Ningyu has long supplied it with various items. In Duanrong's memory, he even sold Nanzhao's ironware to Beiyu at a high price for them to build military equipment.
Princess Duanrong had already investigated the details thoroughly, but she was hampered by a lack of evidence and the fact that the court was controlled by the Kou family, leaving the emperor without the power to make a ruling.
But she actually wanted to cut off the Kou family's economic lifeline. It has to be said that this idea hit the nail on the head, causing Kou Ning'an to lose her composure in order to save Gan Lin.
The approach is correct.
But to realize this plan would be nothing short of a pipe dream.
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