"You mean Lu Renjia was torn to pieces by a ghost?"
Qi Sichen frowned, clearly finding it hard to believe.
This terrifying and somewhat eerie news quickly reached Qi Sichen.
The prison guards, though pale-faced and clearly still shaken by the scene, bowed and replied, "Indeed, and this matter is very strange! I have already sent people to investigate. Last night, no one in the same dungeon heard any noise, and even the lock on that cell was intact, with no signs of tampering or breaking in!"
"Moreover, Lu Renjia's death was extremely gruesome, with all the bones in his body broken. Such a troublesome matter could not be easily handled by one person in just a few hours."
The prison warden implied that if this wasn't the work of ghosts, then someone could enter the Great Yan Dynasty's death row prison undetected, and their cruel methods went unnoticed.
Doesn't that mean such a being is even more terrifying than a ghost?
If you can sneak into the prison unnoticed today, can you also sneak into the palace without a sound tomorrow?
After a moment of silence, Qi Sichen summoned two editors from the Hanlin Academy and instructed them to write Lu Renjia's story into a narrative. As for his tragic death, it was written as him being haunted by a vengeful ghost.
"Your Highness?" The compiler of the Hanlin Academy was completely bewildered and puzzled. "Won't what you're doing easily cause public panic? It's almost the New Year, and such a frightening storybook probably won't sell."
The prison warden wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking to himself, "No wonder the prince praised her for her lively personality. Otherwise, who would dare to say such things to the powerful regent?"
However, he also had the same doubts in his heart, so he silently looked towards Qi Sichen.
Qi Sichen said impatiently, "Since you've already become editors in the Hanlin Academy, you should know that the court has the responsibility of educating and guiding the people. This Lu Renjia has committed so many heinous acts, and now he's dead. Sooner or later, the news will spread like wildfire. You might as well spread it first. It will let the common people know that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished. Those who dare to evade national taxes will suffer the most terrible fate!"
The group nodded repeatedly, intimidated by the final, clenched teeth in Qi Sichen's words.
So, under Qi Sichen's instruction, several highly talented compilers from the Hanlin Academy wrote a series of stories about Lu Renjia's evil deeds and his eventual retribution. These stories were numerous and exquisitely written, not only exposing Lu Renjia's entire life but also being extremely satirical and scathing.
Later on, not only did every scholar in the capital have a copy, but even illiterate commoners hated Lu Renjia with a passion.
Although they were illiterate, they often enjoyed going to teahouses to drink tea and listen to the stories told by storytellers, or watching the despicable Lu Renjia finally die on the stage. Which ordinary person with simple values didn't hate Lu Renjia with a passion?
That would certainly make him infamous for eternity.
After hearing about Lu Renjia, the most notorious villain in the world, from the old man at her door, Lin Wanyue nodded repeatedly, "That's right, he really is a bad guy!"
"Our young lady is a good girl. You must never let those bad men deceive you in the future, or you'll end up like the little girls in this story. What pitiful little girls!" The old gatekeeper poked at the fire and pulled out a freshly roasted, steaming sweet potato, handing it to Lin Wanyue.
Lin Wanyue didn't mind the dust on the ground. After coming over, she turned the food from side to side with her hands until it wasn't so hot, then peeled off the skin and ate it bite by bite.
I'm starting to miss Little Pink Butterfly a little.
The day after Little Pink Butterfly left, Lin Wanyue found a letter she had left for herself under her pillow.
Thinking of the little pink butterfly that had already left, Lin Wanyue couldn't help but sigh again. If she knew that Lu Renjia's reputation had become so bad, she would probably be happy.
As Lin Wanyue ate the sweet potato, her hands and feet warmed up, and she unconsciously walked to the small ancestral hall in her home.
The small ancestral hall still enshrines a small pink butterfly, but it is no longer a black memorial tablet, but a small wooden figure.
Lin Weiming personally selected the wood and carved it, but his skills were average and he couldn't carve such a fresh and elegant beauty. Even the facial features weren't finely depicted. However, the large skirt, the way she held an axe in one hand and a club in the other, made her instantly recognizable.
Lin Wanyue moved a small stool over and placed it underneath. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the wooden beauty carving, also making sure to clean Meng Lanxin's name underneath.
She's no longer called Little Pink Butterfly; she's now Meng Lanxin.
...
Lu Renjia died, and his entire family was punished. Even Qi Sichen's excessive thoughtfulness had ruined his reputation for the next few hundred years.
But the Lu family was a large and powerful family. Although the person was gone, their vast fortune was innocent!
Countless eyes were fixed on that large piece of fat, eyeing it covetously, but none dared to make a move because of Qi Sichen, the regent.
Fortunately, although Qi Sichen gave it a cold shoulder for a while, he did not really forget about it.
The Lu family can no longer conduct some businesses, including human trafficking and smuggling with the Xiongnu. All of these have been banned.
However, Lu Family Rice Shop is still the largest rice shop in the entire capital. Although it has shrunk considerably after the recent turmoil, it can still be considered one of the top rice shops.
Qi Sichen figured that the Lin family was still hopeless, and that all they could do was open a small eatery on Jinbao Street using his name.
Although he had a fairly good reputation among the officials in the court, in Qi Sichen's eyes, he was simply a low-class person.
He then used the excuse that Lin Weiming had made a meritorious report to reward him with the rice shop under Lu Renjia's name.
The officials in the court were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, but Lin Weiming felt completely bewildered and simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
He wanted to go and discuss it with Qi Sichen, feeling that this was simply forcing growth.
However, Liu Junlan easily suppressed him, saying, "I really don't know what's going on in your head! Since the Regent is so good to our family, handing over such a good shop to you, you still want him to take it back? Wouldn't that be slapping him in the face?"
Lin Weiming said with a bitter face, "But... Mother, I'm not cut out for this! Look at all these years I've lived, all I've ever built is our Lin's shop, but how many people are there in Lin's shop? It's easy to manage, and if it doesn't work out, we just lose money."
"But so many people rely on that rice shop for their livelihood. If I lose money, wouldn't I be letting them down?"
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