Chapter 151 Why Was I Taken Advantage Of?
Bam! The Polymer Cannon shone brightly… and instantly exploded! That’s right, it exploded on the spot. ‘F*ck, this new product is just unstable! No wonder that fellow Mo Xin said not to use it unless absolutely necessary!’ Zhao Jin cursed in his heart.
His hand was blown to smithereens! But the positive side to this was that a blue beam was unleashed!
Its speed was also frighteningly fast. Even though Yao Gu’s cultivation had reached the 8th Grade Earth Rank, he still could not react in time!
He tried his best to dodge, but he could only barely dodge being hit at his vital spots! Puchi!
Yao Gu’s right chest was pierced through! If it was an ordinary person, they would definitely die! However, this valiant fellow switched to holding his spear on his left hand in order to prevent his wound from affecting his movements. He held the spear with one hand and ran at full speed. Blood splattered everywhere, but he did not care! He headed straight for Zhao Jin! He was a little afraid now! This guy had too many tricks up his sleeve. On the other side, the instant he attacked Su Wen with his spear, Su Wen leapt from the roof!
Just as Su Wen expected, the Saber Qi he slashed out clashed with the power of Yao Gu’s spear and was instantly destroyed. The violent Qi from the spear brushed past his head and sent the entire roof flying.
Su Wen landed in the room and saw a man and woman hugging each other. “Mercy… Sire, please have mercy…” the man pleaded.
Su Wen couldn’t be bothered with him. He quickly ran to the door and looked through the crack.
At this moment, Zhao Jin had already switched to close combat mode. With a soft sword in hand, he cooperated with Chu He to attack Yao Gu!
Yao Gu was heavily injured, but his combat strength was still formidable! Zhao Jin and Chu He backed away in defeat again and again! In a short period of time, Yao Gu had already opened several wounds on the two of them, but they still refused to retreat! At this moment, Su Wen realized that the two of them had a tacit understanding with each other!
It was obvious that the two of them had practiced in private during this period of time. Otherwise, they would have long been defeated!
Pa!
Zhao Jin took another strike and was sent flying by Yao Gu’s spear! He flew straight out while spitting a mouthful of blood. But at this time, Yao Gu stopped his actions. He clenched his teeth and turned around to flee! That was because a silhouette was rushing over from afar! It was the expert guarding the Capital City. It did not take long before he arrived at Zhao Jin’s side. At this time, Yao Gu had long disappeared without a trace.
Su Wen pushed the door open and walked out with a cold expression.
He had never suffered such a huge loss since he had come over to this world!
He arrived beside Zhao Jin and asked in a deep voice, “How is it?”
At this time, Zhao Jin’s body had already returned to normal. His face was deathly pale, and the flesh on his left hand had turned into mush. There were even several wounds on his body, and blood was flowing everywhere. He shook his head. “I won’t die. I just need to rest for a while.” “Chu He, what about you? How are your injuries?”
Chu He was also panting heavily. “I’m slightly better. I’ll recover in three days after expelling the Spear Qi!” At this time, Zhao Jin weakly said, “Young master, that fellow has also been severely wounded. Just now, even if he managed to risk his life to escape, he will still have to find a place to recuperate. We must capture him as soon as possible before his wounds recover and he hides once more in the shadows. Otherwise, something bad might happen!” Su Wen nodded. “Don’t worry! I won’t let him
off!”
The capital city guard solemnly said, “Turns out, it’s Lord Su. Let me help you send them back to your residence.” Su Wen cupped his hands in response, “Thank
you!”
Although this person had a cultivation of 9th Grade Earth Rank, he didn’t put on any airs. He helped Su Wen heal Chu He and Zhao Jinzhi and simply bandaged them before carrying them into the carriage. He then drove the horse carriage and Su Wen back.
When they reached home and settled down, Su Wen cupped his hands and asked, “May I get your name?”
No matter what, they were saved by this expert this time!
“Wu Liting.”
Su Wen then took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and handed it over with a smile. “Thank you, Lord. It’s just a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it.” Wu Liting looked at Su Wen and said with a smile, “I heard that Lord Su has been transferred to the Secret Shadow Guard. Are you sure this behavior is acceptable?” Su Wen smiled and said, “Lord Wu, what are you talking about? I’m not asking you to do anything, nor am I asking you to show favoritism. It’s just that I’m grateful for Lord Wu’s help tonight.”
Su Wen had his own way of thinking and doing
So.
After all, he did not have any top-notch experts around him.
All along, Su Wen had thought that no one would dare to do anything to him in the capital. However, from the looks of it now, if he really met someone who did not care about his life and had no scruples, it would truly be dangerous!
Wu Liting did not say anything else. At the very least, he helped Su Wen and also escorted him back.
These were actually not within his scope of responsibilities.
Su Wen naturally had to express his gratitude. Otherwise, if the other party saw that it was Su Wen calling for help again, the outcome would be completely different if he decided to be slower by a second or two. Hearing his reasoning, Wu Liting did not hold back either and directly put the banknotes into his chest pocket before saying with a smile, “Then I thank Lord Su. Farewell!” Seeing him leave, Su Wen pondered for a moment and called a servant over to inform the Second Prince and Zhao Rui at the Hundred Flowers Tower that he would not be going tonight. As for Wu Lie… there was no other way. After all, it had happened too suddenly. At that moment, in the Great General’s Residence, Wu Lie was squatting by the wall in the backyard. “Why isn’t he here yet?! Why isn’t he here yet?!” “He promised to bring me out to play tonight!” “Why didn’t he come?” “F*ck, he tricked me!”
“Bro… no way? You’re really not coming?” “Oh, someone just set off a distress firework… it looks pretty nice.”
This fellow never expected that Su Wen was the one who set off the fireworks. Where he’d waited most of the night, until dawn…
After daybreak, Su Wen immediately went to the Secret Shadow Guard. Zhao Jin was severely injured, so Chu He took over the responsibility for protecting Su Wen. His injuries were much lighter. “I was assassinated last night!” This was the first thing Su Wen said when he saw Si Tu. Si Tu eyes narrowed slightly. He had just promised Su Changqing yesterday that he would protect Su Wen, but this happened! “Who was it?”
“The Capital City Province’s spear instructor, Yao Gu! I want to invite a peak Earth Rank expert to deal with him!”
There were naturally top-notch experts in the Secret Shadow Guard. However, if these experts wanted to be mobilized, they needed Si Tu’s approval. Si Tu pondered for a moment and said, “Alright! Then I’ll transfer Wei Guo’an to you and listen to your arrangements for the time being. He’s at the peak of 8th Grade Earth Rank and can suppress Yao Gu even if he meets him!”
Su Wen replied in a solemn tone, “I’ve already sent someone to inform the guards of the four gates of the capital to strictly investigate the people entering and exiting the capital to prevent Yao Gu from escaping. Now, I’m going to capture his family!”
Si Tu couldn’t help but shake his head when he saw the ruthlessness in Su Wen’s eyes. This Yao Gu was too stupid. Didn’t he consider the repercussions if his assassination attempt failed? He didn’t even know to bring his family away in advance. Now that Su Wen was still alive, Yao Gu was going to suffer. In reality, Yao Gu indeed did not think that he would fail.
From his point of view, dealing with a 6th Grade Earth Rank Zhao Jin and a 5th Grade Earth Rank Chu He should have been a piece of cake.
Or rather, if he felt that he would fail, would he still have done it?
When a martial artist reached a certain level, their confidence in their own strength would cause them to inflate their egos to a certain degree. Su Wen was assassinated this time because of his inflated ego as a result of an increase in authority.
He didn’t expect to meet Yao Gu, who didn’t care about failure as well.
Within Yao Gu’s house….
The door was kicked open!
Su Wen barged in with his men and shouted, “Search! Capture all of them!”
At this moment, a valiant woman rushed out from inside.
She was precisely Yao Gu’s wife. She shouted sternly, “What are you doing? Do you know what this place is? It’s the residence of Yao Gu, the Head Instructor of Spearmanship in the Capital City Province. What are you trying to do? How dare you barge
in?”
Su Wen sneered and said, “I am from the Secret Shadow Guard. Yao Gu tried to assassinate me last night! It’s an attempted murder! Of course I have to arrest him!”
Yao Gu’s wife wasn’t ignorant and immediately shouted. “You Secret Shadow Guards are in charge of corrupt officials. Even if Yao Gu tried to assassinate you, it would be up to the Ministry of Justice to come over and arrest us. What does that have to do with you? Moreover, even if the Secret Shadow Guards came, you should also try to avoid suspicion!”
Pa!
Chu He immediately stepped forward and gave her a tight slap! “How dare you speak so loudly to my young master? Are you tired of living?” He tried his best to imitate Zhao Jin’s tone! To Chu He, Zhao Jin’s serious injuries made him feel extremely guilty. In his opinion, this wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t challenged Meng Zhiping. He did not expect Yao Gu to attack them so brazenly. Otherwise, he would definitely have agreed to Yao Gu’s challenge. He now hit Yao Gu’s wife so hard that her mouth was full of blood! Su Wen laughed loudly. “What you said makes sense, but I don’t f*cking want to hear it!” He glared at the fierce-looking woman as a vicious glint flashed across his eyes. In a low voice, he said, “Your husband dared to attack me, injure my guards, and nearly kill me. I’m going to personally capture him and torture him!”
At this moment, a man about Su Wen’s age rushed out!
“You dare to hit my mother?!” He held his spear and stabbed straight at Su Wen! The move was exactly the same as Yao Gu’s last night! Puchi! Chu He slashed out. The spear split into
two.
Next, the cold blade pressed against the son’s face!
The goosebumps all over the latter’s body rose, and he didn’t dare move at all!
Su Wen turned around and shouted at the Secret Shadow Guards, “What are you all standing there for? Capture them and search the area! Kill anyone who dares to resist!” The Secret Shadow Guards rushed in! The search was completed in one go. It was not out of Su Wen’s expectations that he managed to find a large amount of money in Yao Gu’s family coffers! They counted over 400,000 taels of silver! This value did not even include some precious antiques and expensive calligraphy paintings. “Hehe, what else is there to say? Where did your Yao family’s wealth come from? Put it all back and interrogate them carefully!” Su Wen had searched and confiscated Yao Gu’s residence! No one had expected this.
This matter soon attracted the attention of the civil officials!
After all, it was too much for Su Wen to directly raid the house.
Normally, according to the laws of the Great Zhou, only when the emperor gave the order or the trial was over would the residence be raided. Before that, it would at most be sealed. Especially when Su Wen wanted to capture Yao Gu, it was because Yao Gu tried to assassinate him. It had nothing to do with greed. This direct raid and confiscation had triggered the sensitive nerves of some people. Su Wen made a big fuss out of capturing people and raiding their homes, bringing all the valuable items back to the Secret Shadow Guard.
On the other end, someone entered the palace! The Chief Instructor of the Capital City Province, Chen Ming; the Minister of Rites, Zhang Zhi; and the Minister of Revenue, Wu Qiuhan all entered the palace at the same time to seek an audience with Emperor Zhou. Upon seeing Emperor Zhou, the three of them bowed. Emperor Zhou smiled and asked, “My dear ministers, what’s the matter?” Chen Ming stated in a deep voice, “Reporting to Your Majesty, I would like to impeach that Secret Shadow Guard Su Wen. This person is arrogant and despotic. Just now, he actually brought people to raid Yao Gu’s house. All his family members were captured and brought to the secret guard, as well as all of their family assets. I would like to ask if this case was decided by Your Majesty?”
Emperor Zhou shook his head. “It’s not my decision!”
The Minister of Rites, Zhang Zhi, then added, “Your Majesty, if the arrest was not commanded by Your Majesty, then it would be against the rules. Although this secret guard has the right to supervise, interrogate, and arrest, how could he not seize the house without questioning or interrogation?” Wu Qiuhan also said, “Your Majesty, you must not allow such a thing to happen. This secret guard has just been established, yet he is already so lawless! All of the officials in our Great Zhou will be in danger!”
Emperor Zhou frowned. He could understand why Su Wen behaved in this manner. After all, he had also received news of Su Wen’s assassination.
However, there was indeed no precedent of directly raiding the entire residence! However, the Zhou Emperor still had to protect Su Wen a little. He pretended to be relaxed and spoke out, “Su Wen is still young after all. He was agitated after being assassinated and this is his first time handling a case. It’s understandable that he went overboard.”
Chen Ming continued, “Your Majesty, what’s more, Su Wen said that Yao Gu tried to assassinate him. Are there any other witnesses? Yao Gu has no feud with him, so why would he want to kill him? Su Wen might have failed to assassinate Yao Gu with his men, and he might have accused Yao Gu instead. After all, everyone in the capital knows that Su Wen is bossy!”
Emperor Zhou said unhappily, “What are you talking about? How is that brat domineering? Did he tear down the walls of your house? Let’s just talk about the matter as it stands. Why are you trying to drag him down? Last night, Su Wen was assassinated by an 8th Grade Earth Rank cultivator. Would you bring a 5th and 6th Grade Earth Rank to assassinate such a person?”
Chen Ming also knew that these words were a little overboard.
He hurriedly added, “But we still can’t be sure that that person is Yao Gu. I heard that that person wore black clothes and a mask, so how can we be sure who he is?” Emperor Zhou glanced at him as he snarkily replied, “You sure are well-informed!” Chen Ming panicked, “Many of the houses nearby were destroyed by the overflowing True Qi, and three of them were injured. Many people reported it to me, and even the Ministry of Justice came to ask me about Yao Gu.”
Emperor Zhou pondered for a moment and said, “Summon Su Wen into the palace!” He still had to question Su Wen regarding the raid.
In the dungeon of the Secret Shadow Guard, Yao Gu’s family as well as his servants were all captured and imprisoned! Su Wen touched his chin and felt that he was missing something. “Go, capture that Meng Zhiping’s entire family! Isn’t Yao Gu on good terms with him? Isn’t this to avenge him? They won’t be able to escape either!”
A man with triangular eyes stood behind Su Wen. He was precisely Wei Guo’an. He looked to be about 50 years of age. After hearing Su Wen’s words, he smiled and said, “Alright! Commander, don’t worry, I will definitely capture all of them!” With Si Tu around, no one dared to disobey. Even though Wei Guo’an was an expert at peak 8th Grade, he still had to obey Su Wen’s orders obediently. After Wei Guo’an left, Su Wen pondered for a moment before pointing at Yao Gu’s wife. “Bring her out!” He recalled her information. Consort Li: 44 years old. Intrepid and jealous character, Yao Gu’s first wife.
In the interrogation room, Consort Li knelt down in front of Su Wen. On both sides of her were the Secret Shadow Guards.
Su Wen looked at her and asked calmly, “Where did Yao Gu go?” “I don’t know!” Madam Li directly said, “How would I know where he went? He didn’t come back yesterday.” Truth? Or lies?
Su Wen didn’t hesitate and continued asking, “Tell me, where did you get your money from?”
Madam Li shook her head, “I don’t know. The money was taken back by Yao Gu. How would I know how he got it?” Su Wen turned to the clerk beside him, “Note this down. Yao Gu earned all the money at home.”
Su Wen looked at Consort Li and smiled. “Let me introduce myself. You might not know me well, but my name is Su Wen. My father is the Prime Minister!”
Upon hearing Su Wen’s identity, Consort Li’s heartstrings tightened. After all, Su Changqing had the power to rule the country and Su Wen was famous throughout the capital. Although his reputation was not good, it was precisely this kind of bad reputation that was scary. Su Wen leaned back in his chair and said with a relaxed expression, “Since Yao Gu dared to attack me and I’m not dead, then he must be the one who dies. I don’t know where he is hiding now, but it doesn’t matter if I can’t catch him. It’s just that you guys will definitely be the unlucky ones!
Your son attacked me just now, right? For attacking a court official, beheading him isn’t too much, right? Of course, I can also not pursue this matter. Think about it carefully.” Consort Li’s face revealed a hint of fear! A smile appeared on Su Wen’s face. Women and mothers who did not care about their sons were the minority. This Consort Li was obviously not one of the minority!
Under the dim lights, the smile on Su Wen’s lips made Consort Li’s heart jump! Consort Li’s palms were covered in sweat.
Su Wen continued, “If I find Yao Gu and kill him, I will let this matter rest. However, if I can’t find him, I will not let him have it easy. Your son must die. As for you, don’t worry. I am a law-abiding person. As long as I find out that you are fine, I will release you without any charges!” “Take her away and lock her up alone. Let her think about it.”
“Next!”
The person who was brought in this time was also a woman, one of Yao Gu’s mistresses.
Su Wen flipped through the documents in his hands. He then introduced herself. It had to be said that Su Wen’s reputation was very useful in intimidating most ordinary people. “How many years has Consort Sun been with Yao Gu?” “Seven years.” The woman kneeling on the ground replied softly. “Do you know where Yao Gu went?” “I don’t know.” “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know. Think about it carefully. Where could he have gone? If you know, just tell me and Yao Gu will be dead. Then you don’t have to be so secretive about your relationship with Liu Wu anymore.”
Su Wen actually did not make up the story of Yao Gu being a cuckold. The woman suddenly raised her head and looked at Su Wen in shock. Su Wen smiled and said, “It’s fine even if you don’t say it. I will find someone to spread the news. I think with Yao Gu’s personality, he will definitely not let Liu Wu off, right? Perhaps he will be able to catch him if he goes fishing. As for you, your name will spread throughout the capital!” “Think about it. If Yao Gu dies, the residence will be yours. You will be able to live openly with Liu Wu. You can have your own child. If Yao Gu really loves you, why didn’t he have children with you for so many years? While you are young, he dotes on you. In a few years, when you are old and haggard, he will kick you away. You won’t be able to have children even if you want to. What will you do then?” “If you don’t confess, you’ll be considered one of Yao Gu’s accomplices and be sentenced to death. Have you heard of the term confiscate the property and exterminate the family? You won’t be able to escape either.” “If you confess, I can guarantee that you won’t die. I’ll consider it your contribution and even give you a sum of money, enough for you to live the rest of your life.” Su Wen’s voice was very low, but it clearly reached Consort Sun’s heart. It was like the whisper of a devil. Yes, the so-called feelings of love were so cruel when dissected!
“Sir! I really don’t know where Yao Gu is! I only know of some of Yao Gu’s methods of embezzlement… Oh right, I also know that he stood up for his son and secretly killed a few people!”
Su Wen waved his hand and said, “Bring her to the next room for questioning…” Su Wen didn’t know if these people knew where Yao Gu went, but he didn’t try to torture them immediately!
Su Wen didn’t know if these people knew where Yao Gu went, but he didn’t try to torture them immediately!
Attack the heart first.
People always cared about something. Besides, he knew very well that if he were to sentence them to jail without restraint, he would definitely fall into the ploy of others! These people who slept beside Yao Gu knew most of his dirty secrets. What happened next proved the case. This was especially for Yao Gu’s mistresses. Most of them quickly confessed to some of his crimes.
This was because Yao Gu didn’t allow them to have children.
Or rather, this was an agreement Yao Gu made with her first wife. Yao Gu would keep his mistresses outside and did not allow them to have children.
In Su Wen’s eyes, Yao Gu was better off dead.
But sometimes, people were just so strange. Although Yao Gu had beaten up his wife very badly, he had never let her go.
He even gave in to her to some extent.
This became Su Wen’s biggest breakthrough! Not many women were willing to give birth to children for the rest of their lives. They weren’t sure if Yao Gu would continue to support them.
When it really came down to it, they were afraid of being imprisoned. In his previous world, there would be many arrogant shrews outside which would turn terrified the moment they were brought into the police station, not to mention these women in the feudal age who were already scared out of their wits after entering the Secret Shadow Guard prison. Su Wen displayed their reality, threatened, and used bribery tactics. Most of them revealed the truth!
Husband and wife were merely birds of the same forest. When disaster struck, they would fly separately. Furthermore, since ancient times, it has always been the hearts of men that changed. Yao Gu was only interested in these women’s appearances. How could he possibly be sincere towards them?
And how could these women not know? Su Wen had just finished his interrogation when someone came to report. “Reporting to Lord Su, someone came from the palace.” Su Wen stood up from his chair and said, “Bring me the confession from the interrogation. I will bring it to the palace!” “Yes!”
The guard looked at Su Wen with reverence.
Now that Su Wen was in the Secret Shadow Guard, his reputation had gradually risen.
In the end, who wouldn’t want to follow a tough and unyielding leader? Furthermore, Su Wen’s series of methods had broadened the horizons of these guards. After all, to them, they only knew how to torture more.
The problem was, who didn’t know how to torture? As long as one was ruthless enough, there were simply too many ways to make people feel pain. With just a few words from Su Wen, he managed to get these people to confess. This made the guards even more shocked. Su Wen took the confessions and left. He had already guessed that Emperor Zhou would summon him for the matter of Yao Gu.
At this moment, Yao Gu was also feeling very uncomfortable. Within the Meng family’s secret underground chamber, apart from Yao Gu, there were many other treasures. It was where the Meng family stored their wealth.
Yao Gu was half lying on the ground. His wounds had already been bandaged at this point.
The problem was that his injuries were too severe.
It could even be said that his injuries were even more severe than Zhao Jin’s.
After that surge of adrenaline had passed, his entire body withered. “Uncle Yao, I’ve already prepared water and food that will last you for many days! No one at home knows that you are here. I’m the only one who knows where you are. If there’s nothing else, I’ll come down every night to empty the chamber pot for you. In the event that I cannot make it, or if it’s inconvenient for me to do so, please endure it for a while.” Meng Wei knew that Yao Gu was severely injured because he wanted to help avenge his own father. Therefore, when Yao Gu came to seek refuge in the middle of the night, he immediately hid him.
Yao Gu gritted his teeth and said, “I didn’t expect that even though the guard’s cultivation wasn’t high, yet he had so many tricks up his sleeves, forcefully injuring me! But I already know his methods! When I recover, I’ll kill his entire family!” Meng Wei opened and closed his mouth as he hesitated, but decided to tell Yao Gu in the end. “Uncle Yao, Su Wen has brought his men to capture your entire family and brought them into the Secret Shadow Guard!” “What?” Yao Gu’s eyes widened in anger. He wanted to get up in agitation but his wound started bleeding again. Meng Wei hurriedly said, “Uncle Yao, don’t affect your wound. I didn’t dare to invite a doctor for you, and in order to prevent suspicion, I also didn’t dare to use our medicines at home. I was afraid that if Su Wen brought people over to interrogate, someone would not be able to keep their mouth
shut.”
“You did the right thing!” Yao Gu leaned against the wall and sighed. “This person’s heart is the hardest to predict. It’s best to be careful.”
He then gritted his teeth, “But I never expected that Su Wen would act so quickly. Do you know how my wife and children are?”
Meng Wei shook his head and said, “I don’t know either. But what should we do now?”
Yao Gu pondered for a moment and said, “I will write a letter. Help me send it to Monk Hui Ming, the abbot of the Golden Wheel Monastery. With my injuries, I won’t be able to move for a while. The safety of my wife and children will depend on him!” Meng Wei was stunned. This Golden Wheel Monastery was a rather famous sect in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The abbot of the Monastery was also a 9th Grade Earth Rank martial artist. He could be considered a top figure in the martial world. He hesitated and said, “I heard that the abbot of Golden Wheel Monastery has profound Buddhist Dharma and rarely pays attention to external matters. Will it be useful to send it to him?”
Yao Gu explained, “He is my older brother! Very few people know of this relationship! In our family, after he swore celibacy, I am the only one left. If my son dies, there will be no descendants. Moreover, this matter has nothing to do with my son to begin with. Considering the relationship between us brothers and our parents, I’m sure he won’t refuse!”
Yao Gu immediately wrote the letter. Meng Wei was cautious and did not send the letter through his family. Instead, he went to the bodyguard company in the city to request them to deliver the letter. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief. Not long after he returned home, the Secret Shadow Guards arrived!
The entire Meng family was taken away!
Meanwhile in the Royal Palace, Su Wen entered the hall where Emperor Zhou was holding court.
Su Wen bowed and looked at the three people beside him. He asked curiously, “May I know why Your Majesty summoned me into the
palace?”
Emperor Zhou asked in a low voice, “You brought people to raid the house of the Capital City Spear instructor, Yao Gu, right?” “That’s right!” As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Zhi stood out and said, “You’re only a Secret Shadow Guard’s Commander. The matter of Yao Gu hasn’t been convicted yet, so what right do you have to go to raid his residence? Don’t you know that you’re overstepping your authority? Moreover, Yao Gu’s assassination of you should be thoroughly investigated by the Ministry of Justice, so how could it be your turn to investigate? You’re overstepping your authority!” The crime of overstepping one’s authority could be big or small. If it was big, one would end up beheaded. In other words, for an emperor, it was extremely unpleasant for his subordinates to overstep their authority and overstep his control.
Everyone looked at Su Wen and saw him taking out a small notebook. After flipping through a page, he said, “According to the authorization of the Secret Shadow Guard issued by His Majesty, the fourth clause states that if a person is suspected to have illegally obtained goods, the Secret Shadow Guard has the qualifications to detain them. According to the investigation of the Secret Shadow Guard, Yao Gu’s daily life is extravagant, and his family’s wealth is clearly incompatible with his income. Based on common sense, Yao Gu might probably be involved in some corrupt dealings. After Yao Gu attempted to assassinate me yesterday, he must have run away. In order to prevent his family from transferring the illegal goods, they must be detained. Is there a problem?” Zhang Zhi said angrily, “Aren’t you talking nonsense? Is having too much property considered corruption? Can’t they do business? Can’t they win these assets by gambling?” Su Wen said with a smile, “It’s ‘suspected to be illegally obtained goods’ that was written here by His Majesty. It’s SUSPECTED. Dear Sir, have you never studied before? Whether it’s true or not, we have to finish the investigation first.”
Chen Ming interrupted, “Hehe, that Yao Gu is an 8th Grade Earth Rank cultivator. His salary is already quite high, and the Imperial Court has given him quite a lot of rewards. You want to confiscate all of his family’s wealth? Could it be that all of his family’s private possessions are illegal goods?” Su Wen didn’t think much of it. “Sir, since Yao Gu might have accepted bribes, can you then tell me which piece of silver from his family is the illegally obtained goods?” “Who knows?” Chen Ming retorted. Su Wen smiled. “That’s right. Yao Gu lives a luxurious life. His daily expenses should mostly come from his salary. Those that are kept at home are most likely the illegally obtained silver. Of course, they have to be confiscated first.” Chen Ming: “…What are you talking about? How do you know he spent his salary?” Su Wen stared at him and said, “Lord Chen Ming has a good relationship with Yao Gu, right? According to the investigation of the Secret Shadow Guard, you even drank with him a few days ago. If he’s not spend his salary, then Lord Chen Ming is technically sharing his illegally obtained funds with him!” “Don’t you slander me!” Chen Ming turned around and looked at Emperor Zhou. He knelt on the ground and said, “Your Majesty, this Su Wen is simply unreasonable!” To his surprise, neither the Zhou Emperor nor his allies spoke. Su Wen was holding a small notebook that was written in black and white, thus he was actually being very reasonable. Emperor Zhou was speechless. He had set this rule because he was afraid that the evidence would be lost and had fixed this for the benefit of the Secret Shadow Guard. But now, Su Wen was taking this loophole and directly raiding someone’s house… This was something he never expected. However, Su Wen’s explanation just had to make sense.
Zhang Zhi and Wu Qiuhan were much smarter than Chen Ming, so the moment Su Wen mentioned the clause, the two of them knew that it was impossible for them to go against Su Wen today.
The two of them looked at Emperor Zhou bitterly.
Zhang Zhi said, “Your Majesty… isn’t this clause… a bit too much?”
Emperor Zhou felt aggrieved! He didn’t mean it that way. However, he naturally wouldn’t say this in front of his subjects. Instead, his expression turned rigid. “How is it too much? I think it’s quite good! Since it’s illegally obtained goods, we should confiscate them, no?” Emperor Zhou endured this for the sake of his
pride.
Wu Qiuhan knew Emperor Zhou quite well, thus he secretly tugged at Zhang Zhi. Zhang Zhi realized and also reacted. He had gone a little overboard with his words. At this moment, Su Wen spoke. He bowed towards Emperor Zhou and said in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, I heard what this Lord Zhang Zhi said just now and feel that Your Majesty should add a sentence to the laws of Great Zhou — The crime of a huge amount of property with unknown sources! For ordinary officials, Your Majesty can send us Secret Shadow Guards to investigate their assets and origins before sending us to verify it! For those who cannot prove it or verify it, they should be punished according to the law!” Zhang Zhi’s eyes widened! F*ck! This kid is too ruthless! “Your Majesty, you can’t!” Zhang Zhi fell to his knees and said in a deep voice, “How can this be? I’ve never heard of such laws since ancient times!”
Su Wen smiled. “Lord Zhang, what is wrong with this law? You can tell me!”
“This…”
Of course, there was nothing wrong with it. However, this law was fatal to corrupt officials!
“Nonsense!” Emperor Zhou rebuked. “Do you think you can add the law with just one word? This Great Zhou’s law is something that countless people have deliberated over. It cannot be changed easily. I will remember this law of yours first. After I discuss it with my beloved ministers, I will make a decision!” Emperor Zhou’s words immediately suppressed Su Wen’s suggestion. He was very clear about the current political governance of the Great Zhou Dynasty. If he really did as Su Wen said, it would be akin to flipping a table in an instant. Every bit of filth would be thoroughly investigated and when that time came, it would be a huge mess! It was because the people were not familiar with being investigated at all. For example, if one came here to gamble. Who did they gamble with? When did they gamble? Did they win so much in a day? Did they go every day? Did they have any proper business? Once the gambling dens investigated and used their methods, who would lie to them?
It would definitely not match up. As for doing business, it would be easier to investigate. One would just write the accounts and check them later.
Money would never fall from the sky. However, Emperor Zhou hoped that the officials would restrain themselves and be obedient! He did not hope for a situation where all the officials were not greedy! If the officials were greedy, the Secret Shadow Guard would be akin to the sword of the Damocles on their heads, ready to fall at any moment.
This would allow them to be even more respectful and obedient to the emperor.
If no one was greedy, it would not be a good thing for Emperor Zhou! At least, Emperor Zhou thought so. Seeing Emperor Zhou’s attitude, Su Wen pursed his lips. “Hehe, don’t try to mediate.” “What did you say?” Emperor Zhou was furious. “If you dare to speak without thinking, I will get someone to beat you up!” At this moment, Wu Qiuhan looked at Su Wen and questioned him, “Lord Su, Yao Gu committed a crime and has yet to be convicted. Why did you imprison his entire family?” Su Wen smiled and said, “We have to interrogate them about it. This is a case we’re dealing with. If we don’t question anyone about it, where will we get the clues?” “Does Lord Su have any clues? If not, don’t lock them up for too long. After all, they are law abiding citizens, and even ordinary commoners. They cannot withstand the punishment of the Secret Shadow Guard!” Su Wen smiled and said, “What a coincidence, I really managed to find out something!” As he spoke, he gave several statements from the mistresses to the Zhou Emperor. Emperor Zhou didn’t expect Su Wen to find clues so quickly as well. He held it in his hand and looked at the confessions of those people. After a long while, he angrily rebuked, “This Yao Gu deserves to die. Not only did he steal from us, he even dared to obstruct my Great Zhou General’s promotion test. How hateful! We should quickly bring him to justice!” After he finished speaking, he handed the confession to Chen Ming and the others. The three of them read it and Chen Ming questioned, “How long has it been since Lord Su captured them? Could it be that he coerced them to confess through punishment?”
Su Wen smiled and said, “I have never used torture before! If Sir Chen doesn’t believe me, you can ask His Majesty to summon these people into the palace for questioning!” Chen Ming didn’t believe him. “Are you kidding me? They are Yao Gu’s mistresses. If you don’t punish them, will they confess?” Emperor Zhou was also curious and immediately summoned those ladies into the palace. They were already scared out of their wits. Once they entered the palace, they would answer whatever Emperor Zhou asked. And there were clearly no wounds on their bodies.
Wu Qiuhan and the other two fell silent after hearing them speak? Wasn’t this Su Wen a profligate young master? Why was he so meticulous?
“Alright! All of you can leave now. I’m a little tired.” Emperor Zhou lay down and said softly. Everyone bid farewell and left.
The moment they stepped out of the palace…. Emperor Zhou sat up immediately! He took out a secret Shadow Guard book and flipped through it. He muttered to himself as he did, “That’s not right! How can there be a loophole? How did this kid find a loophole? How do we change it?” Emperor Zhou was a little agitated.
The old eunuch didn’t dare to continue the conversation. He watched as Emperor Zhou held a small notebook and paced back and forth.
Emperor Zhou felt disgruntled! The rules that he thought were perfect were always found by Su Wen.
“So annoying!” Emperor Zhou sat down and slammed the table. He said angrily, “This kid is really annoying. Can’t he be a little more stupid?”
At this point, he was not the only person who felt distraught. Wu Qiuhan and the other two were the same. As the three of them walked out of the palace together, Chen Ming gritted his teeth, “It’s a pity, Yao Gu! We’re screwed this time! We originally said that we can’t let the Secret Shadow Guard wantonly raid our house, but this is actually part of His Majesty’s rules! What should we do?”
Wu Qiuhan shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, can’t you tell? His Majesty is actually very surprised as well. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have summoned Su Wen into the palace. After this, His Majesty will change the scope of the Secret Shadow Guards’ boundaries. He will not allow them to raid a place as they please. Otherwise, how many people would be innocent if they were to do the same?”
Wu Qiuhan sighed. “It’s just that our good days are coming to an end. His Majesty does not intend to leave us officials with no way out, but it’s just that we cannot let the Secret Shadow Guard have any evidence against us. Otherwise, no one can save us!”
Speaking up to this point, Wu Qiuhan gritted his teeth and said, “When His Majesty created the Secret Shadow Guard, Su Changqing actually disregarded the opposition of the entire dynasty and stood on His Majesty’s side. So it was his son who transferred into the Secret Shadow Guard! We were all fooled by this old fox, he had already thought of a way out! Su Wen entered the Secret Shadow Guard, then Su Changqing will attack his enemy and it will be even more convenient for him to protect himself!” If Su Changqing were to hear his words, he would definitely cry out in grievance. Su Wen was quick and had already left the palace before them.
When they returned to the Secret Shadow Guard, Meng Wei’s family was also brought over.
This time, Su Wen did not interrogate Meng Wei first. Instead, he started questioning the Meng family’s servants. First, he asked about Yao Gu’s relationship with the Meng family. Then, he asked about what they heard last night.
Finally, he made them recount everything that happened in their residence from last night to today. Very soon, Su Wen gained something. One of the kitchen servants said that the kitchen was lacking in some rations and food!
Meng Wei was already very careful and had secretly taken some rations and food from the kitchen. However, the problem was that these servants naturally knew the kitchen well, thus they would definitely find out if there was food missing in the kitchen. It was just that no one knew who took it. In addition, most of the people in the kitchen liked to steal as well, so no one took it seriously. But when Su Wen asked carefully, they still mentioned it.
Immediately after, Su Wen questioned every single servant strictly! After confirming that it was not taken by one of them, Su Wen had a brief inkling in his heart!
Meng Wei was probably the one who took the item! And he definitely knew Yao Gu’s whereabouts. Of course, it could also be Meng Wei’s mother. However, in this era, the ones who kept their word were usually men since they had much more to lose in the feudal age! In the dark interrogation room, Meng Wei was brought to Su Wen. When he saw Su Wen, he roared, “Who are you? What right do you have to arrest me? I’m not guilty!” Su Wen sneered. “I am Su Wen! Because my guard killed your father, I even gave you 100,000 taels of silver as compensation, but you didn’t take it.”
Meng Wei frowned, “Is it against the law to not want your money?” “Speak! Where did you hide Yao Gu?” Su Wen suddenly shouted in a stern tone. “What Yao Gu! I don’t know!” Meng Wei straightened his neck and spoke righteously!
