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Because Emperor Xuanguang had long planned to rectify the Ministry of Household Affairs, he imprisoned all the officials from there as soon as the Holy decree was issued. His thunderous tactics did not allow them to even modify the account books and erase the evidence of crime. 

The account books kept by the Ministry of Household Affairs over the years are now all piled up in the Qianqing Palace, occupying five or six side halls. Countless soldiers and generals have been deployed outside. It can be said that the defence is so tight that even the water won’t be able to get in.

You Shu reluctantly left the Qianqing Palace and was taken to the side hall. The leader, Ou Tai, whispered, “From today on, you will be working in the Qianqing Palace, so keep your token safe, otherwise these soldiers will not let you in, and may even kill you on the spot.”

“How could it be so serious?” An official asked fearfully.  If one doesn’t have a waist token, you can just drive them away. How can you just kill people in the palace at will? Doesn’t the emperor care?

“Look carefully,” Ou Tai warned in a low voice.” This is the Tiger Army from the northwest border. They are the most brave and skilled in warfare, and only know how to execute the emperor’s orders without distinguishing right from wrong. The emperor has ordered that those who approach the side hall causally without waist tokens should be killed without mercy. They only recognize tokens, not people.”

The northwest border is the emperor’s fiefdom. It turned out to be the emperor’s personal soldiers, no wonder they are so intimidating! Everyone nodded to express their understanding, but You Shu understood that there was another meaning in Ou Tai’s words. 

He had browsed through the palace newspapers over the years and remembered that a major event happened in the northwest ten years ago. 

At that time, because the Ministry of Household Affairs didn’t distribute military pay and supplies for a long time, the Northwest Tiger Army was almost wiped out when facing the enemy. There was also the tragedy of eating the corpses of deceased comrades to survive.

Ten years is not enough time to heal people’s wounds, and it seems that these soldiers’ hatred towards corrupt officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs has reached the bone marrow. Allowing them to keep an eye on the books makes it extremely unlikely that they will be bribed. Moreover, the master transferred them to the capital, so perhaps they were already ready to completely annihilate the Ministry of Household Affairs and intimidate all officials.

You Shu guessed correctly. After they left the main hall, Emperor Xuanguang called several officials from the Ministry of Punishment to amend the law and changed the seven words “beheading– for six hundred taels of corruption” to “beheading– for sixty taels of corruption.”  

In other words, if you randomly pick out the lowest levels of yamen officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs, it has already reached the standard of beheading.

It can be imagined how much turmoil this law will cause once it is promulgated, and the selected officials also had a vague premonition. After entering the side hall, their hands and feet were cold and their scalps became numb. They thought that these account books stacked in the hall are more like the talismans that may take the lives of others one by one, and more likely, their own lives.

As a result, they sat down for a few quarters of an hour without making any movements, and just kept wiping their sweat. Ou Tai didn’t rush them either, holding a teacup and sipping slowly. He doesn’t know how to audit accounts, he just came here to work as a supervisor, and by the way, he carefully observed Lord Zhao, who is particularly valued by the master.

Facts have proven that the master’s vision is as accurate as ever. Lord Zhao is far superior in both talent and temperament to ordinary people. He immediately found out the arrangement pattern of all account books after entering the side hall, and only began to take action after remembering where the account books for each year, region, and department were placed.

You Shu dragged the oldest box of account books to his desk and slowly said, “Based on the twenty years of the Yuanguang era, I will check the old accounts before, and you will check the new accounts after. Lord Qian is responsible for the territory accounts, Lord Sun is responsible for the farmland accounts, Lord Li is responsible for the household registration accounts, Lord Zhou is responsible for the tax accounts, and Lord Wang is responsible for the salary accounts. It’s not too late, let’s start now.”

He seemed to have thought of something and looked at Ou Tai, saying, “Also, all the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs are now imprisoned. If we encounter any relevant government affairs, will they all be approved by the emperor himself? The emperor is busy with so many things, why not leave it to us to handle it together?”

Only then did everyone come back to their senses, and looked at him, thinking that Lord Zhao is really ambitious, and he had set his sights on the position of Minister of Household Affairs.

Ou Tai nodded and said, “The emperor has given instructions in advance that Lord Zhao can review and approve all matters related to the Ministry of household Affairs on his own. If there are any matters that are difficult to decide, report them to the emperor.”

Can he go to the master when facing difficulties? After some consideration, You Shu decided to intentionally make a few mistakes even if there are no difficulties. However, going too often would inevitably leave the impression of his mediocrity and incompetence on the master, so it is also necessary to show his skills.

He frowned, feeling troubled about pursuing people. He couldn’t do it if he was too eager, too slow, too explicit, or too subtle. It’s an eternal problem!

Fortunately, his IQ was off the charts, and even though he put all his thoughts on his master, he did not delay his work. Others only saw him sketching on the account book with a pen, but he had already read more than a dozen account books in a quarter of an hour. There was a clatter, followed by another clatter, and it’s all over.

This was the first time for people to see this strange and fast accounting method, and they were somewhat suspicious. However, thinking of his unparalleled counting ability, they didn’t dare to ask rashly. Ou Tai had no such worries, so he walked over and asked, “Lord Zhao, have you finished reviewing all these account books? Did you find any clues?”

“I have already put all the problematic account books aside. So far, I have not found any without problems.” You Shu said bluntly.

Ou Tai nodded and was about to pick up an account book to read when he saw the master dressed as Lord Yama appearing in the hall out of thin air. He quickly put down his account book and walked back to his original position, pretending to pick up a teacup and take a sip in order to conceal his panicked expression.

You Shu took a slight breath before revealing an expression of surprise and joy. Since the last conversation, this person has never visited again, causing him to feel panicked for a long time.

“You’re finally here.” He used his mental power to communicate, with a tone of grievance that he didn’t even realise.

“What? Did you miss me?” Lord Yama sat down next to him and got closer to look at the account book in his hand.

You Shu’s face turned red and his expression became tangled, but he didn’t know how to lie. After a few breaths, his voice sounded as small as a mosquito, “A little.” 

His hands that were flipping through the account book habitually slowed down so that the other party could see clearly.

“What’s ‘a little’?” Lord Yama teased in a playful way.

You Shu lowered his head to check the accounts and didn’t say anything. His ears, cheeks, and neck were all flushed. Lord Yama put his hands under his armpits and scratched him gently, continuing to ask, “What’s ‘a little’?”

You Shu threw himself on the table like a twisted candy cane, biting his lower lip with his teeth to prevent himself from laughing, but because he was so ticklish, he couldn’t help but make a moaning sound.  

Looking at his blushing cheeks, watery eyes, and hearing his constant moans, Lord Yama seemed to be possessed and stared at him intently, and his body quickly reacted. 

Not only did he not let go of the person, but he took him into his arms and stroked him up and down, biting his ear and asking again, “What’s ‘a little’? Tell me quickly, otherwise I will tickle you all day long.”

Lord Zhao, who had a serious and business-like face just now, was now rolling in his seat and moaning. Everyone thought he had an emergency, but upon closer inspection, they found that his expression was very… very lively and cheerful, and they were all confused for a moment.

Only Ou Tai knew what was going on. He covered his face with his sleeves and did not dare to look around. He never expected that his master, who had a heart as strong as iron and terrifying means, would behave like this in front of Lord Zhao. And it’s not just playing, he is openly in heat right now. 

Apart from Lord Zhao, who was hugged from behind, he was probably the only one who could see the huge bulge in his master’s lower abdomen. Is this the practice of being a Deng Tuzi in the name of playing? This person was acting so serious and rigid in the main hall just now, but in the blink of an eye he changed his identity and came to flirt with people, without any fear of capsizing his own ship in the future.(Deng Tuzi= used here to describe lecherous people)

Ou Tai was secretly worried about his master, and upon hearing Lord Zhao’s increasingly tempting moans, he quickly fled.

You Shu suppressed his voice until he was almost out of breath and quickly shouted, “Stop tickling, I, I admit, I missed you a little.”

“Just a little?” Lord Yama took off one of his boots and gently scratched the snow-white and delicate soles of his feet. With the help of the tablecloth, no one could see the boot falling off on its own.

You Shu admitted defeat and said frankly, “Not a little, but a lot. Is that enough?” As soon as he spoke, he realised that his longing for this person had become really deep. He still likes the master, but he finds it difficult to let go of another person, naturally leading him to the depths of his heart, difficult to stop, difficult to erase.

Could it be that I am really a half-hearted scumbag? You Shu grabbed his own hair, his expression confused and annoyed.

Seeing him like this, Lord Yama quickly changed the subject, “Alright, I’ll let you go for now. I heard that Emperor Xuanguang is going to rectify the Ministry of Household Affairs. Are you the one chosen? Do you know what the outside world calls the censor?”

While speaking, he smoothed You Shu’s clothes and combed his hair, but he couldn’t bear to let go of the slender ankles under the table.

Because of his subtle movements, others only felt that after Lord Zhao sat up straight, his clothes and hair automatically straightened out, but they didn’t think it was strange. Seeing that the other person’s face was rosy and didn’t seem to be sick, they stopped thinking of calling the imperial physician. The momentum of the Tiger Army outside is astonishing, and it really takes a lot of courage to move around under their gazes.

As expected, You Shu stopped thinking about whether he was a scumbag and asked curiously, “What does the outside world call a censor?”

“Ghost gate pass. Entering here is like stepping half a foot into a coffin. Knowing the nobles outside, how many people want to kill you, and then burn these account books? Not nine out of ten, but ten out of ten. You, and Emperor Xuanguang, are already enemies of the entire court.”

You Shu let out an “oh”, but there was no fear on his face.

“For the sake of Emperor Xuanguang, are you really not afraid of death?” Lord Yama said in a slightly sour tone.

Ou Tai waited for his master to have enough fun before walking in, and he happened to hear these words when he came. He hid his face and slandered in his heart: Emperor Xuanguang and Lord Yama, isn’t it all you? What kind of vinegar are you eating?

You Shu said frankly, “The reason why I am not afraid is, first– because I am willing to sacrifice everything for my master, and second– because I believe in you. I know that you will protect me.”

“Then don’t you think it’s unfair to me? You go through fire and water for another person, but you want me to do everything for you. How could there be someone so cheap in the world?”

You Shu was stunned for a long time, then raised his palm and wanted to slap himself twice, but the dumbfounded Lord Yama grabbed his wrist and said helplessly, “I am just teasing you. You are my friend, so of course I will protect you, and I believe you feel the same way. But when I come to ask you for something in return, don’t refuse it.”

You Shu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed, but he no longer dared to think about whether he loved both of them.  He doesn’t have enough emotional intelligence and feels as if his head is going to explode.

When everyone saw Lord Zhao moaning and twisting around for a while, and then raising his hand to aim at his own cheek, looking as if he wanted to slap himself, they all sighed in their hearts: No wonder Lord Zhao ran into the palace without fear of death. It turned out that he’s really crazy. Only Ou Tai secretly laughed until he got internal injuries, but was worried about being silenced by his master, so he had to sit far away.

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