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Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 84 (Part 1)

At the end of the day, Lord Zhao bid farewell to Emperor Xuanguang and returned to the ghost mansion. Others saw him alone, but they didn’t know that Emperor Xuanguang, who was supposed to live in the palace, would disappear and follow him home almost every day.

The two were communicating with each other on the way.

“I haven’t done anything wrong lately, why should I be punished?” You Shu said angrily, feeling extremely aggrieved.

“You haven’t done anything wrong lately? The ministers urged me to establish an empress and choose concubines. Why didn’t you stand up and oppose it?”

“Then what should I say if they ask the reason for my objection?”

“Just say that the Emperor belongs to you alone. Only you can eat it, and others can’t. If they object, just draw a few ghost charms and tell them to enjoy themselves.” Emperor Xuanguang said with a smile.

No wonder the Young Master’s heart is becoming even more evil and dark. It’s all due to the bad teachings of this king. The ancestor who was waiting by the door couldn’t listen anymore and hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

You Shu was interrupted and couldn’t continue to argue anymore. He blushed and whispered, “Anyway, I don’t agree with the punishment you mentioned! One dragon is already thick enough, two dragons will kill people.”

“Don’t worry, I have the elixir in my hand…” The king’s shameless voice gradually disappeared at the end of the corridor. The ancestor then wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and pretended that she didn’t understand anything at all.

…. People who know the art of splitting their bodies are really terrifying!

About an hour later, the door opened and You Shu limped out, supported by Emperor Xuanguang with a satisfied look on his face. The two of them sat down in the side hall and upon seeing the big fish and meat on the table, they said in unison, “Take these dishes away and bring two bowls of vegetable porridge.”

The ancestor’s mouth twitched slightly, and she quickly took the order and left. 

As soon as she went out, she saw a little ghost running towards her, saying that Zhao Youcai wanted to see the Young Master.

It is now the tenth year of Xuanguang. After ten years of reforms, Dayong has gradually restored its former prosperity, and those who were once dismissed from official positions also have the opportunity to start anew. 

After several years of hard study, Zhao Youcai finally passed the exam held by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and became a petty official responsible for sorting out documents. Although he was at the bottom of the hierarchy of power, he at least got rid of his miserable situation where he didn’t have enough to eat and no home to live in.

I don’t know if he had any ulterior motives, but he slowly began to approach You Shu. Even though he was scared to death by the ancestor and other ghosts every time, he still came to the door every few days to deliver some gifts. The gifts were not valuable, but they were more than delicious. You Shu accepted them as he wanted to see what this person was planning behind his back.

This time the other party brought a braised pig head, and you could smell the rich aroma of the meat from far away. The saliva from You Shu’s mouth was about to drip, and he couldn’t help but stretch out his neck to look. Emperor Xuanguang concealed his figure and secretly pressed the person’s half-raised buttocks, saying with a smile, “Be obedient, you can’t eat this now.”

You Shu gritted his teeth and said angrily, feeling very aggrieved, “Didn’t you say that it would be fine immediately after applying the elixir?”

Seeing his sad face, Emperor Xuanguang comforted him, “I’ll help you freeze the pig’s head, personally heat it up tomorrow night, and then cut it into slices and feed it to your mouth, is that okay?”

As they were talking, Zhao Youcai had already entered the side hall and saw that You Shu was having a meal. Looking at the two bowls of porridge on the table, he couldn’t help but ask, “Cousin, do you have guests?”

“No, these two bowls are mine.” You Shu stared at the braised pig head in his hand.

Zhao Youcai understood and hurriedly handed over the pig’s head, asking him to put it in the ice cellar and eat it slowly. 

The ancestor nodded in agreement and was about to take the pig’s head to freeze when he saw the king’s angry expression, stopping her, “Slow down, there is something wrong with this pig’s head. I will be here soon, wait for a moment.”

You Shu knew that the master saw things not only with his eyes, but also with his divine consciousness. His master could easily detect abnormalities that were difficult for ordinary people to detect with just a glance. If he said that there was something wrong with the pig’s head, then the problem must be big.  

You Shu chatted with Zhao Youcai as usual, while the ancestor walked slowly carrying the pig’s head, but Emperor Xuanguang had disappeared from the side hall and ordered Ou Tai to meet him immediately.

Ou Tai was eating his meal happily when he saw the token flashing. He put down the bowl to press it and immediately appeared in a remote alley. His master was wearing ordinary clothes, standing at the entrance of the alley waving to him.  

The two of them pretended to visit privately in their humble attire and knocked on the door of the Zhao mansion. Then they were respectfully led into the side hall by an old ghost.

At this time, Zhao Youcai was just getting up to say goodbye, but when he saw the emperor and the Minister of Justice approaching one after another, he immediately welcomed them in fear. This time, no matter how the ghost servants tried to drive him away, he refused to leave. You Shu also welcomed them, waving his hands repeatedly to ask his servants to add more food.

“My cousin just happened to bring a braised pig head. Let’s steam it and serve it as the main course.”

As soon as he made this suggestion, Zhao Youcai’s expression changed and he said in a trembling voice, “The braised pig head has a strong taste and it doesn’t look very inelegant. How can the emperor enjoy it? Why not let the chef make some more exquisite dishes?”

Emperor Xuanguang waved his hand, “It’s fine. I am originally a white dragon turned into fish, and I want to experience common people’s livelihood. This dish of braised pig head is just right.” Ou Tai also echoed.

{White dragon turned into fish = referring to emperors or high-ranking officials hiding their identities and travelling in disguise.}

After finally getting the opportunity to meet the real dragon, Zhao Youcai was a bit absent-minded, sweating profusely. He wanted to say goodbye several times, but was cleverly blocked by Ou Tai. 

When the ancestor and the ghost servants came up with the dishes, he breathed a sigh of relief. The braised pig head was still the same, untouched.

However, it was too early for him to rest assured. Ou Tai actually picked up the dagger on the tray and slowly cut the pig’s head open, saying that he liked to eat the brain marrow the most. He dug a little to try it first, only to find that the brain marrow and skull had been removed and replaced with several gold bars.

“What’s going on?” Before Ou Tai could react, Emperor Xuanguang asked in a deep voice.

Zhao Youcai knelt down with a thud and told the story in its entirety. It turned out that he had already been bought by You Shu’s political enemies, stuffing six gold bars into the pig’s head, which converted into six hundred taels of silver. Then tomorrow, someone will naturally impeach You Shu in court for accepting bribes. 

According to the law, anyone who embezzled more than sixty taels will be beheaded. This is the bottom line set by Emperor Xuanguang himself, and it is impossible to contradict it.

Everything had been fully prepared, including the evidence. Zhao Youcai would only need to spend a few years in prison, and when he comes out, he will get a fourth rank official position and a reward of one hundred thousand taels. On the other hand, You Shu, who won’t be able to argue with anyone, could only be sentenced to death with a thousand cuts.

From this, it can be seen how much time and energy they have spent in bringing down You Shu. However, they never expected that Emperor Xuanguang would come by such a coincidence and bump into Zhao Youcai. 

He has been in a high position for a long time and his momentum is astonishing. How can Zhao Youcai resist it? He almost spilled everything without any questioning.

Emperor Xuanguang was silent for a long time, feeling as if a violent storm was about to descend. When Zhao Youcai thought he would be furious, he hugged You Shu and made him sit on his lap, pinching the tip of his nose and saying with a smile, “Did you hear that? You almost became a pig’s head, ready to be stewed in a pot!”

You Shu’s face was full of annoyance and couldn’t help but sigh.

Looking at the intimate posture of the two of them, Zhao Youcai was frightened. If he had known that his cousin and the emperor had this kind of relationship, why would he listen to those people? He only needed to serve his cousin well to rise up. But it was already too late to regret it. He was taken into custody by Ou Tai to write a confession, had his fingerprints pressed, and was immediately put into prison to await trial.

A pig’s head unexpectedly exposed a shocking conspiracy of framing an upright official. Twenty-eight people were implicated, most of them were first and second-rank officials, and even several high-ranking dukes. After pleading guilty, they were all sentenced to death by a thousand cuts, implicating their nine clans.

Although Emperor Xuanguang’s methods are somewhat decisive and ruthless, they are also lenient and strict. If he could leave a glimmer of hope, he would never annihilate them all. He rarely made judgments that implicated nine clans, but this time he killed twenty-eight clans in a row, which was unprecedented. The ministers finally realised that Lord Zhao was like an evil existence in the emperor’s heart. They should stay away from him in the future to avoid being accidentally hurt.

More than a month had passed when the news of the annihilation of the twenty-eight clans reached Suichang, causing great shock to the people. In a certain teahouse, the guests were discussing this matter, even ignoring the babbling songs on the stage.

“Isn’t it said that the emperor is very kind? How could he kill so many people in a row? Could it be that the person framed is a relative of the emperor, angering the emperor to such an extent.”

“Where did you hear that? The emperor only killed the main culprits, and the so-called ‘implicated nine clans’ means just demoting their relatives to commoners and selling them into the Jiaofang Division.”

(Jiaofang Division= an official division that manages the music performances in the palace, such as sacrificial ceremonies, banquets, etc.)

“That’s tragic enough! The extravagant families with fine food and clothes fell apart overnight; the once high and mighty aristocrats are now reduced to the humblest slaves or even official prostitutes, which is really heartbreaking to think about. Everyone is human here, are the relatives of the emperor particularly different?” A certain Confucian scholar shook his head and sighed.

A merchant sneered, “Do you know who they’ve tried to harm? If you know, it won’t be too late to pity them.”

“Who did they harm?” Such shocking cases are usually suppressed by the superiors, so the public had very little inside information to know.

The merchant was from the capital and was well-informed. He whispered in a low voice, “The person who was framed is not really a relative of the emperor. In fact, he can be considered half a Suichang person.”

“Could it be, could it be County Magistrate Xiao Zhao?” Someone asked in a trembling voice.

“That’s right, it is your County Magistrate Xiao Zhao. Because he strongly advocated for the abolition of the land occupation system and the implementation of the land equalization system, he harmed the interests of the vast majority of the powerful figures, which led to this calamity.” The merchant showed an angry expression. Because Magistrate Xiao Zhao not only considered the interests of the farmers, but also improved the status of merchants, allowing them to participate in the imperial examination and enter the officialdom. 

It can be said that Magistrate Xiao Zhao is a rare and virtuous official who couldn’t be seen in a hundred years. If he is killed, who will plead for the people? Those powerful figures who rely on common people’s corpses to fill their pockets, or those dog officials who listen with their ears closed?

The scholar who had shown pity just now was now filled with rage. He slapped the table and cursed, “Damn it, how dare they harm County Magistrate Xiao Zhao! Fortunately, the emperor was observant and didn’t let good people suffer injustice!”

“Good killing! Even if all of their nine clans are annihilated, no one will be wronged!”

“They actually tried to harm our Magistrate Xiao Zhao! If anything unexpected happens to him, we can break into the prison again!” This person was obviously one of the victims who once broke through the city gate, attempting to rescue Magistrate Xiao Zhao. All the people at his table were from the same group back then, and now they have set up escort agencies to travel between the various prefectures. So naturally, they know how different Suichang is compared to other county towns.

Because the succeeding magistrate was deeply aware of the extraordinary methods of Magistrate Xiao Zhao, he didn’t dare to change the decrees that were previously promulgated by the other party. 

Within half a year, that person was promoted to five levels in a row to become the Minister of the Household Affairs, immediately joining the cabinet. Therefore, he even regarded the pamphlet given by the other party as a guideline and followed it without making any mistakes. 

Now, the bridges in Suichang are more magnificent than those in other places; the roads are flatter than those in other places; and the embankments are also stronger than those in other places. The floods rage every year, but never break through the shackles in Suichang.

But these are nothing. What is more important is the spiritual outlook of Suichang people. They understand the preciousness of life better than anyone else, and the importance of staying together through thick and thin and helping each other better through the storms. Regardless of whether you are rich or poor, as long as you meet in another place, everyone is a friend, and they all value love and righteousness and seek to repay kindness.

They are very united, but it doesn’t mean they dislike people from other places. Of course, it’s a different matter if outsiders criticise County Magistrate Xiao Zhao. Now, someone actually deliberately tried to harm Magistrate Xiao Zhao. So they all gathered together to denounce the culprits, and then prepared to go to the county government office to write a petition, asking the emperor to severely punish those culprits without mercy.

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