When Liu Zhenqing awoke, he felt that the thing he was holding was a bit uncomfortable, square and hard.

Then he opened his eyes and met a handsome face. The violent and murderous spirit was gone, along with the majesty and coldness, so that only clean, pure defenselessness remained.

It took him a moment to realize what he had forgotten the night before.

His bad sleeping habits, ah!

He saw that he was using both hands and feet to wrap around Huo Fenglie’s body like an octopus.

But seeing Huo Fenglie sleeping peacefully, he probably hadn’t been affected by him. After all, he was taller than him now, so his small bit of strength should be like a tickle.

Liu Zhenqing wanted to take away his hands and feet, but the sensation under his hands was a bit interesting. What a good figure, ah.

Eventually, this person woke up.

He had been taking medicine continuously to stabilize his old illness, but still had to deal with this case without rest. No matter how strong his body was, he couldn’t sustain it. Therefore, Huo Fenglie slept very peacefully that night, especially when he felt a familiar strength while sleeping.

When he woke up, his head was as sober as usual, but he was a little confused after opening his eyes.

Beside the pillow, he saw Liu Zhenqing resting his head on one hand while lying on his side and looking at him with a smile. “Did I wake you up?”

Stunned, Huo Fenglie looked straight at Liu Zhenqing with his dark eyes, as if he felt that the person in front of him wasn’t real. 

Suddenly, he reached out and touched Liu Zhenqing’s face.

Liu Zhenqing was mystified as Huo Fenglie’s index finger brushed his cheek. It felt cool.

“What are you doing? Did I drool in my sleep?” Liu Zhenqing also touched it. Nothing there, ah.

Huo Fenglie returned to his senses and said in a clearly embarrassed voice, “I thought I was dreaming.”

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, “Dreaming? What kind of dream? A spring dream?”

Huo Fenglie didn’t expect Liu Zhenqing to say such a thing, and his Adam’s apple twitched in surprise. “What?”

Liu Zhenqing’s eyes were bent in a smile as he looked suggestively at the area covered by the quilt. There was an obvious bulge there, which he had accidentally encountered when he was withdrawing his legs just now. He was truly full of energy.

Huo Fenglie was slow to respond.

“A young man in the early morning is full of energy, I understand.” Seeing Huo Fenglie’s gradually embarrassed look, Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but laugh.

And Huo Fenglie, known as the terribly cold god of war by others, gradually turned red. He stood up awkwardly and sat on the edge of the bed with his back to Liu Zhenqing, trying to lie to himself and cover up the problem. “I’m not…..”

“There is nothing to deny. This proves that you’re in good health. When I checked your pulse before, it felt very disordered, and I worried that there was something wrong with your body.” In terms of physical health, Liu Zhenqing was not as good as Huo Fenglie. It may have been that his body was damaged by long-term poisoning, so he was rather mediocre in this aspect.

Seeing Huo Fenglie’s discomfort, Liu Zhenqing could only smile and take care of the child’s emotions, saying: “How about I go out first and give you some time?”

“I’m fine.” Huo Fenglie’s tone was a little anxious. Perhaps he was using his internal strength to force his body to recover, because he just sat there motionlessly.

Since everything was fine, Liu Zhenqing lay down lazily.

The child had grown up, but knew to be shy. Was it because of this that he was embarrassed to let him see when they went to the hot spring together? How did Er-gou develop such an awkward temperament, ah?

Thinking of this, Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but ask: “By the way, when we bathed in the hot spring together before, was there a tattoo on your body?”

Huo Fenglie’s body was already frozen, so there was no reaction to be seen when Liu Zhenqing asked him this question. He only paused for a moment before saying: “It’s nothing. Having a tattoo is just more convenient when fighting.”

Liu Zhenqing indicated his agreement. If one’s clothes were damaged on the battlefield and their face stained with blood, it would be difficult to recognize them without any marks on their body. He remembered that Huo Feihan once had a team who tattooed wolf heads on their chests.

He opened his mouth to ask how he had been these past few years, but once he spoke, it would inevitably involve the past, so after some thought, it was better not to ruin the moment.

Just as he was about to get up, there was sudden movement outside and someone opened the curtain and walked in.

“Zhanyuan, do you want to go…..yi!”

Liu Zhenqing leaned forward to look at the door past the tall Huo Fenglie and saw He Lan, who was leaning on crutches as he held the door curtain open with one hand. The expression on his face was very colorful.

There was no need to wonder what this guy was thinking at the moment. After all, he was still Liu Xiaozhu in the eyes of others, and Liu Xiaozhu had a criminal history against Huo Fenglie.

So it could be imagined how horrifying the scene of them sleeping together was for him.

Bai Su seemed to have asked about it the day before, but because the two of them were so busy chatting about other things, they both forgot about it in the end.

On the contrary, the most gossipy fellow saw it.

Huo Fenglie looked at He Lan and asked in a calm tone, “What’s wrong?”

He Lan’s eyes were already darting between the two of them so fast that they were almost on fire. “It’s just that Prefect Wu is in good condition now, and Lao Qin wants to go and question him again. Yuzhou was interested and went to help, so I came to ask…..do you want to go?”

Huo Fenglie said directly: “I have asked everything that needs to be asked. We have other things to do.”

He Lan: “You? The two of you?”

Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie in puzzlement.

Huo Fenglie nodded.

He Lan gossiped: “What’s going on? Can you take me with you?”

“I can’t,” Huo Fenglie refused straightforwardly.

He Lan’s expression grew even more curious, and he wanted to keep his eyes on them. However, he had no excuse to stay, so he could only turn around and leave by himself.

Liu Zhenqing watched He Lan turn his head back three times while walking and said with amusement: “It seems your brother has misunderstood us.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Huo Fenglie had already stood up and was arranging his clothes.

“You don’t pay much attention to your reputation, ba. If you’re misunderstood, how will you find a wife in the future?” Liu Zhenqing removed the quilt and stood up speechlessly. He felt that Huo Fenglie was the kind of person who focused on major things and didn’t care about children or love at all. Speaking of which, it was their fault. When this child was growing up, there was no chance for romance or love. He was dragged down by them and the overall situation, and could only move forward desperately.

Huo Fenglie froze and turned to look at Liu Zhenqing. The look in his eyes was a little abnormal, and he said in a stiff tone, “It’s no bother.”

Liu Zhenqing felt that Huo Fenglie seemed a little unhappy, and it was also not good to delve too deeply into other people’s thoughts. It had been so many years, after all. He could only change the subject and say: “Right, you said we have other things to do?”

Huo Fenglie quickly returned to normal and said: “Yes, do you still remember the person related to the Liu family that you saw in the Heaven’s Blessing Sect?”

“The vice president of the southern branch of the Liu Family Chamber of Commerce!” Liu Zhenqing recalled that he was involved in river transportation.

At this time, He Lan had already arrived outside Prefect Wu’s tent, and was full of thoughts when he heard an argument coming from inside.

Bai Su and Qin Yu paused for a moment when they saw him enter the door.

Qin Yu asked directly: “Where are they?”

“They’re not coming, they have something to do.” He Lan really wanted to gossip, but noticed that there was something wrong with the atmosphere. He asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s fine if they don’t come.” Qin Yu hinted for He Lan to look at Bai Su, who seemed unhappy.

He Lan was clever, and asked straightaway: “Did that person come up again?”

He saw Prefect Wu standing to the side with his head in his hands, books piled in front of him. He murmured as if in shock: “How is it possible? This is impossible, ah.”

He Lan sat down with curiosity on his face and sent the two people opposite an inquiring look.

“This is a collection of the number of people who died due to disasters in Yanqiu Prefecture last year and the farmland abandoned,” Qin Yu said concisely, and regarding it with narrowed eyes. “It is the highest in history.”

He Lan said in surprise: “What? The highest? How is that possible? I remember that the worst disaster year was obviously……”

“Nine years ago. That year, not only were there severe disasters in Yanqiu Prefecture, but also all over the Great Zhou dynasty.” Qin Yu slowly lowered his head to look at the account book in his hand. “But the number of people who died in Yanqiu Prefecture that year was less than half of this year.”

“Impossible!” Prefect Wu said suddenly: “There must be some miscalculation. When we reported the evidence back then, Prime Minister Liu clearly received it, but he turned a blind eye and didn’t deal with those corrupt officials, allowing them to continue embezzling from the victims. At that time, the food provided for disaster relief was mixed with various animal fodder and given to the people. How could it be that under his management…..fewer people died?”

He Lan raised his eyebrows and flipped through it casually, saying with some surprise: “Not only were there fewer deaths, but the number of riots and people who fell into trouble were the least when the treacherous minister was around. It’s strange, wasn’t that the time when the disaster was the most serious? And wasn’t he cursed miserably for what he did at that time? Why did the results turn out to be the other way around? What do you think is going on, ah?”

Qin Yu didn’t respond, and just glanced at Bai Su. Bai Su had the qualifications of the top scholar, and had a clearer understanding of policy matters than they did. It was just that Bai Su’s expression hadn’t looked good from the beginning.

He suddenly lowered his eyes to hide his expression, loosened the fists that he had clenched just now, and said with difficulty: “Perhaps it was because the disasters in various places had reached the most serious point, and a slight change would affect everything else. If he wanted to save more people, he could only appease those officials first. Those officials were greedy, but it is undeniable that they had been around for a long time and knew best how to deal with disaster relief. If they were eradicated at the critical moment, who would take over when there was a shortage of manpower everywhere? By then, not only would the death toll have risen, but there would definitely be chaos. After all, reality is not a story, and there are not so many satisfying and happy endings.”

This made it sound like they had been short-sighted. Prefect Wu retorted at once: “Then he just let those people steal and replace the relief food? Do you know how many people this would kill?”

But as soon as these words came out, he felt as if he had slapped himself in the face. After all, the facts and data were right in front of him. 

“By mixing things together, one mouthful of food becomes two mouthfuls, and one person’s life becomes two people’s lives. Corrupt officials who are good at this know better what the bottom line is for people to survive,” Bai Su said with a wry smile.

“Back then, the country was suffering from internal and external troubles and the national treasury was at its bottom. This would indeed save more people.” Qin Yu nodded.

“Then after that, could it be considered killing the donkey once it is done grinding the grain?” He Lan chuckled.

“More like fattening it up before killing it.” Qin Yu thought for a moment and frowned: “Corrupt officials stole the country’s money, joined profiteers to cleverly accumulate wealth, and turned silver into gold. After killing those corrupt officials, the national treasury would have funds.”

Qin Yu paused at this point, looking a little puzzled as he said: “The treasury was rich, and corrupt officials were punished on the spot. All the infamy was on Liu Zhenqing, and everyone began to praise the emperor who was about to take charge…..”

These few words caused the hearts of everyone present to jump. He Lan touched his head and said: “Why does it seem more and more wrong the more we talk about it? It seems like Liu Zhenqing did it on purpose.”

After speaking, He Lan looked at the others. Qin Yu and Bai Su seemed to be deep in thought, while Prefect Wu was greatly agitated. “No, if the emperor hadn’t insisted on investigating, those vermin might still be…..”

“Liu Zhenqing was in power back then. Without his agreement, the emperor’s orders would be useless. And…..” Qin Yu said with an indifferent expression, “I remember that when he first ordered the investigation, it was just after the disaster. That is, when those corrupt officials were no longer needed.”

Prefect Wu seemed to have grasped some breakthrough point and said agitatedly: “Since they weren’t needed, why not catch those of us who were also involved?”

Qin Yu couldn’t figure this out, and could only glance at Bai Su.

Bai Su’s expression gradually became trance-like, as if he had grasped something but couldn’t understand it yet. His expression became increasingly ugly, but it had to be analyzed in the most likely direction. 

“Probably because he knew that if he included people like Prefect Wu who were forced to participate in the embezzlement incident and uprooted them, what would happen with the subsequent disaster reconstruction? It is recorded in the disaster policies of the Great Zhou Dynasty that many people were killed or injured due to improper post-disaster reconstruction, but the common people couldn’t wait even a day. If they were all replaced with new officials who didn’t understand the local situation, wouldn’t there be another group of people plundering peoples’ wealth? How could the common people live? By killing half and leaving the other half to work cautiously, they would make amends for past mistakes, be grateful for the grace of heaven, and not dare to be greedy again. This is the most reliable way to stabilize the situation. As far as the common people were concerned, the biggest corrupt officials were gone, and the smaller ones remained because of Liu Zhenqing’s protection. The emperor had done his utmost, the officials were now willing to do things well, and the people’s hearts were stable.”

Bai Su’s face became increasingly pale as he spoke, and his pupils couldn’t help but quiver in the end. He couldn’t seem to believe what he had just said.

Putting himself into Liu Zhenqing’s predicament at that time, with internal and external troubles, he could not think of a better solution than this. Only in this way could more people survive, and he could also win a good reputation for the emperor. But wouldn’t that mean he would be misunderstood? Who could bear the infamy?

At that time, the whole country said that he was acting arbitrarily, expropriating funds and extorting others, and complaints rose from the common people all around. To this day, the local people still hated the treacherous minister because Liu Zhenqing did not control the minor corrupt officials who made money during the disaster relief. In the end, they experienced the most miserable year and felt that the lack of development in the area so far was due to the residual influence of the treacherous minister.

But the data in front of them was clear. Because of his policies and methods, more people survived. Those who cursed him at the dinner table in the cities were probably people who would have died in the disaster.

What was the bigger picture? At this moment, Bai Su slowly understood why when everyone was scolding Liu Zhenqing, his noble and benevolent brother followed him without hesitation. But why did his brother report Liu Zhenqing’s crimes in the end? Bai Su couldn’t figure it out.

Not only could Bai Su not figure it out, but the other three people present couldn’t do so either.

Prefect Wu was the most stimulated, because he had experienced it twice while in office and still failed to see through the key points.

So the treacherous official didn’t want the common people to lose confidence in Great Zhou and the emperor, and would rather be the villain as the country went through its most difficult year. How was this possible?

“I-Impossible. He was a treacherous minister who committed countless crimes. Perhaps it is only a coincidence. It was just that the corrupt officials back then didn’t dare to embezzle too seriously, and that’s why so many people survived,” Prefect Wu said in a daze.

Who could know the truth unless the dead resurrected and told them personally?

At this time, Liu Zhenqing and Huo Fenglie had gone to see the branch president alone. The man recognized Liu Zhenqing immediately upon seeing him. “First Young Master, ah, I’m Shopkeeper Wang. Please help me. I was really arrested by mistake, and I have nothing to do with these things. I’m just an innocent businessman doing my duty.”

“Shopkeeper Wang, helping corrupt people transport dissolved official silver is not an innocent thing. You also helped transport the food that was supposed to be used for local disaster relief. How much commision did you make from this? You are truly bold to have done so many things using our Liu family’s river transportation.”

Shopkeeper Wang was too old to withstand such threats, and lay trembling on the ground with tears streaming down his face. “First Young Master, save me, save me!”

“Save you. We are all in danger, but now we still have the opportunity to atone for our sins. Tell us everything you know about the river transport that wasn’t recorded in the account books. Otherwise, not only will your life not be guaranteed, but you may also be implicated!”

With such a frightening Liu Zhenqing, Shopkeeper Wang was completely disheartened. He didn’t dare to play tricks or pretend to be miserable, so he quickly explained it all.

Excluding other petty thefts, Shopkeeper Wang only knew about the section of the river he was in charge of. That is, he only helped transport the grain and dissolved official silver, and had no idea about the rebel assassins.

The only useful information was where the stuff was sent to.

The money collected day and night by officers and soldiers didn’t add up at all, and the only one who knew where the previously dissolved official silver went was Magistrate Wang. But Magistrate Wang had been killed, so where did the money go that was unaccounted for? Only Shopkeeper Wang had some clues.

“I only helped transport it to Tongmao Prefecture, and they transported it away by horse-drawn carriage. I just don’t know.”

Tongmao Prefecture was where the Southern Imperial Examination was held. “Right, on the way to Tongmao Prefecture, I accidentally heard Magistrate Wang mention tax money to the old man next to him. That’s all I know. Begging the general to please forgive me…..at least spare the lives of my family members for the sake of the help I’ve provided.”

Tax money? Sure enough, as Yuan Jue had said, there was also a problem with the tax money.

When the tax money was mentioned, Liu Zhenqing’s expression was a little uneasy. 

Huo Fenglie noticed this and wanted to inquire, but didn’t in the end.

When they went back, they met three wilted people.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Zhenqing asked in concern.

He was part of the Liu family, after all, so they couldn’t say it in front of Liu Zhenqing. They only said that talking about the disaster with Prefect Wu was a headache. However, He Lan and Qin Yu still found an opportunity to tell Huo Fenglie about the matter in private, and couldn’t help being surprised upon seeing Huo Fenglie’s expressionless face.

“Don’t you care?” He Lan scratched his head curiously. “Yuzhou didn’t feel good after hearing this, and he’s still thinking all the time in a daze. They are enemies, after all, and now he found out that his enemy might have been a good person. This is really hard to accept.”

“What is the point of thinking about the past now?” Huo Fenglie asked back.

He Lan choked, and suddenly felt that talking to Huo Fenglie was in vain. After all, he was Huo Fenglie’s enemy. Would an enemy wish the other party well? If there were grievances, he wouldn’t want the other party’s name to be cleared, and even if it was cleared, the common people would not believe it. After all, there was no evidence. It was all their analysis. Even Prefect Wu didn’t believe it, let alone others.

In the evening, everyone sat outside the camp and drank. Of course, it was a small drink. Liu Zhenqing didn’t dare to drink more this time, but when he saw Bai Su on the side pouring himself wine, he asked him about it with some worry. Bai Su looked at Liu Zhenqing as if he was trying to look at someone else through him. But in the end, he only said dryly: “I’m thinking of ways to let the people of Yanqiu Prefecture have an easier time.”

Liu Zhenqing thought for a while. He seemed to have considered this kind of problem back then, but didn’t have time to implement it. So after some thought, he drank with Bai Su and guided him to think, citing scriptures and references. Bai Su’s eyes gradually lit up, and he looked at Liu Zhenqing in astonishment.

However, Liu Zhenqing looked as if he didn’t understand what he had said, the topics all over the place, as if his words had unintentionally given him inspiration. 

Build extensive canals and terraced waterwheels, plant rice, divert water to create fields, and induce merchants to invest money and manpower with the bait of reduced taxes. Each one was a good method for a beneficial cycle, and each one could only be carried out with a stable Great Zhou.

In other words, these methods could not be implemented at all during Liu Zhenqing’s reign.

The emperor soon received a proposal for post-disaster reconstruction. Yuan Jue’s eyes flickered when he saw methods that were almost eighty percent familiar.

“The Bai family is truly talented, and can match the talent of that person back then. It’s a pity that he doesn’t want to be an official.” Yuan Jue said with a smile: “But a person like him would only be an upright and honest official. It is unfortunate that such an official cannot tolerate sand in his eyes.”

Yuan Jue suddenly heard a sentence in his ears: There are no mountains and rivers without sand.

Yuan Jue’s expression changed. Yes, ah, after eight years, he had long understood this truth. Sometimes people in high positions had to tolerate the dirt. Who didn’t want to be a gentleman or a saint, with no blood on his hands and a down-to-earth attitude? But there were some times when it couldn’t be helped.

At this time, the eunuch confidant who was helping the emperor sort out Imperial edicts couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air.

Yuan Jue touched his jade ring and said, “What is it?”

The eunuch confidant knew the emperor’s temperament, and replied directly: “Your Majesty, will all the officials implicated this time be killed?”

“Naturally. We are not currently facing enemies from both sides, so there is no need to tie our hands.” The corners of Yuan Jue’s mouth slowly rose. “They were left alive back then, and I didn’t expect that their boldness would grow more and more. But this is also good. I can pull out all the cancerous tumors at once. I have been waiting for this day for a long time.”

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Chapter Forty-Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-Four