["He's got quite the reputation—over the years, he's helped his master embezzle a fortune. You could say he's the number one parasite in the Ministry of Revenue. Indirectly, he's caused plenty of deaths. Little Zhu is a divine artifact, representing justice. I must deliver justice and judge him!"]
"Hmm?"
["This man's karma is heavy. Eliminating him might earn Little Zhu some merit light! Hehehe!"]
"Stop being so melodramatic. You can't judge anyone. As long as no one knows about his embezzlement, he’ll remain the top accounting wizard. As for merit, it’s just a tiny bit—hardly worth it."
["Master, I could strike him with lightning! Or you could expose him!"]
"I can barely even read yet. What do I know about account books? How could I expose him?"
["Why not give your uncle the accounting methods? He could audit the books and catch him red-handed."]
Dong Qianli: After court adjourns, I must petition His Majesty to recall Yu Shuchun immediately. The Ministry of Revenue can’t function without him—or without the Young Lord’s accounting techniques!
"I... I—did you forget my memories are sealed? I can’t recall any of this!"
System: Host, just admit you forgot what you learned instead of blaming your sealed memories. They don’t deserve this slander!
Though it thought this, the system still saved face for her. ["Oh! Little Zhu forgot about that. No worries, I’ve got it. I’ll give it to you when we get home."]
That "Oh!" was so exaggerated that Yue Fuguang, guilty as she was, sensed the sarcasm.
Hmph!
In her past life, she had wealth, status, and—well, more wealth. So what if she was a slacker? It never stopped her from living well!
"Besides Qu Bing, who else is serving one master while secretly loyal to another?"
The hall fell silent. One oblivious official kept rambling, but it was clear no one else was listening.
Though no one understood the phrase "serving one master while loyal to another," they instinctively grasped that the Young Lord had begun another round of deadly name-dropping.
["There’s also Zhao Jiu, Qu Bing’s subordinate. He’s skimmed military funds, disaster relief silver, and construction budgets.
And that general behind Wei Shouyi—yes, the one hunching his neck—he’s the one who forced Xiao Ping into banditry.
The others… we’ll deal with them later."]
Wei Shouyi gritted his teeth. So, there’s a spy in my own ranks! No wonder this guy didn’t seem thrilled about hearing the inner voice.
He thought it was just because the man was new and struggling to accept such a bizarre phenomenon. Turns out, he was biding his time! While forcing Xiao Ping into banditry hasn’t happened yet, the embezzlement must already be underway.
Otherwise, why would a man over eight feet tall try to shrink into a crowd of six- and seven-footers, terrified of being noticed?
"Little Zhu, did you forget to tell me who their master is? Someone who can turn so many officials against Emperor Mingxi—he must be someone important, right?"
["Important? Well… yes. He’s Emperor Mingxi’s younger brother. A prince of the realm—does that count?"]
Emperor Mingxi’s heart skipped a beat. Was he about to lose another brother today?
He mentally tallied them up. Excluding Prince Qi—who, though alive, was already dead to him—he didn’t have many brothers left!
"Another rebellious prince? Is the imperial throne really that enticing? Sons want it, brothers want it, even ministers want it…"
The officials: Another one? So there was someone before? Who?
Judging by His Majesty’s expression, he already knew. When did we miss such juicy gossip?
And Young Lord—sons and brothers wanting the throne makes sense, but ministers?
Could you kindly name names? Don’t drag us innocent folks into this!
Emperor Mingxi shifted uncomfortably on his dragon throne. The seat was hard—after a while, it really dug into his backside.
["Master, want to guess who it is? This guy’s got some scandalous drama. Interested?"]
The system inexplicably perked up at the word "drama." For a merit system, it acted like a gossip-hungry weasel, sniffing out scandal with glee.
Without waiting for Yue Fuguang’s reply, it barreled on: ["This man is Prince Ming of the Great Yan Dynasty. His title means ‘Bright,’ but he’s anything but—dark and scheming to the core!
He’s Emperor Mingxi’s youngest brother. When the old emperor died, he was just a child, so he avoided the worst of the succession wars.
With his father gone and his elder brother on the throne, the seventeenth son was enfeoffed as Prince Ming.
Unlike other dynasties, Great Yan’s princes don’t have to leave the capital. So Prince Ming settled into the opulence of Shangjing City, playing the idle aristocrat—bird-watching, poetry, tea ceremonies, and all that.
But it’s all an act. Behind the scenes, he’s busy as a bee—raising assassins, hoarding private troops, colluding with officials, embezzling funds and land.
On top of that, he’s also juggling his harem and… other entanglements."]
Tch. Harem is harem, front courtyard is front courtyard. What’s there to balance? Does he think he’s Emperor Mingxi, needing to weigh the harem against court politics?
Choosing which concubine to bed tonight based on what her family did in court—like some kind of paid escort!"
Emperor Mingxi, the "paid escort": Why drag me into this while talking about Prince Ming?! And who’s a paid escort?! Rage.gif
["It’s because he’s got ‘treasures’ in both places! Oh right, I forgot to mention—Prince Ming swings both ways.
Ever wonder why Fu Hong supports him over his own nephew?"]
"Why? Fu Hong and Prince Ming… have a thing?"
Yue Fuguang glanced at Fu Hong. A bit old, but still handsome—after all, his sister made it into the palace, so the family genes must be decent.
The Second Prince resembled him slightly—probably took after his maternal side.
So, older man/younger man dynamics…
Fu Hong kept his head down but could feel the scorching gaze from above. The enigmatic Young Lord was definitely staring. One misstep, and his family wouldn’t see tomorrow’s sun.
Fu Hong had only just gained the ability to hear the inner voice today. His colleagues hadn’t briefed him yet, so he assumed Yue Fuguang was merely extraordinary—hence Emperor Mingxi’s favor.
But accusing him of an affair with Prince Ming? That was too much! He—
Before he could finish the thought, another voice chimed in: ["Not him. His son and Prince Ming are the item."]
His son and Prince Ming?! His son—the sole heir of the Fu family—was involved with Prince Ming? No wonder the boy threatened suicide to force his support!
Fu Hong's face flushed crimson before turning ashen—was his newborn grandson from a few days ago... Could it be that his son was also into both men and women?
