"Did the late Emperor not know that the number two eunuch by his side had another identity?"
[That old fool definitely didn't know! Emperor Mingxi takes after his father. When he killed Wu Shouxian back then, he only confiscated lands, houses, and shops. He didn't find much liquid wealth, yet he never even suspected where the rest of the stuff went.]
Emperor Mingxi: Calling me out again! Calling me out again! How could I not suspect anything? At the time, I just thought it was embezzled by the subordinates who carried out the confiscation!
He had just ascended the throne and his footing wasn't steady yet, so he didn't pursue the matter. How was he supposed to know there was more to it?
Furthermore, as a son, he took after his mother, not that father of his!
The Crown Prince lowered his head to drink tea. As for Lord Divine Artifact calling his imperial grandfather an old fool or whatever, he heard nothing. Because his father had not been favored, the grandfather and grandson only saw each other a few times a year, so his affection for his imperial grandfather was very weak anyway.
Shen Chunying and the others now wore the same bitter expressions as Yu Huaixian. They constantly felt as though their little lives were drifting uncertainly, liable to vanish at any moment.
The few of them stared intently at the Emperor's carriage ahead, wondering when this person would erupt in fury.
Emperor Mingxi: I don't dare to erupt even a little bit! Besides, I'm actually happy she's scolding my old man. It would just be better if she didn't drag me into it too!
[Most of the wealth Wu Shouxian embezzled was given to his son. Relying on this sum of money, the father and son managed to recruit quite a few people.]
"And no one knew Wu Shouxian had such a son?"
[Little Zhu doesn't know about others, but the previous and current emperors definitely didn't know. Otherwise, how could Wu Chengye still be messing around in the capital city?
Later on, nearly ten civil and military officials in the imperial court were directly or indirectly schemed to death by him. The chaos in the court during the later period was the result of manipulation by several factions.
Among them was the shadow of the organization run by Wu Chengye and his people.]
It was unknown how the others felt, but in the very last carriage, Wu Yuanjing was already sweating buckets despite the cold weather.
Seeing that his father's expression had been poor ever since Lord Divine Artifact mentioned the Wu family, and that he was now deathly pale, Wu Yong hurriedly poured him a cup of hot tea. "Dad, what's wrong? Quickly, drink some tea to calm your nerves."
Seeing his old man's somewhat vacant gaze, he couldn't help but lower his voice to gently advise, "Don't take it to heart, old man. Now that we have the Junior Preceptor, no one will be in danger.
If you're still uneasy, you can offer a few more sticks of incense to those two once we get back."
Yue Fuguang and the system still didn't know that they had already begun passively receiving incense offerings.
Hearing the mention of offering incense, Wu Yuanjing's vacant face finally showed a reaction. He tremblingly took the tea his son handed him. "Right, offer incense, offer a few more sticks of incense!"
He didn't tell his son that ever since he met Wu Chengye two years ago, the man had frequently interacted with him in private. Before the new year, he had even hinted at wanting to unite their clans.
Uniting clans with that kind of person was tantamount to asking a tiger for its skin. Their family's lineage was thin; who knew when they would be chewed up until not even bones remained.
"This organization is trying to uproot the Xie family!"
[Under the influence of various factors, they actually managed to pull it off in the end. Over a hundred years later, they even established a short-lived dynasty, just like the Sima family's Great Wei.
They all gorged themselves on the blood of the previous dynasty to achieve their own success!]
The system thought for a moment and added, [Oh right, Master, that chubby little guy Wu Yong who's always planting vegetables for you will be schemed to death by Wu Chengye in three years.
In the end, all of the Wu family's assets fell into his hands.
I see that this person is quite respectful to you, Master. You can save his life when the time comes!]
Clang!
The teacup slipped from Wu Yuanjing's hands. His hand was scalded, but he didn't even react.
He knew it! Why would Lord Divine Artifact judge his twilight years to be bleak? Even though he only had one son, his son was obedient and filial; there was no way his old age could be miserable!
So the root cause was here: his son was murdered by that evil thief!
Then what about his little grandson?
Hearing his own date of death so abruptly, Wu Yong still felt a sense of unreality. Seeing his father's scalded red hand, he quickly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe it for him.
Looking at his father's face, which was as gloomy as still water, and his clenched jaw, he hurriedly and softly advised, "Dad, I know you're furious, but don't be angry just yet.
Hasn't this not happened yet? Besides, now that we all know, not to mention our family, even His Majesty won't let that Wu Chengye off."
Seeing that his father remained unmoved, he leaned his chubby face close to his father's ear and continued to coax softly, "Didn't you hear Lord Divine Artifact say that she wants to save your son's life?
This is Lord Divine Artifact's acknowledgment of your son!"
Hearing his words, Wu Yuanjing performed an immediate face-change on the spot, turning from a stormy downpour to clear skies. He nodded repeatedly, saying in a flurry, "Right, right, right!"
He slapped his large hand onto his son's shoulder and suppressed his voice, "My son is right. With that golden thigh around, no one can... hurt you!"
Before he could finish speaking, tears began streaming down his face. Wu Yong quickly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe them for him. "You can't cry. The Junior Preceptor might see you when we get off the carriage later."
Wu Yuanjing nodded. His son was right; he couldn't cry. He couldn't let the Junior Preceptor notice anything unusual. Today was a day of great rejoicing for the Great Yan Dynasty. He could only laugh, not cry!
However, at the thought of the white-haired sending off the black-haired, Wu Yuanjing's heart throbbed with spasms of pain.
In the middle of the Si hour, the group arrived at Yue Fuguang's estate once more. After not seeing it for about ten days, a faint touch of green could actually be seen on the mountain from afar.
Even the wind blowing against them wasn't as cold as last time.
In early March, spring returned to the earth and all living things revived. It was also the time for her to fully display her skills.
The crowd followed Yue Fuguang all the way to the granary on the estate.
As soon as the estate manager opened the door, he automatically retreated far away. Over thirty cartloads of items had been delivered inside yesterday evening, all packed in large bags. He had no idea what was stored inside.
At night, when the others urged him to go take a look, the estate manager recalled the words left by that person upon departure, and his newly aroused interest was instantly extinguished.
He firmly shook his head and refused. He wasn't stupid; how could he get his entire family killed just for a little curiosity?
As for secretly skimming a little off the top like before, he felt that his courage had completely vanished after seeing His Majesty and the various officials last time.
Emperor Mingxi was the first to step into the warehouse. Anyone could tell that his footsteps seemed somewhat impatient.
What met his eyes were hundreds of large white bags stacked up in the massive storehouse. It was completely different from the scene he had imagined of things piled haphazardly on the ground; it was far too clean and tidy.
When the others followed him inside, they first saw the same sight. Before they even had time to be surprised, they saw their Emperor pull a beautiful small sword from his waist and gently slice at a bag.
Huh? Emperor Mingxi froze for a moment. It didn't cut open!
Was his strike too light? He added thirty percent more force to his hand before finally tearing a slit in the bag.
After taking a glance at the contents inside, Emperor Mingxi finally had the mind to examine this bag used for holding grain.
It was white and slightly transparent, with obvious warp and weft threads, yet the material at the tear was unrecognizable.
[Look, Master, the Emperor is dumbfounded seeing the bag, isn't he? He's never seen such a sturdy bag before.
Hmph, Little Zhu picked bags that are moisture-proof, insect-proof, sturdy, and durable. They are not something those garbage gunny sacks of Great Yan can compare to.]
