Bam! The Polymer Cannon shone brightly⦠and instantly exploded! Thatâs right, it exploded on the spot. âF*ck, this new product is just unstable! No wonder that fellow Mo Xin said not to use it unless absolutely necessary!â Zhao Jin cursed in his heart.
His hand was blown to smithereens! But the positive side to this was that a blue beam was unleashed!
Its speed was also frighteningly fast. Even though Yao Guâs cultivation had reached the 8th Grade Earth Rank, he still could not react in time!
He tried his best to dodge, but he could only barely dodge being hit at his vital spots! Puchi!
Yao Guâs right chest was pierced through! If it was an ordinary person, they would definitely die! However, this valiant fellow switched to holding his spear on his left hand in order to prevent his wound from affecting his movements. He held the spear with one hand and ran at full speed. Blood splattered everywhere, but he did not care! He headed straight for Zhao Jin! He was a little afraid now! This guy had too many tricks up his sleeve. On the other side, the instant he attacked Su Wen with his spear, Su Wen leapt from the roof!
Just as Su Wen expected, the Saber Qi he slashed out clashed with the power of Yao Guâs spear and was instantly destroyed. The violent Qi from the spear brushed past his head and sent the entire roof flying.
Su Wen landed in the room and saw a man and woman hugging each other. âMercy⦠Sire, please have mercyâ¦â the man pleaded.
Su Wen couldnât be bothered with him. He quickly ran to the door and looked through the crack.
At this moment, Zhao Jin had already switched to close combat mode. With a soft sword in hand, he cooperated with Chu He to attack Yao Gu!
Yao Gu was heavily injured, but his combat strength was still formidable! Zhao Jin and Chu He backed away in defeat again and again! In a short period of time, Yao Gu had already opened several wounds on the two of them, but they still refused to retreat! At this moment, Su Wen realized that the two of them had a tacit understanding with each other!
It was obvious that the two of them had practiced in private during this period of time. Otherwise, they would have long been defeated!
Pa!
Zhao Jin took another strike and was sent flying by Yao Guâs spear! He flew straight out while spitting a mouthful of blood. But at this time, Yao Gu stopped his actions. He clenched his teeth and turned around to flee! That was because a silhouette was rushing over from afar! It was the expert guarding the Capital City. It did not take long before he arrived at Zhao Jinâs side. At this time, Yao Gu had long disappeared without a trace.
Su Wen pushed the door open and walked out with a cold expression.
He had never suffered such a huge loss since he had come over to this world!
He arrived beside Zhao Jin and asked in a deep voice, âHow is it?â
At this time, Zhao Jinâs body had already returned to normal. His face was deathly pale, and the flesh on his left hand had turned into mush. There were even several wounds on his body, and blood was flowing everywhere. He shook his head. âI wonât die. I just need to rest for a while.â âChu He, what about you? How are your injuries?â
Chu He was also panting heavily. âIâm slightly better. Iâll recover in three days after expelling the Spear Qi!â At this time, Zhao Jin weakly said, âYoung master, that fellow has also been severely wounded. Just now, even if he managed to risk his life to escape, he will still have to find a place to recuperate. We must capture him as soon as possible before his wounds recover and he hides once more in the shadows. Otherwise, something bad might happen!â Su Wen nodded. âDonât worry! I wonât let him
off!â
The capital city guard solemnly said, âTurns out, itâs Lord Su. Let me help you send them back to your residence.â Su Wen cupped his hands in response, âThank
you!â
Although this person had a cultivation of 9th Grade Earth Rank, he didnât put on any airs. He helped Su Wen heal Chu He and Zhao Jinzhi and simply bandaged them before carrying them into the carriage. He then drove the horse carriage and Su Wen back.
When they reached home and settled down, Su Wen cupped his hands and asked, âMay I get your name?â
No matter what, they were saved by this expert this time!
âWu Liting.â
Su Wen then took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and handed it over with a smile. âThank you, Lord. Itâs just a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it.â Wu Liting looked at Su Wen and said with a smile, âI heard that Lord Su has been transferred to the Secret Shadow Guard. Are you sure this behavior is acceptable?â Su Wen smiled and said, âLord Wu, what are you talking about? Iâm not asking you to do anything, nor am I asking you to show favoritism. Itâs just that Iâm grateful for Lord Wuâs help tonight.â
Su Wen had his own way of thinking and doing
So.
After all, he did not have any top-notch experts around him.
All along, Su Wen had thought that no one would dare to do anything to him in the capital. However, from the looks of it now, if he really met someone who did not care about his life and had no scruples, it would truly be dangerous!
Wu Liting did not say anything else. At the very least, he helped Su Wen and also escorted him back.
These were actually not within his scope of responsibilities.
Su Wen naturally had to express his gratitude. Otherwise, if the other party saw that it was Su Wen calling for help again, the outcome would be completely different if he decided to be slower by a second or two. Hearing his reasoning, Wu Liting did not hold back either and directly put the banknotes into his chest pocket before saying with a smile, âThen I thank Lord Su. Farewell!â Seeing him leave, Su Wen pondered for a moment and called a servant over to inform the Second Prince and Zhao Rui at the Hundred Flowers Tower that he would not be going tonight. As for Wu Lie⦠there was no other way. After all, it had happened too suddenly. At that moment, in the Great Generalâs Residence, Wu Lie was squatting by the wall in the backyard. âWhy isnât he here yet?! Why isnât he here yet?!â âHe promised to bring me out to play tonight!â âWhy didnât he come?â âF*ck, he tricked me!â
âBro⦠no way? Youâre really not coming?â âOh, someone just set off a distress firework⦠it looks pretty nice.â
This fellow never expected that Su Wen was the one who set off the fireworks. Where heâd waited most of the night, until dawnâ¦
After daybreak, Su Wen immediately went to the Secret Shadow Guard. Zhao Jin was severely injured, so Chu He took over the responsibility for protecting Su Wen. His injuries were much lighter. âI was assassinated last night!â This was the first thing Su Wen said when he saw Si Tu. Si Tu eyes narrowed slightly. He had just promised Su Changqing yesterday that he would protect Su Wen, but this happened! âWho was it?â
âThe Capital City Provinceâs spear instructor, Yao Gu! I want to invite a peak Earth Rank expert to deal with him!â
There were naturally top-notch experts in the Secret Shadow Guard. However, if these experts wanted to be mobilized, they needed Si Tuâs approval. Si Tu pondered for a moment and said, âAlright! Then Iâll transfer Wei Guoâan to you and listen to your arrangements for the time being. Heâs at the peak of 8th Grade Earth Rank and can suppress Yao Gu even if he meets him!â
Su Wen replied in a solemn tone, âIâve already sent someone to inform the guards of the four gates of the capital to strictly investigate the people entering and exiting the capital to prevent Yao Gu from escaping. Now, Iâm going to capture his family!â
Si Tu couldnât help but shake his head when he saw the ruthlessness in Su Wenâs eyes. This Yao Gu was too stupid. Didnât he consider the repercussions if his assassination attempt failed? He didnât even know to bring his family away in advance. Now that Su Wen was still alive, Yao Gu was going to suffer. In reality, Yao Gu indeed did not think that he would fail.
From his point of view, dealing with a 6th Grade Earth Rank Zhao Jin and a 5th Grade Earth Rank Chu He should have been a piece of cake.
Or rather, if he felt that he would fail, would he still have done it?
When a martial artist reached a certain level, their confidence in their own strength would cause them to inflate their egos to a certain degree. Su Wen was assassinated this time because of his inflated ego as a result of an increase in authority.
He didnât expect to meet Yao Gu, who didnât care about failure as well.
Within Yao Guâs houseâ¦.
The door was kicked open!
Su Wen barged in with his men and shouted, âSearch! Capture all of them!â
At this moment, a valiant woman rushed out from inside.
She was precisely Yao Guâs wife. She shouted sternly, âWhat are you doing? Do you know what this place is? Itâs the residence of Yao Gu, the Head Instructor of Spearmanship in the Capital City Province. What are you trying to do? How dare you barge
in?â
Su Wen sneered and said, âI am from the Secret Shadow Guard. Yao Gu tried to assassinate me last night! Itâs an attempted murder! Of course I have to arrest him!â
Yao Guâs wife wasnât ignorant and immediately shouted. âYou Secret Shadow Guards are in charge of corrupt officials. Even if Yao Gu tried to assassinate you, it would be up to the Ministry of Justice to come over and arrest us. What does that have to do with you? Moreover, even if the Secret Shadow Guards came, you should also try to avoid suspicion!â
Pa!
Chu He immediately stepped forward and gave her a tight slap! âHow dare you speak so loudly to my young master? Are you tired of living?â He tried his best to imitate Zhao Jinâs tone! To Chu He, Zhao Jinâs serious injuries made him feel extremely guilty. In his opinion, this wouldnât have happened if he hadnât challenged Meng Zhiping. He did not expect Yao Gu to attack them so brazenly. Otherwise, he would definitely have agreed to Yao Guâs challenge. He now hit Yao Guâs wife so hard that her mouth was full of blood! Su Wen laughed loudly. âWhat you said makes sense, but I donât f*cking want to hear it!â He glared at the fierce-looking woman as a vicious glint flashed across his eyes. In a low voice, he said, âYour husband dared to attack me, injure my guards, and nearly kill me. Iâm going to personally capture him and torture him!â
At this moment, a man about Su Wenâs age rushed out!
âYou dare to hit my mother?!â He held his spear and stabbed straight at Su Wen! The move was exactly the same as Yao Guâs last night! Puchi! Chu He slashed out. The spear split into
two.
Next, the cold blade pressed against the sonâs face!
The goosebumps all over the latterâs body rose, and he didnât dare move at all!
Su Wen turned around and shouted at the Secret Shadow Guards, âWhat are you all standing there for? Capture them and search the area! Kill anyone who dares to resist!â The Secret Shadow Guards rushed in! The search was completed in one go. It was not out of Su Wenâs expectations that he managed to find a large amount of money in Yao Guâs family coffers! They counted over 400,000 taels of silver! This value did not even include some precious antiques and expensive calligraphy paintings. âHehe, what else is there to say? Where did your Yao familyâs wealth come from? Put it all back and interrogate them carefully!â Su Wen had searched and confiscated Yao Guâs residence! No one had expected this.
This matter soon attracted the attention of the civil officials!
After all, it was too much for Su Wen to directly raid the house.
Normally, according to the laws of the Great Zhou, only when the emperor gave the order or the trial was over would the residence be raided. Before that, it would at most be sealed. Especially when Su Wen wanted to capture Yao Gu, it was because Yao Gu tried to assassinate him. It had nothing to do with greed. This direct raid and confiscation had triggered the sensitive nerves of some people. Su Wen made a big fuss out of capturing people and raiding their homes, bringing all the valuable items back to the Secret Shadow Guard.
On the other end, someone entered the palace! The Chief Instructor of the Capital City Province, Chen Ming; the Minister of Rites, Zhang Zhi; and the Minister of Revenue, Wu Qiuhan all entered the palace at the same time to seek an audience with Emperor Zhou. Upon seeing Emperor Zhou, the three of them bowed. Emperor Zhou smiled and asked, âMy dear ministers, whatâs the matter?â Chen Ming stated in a deep voice, âReporting to Your Majesty, I would like to impeach that Secret Shadow Guard Su Wen. This person is arrogant and despotic. Just now, he actually brought people to raid Yao Guâs house. All his family members were captured and brought to the secret guard, as well as all of their family assets. I would like to ask if this case was decided by Your Majesty?â
Emperor Zhou shook his head. âItâs not my decision!â
The Minister of Rites, Zhang Zhi, then added, âYour Majesty, if the arrest was not commanded by Your Majesty, then it would be against the rules. Although this secret guard has the right to supervise, interrogate, and arrest, how could he not seize the house without questioning or interrogation?â Wu Qiuhan also said, âYour Majesty, you must not allow such a thing to happen. This secret guard has just been established, yet he is already so lawless! All of the officials in our Great Zhou will be in danger!â
Emperor Zhou frowned. He could understand why Su Wen behaved in this manner. After all, he had also received news of Su Wenâs assassination.
However, there was indeed no precedent of directly raiding the entire residence! However, the Zhou Emperor still had to protect Su Wen a little. He pretended to be relaxed and spoke out, âSu Wen is still young after all. He was agitated after being assassinated and this is his first time handling a case. Itâs understandable that he went overboard.â
Chen Ming continued, âYour Majesty, whatâs more, Su Wen said that Yao Gu tried to assassinate him. Are there any other witnesses? Yao Gu has no feud with him, so why would he want to kill him? Su Wen might have failed to assassinate Yao Gu with his men, and he might have accused Yao Gu instead. After all, everyone in the capital knows that Su Wen is bossy!â
Emperor Zhou said unhappily, âWhat are you talking about? How is that brat domineering? Did he tear down the walls of your house? Letâs just talk about the matter as it stands. Why are you trying to drag him down? Last night, Su Wen was assassinated by an 8th Grade Earth Rank cultivator. Would you bring a 5th and 6th Grade Earth Rank to assassinate such a person?â
Chen Ming also knew that these words were a little overboard.
He hurriedly added, âBut we still canât be sure that that person is Yao Gu. I heard that that person wore black clothes and a mask, so how can we be sure who he is?â Emperor Zhou glanced at him as he snarkily replied, âYou sure are well-informed!â Chen Ming panicked, âMany of the houses nearby were destroyed by the overflowing True Qi, and three of them were injured. Many people reported it to me, and even the Ministry of Justice came to ask me about Yao Gu.â
Emperor Zhou pondered for a moment and said, âSummon Su Wen into the palace!â He still had to question Su Wen regarding the raid.
In the dungeon of the Secret Shadow Guard, Yao Guâs family as well as his servants were all captured and imprisoned! Su Wen touched his chin and felt that he was missing something. âGo, capture that Meng Zhipingâs entire family! Isnât Yao Gu on good terms with him? Isnât this to avenge him? They wonât be able to escape either!â
A man with triangular eyes stood behind Su Wen. He was precisely Wei Guoâan. He looked to be about 50 years of age. After hearing Su Wenâs words, he smiled and said, âAlright! Commander, donât worry, I will definitely capture all of them!â With Si Tu around, no one dared to disobey. Even though Wei Guoâan was an expert at peak 8th Grade, he still had to obey Su Wenâs orders obediently. After Wei Guoâan left, Su Wen pondered for a moment before pointing at Yao Guâs wife. âBring her out!â He recalled her information. Consort Li: 44 years old. Intrepid and jealous character, Yao Guâs first wife.
In the interrogation room, Consort Li knelt down in front of Su Wen. On both sides of her were the Secret Shadow Guards.
Su Wen looked at her and asked calmly, âWhere did Yao Gu go?â âI donât know!â Madam Li directly said, âHow would I know where he went? He didnât come back yesterday.â Truth? Or lies?
Su Wen didnât hesitate and continued asking, âTell me, where did you get your money from?â
Madam Li shook her head, âI donât know. The money was taken back by Yao Gu. How would I know how he got it?â Su Wen turned to the clerk beside him, âNote this down. Yao Gu earned all the money at home.â
Su Wen looked at Consort Li and smiled. âLet me introduce myself. You might not know me well, but my name is Su Wen. My father is the Prime Minister!â
Upon hearing Su Wenâs identity, Consort Liâs heartstrings tightened. After all, Su Changqing had the power to rule the country and Su Wen was famous throughout the capital. Although his reputation was not good, it was precisely this kind of bad reputation that was scary. Su Wen leaned back in his chair and said with a relaxed expression, âSince Yao Gu dared to attack me and Iâm not dead, then he must be the one who dies. I donât know where he is hiding now, but it doesnât matter if I canât catch him. Itâs just that you guys will definitely be the unlucky ones!
Your son attacked me just now, right? For attacking a court official, beheading him isnât too much, right? Of course, I can also not pursue this matter. Think about it carefully.â Consort Liâs face revealed a hint of fear! A smile appeared on Su Wenâs face. Women and mothers who did not care about their sons were the minority. This Consort Li was obviously not one of the minority!
Under the dim lights, the smile on Su Wenâs lips made Consort Liâs heart jump! Consort Liâs palms were covered in sweat.
Su Wen continued, âIf I find Yao Gu and kill him, I will let this matter rest. However, if I canât find him, I will not let him have it easy. Your son must die. As for you, donât worry. I am a law-abiding person. As long as I find out that you are fine, I will release you without any charges!â âTake her away and lock her up alone. Let her think about it.â
âNext!â
The person who was brought in this time was also a woman, one of Yao Guâs mistresses.
Su Wen flipped through the documents in his hands. He then introduced herself. It had to be said that Su Wenâs reputation was very useful in intimidating most ordinary people. âHow many years has Consort Sun been with Yao Gu?â âSeven years.â The woman kneeling on the ground replied softly. âDo you know where Yao Gu went?â âI donât know.â âIt doesnât matter if you donât know. Think about it carefully. Where could he have gone? If you know, just tell me and Yao Gu will be dead. Then you donât have to be so secretive about your relationship with Liu Wu anymore.â
Su Wen actually did not make up the story of Yao Gu being a cuckold. The woman suddenly raised her head and looked at Su Wen in shock. Su Wen smiled and said, âItâs fine even if you donât say it. I will find someone to spread the news. I think with Yao Guâs personality, he will definitely not let Liu Wu off, right? Perhaps he will be able to catch him if he goes fishing. As for you, your name will spread throughout the capital!â âThink about it. If Yao Gu dies, the residence will be yours. You will be able to live openly with Liu Wu. You can have your own child. If Yao Gu really loves you, why didnât he have children with you for so many years? While you are young, he dotes on you. In a few years, when you are old and haggard, he will kick you away. You wonât be able to have children even if you want to. What will you do then?â âIf you donât confess, youâll be considered one of Yao Guâs accomplices and be sentenced to death. Have you heard of the term confiscate the property and exterminate the family? You wonât be able to escape either.â âIf you confess, I can guarantee that you wonât die. Iâll consider it your contribution and even give you a sum of money, enough for you to live the rest of your life.â Su Wenâs voice was very low, but it clearly reached Consort Sunâs heart. It was like the whisper of a devil. Yes, the so-called feelings of love were so cruel when dissected!
âSir! I really donât know where Yao Gu is! I only know of some of Yao Guâs methods of embezzlement⦠Oh right, I also know that he stood up for his son and secretly killed a few people!â
Su Wen waved his hand and said, âBring her to the next room for questioningâ¦â Su Wen didnât know if these people knew where Yao Gu went, but he didnât try to torture them immediately!
Su Wen didnât know if these people knew where Yao Gu went, but he didnât try to torture them immediately!
Attack the heart first.
People always cared about something. Besides, he knew very well that if he were to sentence them to jail without restraint, he would definitely fall into the ploy of others! These people who slept beside Yao Gu knew most of his dirty secrets. What happened next proved the case. This was especially for Yao Guâs mistresses. Most of them quickly confessed to some of his crimes.
This was because Yao Gu didnât allow them to have children.
Or rather, this was an agreement Yao Gu made with her first wife. Yao Gu would keep his mistresses outside and did not allow them to have children.
In Su Wenâs eyes, Yao Gu was better off dead.
But sometimes, people were just so strange. Although Yao Gu had beaten up his wife very badly, he had never let her go.
He even gave in to her to some extent.
This became Su Wenâs biggest breakthrough! Not many women were willing to give birth to children for the rest of their lives. They werenât sure if Yao Gu would continue to support them.
When it really came down to it, they were afraid of being imprisoned. In his previous world, there would be many arrogant shrews outside which would turn terrified the moment they were brought into the police station, not to mention these women in the feudal age who were already scared out of their wits after entering the Secret Shadow Guard prison. Su Wen displayed their reality, threatened, and used bribery tactics. Most of them revealed the truth!
Husband and wife were merely birds of the same forest. When disaster struck, they would fly separately. Furthermore, since ancient times, it has always been the hearts of men that changed. Yao Gu was only interested in these womenâs appearances. How could he possibly be sincere towards them?
And how could these women not know? Su Wen had just finished his interrogation when someone came to report. âReporting to Lord Su, someone came from the palace.â Su Wen stood up from his chair and said, âBring me the confession from the interrogation. I will bring it to the palace!â âYes!â
The guard looked at Su Wen with reverence.
Now that Su Wen was in the Secret Shadow Guard, his reputation had gradually risen.
In the end, who wouldnât want to follow a tough and unyielding leader? Furthermore, Su Wenâs series of methods had broadened the horizons of these guards. After all, to them, they only knew how to torture more.
The problem was, who didnât know how to torture? As long as one was ruthless enough, there were simply too many ways to make people feel pain. With just a few words from Su Wen, he managed to get these people to confess. This made the guards even more shocked. Su Wen took the confessions and left. He had already guessed that Emperor Zhou would summon him for the matter of Yao Gu.
At this moment, Yao Gu was also feeling very uncomfortable. Within the Meng familyâs secret underground chamber, apart from Yao Gu, there were many other treasures. It was where the Meng family stored their wealth.
Yao Gu was half lying on the ground. His wounds had already been bandaged at this point.
The problem was that his injuries were too severe.
It could even be said that his injuries were even more severe than Zhao Jinâs.
After that surge of adrenaline had passed, his entire body withered. âUncle Yao, Iâve already prepared water and food that will last you for many days! No one at home knows that you are here. Iâm the only one who knows where you are. If thereâs nothing else, Iâll come down every night to empty the chamber pot for you. In the event that I cannot make it, or if itâs inconvenient for me to do so, please endure it for a while.â Meng Wei knew that Yao Gu was severely injured because he wanted to help avenge his own father. Therefore, when Yao Gu came to seek refuge in the middle of the night, he immediately hid him.
Yao Gu gritted his teeth and said, âI didnât expect that even though the guardâs cultivation wasnât high, yet he had so many tricks up his sleeves, forcefully injuring me! But I already know his methods! When I recover, Iâll kill his entire family!â Meng Wei opened and closed his mouth as he hesitated, but decided to tell Yao Gu in the end. âUncle Yao, Su Wen has brought his men to capture your entire family and brought them into the Secret Shadow Guard!â âWhat?â Yao Guâs eyes widened in anger. He wanted to get up in agitation but his wound started bleeding again. Meng Wei hurriedly said, âUncle Yao, donât affect your wound. I didnât dare to invite a doctor for you, and in order to prevent suspicion, I also didnât dare to use our medicines at home. I was afraid that if Su Wen brought people over to interrogate, someone would not be able to keep their mouth
shut.â
âYou did the right thing!â Yao Gu leaned against the wall and sighed. âThis personâs heart is the hardest to predict. Itâs best to be careful.â
He then gritted his teeth, âBut I never expected that Su Wen would act so quickly. Do you know how my wife and children are?â
Meng Wei shook his head and said, âI donât know either. But what should we do now?â
Yao Gu pondered for a moment and said, âI will write a letter. Help me send it to Monk Hui Ming, the abbot of the Golden Wheel Monastery. With my injuries, I wonât be able to move for a while. The safety of my wife and children will depend on him!â Meng Wei was stunned. This Golden Wheel Monastery was a rather famous sect in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The abbot of the Monastery was also a 9th Grade Earth Rank martial artist. He could be considered a top figure in the martial world. He hesitated and said, âI heard that the abbot of Golden Wheel Monastery has profound Buddhist Dharma and rarely pays attention to external matters. Will it be useful to send it to him?â
Yao Gu explained, âHe is my older brother! Very few people know of this relationship! In our family, after he swore celibacy, I am the only one left. If my son dies, there will be no descendants. Moreover, this matter has nothing to do with my son to begin with. Considering the relationship between us brothers and our parents, Iâm sure he wonât refuse!â
Yao Gu immediately wrote the letter. Meng Wei was cautious and did not send the letter through his family. Instead, he went to the bodyguard company in the city to request them to deliver the letter. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief. Not long after he returned home, the Secret Shadow Guards arrived!
The entire Meng family was taken away!
Meanwhile in the Royal Palace, Su Wen entered the hall where Emperor Zhou was holding court.
Su Wen bowed and looked at the three people beside him. He asked curiously, âMay I know why Your Majesty summoned me into the
palace?â
Emperor Zhou asked in a low voice, âYou brought people to raid the house of the Capital City Spear instructor, Yao Gu, right?â âThatâs right!â As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Zhi stood out and said, âYouâre only a Secret Shadow Guardâs Commander. The matter of Yao Gu hasnât been convicted yet, so what right do you have to go to raid his residence? Donât you know that youâre overstepping your authority? Moreover, Yao Guâs assassination of you should be thoroughly investigated by the Ministry of Justice, so how could it be your turn to investigate? Youâre overstepping your authority!â The crime of overstepping oneâs authority could be big or small. If it was big, one would end up beheaded. In other words, for an emperor, it was extremely unpleasant for his subordinates to overstep their authority and overstep his control.
Everyone looked at Su Wen and saw him taking out a small notebook. After flipping through a page, he said, âAccording to the authorization of the Secret Shadow Guard issued by His Majesty, the fourth clause states that if a person is suspected to have illegally obtained goods, the Secret Shadow Guard has the qualifications to detain them. According to the investigation of the Secret Shadow Guard, Yao Guâs daily life is extravagant, and his familyâs wealth is clearly incompatible with his income. Based on common sense, Yao Gu might probably be involved in some corrupt dealings. After Yao Gu attempted to assassinate me yesterday, he must have run away. In order to prevent his family from transferring the illegal goods, they must be detained. Is there a problem?â Zhang Zhi said angrily, âArenât you talking nonsense? Is having too much property considered corruption? Canât they do business? Canât they win these assets by gambling?â Su Wen said with a smile, âItâs âsuspected to be illegally obtained goodsâ that was written here by His Majesty. Itâs SUSPECTED. Dear Sir, have you never studied before? Whether itâs true or not, we have to finish the investigation first.â
Chen Ming interrupted, âHehe, that Yao Gu is an 8th Grade Earth Rank cultivator. His salary is already quite high, and the Imperial Court has given him quite a lot of rewards. You want to confiscate all of his familyâs wealth? Could it be that all of his familyâs private possessions are illegal goods?â Su Wen didnât think much of it. âSir, since Yao Gu might have accepted bribes, can you then tell me which piece of silver from his family is the illegally obtained goods?â âWho knows?â Chen Ming retorted. Su Wen smiled. âThatâs right. Yao Gu lives a luxurious life. His daily expenses should mostly come from his salary. Those that are kept at home are most likely the illegally obtained silver. Of course, they have to be confiscated first.â Chen Ming: ââ¦What are you talking about? How do you know he spent his salary?â Su Wen stared at him and said, âLord Chen Ming has a good relationship with Yao Gu, right? According to the investigation of the Secret Shadow Guard, you even drank with him a few days ago. If heâs not spend his salary, then Lord Chen Ming is technically sharing his illegally obtained funds with him!â âDonât you slander me!â Chen Ming turned around and looked at Emperor Zhou. He knelt on the ground and said, âYour Majesty, this Su Wen is simply unreasonable!â To his surprise, neither the Zhou Emperor nor his allies spoke. Su Wen was holding a small notebook that was written in black and white, thus he was actually being very reasonable. Emperor Zhou was speechless. He had set this rule because he was afraid that the evidence would be lost and had fixed this for the benefit of the Secret Shadow Guard. But now, Su Wen was taking this loophole and directly raiding someoneâs house⦠This was something he never expected. However, Su Wenâs explanation just had to make sense.
Zhang Zhi and Wu Qiuhan were much smarter than Chen Ming, so the moment Su Wen mentioned the clause, the two of them knew that it was impossible for them to go against Su Wen today.
The two of them looked at Emperor Zhou bitterly.
Zhang Zhi said, âYour Majesty⦠isnât this clause⦠a bit too much?â
Emperor Zhou felt aggrieved! He didnât mean it that way. However, he naturally wouldnât say this in front of his subjects. Instead, his expression turned rigid. âHow is it too much? I think itâs quite good! Since itâs illegally obtained goods, we should confiscate them, no?â Emperor Zhou endured this for the sake of his
pride.
Wu Qiuhan knew Emperor Zhou quite well, thus he secretly tugged at Zhang Zhi. Zhang Zhi realized and also reacted. He had gone a little overboard with his words. At this moment, Su Wen spoke. He bowed towards Emperor Zhou and said in a deep voice, âYour Majesty, I heard what this Lord Zhang Zhi said just now and feel that Your Majesty should add a sentence to the laws of Great Zhou â The crime of a huge amount of property with unknown sources! For ordinary officials, Your Majesty can send us Secret Shadow Guards to investigate their assets and origins before sending us to verify it! For those who cannot prove it or verify it, they should be punished according to the law!â Zhang Zhiâs eyes widened! F*ck! This kid is too ruthless! âYour Majesty, you canât!â Zhang Zhi fell to his knees and said in a deep voice, âHow can this be? Iâve never heard of such laws since ancient times!â
Su Wen smiled. âLord Zhang, what is wrong with this law? You can tell me!â
âThisâ¦â
Of course, there was nothing wrong with it. However, this law was fatal to corrupt officials!
âNonsense!â Emperor Zhou rebuked. âDo you think you can add the law with just one word? This Great Zhouâs law is something that countless people have deliberated over. It cannot be changed easily. I will remember this law of yours first. After I discuss it with my beloved ministers, I will make a decision!â Emperor Zhouâs words immediately suppressed Su Wenâs suggestion. He was very clear about the current political governance of the Great Zhou Dynasty. If he really did as Su Wen said, it would be akin to flipping a table in an instant. Every bit of filth would be thoroughly investigated and when that time came, it would be a huge mess! It was because the people were not familiar with being investigated at all. For example, if one came here to gamble. Who did they gamble with? When did they gamble? Did they win so much in a day? Did they go every day? Did they have any proper business? Once the gambling dens investigated and used their methods, who would lie to them?
It would definitely not match up. As for doing business, it would be easier to investigate. One would just write the accounts and check them later.
Money would never fall from the sky. However, Emperor Zhou hoped that the officials would restrain themselves and be obedient! He did not hope for a situation where all the officials were not greedy! If the officials were greedy, the Secret Shadow Guard would be akin to the sword of the Damocles on their heads, ready to fall at any moment.
This would allow them to be even more respectful and obedient to the emperor.
If no one was greedy, it would not be a good thing for Emperor Zhou! At least, Emperor Zhou thought so. Seeing Emperor Zhouâs attitude, Su Wen pursed his lips. âHehe, donât try to mediate.â âWhat did you say?â Emperor Zhou was furious. âIf you dare to speak without thinking, I will get someone to beat you up!â At this moment, Wu Qiuhan looked at Su Wen and questioned him, âLord Su, Yao Gu committed a crime and has yet to be convicted. Why did you imprison his entire family?â Su Wen smiled and said, âWe have to interrogate them about it. This is a case weâre dealing with. If we donât question anyone about it, where will we get the clues?â âDoes Lord Su have any clues? If not, donât lock them up for too long. After all, they are law abiding citizens, and even ordinary commoners. They cannot withstand the punishment of the Secret Shadow Guard!â Su Wen smiled and said, âWhat a coincidence, I really managed to find out something!â As he spoke, he gave several statements from the mistresses to the Zhou Emperor. Emperor Zhou didnât expect Su Wen to find clues so quickly as well. He held it in his hand and looked at the confessions of those people. After a long while, he angrily rebuked, âThis Yao Gu deserves to die. Not only did he steal from us, he even dared to obstruct my Great Zhou Generalâs promotion test. How hateful! We should quickly bring him to justice!â After he finished speaking, he handed the confession to Chen Ming and the others. The three of them read it and Chen Ming questioned, âHow long has it been since Lord Su captured them? Could it be that he coerced them to confess through punishment?â
Su Wen smiled and said, âI have never used torture before! If Sir Chen doesnât believe me, you can ask His Majesty to summon these people into the palace for questioning!â Chen Ming didnât believe him. âAre you kidding me? They are Yao Guâs mistresses. If you donât punish them, will they confess?â Emperor Zhou was also curious and immediately summoned those ladies into the palace. They were already scared out of their wits. Once they entered the palace, they would answer whatever Emperor Zhou asked. And there were clearly no wounds on their bodies.
Wu Qiuhan and the other two fell silent after hearing them speak? Wasnât this Su Wen a profligate young master? Why was he so meticulous?
âAlright! All of you can leave now. Iâm a little tired.â Emperor Zhou lay down and said softly. Everyone bid farewell and left.
The moment they stepped out of the palaceâ¦. Emperor Zhou sat up immediately! He took out a secret Shadow Guard book and flipped through it. He muttered to himself as he did, âThatâs not right! How can there be a loophole? How did this kid find a loophole? How do we change it?â Emperor Zhou was a little agitated.
The old eunuch didnât dare to continue the conversation. He watched as Emperor Zhou held a small notebook and paced back and forth.
Emperor Zhou felt disgruntled! The rules that he thought were perfect were always found by Su Wen.
âSo annoying!â Emperor Zhou sat down and slammed the table. He said angrily, âThis kid is really annoying. Canât he be a little more stupid?â
At this point, he was not the only person who felt distraught. Wu Qiuhan and the other two were the same. As the three of them walked out of the palace together, Chen Ming gritted his teeth, âItâs a pity, Yao Gu! Weâre screwed this time! We originally said that we canât let the Secret Shadow Guard wantonly raid our house, but this is actually part of His Majestyâs rules! What should we do?â
Wu Qiuhan shook his head and said, âDonât worry, canât you tell? His Majesty is actually very surprised as well. Otherwise, he wouldnât have summoned Su Wen into the palace. After this, His Majesty will change the scope of the Secret Shadow Guardsâ boundaries. He will not allow them to raid a place as they please. Otherwise, how many people would be innocent if they were to do the same?â
Wu Qiuhan sighed. âItâs just that our good days are coming to an end. His Majesty does not intend to leave us officials with no way out, but itâs just that we cannot let the Secret Shadow Guard have any evidence against us. Otherwise, no one can save us!â
Speaking up to this point, Wu Qiuhan gritted his teeth and said, âWhen His Majesty created the Secret Shadow Guard, Su Changqing actually disregarded the opposition of the entire dynasty and stood on His Majestyâs side. So it was his son who transferred into the Secret Shadow Guard! We were all fooled by this old fox, he had already thought of a way out! Su Wen entered the Secret Shadow Guard, then Su Changqing will attack his enemy and it will be even more convenient for him to protect himself!â If Su Changqing were to hear his words, he would definitely cry out in grievance. Su Wen was quick and had already left the palace before them.
When they returned to the Secret Shadow Guard, Meng Weiâs family was also brought over.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
This time, Su Wen did not interrogate Meng Wei first. Instead, he started questioning the Meng familyâs servants. First, he asked about Yao Guâs relationship with the Meng family. Then, he asked about what they heard last night.
Finally, he made them recount everything that happened in their residence from last night to today. Very soon, Su Wen gained something. One of the kitchen servants said that the kitchen was lacking in some rations and food!
Meng Wei was already very careful and had secretly taken some rations and food from the kitchen. However, the problem was that these servants naturally knew the kitchen well, thus they would definitely find out if there was food missing in the kitchen. It was just that no one knew who took it. In addition, most of the people in the kitchen liked to steal as well, so no one took it seriously. But when Su Wen asked carefully, they still mentioned it.
Immediately after, Su Wen questioned every single servant strictly! After confirming that it was not taken by one of them, Su Wen had a brief inkling in his heart!
Meng Wei was probably the one who took the item! And he definitely knew Yao Guâs whereabouts. Of course, it could also be Meng Weiâs mother. However, in this era, the ones who kept their word were usually men since they had much more to lose in the feudal age! In the dark interrogation room, Meng Wei was brought to Su Wen. When he saw Su Wen, he roared, âWho are you? What right do you have to arrest me? Iâm not guilty!â Su Wen sneered. âI am Su Wen! Because my guard killed your father, I even gave you 100,000 taels of silver as compensation, but you didnât take it.â
Meng Wei frowned, âIs it against the law to not want your money?â âSpeak! Where did you hide Yao Gu?â Su Wen suddenly shouted in a stern tone. âWhat Yao Gu! I donât know!â Meng Wei straightened his neck and spoke righteously!