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The harm of noble families is far worse than that of rebels.

While the latter are fierce like fire, there is always a way to extinguish them.

The former have existed since ancient times, everyone can see how noble families are undermining the foundation of the dynasty, yet there are scarcely any means to control them.

Zhou Yi slowly shook his head, “You’re not the first to say this, nor will you be the last. The evil of noble families may run deep, but it’s no excuse to become a corrupt official.”

“Cough cough cough, easy for you to say!”

After mentioning the Lu family, the criminal seemed to completely let go.

“My lord… my parents starved to death because officials embezzled the disaster relief grain. I swore that once I triumphed in the imperial examinations, I would purge the Imperial Court and cleanse the land!”

Zhou Yi showed a bit more interest, “Tell me about your experiences, which you consider profound grievances, but are actually quite cliché?”

“…”

The criminal was rather helpless, but with his execution not far off, this was probably his last heart-to-heart conversation.

“After ten years of hard study, I passed the imperial examination with distinction, became a magistrate, and thought I could achieve great things. Yet the bureaucracy was full of local gentry, with no commands being executed beyond the yamen or into the villages.”

The criminal glanced at Zhou Yi, “And the most troublesome, were people like you, low-born clerks,”

Zhou Yi nodded slightly, weren’t Imperium and clerks sharing the world more than just mere words?

“Moving from county to county, not only was I unable to accomplish anything, but I also became the laughingstock of my peers, receiving the lowest evaluations year after year!”

The criminal murmured, “Time wasted like this, how could I retain any ambition or zeal? I simply let them have their way, and I spent my days reading and writing, neglecting all official duties.”

Reality wore away at his ideals and aspirations, turning him into a negligent official.

Zhou Yi asked, “What does this have to do with the Lu family?”

“In the sixth or seventh year of Hongchang, I was assigned to Changfeng County, which was hit by severe flooding… The rivers overflowed, and people were in dire straits.”

The criminal recounted, “As usual, I submitted a memorial to the Ministry of Revenue, requesting the allocation of silver and grain for disaster relief. According to the procedure, the Imperial Court must first inspect the disaster, then draft regulations for relief, which took quite some time.”

“By the time the disaster relief was arranged, most of the victims had already died, allowing for a smaller silver dispense. Minor disasters would resolve on their own, with no need for further aid.”

“Surprisingly, the Imperial Court swiftly ordered grain to be transported from the surrounding counties and allocated three hundred thousand taels of Disaster Relief Silver.”

“With such support, Changfeng County would have easily overcome the flood. Sleepless nights spent in vain for ten years, and at last, I could do something for the people, fulfilling my parents’ wishes!”

The criminal paused here, “During the famine when my parents were dying, they exhorted me: Be a good official in the future, saving the people from fire and water!”

Zhou Yi straightened his posture, this convict was indeed different from the others.

In the Sky Prison, there are plenty of corrupt officials, and Zhou Yi is used to hearing their various excuses for amassing silver—ultimately driven by desires for indulgence.

“Just when I was ecstatically preparing for the relief efforts, people from the Lu family arrived.”

The criminal spoke bitterly, “A lowly doorman berating a scholar of the Son of Heaven, claiming that the grain and silver were secured by the Lu family from the Imperial Court. Why should it be distributed to the common people?”

“However, this was what made me realize why the Imperial Court allocated the funds and grain, regardless of the memos!”

Zhou Yi said, “In the end, was the disaster relief money and grain taken to the Lu family?”

“What could I possibly have done?”

The criminal said, “Changfeng County is under the jurisdiction of Luyang Prefecture. The Lu family has entrenched itself there for a thousand years. Saying a single ‘no’ meant being accused of embezzling funds and grain and committing suicide out of guilt on the same day!”

“What happened afterward?”

Zhou Yi didn’t need to ask to guess the subsequent developments.

“The funds and grain were given to the Lu family. The people of Changfeng County suffered heavily, forced to sell their sons and daughters to survive…”

The criminal sighed, “That year they rated me as ‘Outstanding’. The patrolling Imperial Censor praised me for loving the people like my own children and for my relief efforts, and after a year, I was promoted to Deputy Magistrate of Luyang Prefecture!”

Though a Deputy Magistrate was also of the seventh rank, moving from a county to oversee a province was indeed a promotion.

A natural disaster had played into the Lu family’s hands, earning them silver and property. The criminal was promoted, and everyone was pleased!

“From then on, I became an official of the Lu family, achieving ‘Outstanding’ evaluations every year, and in a little over ten years, I was appointed as the Governor of Luzhou, ruling over a region.”

The criminal sneered, “Those same peers who had mocked me became close friends, eager to ingratiate themselves with me. To curry favor, they presented me with silver, Oiran, and poetry, doing everything to flatter and fawn.”

“Since then, I took bribes when there was money, sold positions when there was office, living without restraint…”

“Utter lawlessness and defiance of the heavens!”

Zhou Yi snorted coldly, the man had experienced wasted years and despair, completely degenerating amid the fear of death.

The convict’s gaze was deep, his voice ethereal: “What is the law? It is but a technique of the Imperial Court to govern and bind the people! And what is heaven? His Majesty is heaven, the Imperial Court is heaven, the scholars are heaven!”

Zhou Yi said, “However, you are about to die now.”

“The moment I became the Lu family’s lapdog, I was already dead.”

The prisoner’s eyes were hollow and lifeless: “What does it matter if you kill me? No one can change the corruption of the officialdom, nor can anyone save the Imperial Court!”

Zhou Yi said coldly, “For every corrupt official, one caught is one skinned and gutted.”

The prisoner said, “But the ones who replace them will be another batch of corrupt officials!”

Zhou Yi asked, “So, is the Imperial Court completely rotten?”

The prisoner shook his head gently, pointing to his own face: “It’s not the Imperial Court that’s rotten, nor the noble families, but the scholars who are thoroughly corrupt!”

Zhou Yi was slightly taken aback, this bastard was indeed a bit different from the previous corrupt officials. Curious, he said, “You’re a dog of the Lu family and an official in Fengyang—how did you end up in this prison?”

“When the master fattens up the dog, it’s time to kill and eat it, lest the dog turns on its master one day.”

The prisoner said, “In this way, the Lu family didn’t just snatch the silver but also won people’s hearts. When the Oiran who plagued the region are caught by the Lu family’s Qing Tian, the people applaud!”

“It seems you are not the first dog.”

“Nor the last.”

“Haven’t you thought of resisting?”

“Would it have been of any use?”

The prisoner’s retort left Zhou Yi speechless for a long while.

The thought alone of the millennia-old noble families was terrifying; without any cheats or advantages, there truly was no way to begin.

He left the cell.

Zhou Yi reported the results of the interrogation in detail to Captain Zhu.

“The Lu family!”

Captain Zhu’s eyes bulged: “Doesn’t that mean there’s no way to get it back?”

Zhou Yi inquired with a puzzled expression, “Old Zhu, you seem troubled. Why are you so concerned about this matter?”

“No, no! You’re busy, Zhou, I need to step out for a bit.”

Captain Zhu denied repeatedly and took his leave with a bow.

Zhou Yi frowned slightly: “Old Zhu, this fellow, couldn’t be dealing with some big shot, acting on their behalf? Millions of taels of silver could support an army, and in the whole Fengyang Country only a few people could make use of it!”

It wasn’t worry for Captain Zhu’s safety that he felt; everyone must face the consequences of the path they choose.

Zhou Yi was more worried about collateral damage—the fish pond getting disturbed. If Captain Zhu was implicated in a major case, he, a frequent associate, could inevitably be affected.

…

Prophetic words, indeed.

The eighteenth year of Hongchang, January.

The cheerfulness of the New Year had not yet faded when a sensational case burst forth in Fengyang Country, causing upheaval in the Imperial Court.

Regent Crown Prince Zhao Chi plotted regicide!

The Jinyiwei caught the Imperial Chef attempting to poison his target and, after interrogating him through the night, found dragon robes and the Jade Seal in the Eastern Palace.

According to the Eunuch of the Eastern Palace’s testimony, the Crown Prince had ordered that he be addressed as His Majesty, the Crown Princess Consort as the Empress Dowager, and the other concubines in corresponding terms to the Inner Palace.

Faced with irrefutable evidence, Zhao Chi had no defense and admitted to colluding with the Regent’s mansion to plot treason.

The Emperor Hongchang raged!

The Imperial Guards surrounded the Regent’s mansion while the Jinyiwei conducted a citywide manhunt for allies of the Crown Prince.

Captain Zhu turned out to be a new pawn under the Crown Prince’s command!