The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1524 Remembering the Past

In the courtyard, a large group of Imperial Guards watched helplessly as the three condemned prisoners rolled on the ground before kicking their legs and falling silent.

Wang Yan clicked his tongue and shook his head: "Look, look, brothers, the Yan faction is really powerful. How long has it been since I slapped Yan Shifan? Less than two hours, and they've already contacted their men. They even have people in the Imperial Guards! If this had happened, he would have been dead for sure, but what happened? They're not even afraid of death!"

Zhu Qi and the others turned green with rage, staring intently at the group of cooks who were pinned down and kneeling on the ground, unable to move. Their jaws had been dislocated; now, even a peaceful death seemed impossible.

These cooks clearly knew about it too, and were trembling like leaves. Even if most of them were definitely not involved, the connection wasn't something that could be made out of thin air; it was determined through detailed investigation and interrogation.

They worked for the Northern Garrison Command, so how could they not know how things were done here? Thinking of their possible fate, all they could do was wail and wail.

The person who actually poisoned the food was also hiding among them, contemplating suicide along with them. He genuinely wanted to die; after all, who could have imagined that the food had barely been served, and before he could even check the results and attempt suicide, he'd already been taken into custody…

"Take him away and interrogate him! Eighth Brother, hurry and go to the Directorate of Ceremonial to inform the eunuchs." Zhu Qi began assigning tasks, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards sprang into action.

Zhu Qi said to Wang Yan, "I really didn't expect Yan Shifan to be so heartless and insane."

"He's a hero now, and he's only earned three million taels of silver. He's incredibly powerful. Besides, even if everyone knows he did it, so what? Can your investigation trace it back to him? Impossible. You won't find a single piece of evidence."

Wang Yan saw Zhu Qi's anger, and Zhu Qi indeed had reason to be angry.

Although the Northern Garrison Command's current status is inferior to that of the Eastern Depot, it is still the emperor's personal guard, granted special privileges by imperial authority. While Zhu Qi isn't a high-ranking official in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, his position is not insignificant.

Because he was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had distinguished himself through his own abilities, rising above tens of thousands of other guards, and was even granted the surname Zhu. His status was certainly high; otherwise, the emperor wouldn't have remembered his name and given him the opportunity to enter the palace for an audience.

Others who addressed Zhu Qi as brothers were in roughly the same situation; they were all outstanding members of the Imperial Guard, leaders of the Imperial Guard, and violent machines that resolutely carried out the emperor's will.

Now, Yan Shifan has gone so far as to poison them all...

On the other hand, even the cooks in the Northern Garrison Command have been bribed. What about other places? What about the palace? If the infiltration is like this in the capital, what will it be like throughout the country?

Zhu Qi let out a long sigh: "Brother Wang, I won't say any more to you. These two are at your disposal. I'll get to work. We must give His Majesty an explanation today, or we'll be in big trouble."

"It's my fault for causing this trouble," Wang Yan said.

Zhu Qi snorted: "You've brought this much trouble! The Northern Garrison Command fears nothing more than trouble!"

Having said that, he turned and left to do his work...

"Look at you, Dazhu, you'd better be careful from now on," Wang Yan said to Qi Dazhu beside him. "Call your wife out. Seventh Master and the others aren't eating, so the three of us will eat. Come on, take me to see the dishes. Now that no one is serving us, we have to do it ourselves to be self-sufficient and have peace of mind when we eat and drink."

Led by the strongmen, Wang Yan went to find meat, vegetables, wine, rice, flour, oil, and other necessities. With the help of Qi Dazhu and his wife, Wang Yan personally cooked the dishes and invited several strongmen to eat and drink with him.

"Third Master, I never expected you to cook so well." Qi Dazhu ate with gusto, praising the food in his mouth.

“My family passed away early, and I’ve been living alone ever since. I also have a big appetite. If I can’t cook, won’t I starve to death?” Wang Yan urged everyone to eat more, “There’s still some in the pot, so don’t worry.”

"Third Master, what about this matter..."

Wang Yan interrupted Qi Dazhu: "Although this matter started because of me, I can't say anything. What right do I have? We should just stay here and hide, be careful of things that are out of sight, and make sure we can live safely. No matter what, this matter will eventually come to a conclusion. If we live to see the conclusion, then everything will be fine."

Qi Dazhu nodded in response, then ate and drank heartily, chatting idly with Wang Yan, rambling on about his experiences in the capital.

Actually, there wasn't much insight involved. Qi Dazhu's point was that the capital city wasn't as good as home.

It's colder here than in Chun'an. The place I'm staying is quite spacious, but it's not as comfortable as my old red-brick house back home. I'm already feeling homesick after just leaving…

While Wang Yan was enjoying his meal and drinks without being disturbed, the atmosphere in the Yan residence was extremely tense.

"It was supposed to be a good day to celebrate our victory, but that bastard from the north ruined it!" Yan Shifan's face was flushed with the slap mark, but no matter how you looked at him, he didn't seem to be in any good spirits.

Yan Song lay back in his chair: "What they said is right. If we want to kill someone and make them afraid to fight back, that's one thing, but this kid surnamed Wang has no parents or relatives. Why would he be afraid of you? Shi Fan, you really rushed things this time."

"Me, anxious? Father, look at my face! Look at my neck! Look at my chest! When have I ever suffered such a loss? If word gets out, won't I, Yan Shifan, become a laughingstock? How can I face anyone? How can I not be anxious!"

Yan Maoqing comforted him, "Young Grand Secretary, calm down. It's not worth getting angry with this kind of person. Anyway, he won't live much longer."

"He won't live much longer? I'll make sure he doesn't live past today!"

No sooner had Yan Shifan finished speaking than someone burst in.

"This is bad, Young Grand Secretary! The Northern Garrison Command has mobilized! Our men saw that guy surnamed Wang cooking and eating by himself!"

Yan Shifan was stunned for a moment, then shouted angrily, "Eat your mother's head! You bastard! You bastard! You bastard!"

Three cries of "You bastard!" each louder than the last.

Yan Song stared at Yan Shifan: "You sent someone to kill Wang Yan, and they failed?"

"We've contacted the cooks there. We figured that after Wang Yan's audience with the Emperor, he'd definitely want to feast and drink meat. They only arrived in the capital today, they're exhausted from their journey, and they just beat up the young Grand Secretary, so it's time for them to relax..."

Luo Longwen couldn't continue speaking because the results were already in.

Yan Song sighed, "This time it won't be easy to get through this."

"What else can we do? We're the ones holding up the Ming Dynasty. Without our salt inspections, where would Xu, Gao, Zhang, and their gang find three million taels of silver to cover the deficit? We're afraid we won't even be able to pay the salaries of the officials in the capital this year!"

Yan Shifan spoke arrogantly, "Yes, everyone knows it was me, but who dares to say it? His Majesty still relies on us, what difficulties could we possibly face? Father, as long as we can do practical things, His Majesty will use us, and there's no obstacle we can't overcome. Otherwise, what can we do with that group of self-proclaimed upright officials? They all talk about serving the country, but what can they do besides causing trouble?"
"Father, the responsibility of the Ming Dynasty, encompassing its two capitals and thirteen provinces, ultimately rests on our shoulders!"

"It's on my shoulder, not yours! Not all of you! Doing things recklessly will lead to trouble." Yan Song's cloudy eyes looked over, but surprisingly, they showed a bit of clarity. "You think only you guys can get things done? Don't you know that kid surnamed Wang made cement and white glass? We've replaced all our windows, are you blind? Can't you see?"

With these two things, Your Majesty can earn an extra million taels of silver a year. This silver was earned by that brat surnamed Wang. I never intended for Wang Yan to die; I merely used him as a stepping stone. A million taels of silver—I could buy not only Wang Yan's life, but even our own heads!
"Get ready, I'm going to the palace to meet the Emperor!"

"Father, I'll go with you." Yan Shifan said indignantly.

He was still covered in red, swollen, and bruised bruises. How dare a mere clerk treat him like this?

"You should handle this matter thoroughly from beginning to end, and don't be careless and give others a handle to use against you. If that happens, His Majesty will have no choice but to take action."

Yan Song waved his hand, too lazy to pay attention to his precious son. He was helped up, changed his clothes, got into a carriage, and then a sedan chair to go to the palace...

While things were in complete chaos here, Wang Yan ate and drank his fill and went to sleep comfortably.

In fact, at this point, Yan Shifan would not take any further action. After all, his plan to plant people in the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been exposed. Thinking about something and actually seeing it are two different things.

Even if Yan Song and his son were very confident, they would have to be careful at this point and clean up their mess quickly. After all, as mentioned before, this kind of thing is prone to being misinterpreted and overthinking, especially since Jiajing was constantly being plotted against in his life and was a late-stage patient of persecution complex.

Yan Shifan certainly didn't realize it, otherwise he wouldn't have done such a foolish thing at this time. Yan Song, however, definitely did. Lü Fang spoke of thrice-thinking: thinking of danger, thinking of retreat, and thinking of change. Yan Song had weathered decades of ups and downs, and it was time for him to seriously consider these things.

It was also due to the information gap. Yan Song and his associates were unaware that Jiajing already knew the exact amount of salt tax they had collected, that they were embezzling from one level to the next, and that for many years Yan Song and his associates had been deceiving him. As a result, the amount of tens of millions of taels of silver collected during the reign of Emperor Taizu had decreased year after year, and by the time it reached him, it was only a little over one million taels.

Emperor Jiajing was naturally furious.

But Yan Song and his son were unaware of this, especially since Yan Shifan happened to cause this trouble at this particular time, making the situation quite complicated...

The following morning, the heavy snow that had lasted for a day and a night had stopped. However, the melting snow and the biting wind meant that even when the sun was high in the sky, it was not warm.

Fortunately, the courtyard was large and the walls were high, which sheltered it from the cold wind and created a warm and cozy space.

Wang Yan, dressed in a thick robe, lazily swayed back and forth on a recliner.

Before him were several strongmen from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Qi Dazhu, who were practicing his kung fu in a very serious manner.

Beside him was Qi Dazhu's wife tending a small red clay stove. After the tea was brewed, she poured out the tea, added more water, and then stared at Qi Dazhu with wide eyes.

Wang Yan would occasionally speak up, giving instructions on the movements of the men. These strongmen had all been subdued by him during his morning training, and each of them was more powerful than the last.

Such a scene is incredibly peaceful; it hardly resembles a prisoner being escorted to the capital...

A creaking and clanging sound rang out as two eunuchs pushed open the door and walked in, followed by the plump Huang Jin.

"Oh, Clerk Wang, you seem to be in high spirits. Are you enjoying the sun?"

Wang Yan had already stood up and respectfully cupped his hands: "It's very comfortable. It's different when you're in front of His Majesty. The sun is even warmer than in Chun'an. It warms not only the body but also the heart."

"She's a good talker, and even more so, a bold one." Huang Jin smiled, like Maitreya Buddha. "I heard you went to bed early yesterday. Little do you know how many people didn't sleep a wink all night because of you."

"Eunuch Huang, I am so wronged. I was poisoned in the territory of the Northern Garrison Command, and I was only able to escape unharmed thanks to the Emperor's protection. Many people didn't sleep all night, and in my humble opinion, that's to be expected. This matter is too heinous and must be thoroughly investigated, severely punished, and dealt with to the death, so that those with ulterior motives will give up."

Huang Jin chuckled and said, "With what you've said, we should let you take over the job of our factory manager."

"Thank you for your kindness, Eunuch Huang. I will serve Your Majesty in any other place as well." Wang Yan shook his head repeatedly, looking like he was saying, "I'm the only son, don't harm me."

This made Huang Jin laugh heartily, then he took a few steps closer and whispered, "Kid, let me tell you something interesting. Last night, Yan Song went to the palace to see the Emperor, and His Majesty told him a lot about the past..."

Wang Yan pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized and jumped for joy: "Good! That old dog Yan Song has lost the Emperor's favor and his power is about to end. Let's hurry up so that I can have peace of mind sooner."

"How come I didn't see the slightest bit of fear in you?"

"Is he afraid he won't come? This humble servant is very uneasy. Eunuch Huang, please tell me, I will only turn twenty next year, and now I am favored by the Emperor, and His Majesty even gives me money to spend. It seems that my future is bright and I am about to rise to the top. If Yan Shifan kills me, how much of a loss would I suffer?"

"That's true."

"Eunuch Huang, I am a straightforward person and I always speak the truth."

Huang Jin waved his hand: "Alright, enough of the small talk. We're here to learn health cultivation techniques from you. We brought a few people with us. Please teach us all."

"I will obey your orders, Father-in-law."

"We've been practicing your kung fu..."

"It has the same benefits. If you use it once a day, you'll feel refreshed once you get used to it."

"Then hurry up and learn it as soon as possible so that His Majesty can see it sooner."

Huang Jin was very enthusiastic and studied very hard, showing a high level of initiative.

After all, it was Huang Jin who taught Jiajing after learning it. Jiajing certainly couldn't learn this every day; he would need to study it for ten days to half a month. Even after that, Huang Jin would have to accompany him during practice.

What's this called? It's called Divine Favor.

At Huang Jin's level, he lacked nothing except for his manhood and Jiajing Emperor's favor...

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