After the failed attempt to pretend to be dead, the sickly child was favored by the treacherous mini

"Ah... Your Majesty, please spare my life..."

"Ah... I know I was wrong..."

"Ah...I will never dare to do that again..."

The sun was setting and the sounds of beatings and screams could be heard from outside the house.

Xia Hong looked at the courtiers who knelt outside the Golden Palace with a sullen face, and was so heartbroken that tears welled up in his eyes.

Xia Hong's steps were unsteady as he walked down the imperial steps. Shen Jinmo hurriedly supported him, sat back on the dragon throne, and bent down to pour hot tea for Xia Hong.

The sound of beating outside the house stopped, and Tian Ding fainted on the torture bench in a very appropriate manner.

When he spoke again, his eyes were filled with anger at his lack of resistance:

"Those who are kneeling in front of this palace today are all the most loyal officials of our Great Xia Dynasty."

"I pity you for your dedication to the country, so I have arranged for all your sons, even if they are less talented in passing the imperial examinations, to work in the Imperial Guards Department and give them the same salary as the civil and military officials."

"I don't ask them to do anything great. I only ask them to patrol Luo'an's public security and contribute to Luo'an's peace."

Xia Hong fiercely threw the book in his hand down: "But look at these rebellious sons you gave birth to, what have they done?"

The Minister of Revenue, who was hit on the head, crawled on all fours to pick up the booklet. He glanced at Xia Hong's angry expression and tried to guess Xia Hong's true intention.

However, to no avail.

He flipped through the booklet page by page, but still couldn't find any reason why so many of them had to kneel here.

If you can't understand it, you can only pass this booklet to the back.

When all the officials who were crawling on the ground finished reading the booklet, each of them had the same look of confusion on their faces.

Looking at these confused faces, Xia Hong felt that he had been too good to them over the years.

The inkstone at hand was smashed directly towards the bottom of the golden palace. The inkstone broke into pieces, and the black ink made the original palace stained and lost its original splendor.

Just like this kneeling courtier, he had long forgotten his original intention when he became an official.

"People in positions should do their job. I gave them official positions, and they are repaying my kindness by living a life of luxury in this building?"

Xia Hong pointed at Tian Ding who was dragged out of the palace by the imperial guards and said, "They themselves are not up to the task, and even the governor appointed by me personally, I need to spend money to bribe them in order to let them do their duty properly?"

"Those who know this think that your elders are not good at educating their children. Those who don't know this think that you have already taken the throne."

"I am terrified."

After these words were spoken, the courtiers in the golden palace prostrated themselves more devoutly, and their hearts tightened inexplicably.

It should be a crime to hold a position without doing any work for several years and to bully others by taking advantage of one's power!

The water in Luoan is too turbid, so turbid that they have long forgotten how to distinguish between right and wrong.

But what is the purpose of discussing this matter of clearing up the evil and promoting the good today?

Glancing at these hunched backs, Shen Jinmo realized that these officials were dull, so he took a stick and hit them to wake them up a little.

Walking in front of all the court officials, Shen Jinmo knelt on one knee and said, "I have not been strict in my administration. I would like to deduct one year's salary and give an additional ten thousand taels of silver for disaster relief."

After these words were spoken, all the civil and military officials in the hall finally understood the purpose of today's action.

Ten thousand taels of silver is not too much.

But they also have plans in mind.

Xia Hong was suspicious. If they gave too easily, he was afraid that if something went wrong in the future, they would ask them for the money.

The Minister of Revenue kowtowed immediately and was the first to speak out:

"I know that my son did something wrong, and I should also contribute to the disaster area, but I have always been an honest official, and I really cannot afford the ten thousand taels of silver."

Xia Hong's lips curled slightly. Even a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue gave his daughter a dowry of ten miles of red jewellery when she married her daughter. How could he, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, be incorruptible?

Without saying a word, Xia Hong nodded towards Shen Jinmo.

Shen Jinmo said directly: "Master Sun, Master Tian who was just beaten with a stick has no power or influence. His parents just donated 10,000 taels of silver on his behalf to save him from this heinous crime."

The cold narration was devoid of any emotion, and everyone in the hall belatedly realized that it was a sin for a court official to fail to educate his children properly.

If we use this as an opportunity to investigate, none of the court officials in this palace will be able to withstand the investigation.

It was extremely difficult for them to reach their current status. If they lost this official hat for ten thousand taels of silver, it would be a heavy loss.

The Minister of War was silent for a moment, then spoke first:

"I will go home immediately to raise money. Even if I have to sell my old wife's dowry, I will definitely contribute to the people in the disaster area."

It sounded as if he spent the money not to save his son, but to save these people.

The simultaneous silence of Xia Hong and Shen Jinmo proved that they could indeed use the ten thousand taels to buy this false reputation.

The steps had been offered, and the court officials flocked up to make such promises.

I am afraid that if I speak too late, I will lose both fame and fortune.

"We are all willing to do our part for the people."

Xia Hong sighed deeply and softened his attitude: "Now the disaster situation is serious. Since you all have such good intentions, I will forgive you for missing out this time."

"When you have collected enough money, come to Lord Shen to pick up the person, and then write a letter of apology."

The ministers kowtowed again and said: "I will definitely discipline my son more in the future and will never let him make any mistakes again."

Seemingly extremely exhausted, Xia Hong stood up with the help of Eunuch Lin and left the meeting hall.

Shen Jinmo turned to face the court officials and said, "Ten thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. All the lords should raise the silver. I will stay in this palace from tonight to noon tomorrow and wait for the silver from you to donate to the disaster relief."

The disaster is urgent and Shen Jinmo does not have so much time to hang out with these people.

With one hand slightly raised, the imperial guards dragged away those noble sons one by one, and their attitude was very clear: hand over the money with one hand and the person with the other.

As for these children who were raised in luxury, if they were hungry and thirsty, with a little torture, they would probably blurt out everything they should and shouldn't say.

The court officials kneeling on the ground quickly stood up, ran towards the palace gate in a large crowd, and hurried home to raise money.

Shen Jinmo also walked out of the Golden Palace in the setting sun. Those people who were extremely wealthy did not need to raise money, so they surrounded Shen Jinmo enthusiastically.

"Sir Shen, it's not easy for you to earn this salary. I will pay for this 10,000 taels for you."

Shen Jinmo did not refuse. After all, it was not easy for Xie Nanxing to earn this ten thousand taels. "Master Wu, what do you want me to do for you?"

"Why do I need to trouble you, Lord Shen?" Lord Wu smiled and shook his head. He lowered his voice and asked, "Your Majesty, will you do this only this time, or will you do it often?"

"Past achievements can never make up for today's mistakes. You gentlemen must walk upright and sit upright in order to walk steadily."

Shen Jinmo left the Golden Palace steadily.

Naturally, these court officials also understood Shen Jinmo's reminder.

The Imperial Guard Department was once a gift from Xia Hong, but now it has become a bargaining chip for Xia Hong to control them.

Even a tiger will not eat its own cubs, but how can one easily give up power?

But whether to choose a son or power is a matter for the head of each family to judge.