Surprise! I emptied the emperor's private treasury before exile

The fact was exactly as Chu Ci had expected. When she arrived, people halfway up the hill were already banging on the door.

I saw a group of people with angry faces, shouting non-stop. The noisy shouting came one after another, like a group of annoying flies buzzing, making people feel upset.

The sturdy men in the lead were exerting all their strength, banging their shoulders against the door of the workshop. Veins bulged on their foreheads and sweat streamed down their cheeks, as if they had poured all their strength into these repeated impacts.

The heavy wooden door made muffled "bang bang" sounds as they rammed it, and each sound was like a dull thunder, which made people frightened, as if it might be knocked open at any time.

Chu Ci saw this, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. "Come here, arrest all those who are knocking on the door."

As soon as Chu Ci finished speaking, the chief guard Su Wu shouted, "Yes, my order!"

Then Su Wu waved his hand, and the rest of the people surrounded him in a fan shape, their movements were neat and without delay.

The villagers halfway up the mountain were no match for the well-trained guards.

In just two minutes, the strong man who was so arrogant just now was like a deflated ball. He had no power to resist and was all pressed under Chu Ci's feet.

Some of them had terrified faces and eyes wide open, as if they had seen an extremely terrifying scene; some collapsed to the ground, their limbs trembling, and they didn't even have the strength to stand up, completely losing their previous arrogance.

Chu Ci looked down upon such people, and with a gloomy face, he directly ordered Su Wu: "Interrogate them thoroughly and make sure to find out who instigated them to dare to come here and cause trouble?"

Su Wu responded, "Don't worry, my lord. I will get to the bottom of this."

Without saying a word, he rushed forward, raised his right foot and kicked him hard. The man screamed in pain, his face was instantly filled with agony, and his body curled up involuntarily.

Su Wu then said sternly: "Tell me! Who is behind you? Don't have any hope. If you don't tell the truth, you will be in trouble!"

The man covered the part where he was kicked, sweat dripping down his forehead, and replied in a trembling voice: "Sir, spare my life! I...I was forced into a corner."

Su Wu frowned and shouted angrily, "You were forced to do so? I think you are blinded by greed! Tell me, who ordered you to do so?"

The man was trembling, but his eyes were still full of stubbornness. He refused to give in. "Why? Why did you only recruit a few women? We just want an explanation."

"We are grown men who have the strength to work and can endure hardships, so why don't you give us a chance?"

But this excuse is too poor.

Seeing that the man was still not obedient, Su Wu became even more furious. Veins bulged on his forehead. He walked forward and grabbed the man's neck as fast as the wind.

"I don't like to hear nonsense!" Su Wu's voice was as cold as frost. He glanced at Chu Ci who was not far away and continued, "Don't think I dare not do anything to you. If you really make me angry, even the king of heaven can't save you!"

"After all, I am a dignified seventh-rank general Dingyuan. I have killed countless enemies on the battlefield and have seen life and death. Even if I fail, the princess will understand."

As Su Wu spoke, the strength in his hands gradually increased.

Soon, the man couldn't breathe, his face turned red like a ripe tomato, and he tried desperately to pry Su Wu's hands open with his hands, but to no avail.

He was scared and didn't care about what he had said before. He looked at Chu Ci in panic, his eyes full of pleading and fear, as if he was asking Chu Ci for help, hoping for a glimmer of hope.

"Help, help..." The man squeezed out these two words with difficulty. His voice was hoarse and weak, as if squeezed out from between his teeth.

Chu Ci saw it all clearly, her brows were furrowed and her eyes were sharp.

Without hesitation, she drew out the imperial sword, which symbolized execution first and report later, and stepped forward, saying sternly, "Guard Su, don't hurt your hands, use this sword!"

Su Wu, who was following Chu Ci, naturally recognized the origin of the sword. He immediately bowed and said respectfully, "Thank you, Princess, for the sword."

Then he took the sword and slashed at the man's neck.

The man saw that Su Wu was not lying, and he was really scared. He cried out in tears, "Sir, please spare my life. I will tell you everything, everything!"

However, Su Wu's movements did not slow down, and the strength in his hands increased a little.

The man finally didn't care about anything else and shouted at the top of his lungs, "It's the son of the village head, Zhou Zhiyi! I'm not lying, if you don't believe me, ask them! If I tell even a single lie, God will strike you with lightning!"

After yelling for a long time, the man didn't even dare to open his eyes, and his body kept shaking, as if waiting for the judgment of fate.

Until Chu Ci's cold voice sounded in his ears. "What is Zhou Zhiyi's purpose?"

Only then did the man realize that his life was temporarily saved. He breathed a sigh of relief, but he was still frightened.

"I don't know. But I know someone knows." He quickly pointed to a man in the crowd and said, "That's him, Zhou Zhiyi's uncle Xiangxue."

"Don't be fooled by his name, he is just an uneducated, unskilled, and unscrupulous bastard."

"Perhaps Zhou Zhiyi's move today was his idea." The man's face was full of eager flattery. In order to completely get rid of the connection, he continued: "Zhou Zhiyi is usually arrogant and domineering. He relies on his father being the head of the village to do evil things."

"This incident was most likely planned by him and that unreliable uncle."

Since he sold Zhou Zhiyi to save his life, he might as well be more thorough, maybe he can bring down the village head. As the man spoke, he quickly planned in his mind: as long as he could please this noble man, maybe he could not only save his life, but also get some benefits.

Thinking of this, the man's face became even more flattering, his waist bent even lower, and his head nodded like pounding garlic.

Chu Ci also did as he wished, nodded slightly and said: "Let him go!"

Su Wu was stunned at first, then he loosened his hand and looked at Chu Ci with a puzzled look, saying: "Princess, this man's words may not be credible. If we just let him go, what if..."

At this time, someone in the crowd who was being suppressed immediately saw an opportunity and shouted impatiently: "I, I can testify. Niu Saner did not lie, and I also know why Zhou Zhiyi asked us to come here to make trouble."

The person who spoke looked anxious, afraid of missing this opportunity to make amends. He stared at Chu Ci, but saw that Chu Ci was unmoved.

He quickly told what he knew: "Three days ago, I was a little short of money, so I went to find Xiang Xue to take on some work. But I didn't expect to see Zhou Zhiyi nodding and bowing to a nobleman."

"That nobleman is wearing luxurious clothes and has a valuable jade pendant hanging around his waist. It's obvious that he is of high status."

"I was hiding in a corner at the time, and I heard that nobleman say that if Zhou Zhiyi could ruin the business here, he would give him a place in some imperial academy in the capital."

"Zhou Zhiyi agreed on the spot and promised to get the job done."

"My Lord, everything I said is true, not a single word is false!"