Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

The Imperial Palace, Deguang Hall.

Civil and military officials stood in separate rows, and all the ministers bowed their heads.

Emperor Li Kai of the Great Qi Dynasty, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, sat on a red-gold dragon-carved throne. Although he was over forty years old, his eyes were sharp and piercing, and his ambition was as strong as ever.

The eunuch stood on the jade steps, chanting loudly: "If you have something to report, speak now; if not, the court may adjourn."

Censor Feng Quan of the Censorate stepped forward, held his court tablet, and bowed.

"I hereby impeach Xiao Zong, the commander of the Leopard Guard, for abusing his power, disregarding human life, and settling personal scores, resulting in the tragic deaths of 327 innocent family members of the Emperor's brother-in-law!"

Li Kai stroked the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, "Congyun, read to him the evidence of Wang's crimes that you have collected."

"Wei Chen takes orders."

The eunuch presented the memorial to Xiao Zong, who accepted it with a smile but did not open it. Xiao Zong had revised the memorial several times before presenting it to the emperor, and he already knew it by heart.

"At the beginning of this year, His Majesty further promoted the public land system, ordering that land ownership and household registration in various places must be matched one by one. Wang Dun complied in name only, allowing his clansmen to forcibly take women from good families as concubines, and forcibly abducted their fathers and brothers to his mansion, changed their names and surnames, and pretended them to be lost members of the Wang family."

“The Wang family seized their homes and land, forcing them to have relations with their daughters, mothers, and daughters-in-law. This way, they could prevent them from informing on them and having offspring, and also allow the Wang family to obtain fertile land.”

"From this point on, fathers are no longer fathers, sons are no longer sons, wives are no longer wives, and daughters-in-law are no longer daughters-in-law! Countless people in Jingzhou have been driven mad by the Wang family. If this wicked woman is not eliminated, it will be an injustice to Heaven!"

“I did kill the male members of the Wang family, but the women in the inner quarters that Lord Feng mentioned did not die at my hands. They were all pitiful people who were kidnapped. After I led my troops into the Wang family, I witnessed them strangling their own children and then committing suicide.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the hall erupted in disbelief. People couldn't believe that such a heinous and immoral act could occur in this peaceful and prosperous era.

"Lord Xiao, do you have any evidence?"

Xiao Zong handed over the memorial, "On the last page, there are those women's bloody fingerprints."

Feng Quan squeezed into the crowd and saw the bloodstains, which, though dried, were still shocking to behold, and he was greatly alarmed.

He was a man who always distinguished between gratitude and resentment. He straightened his clothes and bowed to Xiao Zong.

"I was unaware of the truth and almost falsely accused Lord Xiao. I, Feng Quan, apologize to you!"

Xiao Zong held his arm, "I didn't take it to heart."

*

When the sun was high in the sky, Yuan Zhi slowly woke up.

Seeing Luo Mei grinning from ear to ear, she quickly denied it: "Don't overthink it, we didn't do anything last night!"

"What? I'm so happy! The young master and the Xiao family are safe and sound!"

Yuan Zhi asked in bewilderment, "How did you know that my husband hasn't returned yet?"

"The master has sent someone to deliver the message."

Yuan Zhi nodded like a chick pecking at rice. Her uncle was indeed thorough in his work, much better than her husband, Xiao Zong!

Luo Mei wrung out the handkerchief and was about to take it from Yuan Zhi when Yuan Zhi quickly said, "No, no, no, I'm much better now, I can wash it myself."

Yuan Zhi slipped on her shoes, got out of bed, and washed up.

"Hey! Be careful!"

"Put the wood over there!"

Yuan Zhi heard a man's voice outside the window and her eyes widened. "What's going on outside?"

Luo Mei whispered, "The head maid, Gu Yu, complained to the young master that the madam wasn't sending meals to Songfeng Courtyard. The young master then asked Dou Zhao to find a craftsman to build a small kitchen in our courtyard."

"This matter should have been discussed between Miss and the young master, but she beat us to it. Now Gu Yu is acting all high and mighty, thinking that the young master built the small kitchen for her sake. She bosses around the servants like a concubine. If you ask me, we should find an excuse to get rid of her and replace her with someone honest and dutiful!"

Yuan Zhi rinsed the salt out of her mouth and wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Grain Rain and Awakening of Insects are the ones my husband is used to, and we can’t easily change them. Besides, the Xiao family was in such chaos a few days ago, but she didn’t leave. If we drive her away now, wouldn’t that be ungrateful?”

Luo Mei spat, "Her not leaving has nothing to do with the relationship between master and servant; she wants to stay and become a concubine!"

Yuan Zhi remained calm and composed, saying, "The Xiao family's ancestral precepts are there for all to see; Xiao Zong wouldn't act recklessly."

"What's the use of ancestral precepts? Look at the Third Master, doesn't he still have a harem of wives and concubines?"

Luo Mei said indignantly, "Besides, it's not the thief you should be afraid of, it's the one who's eyeing you. Gu Yu takes care of the young master's daily needs all day long. With just a little trickery, she could sleep in the same bed with him!"

Yuan Zhi was both amused and exasperated. "Are your young lady and son-in-law really that useless, being completely fooled by a maid? Alright! Stop worrying unnecessarily. Tell me quickly, how did you and Chen Qing run into Granny Zhao yesterday?"

Luo Mei exclaimed, "Oh dear! I almost forgot about the important matter!"

She cut to the chase: "Yesterday, Chen Qing and I followed the Second Young Master's friend and found the brothels and gambling dens he frequented. We learned that the Second Young Master owes the gambling dens 30,000 taels of silver!"

"Chen Qing and I were almost detained by the gambling den, but luckily we met Granny Zhao, who saved us."

Yuan Zhi guessed that Xiao Shen had debts outside, but she didn't expect that he owed so much.

But what would an old woman like Granny Zhao be doing at the gambling den?

Is it...

"My husband entrusted Granny Zhao to help my brother-in-law pay off his gambling debts?"

Luo Mei's eyes gleamed with admiration. "Miss, you're amazing!"

“The son-in-law has indeed been helping the second young master pay off his debts. In the past, it was the Leopard Guard who handled it, but this time his men went to Jingzhou with the son-in-law, so they entrusted it to Granny Zhao.”

Yuan Zhi thought to himself: No wonder!

When Xiao Zong was in Shengjing, the gambling dens were afraid of the Leopard Guard and dared not do anything to Xiao Shen. But as soon as Xiao Zong left, the gambling dens would definitely chase after Xiao Shen for money, and if Xiao Shen couldn't pay, he would have to go into hiding.

Just then, Xiao Zong went on a killing spree in Jingzhou, and the Xiao family was on the verge of death.

The Xiao family, under surveillance from all sides, is both the most dangerous and the safest.

Xiao Shen was certain that the gambling den wouldn't dare cause trouble, so he secretly ran home. However, he didn't know that Granny Zhao was helping him pay off his debts, so he conspired with Granny Li to steal the keys to the accounting office.

On the day her mother-in-law fell ill, Granny Li's words were strange, and now it seems she was deliberately covering for Xiao Shen.

Yesterday, Granny Li even went so far as to deceive her mother-in-law in order to help Xiao Shen plot against her. Yuan Zhi couldn't understand what Xiao Shen had incriminating evidence against Granny Li.

"Is this the important matter you were talking about earlier?"

"I haven't finished yet! Last night, when Granny Zhao saw that you were injured, she got angry and revealed that the second young master owed gambling debts. Madam beat the second young master half to death and also fell ill from anger."

Luo Mei couldn't help but laugh: "Just now, Granny Li brought over the keys and seal. Now that you're in charge, it's perfectly legitimate. And now that your relationship with your husband is getting better and better, you can take advantage of the Double Ninth Festival banquet to show off your skills in front of him. Wouldn't that secure your position as the mistress of the house?"

Yuan Zhi thought about it and agreed. However, she had previously entrusted Li Mama with the Double Ninth Festival banquet, but yesterday's events proved that Li Mama was not trustworthy, so she dared not use her again.

She wanted to kick out all the servants and guards who jumped into the pond to find evidence for money, so she wouldn't have to see them and get rid of them!

Do not!

No no no!

Yuan Zhi patted her cheeks: Calm down! Calm down!

If we really send them out, we won't have enough manpower. Where can we find so many people in such a short time?

The Double Ninth Festival banquet is a matter of management authority and cannot tolerate the slightest mistake. If she wants to make it a success, she must be tolerant of others.

Even in the imperial court, not everyone is a loyal minister; it all depends on how the emperor uses them. Loyal ministers have their uses, and treacherous ministers have theirs; the same principle applies to the domestic sphere.