When the guards saw Ning Shuang leave, they could not help but ask, "Commander Zhao, no matter what, you are an expert with some status. Is there a need to be so worried about a maidservant?"
Zhao Jin sneered and said, "What do you know? This Ning Shuang has been by the Third Young Master's side since she was young. In the future, she will definitely be someone who shares the same bed as the Third Young Master."
"Ignoring everything else, just that Cui Yumian might not be as useful as Ning Shuang in front of the Third Young Master the moment she becomes a concubine. I will follow the Third Young Master in the future, so I naturally have to rely on her to put in some good words."
After saying that, he looked at the other guards and spoke in a low voice, "I'm leaving now. I'll also say a few heartfelt words to you. In the Prime Minister's manor, to be able to become the personal guards of the young masters is definitely the most promising.
Look at Old He. To the outside world, he has announced that he would be returning to his hometown, but in fact, he might have been entrusted with some important task! Usually, when you see the Third Young Master, you should try to be a little sweet-tongued."
"Look at me. A few days ago, I took the opportunity to suck up to him. Isn't that how I managed to climb up the ranks? Even if you practice martial arts with your life, there's not much point. Can you actually become a Heaven Realm expert?"
The guards nodded emotionally in assent.
…
Meanwhile, Su Wen was studying the cultivation technique Feng Baichuan gave him in the backyard.
This technique did not even have a name.
After he opened it, it was a cultivation method that went straight to the point. The handwriting was rather delicate, and it was unknown who wrote it.
At this moment, all the True Qi in Su Wen's body had already been modified by the Sorcerer God's Golden Gu. The True Qi cultivated by his Heaven & Earth Great Solar Sutra was originally of the extreme Yang attribute. After it was swallowed and strengthened by the Gu, the quality of the True Qi became even higher.
Su Wen had a feeling that his battle prowess had increased by at least two stages.
However, he could clearly feel now that when he circulated his True Qi, there was a faint burning sensation in his body.
He didn't dare to be negligent and immediately followed the body tempering cultivation technique.
[Ding-dong. Nameless cultivation technique detected. Please name it.]
"Body Tempering Art!"
Su Wen casually chose a name and immediately after, he started to circulate his Qi based on the technique.
Following the progress of the cultivation technique, the True Qi in Su Wen started to seep into his body, strengthening and transforming his flesh.
Generally speaking, this was a long process that couldn't be accomplished overnight.
However, there was still the Black Tortoise's blood essence in Su Wen's body. As the cultivation technique circulated, the remaining blood essence in Su Wen's body seemed to be activated and further integrated into Su Wen's body.
This greatly increased his body's speed of strengthening.
It was just that this set of cultivation techniques placed great importance on strengthening the meridians and internal organs. Compared to ordinary body-tempering cultivation techniques which focused on the external body rather than the internal organs, it was a completely different feeling.
Under the effects of the black tortoise's blood and cultivation technique, Su Wen's meridians and organs experienced a continuous strengthening.
As his meridians became tougher and wider, and more of the Black Tortoise's blood essence fused into his body, Su Wen started to feel his cultivation base break through. Previously, he had already obtained a pill that increased three years worth of cultivation. This time, by completely refining the blood essence into his body, it had further pushed his cultivation up.
When Su Wen opened his eyes, it was already the morning of the next day. His cultivation base had also entered the 8th Stage of Star Rank.
The Black Tortoise's blood essence in his body had also been completely refined at this point.
At this moment, Su Wen suddenly realized that the Sorcerer God's Golden Gu in his body seemed to be a little dispirited.
After he refined the remaining black tortoise blood essence in his body, the blood vitality in Su Wen's body also returned to what was considered the normal level for a human. For the Sorcerer God's Golden Gu, it was not a comfortable place to stay in.
However, the characteristic of the Gu was that once it selected its host, unless the host's blood essence reached an extremely low level, it would not leave the host's body. The other method was to use the secret technique of the Divine Sorcerer Art, which allowed it to leave the host's body to fight. However, even the Martial Inspectorate had not managed to research it.
After checking the date, Su Wen realized that his competition with Xue Meng was tomorrow.
He stood up and got off the bed. After breakfast, he instructed Ning Shuang, "Go get Zhao Jin. I'll be leaving in a bit!"
"He was waiting at the doorstep first thing in the morning."
Compared to He Ping'an, Zhao Jin was more diligent.
The moment Su Wen went out, he saw Zhao Jin at the door. The latter was dressed neatly and his beard and hair were all clean.
"Aiyo, Brother Zhao is so energetic today." Su Wen joked.
Zhao Jin hurriedly said, "Young Master, just call me Ah Jin. My family calls me that."
"Alright, Brother Jin, let's go. Come with me to the Spiritual Master Residence."
What Su Wen was concerned about now was whether his sports car had been built. One had to know that this was the key to his competition with Xue Meng!
Zhao Jin immediately prepared the carriage, and the two headed straight for the Spiritual Master Residence.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Spiritual Master Residence, a guard came up to greet them with a smile. "Young Master Su, Master Mo has already instructed us to invite you in as soon as you arrive!"
Su Wen walked in with a smile and followed the guards to Mo Xin's location.
They had only just walked halfway there when Su Wen heard a low rumbling sound coming from the location!
"The teachers have been playing like crazy for the past two days. Young Master Su, that thing you made is too flashy." The guard could not help but sigh.
Just as Su Wen was about to ask, he suddenly saw two sports cars rushing forward towards him at an extremely high speed. The tail of the car in front of him even kept spewing out huge flames.
In front of them was Mo Xin and the rest of the spiritual masters. All of them were shouting excitedly.
After the two cars stopped, an old man with a head full of white hair came out from one of them. He laughed and said, "Haha, the flame jet sports car that I made is awesome. I was the one who first passed the finish line just now, right?"
A young man alighted from the other car and said with a vexed expression, "I made a mistake this time and put in a lightness array formation. Otherwise, you won't be able to defeat me. The pure wind array formation is the way of the King. Wait for me to go back and modify it before we compete again!"
At this moment, Mo Xin saw Su Wen and hurriedly went up to him with a smile, "Young Master Su, this sports car you mentioned is indeed interesting. It has already been built, but the cost of making it is rather expensive. Furthermore, it uses all kinds of spirit stones to drive it, so the consumption is also very high."
"However, for someone as wealthy as you, it's nothing much. These few days, the research and development, as well as experimentation, all cost about three million taels of silver. When do you think you can submit this report?"
Su Wen could understand this point. To put it bluntly, the spiritual master mansion did not have an unlimited amount of money. Furthermore, it had to be vetted by various departments. Since he wanted Mo Xin to build something for him, he naturally could not use their money.
But before he could say anything, Zhao Jin spoke up, "You old thing, are you trying to trick my family's young master? You were clearly the ones playing just now. Who knows how many times you've done this in the past two days? And you still want my young master to pay for you?"
Hearing that, Mo Xin felt a little embarrassed.
The construction of the sports cars were indeed expensive, but they did not cost that much money.
The problem was when they tried to test it after building it. All the users instantly felt an unprecedented pleasure at using such a tool.
Especially after someone managed to produce a faster sports car than the original. Their competitiveness in research and development for the vehicle increased tremendously.
Everyone wanted their own sports car to be the fastest.
Most of these spiritual masters were powerful and didn't have to worry about knocking themselves to death. Thus, they drove as fast as they could. Leaving out any other costs, just the accidents to the sports cars already numbered in the double digits.
It was indeed inappropriate for Su Wen to fork out for all the costs.
But who could compensate for such a large sum of money?
At this moment, Su Wen smiled and said, "Brother Zhao, such research and development must come with experimentation. Otherwise, how would we know its stability and performance? It's inevitable that there will be some losses.."According to Zhao Jin's thoughts, these people were indeed framing Su Wen, but the latter did not care. To put it bluntly, his father's money would probably be handed over to the national treasury in two days.
The people from the Spiritual Master Residence had indeed overplayed a little. However, they had after all managed to create the final product he wanted.
They would definitely be useful in the future, so why should he be nitpick with them?
Furthermore, just as Su Wen had said, wasn't it normal to conduct experiments after research and development? Otherwise, how would they know the safety and performance of the experiments?
Su Wen could understand this. After all, he was there to compete in wealth. If he drove halfway and the car broke down, wouldn't he be laughed at by his opponent?
When Mo Xin heard Su Wen's words, he immediately felt that Su Wen agreed with him. He hurriedly said, "That's indeed the case. The one we built at the start disintegrated after driving for less than 500 meters. However, the one we're constructing now can already exhaust all the energy arrays in the car without any problems. It can even be driven by ordinary people. This is simply an unprecedented divine item."
He was quite proud of himself. After all, he had personally researched this item with his people.
However, Su Wen knew very well that ordinary people could not even operate this thing.
After all, there were no safety measures in his car.
It would be fine if the driver had a strong body, but if the driver was weak, the end result would see both the car and the driver turn to scrap.
"Alright, there'll no problem with the money. In a while, I'll get someone to send the car over to the residence. The money will be paid then. In addition, I'll add on an additional 100,000 taels of silver, take it as your hard-earned money."
Hearing Su Wen's words, Mo Xin was overjoyed and smiled. "Thank you, Young Master Su."
He said proudly, "After developing a sports car this time, I already have a lot of ideas about missiles. Since you're satisfied, I can go back and study in peace!"
Su Wen was dumbstruck. Why was this guy so obsessed over missiles? If he knew this would happen, he would not have said so much the last time. Why did he have to spout stuff like since fireworks could fly and explode, if they could fly for a hundred miles and land in the enemy's camp, as long as the explosion was powerful enough, they would turn into 'missiles'?
In the end, this fellow was actually paying attention and was even amazed by this idea.
Whatever the case, Su Wen was now more relaxed upon seeing that the Spiritual Master Residence had achieved a satisfactory result.
He then smiled at Zhao Jin. "Come, let's make another trip to the Patrol Office. I haven't been there in days, I wonder how things are going."
Su Wen brought Zhao Jin to the Patrol Guards Office. Upon entering, they saw many guards bustling about.
It was completely different from the scene when he first arrived.
Su Wen saw Yan Luoying with her head buried in her documents when he walked into the conference room.
"Oh, Lady Yan, are you busy?"
Hearing his voice, she looked up and said in a resentful tone, "Young Master Su, my great young master, the moment you went off, you disappeared for a good few days. The Eastern District has been in a mess these days!"
That's right. Over the past few days, the East District had turned into a boiling pot.
Various incidents happened frequently. The gangs collected protection fees, fought, and seized territory. Everything was no longer under Yan Luoying's control.
The guards did their best, but even that was useless.
Yan Luoying even sent those guards who created trouble to jail. This behavior only caused more complaints from the Guard Office.
As for Yan Luoying, she had been embroiled in all sorts of events so far.
The more she wanted to do it well, the busier she became, and the more flustered she became.
However, no matter what she did, things never seemed to change.
After hearing Luoying's rants, Su Wen laughed. He shook his head as he spoke in a helpless tone, "My Lady Yan, you really are interesting. I even wonder how you managed to break through Fort Boulder. You were able to ruthlessly slaughter 400,000 soldiers and civilians of the enemy country. Don't you know when to be ruthless?"
Yan Luoying was stunned. She asked, "Who are you going to kill? A guard? Or a troublemaker?"
Just as Su Wen was about to reply, a eunuch came in from outside and passed down a decree. "Today is the Seventh Princess's birthday celebration. His Majesty has issued a decree to send Su Wen into the palace to accompany the celebration."
Su Wen was stunned. The Seventh Princess? Who was that?
The Zhou Emperor had many children. Putting aside his sons, the most famous princess was the fifth princess, Zhao Xuanxuan. She was talented and beautiful, famous in the imperial capital. As for the seventh princess, Su Wen had never even heard of her before.
"Why would His Majesty summon me to the palace for such an event?" Su Wen casually handed over a banknote, causing Yan Luoying to raise her eyebrows.
The eunuch received it and said with a smile, "Many thanks for Young Master Su's generosity. This servant doesn't know what His Majesty is thinking, but His Majesty didn't just summon Young Master Su. Many young masters and young mistresses of the noble and influential families have been summoned. Perhaps he wants everyone to join in the fun."
Su Wen turned around and said to Yan Luoying, "Hang in there for a while. After I'm done with my work for the next two days, I'll help you deal with these demons."
Yan Luoying glanced at Su Wen. To her, ever since she entered the capital, she had always been alone. Although she had formed an alliance with Su Wen, she only did so with the intention to end the engagement as soon as possible. She never thought that anyone would help her.
It was the same in the Patrol Guard Office. Everyone hated and rejected her.
However, the last time she was lectured by Su Wen to capture the hearts of the people in the Guard Office. In addition, Su Wen also testified for her during the court assembly.
At this moment, to think that Su Wen would still promise to help her settle the situation. Yan Luoying looked at Su Wen. For some reason, she suddenly felt a sense of relief and guilt. She felt that she shouldn't have dug a hole for Su Wen.
"When you go to the palace, don't be frivolous and make His Majesty unhappy," Yan Luoying reminded.
Su Wen smiled and said, "You're wrong. I should be more frivolous. Wouldn't it just nice for you to ask His Majesty to end the engagement?"
Yan Luoying shook her head. "As long as you and I don't agree, there will always be a chance. The palace is full of powerful people. It's not worth it for you to be punished for your frivolous behavior."
The eunuch was a little anxious and said, "Young Master Su, let's go. If we delay the time, His Majesty will be displeased."
"Alright!"
Su Wen then left with the eunuch.
Yan Luoying watched them leave and shook her head. She thought about what Su Wen had said. Was she not ruthless enough? If so, how could she then be more ruthless?
To her, the most ruthless and best method was to kill. However, was killing useful now?
And who should she kill?
Su Wen left the patrolling area while Zhao Jin rode a horse carriage over to bring Su Wen and the eunuch to the Royal Palace.
When both of them got off the carriage. Su Wen smiled at Zhao Jin, "Brother Jin, you can go back to the residence first. I don't know how long it will take for this event, so I'll just go back on my own after it ends."
Zhao Jin smiled. "Understood, young master."
After watching Su Wen and the eunuch enter, Zhao Jin drove the carriage away. But a few moments later, he returned once again with the carriage.
However, the carriage was now filled to the brim with food.
Zhao Jin laughed proudly. "Hehe, if I go back, wouldn't I be a fool? This is the time for me to show my loyalty!"
As he pondered, he took out a roasted chicken from the carriage and sat in front of the carriage to eat it..The Great Zhou Royal Palace, Essence Containment Hall, was filled with guests. This was the place where the Emperor often invited distinguished guests for events.
However, this time, it was different from the court officials that were usually invited. The people who came were all young and influential people.
Compared to the elderly courtiers, these youths, no matter how they usually were, were all rather nervous at this moment. All of them sat upright and looked straight ahead. This was the first time many of them had attended such an occasion.
It was also Su Wen's first time, but compared to others, he looked much more relaxed. Everyone else was kneeling down, but this fellow seemed to be sitting cross-legged, as though he was in his own room. He took the apple from the plate in front of him and started munching on it, looking around from time to time.
There was a young lady sitting opposite Su Wen. She had a pretty face and was about 15 or 16 years old.
She was quickly attracted by Su Wen's actions.
After all, compared to the stiff etiquette the rest were showing, Su Wen appeared impudent.
Su Wen was munching on an apple. When he looked up, he suddenly realized that the girl opposite him was looking at him. He opened his mouth, revealing his teeth as he politely smiled.
The little girl's face instantly turned red like a ripe apple. She immediately lowered her head and avoided Su Wen's gaze.
"His Majesty has arrived!"
As the eunuch called out, the Zhou Emperor walked in with a face full of smiles.
Accompanying him were a group of princes and princesses!
As everyone took their seats, the Zhou Emperor said with a smile, "Everyone, today, I took advantage of Wanrou's birthday to gather all of you together because all of you are the future of Great Zhou. We need to get to know each other better."
After saying that, the Zhou Emperor requested for the youths present to introduce themselves.
From the princess to the prince, including Su Wen and the girl opposite Su Wen, they gave a brief introduction.
As for the main character today, Seventh Princess Zhao Wanrou, she was an extremely beautiful lady. This was in part due to the excellent genes of the royal family. With the Zhou Emperor himself being handsome, and he chose naturally being all beauties, the children he sired were blessed in the looks department.
The Seventh Princess's lips were plump and her facial features were well-defined. If compared to the modern world, she would look somewhat like Angelina Jolie, but with more gentle facial features, which suited her oriental character.
(TL: Author's having some weird fantasies…)
Her appearance made Su Wen's eyes light up.
The surrounding people also started discussing fervently.
"This Seventh Princess doesn't look like someone from Great Zhou."
"I heard that his mother is a foreigner who doesn't have any interactions with people from the imperial court. She lives deep inside the palace, and no one has seen her before."
"No wonder I've never heard of her before."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This Seventh Princess indeed looks nothing like the people in Great Zhou."
Hearing all the discussions, Su Wen had a brief idea about the Seventh Princess's background.
At this moment, Su Wen belatedly realized that ever since he finished introducing himself, there was another guy sitting opposite him that had been staring at him with his eyes wide open.
Su Wen felt uncomfortable being stared at, thus, he also widened his eyes and glared back at the other party!
The two of them seemed to be competing with each other to see who could glare more and better!
It was to the point that Su Wen did not even bother to pay attention to the self-introductions of the people around him.
That person was the same.
Unknowingly, it was that unknown guy's turn to introduce himself.
"Wu Lie! Wu Lie, it's your turn!" Someone beside him quickly reminded him. Only then did Wu Lie react!
That's right, the person staring at Su Wen was Wu Lie.
He looked at Su Wen with a furious expression.
When Wu Lie heard Su Wen's name earlier on, the anger in his heart was ignited.
He wished he could kill Su Wen.
However, he did not expect Su Wen to glare at him provocatively when he saw the other party's murderous gaze!
How could he stand this? Hence, he began to compete in staring.
It was to the point he did not notice that it was his turn to make introductions.
He quickly stood up and said, "I am the son of Grand General Wu Kunhu, who serves as the Commander of the Royal Guards."
After he sat down, he glared at Su Wen fiercely once more.
However, this time, Su Wen could not be bothered with him. Why would he be interested in staring at a man unless he was into him?
Su Wen instead placed his attention on the girl opposite him.
"What's your name again? I didn't hear it just now," Su Wen asked with a smile.
The girl blushed and said in a low voice, "My name is Wu Muyu."
"Muyu, ignore him. He's not a good person!" Wu Lie exclaimed.
Su Wen could not take it anymore. He looked at Wu Lie and said angrily, "Are you crazy? You have been staring at me with your bull-like eyes for quite a while now. What does it have to do with you if I talk to someone else now? Do you believe that I will dig out your eyeballs and step on them like bubbles?"
Wu Muyu burst into laughter at his words.
Wu Lie glared at Wu Muyu in response, causing her to quickly duck her head down.
At this moment, the people in the hall had already finished their introductions. Wu Lie was just about to speak to Su Wen when the Zhou Emperor announced, "You young talents should be more familiar with each other. I'm a little tired, so I'll take my leave first." He then looked at the crown prince and said, "I'll leave this place to you."
After he left, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.
Wu Lie also relaxed a lot. He looked at Su Wen and sneered. "Brat, do you dare to repeat what you just said?"
How could Su Wen be afraid of him? He rolled his eyes and said in disdain, "What? Are you suffering from Alzheimer's disease? Did you forget so quickly after I said that? I pity you today, so I'll repeat myself. Do you believe that I will dig out your bull-eye like eyeballs and step on it like bubbles?"
Wu Lie stood up angrily and pointed at Su Wen. "Brat, I think you're courting death!"
With that said, he prepared to lunge forward. At the front, the Crown Prince was alarmed upon hearing this, hurriedly standing up and rushed over. He grabbed onto Wu Lie as he spoke, "Misunderstanding, this is all a misunderstanding. What's going on? Why are you arguing? Brother Wu, tell me."
The Emperor had just handed the banquet over to him and there was already a fight about to happen here. How was he going to explain himself when he returned?
Moreover, one was the son of the Prime Minister, while the other was the son of the Great General. Neither of them were people worth offending.
The Crown Prince pulled Wu Lie to the side. Wu Lie was angry, but he had to give the Crown Prince some respect, hence he could not forcibly pull himself off.
He could only let himself be dragged away.
When Su Wen saw that the Emperor had also left, he became even more unrestrained. He stood up and ran to Wu Muyu's side, saying with a smile, "Do you know that big dumb cow from earlier? Stay away from him in the future. You will be infected if you stay with stupid people."
Wu Muyu had never met a man like this before. She gripped the hem of her tunic nervously, not daring to look up. "He's… he's not stupid," she whispered.
Su Wen smiled and said, "How is he not stupid? One look and I can tell that his mind is only filled with True Qi from practicing martial arts. He can become a jet aircraft just by inserting a tube into his brain."
"A jet aircraft? What's that?"
The young lady looked at Su Wen blankly.
Su Wen smiled. "It's a big plane!"
"Big plane? What is it?"
"A big, big, big, big plane!"
Wu Muyu was completely stunned by Su Wen's words and did not know how to respond.
However, she felt very happy chatting with someone like him.
Right at this moment, a voice sounded from behind Su Wen. "Wanrou greets Young Master Su. Thank you for attending Wanrou's birthday celebration. Wanrou would like to have a toast with you."
Su Wen turned around and saw the Seventh Princess standing behind him with a wine glass in her hand. Her big eyes seemed to be smiling at him.
Su Wen turned to Wu Muyu and smiled. "Lend me your wine cup!"
Wu Muyu quickly whispered, "I've already used this wine glass."
Su Wen smiled and said, "It's fine, I don't mind."
Without waiting for Wu Muyu's reply, he picked up the wine glass on the table and poured a glass of wine. He smiled at the Seventh Princess and said, " *Happy Birthday to You.* "
(TL Note: I'm putting the * * to differentiate since he spoke in English instead of Chinese)
The Seventh Princess was dumbfounded. What was this person talking about?
Su Wen saw that she did not understand and tried once more, " *How are you?* "
She blankly asked, "What is Brother Su saying?"
Su Wen smiled and said, "I had a teacher who taught me foreign languages for more than 10 years. However, I only remembered three sentences and it seems like I've even remembered them wrongly."
He was not lying. After so many years of learning English, he only remembered these few words.
Zhao Wanrou also smiled. "Then I must have remembered wrongly. My mother taught me some of her language before, but it's different from what Young Master Su said."
This time, Su Wen said seriously, "I wish Your Highness the best of luck and longevity."
After all, it was her birthday today. He should not be rude.
Seeing Su Wen drink the wine, Wu Muyu's face turned red again. No one knew what her brain was thinking.
As for Zhao Wanrou, she said, "Tomorrow, Brother Su and Xue Meng will be competing in wealth. Everyone in the capital knows about this. Even I, who was in the palace, had heard about it. It's just that I also want to go out and take a look, so I wonder if Brother Su can bring me along?"
Su Wen narrowed his eyes. Bring her there?
It was not difficult for the princesses to leave the palace. The Fifth Princess, Zhao Xuanxuan, would always run out of the palace. Otherwise, how would her name be so resounding in the capital?
So why did the Seventh Princess want him to bring her along?
Seeing Su Wen's hesitation, Zhao Wanrou said in a low voice, "If it's not convenient for Brother Su, then forget it." As she spoke, the light in her eyes dimmed.
Zhao Wanrou was different from the other princesses. Her mother was a foreigner and had no one to rely on in the Great Zhou Dynasty. She followed her mother and had never left the palace gates.
As for her brothers and sisters, although they appeared friendly to her in front of the Emperor, in private, they despised her.
They thought that she had an impure bloodline and wasn't worthy of being called a princess.
Hence, she chose to speak to Su Wen.
A girl like Zhao Wanrou was actually the most sensitive. When Su Wen hesitated, she thought that Su Wen was the same as the others and looked down on her foreigner bloodline. Hence, she took the initiative to give Su Wen a way to decline her.
Zhao Wanrou suppressed the disappointment in her heart and turned to leave.
At this moment, Su Wen's voice sounded. "Princess, what are you talking about? There's nothing inconvenient about it. It just so happens that I would like to ask Your Highness for a favor. Your Highness can leave the palace with me in a while."
At that moment, the Crown Prince returned with Wu Lie.
Although Wu Lie had an indignant expression on his face, it was obvious that after being brought away by the Crown Prince, he didn't want to continue causing trouble. He sat back down and picked up his wine glass to drink.
With the banquet in full swing after the Emperor left, the young people were gathered in twos and threes. Zhao Rui also went to Su Wen's side.
Even though Su Wen had given him a hard time before, the Second Prince had given him some pointers, allowing him to let bygones be bygones.
He went to Su Wen's side and looked at Wu Lie who was drinking alone. He chuckled and said, "Young Master Su, do you know why that person was so hostile towards you?"
Su Wen asked curiously, "You know?"
Zhao Rui nodded and said, "His name is Wu Lie, and he is the son of General Wu Kunhu. A few years ago, he followed General Wu to battle in the northern borders, and got to know Yan Luoying at that time. Later on, he heard that his father proposed a marriage to Yan Ze, but he was rejected. As a result, the relationship between the two of them became much more distant. Originally, Wu Kunhu would speak up for Yan Ze in court, but in the past few years, he no longer does this."
Su Wen burst into laughter.
"Oh my god, so that's how it is. I was wondering why this person stared at me the moment he heard my name. So it's because of the hatred of stealing his wife. But you can't blame me for this, it's none of my business if the other party did not agree to his proposal in the first place.
Besides, if he has the ability to look for His Majesty and allow him to betroth Yan Luoying to him, then I'll really thank his eight generations of ancestors."
At this moment, Su Wen glanced at Wu Muyu with his eyes and continued with a smile, "Brother Zhao, I didn't listen carefully to the introductions just now. Would you happen to know whose family this lady is from?"
Su Wen was rather interested in Wu Muyu.
Zhao Rui said, "She is Wu Lie's younger sister and the only daughter of General Wu Kunhu. She is the apple of his eye!"
"Heh heh! Life is so f*cking nonsensical!" Su Wen spat out in ridicule.
"What's wrong, Brother Su?"
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy!"
…
It was already past noon when the banquet came to an end. Before Wu Muyu left, she glanced at Su Wen once more but realized that he did not notice her. The little girl felt a strange sense of disappointment in her heart.
At this moment, Wu Lie walked to her side and said, "Don't look at that bastard. He's merely a shameless prick."
Wu Muyu said in a low voice, "I think he's quite interesting."
How should he put it? Su Wen always had the aura of a hooligan. He might not be that decent, but he was extremely attractive to some girls.
Especially Wu Muyu, in her entire life, she had never met anyone like Su Wen.
"Oh?" Wu Lie lowered his head to look at his sister beside him. He noticed that she had a smile on her lips and a blush on her face.
"F*ck, something's wrong!"
He cursed inwardly.
"Alright, stop looking. Let's hurry home."
He grabbed Wu Muyu's arm and forcibly dragged her away.
Everyone left. Su Wen waited for Zhao Wanrou for a while before she went back to change her clothes. After a while, Zhao Wanrou reappeared, dressed in a casual outfit. She wore a light yellow dress that was elegant and classy. It looked extremely bright on her.
Su Wen's eyes lit up.
As the two of them walked out of the Royal Palace together, Su Wen happened to notice that Zhao Jin was still there and smiled. "Why hasn't Brother Zhao left?"
Zhao Jin smiled and said, "I have nothing to do if I return to the residence, so I might as well wait here for the young master." He had also noticed the Seventh Princess, but he didn't take another glance at her, nor did he ask.
Su Wen smiled. "This is the Seventh Princess."
Zhao Jincai hurriedly bowed before Su Wen and Zhao Wanrou boarded the carriage and headed straight for the Su Residence.
On the other side, the Zhou Emperor also received the news.
"Hehe, I didn't expect Wanrou to leave the palace with Su Wen. Initially, I was planning to use this opportunity to let Su Wen get closer to the princesses so that I could choose one to marry him. I didn't expect this brat to be so quick."
The old eunuch continued, "Although this Su Wen is a bit absurd, when it comes to martial arts and appearance, they are all top class. He might be a young and flirtatious man, but he is the most attractive to young girls."
The Zhou Emperor shook his head, "Although Wanrou is of my bloodline, she has been ostracized by the other princes and princesses since she was young. Although I know this, it's hard for me to say it. I cannot bear to marry her off to Su Wen now."
The old eunuch knew that the Emperor was lamenting that Su Wen did not have much time left.
He consoled her, "Your Majesty, this is fate. If the Seventh Princess and Su Wen really have feelings for each other, perhaps this is what the Seventh Princess wants the most."
"That's true. Let them be!" The Emperor sighed.
No matter how regretful he sounded, his actions and thoughts remained unchanged.
The most heartless family was indeed the Royal Family.
Recently, Su Wen was in the capital and was in the limelight. People sighed that Su Wen was a powerful person and could spend money like dirt to redeem the Courtesan Belle for himself.
At the same time, Su Wen and Xue Meng initiated a competition in wealth and became the topic of conversation among the commoners. One of them was the son of the prime minister and the other was a wealthy family. How were they going to compete in wealth?
To the common people, the most precious thing was gold and silver. However, these two families had agreed that they would not showcase their gold and silver.
On the day of the competition, the two families even invited a judge.
The President of the Jingdu Chamber of Commerce, Luo Changhe, was a world-class merchant, and also ruled over the operations of the entire Jingdu Chamber of Commerce.
The Pavilion Master of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Nan Libing. Even as a woman, she had proved herself, controlling the Hundred Treasures Pavilion which provided treasures for all martial artists and spiritual masters.
The owner of the Balance Scale Auction House, Jiu Kong. He headed the Balance Scale Auction House, an auction venue which was spread all over the Zhou Country. It was unknown how many treasures he kept.
All three of them could be considered big shots. Together, they served as the judges of this competition.
With the status of these three people, only through them determining the outcome could they convince the masses.
A large number of people had already gathered at the location of the battle. However, neither Su Wen nor Xue Meng appeared.
When the time was about to arrive, someone sent out a message!
"Xue Meng has appeared."
Accompanying Xue Meng were the servants of the Xue Clan.
The hundreds of servants held onto precious brocade silk and laid it out on the ground, while Xue Meng's carriage rolled over it, pulled by eight Dragon Roaming Horses. It was said that this horse possessed the blood of the Dragon Clan and was extremely precious. Xue Meng's carriage was crafted entirely of jade, as the Dragon Roaming Horses pulled the white jade carriage, he sat steadily on the seat of the carriage, rushing towards the meeting area!
Obviously, the contest had already begun.
Xue Meng's actions couldn't help but shock everyone. One had to know that Xue Meng's location was more than ten miles away from where the competition was taking place. But even so, he was already rolling out the silk brocade as flooring. A bolt of brocade cost dozens of taels of silver each. For the common people, they would never be able to even wear such brocade in their entire lives. However, this silk was only fit to pave the road for Xue Meng. Furthermore, it was unknown just how much brocade he would need to pave his entire journey here.
There were also people arranged around the carriage. They waved their hands and scattered flowers as they followed. The petals flew in all directions, attracting the gazes of the citizens.
At this time, the capital was in the midst of the bitter winter. Where could one find fresh flowers? These fresh flowers had all been transported overnight by the Xue family from several thousand miles away.
"The Xue family is so bold!"
"Truly grand. I wonder how Su Wen will deal with this."
"If he doesn't handle this well, the winner will be decided immediately."
Everyone discussed fervently.
Xue Meng, who was sitting in the carriage, had a smile on his face! This behavior was already opulent to the extreme.
At that moment, the Su family's door opened.
Countless servants rushed out with white jade boards in their hands and laid them on the ground. The Xue family laid silk brocade, but the Su family actually laid white jade!
They similarly started paving the way from the entrance of their house to the arena.
Soon after, hundreds of beautiful women walked out gracefully.
Every one of them wore a gorgeous red dress.
However, in the harsh winter, this dress made people feel cold just by looking at it.
"It can't be that the Su family is giving these women such thin clothes?"
"That's right. They look good, but aren't the ladies cold?"
"Even if they're cold, they have to endure it. After all, he's the son of the prime minister. Who cares if you're cold or not?"
These beauties walked out and stood on two sides of the road, separating the crowd from the paved path. Each of them held a flower basket and lined up from the Su Residence all the way to the competition venue.
At the same time, there were guards standing around to prevent anyone from taking advantage of them.
But even so, they were not standing very far from the crowd. Only at this point did people realize that there was more to the eye.
"Eh? Their clothes can actually produce heat!"
"Really? Brother Guard, can I go closer to take a look?"
"It can really heat up!"
"I know, this is the legendary Fire Silk! This thing is much more expensive than the silk brocade! Just this thin layer of clothing can buy more than 10 bolts of silk brocade. Most importantly, this is an item originating from the Southern Ocean. The entire Zhou Dynasty doesn't have much of it, but this Su family is actually so extravagant, impressive!"
"The Su family is simply too rich."
Just as everyone was exclaiming at their wealth, the Su family's main gate opened. A silver sports car rushed out, its tail spurting out huge flames. It rushed towards the arena at an extremely fast speed!
"F*ck me!"
"What kind of monster is this!?"
"What is this? It can run so fast and even breathe fire?"
"That's so cool! I thought Xue Meng's carriage frame was unparalleled in the world, but now it seems like it's far from Su Wen's."
If the earlier visual stimulus from Xue Meng was still within the scope of their understanding…
The appearance of the sports car completely overturned everyone's knowledge!
The loud boom, the flames, and the streamlined body of the car drove the citizens into a frenzy.
As Su Wen's sports car drove past, the maids on both sides raised the items in the flower baskets up high!
"Who the f*ck threw something at me?" someone cursed from the crowd.
Looking down, he realized that there were pearls and all kinds of gems on the ground!
The Xue family scattered flower petals while the Su family threw precious stones!
"Don't pick it, it's all mine!"
"It's this daddy's!"
A crazy fight broke out in the crowd!
The guards and beauties of the Su family left after scattering the precious stones, leaving the crowd in chaos.
Paving the way with jade, giving Fire Silk to the female attendants to wear. Coupled with the loud rumbling from the sports car and the precious materials scattered on the ground, Su Wen's momentum was actually much greater than Xue Meng's.
The three judges who were watching the competition could not help but shake their heads.
Jiu Kong spoke out, "This Su Wen's carriage is a novel item. Although the Xue Family's white jade carriage is made from fine jade, it is still at a disadvantage."
Luo Changhe chimed in, "That's right. The Xue family is not as imposing as the Su family. Throwing these precious stones out is as good as throwing them away. This amount of money will probably add up to tens of millions of taels."
Nan Libing smiled and said, "However, this Young Master Su is really imposing. Not to mention the Courtesan Belle, even I would be tempted if I were twenty years younger. For this round, the Xue family has lost. I wonder if Xue Meng still has a backup plan."
Luo Changhe smiled. "There should be. The Xue family has been working hard for many years. How could they not have some treasures?"
At this moment, Su Wen stopped his sports car when he arrived before Xue Meng. The latter's current expression was a little ugly as he knew that he had suffered a loss in the first round.
He got off the carriage and led a woman down.
When everyone saw this, they were instantly amazed!
"Xie Dajia!"
"It's actually Honorable Xie. She's a famous zither artist in the current era. How many people want to listen to her personally play, but are unable to?"
"The Xue family put in a lot of effort and actually invited this person to help them."
"This way, it's quite interesting."
At that moment, Su Wen also got out of the car. He was wearing a white gown that made everyone's eyes light up. After all, this dressing was something they had never seen before.
Immediately after, Su Wen walked to the other side of the car door and opened it.
Zhao Wanrou alighted from the car, dressed in an evening gown. Coupled with her tall figure and exotic facial features, she looked exceptionally beautiful.
But to the public, she was too unfamiliar. No one knew of her at all.
At this moment, Nan Libing shook her head. "Su Wen is too smart.. Xue Meng has lost!"
Upon hearing Nan Libing's words, Luo Changhe smiled and said, "That's hard to say. Although Su Wen brought this woman here, her status is still inferior to that of Honorable Xie. I've heard Xie Dajia's famed 'Serene Separation' back then, and I still don't dare to forget it.
However, Honorable Xie is always traveling to various countries, making it difficult to meet her. Now that she's returned to Great Zhou, how can ordinary women compare to her?"
Jiu Kong spoke as well. "Su Wen's previous display was grand and magnificent, and he completely crushed Xue Meng. However, by managing to invite Honorable Xie, Xue Meng alone won hands down this round. In my opinion, continuing the battle can be said to be acceptable, and he can't be considered to have lost!"
Nan Libing however shook her head, "Do you know the identity of this woman?"
Luo Changhe and Jiu Kong were at a loss.
Nan Libing said, "Three years ago, His Majesty offered a reward for finding the Great Illusionary Altar Flower to cure the lung disease of a princess. I'm sure you guys knew about that, right?"
Luo Changhe smiled. "How could I not know? The Great Illusionary Altar Flower only grows between precipices. It usually takes less than an hour for it to bloom and wither. After the flower withers, the petals return to heaven and earth, turning into spiritual energy before dissipating. It's extremely rare.
At that time, I remember that Pavilion Master Nan led seven Spiritual Masters to use spiritual energy to forcefully protect and preserve the Great Illusionary Altar Flower. It was then placed in the Nine Mystical Chilled Case to be transported to the capital and sent to the palace."
Nan Libing said in a low voice, "That's right, the person His Majesty treated at that time is the woman standing there, the Seventh Princess Zhao Wanrou!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Changhe and Jiu Kong fell silent.
What else was there to say? In the Great Zhou Dynasty, Su Wen led the Royal princess, while Xue Meng led Honorable Xie. Although the latter was talented, she was in the end just an artisan.
Perhaps in the eyes of the common people, it was even rarer to have someone like Xie Dajia. After all, there were many princesses. Such a talent was hard to find in the world.
However, with the three of them sitting in this position, who would dare to let Su Wen, who brought the princess, lose?
At this point, Xue Meng still did not know Zhao Wanrou's identity.
When he saw Su Wen holding a woman's hand, Xue Meng sneered. "Why? Young Master Su, where did you find another courtesan? Could it be that you want to compete with Honorable Xie based on looks? If that's the case, Honorable Xie is indeed no match for your partner!"
"How dare you!" When Su Wen heard Xue Meng's words, he immediately shouted, "Who are you? How dare you speak like this? The Seventh Princess is right in front of you, how dare you disrespect the Royal family?"
Xue Meng's expression changed drastically!
He never expected that Su Wen would bring the princess here!
In the distance, the Zhou Emperor and the old eunuch were in the crowd. Both were currently dressed in casual clothes.
The Emperor calmly spoke, "This Su Wen knows his limits. He didn't use Wanrou to trick Xue Meng, or else I wouldn't forgive him! But I don't like this Xue Meng."
Indeed, if Su Wen had intentionally concealed Zhao Wanrou's identity, he could have continued to lure Xue Meng into speaking rudely.
However, Su Wen did not do so. While he wanted to use Zhao Wanrou's identity to boost his reputation, it was enough to do so through her identity as a princess. There was no need for him to deliberately let Xue Meng humiliate Zhao Wanrou. He invited her here not to watch her get scolded. Such demeaning behavior was not something Su Wen would do.
The old eunuch smiled and said, "Indeed. If he really used the Seventh Princess to set a trap for Xue Meng, it would have ended in failure. Now Su Wen is certain of victory, while Xue Meng has lost!"
In the arena, Xue Meng hesitated for a moment before bowing to Zhao Wanrou and saying, "This one greets the Seventh Princess. I didn't know that the Seventh Princess would appear in person. I hope the Seventh Princess will forgive me!"
At this moment, regardless of who it was, everyone, including Honorable Xie and the three judges on stage, stood up and bowed to Zhao Wanrou.
The status of the Royal family could be disdained and scolded in private, but on the surface, it was supreme like no other!
Zhao Wanrou said with a smile, "Everyone, please rise. Young Master Su and Young Master Xue's competition in wealth is truly interesting. In addition, I've long heard of Xie Dajia's great name. May I know if you can perform a song for us?"
"Since the princess has spoken, there's no problem!" she smiled in response.
After he finished speaking, someone brought a table and chairs over. Honorable Xie sat in the middle of the crowd and placed the zither on the table. Her ten fingers moved rapidly, and the sound of nature flowed out.
When everyone heard the zither music, they were intoxicated, as if they had entered paradise.
Among the crowd, there was still someone who was clear-headed. The Zhou Emperor narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did you hear it?"
The old eunuch smiled, "Of course I can tell. Thousand Illusions Music, Desolate Zither; I never thought that this famed Honorable Xie would actually be someone from the Demonic Music Sect. Her technique is truly marvelous; an ordinary person wouldn't be able to distinguish it."
"It's not bad to hear it, but to us, it's a little too crafty. To ordinary people, it can be indeed termed as heavenly music." After saying that, the Emperor turned around and said, "Let's go back to the palace. By the way, this sports car is really interesting. Get the Spiritual Master Residence to build one for me, and tell them that it has to be more handsome than Su Wen's!"
"Then what about this Xie Dajia?"
"Let her be, tell the Martial Inspectorate to keep an eye on her. The demonic path, righteous path, they are all jackals of the same tribe. As long as they don't offend us, we can let them fight each other!"
At this moment, everyone was intoxicated with the tune, including Su Wen. Right at this moment, he suddenly felt the Gu within his body become slightly restless, and it swiftly swam through his body. As the Gu swam through his body, Su Wen's mind cleared up.
As he awoke from his reverie, he also realized that there was something wrong with the zither music.
Upon listening to it again, although it was still nice, the immersion before was gone.
After a while, Honorable Xie finished playing her piece.
Everyone was mesmerized.
"Alright!"
"It's so beautiful! I've never heard such beautiful music before."
"Thank you Xie Dajia, I love you!"
The atmosphere was extremely lively.
Even Zhao Wanrou's face was flushed red with excitement. She pulled Su Wen and said, "Brother Su, I've never heard such moving music."
Su Wen smiled and nodded.
At that moment, the three judges stood up as well. Luo Changhe smiled and said, "Both of you made a promise that you wouldn't show your money and would compete with each other in wealth through this method. Today, it seems that Young Master Su is still better."
Xue Meng lowered his head helplessly.
Xie Dajia was indeed amazing, but just like just now, when the Seventh Princess spoke, did she not have to play her music obediently?
The difference in ranks between them was obvious at a glance.
Most importantly, he didn't expect the Su family to be so ruthless.
Their journey was paved with jade, and precious stones were scattered everywhere. Furthermore, Su Wen drove an unprecedented carriage, and the level of flashiness directly blew up his white jade carriage, making it look pathetic.
In reality, the logic behind why some things appeared expensive was due to their rarity and novelty. If it was in today's society, the white jade carriage would definitely be more expensive and more ostentatious than a sports car.
Not to mention that Xue Meng's eight Dragon Horses were already priceless creatures.
However, in this era where people had never seen a sports car before, the appearance of such an object was beyond their imagination.
At the same time, Su Wen actually invited the Seventh Princess of the royal family. This was something Xue Meng had never expected.
However, after Xue Meng was slightly disappointed, he raised his head and chuckled. "Young Master Su Wen is indeed rich. My Xue family recognizes you. Men, bring me the title deed to the Xue family's gold mine!"
He unrestrainedly spoke. In any case, he had already achieved his goal.. In his opinion, the real battle had just begun!Su Wen couldn't be bothered with Xue Meng's thoughts. He looked at the title deed in Xue Meng's hand with a smile.
This gold mine was an eternal road to wealth.
Xue Meng looked at Su Wen and sneered. "Young Master Su, have you ever thought that your ostentatious behavior will bring trouble to your father? You squandered so much money today that even your father's salary for ten lifetimes wouldn't be able to earn it. What should His Majesty think?"
In his opinion, it was already too late for Su Wen to find out his motive.
During the last few days, his uncle had already done his preparations.
He really wanted to see Su Wen's stunned expression at this time.
Unexpectedly, Su Wen rolled his eyes and said, "It's none of your business how much I spend. If you can think of a scheme then go ahead, but if you can't, best you just scram. You've already lost, yet you are still complaining here. Hand over the title deed."
As he spoke, he reached out to grab the title deed in Xue Meng's hand. Xue Meng had no choice but to give it to him.
At this moment, Zhao Jin walked over. Su Wen handed over the title deed and said, "Brother Jin, I have to criticize you today. Do you still require me to do such a thing?"
Zhao Jin's face was full of flattery as he said with a smile, "Yes, Young Master, I was wrong. Next time, I definitely won't let those dirty people's items sully your hands."
"Never again!"
Su Wen left smugly, leaving Xue Meng gritting his teeth behind.
The Su Residence. Zhao Wanrou returned back to the residence with Su Wen.
As she changed out of her clothes, she could not help but recall the scene from yesterday. Su Wen pulled her to his home and got the tailor to measure her measurements before making a gown that she had never seen before.
After putting it on, even she, as a princess, felt amazed.
Today, she even appeared in front of everyone wearing such a gorgeous outfit. This kind of feeling was unprecedented.
Zhao Wanrou was reluctant to even put down the gown she had just taken off.
"Your Highness, my young master said that you can proceed to the main hall after changing your clothes. The hotpot has already been prepared."
Ning Shuang's voice sounded from outside the door.
Zhao Wanrou put down her gown and walked out of the room, following her to the front hall.
All kinds of ingredients were already prepared on the table, as well as a steaming copper pot.
Su Wen smiled and said, "Come quickly, come quickly. We freshly slaughtered some lamb today. Directly cooking it in the hotpot and eating it is the most delicious way."
Zhao Wanrou sat down with him.
She had never eaten hotpot before, but she had heard that this kind of eating method was quite popular in the capital. It seemed to be passed down from the Su family.
The sauce was already prepared for her, so she imitated Su Wen and started to cook the meat in the pot before eating it.
The flavor was indeed good!
As Zhao Wanrou ate, she stole a glance at Su Wen. Su Wen did not think too much about it, though. In his eyes, Zhao Wanrou was just here to help out and he conveniently treated her to a meal.
He ate heartily.
Suddenly, Su Wen realized that Zhao Wanrou was looking at him.
He grinned and asked, "Why aren't you eating? Does it not suit your taste?"
"No, it's delicious!" Zhao Wanrou lowered her head quickly.
"Can you give me that dress?"
Su Wen was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He laughed, "It's yours in the first place. It's made according to your size, so others naturally can't fit in it."
That was true. Zhao Wanrou's figure was truly flawless.
Not only was she slender and well-proportioned. According to the later generations, she was a golden ratio beauty.
(TL Note: The golden ratio of a human body is said to be one where the size of the head in proportion to one's height is 1:9.)
"Then, can I still come here to look for you in the future?" Zhao Wanrou asked.
"I'm afraid this might not be possible!"
Hearing Su Wen's words, Zhao Wanrou felt an inexplicable pain in her heart. She buried her head deeper and tears welled up in her eyes.
Only to hear Su Wen continue, "My father has already constructed my own residence, so I will be leaving the main Su Residence tomorrow. If you want to look for me, you can only go to my place. You won't be able to find me here."
Zhao Wanrou raised her head and laughed. The tears in her eyes fell uncontrollably.
Su Wen was shocked. "What are you doing? Why are you laughing and crying?"
Zhao Wanrou sniffled, "Something went into my eyes just now."
Su Wen immediately turned towards her, "Don't move, let me take a look."
The two of them got closer and closer. Su Wen looked at Zhao Wanrou's light blue eyes which were so mesmerizing and was momentarily lost in them.
"It should be fine now. Let's continue eating!"
The battle in wealth came to an end, but it quickly spread throughout the capital. People could not help but sigh at the Su family's wealth.
The next morning.
The Zhou Emperor followed his usual practice during court assembly, "If there's anything else, report to me now. If there's nothing else, withdraw from the court!"
At this moment, Xue Meng's uncle, Wu Qiuhan, stepped forward and said, "This official wishes to present a memorial to the Emperor! This official wishes to impeach Prime Minister Su Changqing. He has been abusing his power for personal gain all year round, embezzling bribes and amassing wealth without restraint. Just this month, his son, Su Wen, spent nearly ten million taels of silver to redeem a brothel's courtesan for himself. He even competed with others in wealth. His extravagance and grandness far surpasses His Majesty's. Please mete out punishment to him accordingly.
In addition, this official has a list of twenty-six people who have sent gifts to Su Changqing. Please take a look, Your Majesty. These people can all testify against Su Changqing!"
This guy had put in a lot of effort. Not to mention anything else, even these 26 people were all officials in the court. If they were willing to stand up and testify, it was unknown how many promises Wu Qiuhan had made behind the scenes.
Even after hearing his request, the Emperor's expression remained calm, and so was Su Changqing.
The former casually spoke, "Let Minister Su see the memorial, and hear what he has to say."
The memorial was delivered to Su Changqing's hands. After unfurling it, he glanced at it before replying, "This official has indeed accepted the gifts. However, these gifts are all personal and have nothing to do with official business."
"Let's talk about this Sun Hai first. This person is the County Magistrate in Rui Prefecture's An Nuo. When he entered the capital to report on his duties, he sent me ten pairs of prosperity jade scepters and a chest of gold beads.
However, he was later sent to the northern border to guard it. It can be seen that I did not confuse his official duties for personal reasons. Otherwise, I would have sent him back to Rui Prefecture or to an even more prosperous county. I definitely would not have sent him to the bitter lands of the northern border. Next, let's talk about this He Jun…"
Su Changqing's every word was clear and precise. He actually spoke clearly about the dispatch of the 26 people.
Most of these people had given gifts and wanted to ask Su Changqing for help. In the end, Su Changqing only accepted gifts and did not do anything. Hence, these people bore grudges in their hearts. That was why Wu Qiuhan successfully persuaded them to form a united front with him.
Wu Qiuhan said, "This matter is not so simple. Su Changqing is in charge of the Ministry of Appointments and is insatiable. He asked for money. These people did not receive any benefits because they failed to satisfy Su Changqing's request. The 26 people all have testified to this. Su Changqing, what else do you have to say?"
This was pure slander. Wu Qiuhan's plan was for all 26 of them to say the same thing. When the time came, even if something was not shit, they would speak until it turned into shit.
Su Changqing sneered and said, "Since Lord Wu said so, doesn't that mean that all the civil and military officials in the dynasty have been extorted by me? Wu Qiuhan, I wonder how much money you've given me? 26 people can be witnesses, but the entire dynasty's Civil and Military departments can't be witnesses? Are you, Wu Qiuhan, going to be a witness for me too?"
Wu Qiuhan angrily rebuked, "Then how did you get your money? You, Su Changqing, come from a poor family. Even if you were the prime minister, how much would your salary be? How could your son spend so much money?"
Su Changqing immediately revealed his businesses, starting from various industries, how he started his business, and how he managed his business. All the civil and military officials belatedly realized that Su Changqing was actually a business genius.
It could be said that many people knew that Su Changqing had businesses, but they did not think that Su Changqing's businesses could earn so much money. Most people still believed that at least half of the Su family's wealth came from corruption.
After Su Changqing explained everything, he sneered, "What else do you have to say?"
The Zhou Emperor shook his head slightly. In his opinion, there was nothing to discuss about this matter. He had already expected this outcome. Even if Su Changqing really did some selfish things, he would find a way to protect him.
Right at this moment, the Head of the Ministry of Appointments stood out and declared, "This official also has a memorial. This official impeaches Su Changqing for not teaching his son well and for leading our Great Zhou Dynasty astray!"
Everyone present got a shock.. One had to know that the Ministry of Appointments was the faction loyal to Su Changqing!
The impeachment memorial from the Head of the Ministry of Appointments shocked everyone!
This was especially true for Wu Qiuhan. He looked at the minister of the Ministry of Appointments, then at Su Changqing, not knowing what these two were trying to sell to the people present.
What was going on? Did the Head of the Ministry of Appointments also wished to go against the Prime Minister?
The duo fell out?
Wu Qiuhan thought about it for a long time before finally deciding to agree. "That's right, Your Majesty. Su Changqing is the head of all officials, yet has failed to teach his son well. This resulted in Su Wen spending so much money in a brothel and fighting with others in wealth. His actions have incurred the wrath of the commoners and many people feel that the officials of our Great Zhou are corrupt.
Now, the commoners are saying even if all the corrupt officials in Great Zhou were to be exposed and killed, there would definitely be a fish that escaped the net. After all, the head of all officials, Su Changqing, is one of the most corrupt!"
Su Changqing looked at Wu Qiuhan, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
This guy was really impatient.
However, the moment he opened his mouth, those close to him immediately began to echo his words. Not only that, Su Changqing's disciples also echoed his words. In that instant, the entire imperial court was filled with criticisms of Su Changqing's unfilial son.
The Zhou Emperor narrowed his eyes and tapped his fingers on the armrest of his dragon throne. To him, this situation was also extremely unexpected.
"Changqing, what do you say?"
This time, Su Changqing did not explain anything. He simply kneeled on the ground and exclaimed, "This subject is guilty!"
Wu Qiuhan was overjoyed.
Since Su Changqing did not explain his crime, it meant that he admitted he was guilty. What happened next would depend on how they looked at his crime. Although the crime of not teaching his son was not as serious as the crime of corruption, it could be both big and small. If Wu Qiuhan were to use this crime to pull Su Changqing down from the position of the Prime Minister, he would at least have a chance to compete.
As expected, the Emperor looked at the officials and calmly stated, "Tell me, how should we deal with Minister Su who failed to teach his son well?"
For a moment, the entire hall was silent.
No one dared to make a sound.
Even Wu Qiuhan retracted his words that were at the tip of his mouth.
Before this, Emperor Zhou had always called Su Changqing by his name, but he actually changed his form of address to calling the latter Minister Su, when asking about his crime should be viewed.
The meaning behind this was worth pondering over.
Su Changqing was also quite touched in his heart. No matter what, at this time, the Zhou Emperor still showed his stance. Su Changqing's position as the Prime Minister could not be moved.
After a moment, the head of the Ministry of Appointments replied, "Minister Su failed to teach his son properly. The root cause was that the Su family had too many properties and too much money, causing his son, Su Wen, to not understand the value of money. In my opinion, we should confiscate Prime Minister Su's assets as a warning to others. This can also let the world know that such a matter will not be condoned."
A trace of excitement flashed across Emperor Zhou's eyes. He somewhat understood the situation now. Su Changqing was going to offer up his family's wealth.
He more or less knew about the current wealth Su Changqing possessed.
To put it bluntly, did Emperor Zhou need money? Very much. The more ambitious an emperor, the more money he needed.
But at the same time, he knew very well the origins of Su Changqing's wealth.
He had never thought of touching Su Changqing's private coffers.
But now, Su Changqing actually took the initiative to offer his family's private coffer, and even in the name of being guilty. This way, the commoners would even clap their hands in praise at serving justice, and he as the Emperor would not have the reputation of being exploited by his subjects.
Considerate, so considerate.
As expected, Su Changqing continued, "I have failed in teaching my son well and the commoners of the world are angry at the influential officials. I am willing to forfeit my family wealth and offer it into the national treasury as a warning to others. I will let the world know that even if they have money, they can't do as they wish and become extravagant."
The Emperor looked at Su Changqing before softly speaking, "Changqing, you and I are like brothers. After so many years, I can't bear to see you like this today."
The court officials were dumbfounded. What did Emperor Zhou say?
The Monarch treated his minister like a brother?
Emperor Zhou was still the ruler after all. Now, he was not even removing the offender's head, just taking away his assets. In fact, Su Changqing was unharmed, and his position was not even threatened. However, Emperor Zhou still chose to say this in front of all the officials.
It was obvious that Emperor Zhou was telling all the officials that even if he had confiscated Su Changqing's fortune today, it did not mean that he wanted to punish Su Changqing.
The benevolent kindness of the Emperor to Su Changqing was expressed in his words.
It was even a subtle warning to those who harbored ill intentions.
Su Changqing shed tears of gratitude. With tears and snot flowing down his face, he said, "This subject feels guilty. For many years, I have been busy with the affairs of the country, causing me to neglect the teachings of my son. I am indebted to Your Majesty's grace. Today, I will offer up my wealth and let my son know that life is not easy, so that he can turn over a new leaf."
Emperor Zhou also said, "Changqing, your words are wrong. You are usually busy with official business and have already taught Su Cheng and Su Yu to become the pillars of the country. Even Su Wen, although he appears show-offy, has excellent martial talent. In the future, he will also be a pillar of my Great Zhou."
What a good lad. Wu Qiuhan's head was buzzing from what he heard.
That Su Wen could even be considered as a pillar of Great Zhou?
If the two of you were to chat for a while longer, Minister Su probably would not even need to be fined.
At this moment, the Head of the Ministry of Appointments spoke out, "Your Majesty, this humble subject believes that the confiscation of Minister Su's property should be conducted by the Minister of Revenue, Wu Qiuhan. Lord Wu is honest, and as everyone knows, he is also the person in the Great Zhou Dynasty who is most skilled at calculating money. If he is the one that is involved in the seizing of assets, this will definitely be able to seal the mouths of those who have malicious intentions and not create any trouble."
Emperor Zhou smiled and said, "Let's do as you suggested!"
He did not even ask for Wu Qiuhan's opinion this time.
At this moment, Wu Qiuhan understood. Su Changqing was doing this on purpose. He wanted to offer his family's private assets to Emperor Zhou. Putting everything aside, who would not like someone who willingly sent money over?
At that moment, Emperor Zhou touched his chin and murmured, "I remember that there was another person who competed with Su Wen in wealth, right?"
Wu Qiuhan's heart skipped a beat.
Previously, he had intentionally addressed Xue Meng as a wealthy person to prevent him from being involved.
However, now that Emperor Zhou had taken the initiative to ask, he probably couldn't escape responsibility anymore.
As expected, someone immediately replied, "That's right, that person is Xue Meng, son of the Xue Family, a wealthy merchant."
Emperor Zhou asked, "Prime Minister Su taught his son poorly, resulting in everyone within the capital learning about Su Wen and Xue Meng competing in wealth. Now that Minister Su has been punished, how should we deal with the Xue family? I heard that Xue Meng was the one who suggested this competition as well."
Wu Qiuhan hurriedly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Xue Meng is indeed in the wrong, but he does not hold a position in the Royal Court, and no one in the Xue family holds a position in the court either. If we punish him rashly, I'm afraid that the merchants of the country will be frightened, and when the time comes, they might choose to transfer to another country."
No matter what, Xue Meng was his nephew. He had to protect him.
The Xue family was also inexorably linked to him.
However, he did not notice that just when he said those words, the corners of Su Changqing's mouth twitched slightly.
'Haha, if you had learnt from me, you would have similarly made the Xue Family offer up some of their family's assets, and this matter can still be turned around. But aren't your actions right now just highlighting my selflessness?" Su Changqing felt disdain towards his opponent in his heart.
As expected, Emperor Zhou raised his brows and said, "Ridiculous. Could it be that no one will want to do business in the Great Zhou Dynasty if one merchant moves away? Wu Qiuhan, I remember that your sister married into the Xue family, right?"
Wu Qiuhan was drenched in sweat. He fell to his knees and kowtowed. "Yes!"
Emperor Zhou pointed towards him, but didn't dwell on this problem. Instead, he continued, "Minister Su taught his son poorly, and the Xue family also taught their son poorly. Since that's the case, if Minister Su is to be punished, the Xue family should also be punished. However, I'm not that kind of despot that rules tyrannically, so I won't touch a single cent of the Xue family's private interests.
However, from today onwards, all transactions involving the Xue family and the Royal Court will be stopped. All procedures that need to be approved will not be approved for the next 20 years. Also, that Xue Meng, since he doesn't serve in the Royal Court, I'll send him to the northern border to serve for five years.. This isn't too much, right?"
As soon as Emperor Zhou finished his sentence, Wu Qiuhan gaped. He wanted to say something but didn't dare to.
With this, the Xue family was going to be in deep trouble this time. The Xue family had relied on the fact that he was the Minister of Revenue and had a lot of business connections with the Royal Court. After all, everyone knew that doing business with the Royal Court was a guaranteed profit.
Now, with a word from Emperor Zhou, all their businesses with the Royal Court would stop.
Most importantly, the Xue family would not be allowed to pass any Court approval for the next twenty years. This would cost the Xue family's lifeline. Many businesses needed approval, including some minerals, salt, iron, and grain. This way, the scope of the Xue family's business was cut down by a lot.
As for Xue Meng, he even had to serve for five years?
That was five years of slavery!
How much pain and suffering did he have to endure? Even if the Xue family was rich and he took care of him, who would dare to go overboard before Su Changqing collapsed?
He was thinking about how to make the Zhou Emperor cancel the service when he heard Su Changqing speak.
"Your Majesty, the Xue family has a lot of business dealings with the Royal Court. If we halt all the activities now, we'll probably suffer quite a loss!"
Wu Qiuhan was taken aback. Was this fellow going to speak up for the Xue family?
But immediately after, he heard Su Changqing say, "In this subject's opinion, the Xue family should compensate the Royal Court for its losses! Furthermore, delaying the Court's matters is akin to delaying national affairs. They should compensate more!"
"F*ck!" Wu Qiuhan finally could not hold back and cursed inwardly.
This Su Changqing was too ruthless!
Compensate the losses of the Imperial Court? And more? How much would that be?
However, Emperor Zhou was very satisfied. He nodded and said, "Minister Su's words are reasonable. All the losses will be verified by the officials involved in business. Report it as soon as possible! We must not let anyone take advantage of this."
At this moment, Wu Qiuhan stood out and said, "Your Majesty, since Minister Su has failed in teaching his son and has been punished, shouldn't Su Wen be punished as well? Otherwise, why don't you pardon Xue Meng to prevent others from saying that Your Majesty is unfair?"
Emperor Zhou glanced at him and said indifferently, "I watched Su Wen grow up, so he's just like my nephew. Now that he has lost his morals, I have a responsibility to guide him, so I'll make him enter the palace every day. I will personally teach him for a few days, and I think he will change his mind. Both of them have their punishments, others will definitely have nothing to say."
Wu Qiuhan wanted to cry.
Wasn't this a bit too biased? One was supposed to serve in the borders for five years, while the other would enter the palace to be taught by the emperor?
This could still be called receiving punishment at the same time?
However, he could tell that Emperor Zhou did not want to continue discussing this matter.
If he really ended up angering the Zhou Emperor, the Xue family would be even more unlucky.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Wu Qiuhan said with tears in his eyes.
"By the way, Minister Wu, although Minister Su has made a mistake, he has been working hard for the benefit of the court for many years after all. Even if his property has to be seized, it is not advisable to confiscate it all. No matter what, we should leave half of it for Minister Su to ensure he has enough to get by," the emperor said calmly.
"This subject understands."
Su Changqing knelt on the ground, prostrating himself on all fours as he shouted, "Thank you for Your Majesty's grace."
"Changqing, please get up. Let's end the court session. Accompany me to the back garden."
"Yes!"
In the Su family, countless soldiers were moving items out. There were expensive calligraphy paintings, precious treasures, gold, silver, and jade.
From afar, the citizens were watching.
"Wow, have you heard? The Su family has been raided."
"That's right. They said it was because Su Wen overly flaunted his family's wealth, and His Majesty punished Su Changqing for not teaching his son well."
"Why isn't such a corrupt official executed?"
"What do you know? This Su Changqing accompanied His Majesty from the very beginning. Even if he's greedy for money, how could His Majesty bear to punish him? He will definitely protect him."
"Speaking of which, the Xue family is even more unlucky. Xue Meng was forcibly taken away by the guards this morning and said that he would be sent to the border to serve five years of bitter service."
"What about Young Master Su? I heard that His Majesty will personally lecture him."
"Serves them right. This is what it means by to not pick a fight with officials even if you're rich. The Xue family is just a wealthy merchant, yet they dare provoke the Prime Minister. Aren't they courting death?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying. All of the Xue family's businesses related to the Royal Court have been halted. I heard that they even have to pay a large sum of money as compensation. Their standing is probably going to decline."
In the meantime, our Young Master Su Wen was lying on a recliner in the courtyard while Cui Yumian was fanning him at the side while Ning Shuang was in charge of serving tea. He looked extremely contented.
Wu Qiuhan was in the midst of calculating the assets. When he saw his attitude, he was infuriated.
"Zhao Jin, remember to take this Young Master's bed as well. Changing locations is already bad enough, if you even change the bed, this young master won't be able to sleep well."
Su Wen casually instructed.
That's right, this was also the day that Su Wen was supposed to move out.
Wu Qiuhan however led the guards, stopping Zhao Jin and the others. He said, "Wait a moment. I have to see if there are any items hidden in this bed! Also, go to the inner residence and check carefully. All the gold and silver must be recorded."
Su Wen looked at Wu Qiuhan from the corner of his eyes before sneering, "You old thing that can't get it up, are you seeking death?"
Wu Qiuhan was furious. "How can you be so rude? I'm here on His Majesty's orders to do business. You disrespecting me is disrespecting His Majesty!"
He was not stupid. He knew that he would not be able to suppress Su Wen, thus using the Zhou Emperor as an excuse.
Su Wen sneered and said, "Stop spouting nonsense. If we go according to what you said, then are you trying to insinuate that you're the King today?"
"Of course not!"
Even if Wu Qiuhan could borrow the guts of the people around him, he still wouldn't dare to admit such a thing.
Su Wen continued, "It's true that you're here on official business, but it doesn't mean that you, Wu Qiuhan, can do whatever you want in my house. Let me tell you, you're not allowed to touch any of the things in the inner residence today. If you dare to touch a single thing, I'll have someone break your legs! That includes my bed! His Majesty asked you to keep half of the house, yet you still want to tear down 95% of it?"
The inner residence of the Su Residence had always been a place where outsiders could not enter. If Wu Qiuhan brought people in today, it would undoubtedly be a blow to the Su Family's reputation.
"You have no respect for the law!" Wu Qiuhan shouted angrily.
Su Wen looked at him and sneered. "Is this your first day learning about this point?"
"You brat, you should be taught a lesson. You're too arrogant!"
At this moment, a few people walked in from the outside. The person in the lead was precisely the Zhou Emperor, his eyes twinkling as he lectured Su Wen.
All of a sudden, Su Wen jumped up from his recliner and rushed in front of the Emperor. Tears were already streaming down his face.
He spoke in a wronged tone, "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm arrogant, but this Wu Qiuhan is really rude. The Inner Residence is filled with women, so how can we let these men barge in? This Wu Qiuhan doesn't know how to do things either. If I were him, I would find some women and enter the Inner Residence to investigate. After all, my father is also not being sentenced of a crime, so how can he do things like this? If word gets out, how will the women of the Prime Minister's residence face anyone?"
"My father is not at home now, and neither is my elder and second brothers. I'm the only man there. If I didn't protect my family, would I still be considered a man?"
Glancing at Su Changqing, the Emperor said with a smile, "This kid is so slippery. He looks like you when you were young."
Su Changqing shook his head and said, "He's far from that."
At this moment, Emperor Zhou casually instructed, "Minister Wu, let's forget about this inner residence. Changqing won't hide anything. However, the way you handled this task of yours is indeed a little lacking. Your thinking is not even as thorough as a child's.."Wu Qiuhan had not been careless. He had done it on purpose.
However, how could he admit it in front of Emperor Zhou? He could only grit his teeth and admit that he had done wrong.
He did not expect the Zhou Emperor to come over.
"How much money is in the account?"
"Not counting the family's calligraphy and painting treasures, there are over 200 million taels of silver on the account books alone."
Wu Qiuhan answered truthfully.
A gleam flashed past Emperor Zhou's eyes.
This Su Changqing's private assets were actually so huge?
Such a large sum of money was enough for him to do many things.
"Good, good, good! Inform the Spiritual Master Residence to increase production for the Thunderfire Crossbows! And also the Fine Steel Armors! Also, waive three years of taxes from the Southern Wilderness to appease the people."
He could not wait to send the decree out!
"Changqing, you have been a great help to me this time. In the past few days, the Country of Yan has already reorganized its troops in an attempt to take back Fort Boulder. You know best that war is all about money. With this money of yours, I have nothing to worry about!"
The Zhou Emperor boomed out in happiness.
It was only at this moment that Wu Qiuhan felt the benefits of Su Changqing's actions.
Ever since that day in the Royal Court, the Zhou Emperor had treated the Su Family with even more favor.
Seeing this scene in front of him, he could not help but feel slightly dejected. He was afraid that from now on, he would have no chance to go against Su Changqing.
"Minister Wu, although you have made some mistakes in your confiscation of assets, it is in the end a meritorious deed. You will be conferred the title of Far-Sighted Scholar! Since your son did not pass the royal examination last year, he can join the Royal Guards to fill in the spot of lieutenant."
Emperor Zhou's decree stunned Wu Qiuhan.
The Xue family had been punished, but he had been conferred a title instead. Although his official rank had not been promoted, it was clear that Emperor Zhou had not completely expelled him from the inner circle of power.
Moreover, his son had been sent to the Royal Guards to fill in the opening of Lieutenant. Although it was a military position, there was still an official rank to it. As long as he possessed an official position, with his connections, wouldn't promotion and mobilization be a common thing in the future?
Everyone present understood the meaning behind Emperor Zhou's words, including Su Wen.
Royal Authority.
No matter how much he trusted Su Changqing in his heart, he would never allow Su Changqing to dominate the court by himself. He had to give Su Changqing some threat.
On the surface, Wu Qiuhan was the biggest winner.
The Su family had lost their wealth, and the Xue family was out of luck. Only he was safe and sound. He had even been given a noble title, and his son had also been bestowed an official position.
Looking at the Zhou Emperor chatting with Su Changqing and Wu Qiuhan, Su Wen shook his head and continued with moving his stuff.
His mansion was built around fifty miles away from the Prime Minister's residence, but the size of his mansion was no less than that of the Prime Minister's. Su Changqing was never stingy in these aspects.
Su Wen brought his belongings and servants to move in. The inner residence would be managed by Cui Yumian and Ning Shuang, while the outer residence was handed over to Zhao Jin.
He had just finished packing when the second prince and Zhao Rui came over to congratulate him.
"Younger brother Su, congratulations on having your own residence from today onward." The second prince smiled.
Su Wen shook his head and sighed. "It's just a pity that my family's assets have been confiscated. I'm so poor that I only have a few million taels of silver left, and just a gold mine from the Xue family. This is unbearable! I can no longer afford to treat you both to go gallivanting any more.
Zhao Rui's mouth twitched.
Can you try speaking in human?
The second prince smiled, "This time, I'll give you a treat. Xie Dajia is preparing to perform at the Eternal Music Pavilion, and it's hard to even obtain a ticket right now. However, I've already received an invitation. I'm allowed to bring three others to accompany me. In addition to you and Zhao Rui, I can bring one more."
"Xie Dajia!"
Upon hearing this name, Su Wen's heart skipped a beat. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head and rejected, "I won't be going. Recently, I have been busy with work at the Patrol Guard Office. There are many things happening in East District, so I have to take care of them."
To Su Wen, that Honorable Xie was a little strange. It was better to stay away from her, the further the better.
When the Second Prince heard that Su Wen was going to the Patrol Office, he said in a low voice, "Brother, let me give you a piece of advice. You better not get involved in this matter."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
The second prince replied, "The chaos in the East essentially involves the interests of many people. Even if you return, what can you do about it? I've heard that in the past few days, the matters in the East district have already been written up and sent to my Royal Father. If you interfere, by that time, you might even have to take the blame. Right now, the further away you are from the office, the safer you are. You should delay this for a few days. It won't be too late to make a decision after my Royal Father has expressed his stance."