Tyrants can be enlightened rulers or foolish ones, right?
Ahem.
He is an enlightened ruler!
"Lord Lin, you may rise now," the Great Tyrant personally stepped forward and helped Lin Xuanzhi to his feet.
Trembling with anxiety, Lin Xuanzhi cautiously stood up.
"Lord Lin, I have investigated and confirmed that the contents of the secret letter are false. Although the Crown Prince has already rushed to the epidemic area in Lingnan, he lacks your level of experience.
The matter of the Lingnan plague still requires your personal oversight.
I wonder if Lord Lin would be willing?"
Lin Xuanzhi nodded emphatically, "I am willing, of course, I am willing. Your humble servant would be honored."
"Do a good job, the court will not mistreat you," the Great Tyrant patted Lin Xuanzhi on the shoulder, encouraging him.
"Yes, your Majesty. I will remember your teachings." Lin Xuanzhi's eyes reddened, and he nearly burst into tears with emotion.
He was in his thirties, still unmarried and without children, with only one goal—serving the court with all his heart.
Fortunately, the current emperor was a compassionate and enlightened ruler. He had followed the right person!
In that moment, Lin Xuanzhi made a firm decision: no matter what happened in the future, he would faithfully serve and support the emperor.
Witnessing the whole situation, Ah Bao was utterly stunned.
This plot development was a bit off.
Lin Xuanzhi, who was supposed to die unjustly, was now being entrusted with important responsibilities.
Meanwhile, the great villain, Lord Zong, had been rightfully punished.
The Great Tyrant still held Ah Bao in his arms and looked down at her, "Ah Bao, wasn't I impressive just now?"
[Impressive! Impressive! Scumbag father, your temper and methods are a bit harsh, but you still count as an enlightened ruler.]
Hearing the praise, the smile on the Great Tyrant's face deepened.
All of this, he owed to the little girl.
[Scumbag father, how do you know more than I do about this intelligence?]
[Where did the second secret letter come from?]
When she read the book, there hadn't been a second secret letter.
The Great Tyrant chuckled, "Little girl, you should know, with age comes wisdom."
He carried Ah Bao back to the main seat.
Ah Bao, peeking out from the swaddle, glanced at the table.
She saw a blank secret letter.
Ah Bao: ?
What (òωó?)!
The second secret letter was fake.
There was no second secret letter at all—it was a ruse!
[So, Scumbag Father, you used a fake letter to expose all of Lord Zong's crimes?]
[Scumbag Father, that was brilliant!]
[But how did you know Lord Zong was hiding silver in his pharmacy?]
It was you, little girl, who told me.
The Great Tyrant curled his lips, "The Zong residence is small; I have plenty of spies. Dealing with him is easy."
In her heart, Ah Bao gave the Great Tyrant a thumbs up. [No doubt about it—Scumbag Father is a sly old fox!]
[But Scumbag Father doesn't seem like a foolish ruler anymore. He's shifted to being an enlightened ruler, which doesn't match the original plot. The story is seriously deviating from its course. Even the character personalities are collapsing!]
[Could it be the butterfly effect of me surviving? After all, I was supposed to die in the Cold Palace.]
The Great Tyrant: ?
Original... plot?
Storyline???
To hell with that!
He just wanted to be a good ruler, govern the Tiansheng Dynasty well, and live up to the ancestors.
Ah Bao's bright eyes gazed up at the sky.
[Hmm, the baby isn't even a month old yet. Why think so much? She just needs to change her family's fate as cannon fodder.]
...
Before long, two more officials arrived.
The Tiansheng Dynasty had two prime ministers—one on the left and one on the right.
This time, the one attending the banquet was the Left Prime Minister, along with the Governor of Shuntian.
The two had just received the emperor's sudden order to attend the banquet celebrating the birth of the Tenth Princess.
And then, before even leaving their residences, they received news that Lord Zong had been executed.
The two officials were trembling with fear.
How could Lord Zong, who attended the same banquet as Lin Xuanzhi, end up dead while Lin Xuanzhi was unharmed?
After some contemplation, the Left Prime Minister came to a conclusion.
He had heard that Lord Zong's gift for the Tenth Princess was a golden leaf.
Hmm... At first, it sounds good, but Lin Xuanzhi had prepared a large luminous pearl.
Is a golden leaf more precious or valuable than a luminous pearl?
Obviously not!
They figured that Lord Zong's downfall must have been because he was stingy with his gift.
And so—
The Left Prime Minister hurriedly prepared a large golden bowl for the Tenth Princess.
The Governor of Shuntian, on the other hand, prepared a large golden lock.
Both placed their gifts into a large golden basin.
They then sat down and took their seats.
The Great Tyrant invited them to start eating.
But why wasn't the little girl talking?
Ah Bao was feeling a little sleepy at first, but as soon as she saw the two men present a large golden bowl and golden lock, she instantly became alert.
Who on earth would complain about having too much gold?
[Scumbag Father really loves me. Not only did he throw me a banquet, but he's also collecting gold for me. Ah! I'm so touched!]
[Scumbag Father, the one who gave me the big golden bowl must be Left Prime Minister, right? Truly, the biggest corrupt official of the Tiansheng Dynasty—he sure knows how to be generous!]
[I've heard that his home is filled with a whole room of golden bowls.]
[He's the biggest scourge behind the buying and selling of official positions. That Li Yuqing who called me a jinx? He bought his position from the Left Prime Minister.]
The Great Tyrant: ...
Very well.
Little girl, you've given me another big secret.
[The one who gave me the big golden lock must be the Governor of Shuntian. And I have to say, this golden lock is really big! I love it!]
[However, this man secretly keeps a mistress outside. She's breathtakingly beautiful, with skin as fair as snow. But there's one thing: the mistress loves golden locks. So, to make her happy, the governor has been crafting golden locks for her every day.]
[Hmm, I wonder if this golden lock is the largest one yet!]
[He must have given her at least two whole chests full of golden locks by now. All of it is the hard-earned money he's extorted from the people.]
[Neither of these two men is a good person—they conspire together, cry poverty to you, Scumbag Father, yet secretly buy land and hoard wealth. They're rolling in riches, haha!]
The more the Great Tyrant listened, the angrier he became.
The secrets that little Ah Bao was revealing were more explosive one after another.
Very well.
The national treasury was already in dire straits, and these two were living it up.
If these parasites weren't eradicated, it would be a miracle if the Tiansheng Dynasty didn't fall!
'Bang!'
The Great Tyrant's large hand slammed heavily onto the desk like a gavel.
The Prime Minister and the govenor had just picked up their chopsticks, ready to eat...
Suddenly, hearing the Great Tyrant's outburst, they both trembled, dropping their chopsticks, and hurriedly stood up to kneel. "Your Majesty..."
They were puzzled.
Why was the emperor suddenly angry?
Could it be that he found their gifts insufficient?
But they were "clean" officials! By a normal person's thinking, that large golden bowl should have taken two years' worth of their salaries to craft!
"Left Prime Minister, I've heard that during the Lingnan plague incident, you embezzled quite a bit of silver," the Great Tyrant said, his imposing presence overwhelming.
The Prime Minister's head hit the ground, "Your Majesty, this old minister is innocent! Embezzlement is a crime punishable by dismissal and execution! Even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare!"
"You don't need ten times—one is enough for you to embezzle. If you had ten, wouldn't you empty the entire treasury?"
The Prime Minister trembled with fear.
How did attending a simple banquet suddenly turn into a discussion about the court?
Could it be that the emperor used the banquet as a cover to secretly investigate them one by one?
Yes!
That must be it.
Otherwise, why would the banquet only have two officials at a time?
In the past, whether it was a royal banquet or one for officials, it was always a large group of people.
It's said that in the morning, the emperor summoned two officials.
And now it was their turn in the afternoon.
Looking at how the dishes hadn't even been touched, it was clear this was just for show.
This was a Hongmen Banquet.
"And you, Governor of Shuntian."
The Governor of Shuntian: ?
Here it comes!
—