Chapter 16

Zhou YunSheng slept for a full shichen before waking. Then he walked over to the window and gazed at the sky outside. He asked, "When is his Lordship coming to visit me?" {T/N: Shichen = approximately two hours.}

w.a.n.g Bao who was waiting beside the door immediately ran inside to help the little master dress. He smiled and said, "Right now it"s already youshi, the Lordship should be done at Court now. Play for a bit longer and this servant will send someone to the Palace to ask."

"Tell him to hurry." Zhou YunSheng said impatiently.

When the master and servant had dressed neatly, they headed towards the main hall. They had only made it halfway before they saw the gold-dressed Lord Regent come striding towards them with large steps. Beside him was the respectful looking WanQi Yan.

WanQi Yan was just in the middle of telling him about the sand model. He thought it was a good idea if they could send some people to the borderlands to record the geography. That way they could make it even better.

Although Zhao Xuan wasn"t a modern person but when the words "sand model" came to his ear, he instinctively knew how it should work. Thus he meticulously gave a few tips. As he walked, there was suddenly a gust of wind and then a warm body flew into his arms. The thin arms tightly wound around his neck and two long legs locked around his waist, clinging to him as tightly as a bandage.

Of course Zhao Xuan had no intention of throwing him off. He only wished the little fox could cling to him for his entire life. Now he understood why, when common people wanted to describe two people"s good relationship, they would use the phrase "only wish they could grow on each other"s bodies". He really wished the little fox could grow on his body. Unless he was cut with a knife, or died, otherwise no one could tear them apart.

"How come you only came just now! You plainly said when you finished court you would come to see me immediately. Look at the sky, do you know what time it is now?" Zhou YunSheng hung on his lover"s body and forgot that he wasn"t a little fox anymore. He mischievously stretched out his tongue and licked his face, not letting go until his face was filled with saliva.

Zhao Xuan loved the little fox"s pa.s.sionate actions. When his left face was finished being licked, he presented the right of his face. His eyes were filled with tenderness and indulgence. His two hands held the little fox"s fleshy, soft b.u.t.tcheeks. He rubbed them a bit then said lowly, "Did you miss me?"

"Of course! Not seeing you for one day is like three seasons. We separated at maoshi and saw each other again at youshi, that"s five shichen difference. So that"s equivalent to 460 days of not seeing each other. More than one year, so of course I"ll miss you." Zhou YunSheng never bothered to conceal his dependence on his lover. He said whatever he was thinking, making Zhao Xuan laugh joyfully.

Even if someone was straightforward, they wouldn"t dare to constantly keep these pa.s.sionate and sweet words by their mouth. It should have been something that sounded cliched and hackneyed, however listening to it instead made one feel moved. WanQi Yan thought that if someone said this to him then he would be willing to die for them. He tried to suppress the feeling in his heart, raised his head and gazed at the youth deeply. 

Zhao Xuan was in the midst of feeling overjoyed so he didn"t see his subordinate"s strange expression. When he saw the little fox pointing at his ear, he immediately knew what to do. He pressed closer and licked the black ear stud and at the same time transmitted a string of data. The two people did this everyday and it had already become a habit.

Zhou YunSheng was satisfied. He jumped down from his lover"s body and dragged him over to eat food.

During dinner they took turns feeding each other. WanQi Yan felt both awkward and envious, he really wished he could take the Regent"s place.

***

In another place, OuYang MingYue was also aware that the path of using WanQi Yan couldn"t be used any longer. So the scheme of becoming a General and going to war could only be laid to rest for the time being. She decided to dedicate her efforts to creating a business empire with Fang WeiTong but at this time another incident happened.

***

{T/N: Censored adult scene here. If you want to read then go .}

***

The study room had been cleaned up. However there was still a thick fragrance floating in the air. The Regent was sitting casually with his legs spread on the couch waiting for them. The youth was standing beside the table next to the window. In his hand was a calligraphy brush and he was currently practicing his letters.

The two people were dressed neatly and their expressions were very calm. It was as though the scene from before had never occurred however if one looked closely they could see the youth"s golden eyes were still a bit dewy. When WanQi Yan came in through the door he couldn"t help looking towards the youth. But then remembering the master in the room, he quickly averted his gaze.

"I hear that you recovered some chests of private silver?" Zhao Xuan blew into a hot tea cup. His voice was still a little hoa.r.s.e from before. 

"Responding to your Lordship, your servant has recovered 24 chests of silver at the docks. Altogether there are around 240,000 taels. The amount is quite a lot. This servant doesn"t dare make any decisions about it so came to report to his Lordship." WanQi Yan tried his best to turn his mind towards professional matters and tried to calm down the frantic beating of his heart.

Of course common people had silver which they could move around. However the amount was usually small and the authorities didn"t look into it much. However these chests had a total of 240,000 taels. The origin definitely wasn"t simple. Perhaps someone had discovered a silver mine and hadn"t reported it, and taken the money privately for themselves. Privately opening a gold or silver mine was a major crime in the Tian Yuan Country which warranted the death of nine generations. If a case like this appeared then it definitely needed to investigated to the end.

Zhao Xuan knew it was very serious and immediately went down to the docks to investigate.

Zhou YunSheng propped himself up on the window sill as he watched the two people leaving. He thought of something and raised his voice to call, "Lord Maquis, has OuYang Ming come to see you about anything recently?"

"Replying to the young master, he will come periodically but I rejected him each time." WanQi Yan immediately turned around and raised his clasped hands respectfully. His voice was very tender.

"If she comes to find you again, don"t reject her. Help me to keep her hanging, okay?" Zhou YunSheng grinned happily. His golden eyes were filled with a sly expression.

How could WanQi Yan withstand his radiant smile. Even though this request was a bit strange however he agreed without hesitation. Even the corners of his ears became a little red.

Zhao Xuan"s felt displeased. His eyes swept over WanQi Yan"s body as though he was slicing him with a knife. However when he saw the little fox making a motion as though he was hurrying him along, he was able to suppress his dissatisfied feelings of vinegar. He walked away with big steps.

Regarding the matter of the private silver, the two people investigated carefully. However Zhou YunSheng already knew the details of the matter. It was the handiwork of none other than OuYang MingYue.

In the past life, when she and Fang WeiTong has gone up the mountain to hunt wild boar, they had accidentally come across a silver mine. Through connections they had purchased the entire mountain and secretly began mining it. In the process, she had secretly created gunpowder in order to open up the mine more speedily. Within half a year they had already gathered millions of silver taels and become the richest person in all of Tian Yuan Country. Because there were constantly sounds of loud explosions coming from the mountain, the villagers living nearby were very anxious. They thought that the heavens were sending thunder and that it represented a demon had come to the earth. They contacted the authorities and invited Elder Qing Tian to come to catch the demon. {T/N: I think this is the name of a monk.}

OuYang MingYue was still the Regent"s wife, she was able to suppress this matter by mentioning a few words to the Regent and everything was resolved.

In this life she once again discovered the silver mine however what was missing was her royal and authoritative status. So the matter wouldn"t be able to be covered up so easily.

Zhou YunSheng lifted up his brush and wrote the words "Seeking Each Other"s Death" in large flying dragon and dancing phoenix script. When he lifted his pen, his eyes were filled with laughter.

With the Regent and the Yong Wu Marquis leading the matter, the case of the private silver was quickly uncovered. The richest person in Tian Yuan Country Fang WeiTong was jailed that very night over the matter. Three hundred people in the Fang family were also incarcerated, only his di younger brother Fang Shou fled with some evidence, and disappeared without a trace. {T/N: Di is the child of a man"s official wife, shu children are from his concubines. The statuses are different.} 

OuYang MingYue had acted very intelligently in relation to this matter. Although she had led the matter of opening up the mines from the very beginning, however no one knew about this. Fang WeiTong was deeply in love with her and purposely accepted all the blame for the matter. All of the evidence regarding OuYang MingYue had been taken away by Fang Shou. He was anxious that his younger brother might give up his (FWT) lover for the purpose of saving himself and felt momentarily very panicked and anxious.

Zhao Xuan"s hidden guards were everywhere. There was nowhere they could not reach. The secrets that the Judicial Bureau were not able to find was already displayed in front of his eyes.

He knew OuYang MingYue was the killer of the little fox"s sister and the object of his revenge. Originally he planned to use this case to take care of her. But when he saw the little fox"s words "Seeking Each Other"s Deaths" placed on the table, he changed his mind. Cutting her down with one stroke would be letting her off too easily. 

She liked to create a fuss? Then he would let her fuss all the way to her own demise!

Thinking of his, Zhao Xuan set his sights on OuYang MingYue and waited patiently for her next move.

Within the s.p.a.ce of one night, OuYang MingYue had practically lost everything.

In order to buy this mountain, she had used up all of the money she had earned. She had only just earned the first lot of profits when she was raided by the authorities. The next minute several hundred members of the Fang family ended up in jail, not even giving her time to react.

Her heart was extremely panicked. But she couldn"t just send people over to enquire. After sitting anxiously for a few times she remembered that she and WanQi Yan can be considered to be acquaintances. She hurried to change to male clothes and headed to the Marquis" manor. Originally she thought that she would be rejected at the door as usual but unexpectedly WanQi Yan seemed to be in a good mood and agreed to receive her. She didn"t rush to disclose her reasons for coming, and found some interesting topics of conversation to chat about. When the time came she left voluntarily and didn"t overstay her welcome. After three times of this, the two people"s distant relationship gradually became closer. Seizing a chance when WanQi Yan"s mouth was relaxed and loosened, she really did obtain some news which helped calm her nerves.

Turns out Fang WeiTong had accepted complete responsibility for the matter and hadn"t involved her. Fang Shou had taken the evidence that pertained to her and fled the Imperial City. Right now he was hiding in Yuzhou and wouldn"t be able to be seized easily. The Judicial Bureau was suspicious that there was another person behind the scenes and they had a lot of interest in the explosions in the mountain. They insisted that Fang WeiTong must disclose the gunpowder recipe and for this reason they had delayed his execution.

OuYang MingYue had a suspicious nature so how could she disclose the gunpowder recipe to others? Even if they beat Fang WeiTong to death they wouldn"t get it out of him!

Fang WeiTong had been coddled with soft fabrics and jade food since young. His entire life had been smooth sailing. Sooner or later he would give her up! The only person that could keep a secret in this world was a dead person! 

Because of this, OuYang MingYue"s nerves which had just settled down, sprang up again. When she left the Marquis Manor she was filled with killing intent. She decided that she couldn"t keep Fang WeiTong any longer. The safest thing would be if everyone who knew about her involvement in the mine died!

She hurried home to the OuYang family and drank some special medicine which made her meridians became very chaotic. Then using being very ill as an excuse, she requested to go back to the countryside to nurse herself back to health. Of course Madame OuYang was extremely pleased with this suggestion and immediately ordered horses and carriages to send her back.

The countryside manor had already been completely controlled by her. So even if she didn"t appear for a few months, no one would say anything and would even help her hide it. When the carriage had only treated halfway, she jumped out wearing male clothes and headed to Yuzhou to murder Fang Shou for his silence.

Perhaps it was the will of heaven but the person that the authorities had been looking for for over 10 days without any trace, was immediately discovered by her upon entering the city. After following him secretly for some time, she came to some common folk housing. 

When Fang Shou saw OuYang MingYue suddenly appear, he felt very excited because he thought she had come to save him. He gave up the evidence easily. As soon as OuYang MingYue obtained the evidence she used a rope to strangle Fang Shou to death. She hanged him from the roof and made it look as though he had commit suicde. Then she looked over the evidence. She destroyed the ones that needed destroying and altered the ones that could be altered. She pushed all the blame towards Fang WeiTong and then left.

She was a killer so everytime she encountered a problem she couldn"t solve, the first way she would think of to take care of it was to kill someone. Even after Fang Shou"s death she didn"t feel rea.s.sured. She returned to the Imperial City and killed off a few of her trusted a.s.sistants who had helped manage her fortune then set her sights on Fang WeiTong as her next target. So what if Fang WeiTong had helped her shoulder the blame? She definitely wouldn"t put her life into someone else"s control. So she had to shut his mouth forever.

After returning to the Imperial City, she spent everyday circling the Imperial jail looking for an opportunity. At the same time Fang WeiTong was incarcerated in the stinky cell, waiting for his next judgement. Thee was the sound of clinking locks and footsteps coming closer. Finally they stopped in front of his cell.

"Fang WeiTong, we"ve found your brother." The official responsible for investigating the case said with a heavy voice.

Fang WeiTong raised his head with a panicked expression.

Not waiting for him to speak, the official continued, "Unfortunately all we found was a corpse."

"A corpse? How can that be!" Fang WeiTong crawled to the door of the cell and his eyes were filled with hot tears.

Three hundred members of the Fang family had been jailed because of him. If the case was finalized with him as the culprit, then to fulfill the nine levels of extermination, not one of them would be spared. His younger brother Fang Shou was the last remaining scion of the Fang family. He only wished that he would run far, far away and not be found by anyone. Now that his final hope had disappeared, when he heard the news he nearly fainted to death.

"Could it be that you found the wrong person, how can my younger brother be dead!" He didn"t want to believe this nightmarish news and clutched the metal bars, denying it.

"Whether or not it is the wrong person, you should be able to tell from one glance. Come, this official will take you to identify the body." The official opened the jail and half-lead, half-dragged him to the morgue.

Two a.s.sistants were bending over to examine the body. When they saw someone open the door, they hurried to bow.

The official waved his hands and ordered Fang WeiTong to look. Because right now was in the middle of winter, the body had been preserved very well. From only one glance Fang WeiTong was able to recognize that the corpse lying on the cold slab was indeed his own younger brother. 

He tightly clutched his brother"s hand and wanted to pull him up. From his throat he made involuntary animalistic cries of pain.

"Seems like this body is indeed Fang Shou." The official said coldly. He asked the a.s.sistant, "How did he die?"

"Replying to the great official, Fang Shou was strangled by someone then hung up on the roof. The way force was used indicated that the perpetrator was shorter than the victim, the height should be approximately be around 6 chi 3 cun."

The official was nodding while examining the body. He waited until Fang WeiTong had calmed down and placed some doc.u.ments in front of him. He said gravely, "These are the doc.u.ments recovered from your brother"s things. Do you have any thoughts? If you insist on not confessing then this official has no choice but to order your death by a thousand cuts, and the death of nine generations of your family."

{T/N: Nine levels or nine generations of death pretty much just means everyone alive who is even remotely related to you will be put to death for your crime.}

As he looked over the parts of the account book that had been altered, Fang WeiTong"s eyes widened.

This account book used a double-entry account keeping method. The numbers used were also the special numerals used by the Fang Bang nomadic people. It was completely different from the single-entry account keeping method and Han numbers used in Tian Yuan Country. It had been developed by OuYang MingYue and ordinary people wouldn"t be able to read it. A very experienced old account keeper might be able to crack it after researching for a long time, however they definitely wouldn"t be able to achieve the level of being able to alter it seamlessly. On the account book, all trace of OuYang MingYue had been completely wiped clean and had been changed to point to him. With this account book, no matter how much he denied his crimes, he would not be able to escape.

Right now if he still didn"t understand who the killer was, then he didn"t deserve the t.i.tle of the most intelligent businessman in Tian Yuan country.

How strong his love was previously was now how deep his hate was. His eyes were so red they could almost drip blood. He clenched his teeth and said, "Great one, I will confess….." He hadn"t even finished speaking yet when from the window an arrow came flying, embedding itself straight into his heart. He clutched his chest and slowly fell down. His eyes were wide open, showing that his death was without having found peace.

Two people immediately to find the killer but they had disappeared without a trace. 

Thus the trail came to a halt. The case had caused a lot of fuss. In the end the judgement was given as the death of the entire Fang family but due to the Regent"s mercy, the side branches of the family was eventually freed.

The Fang family"s entire fortune was seized and the silver went into the imperial coffers.

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