nycdaug Chapter 131 Adding insult to injury
Chapter 131 Adding insult to injury
"Have you heard? The Nanping County Lady may not have much time left."
"I heard that the general's wife went to the border to look for General Qin, but was kidnapped by bandits on the way and her innocence was lost."
"I also heard that General Qin was captured, and his wife emptied out her family's wealth to save him."
These rumors were spread so convincingly that it seemed as if they had been witnessed with one's own eyes.
However, even more shocking news soon spread from Nanping Prefecture. Some said that Yan Wanwan had encountered bandits on her way and had robbed Nanping Prefecture of most of its gold and silver, which she had intended to use to rescue General Qin.
Now, not only has the person not been found, but the gold and silver are also gone, leaving him penniless.
Because of this, she was depressed and fell ill, and was on the verge of death.
The atmosphere in the palace was as heavy as lead.
The Emperor sat on the dragon throne, his gaze like a blade, shooting straight at the spy who came to report below, and his voice was cold: "Is what you said true?"
The spy hurriedly said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am telling you this with all sincerity. I have successfully stopped the General's wife and confiscated all the gold and silver she was carrying. This means she will be unable to rescue General Qin."
After saying this, he waved his hand with a solemn oath, and the attendants behind him immediately presented the confiscated gold and silver to the emperor.
The emperor looked at the pile of gold and silver with a gloomy expression and remained silent.
Suddenly, he raised his hand and threw the inkstone on the table.
There was a dull "bang" sound, and the inkstone hit the spy's forehead heavily.
In an instant, blood splattered, and the minister screamed and staggered backwards.
The emperor's eyes widened in anger as he roared, "You bastard! Even at this point, you still dare to deceive me! You stole most of Nanping Prefecture's wealth, a staggering millions of taels. How could you only have a few thousand taels of silver?"
The official's face turned pale with fear. He dropped to his knees and kowtowed, his forehead pounding against the ground. He cried out, "Your Majesty, I am truly wronged! This is all I have stolen. When have I ever seen millions of taels of silver? The General's wife left the city that day in a carriage, which couldn't possibly hold that much silver!"
The Emperor stared at him intently with a sharp gaze, a cold smile playing on the corners of his mouth as he slowly said, "So this is what you rely on to dare to deceive the Emperor."
The spy's face was filled with fear. He quickly knelt and cried out in injustice, "Your Majesty, I am loyal to Your Majesty and would never dare to lie to you!"
The Emperor was furious and shouted, "Yan Wanwan has the company's token, which allows her to withdraw a million taels of silver at will, but you claim you don't have it. How dare I send someone to search you and find out what's going on?"
Beads of sweat rolled down the spy's forehead, but he still pretended to be calm and replied, "Of course, I am an upright official and would not dare to deceive Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please investigate as you wish."
The emperor looked at him coldly, then winked at Eunuch Wu beside him.
Eunuch Wu understood what he meant and immediately stepped forward and searched the spy with quick movements.
Soon, a hard object was found on the spy.
Seeing this, the spy widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.
Eunuch Wu took the item, walked quickly to the emperor, and presented it respectfully, "Your Majesty, this is the county lady's token."
The spy panicked and shouted anxiously, "Your Majesty, this is unjust! I have never seen anything like this before. Someone must have deliberately framed me!"
However, the emperor was already furious at this point and would not listen to his explanation. He shouted, "Come, take him away and have him torn apart by a chariot as a warning to others!"
In an instant, a heart-wrenching scream suddenly rang out outside the hall. The sound was so shrill, like a sharp knife, piercing straight into people's hearts, making people shudder.
Gradually, the sound became weaker and weaker, and gradually became smaller and smaller until there was no sound at all.
However, the emperor's anger did not diminish at all, but grew more and more intense like a raging fire.
"This traitor is a traitor!"
The emperor's eyes widened in anger, his voice filled with rage and majesty, "How dare he attempt to embezzle such a large sum of gold and silver? What exactly does he intend to do?"
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Wu was so frightened that his whole body trembled, his head hung even lower, and he dared not breathe. He secretly prayed in his heart that this disaster would not implicate him.
His slightly trembling hands revealed his inner fear.
At this moment, there was a crisp "crack" sound, and the token broke into two pieces right under the emperor's nose, as if unable to withstand the emperor's anger.
The emperor's expression suddenly became more gloomy, like the sky covered with dark clouds before a storm.
"It's actually fake!" The emperor gritted his teeth and squeezed out these words.
Eunuch Wu was so frightened by the powerful pressure emanating from the emperor that his legs went weak. He fell to his knees with a plop, kowtowed repeatedly, and shouted in panic: "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!"
The emperor seemed not to hear Eunuch Wu's plea for mercy. His eyes flashed with an icy light as he coldly ordered, "Go and investigate! Find out for me where this fellow hid the token. If you can't find it, I will exterminate his entire clan!"
No matter how the people talked about it or how fierce the war was in the palace, Yan Wanwan, who was far away in Nanping Prefecture, had no time to care. She was lying in bed, living a life of recuperation with food provided for her, and there was no sign of illness on her face.
Xiao Tao rushed back immediately after hearing the news that Yan Wanwan had returned. "Miss, the County Lady's Mansion suddenly closed its doors and refused all visitors. Will this cause the people to speculate unfoundedly?"
"Just guess! They have their mouths on their bodies, can we stop them?" Yan Wanwan ate a grape and said indifferently.
The door was pushed open, and Yan Xiaorui walked in angrily, rushing to the bedside to pull someone away.
Yan Wanwan nearly choked on her grapes and hurriedly shouted, "Sister, slow down. I'm a living person, not a dead pig."
"Little sister, you don't know how many people are watching outside, waiting for the opportunity to take advantage of you. We can't just sit there and wait for death. You have to come out and let them see that you are fine." Yan Xiaorui looked anxious and spoke earnestly, trying to persuade Yan Wanwan.
Yan Wanwan, however, showed no interest. She shook her head lightly and said wearily, "No, I'm so tired. I really don't want to move."
Upon hearing this, Yan Xiaorui became furious, her brows knitted into the shape of a "川" character. "Don't you want to clarify? If you come forward to clarify, it will be of great benefit to both you and Nanping Prefecture."
"That's not necessary." Yan Wanwan sneered inwardly, but remained expressionless. My dear sister, how could she understand that I was doing this precisely to avoid those with ill intentions?
"You...they said such excessive things, and you actually tolerated it?"