Ita Era

Chapter 153 Embezzlement and Perverting the Law
Ding Shi said, "Both of your ideas are wrong. You can't threaten Yu Yuan, and neither can we. He has the most resources. As the emperor, the first thing Yu Yuan will do after taking office is to collect dirt on us and be ready to cut off our heads at any time." Because Yu Yuan has the most resources, Ding Shi immediately listed Yu Yuan as a formidable enemy.

Ding Shi said, "As for the conditions that Yu Yuan is interested in, they are even more difficult. After all, even the emperor would find it hard to do. Besides, even if you help Yu Yuan, once you are no longer of use to him, would he still abandon the third-ranked scholar?"

Su Su squatted down next to Ding Shi, looking distressed: "This won't work, that won't work, what should I do?"

Ding Shi said, "After the third round begins, you can come to me for help, and I will show you the way."

Su Su looked at Ding Shi warily: "You want to use up one of my chances to ask for help?"

Ding Shi denied it: "Once? Su Su, it hurts me to hear you say that. We are siblings, we have a friendship that includes burning the Crown Prince together. Don't say once, if you need help in the third round, you can come to me."

Su Su: "But you might not be able to help me?" (She is on guard.)

Ding Shi said, "We can cooperate."

Su Su: "How do we cooperate?"

Ding Shi said, "As a princess, you can freely enter and leave the inner palace. Some concubines in the inner palace are wealthy, and some come from high-ranking families. However, it is difficult for the concubines to communicate with the outside world and to obtain things from outside the palace. You can help them. The condition for you to help them is that you want money."

Su Su asked, "Is your goal to make money?"

Ding Shi said, "Making money is just a means to achieve a goal."

Su Su remained skeptical.

Ding Shi retorted, "If it weren't for money and power, who would want to be this lowly official in feudal times? As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, my official rank has reached its limit, and all that's left is to make money. Don't you go to work for money? Would you want to be ordered around by the emperor for no reason? Would you want to bow and scrape before the imperial relatives and nobles? If I don't embezzle and break the law, how can I demonstrate my superiority as a feudal official? If being an official means loving the people like one's own children, then I might as well be a child myself, at least then someone will love me."

After a string of absurd arguments, Su Su was sent off, and Wang Meng arrived. Wang Meng sat down without saying a word and made tea, and Ding Shi drank it without ceremony. After a few rounds, Wang Meng spoke up: "The Imperial City Guard is responsible for the security of large-scale events and banquets. I hope that for each event, your Embroidered Uniform Guard can assign personnel to act as spies, posing as eunuchs and palace maids."

Wang Meng explained, "The Imperial City Guards are all soldiers, not as shrewd and capable as your Embroidered Uniform Guards."

Ding Shi asked, "What benefits would I get?"

Wang Meng said, "I can help you fake your death and escape."

Ding Shi didn't understand: "Why did I have to fake my death?"

Wang Meng said mysteriously, "Your goal may not be to kill people, but some people's goal may be to kill you."

Ding Shi squinted and asked, "Are you talking about Yu Yuan?"

Wang Meng: "I didn't say that."

Ding Shi sized up Wang Meng: "Under normal circumstances I won't die, but if I trigger a certain condition, it will trigger someone to kill me."

Wang Meng said, "If you cooperate with me, you'll have an extra life."

Ding Shi said, "If the emperor wants to kill me, there's no point in me faking my death; it's the same as leaving the game."

Wang Meng said, "I can stop Imperial Physician Hua Shan, or I can carry her on my back. Hua Shan is under double sealing, while you and I are free." Those under double sealing cannot use their Force, and their stamina is no different from ordinary people. In such a vast palace, how far can Hua Shan run? Each gate is guarded by soldiers from the Imperial City Guard; they can let her through, or they can stop her to verify her identity.

Wang Meng said, "It seems like you won't benefit from cooperating with me, but having more friends means having more options. After all, we don't have any conflicts, right?"

After thinking for a long time, Ding asked, "What are the bottom lines for cooperation?"

Wang Meng said, "The bottom line is not to jeopardize one's own core interests." If cooperation involves one's own core interests, the cooperative relationship can be unilaterally terminated.

Ding Shi didn't immediately agree: "Let me think about it." He had a gut feeling that he and Wang Meng were going to fight because they were the only ones whose primal force hadn't been sealed.

Ding Shi had several private conversations with the Empress and the Crown Prince, but none of them told the truth. Ding Shi had a bad feeling; he thought he might be on someone's blacklist.
At 7:50 a.m. the next day, Xiaotangtang appeared right on time and announced something: "The online store is now open."

The shop sells a variety of items, from poisons to assassins, from Jinyiwei tokens to Imperial City Commander badges. The currency is silver; the base price for an assassin is 5,000 taels, with a maximum of 20,000 taels, depending on their skill level.

To make it more intuitive, Xiaotangtang played a video of the Imperial Guards fighting against 20,000 elite soldiers. In a two-on-one situation, the Imperial Guards could suppress the elite soldiers, but the elite soldiers could take away one Imperial Guard with a final blow before they died.

The general purchase includes many luxury items such as estates, hot springs, concubines, and male prostitutes, all of which are relatively expensive.

In addition, the mall also has exclusive purchases for specific identities; only those with the corresponding identity can view the items. The exclusive purchases for Ding Shi's identity include items for ordinary Imperial Guards, Tenth-Rank Officers, and Centurions, used to replenish personnel. The prices are not expensive, but cannot exceed the limit.

Besides the people, there were also many unique items, such as human skin masks, sleeping potions, modified carriages, and counterfeit tokens. What attracted Ding Shi's attention most was the antidote pill, which could cure all poisons and cost 1 taels of silver per pill. However, the system was notoriously unreliable, and the antidote pill needed to be booked an hour in advance.

In other words, if you get poisoned, besides spending 1 taels, you'll have to endure it for an hour. The only way is to buy it in advance. Among the seven, only Yu Yuan probably has that kind of wealth.

……

The third round has officially begun.

At 8 a.m. on the first day, Yu Yuan, Ding Shi, and the Crown Prince in Red Robes went to court. All three felt it was a novel experience. But men, after all, are just going to work, not fishing, and it didn't take long for them to get bored.

Imperial Censor Zhang stepped forward to impeach the Prefect of Shunxia Prefecture for favoring his concubines and neglecting his wife, having promoted seven concubines in five years and poisoned his first wife.

Ding Shi and Hong Yi opened the encyclopedia and obtained basic information: this Imperial Censor Zhang was the father-in-law of the prefect's eldest son.

Yu Yuan, having acquired the title of Tan Hua (third-ranked scholar), gained access to more information. The prefect then poured resources into the son of a concubine, named Wang Chong, a talented scholar who had passed the imperial examinations and was now serving as a principal officer in the Ministry of Personnel. However, the problem lay in the fact that Wang Chong and the prefect were both members of the Qi family faction.

Imperial Censor Zhang was a rare and loyal minister.

Yu Yuan faced his first choice: to eliminate the Qi family's influence in the court. Strictly speaking, Imperial Censor Zhang was only discussing the prefect's family affairs; as the emperor, he could at most criticize and reprimand his minister. However, this could be interpreted less strictly. Although the prefect of Shunxia Prefecture wasn't a very high-ranking official, he wielded real power. If he could promote the anti-Qi official recommended by the system to the prefect position, the power imbalance would shift, bringing him one step closer to achieving his goal.

For the sake of the country, we should not make things difficult for talented people like Wang Chong because of family matters. For the sake of the royal family, we must suppress the Qi family and maintain the balance of power in the court.

Yu Yuan asked, "Where is the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Holy crap, that old bastard Deng, he's the first one to target me.

Ding Shi stepped forward and said, "Your subject is here."

Yu Yuan: "I order you to find out the cause of Liu's death within one day."

Ding Shi: "Yes."

Yu Yuan's choice was intended to escalate a minor issue. If the authorities confirmed that the Prefect had poisoned his first wife, the Prefect would certainly be punished. Next came Yu Yuan's choice. His interface displayed four parameters: money, military officers, civil officials, and people's livelihood, ranging from 0 to 100. Currently, his parameters were: money 50, military officers 30, civil officials 70, and people's livelihood 50. If any of these parameters fell below 10 or rose above 90, he would have to abdicate. Only he knew the answer to this question.

For example, a general suggested allowing border troops to cultivate land, which would reduce their dependence on the imperial court's provisions. If a general had ulterior motives, they could stockpile grain in preparation for a rebellion.

If Yu Yuan agrees, the stats of military generals will increase. Since the army cannot be controlled by provisions, the stats of civil officials will decrease.

Yu Yuan's personal system is a simplified version of the game of kingship.

Ding Shi received a side mission to investigate the truth behind the death of Lady Liu, the wife of the prefect of Shunxia Prefecture.

After the court session ended at 10 o'clock, Ding Shi originally planned to talk to the prefect, either by leading his men to investigate the prefect himself, or by arresting the person and taking him to the Embroidered Uniform Guard for investigation.

Unexpectedly, the prefect approached Ding Shi first, gave him a location, and then left in his sedan chair. Ding Shi returned to the nearby command post and met with his four personal guards, as well as the centurions and deacons of the Brave Guard Battalion. Ding Shi had five thousand taels of public funds. After much deliberation, he gave two thousand taels to his personal guard Zhao Liu, instructing him to bribe spies and gather intelligence in the inner palace, the prime minister's residence, and other places. If the emperor cooperated, he would cooperate as well. If the emperor didn't cooperate, he had to be prepared to send him to his death, lest he be sent to his death himself.

After finishing his business, Ding Shi rode his horse to a teahouse in the west of the city. Thanks to the free navigation service provided by the system, although the capital city was large, he was unlikely to get lost.

The teahouse was in a remote location. Ding Shi dismounted, handed the reins to the waiter, and went up to the second floor. When he reached the door of the private room at Tianxiangju, a servant knocked on the door, opened it, and invited Ding Shi in.

Inside the private room, the prefect stood up nervously to greet him: "Lord Ding."

"Lord Wang." Ding Shi returned the greeting with a single fist, sat down, and placed the riding whip aside.

Like all NPCs, the prefect got straight to the point, pulling a silver note from his sleeve and pushing it in front of Ding Shi. Ding Shi glanced at it; it was a thousand taels. He asked, "What is this, Lord Wang?"

The prefect said, "My wife and I were husband and wife. Although we could not be said to be a perfect couple, we respected each other. Now that my wife has left me, I really cannot bear to disturb her peace."

Ding Shi seemed to be deep in thought, and asked, "What does Lord Wang intend for me to say?"

The prefect said, “My wife has been ill for a long time. Unfortunately, I was heartbroken for my wife and, in my desperation, I sought any cure, believing the words of a charlatan and bringing in a concubine to bring good luck. My intention was to love my wife, but I never thought it would give those with ulterior motives something to criticize. I beg Lord Ding to investigate this matter thoroughly.”

Ding Shi tapped his finger on the silver note and hesitated, saying, "We have long admired the Prefect's love for his wife, but this task was personally assigned by His Majesty. If I do nothing, I will be letting down my loyal and patriotic heart."

Someone knocked on the door. The prefect told Ding Shi to wait a moment, walked out of the private room, took the silver notes from a servant, and sat down, gently placing two more notes on the door.

Ding Shi still hesitated: "If this matter only concerns the Prefect, I, Ding, have always admired the Prefect's character and would naturally agree. However, this matter also involves your family's legitimate son and illegitimate son, which makes things a bit difficult."

The prefect frowned, gritted his teeth, and took out the last two silver notes, placing them on the table: "I would be grateful for Lord Ding's help; I will certainly remember this favor."

Seeing that the favor had been done, Ding Shi knew that the prefect had no money to be made, so he accepted the silver notes, stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Rest assured, sir, I, Ding, will certainly handle the case impartially."

After exchanging a few polite words, Ding Shi went downstairs alone. A waiter brought over a horse, and just as Ding Shi was about to mount it, a servant hurried over, blocked his way, and asked, "Lord Ding?"

Ding Shi replied, "Who are you?"

The servant said, "My master is named Wang Jing. He has long admired Lord Ding's name and would like to invite Lord Ding to Dixiangju for a chat."

Ding Shi didn't respond immediately, but instead searched for Wang Jing. An eighth-rank official, ah, isn't that the prefect's eldest son? The censor's son-in-law?
Ten minutes later, Ding Shi and Wang Jing sat down together to make tea. Wang Jing got straight to the point, pushing a stack of documents to Ding Shi: "My mother has been in good health for over thirty years. Here are testimonies from senior doctors at Huichuntang and other institutions. There are also testimonies from the maids and servants who served my mother, as well as from her close female relatives."

Ding Shi said with emotion, "Lord Wang's filial piety has moved heaven and earth. I, Ding Shi, will certainly give Lord Wang an explanation."

Ding Shi stood up and picked up a stack of testimonies. Wang Jing also stood up and respectfully saw Ding Shi to the door. Ding Shi decided to give him a chance and asked, "Does Lord Wang have anything else he hasn't told me?"

Wang Jing respectfully said, "I only ask Lord Ding to make a decision for my deceased mother."

Ding Shi bid farewell to Wang Jing, mounted his horse, and searched for a while. He found that Wang Chong's prospective father-in-law was named Qi Ming. Qi Ming was the cousin of Prime Minister Qi and was a judge in the Secretariat, a third-rank official.

Ding Shi then went to Qi Ming's house to deliver his visiting card. Qi Ming invited Ding Shi to his residence for tea. Wang Chong happened to be at Qi Ming's house as well, so he attended and accompanied him.

Ding Shi exchanged a few polite words, mainly compliments to Qi Ming and Prime Minister Qi. He then changed the subject and brought up the testimony given by Wang Jing: "I also want to judge the case impartially, but the villains have already made arrangements, and it seems that this matter will not end well."

After reading several testimonies, Qi Ming and Wang Chong's expressions changed drastically. They exchanged glances, Wang Chong sat back down, and Qi Ming put the testimonies back down, saying gently, "I beg Lord Ding to do justice for my Chong'er." He then gave a wink to his confidant.

Ding Shi was in a dilemma, so he cupped his hands to the east and said, "I am grateful for His Majesty's favor and trust in me..." He then rambled on for a minute.

Qi Ming responded for one minute.

Ding Shi rambled on for a minute, and his confidant finally returned. He whispered something in Qi Ming's ear and handed Qi Ming a stack of silver notes.

Qi Ming placed several silver notes on the testimony: "It's kind of Lord Ding to make this special trip. This is just a small token to treat the Jinyiwei brothers to tea."

Five thousand taels!
Ding Shi put away the testimony and the silver notes: "This matter is both difficult and easy to handle. It is difficult because of Imperial Censor Zhang, and easy because only Imperial Censor Zhang is available."

Qi Ming became interested. The Qi family and Imperial Censor Zhang were not on good terms. Ding Shi said, "I will pay a visit to Imperial Censor Zhang today. Judging from his appearance, Imperial Censor Zhang probably won't be able to attend the morning court tomorrow."

Qi Ming was overjoyed: "Then I'll trouble you, Lord Ding."

Ding Shi said, "It's also possible that I'll attend the morning court session."

Qi Ming was taken aback, then realized what was happening and took out the last five silver notes from his sleeve, pushing them in front of Ding Shi. Ding Shi stood up and casually accepted the silver notes: "The world is bright and clear, and the gods are watching. His Majesty will surely give Lord Wang justice."

With 15,000 in hand, Ding Shi went straight to the pharmacy, took out his official seal, and said, "I want to see your manager."

After leaving the pharmacy, Ding Shi took several packets of medicine powder with him. He then went to the residence of Imperial Censor Zhang, where he drank tea with Imperial Censor Zhang and discussed the Liu case. He also slipped the medicine into Imperial Censor Zhang's tea.

After working for several hours, Ding Shi didn't even have time to go to the toilet. He rushed back to the command headquarters because Empress Chu Yu had sent someone to see him.

Chu Yu sent a nanny who explained her purpose: that morning, Consort Zhang had suffered a miscarriage due to abdominal pain, and a rare medicinal powder had been found during a search of the palace. The nanny brought several packets of the powder to Ding Shi, asking him to investigate its origin. Based on the nanny's experience, there must be an experienced doctor in the capital who recognized this powder.

After finishing her business, the nanny rose to take her leave. Ding Shi frowned and asked, "Does the Empress have any further instructions?"

The old woman replied, "No, that's all."

Ding Shi asked, "Are there really none left?"

The old woman replied, "There really aren't any left."

Ding Shi called out, "Zhang San, help me take Granny here."

(End of this chapter)