The Imperial Guards, like Yama, slaughtered until the Empress cried out for help.

The scholars and others stared at the stack of silver notes on the table, their mouths practically dropping to the floor. When they looked up, they immediately felt that Shen Qing was radiating boundless light.

At that moment, they had only one thought: they wanted to die for Shen Qing.

Everyone felt their mouths go dry: "My lord... isn't this too expensive...?"

Shen Qing waved his hand dismissively: "Stop dawdling, just buy what I tell you to buy. Don't leave me any money, or I'll beat you up."

Despite Shen Qing's words, none of the scholars reached out.

That's three thousand taels of silver; even if they sold their lives, it wouldn't be enough to cover a fraction of that.

Shen Qing grabbed the silver note and stuffed it into the scholar's hand.

"Are you women? Stop dawdling! Scholar, take this. Be smart and don't get ripped off. Let's get going!"

With that, Shen Qing pushed them out of the courtyard.

After they left, Shen Qing lay down on the reclining chair and started eating the melon seeds that the scholar and his companions had bought. Mmm, they were spiced.

Sunlight streamed down, and I listened to the faint sounds of laughter coming from outside the courtyard. I ate sunflower seeds and felt the warmth of the sun.

Shen Qing's lips curled up slightly. This was the life of an ordinary person. A centurion official position meant a powerful background and endless money.

After an unknown amount of time, Fang Ming walked into the courtyard and said in a low voice.

"Sir, someone is looking for you outside the Hundred Household Office."

Shen Qing opened her eyes: "Someone's looking for me?"

"Yes, he called himself Ding Yi, and he said he was a thief."

"thief?"

Fang Ming scratched the back of his head: "Although it's strange, he did say he was a thief, and that he had something very important to discuss with you, sir."

A strange feeling suddenly welled up in my heart: Has the world gone mad?

A thief seeking out the Imperial Guards? What's the difference between that and a mouse seeking out a cat?

Shen Qing stood up and patted the sunflower seed shells off his clothes.

"Then let's go see him and see what's going on."

The two walked through the courtyard and arrived at the Hundred Household Office.

A man in his thirties knelt in the courtroom, surrounded by a dozen or so imperial guards staring intently at him.

Ding Yi knelt on the ground, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

Suddenly, the group of Imperial Guards looked away and shouted.

"Greetings, Lord Shen!"

Ding Yi turned his head and saw Shen Qing. He was shocked. He had heard that the new centurion in Xicheng was very young, but when he saw Shen Qing, he found that he was much younger than he had imagined.

Shen Qing sat on the official's hat chair in the courtroom.

"You're Ding Yi?"

Ding Yi quickly clasped his hands in a respectful greeting: "This humble one is indeed Ding Yi."

"I heard you're a thief."

He lowered his head and didn't speak.

"What business do you have with me, Commander Bai?"

Ding Yi seemed to have thought of something, and a hint of lingering fear appeared in his eyes.

"Sir, here's the situation. My brothers and I scouted a courtyard, and yesterday a few carriages delivered ten boxes inside. We thought they were treasure, so we made our move last night. But when we found the boxes, we discovered they were all filled with soybean seeds."

The surrounding Imperial Guards were somewhat puzzled. Soybean seeds?

Ding Yi hurriedly explained, "My lord, soybean seeds are nothing special, but I believe those two people are not from the Great Wu Dynasty, but rather Japanese pirates."

"One of them called the other 'Lord Sasaki'."

Upon hearing this, the courtroom erupted in discussion. To the east of Yongning County was Jiashui County, and further east was Donghai County. That was the coastal area, the territory where Japanese pirates had been harassing the region for years. Therefore, most of the Imperial Guards here were unaware of the Japanese pirates.

But Shen Qing knew immediately upon hearing the name that this guy was a Japanese pirate.

Ding Yi took two yellow beans out of his pocket.

"Sir, I also brought back two beans. Would you like to take a look?"

Fang Ming took the beans and handed them to Shen Qing. Shen Qing looked them over a few times and then popped one into her mouth.

Soon the red-labeled innate poison body activated, which meant one thing: the bean was indeed poisonous.

However, the toxicity was very weak, and it was broken down by the innate poison body in an instant. Shen Qing could only vaguely sense that it seemed to be a kind of poison with some suppressive effects, but not fatal.

Shen Qing gradually understood what these Japanese pirates wanted to do.

Three days later is the Autumn Harvest Festival. During the festival, some merchants will sell some seeds at low prices in response to the prayers for blessings. This is also the reason why people from surrounding villages and counties come to participate in the Autumn Harvest Festival and buy seeds at low prices.

These Japanese pirates probably wanted to take this opportunity to sell the poisonous seeds.

Shen Qing tossed the last bean to Fang Ming.

"Take the seeds to Shennong Academy and have someone identify them."

Fang Ming took the seeds and strode out of the courtroom.

Shen Qing got up and went to Ding Yi.

"You just said that you and your brothers scouted the location, so that means you have a few more brothers, right?"

Ding Yi broke out in a cold sweat, and his mouth went dry.

"Sir, we're just petty thieves, stealing small things. Please punish us for reporting us, don't make things difficult for us..."

Shen Qing interrupted Ding Yi and helped him up.

"What are you talking about? When did you become a thief? Aren't you my informant?"

"If those people really are Japanese pirates, then you brothers should be credited with a place in the annals of merit."

"Now, lead the way, take me to that mansion!"

After saying that, Shen Qing strode out of the Hundred Household Office. The Imperial Guards on both sides followed closely behind Shen Qing without the slightest hesitation, gripping their blades tightly.

Ding Yi froze for a moment, then his face lit up with immense joy, his brain quickly restarting after a brief pause.

Shen Qing's words just now implied that they would forgive their past mistakes and even give him credit for his service.

If they had accomplished this, the situation would have been very different; the three brothers might no longer have to be thieves.

Ding Yi quickly took long strides to keep up with Shen Qing's pace.

Ahead, Shen Qing's eyes blazed with anger. No matter where they were, did these Japanese pirates always have to cause trouble?

Are they still causing trouble in his jurisdiction?

Oh shit.

In the middle of the night, they sneak into the King of Hell's palace.

They're here to die!!

......

Huangfu

The Huang residence was exceptionally lively today, as the sacrificial official Huang Fu had invited some friends to his home.

This was a small, private gathering, and most of the attendees were Huang Fu's relatives and friends.

Huang Fuhe and another person were whispering to each other in a corner.

The man was short in stature and used the alias Huang Min. He spoke in broken English.

"Huang Fu, how are you...?"

Huang Fu bowed respectfully and said, "I report to you, sir, that everything is proceeding smoothly. We are confident that these seeds will be sold to the surrounding villages and counties of Luoshui City at the autumn harvest festival three days from now."

A maniacal smile appeared in Huang Min's eyes as he patted Huang Fu's shoulder forcefully: "Good, good, good! Well done. The Empire will not forget your achievements and will definitely give you a generous reward."

"If we succeed this time, it will surely shake the foundation of Yongning County and the foundation of the Wu Dynasty for the next ten or hundred years."

"This fertile land will belong to us sooner or later!"

Huang Fu's eyes were filled with excitement. This plan went smoothly without attracting the attention of any officials. Moreover, his superior, Huang Min, a sixth-grade expert in the Innate Realm, had also arrived in Luoshui City.

He had only one thought in his mind.

This is a sure thing.

Just then, a commotion broke out inside the house, and many people stood up to greet the elderly man who had entered.

Huang Fu straightened his clothes, strode towards the old man, and respectfully took his arm.

"Father-in-law, you've arrived."

The visitor was Zhang Zhu, Huang Fu's father-in-law, who was also a sixth-rank official in Luoshui City, serving as a sub-prefect.

Zhang Zhu stroked his beard, looking at Huang Fu with satisfaction in his eyes: "Oh, isn't this our Priest Huang?"

Huang Fu smiled shyly: "It's all thanks to my father-in-law."

Zhang Zhu was the prefectural magistrate of Luoshui City, so naturally there were many people who flattered him.

"High Priest Huang, Lord Zhang is certainly blessed with great fortune, but your appointment as High Priest is also due to your own abilities!"

A chorus of agreement erupted from all around, and the room was filled with laughter.

Just then, the courtyard gate was kicked open.

Many people looked displeased and turned to curse, but before they could even open their mouths or utter a sound, they silently lowered their heads.

Shen Qing strode into the Huang residence, with Ding Yi following closely beside him.

Ding Yi's gaze swept frantically across the courtyard, then his finger suddenly pointed at Huang Fu.

"My lord! My lord! It's him!"

Shen Qing's eyes were filled with contempt.

"So your name is Sasaki?"