Great Zhou: Emperor Wu, I need to check your taxes.

"What?!" Shangguan Wan'er's pupils contracted slightly.

He arrived from the Imperial Guard in no more than a quarter of an hour.

Lai Junchen arrived so far ahead of schedule?

This guy is way too confident!

Just then, Wu Zetian's majestic voice echoed from inside the hall.

"Is Wan'er outside? Come in."

Shangguan Wan'er took a deep breath, tidied her appearance, and stepped into the main hall.

The hall was resplendent with gold and jade, and filled with the fragrance of incense.

But the atmosphere was somewhat strange.

Lai Junchen, the usually arrogant and ruthless chieftain, was now kneeling beneath the imperial steps, his purple official robes looking somewhat empty.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject pays respects." Shangguan Wan'er knelt on one knee and bowed.

Wu Zetian sat upright on the dragon throne, her loose robes unable to conceal her imposing figure, her expression remaining consistently solemn.

"Wan'er is here. Just now, my dear minister was apologizing to me."

"Apologize?" Shangguan Wan'er was taken aback.

Lai Junchen slowly straightened up, his face filled with heart-wrenching regret, and said in a low voice:

"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"

"As the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, I was unaware that some of my subordinates were using my name to amass wealth, even colluding with merchants to line their own pockets!"

"If it weren't for Lord Shangguan's discovery of the Imperial Medical Bureau's private accounts a few days ago, I don't know how much longer I would have failed His Majesty's grace!"

At this point, Lai Junchen slowly kowtowed.

"Thanks to that private account book, and the fact that the Imperial Guards handed over that wicked monk Faming to the Court of Judicial Review, I was able to uncover many more cases of corruption and embezzlement!"

"Just now, I personally led men to raid three other offices of officials who were either affiliated with the Judicial Office or colluded with merchants. A total of two million strings of cash were seized!"

"I dare not keep a single penny of this money; I have already had it all transported to the national treasury, hoping it will atone for my negligence in managing my subordinates and my oversight!"

Two million strings of cash!

Upon hearing those four words, Shangguan Wan'er felt a buzzing in her head.

She investigated and confiscated Zhao Sihai's property, and only after much scheming did she obtain 1.2 million strings of cash.

In order to protect himself and distance himself from the situation, Lai Junchen actually turned against his own people, and he spent two million guan in one go!

This is a brave act of self-sacrifice!

They used money to buy off all the blame!

Wu Zetian looked at Lai Junchen kneeling on the ground, a playful smile curving her lips.

She was short of money.

They are desperately short of money.

Compared to this huge sum of money, the deaths of a few merchant ministers, or even the power struggles between the Imperial Guard and the Court of Judicial Review, were nothing more than child's play in her eyes.

"Although Minister Lai is not strict in managing his subordinates, his attempt to mend the fence after the sheep are lost is timely."

Wu Zetian parted her red lips slightly, her tone carrying a hint of forgiveness.

Shangguan Wan'er stood aside, watching Lai Junchen's slightly trembling yet undisguised smug back, her heart turning cold.

Although they had worked together for many years, this was the first time she had experienced another layer of terror from this "living Yama".

ruthless.

Be ruthless to others, but even more ruthless to yourself!

A moment later, Lai Junchen left.

But the atmosphere inside Zhenguan Hall still seemed frozen.

Shangguan Wan'er took a deep breath, staggered forward, and presented the memorial.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards have successfully completed their mission. They have searched Zhao Sihai's residence and found a total of 1.2 million strings of cash and valuables."

At this point, she paused slightly, lowered her head even further, and spoke with a heavy, apologetic tone.

"But I am incompetent... After Zhao Sihai and his family were imprisoned in the Inner Guard prison, they died suddenly and mysteriously, bleeding from all seven orifices."

"Your Majesty, I failed in my duty of supervision, causing the lead to be lost. I beg Your Majesty's punishment!"

"Oh? Dead?"

Wu Zetian's hand did not pause as she opened the memorial, nor did she even frown.

"That's interesting. Just now, Lai Junchen from the Judicial Office also tearfully told me that the evil monk Faming accidentally 'escaped' during interrogation and his whereabouts are unknown."

"Now, on your side, Zhao Sihai is also dead."

Wu Zetian closed the memorial, her slender fingers, painted with red nail polish, lightly tapping the armrest, as if she could see through all the ghostly tricks beneath the red walls and yellow tiles.

"Both prisons experienced problems on the same day. It seems the feng shui of the prisons in this capital city isn't very good."

Shangguan Wan'er knelt on both knees, her buttocks pressing against her heels, and a layer of cold sweat seeped out from her back.

She knew that His Majesty knew everything.

Faming was silenced, and Zhao Sihai was also silenced.

But he couldn't prove who had silenced them.

"That's enough."

Wu Zetian placed the two memorials side by side on her imperial desk, her expression slightly relaxed.

"When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out; there's no point in pursuing the matter further for money."

"Today, the national treasury received over three million strings of cash, which is enough to relieve my urgent needs. As for those dead people... let them be sacrifices made for this money."

She waved her hand, her tone revealing a coldness and balance unique to emperors.

"This matter ends here. From now on, the Imperial Guard and the Court of Judicial Review must perform their duties diligently. I do not want to see such 'coincidences' again."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Shangguan Wan'er slowly kowtowed.

Although I was unwilling, I had no choice but to accept it.

This game appeared to be a draw, but in reality, I lost.

Lai Junchen used two million strings of cash and even more ruthless methods to prove to His Majesty that the Judicial Office was still an indispensable and swift weapon.

Although he seemed to have uncovered a lot, in the end, Lai Junchen was the one who was implicated the most.

This is the most crucial point.

Seemingly noticing Shangguan Wan'er's dejection, Wu Zetian rose and slowly walked to her, offering a helping hand.

"Wan'er, don't overthink it."

Wu Zetian's voice softened slightly; she only revealed this kind of intimacy, as if she were treating a junior, when she was alone in private.

"Lai Junchen is a vicious dog. I keep him around because there are some dirty and tiring jobs that only dogs can do."

"But if he bites too hard, I can knock his teeth out at any time."

"These past few days, your inner guards have done a very good job. Under the pretext of auditing the accounts, those ministers who usually act arrogantly due to their seniority have now toned down considerably. This deterrent effect is what I value most."

As she spoke, Wu Zetian pulled Shangguan Wan'er's hand directly into her bosom, then turned and walked towards the depths of the beaded curtain in the inner palace.

"Come in with me, I have some private matters to discuss..."

……

Night falls, Yong'anfang, Lin's residence.

As the moon rose above the willow branches, two overlapping shadows were projected onto the window paper of the west wing.

Outside the door, two little maids, Chun Tao and Xia He, were squatting against the wall, their faces as red as ripe apples, and even their ears were burning.

From inside the room came Su Qingtan's suppressed, trembling voice.

Chun Tao, standing outside the door, covered her mouth, her eyes wide open, and whispered to Xia He:

"My goodness, young master usually seems so refined, I never expected... I never expected him to be so capable? It's been half an hour already..."