Wuxia: Start with max-level Nine Yang Divine Skill

The wildly popular online novel, "Wuxia: Starting with Max Level Nine Yang Divine Skill," is a heartfelt work by author Old Umbrella Also Sheds the Rain, available on Cola Novels.

The father-in-law continued speaking to himself, his tone carrying a sinister smugness.

"Do you think you're the only ones who were the first to connect me with the disaster relief fund robbery?"

When our family fell from power and collapsed, countless people in the court and among the people took advantage of our misfortune!

Those upright officials, ministers, and scholars wished they could drag our family into the deepest abyss and never let us rise again, and they dug up all the things our family had done.

Even a small mistake is blown out of proportion and a crime is fabricated even when there is no mistake at all.

They fabricated all sorts of accusations against our family, such as abducting women, illegally amassing soldiers, forming cliques to disrupt the government, and plotting rebellion... They came up with all sorts of outrageous charges!

Some of them are indeed related to our family, while others are completely fictitious.

"And the theft of disaster relief funds that our family handled back then has been used by many fools to make a fuss, submitting memorials to impeach us, saying that we embezzled funds, framed loyal officials, and caused disaster victims to be displaced and starving to death everywhere..."

He paused, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"It's a pity that most of the officials who fabricated charges and made baseless accusations got away with it."

But it was precisely those who really seized on some of our solid mistakes...

In particular, those "upright officials" and "loyal ministers" who made a big fuss about the disaster relief fund case, and who called our family members worse than beasts and a scourge to the country and the people, all ended up in trouble!

Some were exiled, some were demoted, and some were dismissed from their posts!

But our family, the real culprit, was ultimately lifted up high by the officials and then gently put down, simply being dismissed from all official positions and exiled to Yanzhou!

Do you know... why is that?!

Li Fu paused for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"Because some things are not things you want to do yourself, but things you do for others."

Some sins may appear to fall on your head, but their root lies in others.

The harsher the insults, the more they target the true mastermind; how could he not be furious?

This Zhao family's rule is truly doomed to end sooner or later.

Upon hearing this, the eunuch suddenly looked at Li Fu with surprise in his eyes.

"Huh?"

You...you actually thought of this?

The intricacies of this situation are so complex that even seasoned veterans of officialdom might not be able to see through them quickly!

You, a mere constable in blue robes... are not simple, truly not simple!

What surprised him even more was that Li Fu did not show any sign of sudden realization; instead, he remained calm, as if he was not surprised by these sordid tricks in the court.

Li Fu's words subtly revealed a sense of disgust.

"What's so strange about that?"

Find someone else to do the dirty and tiring work, and take the blame and blame for everything.

Such methods are not only common in the imperial court, but also among local magistrates and gang leaders.

The imperial court is nothing more than a larger makeshift operation, and the emperor's methods of manipulation are not necessarily much more sophisticated than theirs.

"You...how dare you speak ill of the Emperor like this! You have no respect whatsoever!"

Upon guessing, the father-in-law became furious, but with his neck being choked, he dared not move and could only glare angrily.

Li Fu applied a little force, forcing him to groan, and then directly stated his position.

"It is truly a strange story that those who wrote letters criticizing the evil deeds of powerful eunuchs suffered, while the truly evil eunuchs were spared."

But once you understand it, it's not surprising.

Because the one who truly wants to do this evil is not you, eunuch, but the supreme emperor on the dragon throne!

The harsher those people curse you, the more they accuse you of being utterly immoral, but in reality, every word they utter is like a slap in the face to the emperor!

And you… in the eyes of the current officials, are nothing more than a chamber pot that has been used for a long time. Though dirty and smelly, it is convenient to use, and there is some old affection between them. Therefore, they have not taken your life, but simply thrown you far away, out of sight, out of mind.

"Not bad...not bad!" The eunuch gave Li Fu another deep look.

"You guessed it all. I haven't even said it outright, yet you've already figured it all out... Do you know where those three million taels of disaster relief funds went?"

Li Fu remained calm and did not answer questions about the obvious consequences of this robbery, which involved the emperor's shadow.

But Liu Mianfeng, who was standing to the side, realized what was happening and, filled with shock and anger, exclaimed.

"You...you mean, it was the current emperor who ordered you to rob three million taels of disaster relief funds?!"

How is that possible!

All things under heaven and all people belong to the government!

How could he steal his own money and harm his own people?

That's hundreds of thousands of lives!

You're talking nonsense!

When the old man looked at Liu Mianfeng, who was trembling with excitement, his eyes were filled with pity and mockery, as if he were looking at an ignorant child.

"Although a monarch possesses the whole world, he cannot truly do whatever he wants."

Putting aside other matters, the emperor's private treasury and the national treasury were separate.

The people of the world are indeed subjects under the rule of the monarch, servants, crops...

Li Fu sighed softly and replied.

"That is why, in the eyes of this master of the world, what guilt is there in doing what he considers right and proper because of a temporary need?"

Even if it meant the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, in his heart...

It's probably no different from a landowner who's unwilling to spend money on medicine, saving the money for food, drink, and pleasure, watching helplessly as a hundred acres of fertile land wither and die.

Liu Mianfeng couldn't accept it and was almost going crazy.

"Of course I know that involves hundreds of thousands of lives."

Li Fu paused for a moment, then lowered his voice, which carried a deep weariness and sarcasm.

"It's a pity that our emperor, who sits high above the nine heavens and looks down on all living beings, has probably never truly seen the lives of these ants."

To benefit one person at the expense of the entire world is, in his view, a matter of course.

Otherwise... how could there have been the wasteful and chaotic "Flower and Stone Tribute" that burdened the people and caused chaos throughout the land?

For his own selfish desires, he caused countless families to be torn apart, people to be displaced, and how many people did he ever care?

If any other emperor had done such a thing, I might have been quite shocked. But if it were him…”

Li Fu said in a deep voice.

"I'm not surprised at all."

Even so, a chill appeared in his eyes, like an undercurrent slowly gathering beneath the ice.

"No, I still don't believe it," Liu Mianfeng said excitedly.

"You eunuch, if you hadn't secretly robbed those three million taels of disaster relief funds, how could you have been so extravagant and wasteful?"

"Then tell me, if a eunuch has accumulated a huge fortune in the first half of his life, what else would he do in his old age if not squander it?"

Who should I pass this on to?

The father-in-law sneered.

"I spend money as much as most people can't imagine, partly because I don't need to think about the future."

"So, the robbery of the disaster relief funds was really the Emperor's doing?"

Liu Mianfeng was distraught, as if his beliefs had collapsed.

Li Fudao said, "There was no robbery."

"What?"

Liu Mianfeng was puzzled.

Li Fu's gaze was sharp as he stared directly at the eunuch.

"I'm afraid there has never been a case of robbery where relief funds were replaced without anyone noticing."

Even with your power and methods as a eunuch, it would be too complicated and easy to expose if you were to switch hundreds of chests of silver midway under strict surveillance.

It would be better to start from the source, and tamper with the money when it was being transported out of the Ministry of Revenue.

The long, winding convoy that stretched for over a mile wasn't initially loaded with silver, but rather... stones!

Am I right?"

One guess is the grandfather's way.

"That's right... The convoy transporting the disaster relief funds was filled with stones in its boxes from the moment it left the Ministry of Revenue's treasury."

How could hundreds of chests filled with silver be switched without anyone noticing?

That's too much trouble...it's completely unnecessary.

"So the thing you had Situ Li do wasn't to switch the silver, but rather to have him, as the General of the Army, watch over the silver chest to ensure that no one opened it and found it contained stones, right?"

Li Fudao.

"good."

"No...impossible..." Liu Mianfeng felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He staggered backward, almost unable to stand, and was on the verge of collapse.

"You mean... this was a trap from the very beginning?"

The imperial court approached our Changsheng Escort Agency to escort the imperial spears, but from the very beginning, they were sending us to our deaths.

"You knew all along that the box contained stones, you were prepared all along, and you're using us as scapegoats for the stolen disaster relief funds?!"

They fought bloody battles along the way, and when they were finally transported to their destination, they discovered that the imperial spear that had been switched and caused the execution of their entire escort agency was originally just a stone.

Then his father, his uncles, and their Changsheng Escort Agency must be a joke.

"That's right, there was no robbery at all from beginning to end!"

How can it be called robbery when the emperor uses the funds of his own court?

Furthermore, you must not think of our current emperor as a foolish ruler who only knows how to indulge in pleasure.

The father-in-law sneered, his tone carrying a complex and unspoken meaning.

"My family has served the Emperor for many years, and he... is the most profound and ambitious monarch I have ever seen in my life!"

His every word and action was deeply meaningful, and certainly not for mere pleasure.

"Then he mentioned the three million taels of disaster relief funds."

When did the severe drought in Northwest China occur?

It was precisely after our dynasty suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Northern Barbarians and signed a humiliating treaty!

Although the treaty stipulated that tribute should be paid annually in exchange for peace, the barbarians could tear up that piece of paper at will and could send troops back into the pass at any time.

The imperial court urgently needed money to rebuild its military and strengthen its border defenses; where would it find the extra funds to provide relief to disaster victims?

So...

He drew out his words, with a cold, matter-of-fact tone.

"Those hundreds of thousands of disaster victims, if anyone has to blame, it's this drought... it just came at the worst possible time."

They suffered a disaster...and at the worst possible time!

"Snapped!"

A resounding slap landed hard on the father-in-law's face, so forceful that it knocked out two of his molars, and blood mixed with saliva splattered everywhere.

It was Li Fu who made the move.

"Do you dare to go to the Northwest and say these words to the graves of those hundreds of thousands of starving corpses?"

Do you dare to let your brilliant and ambitious official go down to the common people and personally tell those dying famine victims back then—"For the safety of the court, for the sake of preventing the collapse of the nation, it is only right that you suffer a little, that hundreds of thousands starve to death?!"

Li Fu's eyes were icy cold, and his voice was frighteningly calm.

"Moreover, they said the silver was used to replenish military supplies... In the twenty-three years since then, why haven't I seen the Great Zhao army regain its strength and launch a counterattack against the Northern Barbarians?"

But I've seen your ambitious king, in his later years, become greedy for pleasure and start to exploit the world in various ways, plundering rare flowers and stones, and creating the wasteful and extravagant Flower and Stone Tribute!

It sounds so grand and dignified.

Did that sum of money really go towards military equipment?

"I'm afraid they filled the internal treasury to satisfy our selfish desires!"

Li Fuyue said that the clearer his thoughts became, the more he remembered some unexpected key points, and he quickly said.

"Speaking of which, where did our current emperor suffer a crushing defeat when he confidently led his troops into battle?"

Right on the northwestern frontier, in the provinces of Yan, Qin, and You!

Does he recall his humiliation of utter defeat and loss of prestige whenever he sees these place names in his memorials?

"Does he wish all the people in these places were dead so that he could erase this shameful memory?"

He continued.

"I still remember the disastrous defeat of our army that year, when hundreds of thousands of soldiers were wiped out in one battle, and the northern barbarians invaded."

In many prefectures along the northwestern border, there are still many border generals and officials who were promoted by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong and who still cherish their former masters. They are secretly colluding, and some are even threatening to support a descendant of Emperor Taizu... This matter must be a thorn in his side.

Therefore, by taking advantage of the theft of the imperial treasury, he could carry out a major purge of officials in the Northwest and replace them with his own confidants... killing several birds with one stone, what a brilliant scheme!

Unfortunately, he used all this profound cunning on power struggles and consolidating his imperial throne, rather than on governing the country and ensuring the well-being of the people!

Previously, the court and the common people only knew about the theft of disaster relief funds, which enraged the emperor, resulting in the demotion and exile of all officials in the area. It was initially thought that this was the result of punishment, but now it seems that it was one of the true objectives.

The funds were already allocated before the disaster relief money was lost.

"You...you actually thought of these things?"

The eunuch never expected that Li Fu, based solely on his revelation of the emperor's connection to him, could instantly connect so many secrets and key points, and that they were so accurate and nearly identical to the truth of the matter!

Even we ourselves didn't expect this at first glance.

I only noticed that the emperor looked displeased when he saw the memorial requesting disaster relief from the Northwest, and he kept looking at the memorial about military expenses for a long time. I guessed that the emperor did not want to provide disaster relief and was worried about military expenses.

So he secretly kept the money and transferred it to the imperial treasury.

Liu Mianfeng said in disbelief, "You dare to make such a decision on your own without official orders?!"

Li Fu snorted coldly.

"These close attendants around the emperor are best at figuring out his intentions."

With just a glance or a frown from their master, they should know what to do.

Especially this eunuch who got the title, he and his master probably already had a tacit understanding and perfect harmony.

This is by no means the first time something like this has happened.

Besides, would the emperor openly discuss such a matter?

There must always be room for maneuver, so that if things go wrong in the future, one can claim that the eunuch faction abused their power and misled the emperor, while one remains a wise and benevolent ruler.

"Not bad...not bad..." The eunuch seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and sighed, "This is the unfathomable nature of the Emperor's heart!"

Sometimes even my husband, who's good at guessing, can't tell whether we've actually guessed His Majesty's will correctly.

Or perhaps... His Majesty needs someone like me, someone who can read his mind, to do things for him that he can't say outright.

"Afterwards, we discovered that the officials knew there was a huge sum of money in the imperial treasury, and they knew that many officials in the Northwest were innocent, but they still used the storm we stirred up to purge the Northwest officialdom from top to bottom..."

"Only now do I realize that what I saw was merely one step in His Majesty's plan, while the grand scheme he has in mind has already been laid out ten steps ahead."

It is conceivable that the eunuch, as a close confidant of that emperor, still held a certain degree of respect and awe for that official even after being demoted and exiled.

"Stop trying to glorify our current official."

If he were truly capable, how could the world have fallen into such a chaotic state?

Li Fu snorted coldly.

The truth has now been revealed, and the entire case of the robbery of disaster relief funds has been exposed.

However, this truth is probably too heavy for anyone to bear, let alone make public.