How can one cultivate immortality without learning modern knowledge?

Chapter 70 Reporting to the Capital

Zhou Liangsheng was also furious: "I was in the county office last night and didn't hear a single gunshot. Are you saying I'm deaf?"

"If the magistrate is pretending to be deaf and dumb, then please go to the marketplace and see for yourself!" Du Yuesheng refused to budge an inch.

"Let's go see! I want to see what strange thing has happened—"

Walk there.

Zhou Liangsheng's heart tightened little by little.

My God!

These bosses weren't lying.

The devastation in the city was far worse than they described.

More than 80% of the shops were looted, and there were even quite a few corpses on the streets.

His vision blurred in waves.

Zhou Wenju!

You unfilial son, did you do this?

But he absolutely could not mention this in front of all the bosses, so he could only return home with a gloomy face.

Upon his return home, his wife, as was her habit, came over, and she too had overheard some of the news—

But Zhou Liangsheng ignored him: "Old Qi!"

"exist!"

"That—that unfilial son, where was he last night?" Zhou Liangsheng asked.

"After the Second Young Master left the Master's study yesterday, he went to Jingtian Nunnery and is not in the city," Old Qi said.

"Go to Jingtian Nunnery?" Zhou Liangsheng frowned, his eyes fierce.

"Yes, Lao Qi, what is Wen'er doing at Jingtian Nunnery?" the lady asked.

"That nun Suxin from Jingtian Nunnery is young, beautiful, and has unparalleled charm. The Second Young Master—the Second Young Master saw her once yesterday during the day and was completely captivated—" Old Qi didn't finish his sentence.

The lady immediately understood: "This child, he was captivated by a village girl in Hexi Valley back then, and now a nun has appeared. Where did he learn this flirtatious behavior from?"

Zhou Liangsheng glared at her fiercely, "You motherfucker, what time is it and you're still spouting this nonsense?"

Do you still think he learned it from me?

I've never been a womanizer in my entire life, how can he learn from me?

Alright, let's change the subject. He asked a question he knew absolutely nothing about: "Old Qi, you really didn't hear any gunshots last night?"

Old Qi scratched his head slightly: "Sir, did you hear that?"

Zhou Liangsheng shook his head slightly: "This is what I don't understand the most. Logically speaking, with the battle so fierce and the county government office so close by, I should have been able to hear it, but I just couldn't hear it."

"Yes, everything that happened last night was strange," Old Qi said. "But then again, it might not be such a bad thing after all—"

"Hmm—" Zhou Liangsheng suddenly looked up: "Come inside and talk!"

He strode back to his study, with Lao Qi following behind.

"My lord, the matter of the other day was already beyond reproach. Adding another matter—in fact—to use a folk proverb, 'Many lice don't itch, many debts don't worry,' it won't make things worse. On the contrary, it will provide some convenience for your future governance of the people. Therefore, I said that the calamity in Qishan County last night may not necessarily be a bad thing."

Zhou Liangsheng stared at him for a long time: "Are these also the words of that rebellious son?"

Old Qi immediately shook his head: "No, absolutely not—this is something that just came to my mind. How could it be you, young master? You were so preoccupied with that stunningly beautiful nun from Jingtian Nunnery last night that you never expected something like this to happen."

Zhou Liangsheng stared at him coldly, his face bearing a "guess if I believe you" expression.

Old Qi scratched his head slightly: "Master, although the young master is fond of women and has some flaws in his conduct, overall—cough—he is still quite sensible—"

Zhou Liangsheng sighed deeply: "Old Qi, you have no children, so you probably can't understand how I feel right now—back in the capital, I saw too many spoiled brats among the sons of officials, and I always tried to discipline my own children, hoping they would have lofty ambitions. But today, I would rather he—I would rather he were just a womanizer, a spoiled brat with no ambition."

Old Qi laughed: "There are actually thresholds to being a playboy. With your impoverished official status, it would be difficult for your own children to become playboys."

"You—you always change the subject!" Zhou Liang-sheng shook his head slightly. "Never mind, I'll revise the memorial!"

He picked up his pen and added a line to the memorial that had already been written on the table—

Old Qi's gaze swept over it, taking in the entirety of the memorial—

"Your Majesty, I, Zhou Liangsheng, the magistrate of Qishan County, Lingnan Prefecture, shamefully report: On the evening of the eighth day of the tenth month, a peasant uprising broke out in the Hexi Valley within my jurisdiction. More than 300 people, armed with firearms, stormed the seven manors of the local wealthy He family in one night, killing nearly a thousand of their servants, burning more than 700 houses, and stealing a huge sum of 200,000 taels of silver. On the same night, another 400 villagers, also armed with firearms, stormed the local sect, Cangshan Sect, killing the sect leader, Li Yuancang, and nearly a thousand of his subordinate cultivators. Furthermore, on the night of the ninth day, they attacked merchants in the county town with guns, looting more than 300 shops belonging to the He and Li families."

This account of the night of the ninth day was just added by Zhou Liangsheng.

The memorial was written last night.

When I wrote it, the attack on the merchants had not yet happened, so of course I didn't write about it.

It has been added now.

The important part is what comes after —

"Upon investigation, this popular uprising stems from decades of accumulated grievances between the 30,000 villagers of Hexi Valley and the He and Li families. The villagers have repeatedly accused the He and Li families of seizing their property and oppressing them. This guilty official failed to handle the matter properly, ultimately leading to this disaster—this is my fault! What pains me even more is my son! My son, Wenju, made this weapon called a 'gun' for the villagers, indirectly becoming an accomplice to the uprising. Based on this, I have apprehended my rebellious son and await the court's judgment—this guilty official is incompetent and dares not presume to assume the position of county magistrate. I humbly request Your Majesty to select a virtuous and capable person to serve as the county magistrate of Qishan, to bring peace to the people and deter the wicked."

At the end, it was stamped with the bright red seal of the county magistrate.

Old Qi's heart was filled with turbulent emotions.

In the end, everything turned out exactly as the second young master had said.

The entire memorial made no accusations against the two vice ministers; all the responsibility lay with him and Zhou Wenju.

However, those numbers between the lines—

"You must personally deliver this memorial out of Lingnan and send it to the capital from the Wenyi Tower in Haizhou. Do not delay," Zhou Liangsheng said.

"yes!"

Old Qi lifted his leg and walked away.

He left and vanished without a trace.

It was only just dawn at that moment.

In Luoyang, the capital city, atop Dongshan Mountain, a red sun rises. The frost of last night drips and drizzles under the sun, creating a light mist that paints a picture of tranquility and peace on Dongshan Mountain this winter day.

On this winter morning, the capital of the Great Yu Kingdom was peaceful and serene.

Inside the palace, in the Hall of Political Virtue, as the chief eunuch announced, "Your Majesty is holding court," all the ministers knelt down simultaneously.

His Majesty strode in.

He was nearly sixty, but showed no signs of aging. He walked briskly across the red carpet in the middle, went straight to the end of the golden hall, sat on the dragon throne, and waved his hand gently: "All of you, rise!"

All the ministers stood up at the same time.

The first row consisted of Prime Minister Du Tiangang, Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion Li Lüyi, Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy Chen Ji, and First-Rank Official Deng Yuzhou.

These are four of the eight pillars of the imperial court.

A high-ranking official of the first rank.