Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 620 What's the point of a conspiracy? If you're going to play, play it openly.

In fact, before the plaque entered the city, the wealthy people there already understood the intricacies of the matter, but the problem was that it seemed to be an unsolvable puzzle.

If they don't produce anything, Wei Changsheng's ineffective disaster relief will be confirmed. Even if he has extraordinary abilities, he will inevitably be transferred to another post. This is probably the best outcome. More likely, the entire Lingxi region will be stripped of its officials from top to bottom.

So what lies before them now is an obvious, open scheme. They can choose not to take it, but they will have to bear the consequences of not doing so.

And if they leave, at least their names are left on the inscription at the city gate. Compared to ultimately losing everything, a plaque and an inscription seem like a huge gain. Whenever someone asks them if it was worth spending so much to get such a name, they will be more satisfied.

Everyone said in unison – it was worth it.

There's no point in putting on high-sounding words. In the adult world, there's no right or wrong, only advantages and disadvantages. They did indeed choose the right path.

So, who's the bad guy here? Actually, no one is a bad guy. Everyone's a good person, and we're all doing well.

Meanwhile, Emperor Jingtai, having finished a meal at the tavern, had already caught up on most of the gossip in Guizhou Prefecture. After understanding the cause and effect of the matter, he propped his head up with one hand and tapped the table with the other.

"Your Majesty, what is bothering you?"

Jinlian leaned closer and asked in a low voice, but Emperor Jingtai shook his head: "I was thinking, if the same thing were in front of me, how would I deal with it?"

"Who are you dealing with? How are you going to deal with this? This is an open scheme with no solution, so just do as I say." Li Shimin poured himself a cup of wine. "If you were a merchant, you would certainly not want to spend this money, but if you don't spend this money, your future will be full of hardships. There are not many fools in the world, and if there were, you wouldn't be able to get rich."

"Not necessarily."

"It only means you can't get rich." Li Shimin glanced at Emperor Jingtai: "It doesn't mean you can't be emperor."

"Oh!" Emperor Jingtai pointed at Li Shimin: "You scoundrel, you have no respect for your elders! I'll cut your tongue out when we get back."

“Cut out my tongue, and I’ll see what you’re made of. If you’re so capable, then tell Xia Daosheng to send troops to Chang’an.”

The two attacked each other along the way, and each had their wins and losses. At first, Jinlian was quite surprised, but she had gotten used to it over the days.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, let's find a place to rest first. You two are exhausted these days."

"For Jinlian's sake, I won't bother with you, you bastard."

Emperor Jingtai got up and left in a huff. Jinlian hurriedly paid the shopkeeper, and then the three of them left the shop and headed straight for Wei Changsheng's residence.

After this round of wealthy merchants cashing out, coupled with the gradual resumption of shipping, basic living conditions here can be guaranteed. Although commerce is significantly weaker than before, social conditions are very stable, and the people have begun to resume production with the help of the Tuntian Division.

"Giving farmers compensation equivalent to a season's income and exempting everyone from taxes for the year—that's a really generous gesture."

As they walked, Li Shimin suddenly turned back to Emperor Jingtai and said, "If you ask me, Xia Lin is the most suitable person to be emperor. His strategic thinking and vision are unmatched by ordinary people. Just his special handling of special cases is enough for most people in the world to learn."

Upon hearing this, Jinlian's heart tightened, and she quickly looked at Emperor Jingtai. After all, these words clearly had the air of inciting discord between the emperor and his ministers. If Emperor Jingtai took them to heart, then Lord Xia's future days would likely be in trouble.

"Then why don't you let him become the emperor of your rebellious Tang dynasty? Maybe if you serve as his subject, you can conquer a vast empire. What do you say?"

"Then can you guess who was the small, isolated court back then?"

Emperor Jingtai spread his hands and laughed, "It can't be me, can it? The legitimate succession of China is only through inheritance and abdication, not just someone's word. If you're willing to let him become your emperor who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, I'll hand over the He Shi Bi jade. Do you dare, Erfeng?"

Erfeng immediately shut her mouth, while Emperor Jingtai merely chuckled: "Erfeng, don't you understand the spirit of our Great Wei? What my father did, I will naturally do as well. Indeed, I am not ambitious, but with heroes rising up everywhere, someone as incompetent as me can no longer expect to achieve anything great. It would be commendable if I could protect the country like my father did. But if someone can turn the tide, the country is at my disposal. I will then personally go to Mount Tai to abdicate and pass on the rightful throne."

"really?"

"You still need to practice." Emperor Jingtai laughed heartily, "You're not yet good enough for me to look at you with any respect."

After he finished speaking, he walked forward with his head held high, and Jinlian behind him suddenly felt that at this moment, Emperor Jingtai's back view truly resembled that of a majestic emperor.

Yes, he has matured a lot on this journey and has gradually shed his petty and childish ways.

"Oh, just wait. When my army besieges the city, I will slaughter your Jinling City."

"Heh." Emperor Jingtai shook his finger: "Massacre of a city will ruin the fate of the country. Just don't massacre the city and then say you were acting on Li Yuan's orders."

Li Shimin laughed heartily: "After all, I am a hero of my time."

Emperor Jingtai waved his sleeve dismissively, while Li Shimin squinted at his retreating figure, a cold smile on his face. This expression was caught by Jinlian, whose disdainful look truly made her shudder.

This is probably another kind of imperial bearing... However, at this moment, she was only worried about Xia Lin, because no matter which of the two people grew up, Xia Lin would be their enemy.

Lord Xia, you absolutely must not let your guard down...

Soon they arrived at Wei Changsheng's residence. Wei Changsheng was recuperating at home. The hard work and worries of the past few days had made him tense all over. Now that the situation had stabilized, he relaxed and fell seriously ill, almost dying.

He was taking a nap in the courtyard when suddenly an official from the mansion came to report: "Sir, there are two men and a woman outside who want to see you."

"Has anyone given their name?"

"No, they said the adults will know when they go."

At this moment, Wei Changsheng's heart skipped a beat, because he had heard a few days ago that Emperor Jingtai had secretly gone on an incognito visit. Could it really be Emperor Jingtai?

With the thought that he must not do anything reckless, Wei Changsheng tied the headband back on, then applied some ointment to his face, making his complexion appear even more sallow and haggard, and his body naturally emitted a strong medicinal smell.

He stumbled and staggered to the door, and upon opening it, he saw the face of Emperor Jingtai, with Li Shimin, the Prince of Shu of the Tang Dynasty, behind him.

He had met Li Shimin before and even discussed trade between this place and Sichuan, so he was naturally familiar with him. But what surprised him most was that Emperor Jingtai had actually come with him.

"Your Majesty~"

Wei Changsheng immediately knelt before Emperor Jingtai, his acting skills on full display, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, I am utterly incompetent... I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness..."

Emperor Jingtai looked Wei Changsheng up and down, then walked inside without saying a word. Wei Changsheng knelt on the spot and kowtowed without moving until a report came from inside that His Majesty had summoned him. Only then did he get up and stumble into the inner hall.

At this moment, Emperor Jingtai was sitting on the throne, holding a teacup in his hand. Li Shimin and Jinlian were no longer by his side. He was looking at Wei Changsheng with a cold face, while Wei Changsheng was lying on the ground with his buttocks sticking up high, not daring to move.

"Wei Qing."

"Your Majesty, I am here..." Emperor Jingtai lowered his eyelids: "How have I treated you?"

"Without my sovereign, I would not be where I am today; my life, my family, and my name are all gifts from my sovereign."

"What a fine 'all bestowed by the emperor'!" Emperor Jingtai said coldly. "Do you think that because I'm in Jinling, you're above the law?"

"Your subject... dares not."

"You really don't dare!?"

Suddenly, Emperor Jingtai slammed his hand on the tea table, making the teacups rattle loudly: "I think you've gone too far! Daosheng has reported everything you've done here. Changsheng, you deserve to die a thousand deaths, you are utterly wicked!"

“Your Majesty, I deserve to die… I beg Your Majesty to grant me death. I also beg Your Majesty to consider that I have worked diligently for many years and to give me some dignity.”

Emperor Jingtai closed his eyes, and the room was eerily quiet. After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and stared intently at Wei Changsheng: "I cherish talent and trust those I employ. Changsheng, you have disappointed me greatly."

At this moment, Wei Changsheng wept loudly, his head hitting the ground with a thud, repeatedly saying that he was ashamed of failing the emperor's favor and only wanted to die.

Emperor Jingtai's brows furrowed slowly, and he asked, "Where did Daosheng go?"

"Lord Xia has gone to that land of the natives, and he should be able to return today."

"Alright." Emperor Jingtai stood up: "I am also tired from the journey. Go and arrange a room for me. We will decide everything after Daosheng returns. He can decide whether you live or die."

"Someone come quickly! Someone come quickly to clean and tidy up His Majesty!"

After finally settling Emperor Jingtai in, Wei Changsheng sat on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was just as Xia Gong had said. His Majesty did not intend to kill him, but a reprimand was necessary.

But who can be blamed for this? He can only blame himself for being a useless piece of trash, not even a match for Xia Gong.

Xia Lin returned to Guizhou today, and the moment he landed, he heard a report from one of Wei Changsheng's generals that he urgently needed to meet with Commander Xia at his residence.

Upon hearing this news, Xia Lin had already guessed most of it. From the mysterious demeanor and tone, he could roughly determine that Emperor Jingtai had arrived.

"I'll have to give him a good scolding later."

Xia Lin felt that if he didn't make Emperor Jingtai feel extremely uncomfortable, this itchy-skinned bastard wouldn't know how big a mistake he had made this time. So he stormed into Wei Changsheng's residence without even taking off his armor.

Once inside, Wei Changsheng saw his murderous aura and assumed he was there to assassinate the king, so he quickly stopped him, saying, "Forget it, forget it..."

At this moment, Emperor Jingtai was actually behind the screen, but he didn't dare to breathe loudly, because he had indeed gone too far this time. He had even shaken off his guards and followed a prince of the empire alone to the disaster area. If he encountered any dangers on the way and died, the world would really be in chaos.

Knowing Xia Lin's personality and what he knew about Xia Lin, he would definitely unleash a sarcastic and abusive tirade if Xia Lin barged in.

If there were no other people around, it would be fine, but this is in front of so many people. Emperor Jingtai is an emperor after all. Doesn't he have any dignity?

"Wei Changsheng, you step aside first. I'll deal with this scoundrel." Emperor Jingtai felt that taking the initiative was more reliable, so he dismissed Wei Changsheng and said, "Dismiss your attendants. I want to teach this bastard a lesson."

Wei Changsheng pursed his lips and lowered his head: "Look..."

After he left, Xia Lin took off his gauntlet and threw it on the table with a "thud," causing Emperor Jingtai inside to tremble.

At this moment, Xia Lin walked around the screen and tilted her head to look at Emperor Jingtai.

Emperor Jingtai chuckled and said, "Well... there were too many people just now, so I'll apologize to you now."

"Admit your mistake!?" Xia Lin's eyes widened. "You are the emperor, the foundation of the country's stability. I ask you, what if something happened to you on this journey!? You dared to abandon your guards, you dared to travel with Li Shimin? What were you thinking! Furthermore, with floods raging, you should have been in the capital strategizing and managing the situation, but you ran off instead!?"

"Stop cursing, stop cursing... There was no flooding when I came out."

Xia Lin took a deep breath: "You should abdicate. You can choose which of your sons is suitable to pass the throne to you. You can live a peaceful and carefree life as the retired emperor."

"No, they're all still children. It's not appropriate for them to succeed to the throne when they're teenagers."

Xia Lin took off his helmet and threw it on the ground: "If you do this again, I'm quitting!"

"No, no, no, calm down, calm down..." Emperor Jingtai took a deep breath and stepped forward to soothe him, "It's no big deal. Look how well you've handled things here. You didn't even need to send anyone from the capital. With you here, what do I have to worry about?"

"Are you the emperor or am I the emperor?"

"Are you the Emperor of the Night?"

“Your mother…” Xia Lin was so angry she laughed: “They even called me the empress.”

"Well... that won't work. It would be difficult to explain to the ancestral temple during the ancestral worship ceremony."

"Hey! You son of a bitch..." Xia Lin rubbed his face, "Why are you getting more and more shameless?"

"Alright, alright, things have come to this point, stop scolding." Emperor Jingtai, on the contrary, had a playful smile on his face: "By the way, I saw the plaque for 'Lingnan's Top Philanthropist,' what's the story behind that?"

Xia Lin was taken aback, and Emperor Jingtai quickly seized the opportunity: "Next time won't work. This time it's a special case. Every time the seal is used, it must be recorded. It can't be used casually. Tell me, if I hadn't come this time, how would you have explained it to the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs? Right! Now that I'm here, it's all legitimate."

"Well... okay, okay, I'm really impressed."

Xia Lin was actually quite surprised by the change in Emperor Jingtai. The previous Emperor Jingtai was calculating and petty to the extreme, but now he was like Emperor Zhenguan Li Shimin, who was scolded by Wei Zheng until he lost his pearls.

Damn, could we really have created our own Zhenguan Emperor?
"In a few days, I will personally meet with that philanthropist. It is only right for someone who has served the country and its people to do so." Emperor Jingtai chuckled. "Then you can organize a gathering of all the philanthropists listed on the monument, and I will host a banquet for them."

"Are you staying a few more days!?"

"Oh dear, look, this is a serious matter, isn't it? I'm not joking around. I'm just asking you, can this help you with a lot of things?"

When people are speechless to the extreme, they can actually burst out laughing. At this moment, Xia Lin even thought of Lao Zhang's BYD, which is truly a piece of shit.

"Alright, you smiled. Then it's settled. Go and think of a name for this relief and aid. Be good, don't be angry."

"You idiot, you even touched my head?" Xia Lin shoved Emperor Jingtai's hand away: "Disgusting!"

(End of this chapter)