I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 276 is somewhat eerie

"Mother, the Imperial Guards are arresting people again!" Chu Yuxin ran back to her family's general store. "The owner and his assistant at the dried goods store on the corner have been arrested."

Startled, Bai asked hastily, "Why?"

"I don't know." Chu Yuxin shook her head; she hadn't had a chance to ask yet.

"I know." Xiao Wu walked into the general store carrying a small jar of wine.

"Fifth Brother!" Chu Yuxin called out crisply, her eyes lighting up when she saw the wine jar he was carrying.

Having wine means having meat, which means we'll be eating meat tonight.

We're having braised pork tonight!

The little girl was overjoyed and eagerly took the wine jar from Xiao Wu's hands, running to carry it to the kitchen.

Bai shook his head helplessly, poured a cup of hot tea and handed it over, asking, "What exactly happened?"

"Auntie didn't go out and didn't know, but the Imperial Guards just raided the Qianfeng Trading Company, saying they were plotting a rebellion. Everyone saw it, a huge bundle of evidence, including a dragon robe."

"A dragon robe!" Bai gasped in shock. This was a real rebellion.

“I heard from the guys at the yamen that everyone connected to Qianfeng Trading Company is going to be caught. It’ll take several days just to arrest them.” Xiao Wu peeled a peanut and popped it into his mouth. “Manager Liu and his two skinny employees at the dried goods store on the corner of our street both came from Qianfeng Trading Company, so the Embroidered Uniform Guard will naturally arrest them.”

Bai immediately worried: "I've bought things from his house twice. Will the Embroidered Uniform Guard come and arrest me?"

"Hey, no, no, Auntie, don't worry." Xiao Wu continued peeling peanuts. "There are tons of people in the capital who have bought things from Qianfeng Trading Company. Even the Imperial Guards need evidence to arrest people. Auntie, you're just buying things, they definitely won't arrest you."

"That's good." Bai was relieved, and the worry on her face disappeared completely.

Xiao Wu noticed a bamboo basket next to him, with some incense, candles, and paper money inside. He smiled and asked, "Auntie, are you going to offer incense?"

Bai nodded: "Let's go to the local temple and pray to the local earth god to bless my Deyin so that she can be selected."

Xiao Wu asked curiously, "Selected for what?"

"I didn't quite understand either," Bai said. "They said the Ministry of Revenue was selecting some kind of clerk from the students of the Imperial Academy. It's a proper job with a salary, and if you do well, you can even be directly promoted to an official position."

Xiao Wu exclaimed in surprise, "There's actually such a good thing!"

“That’s right.” Bai put a few oranges into the bamboo basket. “Although there are few people to choose from, it doesn’t mean that you won’t be chosen. I was thinking of praying to the local earth god to bless my Deyin.”

Xiao Wu cracked open two peanuts: "This is a good thing, and who knows how many people will be vying for it? Auntie, just praying to the Earth God won't work."

Bai hurriedly said, "Not only that, I prayed to Guanyin, the Goddess of Fertility, the day before yesterday, and to the Old Man Under the Moon yesterday. I'll go to the Guandi Temple tomorrow." With so many gods, surely one of them will work?

Xiao Wu: "..."

None of these people care about promotions. You should at least pray to Wenchang Dijun and Lu Shen.

He calmly said, "How about I find someone to smooth things over for Deyin, so that the good job doesn't fall into someone else's hands?"

"This..." Bai hesitated for a moment before telling Xiao Wu the truth, "Thank you for your concern, but Deyin is a stubborn child. Other things are fine, but he won't live a peaceful life if he doesn't earn this kind of decent job through his own abilities."

Xiao Wu glanced at the bamboo basket beside him, so if asking people doesn't work, he can ask the gods.

Bai smiled and said, "I didn't let him know I was praying to the gods, so please don't let it slip."

Xiao Wu nodded: "Don't worry, Auntie, I'm very tight-lipped. I definitely won't tell anyone."

As night fell, the man who claimed to be the most discreet reported the news to the emperor verbatim.

Xiao Jingfan was both amused and exasperated to hear that the Bai family had worshipped so many gods but had not found the true deity.

He asked Xiao Wu, "What do you think of Chu Shangming?"

Xiao Wu truthfully replied, "Apart from being a bit stubborn, everything else is fine."

Xiao Jingfan glanced at him. "You think highly of him?"

Xiao Wu thought for a moment and said, "Does Your Majesty know that Chu Shangming can speak Xixia and Uyghur languages?" Xiao Jingfan was slightly surprised: "Where did he learn them?"

“A remnant of the Chai family.” Xiao Wu seemed to have thought of something, his tone somewhat strange, “He…is very good at making friends.”

Xiao Jingfan raised an eyebrow: "For example?"

Xiao Wu said, "He used to be associated with mountain bandits, womanizers, the former leader of the martial arts alliance, and notorious thieves..."

"Wait a minute," Xiao Jingfan interrupted him, "How would he know these people?"

None of them sound like they would be friends with a scholar.

Xiao Wu said, "I go up the mountain to collect firewood, wash clothes by the river, drink porridge at my doorstep, and wander aimlessly around the village entrance."

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

Xiao Wu glanced at him: "Chu Shangming is good at learning skills from his friends."

Xiao Jingfan asked with great interest, "What did he learn?"

Xiao Wu said, "He learned to spear fish in the river from the mountain bandit and to take off and put on clothes in the blink of an eye from the flower thief. He wanted to learn martial arts from the former leader of the martial arts alliance, but he was too scholarly and couldn't learn it. His father, however, learned it and could easily take on three people at once."

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

Xiao Wu continued, "He also learned a great skill in lock picking from that notorious thief."

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

This is nothing.

Xiao Wu glanced at him: "That was all in the past. Does Your Majesty know that after he entered the Imperial Academy, he made two good friends, one named Pei Yunjian and the other named Ren Qingxia?"

Upon hearing these two names, three words immediately flashed through Xiao Jingfan's mind: "Wanwanyu" (弯弯鱼).

He even acted as a matchmaker, but unfortunately, I haven't heard anything about the wedding. Otherwise, I could have gone to the wedding banquet.

Xiao Wu had no idea what his master was thinking. He pointed to himself and said, "Secret Guard."

He and Chu Shangming were friends.

Xiao Jingfan rubbed his forehead, thinking about it carefully, this person was indeed a bit strange.

"I must hurry back to brew wine," Xiao Wu said. "If Your Majesty has no further instructions, I shall take my leave."

"Okay." Xiao Jingfan nodded and instructed, "Keep a close watch, and report any unusual activity immediately."

"Your subordinate obeys." Xiao Wu slipped away.

Xiao Jingfan stared at the folded document on the table for a moment, then pushed it away and went to sleep.

*
Imperial Room.

"Thank you for your trouble, sir." Chu Liuzheng curtsied to Chen Shouping. "I won't disturb you any longer. I'll be leaving now."

"Take care, young lady." Chen Shouping smiled and saw her off, carrying a small food box. "These are freshly made pastries, with three kinds of fillings. I packed some of each. Take some back and try them. If you like them, just send someone to pick them up."

This statement had a rather obsequious tone.

Chu Liuzheng thought about it and didn't refuse. He exchanged a few pleasantries with the snack box before leaving.

The weather is nice today, the warm sunshine is so comforting that I can't help but squint.

Passing by the Imperial Garden, Chu Liuzheng heard a clear and childlike laugh, and couldn't help but stop and take a few steps inside to peek out.

It turned out that Consort Shu had taken advantage of the fine weather to bring Princess Huirong out to fly kites, with Consort Chun and Consort Xie accompanying them.

The colorful butterfly kite, pulled by a white kite string, flew in the air, swaying in the wind, making Princess Huirong clap her hands with joy.

Just as Chu Liuzheng was about to leave, a voice suddenly came from behind him, "What are you looking at?"