The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 431 Dead Man
The old man had been silent ever since Tang Lanzhou entered. Only when Tang Lanzhou spoke to him did he raise his head and let out a long sigh.

"Lord Tang, why bother?"

Tang Lanzhou shifted her gaze.

"As the chief official of the Ministry of Justice, I am naturally obligated to perform my duties. If I see anyone plotting rebellion, I will certainly execute them. I just never expected that Lord Ke would collude with that traitor Yan Song."

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged official in the crowd shouted angrily.

"No evidence found! You are simply committing fabricated acts!"

"We have not formed any cliques for personal gain, nor have we had any dealings with Lord Yan! It's just that the capital is in chaos today, and we are afraid that the rebels will come to our door. That's why Lord Ke led us to hide here to protect our lives and property! As for plotting rebellion or usurpation, we have never done it!"

His words were righteous and indignant.

The reason seems plausible.

But neither the old man nor Tang Lanzhou spoke or responded.

After a while, when he was tired of talking, Tang Lanzhou waved his hand.

"kill."

puff!

His head flew off, and a fountain of blood gushed from his cavity.

The commander of the Imperial Guards coldly stared at all the other officials until they shut their mouths and swallowed all their words, then he gave a cold laugh and sheathed his sword.

The old man sighed.

"Lord Tang, is this a death wish?"

Tang Lanzhou nodded.

"Yes."

"Your wife is dead?"

"Yes."

The old man sighed again.

"It's my fault. I originally thought that there were only you and your wife in Tang Gong's family. I usually see you as cautious and timid, and your official position is just right. So I thought it would be more appropriate to use your head to launch a second coup."

"If I had known that Lord Tang still retained some of his youthful brilliance, I should have had Lord Yan and Yingzhou make arrangements to send more people to kill you... But I never expected that Lord Tang would be left to waste his life in this world. I am truly sorry."

Tang Lanzhou remained expressionless.

The old man's words had already revealed the truth.

Ke Hongwen was a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, a veteran official of two reigns, one of the key ministers entrusted with the care of the late emperor, and the head of the academic officials. The Ke family of Jiangnan was the leading literary family of the Great Shuo Dynasty. If Yan Song was the head of the civil officials, then he was the head of the scholars of the Great Shuo Dynasty.

Such a person would naturally not be as naive as that middle-aged official. He was hiding in the residence of the person Tang Lanzhou wanted to kill; based on that alone, he couldn't possibly fool anyone.

evidence?

Does Tang Lanzhou look like he's here to solve a case?

Ke Hongwen felt some regret.

Of course, he didn't regret sending someone to kill Tang Lanzhou, nor did he regret killing Tang Lanzhou's wife... He only regretted that he had bet wrongly that Yan Song would win, and that he had bet wrongly that he should have hidden in the wrong place.

A long sigh.

"Lord Tang, since the outcome is decided, I admit defeat. How about you release me first, and I'm willing to join you in eliminating all those involved in colluding with Yan Song? What do you say?" Ke Hongwen said.

Tang Lanzhou looked at him in silence.

He remained silent the entire time.

Ke Hongwen's lips pursed as he watched.

"Lord Tang, don't be confused!"

"By doing this today, you've clearly been used as a pawn. Once the officials realize what's happening, Zhu Zai will use your head to quell the situation. For Zhu Zai, the most important thing is always the Zhu family's rule; he won't protect you—but I can."

Ke Hongwen said sincerely.

“With Yan Song dead, I will be the head of the civil officials. I can mobilize all the officials to submit petitions to exonerate you, and even completely remove you from this matter.”

"I also have connections with education officials in various places, so you don't need to worry about public opinion..."

He kept talking, getting more and more anxious as he spoke.

Tang Lanzhou seemed to be suddenly awakened by him, her body trembled, and her eyes refocused on his face.

He had just thought of his wife, and his heart ached again; only now had he come to his senses.

He ignored Ke Hongwen's words, instead walking up to a member of the Imperial Guard, taking the crossbow from his hand, taking an arrow from the quiver, and turning back to the front of the crowd.

He first glanced coldly at Ke Hongwen, then lowered his head, pressed the crossbow against the ground, panted, stepped on the trigger, and laboriously loaded the arrows.

Ke Hongwen was terrified upon seeing this.

He shouted urgently, "Lord Tang, do not act rashly. You may be able to kill others on trumped-up charges, but I am different. I am a loyal minister entrusted with the care of the late emperor, and the Ke family of Jiangnan is the foremost among scholars in the land. How will you explain to the scholars of the land if you kill me? And how will His Majesty silence the public outcry?"

"Is Lord Tang angry because of the assassination attempt on you last night? If you spare my life, the Ke family of Jiangnan will follow your lead, and you will be Yan Song. Would that satisfy Lord Tang?"

As Ke Hongwen spoke, he saw that Tang Lanzhou, after nocking the crossbow, stopped moving and just lowered his head, panting heavily.

He thought this was a sign that Tang Lanzhou was wavering.

So he quickly continued.

"Lord Tang, regarding your wife's matter... how about this, I will take charge of taking care of Lady Ke—"

Tang Lanzhou suddenly spoke calmly.

"Noisy."

Whoosh—pfft.

Ke Hongwen felt a chill on his shoulder, and then he was pulled backward. As he lay on the ground, his shoulder felt hot again, followed by a sharp pain.

"Uh!"

He stared in astonishment at the arrow embedded in his shoulder, then looked at Tang Lanzhou. Tang Lanzhou spoke calmly.

"I'm not feeling well, so I missed. Please forgive me, Mr. Ke."

After saying that, he loaded another arrow into the crossbow, panting heavily as he pulled the trigger and dragged the crossbow toward him.

"Lord Tang!"

Ke Hongwen stuttered from the sharp pain, but managed to speak urgently.

"But what did I say wrong just now?"

“I neither participated in the coup nor ordered anyone to kill you. I just made the wrong choice and wanted to see what Yan Song could accomplish—I did nothing to harm you!”

"Release me, and I can save your life. I can also help His Majesty suppress public opinion and minimize the impact..."

Tang Lanzhou approached step by step.

Suddenly, Ke Hongwen had a flash of inspiration.

"Is it...about your wife?"

He stared intently into Tang Lanzhou's eyes.

Tang Lanzhou's eyes flickered slightly when he said those words.

Tang Lanzhou's eyes had remained lifeless, whether he was talking about the state of the world or about saving her life. But at this moment, they did flicker slightly.

"Is it really because of your wife?"

Ke Hongwen's eyes widened.

"A...woman?"

He couldn't understand it; he thought Tang Lanzhou was crazy.

Although Da Shuo had the influence of the "Jianghu" (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world) and its social atmosphere was more open than that of the Ming Dynasty in Li Miao's previous life, it was still a feudal dynasty at its peak, and the status of women was bound to be low.

Tang Lanzhou, a man who has reached the pinnacle of officialdom, would give up his power, the world, and even his life for a woman?

You've been reading too many storybooks; you're getting senile!
The higher you stand, the more you understand how despicable people can be. Beauty, talent, temperament, and figure—qualities that ordinary people yearn for but cannot attain—are merely labels on playthings in the eyes of someone like Ke Hongwen, snacks that can be picked up at will.

In Ke Hongwen's eyes, Tang Lanzhou's behavior was as ridiculous as dying for one's pet.

Summer insects can't talk about ice.

Ke Hongwen only woke up suddenly when Tang Lanzhou, panting heavily, pressed an arrow against his forehead.

"No, Lord Tang, think about it again!"

"Think it over again, think it through! She's just a woman; I can give you the most famous talented woman, the most beautiful—"

"Master Ke, please stop for a moment."

Tang Lanzhou said.

"You're wrong, you've talked a lot of nonsense."

Ke Hongwen said, his voice trembling.

“Where is the mistake... Master Tang, I can correct it.”

Tang Lanzhou shook his head.

"Your mistake is trying to convince a dead man."

Click.

The machine expands and moves.

Blood splattered out.

The arrow pierced through Ke Hongwen's skull.

"Do life, the world, power, or lust have any meaning for the dead?"

"I'm tired. No matter how much you prepare for me in this world, I just want to say goodbye as soon as possible and take some gifts to see my wife."

Tang Lanzhou looked at Ke Hongwen's corpse and said calmly.

"Master Ke has saved me a lot of trouble. Now I don't have to bother making up charges of forming cliques, plotting rebellion, secretly raising assassins, and illegally possessing bows and crossbows."

He turned away with a flick of his sleeve.

"They've all been cut down."

“Take the head and send it to my home. Set up a pile of firewood in front of my wife’s mourning hall and build a mound of skulls on top of it.”

“My wife was sensitive to the cold, so I need to make the fire bigger, the bigger the better.”

The commander of the Imperial Guards bowed in agreement and then waved his hand.

Blood shot into the sky.

Tang Lanzhou walked out of the mansion and leaned against the door frame to catch his breath.

He had been barely suppressing his anger, yet sharp pain shot through his chest several times. He knew all too well that his death was imminent.

But Ke Hongwen saved him a lot of time.

Tang Lanzhou gazed into the distance, looking towards the east.

Ke Hongwen had basically gathered all the officials here. To the east were Jiangmi Lane and Chang'an Street, the areas where officials were most concentrated. There were still quite a few heads waiting for him to collect there.

As Tang Lanzhou watched, two figures suddenly flashed through his vision. One in front and one behind, one chasing and one fleeing, they disappeared into the distance in an instant.

His pupils shrank suddenly.

He didn't know the person who escaped.

But he could never forget the face of the person he was chasing, even if he turned to ashes.

Yingzhou Celestial Being, a fake Li Miao.

(End of this chapter)