The Prodigal Son

Soon, Feng Shicheng met Du Zhiwen again.

Du Zhiwen dismissed his attendants and asked with a smile, "Lord Feng, what brings you back to see me?"

In fact, when he saw the box in Feng Shicheng's hand, he had already guessed what was going on.

Feng Shicheng happened to be one of the officials who failed his assessment.

Feng Shicheng chuckled and stepped forward, holding the box high. "This was left behind by the traitor Yu Wu when he fled south. I dare not keep it for myself and wish to hand it over to the court!"

"Oh?"

Du Zhiwen took the box and opened it.

In an instant, three colorful gems came into Du Zhiwen's view.

Although Du Zhiwen was a man who had seen the world, he was still somewhat stunned when he saw these three gems.

Rich, pure, vibrant, and even!

They have all three gems!

Any one of these three gems could probably fetch at least seven or eight thousand taels of silver.

This guy is really willing to spend a fortune!

Du Zhiwen sighed inwardly, then closed the box again, exclaiming, "It's truly a fine item!"

Feng Shicheng was overjoyed and quickly smiled ingratiatingly, "I'm glad you like it, sir!"

"I do like it, but I dare not keep it for myself!"

Du Zhiwen shook his head and smiled, then returned the container of gems to Feng Shicheng.

Feng Shicheng's heart sank, and he forced a smile again: "This humble official will hand it over to the imperial court."

"I don't know how much longer I'll have to stay here, and I won't be able to return to the court for the time being."

Du Zhiwen waved his hand, looking meaningfully at Feng Shicheng, "Qin Langzhong will soon return to the capital to receive his title. You can give this item to him and ask him to take it back to the capital to present to His Majesty. Perhaps it will win His Majesty's favor!"

Qin Yu?

To please His Majesty?

Feng Shicheng's eyelids twitched, and he pondered silently.

Du Zhiwen is clearly targeting himself!

He sent him to deliver a gift to Qin Yu!

But isn't the appointment and removal of officials Du Zhiwen's business?

Could it be that Qin Yu is the one who can decide his future?

That's right!

I've heard that Qin Yu is a favorite minister of Empress Zhao Luan.

There are even rumors that Qin Yu has already climbed into the emperor's bed!

Du Zhiwen didn't not want the three gems; he simply dared not accept them!

Otherwise, if Qin Yu finds out and reports it to the Empress, Du Zhiwen will surely be punished!

But if Qin Yu is bribed, that's a different story!

Feng Shicheng grew increasingly excited, and quickly took a gold bar from his sleeve and handed it to Du Zhiwen, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, sir!"

Seeing that Du Zhiwen calmly put away the gold bars, Feng Shicheng felt much more at ease.

Go!

Du Zhiwen waved his hand and said with a smile, "Although Doctor Qin is greedy and lustful, he is still reasonable!"

Du Zhiwen deliberately emphasized the words "greedy for money and lustful".

As a seasoned official, Feng Shicheng naturally understood the unspoken meaning in Du Zhiwen's words.

The higher the official position desired, the more gifts must be given to Qin Yu!

"This humble official understands!"

Feng Shicheng suppressed his excitement, "Then this humble official will not disturb your rest any longer, sir! This humble official takes his leave!"

Du Zhiwen nodded slightly.

After Feng Shicheng withdrew, a faint smile flashed across Du Zhiwen's face.

Qin Yu, that bastard, is truly a genius!

Cleverly orchestrating the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, using others to destroy the Luo family, and scheming to deceive the Prince of Chengyang...

Each time, he manages to solve problems in ways that others never expect.

Now, he has opened up a whole new way of thinking for himself in an unexpected way!

When Yu Wu hurriedly crossed the Yangtze River to the south, much of the gold and silver treasures that Yu Yang had not had time to take with him fell into the hands of officials like Feng Shicheng.

If he were allowed to sell official positions freely, who knows how much silver he would make!

He estimated that if Qin Yu were even slightly clever, he wouldn't be able to keep all the silver for himself.

Most likely, they would split the bill with Zhao Luan.

He contributed both money and effort, and even relieved His Majesty of the headache of how to reward him. It would be strange if His Majesty punished him!

That bastard!

It's a real waste of his talent that he didn't become the Minister of Revenue!

no no……

His methods are too unconventional; he's not suitable to be the Minister of Revenue.

He should be castrated and made the Grand Eunuch to help His Majesty replenish the imperial treasury!

Yes, it can also completely shatter those rumors!

Get it in one fell swoop!

As he pondered this, Du Zhiwen couldn't help but reveal a mischievous smile.

Or perhaps I could offer His Majesty some advice myself?

……

For the next two days, Qin Yu was incredibly busy.

With Du Zhiwen, the Minister of Revenue, creating momentum, and with Yu Jing's people secretly pushing things along, the news that one could buy an official position with Qin Yu quickly spread within a specific circle.

People came to visit Qin Yu every day in an endless stream, so much so that Qin Yu had to keep receiving gifts until midnight.

Not everyone came to buy an official position; some simply came to get to know Qin Yu and express their admiration.

Qin Yu truly experienced the bittersweet feeling of pain.

Late at night, Qin Yu finally saw off the two men who had come to buy official positions.

"Damn it, being a corrupt official isn't easy!"

Qin Yu stretched and sighed sincerely.

"Thirteenth Young Master, you'll get beaten up if you keep doing that."

At this moment, even the usually honest and simple-minded Qi Dachui couldn't stand it anymore.

He's never seen anyone complain about being tired while collecting money!

"It's really not easy being a parent!"

Qin Yu rubbed his stomach and shook it for a moment, "Listen to this, my stomach is making clattering noises every time I walk, it's full of tea!"

These past two days, he's been drinking an unknown amount of tea every day in order to entertain those who bought their positions.

Sometimes, to deal with those people, I have to hold it in even when I'm really urinating.

Qi Dachui listened intently, then looked at him worriedly, "Thirteenth Young Master, are you sure you won't get into trouble doing this? I heard from Miss Xu that an official in Lizhou was executed for embezzling 20,000 taels of silver! You've embezzled so much silver, how many times will you be executed?"

Twenty thousand taels of silver for one beheading—even if he were an earthworm, he probably wouldn't survive.

"rest assured!"

Qin Yu patted Qi Dachui on the shoulder, "When have I ever fought a battle I wasn't confident of winning?"

Qi Dachui scratched his head. "When we encountered the Chu army head-on before, weren't you unsure of your chances?"

"I……"

Qin Yu's lips twitched, and he looked at him speechlessly, "Big Hammer, if you keep doing this, you'll get beaten up too."

"I'm not afraid."

Qi Dachui chuckled, "I just love fighting! As long as I don't fight Senior Ning and the others, it's fine."

"..."

Qin Yu's face twitched again.

He seriously suspected that this guy was pretending to be stupid!

After urinating a stream of tea-colored urine, Qin Yu walked into the room.

He was about to practice his skills with Nan Que'er when he entered the house and found Xu Wan chatting with Nan Que'er inside.

Upon seeing Qin Yu, Xu Wan teased, "You corrupt official, how much silver did you take today?"

Qin Yu walked over casually and sat down between the two women, one in each arm, and embraced them both. While enjoying the feeling of having soft, beautiful women in his arms, he replied with a grin, "Not much, just a few hundred thousand taels in total, no more."

Several hundred thousand taels?

That's it?

Xu Wan's eyelids twitched suddenly, and she reached out and lightly pinched Qin Yu's waist. "You're just asking for trouble! Be careful His Majesty doesn't twist your head off and use it as a chamber pot!"

She did know Qin Yu's purpose.

But she really didn't expect that Qin Yu, that bastard, could sell so much silver!

It's only been a day or two!

If it goes on for a few more days, wouldn't it easily amount to millions of taels of silver?

At this moment, even knowing Qin Yu's purpose, she couldn't help but worry about him.

"Don't worry!"

Nan Que'er teased with a smile, "He's so lecherous, even His Majesty using his head as a chamber pot is a risk of him taking advantage of him!"

Xu Wan chuckled, then glared at Nan Que'er with a smile: "I'm being serious!"

"I'm being serious!"

Nan Que'er giggled, "How about we make a bet?"

"What are we betting on? How are we betting?"

Xu Wan asked with great interest.

"Let's bet on whether His Majesty will punish him! I bet he won't!"

"Of course, I bet he won't be punished!"

"Then what are you worried about?"

"His Majesty's decision not to punish him doesn't mean he won't be dealt with!"

"So what if he gets disciplined? It's not like he hasn't been disciplined before..."

Hearing what the two women said, Qin Yu couldn't help but feel annoyed.

The next moment, Qin Yu slapped Nan Que'er's shapely buttocks hard...