The Prodigal Son

Perhaps they were afraid of the pain of having their eggs pierced by golden needles.

Perhaps it's because I've kept these things buried in my heart for too long.

Or perhaps they wanted to humiliate the self-righteous Qin Yu.

Shi Yi eventually revealed the whole story.

Actually, they could have avoided taking that step!

If the imperial court treats the Shi family well and gives them opportunities to enter officialdom, they will completely change their mind and gamble that the court will remember the merits of their ancestors and will not destroy the Shi family.

But the imperial court is too indifferent to historians!

They don't even give them a chance to enter officialdom, yet they give the Shi family a way out when their crimes are exposed?

All of this was forced upon us by the late emperor!

You can't blame them!

"Damn it!"

Once Qin Yu understood what had happened, he couldn't help but curse, "The Shi family is already the wealthiest family in the world, and you still want to steal gold? I think you're all blinded by greed!"

If historians hadn't illegally mined gold, nothing would have happened.

They've come up with all sorts of ways to court death, so what right do they have to complain about the imperial court?

Fortunately, the court still believed that Shi Zhen was a truly loyal minister who would rather die than abandon the crown prince.

Unexpectedly!

Shi Zhen is the real culprit!

Shi Zhen was right next to the Crown Prince. Without Shi Zhen's cooperation, the Shi family would not have been able to assassinate the Crown Prince!

"This was forced upon us by the late emperor and those corrupt officials in the court!"

Shi Yi glared at Qin Yu with a ferocious expression. "Since the court won't let us enter officialdom, then we'll just have to amass more money! The more money we have, the more assassins my Shi family can keep! The better we'll be able to protect ourselves if the court attacks our family in the future!"

This is not the historian's choice!

It was a choice forced upon historians by the late emperor!

Even if one is the richest man in the world, if one cannot enter officialdom, one can never compare to those aristocratic families!

If you rely on a mountain, the mountain will collapse; if you rely on a tree, the tree will fall!

No matter how many officials are won over, as long as the imperial court gives an order, those officials who have been won over will immediately take up arms and attack the Shi family, devouring them completely!

The only way to protect themselves is to raise assassins!

"You do have a sense of crisis."

Qin Yu scoffed, "I'm curious, since you're so afraid, why didn't you get rid of Sun Min back then? Why did you wait until I was almost connected to Sun Min before taking action?"

"You really aren't very smart!"

Shi Yi scoffed, "The Crown Prince has just been assassinated, and the court is in a state of high alert. Now, a county magistrate from a neighboring county has died mysteriously. Do you think the court won't investigate thoroughly?"

Of course they wanted to get rid of Sun Min!

But that was not the time to get rid of Sun Min.

If we acted then, the imperial court would most likely investigate thoroughly.

If that's the case, wouldn't all their previous efforts have been in vain?

Besides, if they don't dare to tell anyone about this, do you think Sun Min would?

We're all in the same boat, so no one dared to leak this information.

Later, when Sun Min was promoted, they turned their support to him.

Although Shi Yi was the Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang, his power was mainly concentrated on salt affairs.

In local affairs, Shi Yi had virtually no power.

Historians also need court officials to open doors of convenience for them, while at the same time developing their own power.

As two birds with one stone, Sun Min was naturally the first choice.

Otherwise, why would he think Sun Min was promoted so quickly?

Isn't it all thanks to the support of the Shi family?

He repeatedly warned Sun Min not to be greedy for petty gains, and to tell him if he needed money!

He really wanted to help Sun Min get into the imperial court!

Unfortunately, Sun Min was too narrow-minded.

Since being promoted to Prefect of Fangzhou, this fool with a guilty conscience and insufficient ability has no desire to climb any higher. He just wants to stay in Fangzhou, make money, and be his local tyrant.

If it weren't for Sun Min, how could Qin Yu have traced the Shi family back to him?

This idiot is harming himself and others!

He regrets it now!

If I had known this would happen, I should have gotten rid of Sun Min sooner!

In this way, historians would not be in this predicament today.

You're wrong!

Qin Yu shook his head and said, "Even without the Sun Min case, I would have found out about you sooner or later! There are people in Huai County who are illegally mining copper near the gold mine you're operating to make counterfeit coins. The Baojing Division has been investigating. Once they find that gold mine, do you think you can hide for long?"

"Fake...fake copper coins?"

Shi Yi stared blankly at Qin Yu for a long time before finally giving a self-deprecating bitter smile: "Perhaps, this is fate!"

Man proposes, God disposes!

Since that's the case, he has nothing to regret.

I've lived eight more years, and enjoyed eight more years of luxury, so it's been worth it!

"Yes, this is destiny!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly, "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place!"

Even without Qin Yu, it was only a matter of time before the imperial court investigated the Shi family.

Perhaps not during Zhao Luan's reign, but it will be exposed sooner or later!

Once that gold mine is discovered, all of the Shi family's secrets will be exposed!

"Don't get too cocky!"

Shi Yi glared at Qin Yu with resentment: "My Shi family was used and then discarded by the imperial court, and your Qin family will be the same sooner or later!"

"Maybe!"

Qin Yu smiled calmly, "I have another question I'm curious about: how did you manage to get Madam Sun to write that suicide note and place it in the main hall of the governor's mansion, without asking the guards for help?"

Speaking of this, Shi Yi smiled smugly, "That woman just lost her husband and son. Do you think a few guards would get close enough to look at her with her hair disheveled?"

"Understood!"

Qin Yu suddenly realized, "The Madam Sun they saw was someone you hired to impersonate her!"

He had previously thought it was some kind of profound and mysterious method.

It turned out to be so simple and unadorned.

How clever!

At that time, Madam Sun had just lost her husband and son.

With her hair disheveled and dressed in Madam Sun's clothes, and in the dim light of night, which guard would dare to approach Madam Sun and carefully examine whether this person was truly Madam Sun?

In this way, they managed to get away with it!

If someone personally witnessed the so-called Mrs. Sun placing the suicide note, it would be perfectly reasonable for her to commit suicide by setting herself on fire.

They perfectly exploited Madam Sun's mental state and the guards' psychology, using the simplest and most unpretentious methods to get through the ordeal.

In fact, the officials in Fangzhou were indeed deceived by them.

Unfortunately, he didn't know that Madam Sun had left a clue before she died.

If Madam Sun had left any clearer clues, perhaps he wouldn't have needed to investigate at all; the truth of the case would have been revealed long ago.

Qin Yu sighed for a moment, then looked at Shi Yi with a cold gaze, "If I'm not mistaken, your assassination attempt in Jiangning Prefecture was just a play you put on, right?"

"You've finally been smart for once."

Shi Yi snorted coldly.

Qin Yu scoffed and continued, "If I asked you where the assassins you keep are hidden, you probably wouldn't tell me, would you?"

"What good did it do me to say that?"

Shi Yi's face broke into a sinister grin again. "Do you think they're fools who would stand still and wait to die knowing we're all in your hands?"

"That makes sense!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly, a strong fighting spirit flashing in his eyes. "Then let's wait and see if I can wipe them all out in one fell swoop!"