From street beggar to high-ranking official

Inside the Prince Consort's mansion, corpses littered the ground. Eunuch Qian successfully cooperated with the assassins to kill the elderly man. It was not easy to behead him with a narrow, slender blade, but the assassin managed to cleave the old man's head open with a single stroke, and half of his head flew to the ground, falling like tiny red stars.

"Great skill, hero." Eunuch Qian did not hold back his praise. These masked assassins were clearly here to help. Soon, apart from a few fleeing martial arts masters, the only target left was that big, clumsy monk.

Commander Chen, who was guarding the front, was already dead with his eyes wide open. The big, clumsy monk was a fifth-rank martial artist. In the martial arts world, he could be considered a second-rate expert. His sonic skills were difficult for ordinary people to match. Combined with the shouts from his whistle, his rhythm would be disrupted after just a few moves.

Commander Chen was no match for the monk's strength; he could only withstand a few blows. It was fortunate that he was able to leave with a complete body and be buried, given the monk's fierce fighting and shouting.

The assassin and his accomplices launched a preemptive attack, firing several poisoned bullets that sent thick purple smoke billowing into the courtyard. The clumsy monk had no choice but to flee towards the prince consort's residence, but was forced back by powerful crossbow bolts while his vision was blurred.

Standing on high ground, the minor official in charge of the signal flag had long been killed. He waved his hand, and another volley of arrows was fired.

The foolish monk had no choice but to use his inner energy to resist, leaving him with less than 30% of his inner energy. In his anxiety, he naturally gave himself away, and his thoughts changed from being grateful for saving the emperor to wanting to escape with the prince consort.

In the blink of an eye, the big dumb monk suddenly exhaled from his chest. He was puzzled, wondering why he could exhale when his mouth and nose were tightly closed.

He instinctively expanded his chest to inhale, but what flooded his lungs was the sweet, metallic taste of blood.

He barely managed to open his eyes and saw that a person had appeared in front of him sometime earlier. The person was wearing a red robe and cloak and was crushing a piece of meat into powder in his hand.

A corpse collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The assassins descended from the rooftop, and their leader said, "Eunuch Qian wouldn't need to risk his life like this. We'll handle him. If he deliberately revealed a flaw..."

"It's alright. This drunken monk has insulted us. If we don't kill him ourselves, we'll be too upset." With a wave of his hand, the discarded fleshy throat fell to the ground. The godsons hiding around immediately came forward to wipe and clean it with wet wipes, removing the filth from Eunuch Qian's body.

The neatly dressed eunuch, Qian, asked leisurely, "You've arrived. Where's little Lu?"

"He was guarding outside the mansion. He noticed something unusual around the Prince Consort's residence tonight, and when he couldn't find Eunuch Qian, he came looking for us," the assassin explained.

"Good lad, you really understood my hint. It's a pity you're that old bastard's godson, otherwise I would really be willing to elevate your seniority." Eunuch Qian said openly.

The godsons blushed with embarrassment and felt their hearts burn with embarrassment. They could only be even more filial and respectful, lest they be sold out by Eunuch Qian one day.

After this matter was settled, Eunuch Qian went to knock on the door of the prince consort's residence, but after calling out several times without receiving a response, Eunuch Qian felt something was wrong and kicked the door open.

no one.

Upon seeing this, Eunuch Qian began to speculate about the prince consort's true intentions. Was the Beggars' Sect's attack a coordinated attack from within or by one side?

"Find him! Go find him, all of you!" A shrill voice, like a vengeful ghost, yelled, "If we don't find him, we'll throw you all into the river to feed the fish!"

......

Lu Li followed the footsteps towards the riverbank, while the young heroes behind him were puzzled but said nothing.

The footsteps in my ears grew closer and closer. They had been moving forward, but now they were moving upward, and the source of the sound was a well.

A trembling hand gripped the edge of the well, and then Lu Li reached out and pulled the person up...

"The housekeeper did a good job. Someone came to meet us so quickly. Quick, pull them up one by one," Ouyang Luntai said with satisfaction.

"Your Highness, I didn't arrange for anyone to meet you here," the butler said timidly.

"Hmm?" Ouyang Luntai, who was breathing heavily in the cold wind, looked towards Lu Li's position. Perhaps because it was late and he couldn't see clearly, he mustered his courage and asked, "Who are you?"

Lu Li smiled and said, "Prince Consort, Eunuch Qian has ordered us to wait here for quite some time."

The pampered Ouyang Luntai, exhausted from the arduous journey, fainted on the spot in a moment of shock.

"Prince Consort, Prince Consort!" The remaining servants, stewards, and confidants immediately supported Ouyang Luntai, perhaps intending to use the prince consort to control the eunuchs.

"Arrest them all!" Lu Li ordered. The young heroes rubbed their hands together, grabbed them, and held knives to their necks, ready to kill them on the spot at Lu Li's command.

Lu asked questions one by one. They were all people from the manor. One of them was a little special. He was the tea and horse commissioner, who managed the operation of the entire tea and horse commissioner and was also the prince consort's front man.

"Tsk tsk tsk, following the prince consort in embezzlement and collusion with the enemy, I don't know what Ambassador Wang was thinking." Lu Li clicked his tongue.

"At least the prince consort is more upright and honest than most officials in Shu," Wang Zhengqing said, sticking out his neck.

No official is without corruption, no merchant is without cunning; where there are officials, there will be corruption—this is the natural order. While there are honest officials in the world, none have ever been born in Sichuan.

Wang Zhengqing, despite his integrity, could not withstand the corruption of officials in Sichuan. Any official documents he wanted to submit to the emperor had to be transferred through multiple levels, from the prefecture and county to the province, and then to the cabinet and the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Such memorials, let alone reaching the Six Ministries, would be blocked at the middle level, and then targeted from top to bottom to prevent his promotion. Wang Zhengqing's enthusiasm was wasted.

Honest officials could not withstand widespread corruption, and could only hear rumors of the imperial son-in-law's disaster relief and anti-corruption efforts. After waiting for several years, the imperial son-in-law finally arrived in Chengdu.

Thus, Wang Zhengqing became Ouyang Luntai's top right-hand man. With the protection of the imperial son-in-law, he rose from a minor official to the head of the Tea and Horse Bureau in just a few years. Heeding the imperial son-in-law's words, he sold the remaining tribute tea on the black market to help beggars and distribute wealth to the people.

As Lu Li listened, the story became increasingly absurd, and he couldn't help but gasp at how terrifyingly naive this man was. No wonder the imperial son-in-law was just a minor official in Chengdu.

Whether it was due to blind faith or self-hypnosis, with Wang Zhengqing's intervention, the Tea Horse Road account book was naturally flawless. Given the local Beggars' Gang's immense power, this man was likely a major driving force behind it all.

The prince consort and the prefect were constantly corrupt, which led to an increasing number of displaced people and a growing beggar gang, ultimately resulting in the current situation.

The fact that these lowly vagrants dared to storm the Prince Consort's residence and attack the guards and yamen runners is truly outrageous!

If it were the former beggar Lu Li, he would have applauded and cheered, but now Lu Li is seething with hatred.

Even if this person eventually finds out that the prince consort embezzled, Wang Zhengqing would still think it was a political enemy targeting him. If he could testify, the prince consort would likely remain innocent even if he was attacked by the court.

Listening to Wang Zhengqing's rambling, even the young heroes around him felt that they had arrested the wrong person. Could it be that Zhou Bao's confession in prison was all false? Was the prince consort's private treasury really just for distributing wealth to the people?

Looking around, Lu Li noticed that several young heroes seemed interested, especially those whose heartbeats had changed. Lu Li cursed them under his breath, calling them a bunch of fools, and immediately said, "Our tea tax is ordered by His Majesty. His Majesty is wise; can't he see the corruption in Shu?"

Having mastered both literary and martial arts, they were offered to the emperor.

With a single sentence linking to imperial power, the young men immediately sobered up. The simple emotions of the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues instantly made them lean towards Lu Li, and the fact that his words were linked to the imperial decree gave the young heroes a sense of honor out of nowhere.

"If I were to live, not only would the imperial son-in-law be unharmed, but based on the charges against me, not only the prefect, but even the powerful families of Sichuan and the governor would fall from grace!"

Wang Zhengqing seemed to realize that he could not escape, and he said whatever came to mind, making Lu Li want to cut off his own ears.

The more he listened, the more terrified he became. This person was involved in a great deal of trouble, but the key issue was his attitude towards the prince consort.

He wanted to ask more questions, but Eunuch Qian had already arrived with his men.