Chapter 136 - 104: Bro, You Smell So Good

Chapter 136: Chapter 104: Bro, You Smell So Good

After speaking, his expression turned dazed. His voice sounded old and feeble. "Men are heavy mountains, while I am but a mere ant..."

Well then!

Hearing this name, Zeng Anmin’s eyes lit up. In just a few sentences, the identity of the letter’s owner had been coaxed out.

The Eldest Princess? The Eldest Princess of the Great Saint Dynasty? His Majesty’s biological older sister? The Little Fatty Crown Prince’s biological aunt? Interesting.

So, this time using a Cyan Viper to warn Lou Yingqi... Even Prince Qi being assassinated... And the freak who barged straight into Prince Qi’s Mansion’s ancestral hall searching for the letter... The person behind all of this was highly likely the Eldest Princess?!

Figuring this out, Zeng Anmin’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, but his smile deepened. "Heh. My father is the current Minister and the Grand Scholar of the Martial Hero Hall. His loyalty lies only with His Majesty and the people."

He looked up calmly, staring straight at Lou Yingqi as he continued, "My father and I have barely been in the capital for a month. Why would we act as lobbyists for the Eldest Princess?

"Furthermore, you’ve already been bullied to this extent without any room to retaliate. If I hadn’t shown up, your son, Lou Tong, probably wouldn’t have survived. If you still refuse to yield, I’m afraid your own life will be hard to keep."

Zeng Anmin was right about this. In fact, the moment Lou Yingqi uttered the words "Eldest Princess," Zeng Anmin knew that even if he held evidence of their corruption and perversion of the law, he could not fight them. A Third Grade Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue wasn’t a small position in the imperial court, but it certainly wasn’t a large one either. Even setting aside the Eldest Princess, Lou Yingqi couldn’t withstand his direct superior, Ren Weizhi.

The current relationships within the court were incredibly intricate; those people couldn’t be brought down with just a single word. Prince Qi’s downfall by Zeng Anmin’s schemes had only been possible because they held all the advantages of timing and location. Coupled with the help of Celestial Master Xu, and the fact that everyone was eager to push a falling wall, they had finally managed to drive him out of the capital.

"Heh..." Lou Yingqi looked seriously into Zeng Anmin’s eyes for the first time. His resolute gaze revealed a deep sense of self-mockery. "Yield? I suppose I should yield."

His voice grew quieter and quieter, akin to a bewildered murmur.

"It’s useless. Whether you yield or not now, they won’t let you go!" Zeng Anmin’s expression turned cold as he narrowed his eyes at Lou Yingqi. "I’m guessing that after the flood three years ago, you prepared a memorial to present to His Majesty. It contained evidence of the Eldest Princess, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Prince Qi colluding to falsely report expenses, engaging in corrupt dealings between officials and merchants, embezzling public funds, and forging account books..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room instantly fell silent.

Lou Yingqi abruptly raised his head to look at Zeng Anmin, disbelief written all over his face. "How did you know?"

"A guess." Seeing his reaction, Zeng Anmin’s heart slowly settled. If the Lou Yingqi before him had jumped out to oppose the Eldest Princess because of an uneven split of the spoils and got warned as a result, he would have turned around and left without a shred of pity.

"HAA..." Lou Yingqi took a deep breath. He looked at Zeng Anmin with utmost seriousness, his voice grave. "Quan Fu, I will pretend that nothing said in this study today ever happened. It is not your place to teach me how to conduct myself."

After speaking, he stood up and walked toward the exit. Opening the study door, he extended a hand. "Please leave..."

His attitude revealed a hint of resolution, but behind it hid a heartbreaking sense of sorrow.

Zeng Anmin did not stand up. He looked at Lou Yingqi with a trace of earnestness in his eyes. "I suspect your memorial was intercepted halfway before it could even be submitted all those years ago.

"And you must have been threatened afterward.

"But you only feigned submission while secretly continuing to gather evidence of their crimes.

"Now that Prince Qi is dead, you felt their power had been weakened, so you wanted to stand up again.

"Yet, you didn’t expect that the moment you showed any signs of doing so, your only son would be harmed."

Saying these words was no different from rubbing salt into a wound. Standing by the door, Lou Yingqi looked up expressionlessly. The light seemed to have vanished from his eyes.

"Please leave..." His voice was much quieter than before.

"But what if I said I have a way?" Zeng Anmin suddenly stepped right in front of Lou Yingqi, staring fixedly at him. "You’ve merely been isolated by the court officials, what are you afraid of? You shouldn’t be unable to figure out why Prince Qi fell from power, right?"

Lou Yingqi pursed his lips, then sighed. "He shouldn’t have associated with a disciple of the Profound Array Department."

"Then have you ever wondered how His Majesty was convinced that he was associating with a disciple of the Profound Array Department?" Zeng Anmin lowered his voice, whispering like a demon slowly rising from the abyss. "I was the one who personally schemed to capture that Profound Array Department disciple, Qi Xianlin, in Liangjiang Commandery."

"BOOM!!!"

These words exploded directly in Lou Yingqi’s ears like a clap of thunder. He abruptly raised his head, his pupils quaking violently. He stared at Zeng Anmin as if looking at a monster. "Framed..."

Because of the stormy waves crashing in his heart, he couldn’t even utter the second syllable.

Seeing this expression on his face, Zeng Anmin breathed a slight sigh of relief inwardly. The man’s brain didn’t work too slowly. Although he was a bit pedantic, he definitely wouldn’t be a deadweight teammate.

With this thought in mind, his speaking speed gradually slowed down a bit. "I only spoke from the bottom of my heart because I know Vice Minister Lou is of noble character.

"Rest assured, I can save you, and I can save the countless lives in this mansion. I can even..."

His eyes narrowed as he glanced at the opened door. Lou Yingqi subconsciously followed his gaze. Then, he hurriedly shut the door.

"CLACK."

The room fell silent once again. In this tranquil space, Zeng Anmin’s faint voice rang out, "...even eliminate all those lawless officials in the court."

Lou Yingqi’s eyes remained dazed for a long time. He looked deeply at Zeng Anmin, keeping his voice incredibly low. "I wonder... what do you need me to do, Quan Fu?"

The corners of Zeng Anmin’s mouth curled up slightly.

It was done.

His father’s first top general was already in the bag today!

"It’s simple. The very first thing is to turn the corpse of that snake in the courtyard into snake soup and send it to the Eldest Princess and the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Ren Weizhi."

After leaving the Assistant Minister’s Mansion, Zeng Anmin and Bai Ziqing both looked extremely relaxed.

"Alright, Ziqing, there’s nothing else to do today, so I’ll head home first." Zeng Anmin mounted his horse and glanced at the sky. There were no longer any commoners on the streets.

"Why go home?" Bai Ziqing paused, then looked at Zeng Anmin in confusion. "There’s a curfew on the streets right now. It’ll be troublesome if you’re spotted by the patrol guards. Why don’t you come with me to relax for a bit instead?"

"?" Zeng Anmin blinked. "Relax how?"

A smile hooked the corners of Bai Ziqing’s mouth. "You’ll know once we get there."

Zeng Anmin looked up at the starry sky before him, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. "This is the nice place you were talking about?"

At this moment, the two of them were lying on the roof of a certain building of the Imperial City Department in the capital. This building was extremely tall, only a fraction shorter than the tallest building in the Imperial City.

Bai Ziqing lay on his back with his hands behind his head. Closing his eyes, he breathed in the surrounding air. A contented expression appeared on his face. "Whenever I feel upset and confused, I always come here to stay in peace for the night.

"This is a place I searched for quite a long time to find. There’s no one to disturb you, and none of the worrisome secular matters of the mortal world."

"This is your secret base, isn’t it?" Zeng Anmin shot him a sidelong glance.

"Mhm." Bai Ziqing paused. Then, he gave a thumbs-up and said, "As expected of a Confucian Cultivator. Even the names you come up with are so fitting. This is my secret base."

After saying that, he smiled again and looked earnestly at Zeng Anmin. "Now, it’s yours too."

"Oh." Zeng Anmin was quite speechless. "Don’t get so close to me!"

"Mhm." Bai Ziqing chuckled softly. "I have no friends in the Imperial City Department, nor do I have any friends within my family. You are my first friend."

"Then I’m quite honored, aren’t I?" Zeng Anmin shifted his body sideways.

"Hm? Quan Fu, why do you smell like peach blossoms?"

"Get lost!"