I Am Immortal In The Cultivation World

Chapter 28 The Crown Prince’s Rebellion

The evils of aristocratic families were even worse than traitors. The latter seemed as fierce as fire, but there was always a way to put it out. The former had existed since ancient times. Everyone could see that the aristocratic families were digging up the foundation of the dynasty, but they rarely had the means to control it.

Zhou Yi shook his head slowly. “You’re not the first to say that, nor will you be the last. The evil of the aristocratic families is not a reason to become corrupt officials.”

“Cough, cough, cough. You make it sound so easy!”

After the prisoner mentioned the Lu family, he seemed to have completely let go.

“I… My parents starved to death. It was the officials who embezzled the food for disaster relief. Back then, I swore that I would cleanse the imperial court and cleanse the world!”

Zhou Yi became a little more interested. “Tell me about your experience of thinking that you have a deep grudge but are actually tacky.”

The prisoner was rather helpless, but his death was not far away. These were probably his last words before he was executed.

“Ten years ago, I became a scholar and was appointed as a county official. I wanted to achieve my ambitions. However, the officials of the yamen were all occupied by local nobles. Their orders could not be send out no matter what.” The prisoner glanced at Zhou Yi. “The most difficult to deal with is a lowly official like you.”

Zhou Yi nodded slightly. How could it be said that the imperial power and officials shared the world?

“After passing through several counties, not only did I fail to achieve anything, but I even became a laughing stock among my peers. Every year, I would be criticized!” The prisoner muttered, “How can I have any ambitions when I’ve let time slip by without accomplishing anything? So I might as well let them be. I’ll read and write every day without caring about the affairs of the government office.”

His ideals and future had been obliterated by reality, turning him into a muddle-headed official.

Zhou Yi asked, “What does this have to do with the Lu family?”

“In the sixth or seventh year of Hongchang, I went to Changfeng County and happened to encounter a flood… The rivers overflowed and people were like turtles.” The prisoner recalled, “As usual, I submitted a memorial and asked the Ministry of Revenue to allocate the money for food and disaster relief. According to the procedure, the imperial court must first come to inspect the disaster, then draw up the constitution for disaster relief. It will take a long time.

“Most of the victims of the flood are dead. Just don’t give them too much money. The small disasters that follow will pass by itself. There’s no need to save them. Who would have thought that the Imperial Court would quickly give the order to transport food from the surrounding counties and allocate another 300,000 taels of disaster silver?

I can’t sleep at night and have wasted ten years. I can finally do something for the people to fulfill my parents’ wishes!” At this point, the prisoner paused. “When there was a famine back then, my

a little different from before. There were many corrupt officials in the Sky Prison. Zhou Yi heard them talk about their reasons for earning money.

officials and scolded them. The Lu family asked the imperial court for food and silver. Why should they give them to the people? However, this also allowed me to know that the imperial court allocated

money

The Lu family has

did not need to ask to guess the subsequent

and said, “Back then, I was evaluated as an

from a county to a province. After

the governor of Luzhou and became the leader of a region.” The prisoner sneered. “The students who mocked me back then became good friends again. In order to curry favor with me, they gave me money, gave me courtesans, wrote

embezzled money whenever I see them and I’ll sell the government positions if I have. I’m unrestrained… and also

the wasted years, despair, and

prisoner’s gaze was faint, and his voice was ethereal. “What is the law? That’s the Imperial Court’s method of governing the people! What is the heavens? His Majesty is the heavens, the Imperial Court is the heavens, and the

Yi said, “However, you’re

now.”

lackey of the Lu family, I was already dead.” The prisoner’s eyes were empty. “So what if you kill me? No one can change the bureaucracy, and no one can save the

said coldly, “Every corrupt official counts. If we catch them, we’ll skin them

another batch of corrupt

Yi asked, “So the Imperial Court

rotten?”

his head gently and pointed at his face. “It’s not that the imperial court is rotten, nor is it that the families are rotten, but that the scholars are

asked curiously, “You’re a dog of the Lu family and an official in Luyang. How did you end

the dog turned over one day and became the owner.” The prisoner said, “In this way, not only did the Lu family rob money, but they also gained the hearts of the people.

like you’re not the

“Nor the last.”

thought of

“Does it work?”