Chapter 94: Confession

With those words, Zhou Huaishan flopped down on his back.

Arms crossed, eyes shut, he snorted coldly, "I'm not writing. Whoever wants to write, let them do it!"

Zhou Ping stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Second Uncle, don’t you love reading and writing?"

With his eyes closed and a resigned expression, Zhou Huaishan declared, "From now on, I no longer like it!"

Zhou Ping looked at Zhou Qing, then at Zhou Huaishan, his small face full of bewilderment.

Can grown-ups be this stubborn?

Zhou Qing, losing her patience, pulled Zhou Huaishan up. "If you don’t write, how are we going to make money?"

Zhou Huaishan grunted, "Don’t we already have over four thousand, almost five thousand taels in savings?"

"That amount is nothing. When you go to the capital for the exams, and if you pass the Jinshi exam and enter the Hanlin Academy, won’t you need to buy a house there?"

Zhou Huaishan suddenly sat up, pointing at himself. "Me? Jinshi? Do you even know who I am?"

Zhou Qing glared at him. "If you don’t pass the exam and become a high-ranking official, aren’t you afraid of Zhou Huaihai and Zhou Yuan seeking revenge?"

Zhou Huaishan snickered, "Zhou Huaihai is already in prison!"

"He’s in prison, but it’s not a death sentence. As long as Zhou Yuan is still around, Zhou Huaihai could get out at any time. This time he failed to harm you, but when he gets out, with his temper, don’t you think he’ll try to finish you off?"

Zhou Qing’s words genuinely scared him.

But more importantly...

There’s really nothing fun in the countryside. He longed to live in the city.

Preferably the capital!

He missed his old life. He missed being free!

Seeing Zhou Huaishan waver, Zhou Qing pressed further, "Study hard, make more money, and in critical moments, protect yourself."

Zhou Huaishan pouted, sighing deeply with a bitter expression, and reluctantly pulled the stack of red paper Zhou Ping had placed on the kang table.

"Fine, I’ll write."

Zhou Ping, who had been listening to Zhou Qing’s earlier words, had a look of sudden determination flash across his five-year-old face. He clenched his small fists tightly.

Protect myself!

He turned and ran off.

Zhou Qing handed Zhou Huaishan the ink and brush.

Zhou Huaishan began writing.

After a few characters, he suddenly turned to look at Zhou Qing. "Wait a minute."

"What’s wrong?"

"When we first came here, you said you’d take care of me! You said making me copy books was just temporary."

With a long sigh filled with grievance, Zhou Huaishan looked just like a bullied wife.

"Your daughter’s promises are all lies! As expected, a woman’s words can’t be trusted!"

Suddenly, Zhou Huaishan put down the brush, turning to Zhou Qing with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What now?"

"Daughter, if we want to live a good life, we don’t necessarily have to rely on me. You could do it too."

Zhou Huaishan rubbed his hands together like a scheming fly and leaned toward Zhou Qing.

"Daughter, if you marry into a good family, one more powerful than Zhou Yuan, all our problems would be solved."

Zhou Qing immediately rolled her eyes.

"Me? Marry into a family more powerful than Zhou Yuan’s? Not to mention we don’t know anyone like that. Even if we did, what would they see in me? Ugly, poor, and unrefined?"

Zhou Huaishan looked at Zhou Qing in astonishment.

His gaze scanned her face.

Big eyes, long eyelashes, cute dimples, a straight nose.

Not ugly!

But dark!

A tan ruins everything!

With that appearance, there’s no chance a nobleman would instantly fall for her and marry her as a wife.

Nobles aren’t blind!

The capital is full of fair-skinned beauties!

If not a wife, then maybe a concubine...

Like hell!

Even if the nobleman agreed, he wouldn’t!

With a resigned sigh, Zhou Huaishan accepted his fate and picked up the brush again.

On one side, Zhou Huaishan sorrowfully wrote joyous couplets, while on the other, Zhou Ping returned to his room and created a daily schedule for himself.

Wake up at dawn, run for half an hour, practice horse stance for half an hour, practice the boxing techniques Shen Li taught him for half an hour, and practice with the small bow Shen Li made for him for half an hour.

At around 9 AM, start studying and writing.

Lunch at noon.

In the afternoon, study and write again.

After dinner, night running for half an hour, horse stance for half an hour, boxing for half an hour, and practice archery for half an hour.

Review the day’s lessons for half an hour.

Once he finished, Zhou Ping posted the schedule above his desk, then solemnly raised three fingers to his ear.

"If I, Zhou Ping, don’t follow through, my senior brother will never marry!"

Far away in the capital, while interrogating a criminal, Shen Li suddenly sneezed three times in a row.

Qing must be missing me.

With a savage strike of the whip, Shen Li lashed it across the criminal’s body. "Will you confess or not?"

Once this matter is handled, I need to rush back to Qingyang Village.

If you mess up my plans, I’ll beat you to death!

The criminal on the receiving end couldn’t help but think, Is this chief interrogator insane? Didn’t I already confess? Or did he see through my half-truths?

"I confess! I confess! A part of Zhou Yuan’s money comes from Count Duankang, but it’s only a small part. The majority came from a steward named Yu Quan from the Duke Zhen’s household."

Behind Shen Li, a group of attendants stood in awe.

The boss really is something! He made him confess the key information immediately!

So the earlier confession was just toying with us, huh?

With another whip strike, Shen Li lashed him again.

But I confessed, why is he still hitting me?

This chief interrogator is a complete sadist! He always aims there!

"I’ve told you everything! That’s all I know!"

Shen Li put away the whip and turned to give orders. "Prepare the written confession."

An attendant quickly stepped forward, writing down the confession. Taking it in hand, Shen Li headed straight for the palace.

Zhou Yuan, a mere soldier in the Jingwei Battalion, managed to obtain a vast sum of silver from the Duke Zhen’s household. The Duke’s network must be enormous.

In the Imperial Study.

Incense wafted through the air, and a golden mythical beast gleamed.

The emperor sat wearily at his desk, rubbing his temples with his right hand.

Seven or eight opened memorials were scattered across the table, all related to Zhou Yuan and the Count Duankang’s household.

"What do you make of this?"

Shen Li, dressed in a dark embroidered robe, stood obediently in front of the desk.

The soft candlelight of the Imperial Study reflected in his sharp black eyes, making him appear even more resolute and grim.

"Zhou Yuan is merely a pawn used by the Duke Zhen to manipulate the Jingwei Battalion. Whatever the Duke is planning, questioning Zhou Yuan will reveal it."

The emperor massaging his brow, though he didn’t look up at Shen Li.

Shen Li continued, "But Zhou Yuan is new to the capital and can’t have gained the Duke’s complete trust so soon. If we arrest him now, it would alert the enemy."

A smile crept onto the emperor’s face.

"What do you suggest?"

"Keep Zhou Yuan under observation. To the Duke Zhen, he may be insignificant, but to the Count Duankang’s household, he’s important. And the Count Duankang has always been a staunch supporter of Duke Zhen."

"The bribery scandal involving Zhou Huaihai and the former prefect of Xuanfu is already stirring up public outrage among scholars. If we allow Zhou Yuan to free Zhou Huaihai from prison now, it will only inflame this anger further."

The emperor slowly lowered his hand, finally raising his eyes to look at Shen Li.

His tired gaze held a warmth of trust and care.

"Then go ahead. Act freely and decisively."

Shen Li bowed, accepting the order.