Chapter Seven: Wipe Them All Out

“Then we are to let Xiao Zhi run rampant? First Huaizhong was killed, then Bai Yan’s household was raided. Who knows who will be next?”

Song Qi shook his head in silence, finished writing the calligraphy copy, and handed it to the steward.

“Deliver this to the Imperial City Office and give it to Captain Xiao. Remember, be polite but resolute. The matter must be resolved, no matter the cost.”

The steward took the order and left.

Song Qi went to the window, gazing at the gloomy sky outside. Oppressive dark clouds were slowly rolling in from the horizon.

“The weather is about to change. I wonder how long this rain will last.”

In the capital, the weather could shift suddenly. Half an hour ago, it was bright and sunny; now, the sky was heavy with dark clouds.

Xiao Zhi was also watching the sky, feeling a melancholy resonance like Song Qi. After such a long drought, this rain was a timely blessing. Perhaps the few elm trees in the Imperial City Office courtyard would grow lush again, and the people of the realm might harvest a few more bushels of grain.

“Sir, we have a confession,” Mu Weihut’s face was brimming with excitement as he presented a stack of testimonies to Xiao Zhi, eager to take credit, his smile ingratiating, almost wagging his tail.

In the past, Mu Weihut was too embarrassed to acknowledge his position as the garrison general of the Imperial City Office, holding a fourth-rank title in name only. His salary was often withheld or not paid at all.

As for the authority of the Imperial City Office, it wasn’t that Mu Weihut lacked ambition; he simply lacked the power and backing. The previous garrison general was a living example—before he could act, he was ousted, sentenced to exile in Lingnan, and died suddenly right after leaving the capital.

Now, things were different. Xiao Zhi was fearless and reckless, backed by the emperor. Mu Weihut straightened his back.

“What’s the charge?”

Xiao Zhi nodded slightly, taking the confessions and flipping through them casually. “This thick? Bai Yan hasn’t done a thing right.”

Mu Weihut said, “I only recorded the noteworthy parts, otherwise there would be even more. Bai Yan was corrupt, unjustly framing the loyal, and treating human life as grass. They are still counting the silver and money; just the land alone amounts to forty thousand acres. Raiding the household and exile is well deserved.”

Forty thousand acres—that’s massive corruption.

Xiao Zhi had suspected Bai Yan was dirty, but among the current officials of Great Chu, who was truly clean? Could a clean person even hold office?

But he hadn’t expected Bai Yan to be so brazenly greedy.

According to Bai Yan’s steward, Bai Yan’s son, Bai Han, sought to consolidate three hundred acres from a minor landlord. He secretly convened a tribunal, fabricated charges, and had the entire landlord family executed and exiled. The landlord had a daughter of breathtaking beauty, whom Bai Han abducted. When he grew tired of her, he handed her over to a group of vicious slaves. The lady could not bear the humiliation and hanged herself, naked at the time.

There were dozens of such cases involving the Bai family.

“That’s enough to sentence them to death. Exile would be too lenient,” Mu Weihut said with an awkward laugh. “Sir, you must understand, above third rank, the harshest punishment allowed is exile.”

Xiao Zhi seemed to understand; this was a familiar game.

Everyone was corrupt. Today, they executed a man named Zhang; tomorrow, another named Li. What would happen when they came for you?

Political struggles are never truly life or death battles but fights for power and profit. Everyone plays at the same table, all aware of the filth underneath, so it’s an unspoken understanding.

Xiao Zhi was different. He planned to overturn the table and strip everyone bare.

He slapped the confessions onto Mu Weihut’s chest and spoke each word clearly, “All male Bai Yan family members over sixteen, beheaded. Those under sixteen, enslaved or exiled. The women sent to the entertainment quarters.”

Lawmakers have always left themselves loopholes. If the common people tried to convict officials, half the corrupt officials would be gone.

In his past life, Xiao Zhi was a conman walking society’s dark side. He cheated corrupt officials because he despised them deeply.

Though Xiao Zhi now held an official position in Great Chu, at heart he was still an ordinary man who wanted to do something for the common folk.

Fewer corrupt officials meant more happy families.

Mu Weihut, seeing Xiao Zhi did not scold him for speaking out, dared to say, “By custom, the ancestral home remains untouched, and heirs are spared. Sir, do you mean...?”

“Spare heirs? Killing the big ones and leaving the small ones to seek revenge later?” Xiao Zhi sneered, staring at Mu Weihut. “Did you not hear what I just said? Or do you doubt my words?”

Using an unchallengeable tone, cold as ice, Xiao Zhi said, “Follow the laws of Great Chu—wipe them out completely!”

Mu Weihut felt a chilling aura from Xiao Zhi—a demon ready to devour.

If Xiao Zhi pursued this path, looking into every case, would any official remain?

The rain began, starting with heavy drops.

Raindrops pattered on the tiles, gathering into streams that splashed onto the ground, forming puddles or trickling lines.

Outside the Imperial City Office, a crowd quickly gathered, led by Shi Weigong, clamoring for the release of the prisoners.

The guards of the Imperial City Office stood in a line before the blackened door studded with green-rusted copper nails, resolutely blocking entry.

Just moments ago, Xiao Zhi had sent word that the silver and money confiscated from Bai Yan’s household were being counted, with each person guaranteed at least two hundred taels.

Two hundred taels might not sound like much, but for a captain, that was equivalent to four or five years’ salary—and there was still a large sum being counted.

They weren’t guarding the gate but their own pockets. If they gave in to pressure and let people storm in or freed Bai Yan, they would lose everything.

At the Diligent Governance Hall,

Qin Yong leaned against the window frame, the strong wind blowing against him.

Eunuch Hu stood behind, holding a cup of tea, while Qin Yong watched the curtain of rain, a faint smile curling his lips.

This day felt dreamlike to Emperor Qin Yong.

When the court was forced into a palace coup and had to compromise with the northern barbarians, he felt like a defeated ruler. But halfway through the day, he felt more like a restorer of the dynasty.

“Ah Bao, how many people have gathered outside the palace gate?”

Ah Bao was Eunuch Hu’s nickname; his real name was Hu Bao. Of course, very few dared to call him that.

Eunuch Hu replied, “The guards just reported, there are already dozens.”

“How long will Xiao Zhi need?”

When ministers surrounded the palace, it was a serious matter, and even the emperor couldn’t remain indifferent. Sometimes compromises were necessary.

That was the past. This time, Qin Yong felt no pressure; the more the court officials stirred up trouble, the more urgent they seemed, proving the sharpness and effectiveness of Xiao Zhi’s blade.

Eunuch Hu smiled, “This servant doesn’t know, but it should take at least a few days.”

Arresting, interrogating, drafting charges—

This whole process took several days at minimum.

But everyone had forgotten one thing: the Imperial City Office could execute first and report later, employing any means necessary.

Qin Yong said, “I believe this matter is already settled. Xiao Zhi just wants to let these people taste some rain.”