Chapter 689: They were literally scared to death

Zhao Mingqiao settled into the Heavenly Prison with peace of mind.

Chen Guanlou opened a small back door for him, and key members of the Youth Society came in every other day to hold meetings with him.

Even if someone had minor objections, a single glare from Chen Guanlou made them swallow all their words. In the Heavenly Prison, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen was the highest authority; Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen's words were the law, the rules.

Taking a moment, he went to the C-block prison to check on the servants from the Zhang Fu.

Zhao Mingqiao had already been thrown into the Heavenly Prison, yet this group of people still hadn't been released, and the legal battles in the imperial court were far from over. They all looked miserable; the interrogation room had clearly put in some effort. Old Zhang Tou was credited with a major merit, and his bonus was doubled.

He instructed Xu Fugui, "Take some time to ask the Zhang family if they intend to bail these servants out. They're just wasting food sitting in the cells every day. If they don't bail them out, don't blame us for doing things by the rules."

Xu Fugui didn't grasp the spirit of the instruction and asked curiously, "May I ask, my lord, what rules?"

Chen Guanlou kicked him immediately. "Useless trash."

"The rule is that prisoners who waste food all die. Do you understand?"

Xu Fugui:...

He didn't quite understand!

There had never been such a rule before.

"Without an official document from the Ministry of Justice, if too many people die at once, I'm afraid I won't be able to answer for it."

"Do I need you to remind me? Go and ask immediately. If they bail them out, hint that they should pay; we'll keep them well-fed in the Heavenly Prison. If they don't bail them out, they all die."

Xu Fugui blinked, finally grasping the core element. "Does my lord have a grudge against Zheng Daochong?"

Chen Guanlou chuckled and walked away, leaving Xu Fugui with a dashing back view.

Xu Fugui:...

Serving a superior whose mood is as unpredictable as the weather is so exhausting!

In the end, the Zhang Fu did not pay to bail anyone out.

Chen Guanlou was not polite either; he allocated the entire monthly death quota to the Zhang Fu servants. This was the consequence of following the wrong master; he made sure to spread the word about how stingy, petty, and intolerant Zheng Daochong was.

Zheng Daochong had already been slightly outmatched in his conflict with Xiao Changsheng, and now that his reputation was being ruined by the Heavenly Prison, coupled with the fact that his health had never fully recovered, he fell ill again as soon as winter arrived!

Chen Guanlou quietly snuck into the Zhang Fu to take a look and concluded that the man surnamed Zheng wouldn't live long!

Unless he was willing to cripple his own Wu Gong and become an ordinary person.

Cultivation built up by pills was indeed unreliable and carried massive side effects.

He passed this news on to Xiao Changsheng.

Upon learning that Zheng Daochong's illness could not be aggravated, or he would easily suffer from Qi deviation, Xiao Changsheng was immediately energized. He specifically sought to trouble Zheng Daochong, bribing censors to impeach the man surnamed Zheng, snatching the Zhang family's business interests, and seizing their water sources—a full-scale assault.

No favorite courtier could tolerate another favorite courtier diluting the Emperor's favor.

Xiao Changsheng's hostility toward Zheng Daochong was greater than anyone else's.

He also frequently whispered in Emperor Taixing's ear, making up stories from time to time. Even if Emperor Taixing didn't believe it at first, after hearing it enough times, he couldn't help but take it to heart.

In private, Emperor Taixing asked the eunuch beside him, "Is Minister Zheng truly so unpopular? He is a legitimate second-rank Jinshi and a disciple of the Profound Heaven Sect."

Wang De, the trusted eunuch beside Emperor Taixing.

Bowing slightly, Wang De said softly, "Perhaps it is because Minister Zheng acts somewhat aggressively and is not very harmonious with other court officials."

Emperor Taixing hummed. "I thought that with his background and my trust, many officials would surely flock to him. I never expected that I would miscalculate."

Emperor Taixing had thought Zheng Daochong would be a second Jiang Tu, with a pile of lackeys under him and mid-to-low-level officials working for him, forming a brand-new faction known as the Sycophant Party. He could have fought against the traditional court officials led by Li Liangcheng, but he never expected to have miscalculated.

Mid-to-low-level officials would rather defect to the scoundrel Jiang Tu than defect to Zheng Daochong.

"Minister Zheng's character is lacking!"

Emperor Taixing had finally seen the truth, pointing straight to the core.

The essence was not whether one was a scholar or a Jinshi.

The essence was one's character.

Everyone cursed Jiang Tu for being unlearned and unskilled, but no one ever cursed Jiang Tu for being stingy, petty, or intolerant. Jiang Tu was recognized as generous; his lackeys, whether high-ranking or low-ranking, could eat and drink well following him, and could make a fortune and get promoted within a few short years.

Therefore, many mid-to-low-level officials would shamelessly defect to Jiang Tu.

Zheng Daochong was the complete opposite: stingy, petty, intolerant, quick to resort to violence at the slightest disagreement, cold to his enemies, and equally cold to his own people.

No matter how capable such a person was, no one was willing to follow him.

Aside from scolding and beating, it was just charging into battle, and they couldn't get any benefits. He only drove his oxen and horses to work but didn't provide them with fodder—who would do that!

Only a fool would!

Moreover, Zheng Daochong hadn't just become like this recently.

He had this same attitude when he was a mining supervisor. This was why the mines he was responsible for had the highest output but also the highest death rate, and his relationship with the surrounding commoners and gentry was the most tense, with conflicts breaking out from time to time.

With such a person, whoever worked for him was doomed. Therefore, no one was willing to follow him. Even with the Emperor's backing, he couldn't recruit anyone.

His character was lacking!

Emperor Taixing was very disappointed by this.

If there hadn't been a comparison, Emperor Taixing might have tolerated it for the sake of Zheng Daochong's ability to rake in money.

Now that there was Xiao Changsheng as a comparison—this unlearned and unskilled fellow had actually managed to gather a group of people around him and even bribed a group of censors to help impeach Zheng Daochong.

If nothing else, just in terms of winning people over, Xiao Changsheng left the man surnamed Zheng ten streets behind.

Consequently, Emperor Taixing had some thoughts in his mind.

Soon, those thoughts turned into a decision.

During the period when Zheng Daochong was on leave to recuperate, Wang De personally went to the Zhang Fu to announce the imperial decree. He ordered Zheng Daochong to rest and recover, with the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to be temporarily filled by someone else. Being free of official duties would be conducive to his recovery. To show the Emperor's valuation of him and to indicate that there was no intention of "discarding the bridge after crossing the river" by dismissing him, he was given generous rewards, including all sorts of gold, silver, and treasures.

Zheng Daochong was stunned; it was only after being reminded that he came to his senses and accepted the imperial decree.

After supporting his body to send Wang De away, he spectacularly vomited blood and fainted.

Xiao Changsheng was so happy that he held a lavish banquet at home to celebrate the downfall of the man surnamed Zheng.

Zheng Daochong was overcome with anger, suffered Qi deviation, and his life hung by a thread.

Xiao Changsheng took the opportunity to bribe the Zhang Fu servants, telling the man surnamed Zheng a piece of news: the courtesan he liked the most had already been bought by him, Xiao Changsheng. Not only had he bought the courtesan, but he had also taken in the concubine Zheng kept outside.

Pfft!

He vomited blood on the spot!

Narrow-minded and vengeful, how could Zheng Daochong endure such a humiliating insult? Years ago, when Wu Qiye and the others merely critiqued his essays, he had held a grudge until now. Now that his woman had been snatched and he had been cuckolded, his already weak body was hit with a double blow; the imperial physician stated that he was helpless.

The people in the Zhang Fu were shocked!

How could it come to this!

He was fine just a while ago; how could he be failing so suddenly!

"It is not that I am unwilling, but that my strength is insufficient. Minister Zheng consumed too many pills in his early years, being too eager for success, which left the root of his illness. Furthermore, he refused to rest properly or keep his mind at ease, avoiding great sorrow or joy—not a single thing I advised was followed. Now, I am also powerless." ===== CHAPTER 690 =====