PDLP Chapter 317 The Collapse of the Luo Family
Chapter 317 The Collapse of the Luo Family
As Wenwen made her move, the other two followed suit.
Wen Chengjian and Wen Chengbin each lifted one of the chubby boy's arms and carried him to a corner.
"Well, well..."
After the chubby boy steadied himself, he leaned against the courtyard wall and looked up at Wenwen and her two siblings.
In fact, this scene in the corner could not escape the eyes of everyone in the courtyard; it was just that everyone kept it to themselves.
It wasn't that he trusted the siblings, but rather that he trusted Grand Tutor Zhou. Grand Tutor Zhou allowed anyone to appear in the courtyard, and these were the renowned young masters of the Hao family.
Wenwen kept her hand over his mouth, saying, "You're not allowed to say anything out of line. I'll let go of you then, understand?"
The chubby boy's eyes darted around, thinking to himself, "I wasn't wrong about what I just said, so how did I offend my older brothers and sisters? It seems even the Great Ancestor's intelligence wasn't accurate."
It turns out that this chubby boy is the great-grandson of Grand Tutor Zhou, who is also the youngest nephew of Master Zhou.
The chubby boy had just asked them, "Is my fourth uncle doing well in the northern desert?"
Good heavens, that sentence just popped out of nowhere, it's no wonder it's scary. If they can say that, it means they've been exposed. Once this is exposed, all their hard work will be for nothing, and it's extremely dangerous.
So, the three siblings cornered the chubby boy without saying a word.
Wenwen repeated earnestly, "Did you understand?"
The chubby boy nodded. Once his mouth was free, he wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted. "Him, is he alright?"
Wenwen didn't want to answer, but she couldn't ignore it either, so she asked in return, "What do you think?"
The chubby boy squinted, snorted, and his chubby cheeks were especially cute, with two little dimples.
Wenwen couldn't help but reach out and poke his dimple. "Haha, guess."
The chubby boy suddenly smiled. "I bet it's great, right? Maybe there's something even better?"
Wen Chengjian patted the chubby boy on the shoulder, "Don't make wild guesses, don't talk nonsense, he's fine, very fine, don't worry."
The chubby boy patted his chest like a little adult to comfort himself, "That's good, that's good, everyone can finally rest assured."
In fact, Wenwen and her brother knew about this chubby boy. Needless to say, it must have been Master Zhou who told everyone. Master Zhou had described each person's appearance and personality to everyone on his list, and he specifically mentioned this boy, saying that they needed to use the same methods as when dealing with naughty children to suppress him. That's why they dared to manipulate this chubby boy right under the Zhou family's noses.
Wenwen remembered that the chubby boy had just looked at those pages of formulas, so she wanted to tease him.
"Hey kid, you saw them copying books just now, right? How much do you remember?"
"Would you believe me if I said I remembered it all?"
Wenwen felt a bit annoyed when she heard this, "You're bragging without thinking, or I might accidentally hit you."
The chubby boy would retort, "Otherwise, guess how many I can remember?"
"Oh my god," Wenwen thought to herself, "you little fatso, you've got guts to use what she said to shut me up."
"I won't guess. If you want to show off, then memorize it. Don't just talk big."
Kids are kids, they can't handle being goaded. "I'll just recite it."
The child stood still, crossed his arms in front of his stomach, and began to shake his head and sway his body, opening his mouth to chant, "The energy of heaven and earth..."
Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!
Wenwen felt a flock of crows fly over her head!
The courtyard was quiet, very quiet.
The Zhou family's eyes were overflowing with praise for the chubby boy.
Wenwen was on the verge of tears, her heart having suffered a heavy blow.
Are all the kids in Beijing so amazing?
She met one genius after another, and it turned out she was the dumbest one.
Wenwen transmitted her voice to Wen Chengjian and his brother: "Big brother, these people are born to discourage people. I want to go home. I don't want to stay here anymore. Second brother, let's go home. Let's go to the mountains and kill some monsters to regain some confidence, okay?"
The two brothers thought to themselves, "You brought this on yourself, who can you blame?" But they said aloud, "It's okay. Even though our family members are a bit slow, the early bird catches the worm, right? We've already taken a big step ahead of them. It's just a setback. We'll get used to it after a while. It's not a big deal, sister."
Indeed, setbacks are what motivate people to improve. She needs to go back and work hard to catch up with these people.
The chubby boy's boasting was well-received by everyone.
Time passed quickly, and everyone had almost finished copying their books.
After giving some encouraging words, Grand Tutor Zhou let everyone use their intelligence and wisdom, and if they really didn't understand, they could discuss it with each other.
The time spent studying goes by quickly.
The days went by in this cycle, and three days later, news spread from the capital.
Several of Luo's distant nephews were reported to the authorities for committing violence in the street, forcibly abducting women, and instead of forcing them into prostitution, killing them.
The victim filed a complaint with the authorities, but the authorities had accepted bribes from the Luo family, and in the end, the victim was imprisoned and died unjustly.
This news circulated on the streets for only half a day before disappearing without a trace.
The Crown Prince, who happened to be traveling incognito outside the palace, overheard this and then had someone impeach the Luo family.
Little did anyone know, pulling up the radish brought up the mud, revealing that the high-ranking officials in the government had accepted bribes, which led to the wrongful death of the victim.
That wasn't the end of it. Two days later, all the officials, big and small, who had bought their positions through the Luo family were exposed. Among them were many high-ranking officials, and dozens of them, big and small, were all connected to the Luo family in countless ways.
The Minister of Personnel is now very busy. The officials involved in the case have been dismissed and investigated, and the appointment of new officials is piling up in his hands.
The Dali Temple accepts investigations, but if it doesn't investigate, it's fine; if it does, trouble will arise.
These officials all keep a record of their families' misdeeds. It's either that one family's good-for-nothing son has caused a death, or that one relative has seized someone else's house and land. Every single one of these incidents reflects the collusion and protection among officials.
In a fit of rage, the emperor replaced all of these dozens of people. To make an example of them, he also punished the Luo family with a two-year salary reduction. However, he did not take his anger out on Consort Luo in the harem.
However, some of the officials who were dismissed were those in charge of the area surrounding the gold mines.
That night, several people came to the backyard of the Luo family, and Luo Qianyou and these people discussed things in his study all night.
At dawn the next day, the group left the Luo residence and, as soon as the city gates opened, disguised themselves as merchants and headed north out of the city.
Little did they know that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; someone was following them from behind, and someone was waiting for them ahead.
These men traveled day and night to the mountain where the Luo family hid their gold ore. They split into two groups: one group went inside, while the other went to the mine to call for help to move the ore. When they were halfway through the transfer, a patrol team of soldiers ran out from the back of the mountain.
"Who are you? What are you doing?" the deputy general in charge shouted.
The men casually produced the Luo family's token, flashed it, and handed the deputy general a bag of gold. "Sir, the Luo family is handling matters, so please be lenient. Here, take your brothers and go have some tea."
The lieutenant, allowing no room for argument, darkened his face and ordered, "Open bribery is an even greater crime. Seize them all!"