roccoschili Chapter 109 The Yue Faction is Rampant! Rampant indeed!
Chapter 109 The Yue Faction is Rampant! Rampant indeed!
Chapter 109 The Yue Faction is Rampant! Rampant indeed!
Lin Zhou actually had one more mission to complete: to launch a satellite. However, he was truly at a loss for what to do. Firstly, he was preoccupied with other matters, and secondly, he was being closely monitored.
"Speaking of extravagance and simplicity, I will tell you about the story of King Zhou of Shang today. We have heard of King Zhou's tyranny, but do you know what caused his tyranny? It was nothing more than a pair of elephants."
On the stage, Headmaster Chen was lecturing eloquently. Lin Zhou propped his head up and was about to doze off. The dark-skinned PE student next to him was already fast asleep with his head tilted back. Only the silly beauty kept taking notes, but everyone knew that this handsome man was not as smart as the gatekeeper of the academy.
"Pingzhi, why do you think we need to control our desires?"
Lin Zhou looked up and exclaimed, then scratched his head and said, "I don't know—I've never eaten anything good or used anything good. Apart from an ex-girlfriend, I don't have any vices or greed—my only desire is probably to get a decent carriage as soon as possible. It's a bit annoying to rely on my two legs every day."
Headmaster Chen chuckled, shaking his head with a hint of helplessness: "Alright, let's call it a day. Pingzhi, come with me."
"They're here."
Following closely in the old man's footsteps, the two passed through the many gates of the academy and arrived at the back mountain. A field had been cultivated there, and seven or eight servants were tending to the land. There was even a small hut that looked like it was meant to be on duty 24 hours a day.
"Pingzhi, I've sown all those seeds according to the planting method, and divided them into two plots to plant the same crop. In planting methods, this is called a control group. On one side, I'll let it grow freely using an extensive method, and on the other side, I'll cultivate it intensively. We'll see what the difference in yield is between the two."
"You can handle this yourself, I don't know how either."
Without wasting words, Chen Shanzhang simply placed a key in Lin Zhou's hand: "Pingzhi, at my age, I might not be able to get out of bed one day. If I suddenly pass away, you must take care of these two plots of land for me. I have also written a letter to the authorities. If I am found to be gone, this letter will explain everything to you."
"Such a huge responsibility—" Lin Zhou shrank back, "This is too much for me—"
"Consider this the last thing you'll do for me. Anyway, I won't let you lose out, you money-grubber."
"Oh dear, it's the first month of the lunar year, let's not talk about such unlucky things." Lin Zhou squatted down and rummaged around in Tian Enjian's room. "If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."
"Stay for a meal. I've felt quite lonely since Yizhi left."
"Hey? Why don't you move in with me? There are lots of people there, it's lively. Grandma Li even goes over to visit every few days."
Headmaster Chen was both amused and exasperated by this remark. He slapped Lin Zhou on the head and said, "You rascal, you even dare to joke about your superior."
In the evening, I had dinner with the old man. He was a first-rank Grand Tutor, and his monthly salary and allowance were around 300 strings of cash, which was considered extremely wealthy. However, he lived a very simple life. When there was one more person to eat with him in the evening, he simply stir-fried some ham with wild vegetables and a few fish. The ham was the one that Lin Zhou had given him.
Although it wasn't bad, it was worlds apart from his status. You have to know that even the powerful Qin Hui would have to think twice before meeting this person, yet he lived such a poor and simple life.
"Headmaster, is this all you usually eat? It's too simple, even worse than what I eat."
"It's good that you've come. If you hadn't come, it would have just been a bowl of fish soup and some rice. When you get old, you don't have that kind of appetite anymore. Being full is enough." The headmaster looked up at the window with a hint of melancholy: "In my life, I have served four emperors and experienced both the greatest joys and the greatest sorrows in the world. I should have been free from desires and just wanted to pass away peacefully, but I never expected that someone would still send me a burden at the end."
His gaze drifted towards the back of the mountain: "I'll try my best to live long enough for those things to grow, so I can see them with my own eyes. That would be good enough."
"Don't worry, Headmaster, you'll see those things planted all over the world."
Thank you for your kind words.
After dinner, Lin Zhou bid farewell to the old man. On his way back to his small house, he saw a long line of imperial guards running past him. The entire city of Lin'an was in a state of high alert, with checkpoints set up at almost every intersection.
Lin Zhou was checked three times on this short journey, but fortunately he was wearing the academy's clothes and didn't seem to be a martial artist or have any weapons in his hands, so the journey was relatively smooth.
When he passed by the brothel, he found that the usually bustling brothel was closed today, and none of the girls who were dressed up and soliciting customers could be seen.
"Brother, why is the shop closed?"
Lin Zhou, very naturally friendly, approached a few patrolling soldiers and pointed to the brothel, saying, "I remember this place is open rain or shine, isn't it?"
"You didn't know?" The soldier, who was also a gossip, gestured with his chin toward the brothel while holding his weapon: "This morning, a military officer died. Everyone says he was struck by lightning, so all the brothels and gambling dens in the city have to close for three days."
"This has nothing to do with anything at all."
"Yeah, we're not even close." The soldier looked equally puzzled. "They just lock you up like that, what do I, as an officer, know? What's wrong? Going out to have fun? I do know some people who come secretly, wanna come?"
"No, no, it's too dirty." Lin Zhou waved his hand hastily, "Thanks, brother."
The soldier raised his chin, picked up his weapon, and continued patrolling the streets. Lin Zhou looked around and felt the atmosphere was extremely oppressive. It seemed that Qin Hui was really scared this time. The assassination attempts against him had never stopped, and now the person who had just defected to him was so suddenly killed under heavy protection.
Lin Zhou figured that guy would probably be too scared to go out for a while.
Back in the shop, he didn't talk to Lu You at all. He just washed up and went to bed. While lying outside, he could hear a sudden commotion outside, including the woman's cries and the soldiers' shouts.
It must be someone's house that was raided overnight.
The death of a mere officer might not seem like much, but it was like a slap in the face to Qin Hui. Keep in mind that the person who was killed was just a squad leader in the Imperial City Guard, Cheng'er's subordinate.
However, after he surrendered to Qin Hui, Qin Hui directly appointed him as a Yuhou, which was the Yuhou of the Palace Guard, a fifth-rank official, only one rank lower than the Sihou Xu Ping. The original intention was to announce to the world that Yue Fei's faction should abandon darkness and embrace light, because only by abandoning darkness and embracing light could they have a good ending.
He was only happy for a few days when this person was killed under Qin Hui's heavy protection. The key point is that Qin Hui could only suffer in silence. He knew that this was definitely not an accident but an assassination, but he just couldn't say that it was an assassination.
But the truth will eventually come out, and in a few days, there will be other versions of the so-called divine punishment. Regardless of which version it is, it will be a devastating blow to Qin Hui's so-called "spending a thousand gold pieces to buy horse bones" strategy.
If you call it divine retribution, outsiders will think, "Hey, joining Qin Hui will get you struck by lightning, no way!" But if you call it an assassination, outsiders will say, "Joining Qin Hui is a dead end."
To be fair, everyone has their own moral compass. Leaving aside concepts like propriety, righteousness, integrity, loyalty, filial piety, and benevolence, Qin Hui was actually a decent leader. However, if siding with him meant not only facing criticism but also having to withstand assassination attempts, many people would have to think twice. Money and fame are important, but if you can't even save your own life—
As for why even brothels were closed, Lin Zhou could actually guess the reason. Qin Hui was really in a hurry this time. The previous rumors about a celestial star piercing the sun were nothing more than superstition and harmless. But this time, it was going to cause real damage.
"Damn it." Lin Zhou went to the window, opened it, and listened to the commotion outside. "That scoundrel is inhuman. Zhao Gou is a complete waste."
However, even if he were to reveal his identity now, he wouldn't dare. If Lin Zhou were all alone, he could easily find a way to get rid of Qin Hui and even Zhao Gou, but he isn't. He has a good younger sister to take care of, and a group of people around him who are connected to him.
There's even a silly romantic entanglement with Hong Liu right there. Although his identity as a son-in-law of the Jin Kingdom is only half true, his feelings for that silly girl are growing stronger and stronger.
It has to be said, people are really damn shameful—the deeper the bond, the more timid they become.
"Go to sleep, go to sleep." Lin Zhou lit a cigarette by the window, then lay back down on the bed, thinking about asking Lu You how he took care of that person tomorrow morning. It felt like a spy drama, and just thinking about it was exciting.