I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 279 Killing the chicken to scare the monkey

Chapter 279 Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

Qian Qianyi's residence.

Before dawn, Qian Qianyi got up early as usual to prepare for the morning court session.

Mrs. Qian carefully served the bird's nest porridge.

When Qian Qianyi saw this, he was reminded of the time he wet his pants five times. He was furious, both at Wang Wenzhou's despicable behavior and at his own embarrassing state.

"Bang!" Qian Qianyi picked up the bowl and smashed it on the ground.

"Master, please don't be angry. Is the porridge cold? I'll tell the servants to make it again right away." Madam Qian knew that her husband had been in a bad mood since returning yesterday, throwing tantrums everywhere. What she couldn't understand was why he had the servants boil water for a bath as soon as he got home. And why he had burned all the clothes he had taken off. Those were official robes, supplied in rations by the court. He couldn't make them himself; they were only issued a few sets a year. Burning one meant one less set available.

"Sigh..." Qian Qianyi sighed and said softly, "Let's not have porridge, let's have some snacks."

"Hmm!" Madam Qian hurriedly instructed the servants to prepare. She suddenly heard her husband mutter to himself: "Make sure to drink less water and eat more food. No, we also need to bring some snacks for lunch, otherwise we'll go hungry again. Oh, and we need to wear more clothes."

Madam Qian was very puzzled and couldn't understand what Qian Qianyi meant by saying that.

After finishing breakfast, Qian Qianyi not only put on thick cotton-padded clothes and trousers, but also wore a fox fur robe over them. He also had his attendant carry a food box filled with various snacks.

As soon as Qian Qianyi stepped out of the gate, he suddenly remembered something and instructed his attendant, "Go and get another chamber pot; I need to take it with me to court."

"Pfft..." Chang Sui was completely bewildered. Master, are you going to court? It feels like you're on vacation.

Qian Qianyi was well-prepared and confident. He decided to just wait and see who would back down first. With the Six Ministries deserted, the Emperor would surely become anxious and eventually compromise. Wang Wenzhou, you'll be in for a world of hurt then!

……

Wang Wenzhou waited outside the palace gates with Chen Yuanyuan in his arms. He had been staying in the palace for the past few days, spending his nights talking with Zhu Youjian to discuss countermeasures.

Chen Yuanyuan's eyes were bloodshot. She had cried bitterly yesterday after being tormented by Wang Wenzhou, and had been kept awake all night by him. She had pleaded with Consort Tian to have Zhu Youjian issue an edict allowing her to leave Wang Wenzhou. Consort Tian's reply was that the Emperor refused and even became angry, forbidding Consort Tian from participating in court affairs.

Chen Yuanyuan was very puzzled. Was this considered a matter of state affairs? Ever since His Majesty met Wang Wenzhou, this madman, he had also started to act strangely.

The appointed time had arrived. Wang Wenzhou glanced at the officials present, his brow furrowed. Less than half of them had come; the rest had all taken leave, offering various excuses such as illness, traffic jams, or lack of sleep.

Wang Wenzhou glanced around at the officials and realized that Qian Shisheng had indeed not come to court. Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly, took out the signatures of the officials from yesterday, and found Qian Shisheng's signature.

"Eunuch Cao, please find someone to fill out this secret letter. We're going to the Qian residence to arrest the traitor," Wang Wenzhou said to Cao Huachun.

"Alright!" Cao Huachun nodded with a wry smile. "Lord Qian, please don't blame me. Wang Wenzhou insisted on using you as a target, and I had no choice but to do something about it."

"Fellow officials!" Wang Wenzhou cupped his hands in greeting to the officials and said, "Yesterday I repeatedly emphasized that no matter what happens today, everyone must attend court. But there are some shameless lazybones who are sleeping soundly at home with their beauties instead of attending court. It's simply outrageous!"

Wen Tiren smiled and said to Wang Wenzhou, "So many officials didn't come, what can you do? The law doesn't punish the masses. It seems I won't have to send my granddaughter to you to cause trouble."

"Swish!" Wang Wenzhou drew his imperial sword and shouted, "The Eastern Depot just received a secret report that the Junior Chamberlain..."

Qian Shisheng has betrayed his country and colluded with the enemy. Please come with me to ransack his home.

"Buzz!" The officials immediately started making a fuss.

"Wang Wenzhou, you're spouting nonsense!"

"If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext!"

"Wang Wenzhou, you framed a loyal official; you shall die a horrible death!"

Wang Wenzhou shouted, "Shut the hell up! I have solid evidence. You'll see when we get to the Qian residence."

"Guards, escort these gentlemen to the Qian residence," Wang Wenzhou ordered.

The imperial guards who were preparing nearby quickly surrounded the group. The group looked at each other in confusion; Wang Wenzhou hadn't sent anyone to escort them, he was clearly taking them under guard.

When Wang Wenzhou and the officials arrived at the Qian residence, it had already been taken over by the Eastern Depot.

Qian Shisheng was bound hand and foot and his mouth was gagged. When he saw Wang Wenzhou, he hurriedly tried to say something.

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Lord Qian, stop arguing, the evidence is conclusive."

"Waaah!" Qian Shisheng glared angrily at Wang Wenzhou, but no one knew what he was trying to say.

“This is a special case, and it is of great importance that it cannot be handled by the Court of Judicial Review. Therefore, I have consulted His Majesty, and he has appointed me to handle the case at his discretion. With all my colleagues present, I will present the evidence of Qian Shisheng’s collusion with the Tartars in front of you,” Wang Wenzhou said solemnly.

Nobody would believe you! None of the officials believed Wang Wenzhou's words.

Wang Wenzhou ordered, "Bring over that spy sent by the Tartars to meet with Qian Shisheng."

A short while later, the spy that Wang Wenzhou had mentioned was brought over.

Wang Wenzhou asked, "What's your name? Where are you from?"

“My name is Wild Boar Skin, I’m from the Jin Dynasty,” the man replied.

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "You all heard that, right? That's all for the case. The rest is confidential and cannot be revealed to you."

"Guards!" Wang Wenzhou pointed at the wild boar hide and ordered, "Execute this man immediately!"

"Yes!" A soldier immediately drew his sword and chopped off the boar's head with one stroke.

"Ah!" The officials were terrified. Wang Wenzhou really dared to do this! This person must have been someone Wang Wenzhou hired to frame Qian Shisheng, but Wang Wenzhou killed him directly. This was murder to silence him, and there would be no way to overturn the case later.

"Qian Shisheng, do you know your crime?" Wang Wenzhou asked.

"Waaah!" Qian Shisheng's face contorted in rage as he tried to break free of the ropes.

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Since Qian Shisheng has confessed, this official hereby sentences him as follows: All adult males in the Qian family, regardless of whether they are masters or servants, shall be executed immediately. Guards, carry out the execution!"

As soon as Wang Wenzhou finished speaking, more than twenty men were brought into the courtyard, and in the blink of an eye, more than twenty heads rolled to the ground.

"Waaah!" Qian Shisheng shouted excitedly.

"Lord Wang, spare his life! Lord Qian cannot be killed!" Minister of Justice Zheng Sanjun suddenly spoke up.

“Lord Zheng, as I just said, this is a special case, and it concerns national security. Your Ministry of Justice has no right to hold you accountable,” Wang Wenzhou said coldly.

When Wang Wenzhou started killing the first person, Zheng Sanjun wanted to speak, but Qian Qianyi stopped him.

Qian Qianyi said that Wang Wenzhou was currently enjoying great favor with the emperor. Unless he did something that would incite public outrage, we couldn't bring him down. We could let him be executed, but we had to save Qian Shisheng's life. Only in this way could we overturn the case and prevent Wang Wenzhou from ever recovering.