He resisted the foul stench wafting toward his nose and knelt on one knee before Chu Xiao’s wheelchair.
“My Lord, everything unearthed from beneath the doghouse is here.”
Chu Xiao didn’t even glance down at the filthy bundle. He merely lifted his chin slightly, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.
“Open it. Shake it out for everyone in the manor to see.”
Jifeng accepted the command. He stood up and walked to the most spacious part of the courtyard. Under the curious and fearful gazes of dozens of people, he used his sword scabbard to disdainfully pry open the bundle stained with black mud.
With a soft thud, the cloth unraveled, and its contents were laid bare in the early autumn sunlight. It was a thick stack of banknotes issued by the Great Chu Tongbao Bank, along with a secret letter sealed tightly with wax. Although the edges of the notes were stained, the bright red official seals were still clearly visible.
Jifeng used the tip of his sword to lift the stack of banknotes and announced the amount in a cold voice.
“Dàtōng Bank, face value of fifty taels each, six notes in total. Exactly the three hundred taels of silver that went missing from the Prince’s private treasury last month!”
The moment he said this, an uproar erupted. The servants in the courtyard seemed like cats whose tails had been stepped on; they exploded with suppressed gasps and exclamations one after another.
“Oh my god! It really is three hundred taels! That’s the money that went missing from the treasury!”
“I knew it! Why else would Steward Li have been acting so suspicious that night? So he really was the thief!”
“He always acted so high and mighty, using the rules to suppress us at every turn, yet he turned out to be a thief stealing from his own master behind our backs!”
The way the servants looked at Steward Li changed completely in an instant. The original awe and fear had transformed into contempt, shock, and undisguised loathing.
However, this was not the most fatal blow.
Jifeng shifted his sword tip and picked up the unsigned secret letter. On the wax seal, there was a distinctive totem: a coiled four-clawed golden dragon. This was the exclusive private seal of the Crown Prince.
Jifeng’s face turned livid. He abruptly whipped his head toward Steward Li, who was collapsed on the ground, and bellowed, “You bold, treacherous old thief! You actually colluded with the Eastern Palace to betray the Prince!”
“How do you explain this secret letter bearing the Crown Prince’s private seal?!”
Stealing the master’s wealth would at most make him a house thief—enough to have his legs broken and be sold off. But conspiring with a rival prince and acting as a spy in the residence of the “Living Yama” was an act of treason—a capital crime punishable by the execution of his entire clan.
The evidence was undeniable; he had been caught red-handed.
Steward Li looked at the familiar secret letter on the ground. His brain buzzed as if countless flies were swarming inside. He knew he was finished. All his pretenses and all his hidden cards had been stripped away in this moment, leaving him without even a shred of dignity.
Overwhelming fear instantly shattered his final psychological defense. Like a dying old dog drained of water, Steward Li lunged forward from the ground. Ignoring the broken porcelain shards and the spilled croton bean soup, he began to slam his forehead frantically against the hard bluestone floor.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The dull sound of his head hitting the stone echoed through the courtyard. In moments, his forehead was gashed, and blood began streaming down his aged face.
“My Lord, please spare me! My Lord, spare me!”
Steward Li’s voice was hoarse and shrill, filled with endless despair and panic. “This old servant was momentarily blinded by greed! It was the Crown Prince who forced me into this!”
“I have served in this manor for twenty years; if I have no merits, I at least have put in the labor. Please, for the sake of the late Emperor, spare this old dog’s life!”
He wept, snot and tears streaming down his face, and even tried to crawl forward to grab Chu Xiao’s wheelchair. But he was kicked hard in the chest by Jifeng, screaming as he rolled away.
Chu Xiao sat upright in his wheelchair, his eyes as sharp as blades. He watched the Steward, who was now a pile of mud on the ground, without even sparing a glance at his bloodied forehead. In those deep, dark eyes, there was not a hint of pity—only chilling disgust and indifference.
“Blinded by greed?”
Chu Xiao let out a cold laugh, his voice sounding as if it had drifted up from the depths of hell. “Acting as an eye for others under my nose for ten years, stealing my money to enjoy yourself at the Changle Pleasure House.”
“It seems your ‘momentary’ blindness has lasted quite a long time.”
The air pressure in the courtyard dropped to its lowest point. Everyone held their breath; a few timid maids even closed their eyes in terror. Everyone knew that, given the Ninth Prince’s historically violent temper, this old traitor would never walk out of this courtyard alive.
Dismemberment, slow death by a thousand cuts, or being tossed into the mass grave behind the mountain to feed the wolves—these were the standard treatments for traitors in the Prince’s manor. Jifeng had already silently drawn the long sword at his waist, waiting only for his master’s order to send the old thief to his death.
Just as the situation reached a breaking point, and everyone assumed Steward Li was about to lose his head, Shen Yu, who had been sitting on the steps eating melon seeds, suddenly smacked her lips in her heart.
[Just chopping him off with one sword strike? That’s way too easy on this old bastard.]
[This old man cares most about his reputation; he wears silk and satin every day and looks down on everyone. If he just dies instantly, he won’t understand what it truly feels like to wish he were dead.]
[System, tell me, where is the dirtiest, foulest, and most humiliating place in this manor?]
The System immediately replied cheerfully: [Reporting to the host: It must be the stables in the backyard! There are dozens of warhorses there, and the horse manure piles up like small mountains every day!]
Shen Yu’s eyes lit up.
[Exactly! He should be sent to shovel manure! Make him spend every day with that foul-smelling horse dung!]
[Let’s see how he puts on airs of being a noble high steward then!]
[Killing the person and destroying their spirit—that is the perfect punishment for such a vain, treacherous old thief!]
Shen Yu’s passionate inner monologue was transmitted word-for-word into Chu Xiao’s ears.
Chu Xiao’s finger, which had been raised to give the order, paused slightly. A strange emotion flickered across his eyes, which had been filled with killing intent.
Killing the person and destroying their spirit? This foolish woman didn’t have many talents, but her way of thinking when it came to torturing people was truly unique—and remarkably satisfying.
For a vain, greedy gambler like Steward Li, stripping away his pride and leaving him to rot like the lowest slave in a cesspit was indeed far more interesting than simply killing him.
Chu Xiao slowly withdrew his hand, his deep gaze once again landing on Steward Li.
Steward Li thought the Prince had softened his heart, and he quickly lifted his blood-covered face, hope flickering in his eyes. However, Chu Xiao’s next words plunged him directly into an abyss of despair.
Chu Xiao spoke coldly, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching every corner of the courtyard.
“Strip off his steward’s robes.”
“Since he likes staying in the manor so much and is reluctant to leave, send him to the stables to shovel ten cartloads of horse manure for me every day.”
Chu Xiao’s lips curled into a cruel sneer. “Send men to watch him twelve hours a day. He is not allowed to step out of the stables for the rest of his life. If he dares to slack off, force him to eat the manure.”
The words were spoken casually, yet they carried a bone-chilling ruthlessness.
The entire courtyard went dead silent for a second. Then, the look the servants gave Chu Xiao held not just fear, but a new layer of awe. No sword, no bloodshed, yet he could nail a proud, arrogant steward to a pillar of shame forever. This punishment was far worse than a thousand cuts.
Undeniably, the servants who had been bullied by Steward Li for years felt a surge of intense satisfaction. It was cathartic—truly cathartic!
“No… No! My Lord, you might as well kill me! Just kill me!”
Upon hearing this sentence, Steward Li’s eyes bulged like those of a dead fish. Send him to shovel manure for the rest of his life? He was a senior official who had served three generations! He was an informant for the Eastern Palace! He had never even swept the floor a day in his life!
The massive psychological gap and the unimaginable humiliation hit him like a heavy hammer. He shrieked, clawing frantically at his own hair.
“I won’t go to the stables! I won’t go to that foul-smelling place, even if I die!”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, save me! Save…”
Before he could finish, a strange “gurgling” sound came from his throat. Steward Li’s eyes rolled back, revealing the whites. Then, his legs kicked out, and he collapsed stiffly backward, passing out cold directly into the puddle of croton soup he had spilled earlier.
Jifeng sneered, looking utterly disgusted. “Someone, strip the skin off this old thing and drag him to the stables like a dead dog. Don’t dirty the master’s courtyard.”
Several strong guards stepped forward, ripping off the Shu-silk robe that symbolized his status in a few quick motions. Then, each grabbing a leg, they dragged him out of the courtyard like a sack of trash, showing no mercy.
A long trail of water and blood was left on the bluestone. Soon, servants arrived with buckets to wash it clean.
The tense crisis had concluded in an absurd and humiliating fashion. The air in the courtyard turned fresh again. Sunlight spilled onto the stone floor as if nothing had ever happened.
On the steps, Shen Yu sat securely on her small stool—which had legs of uneven length. She was in a great mood, tossing the last few caramel-coated melon seeds into her mouth and brushing off the crumbs.
[Wow, this Living Yama is not only handsome, he’s actually quite good at taking advice.]
[This ‘stable cleaner’ package is tailor-made for this old guy. Let’s see how he acts arrogant now.]
As she evaluated the situation with satisfaction, she craned her neck, enjoying the show. Just as she was about to stand up and head back to her room for a nap, a crisp and pleasant chime suddenly rang out in her mind.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! You have successfully exposed the traitor in the manor and completed the ‘Gossip and Slap-in-the-face’ mission!]
[Rewards are being calculated…]
Hearing this sound, Shen Yu’s eyes lit up brilliantly, and even her breathing quickened.
The rewards are here!