She Holds the World After Being Reborn-Chapter 593 - 592: Harboring Foolish Thoughts, All Must Die
Qin Wu had come to see her as a treasured object in her heart, so how could it be possible that she had no protective measures in place.
Having Wu Bie take action was merely to avoid exposing Qin Wu’s arrangements, but now she no longer needed to worry about it.
After all, these men who had foolish notions all had to die.
The dead, after all, are the best at keeping secrets.
The first thing that happened was a scream erupting from the crowd, followed by a panicked rush as people started scrambling in every direction.
The Idle King pulled the Vice Minister of Punishment in front of himself, like a panic-stricken pig that had been scared out of its wits.
The soldiers, who had previously been bold and reckless, fell to the ground one by one, and blood continued to spread across the floor of the great hall.
No one knew who had made the move.
Those who did know were already lying on the ground, eyes wide open in death and unable to close them in peace.
The large door that had been tightly shut became the barrier that cut off their escape.
People outside thought they were still enjoying themselves inside, thinking it was Qin Zhen who wanted to run out, and they all pushed against the door to block it.
Until... the last person also lay lifeless on the ground.
"My lord, it’s all been taken care of," a ghostly Hidden Guard said, concealed in the shadows.
Qin Zhen had been standing on a chair from the beginning to the end, not moving an inch.
The Idle King and the Vice Minister of Punishment were so frightened by the horrific scene that they didn’t dare to make a sound, as for Li Weixian, he had become so emotionally agitated that he fainted again, rolling his eyes back.
Qin Zhen nodded slightly. Since the ground under her feet was covered in blood, she had nowhere to set foot, so she simply did not step down.
It was too dirty.
At that moment, the door was violently pushed open from the outside, and light spilled into the room, illuminating everything inside.
On the grand hall’s floor, bodies were piled upon bodies, dead in various messy ways, each uniquely tragic, with blood covering the entire room’s floor, still spreading outward.
Wu Bie stood at the door, shifted his position slightly, and slightly furrowed his brows.
"There’s a bit of trouble outside, are you alright?"
Qin Zhen waved her hand, nonchalant, "As usual, I can’t count on you, deducting pay."
Wu Bie: "..." He shouldn’t have unnecessarily asked that question.
Even if the room were filled with these men, none would be a match for her.
Moreover, Wu Bie was aware that ever since the incident in the Chu Kingdom, everyone had been concerned about her safety. While there was only one of him on the surface, who knew how many Imperial Secret Guards were secretly watching over her in the shadows.
The situation at hand, he could roughly guess, was the work of the Secret Guard.
"Your Highness Idle King, you seemed quite happy shouting ’bastard’ this way and that, why have you gone mute now?" Qin Zhen taunted as she looked at the Idle King.
The Vice Minister of Punishment’s eyes held a hint of wariness.
This girl could actually smile under these circumstances.
When the Idle King heard Qin Zhen calling him, his flesh quivered, and he stepped out from behind the Vice Minister of Punishment, "Qin Zhen, you’re done for, you’ve killed so many people, you’re doomed!"
After speaking, he pushed the Vice Minister of Punishment in front of him, "This is your Punishment Department, aren’t you going to have someone arrest her and execute her immediately!"
The elderly Vice Minister of Punishment was pushed so hard that he almost fell into the blood.
Shakily, he stood up straight, suppressing the violence in his eyes.
Such a fool, so many of his subordinates had died, and he still couldn’t see the means of this Qin Zhen in front of him!
Qin Wu had given her the Imperial Secret Guards for personal protection, how could the people from the Punishment Department be a match for this group of Secret Guards.
"Your humble servant is dull, not knowing what matter brings the Prime Minister to the Punishment Department today?" the Vice Minister of Punishment asked, after thinking it through.
He needed to know why Qin Zhen had come.
She had initially said she was here to watch a play, and pointed out him and the Idle King as well as Li Weixian as three actors.
He had a bad feeling.
Qin Zhen said nothing, and flicked something from her sleeve into the pool of blood, where it rolled a couple of times before coming to a stop.
The Vice Minister of Punishment picked it up, not minding the blood, because the dampness from the blood actually made the markings on the bottom of the Official Seal clearer.
"With the world in chaos and the national treasury depleted, His Majesty loves his people like his children and prepared this batch of Official Silver to store it in the treasury for an emergency. This lord would like to ask, how did this silver end up in the hands of a flower-picking thief?" Qin Zhen looked at the Vice Minister of Punishment, smiling pleasantly, "Hmm?"
A flower-picking thief...
The Vice Minister of Punishment instantly thought of someone.
Could it be... He subconsciously wanted to look at Li Weixian, but his reason restrained this instinctual action.
All the hairs on his body stood on end.
"Ah, so tired, so tired, today has really been too exhausting," Qin Zhen suddenly yawned, looking at the ground and then with some difficulty turned to the Vice Minister of Punishment.
"It’s so dirty on the floor, I simply can’t step down."
The Vice Minister of Punishment’s aged body shivered in fear from the dragged-out tone.
"Th-The official will have someone clean it up right away."
The Idle King could hardly believe what he heard, "You old lunatic, she killed someone, and you still want to clear a path for her?!"
The Vice Minister of Punishment acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, taking three steps in two, stepping over pools of blood to the door.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw a courtyard full of subordinates lying on their backs, wailing nonstop.
This was the reason Wu Bie was busy and hadn’t shown up all this while.
The Vice Minister of Punishment’s complexion turned a shade darker, as he stripped off his garment and laid it on the ground, "Prime Minister, please step on my garment to come over."
His expression was incredibly sincere.
Qin Zhen had no qualms, stepping directly onto his official robe, making his way to the doorway.
Then, smiling at the Vice Minister of Punishment, "Many thanks."
"It’s the least the official could do."
The Vice Minister of Punishment bowed his head down.
"It is indeed a fortunate thing for the Qin State to have a great person like you," Qin Zhen said with a smile that was not quite a smile, and the Vice Minister of Punishment nodded and bowed repeatedly.
Standing inside the door, the Idle King felt the scene before his eyes was a bit glaring.
Without a second word, he too stepped on the garment on the floor and made his way to the doorway.
Looking at the mess in the courtyard, his heart tightened even more.
"Q-Qin Zhen, if you dare to lay hands on this King, His Majesty won’t spare you."
Qin Zhen blocked the entrance, keeping him inside, "How could that be? As such a kind-hearted person as myself, even stepping on flowers and plants can bring tears to my eyes, how could I lay hands on Your Highness, the Idle King? Right, Lord Vice Minister of Punishment?"
The Vice Minister of Punishment nodded immediately, "What the Prime Minister said is true, truly, there is no other woman as kind-hearted as you in this world."
"Ah, I knew it, everyone in the Punishment Department is a good person." Under the sunlight, Qin Zhen’s porcelain-white face seemed ghostly in the eyes of the two men inside the door, as terrifying as if she were a demon itself.
The Idle King felt that this Qin Zhen, who could easily kill a room full of people with a mere gesture, must have been possessed by some demon or spirit.
At that moment, looking at her made his whole body shiver with cold, and he was nearly losing control of his bladder.
The Vice Minister of Punishment bowed and asked, "Does the Prime Minister have any other matters today?"
"That’s all, just came here to inform you two," Qin Zhen said with meaningful eyes, "I won’t let the matter of the official silver rest and will investigate it to the end!"
"Then the official will wait for the Prime Minister to come arrest someone with evidence," the Vice Minister of Punishment said distantly, reminding Qin Zhen that they were not ordinary identity, and capturing someone required solid evidence.
Qin Zhen’s lips curled into a smile, "Of course, I am a person who abides by rules and reason, I will surely come with evidence. So, I will not disturb you any further today."
Saying this, she strutted towards the door.
The bloody footprints she left behind marked shallow traces on the tiled floor.
As they watched her leave without a backward glance, the Idle King pointed, disbelievingly looking at the Vice Minister of Punishment, "You’re just letting her walk away like that?"
"We’re no match for her in a direct conflict, if we don’t let her go, what else does Your Highness suggest we do?!" The people who died were from his Punishment Department!
The ones who had acted were the Imperial Secret Guard from His Majesty’s side!
He didn’t even have the pretext to slander Qin Zhen for wantonly killing the innocent!
Because the current Emperor hated most those who disrespected women and treated them with contempt.
The Vice Minister of Punishment, furious, stepped over the door threshold, his feet slick with blood, and he looked at the Idle King, "If it weren’t for Your Highness trying to insult Qin Zhen, none of the people in this house would have needed to die."
The Idle King was badly angered, "She’s a lowly wretch to begin with, and this King shouldn’t even speak of it? Moreover, wasn’t it with your approval? Could this King command the people of the Punishment Department without your consent?"
The Vice Minister of Punishment’s face was grim, "At this moment!" he forcibly suppressed his anger, "Let’s not have a dog-eat-dog fight here!"
The Idle King also knew the seriousness of the situation and had to suppress the anger in his heart.
A short while later.
Both men, along with Li Weixian, bathed and changed into clean clothes and sat neatly in the study.
"Speak, how did the matter of the official silver come to be involved? We clearly agreed before not to use this batch of silver lightly!" The Vice Minister of Punishment was the first to speak, his face full of gloom.
Li Weixian, who had been pricked by the physician several times, had now regained his composure.
He was even less satisfied, "I it’s not thanks to your clever and sharp-witted daughter’s deeds!"
If she hadn’t given the silver to Jiang Nian, none of this trouble would have arisen.
Today, Qin Zhen indeed gave them all a lesson in humility!
"A married daughter is like spilt water, she’s already your wife. It is your lack of discipline, how can you blame it on me?" The Vice Minister of Punishment was indignant. He had had enough of being the scapegoat today!
"The incident has already happened, and you are still biting each other here, is it interesting?" The Idle King, for once with a clear head, spoke a fair word, "Instead, why don’t I now call together the ministers to think of a strategy?"
"No!" The Vice Minister of Punishment shook his head firmly in refusal, "Qin Zhen must have sent someone to secretly watch us. Once we start making contact, she will have more evidence to point at us. At the moment, it is only based on a flower thief, and the evidence is still too weak, let alone that it’s a dead person."
"That’s true. With Jiang Nian dead, there’s no evidence against us. We just need to keep denying, and what can Qin Zhen do?" Li Weixian realized.
But he slammed the table fiercely, "But no matter what, I can’t swallow the humiliation I suffered today!"
