After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 112 There seems to be a grudge between the two Dali Temple officials.

This little expression naturally did not escape everyone's keen eyes.

What's going on? Although there are regulations that brothel women sell their art but not their bodies, they must still earn more by selling their bodies.

Driven by financial gain, many brothels did this, not just Leyoufang.

So Shen Zhiyi, what are you so shocked about?

[My goodness! The madam of Leyoufang is actually from the previous dynasty.]

"Pfft, cough cough cough."

Many people present were so frightened that they started coughing.

Previous dynasty?

Which lineage of the previous dynasty's royal family?

【Oh, isn't that obvious? The previous dynasty was only destroyed a little over twenty years ago. If we're talking about age, this whole place is full of people from that dynasty.】

All the civil and military officials present immediately shook their heads.

How can it be!

They were born into the land of Daye, and they died as ghosts of Daye.

What do you mean by "previous dynasty"? I don't know anything about it!

But Shen Zhiyi is really something. When she uttered the words "former dynasty," everyone thought she was a member of the royal family of the previous dynasty.

That madam is quite strange. She's neither a member of the previous dynasty's royal family, nor is she any of the concubines or maids in the previous dynasty's harem. So why is she so single-mindedly focused on restoring the previous dynasty?

Restoration of the previous dynasty?

Those present exchanged glances, each seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.

It's important to know that the end of the previous dynasty was extremely chaotic, with constant warfare on this land, and the people living in constant unrest.

So who on earth is so stupid as to want to restore the previous dynasty?

[Haha, wow, this reason is surprising, but completely understandable. It's because the old emperor, since taking the throne, has been cracking down on brothels and entertainment venues? He wants these establishments to pay full taxes every year—tsk tsk tsk, that's ruthless. I thought 40% to 50% was already harsh enough, but the old emperor went even further, demanding 60% tax from gambling dens and brothels every year. It's practically blatant robbery on his forehead.]

[You must understand that in the late period of the previous dynasty, such heavy taxes were borne by the peasants at the bottom of society. Places of entertainment frequented by high-ranking officials and nobles like these never saw such heavy taxes.]

Brothels and gambling dens that earned so much money in a year were naturally unwilling to pay so much tax, so they came up with all sorts of bizarre ways to evade it.

[As a result, the devil was one foot tall, but the righteous were ten feet tall. The old emperor directly issued an edict to shut down countless brothels before the situation stabilized. Furthermore, the old emperor raised taxes again, reaching an astonishing 70%. So!]

Therefore, many brothels have once again joined forces, attempting to restore the old order.

The old emperor laughed upon hearing this.

In all his years, he had never seen anyone who ran a gambling den or a brothel rebel against the imperial court.

Everyone present was shocked.

I really didn't expect such an operation.

After thinking about it carefully again, it seems that forcibly explaining it isn't entirely impossible.

The reason why peasant uprisings overthrew the previous dynasty was because the taxes were too heavy, and the peasants could no longer make a living.

To be fair, the old emperor did demand a lot of taxes from gambling dens and brothels.

However, despite collecting so much tax, most of these places are still much better off than the farmers. At most, they may not have a high social status, but they have enough to eat and wear.

So that's it?

Such a trivial matter is enough to cause a rebellion?

The crowd was very dissatisfied; it wasn't like they were starving.

After listening, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review suddenly said loudly, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present."

The old emperor's eyes widened.

isn't it?

Upon seeing this, He Sicheng of the Dali Temple pushed aside the Dali Temple Vice Minister and spoke first, "Your Majesty, I went to the Leyoufang not for pleasure, but to secretly investigate a case!"

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was furious, his finger trembling as he pointed at Vice Minister He of the Court of Judicial Review.

"you!"

He Sicheng, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, got another beating.

"Your Majesty, after this period of covert investigation, I have discovered that there are anti-court forces in Leyoufang. I request Your Majesty to issue an order for a thorough investigation!"

Wow, I didn't expect the Dali Temple to be more than just a figurehead.

However, it seems like these two temple officials are vying for credit.

He, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review: No! He wasn't trying to steal credit; he simply didn't want the merits and demerits of the person next to him to cancel each other out.

Since we've already secretly complained, we absolutely cannot let this guy get back on his feet.

If you've decided to suppress your political enemies, then you must crush them one step at a time until they're completely crushed. You absolutely cannot give them a chance to rise again, absolutely!

What's the grudge between these two?

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was also curious: Yes, what grudge do I have against him? Before, when I was in the Court of Judicial Review, although he wasn't exactly kind to me, he didn't seem as friendly as he is now, wishing I would just die on the spot.

The old emperor, who had been pondering how to deal with the so-called brothel alliance, also became curious.

The Dali Temple official's expression clearly showed his bewilderment.

So what's going on?

【Found it! Found it!】

A brief silence fell over the hall; everyone understood that Shen Zhiyi was watching the drama unfold.

【So this is ah. 】

From this perspective, these two Vice Ministers of the Court of Judicial Review were not only political rivals, but also romantic rivals!

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review looked bewildered and turned to look at Vice Minister He of the Court of Judicial Review.

what?

Are we rivals in love?

How could he, as one of the parties involved, not know?

He Sicheng of the Court of Judicial Review snorted coldly, not even glancing at the other officials.

To tell this story, we have to start from when Princess Heluo was still unmarried.

Princess Heluo was the youngest daughter of Prince Yiyang. However, on her way back to her hometown to pay respects to her ancestors, she accidentally rolled down a hillside and fell into the river while playing, unfortunately hitting her head on a rock.

The first thought of someone who doesn't know Princess Heluo is: she has amnesia.

That's how melodramatic novels are written.

Presumably, the amnesiac Princess Heluo met a poor scholar, and the two fell in love. Later, Prince Yiyang disliked the scholar for being poor and tried every means to stop the two lovers from being together. Then, Princess Heluo eloped with the poor scholar.

This is how it's written in folk tales.

Then, Princess Heluo went blind.

Everyone:! ! !

They didn't believe it, so they asked why it didn't follow the script of the storybook.

[After Princess Heluo fell into the river, she was rescued by a herb gatherer. When she woke up and found herself blind, Princess Heluo told a small lie to prevent him from abandoning her. Uh, wasn't that lie a little too big?]

[Who claims to have amnesia and insists the other person is their husband?]

He Sicheng of the Dali Temple swallowed hard, a sour feeling welling up from the bottom of his heart and spreading throughout his body.

The two stayed in a wooden cabin deep in the mountains for some time. The herb gatherer also became interested and prepared to take Princess Heluo back to the village to meet his parents.

[The unexpected happened at this time.]