Zhao Youcai originally wanted to go to Youshu in a few days, so as to inquire about what happened to him being ordered to enter the palace. But as soon as Youshu walked on his front foot, he fainted on his hind foot, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a road with no end in sight, lined with thorns and flowers on both sides, surrounded by bustling and hurried people.

He tried to stand up, only to find himself wearing heavy torture equipment around his neck and limbs, and he had to kick his legs as hard as a dying livestock.

Someone noticed his abnormality and whispered, "Yo, what evil did this man do in his life?" When I came to Huangquan Road, I was still wearing shackles and shackles, how could I get to the ghost gate? ”

"If you can't walk, you'll die on the road." Someone next to him answered.

Huangquan Road, Ghost Gate? Zhao Youcai realized that he was dead, and when he went to the underworld, he couldn't help but become anxious. He struggled twice in vain, trying to get the attention of passers-by, but everyone was in a hurry to reincarnate, and no one was willing to lend a hand, and a few of the dead souls thought he was in the way, and kicked him twice.

Even if a person dies, the soul can feel pain, otherwise the torture of the eighteen layers of hell would be meaningless. Zhao Youcai was in pain after being kicked in the abdomen, and moaned intermittently. Several ghosts passed by with a vicious ghost, and when they saw him, they couldn't help but be shocked, "What crime has this person committed?" How can you wear the soul lock of King Yama? ”

"What is the Soul Lock?" The ghost, who was also wearing a torture instrument, asked curiously.

"The soul suppression lock, gain a pound a day, if you don't open it with a key, even if you become a dead soul, you will be crushed to death." Onicha explained.

If you die, you will have to suffer, which Zhao Youcai never expected. With the last of his strength, he asked, "Ghosts also die?" ”

The ghosts giggled for a while, and said contemptuously, "Ghosts will naturally die too." If the ghost dies, he will go to the prison of deafness. The eighteenth layer of hell is terrifying, but it is nothing compared to the Deaf Hell, where the sky is full of karmic fire and blood pools, but there is no such thing as reincarnation, let alone escape. You look like this, you can't get to the ghost gate if you want to, wait for the demon of the deaf prison to come and collect you, let's take the first step. ”

The ghosts gradually dispersed, and their gloating laughter could still be heard far away. Zhao Youcai, who thought that he could be liberated by dying, finally realized: It turned out that death was the real beginning. If he doesn't find a way to remove the soul lock, he will be tormented in pain for eternity.

No, I'm going back to Zhao Youshu. I can't die, I can't become deaf! Zhao Youcai didn't know where to get the strength, one stood up, then his head was dazzled, his eyes were full of stars, and somehow he returned to the yang world, and found that he was still lying on the stinky mat, his father and mother and a group of servants were around him, crying very miserably.

"Go find Zhao Youshu, quick!" After a trip through the ghost gate, he finally figured it out and felt that his life was more valuable. Moreover, without his family property and official position, he scavenged from the officials who came and went to report on his work, and he earned back the money in three or five years. At that time, he has a way to deal with Zhao Youshu.

"Son, aren't you dead?" The second master and the second wife were horrified, and the servants scattered and fled, shouting that they had cheated the corpse.

"I went to the ghost gate and came back. Do you know what we're wearing around our necks? This is the soul lock of the king of Yama, and you can't take it off even if you die, so you still gain a pound every day and crush you to death. The ghost dies as a deaf, suffers forever, and has no chance to be reincarnated! Dad, mother, if you don't get rid of this thing, we can't even die! "His face was pale, and he trembled like chaff.

It's strange that his son is dead and alive, not to mention that he said this for no reason, which shows that there is really something. The second old man and the second wife, who had long been frightened by King Yama, hugged each other and cried. Zhao Youcai didn't bother to comfort them, and ordered the housekeeper to take all the property and go to Zhao Youshu's house, thinking that he would be rejected again, but unexpectedly, after only half an hour of waiting, an old man with a rickety figure came to guide the way.

Zhao Youcai was lying on a soft chair, carried in by four servants, and as soon as he crossed the threshold, he was suddenly shaken and almost fell. The shackles on his body were only for the soul, and to others they were invisible, weightless, and he was so thin and light that such an accident should not have happened.

He couldn't hold back his anger, and scolded, "I can't even lift a person, what do I want you to do?" What do you do on weekdays, eat -? ”

The butler also stumbled for a moment, and finally stabilized his figure, and then whispered in his ear, "No, big young master, look at the old man in front, he has no heels, no shadow, he is floating!" ”

Zhao Youcai looked at it, and almost lost his soul, only to see the old man walking slowly, the back half of his shoes was empty, and he was dragged directly to the ground, and under the light of the lantern, everyone had an elongated shadow, but he couldn't see anything behind him.

This is clear, this is clearly a ghost! Zhao Youcai finally remembered that this was the famous ghost mansion of Dayong Kingdom, and now seventeen or eight households have died. Zhao Youshu is really evil! Not only did the king of Yama personally help him avenge his grievances, but there were also ghosts and ghosts who served him as servants, where did he come from?

Zhao Youcai was already arrogant, and this time he became more and more silent, gathered the heavy blanket on his body, and didn't dare to open his mouth. And the servants who carried him were also weak in their legs and feet, and the two were trembling, eager to throw away the owner directly and flee from the road. Finally walked to the main courtyard and saw the brightly lit vestibule, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and felt quite a sense of the rest of their lives after the catastrophe.

"The master is inside, go in by yourselves." The old man shook the lantern in his hand and slowly floated away.

The housekeeper of the Zhao Mansion nodded and sent the other party away, while silently reciting "Amitabha" in his heart. When the group entered the front hall, they saw Youshu sitting on the head, holding a translucent glass jar to play, which was stuffed with beetles of various colors, looking very terrible. A few maids went to and fro for tea, and a few small maids placed tables and chairs, but their heels did not touch the ground, and there were no oblique shadows accompanying each other.

Ghosts, a room full of ghosts! The second room of the Zhao family, together with the servants they brought, is now terrified and almost collapsed. Only the housekeeper still retained a little clarity, and carefully looked at the legs, feet and figure of the little master, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. Soon, however, his heart was high again. If a big living person lives in a house full of ghosts, but is still unharmed and relaxed, doesn't it mean that the other party is more terrifying than the ghosts? It seems that there is really no room for maneuver in the matter of family property.

This point, not only the housekeeper thought of it, but also Zhao Youcai and his father. They gave up the struggle, directly took out the house deed and title deed, explained them one by one, and said that they would move out of the old house as much as possible.

"Virtuous nephew, look, we have also returned this property, are you writing a reconciliation letter for us?" The second master's expression was urgent.

"A reconciliation can be written for you, but it must be exchanged for a confession. Describe in detail how you encroached on the property of the big house and how you persecuted 'Zhao Youshu' one by one, if there is any inaccuracy, you should take these things back. As you can see, I'm doing well now, and it really doesn't matter if I have these possessions or not. Youshu waved her hand lightly.

He is now the one who has found his master, and if he wants to be promoted all the time, he needs to pay extra attention to his reputation. If a reconciliation letter is written, but the second room family bites back, saying that they have murdered their relatives and plundered their family wealth, wouldn't they be wronged? With a confession, you can save a lot of worries, and the death of "Zhao Youshu" was made by himself, and it has nothing to do with the second room, and there is no need to kill everyone if you have Shu.

Hearing the last sentence, Zhao Youcai, who had already shown an angry face, was like a ball that was deflated, and he instantly collapsed. Youshu is right, he is indeed ready to sue the clan elder afterwards, and then take back the family property, and ruin Youshu's reputation and career. However, once he wrote his confession, all his calculations would come to naught.

Gritting his teeth and thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Bring a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and I'll write." "Stay in the green mountains, don't be afraid of no firewood.

As soon as Shu raised her hand, a maid fluttered in and placed the four treasures of the study room neatly one by one. Zhao Youcai wrote a confession and handed it over to Youshu for examination. After Youshu read it, according to the memory of "Zhao Youshu", he asked him to modify two slightly ambiguous places, and he was satisfied with the evil shape and evil state of the second room until he completely exposed it, so that the three of them pressed the handprint, and selected three servants as witnesses.

Everything was taken care of, he took over the family property and the keys, and ordered the ancestor to send off the guests, but he didn't move back the next day, but spent money to buy the ghost house and continue to live. There is no other, just because it is clean enough.

The Erfang family burned it immediately after getting the settlement letter, and waited anxiously for half an hour, then felt that the weight on their shoulders was slowly disappearing, and they couldn't help crying with joy. There is no danger to their lives, and their temperament has also come up, and they are ready to rely on it, but unexpectedly, Shu actually sent dozens of ghosts to collect the house, and the wind in the house was gusting, and the sound of miserable howls was really scary.

The wicked have their own ghosts, and they can't, so they have to pack up and move out immediately. The second wife had a lot of silver tickets hidden on her body, and as soon as she walked out of the gate of the Zhao Mansion, her clothes were inexplicably pulled open, her belt also fell off, and she stood on the street almost naked for onlookers. She was so ashamed that she couldn't find a crack in the ground to get into, but fortunately the maid reacted quickly and found a cloak from the package and put it on her, which alleviated the dilemma.

The second master and Zhao Youcai were simply faceless, pulled the second wife into the carriage, and galloped away, without realizing that the silver ticket they stole had already fallen to the ground, and fluttered back to Zhao's mansion with the yin wind, and automatically fell into the money box. Pedestrians on the road came and went, shoulder to shoulder, but no one noticed this strange scene.

The Erfang family found a vacant mansion and prepared to rent it temporarily, but found that the silver ticket was gone, and the only remaining property was two copper coins and a few boxes of clothes, which were the same as when they came to the Zhao Mansion. When the landlord saw that they had not been able to get the money for a long time, he immediately drove them away. Unable to do so, the three of them had to sell two maids to make up enough money for the inn.

"It's okay, I still have an official position without the silver, and I can earn seventy or eighty thousand taels in less than a year. At that time, let's buy another house, which is bigger and more magnificent than the Zhao Mansion. Zhao Youcai swore authentically.

However, soon, he understood that he had no room to turn over in his life, and the culprit was still Shu. He actually overthrew Lord Liu and ordered the emperor to thoroughly investigate the buying and selling of officials by the Ministry of Officials, but all those who obtained official positions through guò buying and selling were all summoned to the Criminal Department for investigation. The new emperor did not remove all of them, but let them be evaluated separately, all related to their positions. Those who pass the examination can go back to continue their errands by writing a review letter, and those who have not passed the examination can be immediately dismissed and investigated.

The new emperor's original intention of not wanting to kill them all is good, but where do those who donate official positions have that ability? Most of them were well-off, and after they got errands, they hired staff officials to help, and they only had to earn back the money they bought from officials. What's more, when it was time to hand in the papers, he couldn't even write his name, making a big joke.

By the end of the investigation, eight to nine out of ten people had been deposed, and Zhao Youcai was naturally among them. Not only that, the new emperor also announced that from next year, officials in all ministries will be regularly evaluated, and the content is not the Four Books and Five Classics, but related to government affairs, the Ministry of Works will test the fortifications, the Ministry of Rites will test the etiquette, the Ministry of Officials will test the rule of officials, the Ministry of War will test the art of war, and so on. Those who fail to pass the examination will be demoted immediately, and those who fail to pass the examination three times will be immediately dismissed, and the content of the imperial examination will be appropriately changed in the future.

If it weren't for the fact that the students of the last few generations had been studying the Eight Shares for many years, and it was unfair to them to suddenly change the exam questions, the new emperor would have planned to implement it immediately.

The officials of the Great Yong Kingdom only go up, how can they go down, and they are in danger of being dismissed every year, how can everyone stand it? Soon, some courtiers united to protest, but they were all rejected by the new emperor, and in anger they handed over fake notes, not to go on errands, but to see how the emperor himself managed the country.

The new emperor immediately issued a decree ordering all the ministers to take over the affairs of the government. In a department, it is actually these officials who are really proficient in business, they are equivalent to the hired workers at the top, and they are responsible for doing things. The so-called "move your mouth above, run and break your leg below", exactly that's it. The law says: Xu officials are not allowed to participate in the imperial examination after that, and they are not allowed to be officials, but the position can be hereditary. This is equivalent to cutting off their path to promotion, which makes many capable people quite resentful.

But now it's good, the emperor has vigorously rectified the rule of officials, and at the same time, he has also improved the status of officials, if they come out on top in the assessment, they can even get rid of their lowly status and embark on a career in office, how can they not rejoice? Naturally, when things are done, they work harder. When the officials who were eating the dry meal realized that the big thing was not good, and hurriedly sold their leave and ran back to work on errands, they found that their rights had already been hollowed out and had become a complete decoration. They remorseful, and immediately secretly hired a gentleman to teach their own government affairs, so as not to be replaced by the next year's assessment.

Far from causing turmoil in the court, the new emperor's thunderous tactics made the six ministries turn around quickly, and almost all government affairs could be properly resolved within the same day, and only those who had heavy responsibilities would be reported to the Jinluan Palace. Attacking the shield with the spear of the other, the new emperor skillfully exploited the relationship between the officials and the officials to compete for power and profit, so that both were used for his own use, and they were used more and more easily and efficiently.

Youshu has always known that the chaos of the Great Yong Kingdom is difficult for the master, after rectifying the ministry, he is afraid that the next person to move the knife is the household department, if he can be transferred to the household department, the chance of seeing the master will be greatly increased. Just when he was looking forward to it, the order came down, he entered the criminal department, became the official Langzhong, from the six products, in charge of punishment and exile, the officials were abolished, replaced, increased, reduced, and dismissed.

Although it was a little unsatisfactory, but the wish to stay in the capital was realized, Youshu put on a brand-new official robe and hurried to the criminal department to report. At that time, Outai had already entered the palace with several officials, and happened to pass by him.

After some inquiries, Shu learned that the emperor was preparing to rectify the household department, and wanted to transfer a few people from the Ministry of Rites, Officials, Workers, Soldiers, and Criminal Departments to set up a judicial department to investigate the deficit of the treasury and recover the arrears. Those people were the ones who had been selected by Otai.

Because the emperor always liked to intercept the treasury silver for his own squandering, the officials below followed suit and borrowed from the household department wantonly, but never returned it. There are even officials guarding the treasury who steal from themselves, filling their pockets, so that the good Dayong Kingdom is dug into an empty shell. Last time, if it weren't for the new emperor who opened his own private treasury for disaster relief, there would have been more people who died in vain, and I am afraid that this great river and mountain would not have been saved.

The household has changed from the emperor's money basket to a money leak, and if it is not rectified, how to improve the people's livelihood, raise soldiers, and build the capital? The economy, like the rule of officials, is the most important foundation of the country and must not be neglected. This time, the emperor's determination to rectify the household department was very firm, even if a few old ministers knocked on the pillar on the Jinluan Palace to protest, it was only in exchange for a sneer from him. According to his words: A few people can be exchanged for a full treasury and a strong country, so why not? Whoever wants to die even if he hits, he has prepared a coffin, and everyone in the hall has a mouthful, and no one is indispensable.

The new emperor is so tough and occupies the law of the country, and the officials seem to have no other choice but to compromise. But how can you say that the silver taels owed will be repaid? The upstarts of the imperial court have been in office for a short time, and they owe little, but it is nothing. After years of accumulation, those family giants owe millions of taels to the household, and once they take it out, they will hurt their muscles and bones, and even the family will be ruined, so they will naturally resist to the end. And these people hold the vast majority of power, which can be called intertwined and flourishing. If the ground is broken on their heads, the emperor has nothing to fear, but the people below will suffer.

There is no doubt that this is a chore, even the most motivated officials in the Criminal Department have the idea of retiring, but they are still arrested by Outai and forcibly escorted into the palace.

"Lord Zhao is one step late, and he didn't get involved in this kind of, so it's really lucky." A colleague sighed sincerely. The rest of the people nodded in agreement.

Youshu had an expression as if she had been struck by lightning, and asked again and again, "You mean, this judge is personally formed by the emperor, personally commanded, and runs errands in the palace?" ”

If you are a judge, won't you be able to see your master every day? Thinking of this, Youshu beat her chest and felt remorseful, saying that she should never be greedy, and bought a freshly made meat bun on the road, so that it was delayed for half an hour. If you are one step ahead, you will be able to catch up with this trip!

He said eagerly, "What if I want to go too?" ”

His colleagues looked at him with strange eyes. Once you take this errand, it is equivalent to offending eight or nine out of ten of the magnates in the capital. Those people have their hands and eyes in the sky, and they can do anything to stop the investigation. Framing is trivial, and even worse, it will provoke assassination. The officials who were invited to the palace were not as good as mourning, why did Lord Zhao throw himself into the net?

Sure enough, he is a rat-eyed person, do you think that if you cater to the emperor, you will be able to rise to prominence? I don't look at whether my neck is hard enough. Everyone was quite disdainful, but out of the mentality of falling into the well, they all came up with ideas for him, "If you chase it now, you can probably catch up with Master Ou's frame." If you don't catch up, tell the guards who are guarding the door, and they will pass it on to you. ”——

In the Qianqing Palace, several Shangshu lords each led four capable officials to come to the audience.

Emperor Xuanguang put down the fold and looked up. He first looked towards Outai's place, but he didn't find Shu's figure, and his eyes couldn't help but dim slightly, and then he looked around. What he needs is officials who are capable, not afraid of power, and dare to act, but these people obviously do not meet the requirements. They may break out in a cold sweat, or describe them as hasty, or look frightened, which shows that they are not willing to take on this errand.

However, Emperor Xuanguang could also understand their feelings. A thorough investigation of the household department can be said to be a great disapproval of the world, and it will be against the pressure of the entire imperial court. He can put life and death aside because he knows that in this world, no one can kill him, but how can others have this confidence? After all, I am still afraid of things, and I am still afraid of death after all.

Emperor Xuanguang put down the fold and sighed. All the ministers hung their heads in unison, not daring to squeak. It is conceivable that in the near future, the capital will be bloody again, and it is best not to be involved.

At this moment, a guard hurriedly walked in and whispered in Emperor Xuanguang's ear.

"What did you say?" He spoke in a high-pitched tone, slightly surprised.

The guard said again, and waited quietly for the emperor's order.

Emperor Xuanguang shook his head in disbelief at first, and then bent his fingers to tap on the imperial case, as if in contemplation, his still obscure eyes became brighter and hotter. With Shu's extremely smart head, how can he not see the danger? However, he came running to ask for his life, which shows that he said that he wanted to pursue himself before was not a joke.

There is no doubt that he stepped into this Longtan tiger's den for himself, and he also put life and death aside for himself. Emperor Xuanguang secretly slandered him, but his eyes were full of joy.

He ordered the guards to bring people in, and finally looked at Otai, "There is a fool and bold under your hand who actually came to the palace to ask for his life." Can you guess who? ”

Ou Tai pondered for a moment and hesitated, "Could it be Zhao Youshu and Zhao Langzhong?" "Looking at Dayong, the person who is least afraid of death is probably this master, who let him have King Yama as a backer?

Emperor Xuanguang sighed, "Exactly! If my Dayong officials are like Zhao Langzhong, who is worried about the country and the people, and does his best, why worry about the country and the prosperity of the world? ”

Someone took the initiative to come to die in lieu of death, and the ministers had no reason not to welcome it, and they all opened their mouths to echo it. As he spoke, Youshu had already walked into the main hall, first glanced eagerly at the master, and then half-knelt and saluted, thinking: This time I have to take over the errand no matter what, it is better to get the moon first near the water.