Chapter 30 Decision
Listening to the screams and curses of the women around me was like a pleasant piece of music playing in my ears.

Zheng Shiyi smiled, looking at the somewhat chaotic situation with a feeling of half sigh and half joy: "Our emperor is really an impartial person."

…………

In the Wenhua Hall late at night, several lights emitted faint lights.

Wang Chengen stood behind Chongzhen, holding a lamp in his own hands to illuminate him.

Chongzhen, on the other hand, held a memorial in his hands with a frown on his face, reading every word carefully, and sometimes even reading it out loud with hatred.

"We seized 183,451 taels of silver, four house deeds, more than ten shops, and thousands of acres of land deeds, as well as countless antiques, calligraphy and paintings, gold, and concubines, with a value of about 1.5 million taels of silver..."

"boom!"

Chongzhen slammed Zheng Shiyi's memorial on the table, and his handsome face turned red.

"I have been generous in rewarding this thief since we got married. Not long ago, I gave him 500 hectares of land for his livelihood, which is enough for him to live a life of wealth and glory. However, this thief is so greedy that he has amassed a fortune of one and a half million in just a few years!"

Wang Chengen wanted to excuse Zhou Kui and said, "Your Majesty, calm down. This 1.5 million taels of silver is just Zheng Shiyi's preliminary estimate. It seems a bit exaggerated to win credit."

"Besides, among the thousand hectares of land, there are 500 hectares awarded by Your Majesty. So, all together, it is only..."

At this point, Wang Chengen was a little speechless. Even if the 500 hectares given by Chongzhen were put aside, the family property was still worth around one million.

However, Zhou Kui had only been the father-in-law of Prince Xin for a few years, and even in the position of father-in-law of the emperor for only two or three months, it was already jaw-dropping enough that he could amass millions of dollars.

Chongzhen just glanced at Wang Chengen and was not displeased by Wang Chengen's excuse for Zhou Kui.

Because Chongzhen also knew that Wang Chengen just wanted to avoid punishing her too severely because of his anger, which was why he created a grudge with the Queen.

However, Empress Zhou had not yet given birth to a son for Chongzhen, and Zhu Cilang would not be born until the second year of Chongzhen.

In feudal society, especially in the imperial palace, it is an eternal truth that a mother’s status depends on her sons.

Although Chongzhen and Empress Zhou were in love, in Chongzhen's mind, Empress Zhou's status had not yet reached an unshakable level.

Everyone thought that Queen Zhou was gentle, respectful and modest, but few people knew that she was also famous for her jealousy.

She would often show her temper, use tricks, or gossip when Chongzhen favored other concubines.

So it is not entirely true to say that the relationship between Chongzhen and Queen Zhou was really harmonious and there was no grudge between them at all.

Zhou Kui's betrayal of Chongzhen and collusion with foreign officials had already touched Chongzhen's sore spot. When the country was at its poorest, he discovered that his father-in-law had actually amassed a huge fortune by relying on his status. He could no longer suppress his anger.

If Chongzhen and Empress Zhou had a relationship like that between Emperor Xiaozong and Empress Zhang, he might have forgiven Zhou Kui, or Zhou Kui might have only been amassing wealth without betraying himself. But now...

"Let the servants of Wenhua Palace draft an imperial decree. The commander-in-chief of the Left Army, Zhou Kui, is the father-in-law of the emperor and has done great service to the country. However, he not only does not think about repaying his service to the court, but instead engages in corruption and bullies men and women. His crimes are so heinous that killing him will not appease the people's anger! Let the Ministry of Justice verify his identity and choose a day... to execute him!"

"Execute him!" Wang Cheng'en's legs trembled as he said in shock, "Your Majesty, is this too severe? I think the father-in-law may have a repentant heart, why not..."

"No need to say more!" Chongzhen said firmly: "I have made up my mind, go ahead and do it!"

Wang Chengen lowered his head and said in fear, "Yes... just the Queen's side?"

Thinking of Queen Zhou, Chongzhen sighed.

Although the relationship between the two did not reach the point of moving heavenly love, one has to admit that Queen Zhou had no faults other than being a bit jealous. Even compared with the queens of all dynasties, she was among the top tier of virtuous queens.

Chongzhen's feelings for him weren't fake, it was just...

Women will only slow down the speed at which I draw my sword!

If it were an ordinary minister, Chongzhen would not hesitate to kill someone like Zhou Kui.

The fact that he could be so obsessed with it for so long shows that he loves the queen deeply.

"Show the evidence of Zhou Kui's crime to the Queen, and tell her that I am not only her husband, but also the father of all the people in this world!" "If I am worthy of her, I will be betraying the people. There are some things...I must do!"

"promise!"

…………

The next day, the sun rises three poles.

Wang An stood at the door and paced back and forth while picking his teeth.

"This shouldn't be the case! With Zhou Kui's personality, why would he give the money but not be in a hurry to receive it? Three days have passed..."

As he was muttering, many people on the street outside the gate ran excitedly towards the city, some of them even smiled and greeted others as they ran.

Wang An was puzzled. These poor people in Doujiafang were busy all day just to make a living, so when had they ever been so happy?
So he grabbed a man he knew and asked, "Er Gouzi, this is the rich family that donated rice, look how happy you are."

Er Gouzi dragged Wang An and ran without saying anything, saying as he ran: "A high-ranking official has been beheaded at Caishikou, little genius doctor, let's go and watch the fun!"

Wang An had never seen ancient people carry out executions when he traveled through the Ming Dynasty, so he couldn't help but feel curious when he heard this. The most important thing was that the Chinese people's desire to watch excitement was quietly awakened.

So, he followed Er Gouzi into the city.

After a breath-taking moment, we finally arrived at Caishikou.

I saw that an execution ground had been set up at the intersection. A man was kneeling on a small platform in front of the execution stand with a prisoner's card stuck on his back. He seemed to be so frightened that he was lying on the ground and his face could not be seen.

At this moment.

A lot of people have gathered in Caishikou.

There are still many ordinary people holding steamed buns in their hands...

Wang An and the other man arrived neither too early nor too late, and were neither too far nor too close to the execution platform.

Wang An was very satisfied. He imagined that when the beheading took place, the blood would not spray on him, and he would be able to see the execution clearly. If the concert was shown in the future, the ticket price in this position would be at least 5,000.

I looked around and didn't see anyone holding steamed buns, which made me feel disappointed.

Soon, noon has arrived.

The limp man on the scaffold was pulled up by the executioner, and a familiar face appeared in front of Wang An.

"Fuck, it's Zhou Kui!"

Wang An almost jumped up. This guy was fine a few days ago, how come he ended up on the execution ground today?
"Nima...what's going on!"

"No! I have to slow down!"

"Is it really the Ming Dynasty that I traveled through?"

Er Gouzi was watching the execution ground excitedly. Seeing Wang An mumbling to himself, he turned around curiously and asked, "Little Doctor, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing...nothing..." Wang An said in a lost voice: "Look, I'll go back first."

Although Er Gouzi was surprised, he had no time to care about Wang An as he was about to be executed.

Wang An returned to the shop in a daze. Without saying a word, he rummaged through the drawers and prepared to pack his clothes and run away.

"This is definitely not our Ming Dynasty! Even the father-in-law Zhou Kui can be chopped off. Either he came to the wrong time and space, or someone from the same profession traveled through time and space to become Chongzhen!"

Wang An muttered to himself, and suddenly came to his senses: "Yes, if I can travel through time, why can't someone like me travel through time and space to become Chongzhen?"

(End of this chapter)