DLERB -Chapter 16 The Zhao Estate Steward Presents Evidence of Crimes, the Chancellor’s Net Is About to Close!

Zhao Estate, West Wing Room.

Steward Old Zhou suddenly sat upright in bed.

The sky outside had not fully brightened yet, but hurried footsteps could already be heard in the courtyard.

“Steward! Steward!”

A servant boy stumbled and crawled into the room, forgetting even to knock.

Old Zhou’s face darkened.

“What are you panicking for? Has the master returned?”

The servant dropped to his knees, his voice trembling.

“Wutong Alley… something happened at Wutong Alley!”

Old Zhou sprang to his feet.

“Speak clearly!”

“Wutong Alley has been burned to the ground! Rumor says… says it was done by the Jinyiwei. Everyone there is dead!”

Clatter.

The teacup in Old Zhou’s hand fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

Wutong Alley—

That was one of Luowang’s most important strongholds in Xianyang.

Just yesterday, the master had said they needed Luowang to stir the waters into even greater chaos.

How could it all happen overnight…

“Where is the master? Did he come back last night?”

The servant shook his head.

“No. Last night the master said he was going to meet an important guest and told us not to wait for him.”

Old Zhou felt a chill surge from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

He grabbed the servant by the shoulders.

“Quick! Go investigate immediately! Search the places the master often visits!”

The servant scrambled away in terror.

Old Zhou collapsed onto the bedside, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

It was over.

He had served the Zhao Estate for twenty years. He knew Zhao Cheng too well.

Greedy.

Ruthless.

Arrogant.

When dealing with the Ninth Young Master this time, the master had been full of confidence, claiming that an eight-year-old child could never cause any real trouble.

But now…

Luowang’s stronghold had been destroyed.

The master had vanished.

Even the estate guards who usually strutted around arrogantly had gone out with the master last night, and not one of them had returned.

Old Zhou forced himself to stand and threw on an outer robe.

He had to prepare for the worst.

A quarter of an hour later—

The servant returned, his face paler than a dead man’s.

“St-Steward… in the west side of the city… inside a residence… we found…”

Old Zhou closed his eyes.

“The person?”

“Dead.”

The servant’s voice carried a sob.

“His throat was slit open. He died… died horribly.”

Old Zhou staggered, nearly losing his footing.

He clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to collapse.

“And the guards?”

“They’re dead too. They died beside the master. More than a dozen corpses.”

Old Zhou’s head buzzed loudly.

It was over.

Completely over.

With Zhao Cheng dead, the Zhao Estate was nothing more than an empty shell.

Forget that Ninth Young Master—even the petty officials and clerks in Xianyang who had once been bullied by the Zhao Estate would now dare to step on them.

And even worse—

Old Zhou suddenly remembered something.

He rushed into Zhao Cheng’s study and kicked open the hidden compartment.

Inside was completely empty.

Those account books.

Those records of crimes.

All gone!

The Jinyiwei must have taken them!

Old Zhou’s legs gave out and he dropped to his knees.

He knew exactly what he had to do now.

If he wanted to survive, there was only one path left.

He stood up and said to the servant:

“Go. Bring out every account book and every letter in the estate.”

The servant froze.

“Steward, if outsiders see those things…”

Old Zhou slapped him across the face.

“Outsiders? At a time like this, what difference is there between inside and outside anymore?! The master is dead! Do you think we still have a choice if we want to live?”

Covering his face, the servant hurried away in panic.

Half an hour later—

The Zhao Estate treasury was opened.

More than ten large chests were filled with bamboo scrolls, account books, and letters.

These were the records of Zhao Cheng’s crimes accumulated over many years.

They were also the leverage he used to threaten and blackmail others.

Looking at the chests, Old Zhou let out a bitter laugh.

Once, these things had been the Zhao Estate’s protective talisman.

Now, they were his only path to survival.

“Load them onto the carts. Come with me.”

“Steward, where are we going?”

“To the Chancellor’s Estate.”

At Chunyu Yue’s residence, inside the bedroom—

The old scholar leaned against the headboard, his face as pale and lifeless as paper.

Yet his eyes shone with a terrifying brightness.

One student knelt beside the bed, his voice trembling.

“Teacher… Luowang… Luowang is really gone.”

“At Wutong Alley, they say even the corpses were burned into charcoal. No one can even tell who they were anymore.”

Chunyu Yue stared motionlessly at the ceiling above his bed.

After a long while, he suddenly laughed.

“So what if they’re gone?”

The student froze.

“Teacher, y-you… are you alright?”

Chunyu Yue slowly turned to look at him.

Madness flickered within those cloudy old eyes.

“What is Luowang, anyway? Nothing more than a bunch of rats Zhao Gao keeps hidden in the dark.”

Struggling, he forced himself upright.

“Go. Immediately send people to Chenliu, to Langya, and to every place where the remnants and forces of the Six States still exist.”

The student looked confused.

“Teacher, shouldn’t we… shouldn’t we be thinking about saving ourselves first? That Ninth Young Master even dared destroy Luowang. What if—”

“What if?”

Chunyu Yue interrupted him.

“He can destroy Luowang, but can he destroy the entire world?”

He pointed outside the window.

“Go tell those old noble clans that Ying Ziye kills without restraint, that he has bathed Xianyang in blood and completely lost the support of the people!”

“If they don’t rise up now, then when?!”

The student still wanted to persuade him otherwise.

Chunyu Yue suddenly slammed his hand against the bedside.

“Get out! Go now!”

The student trembled in fright and scrambled out of the room.

Only Chunyu Yue remained inside.

Looking at the gradually brightening sky outside the window, a cold sinister smile appeared on his face.

“Ying Ziye, do you think killing a few people is enough to suppress the world?”

“You have no idea how terrifying the power of the remnants of the Six States truly is.”

“When their armies arrive, you, little eight-year-old tyrant, will be nothing more than meat on a chopping board!”

Outside the main gate of the Chancellor’s Estate—

The sky had fully brightened.

Old Zhou knelt on the stone steps outside the gate, with more than ten large chests behind him.

Passersby kept glancing sideways.

Wasn’t that the steward of the Zhao Estate?

Why was he kneeling here?

The estate gates opened.

Li Si walked out wearing ordinary robes.

He had not slept all night. Deep shadows surrounded his eyes, and he looked as though he had aged years overnight.

When he saw Old Zhou kneeling there, he frowned.

“You are…?”

Old Zhou kowtowed heavily.

“This humble one is Old Zhou, steward of the Zhao Estate.”

Li Si’s expression changed immediately.

“Someone from the Zhao Estate?”

Old Zhou slammed his forehead against the ground again, hard enough to draw blood.

“Chancellor, this humble one has come to confess my crimes!”

“I have brought all the Zhao Estate’s account books and records of crimes!”

“I beg the Chancellor to spare my life!”

Li Si looked at the dozen chests, then at the blood running down Old Zhou’s forehead.

He said nothing.

After a long silence, he turned to the steward behind him.

“Carry them inside.”

Old Zhou felt as though he had been granted a pardon from death. Lying flat on the ground, he repeatedly kowtowed.

“Thank you, Chancellor! Thank you, Chancellor!”

Li Si did not look at him again and turned to walk back into the estate.

One by one, the chests were carried into the Chancellor’s Estate.

Old Zhou collapsed onto the steps, feeling as though all strength had been drained from his body.

He knew that from this moment onward—

The Zhao Estate was truly finished.

And that Lord Zhao Gao, who was currently away from Xianyang…

Was probably finished as well.