YWTGU -Chapter 10 His Infamy Spreads — The Capital Trembles

After Jin Daye led his band of lackeys away in high spirits, the side hall of the Revenue-Raising Office fell into a dead silence.

Master Zhou, Old Qian, and Sun Fu stared at one another, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

One hundred thousand taels!

A garbage-collecting post had actually sold for the sky-high price of one hundred thousand taels!

And the buyer had even raised the price himself!

“H-How is this possible?”

Master Zhou’s voice trembled.

He prided himself on having followed the Prime Minister for years—what schemes and intrigues hadn’t he seen?

Yet Li An’s move today had completely overturned his worldview.

Old Qian’s face alternated between pale and green as he muttered to himself:

“No… something’s not right… How exactly did Li An pull this off?”

Sun Fu stood there dumbfounded, mouth hanging open, unable to close it for a long while.

He had come fully prepared to watch Li An make a fool of himself.

Instead, the three of them had become the joke.

…

“Gentlemen, what’s the matter?”

Li An walked out with a genial smile. Seeing their expressions, he felt utterly refreshed.

“Standing at the doorway catching a draft? It’s broad daylight—don’t catch a cold.”

Master Zhou was so choked he couldn’t speak.

Old Qian cleared his throat twice and forced out a smile. “Master Li, truly impressive methods… truly impressive.”

“You flatter me.”

Li An waved a hand modestly. That humble look made their teeth itch.

“It was just luck. Gang Leader Jin is an honest man—very straightforward with money.”

Luck?

You whipped him into a frenzy with that whole speech, and you call that luck?

The three of them cursed inwardly, yet had no words to refute him.

“Alright, alright, don’t just stand there.”

Li An yawned and said casually, “I’ve been busy all night. I’m exhausted. I’ll go rest first.”

With that, he headed straight toward the back courtyard, leaving the three men staring blankly after him.

…

After quite some time, Master Zhou finally came to his senses.

He grabbed Old Qian and Sun Fu and lowered his voice urgently.

“Let’s go! We need to find somewhere to discuss this! We can’t just let this pass!”

The three hurried out of the Revenue-Raising Office and found a private room in a secluded teahouse. Once the door was shut, Master Zhou plopped down heavily, his face dark as storm clouds.

“Gentlemen, how do you see today’s matter?”

Old Qian sighed bitterly. “How else can we see it? That Li An is far more capable than we imagined!”

“More than capable!”

Sun Fu had calmed down by now and analyzed sharply. “Think about it. If this gets reported back to the residence, how will our masters view it?”

At those words, Master Zhou and Old Qian’s expressions worsened.

Exactly.

They had been sent to keep an eye on Li An—to trip him up and ensure he failed.

But what happened?

Right under their noses, Li An sold a worthless post for one hundred thousand taels!

If word spread, wouldn’t it prove the three of them were useless?

“No! We absolutely cannot report this truthfully!”

Master Zhou gritted his teeth.

“Then… how do we explain it to our masters?” Sun Fu asked uneasily.

“Isn’t that simple?”

Master Zhou’s eyes rolled, and a sinister smile tugged at his lips.

“We’ll smooth it over.”

He cleared his throat and continued:

“How did Li An sell that post for one hundred thousand taels today? Let’s change the story.”

“Let’s say Jin Daye was forced! Doesn’t Li An have the Emperor backing him? We’ll say he used imperial authority to coerce the Golden Sands Guild Leader into paying!”

Old Qian and Sun Fu’s eyes lit up.

“We’ll say Li An declared that not buying meant defying an imperial edict! That he threatened to have Jin Daye arrested and executed on the spot! What choice would Jin Daye have? He could only cough up the money!”

“Brilliant! Master Zhou, that’s brilliant!”

Old Qian slapped his thigh excitedly. “That way, not only do we avoid blame, we can push the whole matter onto Li An!”

“Exactly!”

Sun Fu nodded eagerly. “And once the rumor spreads, Li An’s reputation will be utterly ruined!”

“Who would dare buy an office from the Revenue-Raising Office then? Going there would mean being strong-armed!”

“Even if he’s capable beyond measure, he won’t be able to sell a second post!”

The three grew more animated by the minute, already envisioning Li An isolated and abandoned by all.

…

Night fell.

Across the capital—restaurants, teahouses, pleasure houses—the same explosive rumor spread everywhere.

“Hey! Have you heard? Something big happened at the Revenue-Raising Office today!”

“What big thing?”

“That new top scholar, Li An! Somehow he got the Golden Sands Guild Leader, Jin Daye, to show up—and forced him to pay one hundred thousand taels for an office!”

“One hundred thousand?! What kind of office costs that much?”

“Guess? A garbage-collection post! Deputy Director of Street Sanitation!”

“What the hell? A garbage post worth one hundred thousand taels? That’s robbery!”

“You don’t know the half of it! They say Jin Daye refused at first, but Li An slammed an imperial gold token onto the table!”

“He said, ‘His Majesty’s word is law—the offices of the Revenue-Raising Office must be sold! If you refuse, you defy the imperial edict! I’ll have you dragged out and executed!’”

“Damn! That ruthless?”

“Ruthless? You don’t know! They say Jin Daye was so scared he wet himself! He knelt and begged for mercy! In the end, guards pinned him down and forced him to sign and hand over the silver before letting him go!”

“My heavens… This Li An is too vicious! He’s like a living King of Hell!”

Ding!

【Rumors erupt! Li An branded a “cruel official”!】

【The Revenue-Raising Office dubbed the “Hall of Yama”!】

【Merchants panic; no one dares to buy offices!】

【Great Qi National Fortune -150】

【Current National Fortune: 86,929】

Similar tales spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys of the capital.

And with each retelling, they grew more outrageous.

Some claimed Jin Daye had three fingers broken before he agreed to sign.

Some said he emerged covered in blood, dragged out half-dead.

Others vividly described a torture chamber inside the Revenue-Raising Office reserved for those who refused to pay.

In short, it took only one night.

Li An’s name became a nightmare among the capital’s merchants and wealthy elites.

The Revenue-Raising Office was privately nicknamed the “Hall of Yama.”

And the invitation letters Li An had sent out acquired a new name—

“Yama Invitations.”

Those who received them were terrified out of their wits.

Ding!

【The name “Yama Invitation” spreads throughout the capital!】

【Imperial authority disgraced; government image collapses!】

【Great Qi National Fortune -100】

【Current National Fortune: 86,829】

…

Early the next morning.

Ding!

【A new day begins!】

【Current Great Qi National Fortune: 86,829】

【National Fortune change this cycle: -1,171】

【Estimated settlement earnings: 117,100 taels of gold】

【Time remaining: 25 days】

Li An, having slept his fill, stretched lazily in satisfaction.

More than one hundred seventeen thousand taels of gold!

And it’s only been a few days?

Wait…

He suddenly sat upright and checked the system again.

National Fortune had dropped by over a thousand points?!

Yesterday he’d only sold one office—how had it fallen so much overnight?

Hongmei entered with a grave expression and threw a stack of returned invitations in front of him.

“Sir, take a look for yourself.”

“Hm? What is this?”

Li An casually picked up one of the slips. The moment he unfolded it, he froze.

“The Liu Residence respectfully reports to Lord Li: This old man has recently caught a chill and is bedridden, truly unable to attend the appointment. We beg Lord Li’s understanding.”

He picked up the second:

“The Zhang Residence humbly reports in fear and trepidation: The old matriarch has suddenly fallen gravely ill. The entire household is attending to her. We earnestly request Lord Li to choose another date.”

The third:

“The Wang Residence offers a thousand apologies: The young master accidentally fell into the water and is in critical condition. We can only appreciate Lord Li’s kind intentions in spirit.”

Li An read through them one by one, his expression growing more and more colorful.

He had just sent these invitations out yesterday. By early this morning, every single one had been returned.

And each excuse was more outrageous than the last.

A sudden chill, an elderly matriarch’s emergency illness, a young master drowning…

What was this? Did the entire capital suffer collective disaster the moment he sent out invitations?

“What’s going on here?”

Li An set down the stack of returned invitations and frowned.

Hongmei snorted coldly and recounted, in full detail, all the rumors she had gathered the night before.

Torture for confessions.

The Ministry of Fundraising being likened to the Hall of the King of Hell.

“Yama’s summons”…

Li An listened, dumbfounded.

“Wait!”

He interrupted Hongmei, staring in disbelief. “I tortured Jin Daya? He bought his post while crying and begging for mercy?”

“Who the hell made that up? Yesterday I was clearly reasoning with him and painting him a bright future! He got so excited he voluntarily raised his own bid!”

Hongmei shrugged calmly. “That’s not how it’s being told outside.”

“They’re saying you relied on the Emperor’s authority to coerce Jin Daya into a forced purchase. Buy or lose your head. To save his life, he had no choice but to pay up.”

Li An fell silent for a moment.

Then suddenly, he laughed.

“Interesting.”

“Interesting?” Hongmei raised an eyebrow. “Young Master, you’re practically a rat crossing the street now. The merchants would rather pretend to be sick than see you. And you find that interesting?”

“Of course it’s interesting.”

Li An stood, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked to the window. Sunlight spilled across his face, giving him an air of unfathomable depth.

“I was still worrying about how to perform an Empty City Stratagem. Now they’ve staged the entire play for me.”

Hongmei was completely baffled.

Li An didn’t explain. He merely smiled.

In his mind, he was calculating something else.

The remaining official posts he had to sell were all thankless jobs—dangerous ones, even.

Relying purely on persuasion and grand promises… would be difficult.

But what if the buyers already believed they were being forced into it?

What if they already viewed the Ministry of Fundraising as an execution ground?

Then there was room to maneuver.

After all, if someone thinks they’re walking in to lose their life… and discovers they’re only buying an official post instead—

Wouldn’t that feel like an unexpected blessing?

…

At the same time.

At the headquarters of the Golden Sand Gang.

Jin Daya sat proudly in his brand-new official robes, lounging in a grand armchair while listening to his subordinates report.

“Guild Leader—ah, no, Lord! Outside they’re saying you were tortured by Li An! That you—”

Before the underling could finish, Jin Daya kicked him to the ground.

“Say that again?”

Jin Daya’s eyes bulged. “I was tortured? How come I don’t know about it?”

The subordinate clutched his stomach miserably. “My lord, that’s what they’re saying! They say you were beaten in the Ministry of Fundraising until you cried for your parents and bought your post on your knees—”

“Bullshit! When have I ever knelt?”

Jin Daya slammed the table in fury. “I was moved by Lord Li’s grand vision, alright? It was such a good position I even raised the price myself for fear of losing it!”

“Tortured… how could I possibly have been tortured…”

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

He, Jin Daya, was a tyrant of the capital’s underworld. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

But just then, a flash of realization struck him.

Wait.

Who spread this rumor?

Surely it couldn’t have been Li An himself?

What benefit would he gain? It would only scare people away from buying posts!

Then it could only be… those people in court!

Those three so-called “joint supervisors”!

The more Jin Daya thought about it, the clearer it became.

Those three old foxes must be trying to ruin Li An’s reputation!

But what they didn’t understand…

Jin Daya suddenly shot to his feet and began pacing excitedly.

“I get it! Lord Li is helping me whitewash my reputation!”

His subordinates exchanged confused looks, unable to follow.

“Think about it!”

Jin Daya said excitedly. “What was I before? An underworld boss! A thug!”

“If I became an official openly, would those civil bureaucrats accept it? Would those self-righteous scholars let me off?”

“But now? The entire capital thinks I was forced to buy my post! That I’m the victim!”

“The nobles will sympathize with me! The censors might even impeach Li An on my behalf!”

“In one move, I’ve gone from oppressor to persecuted. From gang boss to pitiable figure!”

“When I take office, will anyone dare make things difficult for me? They’ll only feel sorry for me!”

His subordinates still looked dazed, but nodded repeatedly.

The more Jin Daya spoke, the more emotional he became. His eyes even reddened.

“Lord Li… Lord Li used his own reputation in exchange for my chance to serve as an official with a clean slate!”

“He’d rather bear the name of a cruel official than ruin my future!”

“I, Jin Daya, will never forget this kindness!”

By the end, he was genuinely moved to tears.

Wiping them away fiercely, he growled:

“Pass down the order! From today onward—brothers of the Street Administration Office!”

“Remember this! Lord Li is our benefactor! His words are law!”

“Anyone who dares show him disrespect—I’ll skin them alive!”

“Yes, sir!”

…

Back at the Ministry of Fundraising.

Li An looked at the mountain of returned invitations on his desk, then at the three men at the doorway—Zhou the Clerk, Old Qian, and Sun Fu—smirking with schadenfreude.

Zhou the Clerk stepped forward with a fake smile and clasped his hands.

“Lord Li, I hear all your invitations were returned? Tsk, tsk, what a pity.”

“The merchants of the capital are shrewd beyond compare. Your little tricks don’t impress them.”

Old Qian chimed in, “Indeed, indeed! Lord Li, you’d best give up now! Those remaining posts—no matter how silver-tongued you are—you’ll never sell them!”

Sun Fu sneered disdainfully. “If you fail to gather two million taels, you’ll be beheaded at the Meridian Gate when the deadline comes! Why should we argue with a man who’s as good as dead?”

Zhou and Old Qian laughed loudly.

“Exactly! Exactly!”

They were laughing heartily—

But failed to notice Li An’s smile nearly twisting off his face.

He secretly glanced at the system.

【Today’s National Fortune Change: -250】

【Cumulative Change: -1,171】

【Current National Fortune Value: 86,829】

【Estimated Settlement Earnings: 117,100 taels of gold】

Over a million taels of gold already.

They thought they were sabotaging him?

Little did they know every rumor, every smear, was helping him fleece the nation’s fortune.

“Afraid of me?”

Li An muttered softly, so quietly only he could hear.

“Good.”

“I’d be worried if they weren’t afraid.”