YWTGU -Chapter 12 Truth Spoken in Dreams Startles Hongmei, Golden Tooth Sparks an Unprecedented Disaster

The night over Great Qi was deep and heavy. In the bedroom at the back hall of the Revenue Office…

Li An was sleeping soundly, snoring thunderously, occasionally rolling over with a silly grin on his face as if he were having the sweetest dream.

Just then, a window was silently pushed open.

Ignoring the door… preferring the window instead…

Hongmei’s slender figure drifted down from the window, light as a feather, not making the slightest sound.

She had just returned from the headquarters of the Blackwater Terrace, her mood complicated, and now stood by the bed, looking down at the man sleeping like a dead pig.

“So this is… a Special-Grade Secret Agent… Third Rank…”

Hongmei glanced at the secret imperial decree tucked in her arms, feeling extremely sour inside.

She, Hongmei, had clawed her way up in the Blackwater Terrace for years—fighting through blades and flames, crawling out from piles of corpses—just to reach the position of Thousand-Household Commander.

And what about him?

He had merely slept comfortably for a few days… and jumped straight to Special-Grade Secret Agent?

Even becoming her superior in one leap?

Hongmei felt utterly indignant.

She took a deep breath, truly tempted to slap this fellow awake.

Her hand even rose into the air—

But…

Forget it.

In the end, she chose to let it go, consoling herself silently.

After all, the guy really did have ability.

Once she calmed down, she lightly sat on the edge of the bed, not even knowing why she kept staring at Li An’s sleeping face.

To be honest, his face was indeed good-looking.

Sharp brows, starry eyes, high nose, thin lips—just that… as a person… he was always so improper.

“Mm…”

Just as she was lost in thought, Li An suddenly moved.

Hongmei instantly became alert and quickly stood up to leave. She did not want this fellow to discover that she had been secretly watching him sleep at night.

However, the moment she stood—

“Hong… Hongmei…”

Was he… talking in his sleep?

Hongmei unconsciously sat back down, even leaning a little closer.

Why was this scoundrel calling her name in his dream?

“Hongmei… hehe…”

Sure enough.

A shameless grin spread across Li An’s face.

The moment Hongmei saw that expression, she knew something was wrong.

“Hongmei, girl! Come… give this lord a smile…”

Hongmei’s face darkened instantly.

What the hell?

Calling me Hongmei girl?

And asking me to smile for you???

Her hand moved to the short blade at her waist, eyes drifting toward Li An’s lower body.

“You damned lecher…”

Hongmei ground out through clenched teeth.

“Ah…”

Li An suddenly sighed, and his expression changed.

The shameless grin disappeared, replaced by something… how to put it… a faint air of a lonely hero.

“I want to go home…”

Hongmei froze.

Go home?

“This crappy place… I really don’t want to stay here…”

Li An rolled over and muttered.

Hongmei frowned even more.

Crappy place? Was he talking about… Great Qi?

“I want to go back… ruining a country… is so hard…”

Li An muttered again.

For some reason, Hongmei’s heart trembled at those words.

Ruining a country is hard?

Yes. He bore the heavy responsibility of bringing down Great Qi, yet had to pretend every day to be utterly devoted to it.

How exhausting must it be to live with such two faces?

There was even a trace of grievance in his muttering.

Hearing this, Hongmei’s heart softened without her realizing it.

Thinking of all this, she suddenly felt a trace of… heartache? For Li An?

She quickly shook her head hard, throwing that dangerous thought out of her mind.

“Phew…”

Hongmei let out a long breath, intending to leave the appointment document behind and go.

But at that moment—

“Mm… don’t go…”

Li An’s hand suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Hongmei stiffened instantly.

Had this brat discovered her?

“Don’t go… come… give me a kiss…”

Hongmei: ???

Before she could even react, Li An flipped over and sat up!

And then—

His damn handsome face leaned in.

Smack—!!!

Hongmei’s mind went completely blank.

This… this this this…

He was kissing her???

A few breaths later, her reason finally returned by a fraction.

Not right!

This guy! How dare he!

“Li An… you’re dead!!!”

Hongmei reacted instantly, seized his wrist, and twisted him down onto the bed in one smooth motion.

Clack—

The short blade left its sheath and pressed against Li An’s throat.

“Do you know what you’re doing?!”

Her eyes practically shot fire.

Li An: ???

He was dumbfounded.

“Holy shit!!!”

Li An was finally fully awake.

He glanced down—

Good heavens. One hand was locked by Hongmei, and the other was resting in a rather sensitive position.

“Um… Thousand-Household Hongmei…”

Li An quickly explained with a grin, “I was sleepwalking… yeah, sleepwalking! I have a sleepwalking condition, you know? A childhood issue…”

“Shut up!”

Hongmei pushed the blade half an inch closer.

The two remained locked like that.

Hongmei pinned him down, blade at his throat, her breathing slightly uneven.

In the end, she withdrew the knife.

“Hmph!”

Hongmei stood up, somewhat flustered as she adjusted her clothes.

She pulled out the appointment document from her robes and casually threw it at Li An’s face.

“Read it yourself!”

With that, she turned toward the window.

“Hey, hey, Hongmei, don’t go!”

Li An scrambled up. “What’s this?”

“You’ve been promoted.”

Hongmei did not turn back. “Special-Grade Secret Agent. Third Rank. From now on… even this Thousand-Household Commander reports to you.”

When she said the last words, there was obvious teeth-gritting in her voice.

Then she leaped out and vanished into the night.

Leaving Li An standing there in a daze.

Promoted?

Special-Grade Secret Agent?

Third Rank?

Hongmei reports to me now?

Li An picked up the appointment document and examined it carefully.

It was real!

“Holy shit!!!”

Li An was so excited he almost jumped up.

Struck it rich!

In Great Qi he’d become the Top Scholar, and in Northern Yan he’d become a Special-Grade Secret Agent!

Wasn’t this eating from both sides?!

…

Li An was still reveling in delight when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.

“Lord Li! Lord Li!”

It was Adviser Zhou’s voice.

And there were Old Qian and Sun Fu as well.

What were these three lackeys doing here in the middle of the night?

Li An frowned, threw on an outer robe, and stepped outside.

“What is it?”

Advisor Zhou rushed in, drenched in sweat. “Lord Li, something terrible has happened!”

“What terrible thing?” Li An yawned. “Has the sky fallen?”

“Worse than that!” Zhou stomped his foot anxiously. “It’s Jin Daya! Jin Daya’s caused trouble!”

“Jin Daya?”

Li An froze for a moment. “The gang leader who bought the Street Affairs Office?”

“Yes, yes, him!”

Old Qian cut in, “He’s carrying the Street Affairs seal and raising hell in the middle of the night, going around demanding money everywhere!”

“Isn’t that normal?”

Li An feigned confusion. “The Street Affairs Office has the authority to collect fees.”

“But he’s not collecting them normally!”

Sun Fu’s face had gone green with panic. “He led a group of men straight into the Minister of Revenue’s residence, saying he needed to inspect sanitation!”

“And then?” Li An was starting to get interested.

“Then he said the Minister of Revenue’s latrine… smelled too strong… and fined him ten thousand taels according to regulations!”

“Huh?”

Li An blinked.

The Minister of Revenue?

That was a second-rank grand official!

Ding!

【Jin Daya fines the Minister of Revenue 10,000 taels according to the law!】

【A senior court official loses face completely!】

【Great Qi National Fortune -80】

【Current National Fortune: 86,499】

“And that’s not all!”

Sun Fu continued indignantly, “He barged into the Duke Consort’s residence too, saying there was cow dung left uncleared at the entrance. He fined them fifty thousand taels!”

Ding!

【Jin Daya fines the Duke Consort’s residence 50,000 taels according to the law!】

【The authority of the imperial in-laws is swept away!】

【Great Qi National Fortune -60】

【Current National Fortune: 86,439】

The smile on Li An’s face widened.

“He even went to the Grand Commandant’s residence!” Old Qian added. “Said someone reported that a servant there spat on the street, affecting city appearance. Fine: thirty thousand taels!”

Ding!

【Jin Daya fines the Grand Commandant’s residence 30,000 taels according to the law!】

【The military aristocracy erupts in fury!】

【Great Qi National Fortune -50】

【Current National Fortune: 86,389】

At this point, Li An didn’t even know what to say.

This Jin Daya…

He sure had guts.

Honestly… well done!

“The most outrageous part!” Advisor Zhou practically wailed. “He even stormed into our Prime Minister’s residence!”

“He dared to enter the Prime Minister’s residence?”

Li An’s eyes lit up. “What excuse did he use to fine you?”

“He said the pack of dogs in the Prime Minister’s backyard were disturbing the peace with their barking. According to regulations, a fine of one hundred thousand taels! If we didn’t pay, he’d slaughter the dogs and make dog-meat hotpot!”

Ding!

【Jin Daya fines the Prime Minister’s residence 100,000 taels according to the law!】

【The authority of the civil officials collapses!】

【Great Qi National Fortune -100】

【Current National Fortune: 86,289】

Advisor Zhou could only cry bitterly. Jin Daya had brought plenty of gang members and official documents with the seal in hand—ready to argue with reason or fight with force. He’d nearly angered Prime Minister Wang to death.

Li An suppressed his laughter and sneaked a glance at the system.

Nearly three hundred points dropped in one go!

This Jin Daya really was a talent!

“Lord Li! That office was sold by you!”

Advisor Zhou lamented again. “Now the entire capital’s high officials and nobles are in an uproar! Everyone feels threatened, but there’s nothing they can do!”

“Tomorrow’s memorials impeaching you…” Old Qian whispered, “might pile up like a mountain.”

Li An held back a grin.

Then he said meaningfully, “Interesting. Truly very interesting.”

The three of them: ???

“Lord Li, you can still laugh?” Zhou said urgently. “If this reaches His Majesty, you won’t escape blame even if you die ten thousand times!”

Li An waved his hand dismissively.

“What are you panicking for? If they’re so capable, why send you here to complain?”

He sat down leisurely and poured himself a cup of tea.

“Tell me—was Jin Daya acting according to the rules?”

“Well… the rules are correct… but…”

“As long as the rules are correct, that’s enough.”

Li An cut them off. “The Street Affairs Office is responsible for maintaining street cleanliness and inspecting urban sanitation. Collecting sanitation fees is his duty.”

“But he’s charging way too much!” Sun Fu protested. “Ten thousand taels for checking a latrine!”

“Doesn’t that just prove that buying this office from us was worth it?”

Li An said calmly. “He spent a hundred thousand taels buying it—shouldn’t he recoup some of his investment? Besides, the more he collects, the more revenue the court gets. According to our contract, seventy percent of sanitation fees go to the treasury. He only keeps thirty percent.”

The three exchanged looks. They hadn’t even thought of that angle.

“Besides,” Li An took a sip of tea, expression serene, “those high officials have long been used to running rampant. Who dares to control them? Now that someone fearless has come along to vent the common people’s grievances, isn’t that a good thing?”

“But—”

“No buts.”

Li An stood with his hands behind his back. “I’ll take responsibility for this matter.”

The three were stunned.

Take responsibility?

How?

Half the court had been offended!

“Just tell those lords,” Li An said righteously, “this is a fund-raising strategy personally approved by His Majesty. If anyone has objections, they can go directly to His Majesty.”

Advisor Zhou and the others were dumbfounded.

This guy… had pulled out the Emperor as a shield again!

“Alright, it’s late.” Li An yawned. “I still need to catch up on sleep. Tomorrow will be busy. Go back and rest.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the inner courtyard.

The three stood there, looking at one another, utterly speechless.

…

Back in his bedroom, Li An’s lips curled upward again.

That Jin Daya.

He really understood his intentions.

Hadn’t he just stirred the capital into chaos in one stroke?

And what was rare was this—heavy with jianghu swagger, now armed with official status, he feared no power or rank.

He even deliberately targeted the toughest figures: the Minister of Revenue, the Duke Consort, the Grand Commandant, and the Prime Minister…

Li An glanced at the system:

【Today’s National Fortune Change: -290】

【Total Change: -1,711】

【Current National Fortune: 86,289】

【Estimated Settlement Reward: 1,711,000 taels of gold】

Over 1.7 million taels of gold!

And he hadn’t done a thing!

It was all Jin Daya charging ahead for him!

The court in chaos.
Officials enraged.
Public sentiment stirred.

Wonderful.

Wouldn’t the national fortune just keep dropping?

Li An felt delighted as he lay back in bed, a satisfied smile on his face.

He’d done nothing tonight. Just lying there sleeping, and the rewards kept pouring in.

Promoted.
Kissed a beauty.
And someone else charging into battle for him.

Life was sweet.

…

The night breeze blew softly. Things had settled down on Li An’s side.

But across the entire capital, chaos reigned. Ordinary commoners were unaffected, yet the mansions of nobles and high officials were in shambles.

At this moment, Jin Daya was holding a torch, dressed in a brand-new official robe, leading a crowd of his underlings, glaring at the mansions he’d long found displeasing—raiding them one by one…