Zheng Jing Feng gave up his personal copy of the account book.

Luo Wei instructed Ten alone to leave with the evidence first and give the copy of the account book to Emperor Xing Wu.

“Are you not going to look at it, young master?” Eleven asked.

Luo Wei answered, “I’m not. You shouldn’t either, Ten. Let’s make sure that the emperor is the only one who reads it.”

“Understood,” Ten had no more qualms with any of Luo Wei’s decisions.

Luo Wei then commanded Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen to accompany Zheng Jing Feng to the capital. He himself will take Zheng Jing Feng’s son and travel back to the capital via another route with Fourteen, Qi Zi, and Wei Lan.

Zheng Jing Feng didn’t want to be separated from his young son, but he knew that Luo Wei wanted to keep the boy so he could use the baby as leverage. With that, Zheng Jing Feng could do nothing else but accept the arrangements.

The group separated into three and left Yu Zhou on the afternoon after the destruction of the Zheng family.

When Long Xuan and the junior chancellor, Liu Shang Shi, received news of what happened in Yu Zhou and what happened to Zheng Jing Feng, Ten had already handed off the account book to Emperor Xing Wu back in the palace.

On the third night after Ten returned, Eleven ‘s group arrived with Zheng Jing Feng in tow.

Luo Wei’s group took a little while longer, and arrived five days later at the capital.

At this point, the case of the mines in Yu Zhou, the one that has dragged on for the last two years, has finally come to an official end with Emperor Xing Wu’s own decree. In his rage, Emperor Xing Wu tore the missive on his desk in two and tossed them in the faces of the senior and the junior chancellors, then immediately sent down an imperial edict, spelling out the punishment of all the officials currently seated in Yu Zhou. There were no less than five hundred names when the list came down, announcing those charged with crimes. The worst of the bunch were to be executed and their families exterminated, but even the lightest ones were to suffer confiscation of all family properly and the exile of all those in their lineage. Yu Zhou’s officials, big and small, were all taken care of. Not even one managed to escape.

Even though Emperor Xing Wu put the Yu Zhou officials to death, but he didn’t touch the junior chancellor, Liu Shuang Shi, and behaved as if normal to his second son, Long Xuan.

When Luo Wei arrived in the capital, he headed straight for the palace to see the emperor without even heading home.

Ten, who’d returned first, had already described everything that happened on the road to the emperor. It was only when Emperor Xing Wu saw Luo Wei in person that the anger in him subsided somewhat. “You did very well, it wasn’t easy,” his imperial majesty reached out to help Luo Wei up from kneeling himself. Upon noticing that Luo Wei gotten even thinner from the rough travel, Emperor Xing Wu’s love for his son was stoked back to life again.

“Your humble servant is glad to take on some of Your Imperial Majesty’s worries,” Luo Wei said respectfully. His eyes were lowered and didn’t see the look of utter devotion and love written plain on the emperor’s face.

“Don’t you have any questions for me?” Emperor Xing Wu asked.

Luo Wei shook his head, “Your Imperial Majesty has already taken care of all the culprits who were too greedy to respect the law, I have nothing else to ask of Your Imperial Majesty.”

Emperor Xing Wu spoke, “And I guess you don’t want to ask about what happened to that man you had Ten bring back?”

Luo Wei answered, “What happened to him?”

Emperor Xing Wu kept his eyes on Luo Wei and said, “I’ve already put him to death.”

Seeing as how Long Xuan and the junior chancellor were both safe, Luo Wei had already guessed that Zheng Jing Feng must have been put to death. To maintain an equilibrium of power, the emperor chose to compromise once again. Even though he knew, Luo Wei’s expression stiffened as the emperor laid it out for him, “Your Imperial Majesty is wise.”

Emperor Xing Wu then said, “He’s got a young son too. Tell me, how do you think I should deal with him?”

Luo Wei paused in thought for a moment, and responded, “He’s only a little baby, would Your Imperial Majesty allow him a mercy and let him live?”

Emperor Xing Wu asked, “Are you going to raise him?”

Luo Wei answered, “I would, gladly.”

Emperor Xing Wu waved Luo Wei closer, so that the youth stood before him. He looked into Luo Wei’s eyes, “Wei Er, have you not thought of what would happen when this boy grows up? When he finds out that you were the one who killed his family? Do you think he would appreciate you for raising him instead of avenging his family?”

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES:

Hi hi! We’re back and rolling! : ) Thanks everyone for sticking with this story through thick and thin. I’m not 100% sure how to update all the previous chapter links on Novel Updates, but at the very least we’ve got the new updates running now.

<3 Love you guys, and I look forward to sharing more of this novel with you!