After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 170 Wanted Criminal by the Imperial Court

The abbot of Huguo Temple openly put on airs in front of the old emperor and took the lead in coming out of the side room.

Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but comment as she looked at the host, whose face was full of anger.

[These people, once you give them a little attention, they'll start taking advantage of you, like this host in front of us.]

If the old emperor knew his idol had fallen from grace, I wonder if he would faint from shock.

House collapse?

What does that mean?

The crowd began to analyze the collapsed building in hushed tones.

It definitely doesn't mean the house collapsed in the literal sense.

[Monks should be free from worldly desires, but the abbot of Huguo Temple is anything but.]

The Empress instinctively whispered a rebuttal: "Impossible, impossible."

The abbot of Huguo Temple is a bit different from other abbots; this guy spends several months of each year away from home.

The empress explained softly to the old emperor, "You know that the master is going to help those who are confused and in distress."

[Tsk tsk tsk, this guy has been busy making babies these past few months. Let me see how many kids this host has.]

One, two, three...

One hundred and one?

Did I miscount? Let me count again.

Everyone was stunned. Even the old emperor didn't have so many children. This host is really amazing; he actually has so many children outside.

[Forget it, I'm not going to count anymore. No matter how I count, there are more children than the old emperor. The elderly in this world are truly amazing. Even in their sixties and seventies, they can't resist the urge to have kids. People like that should come to my place; one of them is equivalent to several three-child plans.]

【but……】

Shen Zhiyi always felt that something was off about this.

What's the point of having so many children?

The old emperor thought the more children the better, but with so many children not around, what was the point of the excitement?

The abbot, who was preparing to go to the main hall, felt that he was being stared at wherever he went.

He summoned the head monk: "Why do I always feel like they are watching me?"

"You're the host, so if we don't look at you, are we supposed to look at me?"

"Well, that makes sense."

At this moment, the old emperor in the side room was desperately trying to comfort the empress.

"Honey, if this one doesn't work, we'll get another one."

"I always thought the master was highly respected, but I never expected him to be even more wicked than you!"

The old emperor: ...Suddenly I don't really want to continue comforting him.

[Ha! I know, I know! This host saw some folk remedy somewhere, saying that exchanging blood with one's own blood from a blood relative can prolong life. This host is afraid of death, so he had a bunch of children. But since he's still healthy now, he hasn't used those children yet. Once his health declines, he plans to start exchanging his children's blood with his own.]

[Wow, that's really unrefined.]

[Leaving aside the medical conditions of this era, using blood from one's direct bloodline can be fatal, just like parents cannot donate blood to their children.]

Upon hearing Shen Zhiyi's words, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy quickly took out his notebook and wrote them down.

His wife works as a midwife, and she has seen too many cases of mothers dying from severe bleeding during childbirth. So, she has been thinking about how to solve this problem recently.

They had naturally considered using other people's blood for women experiencing severe postpartum hemorrhage.

But it's just a thought at the moment, and has never been put into practice.

The head of the Imperial Medical Academy was tempted by the host's appearance.

The Empress felt that her house had completely collapsed.

"Your Majesty, I believe that such a morally corrupt person is unfit to be the abbot!"

The old emperor nodded in agreement and then summoned the Dragon Scale Guards to gather evidence.

But finding the Dragon Scale Guards too slow, he simply summoned Shen Zhiyi, along with Zhang Sheren and Chen Decai.

"Ahem, what do you guys think of the abbot of Huguo Temple?"

With a chrysanthemum-like smile on his face, Chen Decai replied, "This servant will follow His Majesty's lead. Whatever His Majesty thinks, this servant will think."

The old emperor laughed and scolded, "You old fox, Zhang Sheren, what about you?"

Zhang Sheren knew very well that the old emperor wanted to ask Shen Zhiyi, so he also said tactfully, "Your Majesty's opinion is the same as mine."

The old emperor waved his hand and looked at Shen Zhiyi again.

Shen Zhiyi's eyes darted around, and he solemnly said, "Your Majesty, I will follow your lead. Whatever Your Majesty thinks, I will think. My views are the same as Your Majesty's."

Chen Decai and Zhang Sheren both tilted their heads and stared at Shen Zhiyi.

Don't you have any words of your own anymore?

Shen Zhiyi smiled awkwardly. The people around her were all seasoned veterans of the imperial court. If she followed their advice, there wouldn't be any problems.

Just then, the voice of a young eunuch came from outside the door.

Chen Decai hurriedly went out and came back in shortly after.

"Your Majesty, it is the head monk of Huguo Temple who has come to deliver vegetarian food."

[The head monk? The head monk usually succeeds the abbot, so most of them are the abbot's fellow disciples. But this Huguo Temple is interesting; the head monk is a generation younger than the abbot.]

The old emperor listened with great interest, never expecting that Shen Zhiyi would know anything about temples.

[That's really clever; the head monk is the abbot's illegitimate son, so he's treated extremely well.]

The chief also realized he might be the host's son, but he probably didn't know he had many brothers and sisters.

However, that's not the main point. The main point is that this chief seems to be a wanted criminal by the imperial court.

The Minister of Justice, who was listening to the commotion outside, had his eyes light up.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review has the major case of the Duke of Su in his hands recently, so he has nothing.

Shen Zhiyi is truly admirable.

The Minister of Justice said to the Vice Minister of Justice beside him, "Quickly send someone to verify this."

The Vice Minister of Justice turned around to verify, but then turned back: "There are so many wanted criminals in the court, but Shen Lang hasn't said what he did."

"You good-for-nothing! If you always wait for Shen Lang to say things, what will you do after she leaves?"

The Vice Minister of Justice said awkwardly, "This humble official will go and have someone verify this immediately."

Anyway, it's not like he's the one verifying it; he can just open his mouth and say it.

[Holy crap, this criminal's...it's huge!]

[Is burning down the granaries of an entire state acceptable?]

The old emperor could no longer sit still.

Food was the thing he valued most!

He didn't even know he had committed such a serious crime!

This is deceiving superiors and concealing the truth from subordinates.

The Minister of Justice outside felt his legs go weak and pulled the Vice Minister of Justice back, asking, "Have we ever encountered such a serious crime here?"

"No, Minister."

"This is terrible, someone has covered this up."

[However, this guy is wanted for robbing a governor's money. Ha, the granary is your property, isn't it?]

The Minister of Justice raised his foot.

The Vice Minister of Justice nimbly took a few steps back.

"Minister, I have made progress. Please go and put in a good word for me with His Majesty!"

Goodbye, Minister!

As he spoke, the Vice Minister of Justice vanished in an instant, moving at the speed of a 100-meter sprint.

The Minister of Justice extended his hand.

In fact, he could have given the Vice Minister of Justice a chance to speak with the Emperor in person.

What a glorious honor!