Royal Gold Magistrate

The better part of the day had dragged on.

Emperor Jing had sent Prosperity Potatoes to the Hanlin scholars twice, but no one ate them. Firstly, because they were angry.

Secondly, because twigs, rotten leaves, leftover vegetable leaves, and various insect carcasses occasionally floated by on the water’s surface.

This sight was enough to kill anyone’s appetite.

Although the scholars were starting to feel a bit hungry, it was still bearable.

By midnight, to prevent accidents, several carriages with torches were stationed near the Hanlin scholars, with people keeping watch inside.

This was mainly to prevent anyone from drowning if they lost strength and fell into the water.

Meanwhile, under the cover of darkness, Li Yuanzhao led his Sanitation Team into action.

More than a dozen team members, each carrying a large bucket, hurried through the streets.

Having worked in such dark environments before, they were quite familiar with the darkness.

Li Yuanzhao led the way, continuously giving directions. Finally, as they neared the Yimen Gate and could faintly see the torchlight, Li Yuanzhao stopped.

He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and held it up to the sky.

The handkerchief fluttered gently in the breeze.

Li Yuanzhao lowered his hand and said to those behind him, “That’s right, this is the spot.”

The team leader, Wang, asked puzzled, “Big brother, why are we bringing slop here in the middle of the night?”

Li Yuanzhao chuckled, “Never mind that, just pour it forward, following the wind direction! Don’t get it wrong.”

“Once everything is emptied, you can all go back. Go to sleep if you want.”

Team Leader Wang didn’t think much of it and quietly gave orders to those behind him.

The Sanitation Team members began pouring the slop into the water. Seeing this, Li Yuanzhao quickly moved away, pinching his nose and laughing.

Those dogs, how dare they mess with me and Old Fang.

So willing to speak for Yan Guoan, then keep kneeling! This prince will give you a special meal!

“Big brother! Should we throw in the dead rats and snakes too?”

“Throw them! Throw them! Toss the dead rats further away. Have you pulled out the snakes’ fangs?”

“Yes, and they’re all non-venomous snakes.”

Seeing this, everyone hesitated no longer and threw the prepared dead rats and defanged snakes with all their might.

Li Yuanzhao laughed strangely at the sight, then walked away with his hands behind his back, swaying with each step.

…………..

The Hanlin scholars were drowsy but dared not sleep, fearing they might fall face-first into the water, losing all dignity.

Being in the water was already exhausting, and the cold night weather made it even worse.

Many needed to relieve themselves after being soaked in cold water, but no one dared to mention it. They all tacitly resolved the issue in the water…

The only benefit was perhaps some buoyancy, making their knees less painful, but the hunger in their bellies was becoming increasingly severe.

Yang Yingcai was anxious seeing this situation.

Everyone had knelt here with the determination to remonstrate to the death! Now, in less than a day, morale had fallen so low.

If they lowered their heads before the Emperor after this ordeal, what status would they have left?

In his anxiety, Yang Yingcai called out loudly, “Everyone, keep your spirits up! If we go on like this, we’ll be defeated before His Majesty even agrees to our request!”

“I’m an old man, yet I’m kneeling here with you all! Each of you is younger than me, and what’s more, I have joint pain!”

“After a day of soaking, I’m in excruciating pain, but compared to the clarity of the court, what is this little suffering?”

His words somewhat raised everyone’s spirits.

The scholar next to Gu Tian whispered, “Brother Gu… I don’t think I can take it anymore. The hunger is unbearable… I think I’m even having hallucinations.”

“I keep feeling like I can faintly smell food… Chinese cabbage… fish…”

As he spoke, Gu Tian’s mouth began to water. “Indeed, I’m hungry too! If we had known, we should have eaten a couple of Prosperity Potatoes. That way we could have lasted longer.”

“But you know, I smell food too… Is this what happens when you’re starving?”

Hearing their conversation, others chimed in, “I smell it too, but the smell is a bit mixed…”

“Yeah! And it seems to be getting stronger. It’s making me feel a bit sick…”

“Could hallucinations be affected by this dirty water below us?”

So many people began to examine the dirty water below them.

Suddenly, someone felt something touch their hand and without thinking, fished it out.

As soon as they pulled it out, their face turned green.

In the torchlight, they could clearly see that they were holding a fish bone with a few noodles still attached.

The person hurriedly threw the fish bone away.

Soon, one after another, people felt weak impacts under the water.

Then a large amount of slop arrived, with egg drop soup, rotten vegetable leaves, and oil slicks floating on the surface.

This unusually foul smell and unforgettable scene finally caused panic among the crowd. People couldn’t help but start shouting.

“Damn it! Why is there so much leftover food in the water!”

“No, no! There wasn’t this stuff during the day. Some servants must have dumped slop… They should be killed, all of them!”

“I can’t take it anymore… everyone… I really can’t hold it, I want to… *Bleurgh*~”

The smell was so strong that even the cotton balls couldn’t block it anymore.

Finally, someone couldn’t bear it. After a day of torture, their willpower was completely exhausted.

The heavy smell of slop mixed with dirty water finally caused someone to vomit.

Once one person started, things got worse… The vomit quickly spread.

Seeing this, those around them also had mental breakdowns and vomited uncontrollably…

In an instant, about a third of the 120 people were vomiting.

Some guards who noticed something was wrong came to investigate and were shocked by the scene.

Then they stood on the carriages and vomited as well…

Yang Yingcai’s face was ashen as he watched this scene unfold.

What sin had he committed to suffer such torture…

Before he could think further, he suddenly felt something constantly nudging his hand in the water. He instinctively grabbed it.

It felt slippery in his hand…

His eyesight wasn’t very good, but when he brought it close to look, his soul nearly left his body.

A snake was biting a dead rat over and over again.

“Snake!! There’s a snake in the water!!”

Yang Yingcai couldn’t help but wail, hurriedly flinging the snake away.

This throw sent it right into the crowd, followed by another person’s scream, and then the sound of someone falling into the water.

One after another, people discovered snakes, though it wasn’t clear if it was the same one.

In any case, everyone panicked, but even so, they didn’t dare stand up from the water. There were guards on the carriages watching for the Emperor!

Gu Tian clutched his clothes tightly, wailing, with his colleague who had been frightened by the snake and fallen into the water beside him.

“Brother Li! Don’t pull me! Let go! Let go!”

*Glug glug glug*…

“Help!! Someone come and save us!!”

Seeing that the situation had become too serious, the guards finally reluctantly jumped into the water to rescue people.

At this moment, Yang Yingcai’s heart was like dead ashes, and he muttered, “Yan Guoan… you’ve misled us…”