I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 280 Confiscating the house

Chapter 280 Confiscating Property

Zheng Sanjun asked disdainfully, "Lord Wang, do you have an imperial edict? Please bring it over so I can take a look."

Wang Wenzhou smiled awkwardly. What imperial edict?

The Ming Dynasty's Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries had the authority to reject imperial edicts. In other words, without the consent of Grand Secretaries such as Wen Tiren, even if Zhu Youjian issued an edict to Wang Wenzhou, it would be an invalid edict.

Furthermore, Ming Dynasty officials could genuinely "disobey imperial orders." If an official felt there was a problem with the emperor's command, they could appeal. If the emperor disagreed, they could debate the matter in court, and the officials would vote to decide. This is why, when the civil officials disagreed with peace talks, Emperor Chongzhen was unable to implement them.

"Wang Wenzhou, how dare you falsely convey the imperial edict?" Zheng Sanjun asked coldly.

Wang Wenzhou held up the imperial sword in his hand and said, "Lord Zheng, I have the imperial sword. Don't slander me!"

Wen Tiren stepped forward and said, "Lord Wang, even if Qian Shisheng is guilty, he is an important official of the court. We cannot simply kill him. Let's detain him first and hand him over to the Dali Temple for trial before making a judgment."

Wang Wenzhou never intended to kill Qian Shisheng. Not only did Emperor Chongzhen object, but he also didn't want to do it, since Qian Shisheng hadn't committed a capital crime. This was all a charade he orchestrated. The people he had just killed were all death row inmates. Wang Wenzhou had given them some silver to put on this show. These death row inmates were already going to die anyway, and at least they could leave some money for their families, so of course they were happy to do it.

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Since Lord Wen has said so, then let's put him in jail first. He may be spared the death penalty, but he will not escape punishment. I hereby sentence all the female relatives of Qian Shisheng to be sent to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution)."

The Jiaofangsi was a government-run brothel. In ancient times, when a family was confiscated, the female relatives were usually sent to the Jiaofangsi, which was disgusting and somewhat humiliating.

As long as Qian Shisheng was alive, no one intended to argue with the foolish Wang Wenzhou anymore; he held the imperial sword. The strong fear the stubborn, and the stubborn fear the reckless. In the eyes of the officials, Wang Wenzhou was not only stubborn but also courting death. Putting everything else aside, the matter of Qian Shisheng alone was enough for the officials to take Wang Wenzhou's life.

Wang Wenzhou said to the agents of the Eastern Depot, "Thank you all for your hard work today. Anyway, you can sleep with any of the women in this mansion from now on. I'll grant you the right to sleep with them. Don't crowd, you have to line up."

Upon hearing this, the guard quickly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Your Highness."

Soon, a group of barbarians rushed into the house, and within moments, the sounds of women shouting, crying, and screaming filled the room…

The officials were stunned; Wang Wenzhou had gone too far!

Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly. This was still a play he had directed; the women in the room were all girls from brothels and entertainment venues. Qian Shisheng's family had already been secretly escorted into the palace by agents of the Eastern Depot before the officials arrived.

Qian Shisheng was so angry just now because he wanted to tell his colleagues that everyone in the mansion except him was an actor brought in by Wang Wenzhou. But his mouth was gagged, so he couldn't speak at all and could only feel anxious.

"Alright!" Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Colleagues, we have a heavy task today. We still have hundreds of traitors who collude with the Tartars. We will confiscate their homes one by one."

Hearing the pitiful screams coming from inside the house, Wen Tiren frowned deeply. Wang Wenzhou had gone mad. The law does not punish the masses, but Wang Wenzhou really dared to do such a thing! If Wang Wenzhou really caused such a commotion, half of the court's officials would have their homes confiscated, and the court would be immediately paralyzed.

Wen Tiren quickly said, "Lord Wang, those colleagues who haven't arrived yet must be late. Could you please give me the honor of sending someone to urge them to attend court immediately?"

Wang Wenzhou orchestrated this whole charade to force all the officials to attend court, so he could torment them. Wen Tiren agreed to send someone to urge them, and Wang Wenzhou's goal was achieved.

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Actually, I quite like confiscating property. Since Lord Wen has said so, I will give you face and you should send someone to urge them to do so as soon as possible."

Wen Tiren nodded repeatedly, then whispered a few words to the officials beside him: "Wang Wenzhou is a madman. Not only is he fearless of death, but he also enjoys killing others. Everyone, hold on for a few more days. The Six Ministries are deserted; even the Emperor can't endure it."

Everyone nodded and quickly split up to send people to call for help.

Wang Wenzhou returned to the palace with his officials.

When the main group arrived at the palace gate, all the officials who hadn't arrived earlier rushed over. There were even two elderly ministers who were carried over by servants. These two had wet their pants the day before, caught a cold, and had a high fever. They were truly infirm, but fearing that Wang Wenzhou would frame them, and unable to walk, they had their servants carry them over.

Wang Wenzhou began, “Those who are late are probably aware of what just happened. The Tartars’ spies are everywhere, and this is a serious matter, so I must proceed with caution. Therefore, everyone must undergo inspection before entering the palace. Any weapons that could cause injury are strictly prohibited from being brought into the palace. Alright, everyone, quickly line up and undergo inspection.”

Zheng Sanjun felt deeply guilty because Qian Shisheng's family had been humiliated; he felt he also bore some responsibility. After all, if he really wanted to, he could have stopped Wang Wenzhou. However, in order to prevent Wang Wenzhou from recovering, he hadn't taken action. Now, seeing Wang Wenzhou in this state, he simply couldn't hold back any longer.

Zheng Sanjun asked irritably, "Lord Wang, what do you mean? You want to search us before we even enter the palace? We are all important officials of the court. Do you dare treat us like suspects?"

Wang Wenzhou retorted, "Lord Zheng, you can know a person's face but not their heart! Qian Shisheng is also an important official of the court, but he is colluding with the Tartars. The little princess had a great time riding horses yesterday and wants to come back to ride horses again today."

"Pfft..." Kong Zhenyun stumbled and fell to the ground. Yesterday, he had offended Wang Wenzhou, who deliberately made him ride on the little princess's back. He was holding in his pee, crawling on the ground like a horse, wetting his pants as he crawled. The discomfort was unbearable and incredibly frustrating.

Wang Wenzhou continued, "You have no idea, I was almost scared to death when I learned that Qian Shisheng was a traitor. If he had tried to assassinate the little princess yesterday, there would have been no way to make amends. Therefore, we must conduct a body search today, and no one is allowed to bring any weapons into the palace."

"Wang Wenzhou, don't go too far!" Zheng Sanjun said coldly.

Wang Wenzhou cursed and said, "You surnamed Zheng, are you also a traitor and a sellout? How dare you oppose the body search?"

Wang Wenzhou took out the papers with the officials' signatures and began searching for Zheng Sanjun's signature.

Qian Qianyi quickly stepped forward to advise, "Brother Zheng, don't bother with Wang Wenzhou, who is about to die. If he wants to search you, let him."

Zheng Sanjun shook his head with a wry smile. When Wang Wenzhou goes crazy, he's capable of anything. If he were to ransack his house again, even if he retaliated against Wang Wenzhou afterward, it would be too late.

Qian Qianyi looked at Wang Wenzhou and said, "Lord Wang, stop searching and start the body search. Lord Zheng is not a traitor, you can rest assured. I'll be the first one here."

Qian Qianyi set an example by being the first to step forward.

"Lord Qian, what is this? Why are you bringing a food box to the palace?" Wang Wenzhou asked knowingly.