Can a System Have Bad Intentions? - Chapter 186

Qin Mo thought he would be the first to rush over, but he was elbowed aside by the chubby Zhou Shu.

Even Madam Qiao and Lu Shuqing couldn’t get there first.

The Four Young Masters of Qingshui swiftly surrounded Lu Tang’s bed.

“How are you, Brother Tang?”

“My God, how can you sleep so much!”

“If you slept any longer, we would have to call in an old Taoist to douse you with talisman water.”

Zhou Shu extended a chubby finger towards Lu Tang. “How many is this?”

Lu Tang: …

She glared at Zhou Shu like he was an idiot. “That’s eight.”

Zhou Shu let out a wail, “Oh no, my Brother Tang is dumb!”

Beside him, Guo Dawei slapped Zhou Shu to the side. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

After slapping him, he turned to Lu Tang, extending a finger. “Do you really not know how many this is?”

Lu Tang glared at him, “Are you insane?”

Xu Shen breathed a sigh of relief. “I told you her brain isn’t damaged, but you didn’t believe me.”

Lu Tang: …

Liang Cheng pointed at himself nervously. “Who am I?”

Lu Tang: …

“Do you want to fight?”

Only then did Qin Mo squeeze to the front. “Thank heavens, you’re finally awake.”

Er Bao approached, “If the young miss didn’t wake up soon, Young Master Qin was going to be used as a fortune charm.”

Just waking up to such a large crowd, Lu Tang was bewildered and her temper flared, feeling like fighting everyone.

Upon hearing Er Bao’s words, her mouth twitched, and she looked at Qin Mo. “Fortune charm?”

Song Qingzhan also wandered over, “Your wedding was already scheduled by His Majesty, but you’ve been unconscious for four or five days. His Majesty was anxious, afraid you’d slip away, and wanted to use Qin Mo as a fortune charm to wake you.”

Lu Tang: … Is this a joke?

Using his own son as a fortune charm for someone else’s family?

“Does His Majesty know that would be considered marrying into the wife’s family?”

“Right! Forgot about that part. Luckily, you’re awake now. If Qin Mo had gone through with it, we’d have a bigger problem on our hands. Our competition for succession would suddenly get more intense. What a close call!”

A loud slap of the thigh and a wail broke out, and through the layers of heads in front of her, Lu Tang saw a person at the back.

The Crown Prince?

Beside the Crown Prince stood the Second to Eighth Princes, and next to them were their respective princesses.

Her small room was crowded to the brim.

The Crown Princess said to Madam Qiao, “Since Little Tang is awake, we won’t stay long. First, we’ll go back and report the good news to His Majesty, and second, we need to start preparing for the wedding. We’ll take our leave now.”

The Crown Princess was respectful, treating Madam Qiao as a proper elder. Madam Qiao didn’t dare to be lax in her etiquette and hurriedly knelt to see them off.

The Crown Princess turned to Qin Mo, “Remember to come back for dinner tonight.”

With that, she led the group out in a flurry.

Only then did Lu Tang learn that she had been unconscious since the day she fell outside Zhao Yue’s bedroom.

The long dream she had was vague, yet felt familiar, but now she couldn’t recall any details. Still, it felt like something she had actually experienced.

No matter what, it was irrelevant now.

Rubbing her aching head, Lu Tang got out of bed, starving. While eating the seafood porridge brought by the inn’s chef, she asked about what had happened in the past few days.

The inn was bustling with activity.

However, before Lu Tang could finish her bowl of porridge, an unexpected guest arrived.

The stern and impartial Magistrate Zhao.

During their last interrogation of Teacher Zhao, Teacher Zhao had been incredibly tight-lipped, but when Lu Tang appeared, he suddenly spilled everything as if under a spell.

This time, after the capture of Gu Zongming, though he had initially revealed Zhao Yue’s burial location due to the parrot’s torment, he clammed up again once in custody. He only admitted to capturing Zhao Yue and refused to divulge anything else.

Following Gu Zongming’s capture, several uprisings had erupted across the land.

Though termed uprisings, everyone knew these were likely Gu Zongming’s private troops, cultivated over the years within the court.

This was a way to pressure the court into releasing him.

With the uprisings, the Sixth Princess immediately led troops to suppress them.

However, these forces were hidden, and the court was unsure of their exact numbers or distribution.

Gu Zongming was a hidden threat from the previous emperor’s reign. Now, with the new emperor on the throne, efforts to remove him had been continually thwarted by his vast network of influence.

This time, they decided to tear off all pretense and confront the issue head-on.

While private troops were one problem, another major concern for the emperor was the water management.

Over the years, as Minister of Works, Huang Bangyuan had controlled the construction of floodgates and dams across the country. In collusion with Gu Zongming, the secret sabotage of these dams could lead to catastrophic flooding.

Though it was spring now and less of a concern, come summer’s flood season, simultaneous dam failures across the country could spell disaster, overwhelming the court.

Everyone in the court was desperate to get Gu Zongming to talk, even threatening his household servants, but Gu Zongming remained silent.

Magistrate Zhao, a man with a strong sense of justice, had grown visibly thinner from the stress.

Upon hearing that Lu Tang had awakened, he immediately rushed over to seek her help.

Although he wasn’t certain Lu Tang could make Gu Zongming speak, even the slightest chance was worth trying—for the sake of the people!

Qin Mo, worried about Lu Tang, protested, “Let her finish her meal first. Besides, if you all can’t get him to talk, what makes you think she can? Last time might have been a fluke.”

Magistrate Zhao’s eyes widened as he glared at Qin Mo.

“Do you know how serious this case is? Do you know how many innocent people could suffer if we delay even a moment longer? How can you, a royal, say such things? Do you think I don’t know that Young Miss Lu just woke up and needs to eat? But compared to the lives of the people, can’t you see which is more important? Is this your sense of responsibility as a prince? If you don’t care for the people, how can you expect them to love you? Will she starve to death if she eats a bit less now? But if we delay, who knows what those evil people might do!”

After a harsh lecture, Magistrate Zhao turned to Lu Tang with a forced smile. “We’ve prepared hotpot and seafood porridge for you at the jail. You can eat while you interrogate.”

Lu Tang: …

Fifteen minutes later, Lu Tang was brought to the jail by Magistrate Zhao, with Qin Mo following for support.

Last time, she managed to get Teacher Zhao to confess thanks to the King of Hell’s Iron Pill.

Now, without another Iron Pill, how could she make Gu Zongming talk?

“Um, where is Teacher Zhao?”