Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

Chapter 107 Self-explosion of identity

Yuan Pu's pupils contracted slightly, a sinister smile bloomed on his lips, and his facial muscles trembled with excitement.

"it's me."

Yuan Zhi stared at him with her wet, almond-shaped eyes in disbelief. "You've been scheming against Xiao Zong. Could it be that Chu Xia's drowning and disappearance are related to you?"

"You guessed right, I pushed Chu Xia into the water back then."

At that time, he was just a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue, while Chu Xia was already a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue.

The two are of similar age, so comparisons between them are inevitable.

Whether in terms of family background or talent and knowledge, he was inferior to the other party in every way. Even his appearance, which he had always been proud of, paled in comparison to Chu Xia.

Those lackeys in the Ministry of Revenue, eager to curry favor with Chu Xia, subjected him to all sorts of exclusion and harassment. Chu Xia saw this, merely offering a few perfunctory reprimands, followed by some high-sounding platitudes about how a real man should be self-reliant and strong!

He trusted him so much, and what did he get in return?

It was their escalating insults and ridicule!

He waited and waited, and finally got a chance to turn his life around.

In the first year of the reign, Shuozhou suffered from floods, and His Majesty dispatched officials from the Ministry of Revenue to provide disaster relief.

During the audit, he discovered evidence that *** had embezzled disaster relief funds. He immediately wrote to her, expressing his willingness to serve her. *** promised that if he helped her cover it up, she would help him rise rapidly in his career.

He helped *** settle her debts, only to hear that she was trying to win over Chu Xia. It was then that he realized that no matter how capable he was, he couldn't compete with these wealthy young men.

Since that's the case, he'll clear away all the obstacles in his way!

Because some disaster relief funds were embezzled by the authorities, the river channel was naturally constructed with substandard materials. After days of continuous rain, signs of a potential dam breach appeared upstream, which he noticed but failed to report.

On July 13, officials from the Ministry of Revenue inspected the river channels in the rain.

He had just reached the upstream area when a section of the dike was breached, and a large amount of silt poured into the floodwaters, flowing down the terrain towards the middle and lower reaches under Chu Xia's jurisdiction.

When Chu Xia saw him, he thought something had happened to him and rushed over to check on him. Little did he know, he had been waiting for him to come so he could send him to hell!

Yuan Pu stared at his hands. It was these hands that had brought an end to a once-proud and beloved young man!

How exhilarating!

After hearing what he said, Yuan Zhi was so frightened that he took a step back.

"So, it wasn't ***'s doing, but rather your own jealousy that led to Uncle Chu's downfall!"

Yuan Pu raised an eyebrow. "Do you think *** is some kind of virtuous person? If Chu Xia hadn't joined her, he would have been silenced in the end. I just got there first!"

Thinking of the madman who has now returned, Yuan Pu frowned. After destroying the evidence, he wouldn't mind sending him on his way again!

Yuan Zhi slumped into a chair, never imagining that her father was a murderer!

"You killed Chu Xia because you felt he was in your way; you killed Xiao Zong and the Leopard Guards because they found evidence of your crimes; but I am your own daughter, and you are willing to sacrifice me for your own future?"

Yuan Pu categorically denied it: "When the ship was blown up, I didn't know you were on it. In Qingzhou, I only had Su Ziyuan tie you up to blackmail Xiao Zong into handing over evidence. My child, I didn't intend to harm you. You must believe me!"

Yuan Zhi looked at him with teary eyes, heartbroken to the extreme.

"You want me to believe you? Fine, then dare you swear that you came here today only because you miss your daughter, and have no other purpose?"

“What wouldn’t I dare!” The man held up three fingers. “Gods above, I, Yuan Pu, swear here that I have come before it is too late…”

“If you lie, the entire Yuan family will be wiped out and never be reincarnated!” Yuan Zhi added.

Yuan Pu lowered his finger, not daring to respond to her.

Yuan Zhi looked at him disdainfully, "What, Father has the audacity to harm loyal and virtuous people, yet you fear ghosts and gods?"

"You're making me swear such a poisonous oath? Don't forget, you're also a member of the Yuan family! Once the booklet is repaired, the Marquis of Changping's mansion and His Majesty will definitely not let the Yuan family off the hook!"

You've already divorced Xiao Zong. When the truth comes out, you'll be imprisoned just like him. I'm saving you, saving the Yuan family, do you understand?

Yuan Zhi sneered, "If it weren't for your insatiable greed and wrongdoings, how could the Yuan family have ended up in such dire straits? All of this is your doing!"

"All that talk about missing your daughter is a lie. You just want me to persuade Xiao Zong to destroy that evidence. Let me tell you, don't even think about it. I'd rather die than aid and abet evil!"

"you!"

Yuan Pu was furious and raised his hand to slap the man, but hesitated to do so.

The more times like this, the more calm you need to be.

His daughter is easily swayed by gentle persuasion but not by force. We must not let her ruin the entire business because of a moment of impulsiveness!

He slowly lowered his arm and said gently, "I have let you and your mother down. It's okay if you hate your father, but your third brother has always been very kind to you. Can you bear to see him beheaded?"

Yuan Zhi remained silent, as memories of the past surfaced before his eyes, as if they had happened just yesterday.

When he was a child, his third brother argued with the mistress for her sake and was punished with twenty strokes of the cane. Later, although his father reprimanded his stepmother, his third brother was bedridden for half a month.

The concubine's courtyard lacked food and clothing, and she often went hungry. It was her third brother who secretly brought her snacks, cotton clothes, and charcoal, which helped her and her mother get through the cold winter.

No matter how indifferent she was, she couldn't remain unmoved by her third brother's situation.

"I can ask Xiao Zong for you to see if there's any solution. It's unlikely you can escape unscathed, so if possible, you should save your whole family's lives first."

Yuan Pu was not satisfied. "I finally got promoted to the rank of Assistant Minister, and you want me to give up everything and just eke out a living?"

Yuan Zhi's expression was cold and aloof. "At a time like this, are you still clinging to power and position? Is being an official more important than the lives of your entire family?"

Yuan Pu quickly explained, "I just blurted it out, don't get angry, I'll listen to you!"

"That would be best!" Yuan Zhi glanced at him. "I'll handle Xiao Zong's situation, but you have to promise me you won't hurt Uncle Chu again!"

Lan Yin treated her extremely well, and she absolutely couldn't let her good sister down!

"Don't worry, as long as he doesn't regain his memory, I'll let him live one more day."

Yuan Zhi bit her lower lip. She knew she shouldn't think like this, but she still hoped that Chu Xia wouldn't regain his memories for the time being.

Finally, when the two talked about the Su family, Yuan Pu's expression relaxed a little.

"I originally intended to deal with Xiao Zong, but unexpectedly I found your mother's clan. You could say it was a blessing in disguise!"

"Father doesn't know Mother's background?"

Yuan Pu shook his head. "I met your mother in Shuozhou. She said her entire family had perished, leaving her as an orphan, which is why I dared to keep her. Now it seems that Ying'er must have had a falling out with the Su family and secretly ran away!"

She was incredibly stubborn; she kept it a secret for almost twenty years! I had neglected her feelings. If I had helped her resolve her inner conflict sooner, perhaps she wouldn't have suffered so much and left this world prematurely!

Yuanzhi felt the same regret when she thought of her mother.

Her father said he had failed in his duty, but wasn't she just as derelict in hers?

It is said that a daughter is her mother's close little cotton-padded jacket, but she has lived with her mother for so long and has never noticed a clue. This is unfilial!