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

Chapter 97: Sticking human skin on one's face?

The old emperor, who was squatting on the toilet, almost fell headfirst to the ground.

What does Shen Zhiyi mean by this?

Another imposter has appeared among the officials of Da Ye?

[I knew something looked off, now I know.]

Everyone: Oh, I see. What?

Many people started secretly glancing at the Imperial Secretary. They didn't notice it before, just thought he had a grumpy face, but now that Shen Zhiyi had said it, it did seem a bit strange.

As for what's strange about it?

do not know!

[This Imperial Secretary's face is covered in human skin! Pure, unadulterated human skin!]

The ministers present gasped.

Sticking human skin onto your face?

That's perverted.

Wait a minute, who in their right mind would stick human skin on their face?

In an instant, everyone thought of the imposter, the Vice Minister of Agriculture.

It's one thing for the court to have one imposter, but now there's a second one.

The Imperial Secretary's lips drooped silently.

[It seems this secretary was sticking human skin on his face because he was disfigured and, fearing it would frighten others, began doing so.]

【Uh……】

Shen Zhiyi seemed to be stunned by Sun Bin's profound silence.

Don't you think it's even more terrifying to peel someone else's skin off and stick it on your own face?

Yes, yes.

The crowd nodded silently, tacitly keeping their distance from the Imperial Secretary.

The Imperial Secretary couldn't help but sneer.

There's no way he could peel people's skin off their faces.

It looks like dry tree bark; not only is it unusable, but it's also unsightly.

Okay, actually we can't afford to offend them.

Upon hearing the commotion of the old emperor's arrival, the Left Censor-in-Chief immediately began to perform his duties without saying a word.

"Your Majesty, I wish to impeach the Imperial Secretary!"

The old emperor's lips twitched involuntarily.

You old codger are really eager; he hasn't even sat down yet.

"Ahem, go ahead and say it."

Everyone knew what the Left Censor-in-Chief was going to say, and they all wanted to poke a hole in each other's backs.

Wow, that was fast!

[The Left Censor-in-Chief actually knew that! There's nothing new under the sun, oh wait, that's not quite right. It's true, under the sun, demons and monsters have nowhere to hide.]

"Your Majesty, recently a monster that skins people has appeared in the capital. I have discovered that this monster is none other than the Imperial Secretary."

【Huh? Has this monster that skins people appeared in the capital recently? How come I didn't know?】

Shen Zhiyi scratched the back of her head in confusion, and quickly came up with an excuse for herself.

[Sigh, with me working from dawn till dusk all day, it would be a miracle if I knew all this.]

[That's not right. I checked the surveillance footage, and it didn't show anything. Besides, the people skinned by this Imperial Secretary were all his own servants, so the news didn't get out.]

The Left Censor-in-Chief was also thick-skinned. After listening to Shen Zhiyi's thoughts, he smoothly changed the subject.

The secretary retorted with a stern face.

"Imperial Censor Jiang, what's it to you if I skin my own servant?"

"Lin Sheren, what do you mean by this?"

The Imperial Secretary replied confidently, "Your Majesty, I was merely acting in the manner of my own servant; surely that does not violate the law?"

The old emperor laughed when he heard this.

"Which dynasty's laws did you study?"

The Imperial Secretary was puzzled: "Your Majesty, the life and death of servants have always been decided by their masters. I did not arbitrarily execute them; I merely skinned them."

These words sent a chill down the spines of everyone around them.

What a cold-blooded person.

[Holy crap, I can't listen to this anymore!]

[What's wrong with being a servant? Doesn't a servant's life matter?]

Those present remained silent.

The old emperor inquired about the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review said in a somber tone, "Your Majesty, according to the current laws of Da Ye, a master who kills a servant without the permission of the government shall be punished with caning."

【That's it? 】

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review continued, forcing himself to speak: "If a servant is killed innocently, the master shall be sentenced to one year of imprisonment."

【That's it? 】

Everyone: Yes, that's it.

In the past, masters could kill their servants at will without being punished by law. It was only in the previous dynasty that this was changed so that masters would be punished, but the severity of the punishment was as described above.

Too few people paid attention to the lives of servants, and the old emperor also neglected this aspect.

The old emperor was furious and said, "Change it! Start with the changes made to the Secretariat Drafters this time."

The stern face of the Imperial Secretary finally cracked slightly.

"Your Majesty, what wrong have I done?"

“Servants are not ordinary citizens of Da Ye. They are no different from cattle and horses. They are the private property of their masters. It has always been the case that masters can kill their servants at will.”

[In the eyes of the old emperor, you are no different from a beast of burden; you are also his private property, and he can execute you at will—this has always been the case throughout history.]

The Imperial Secretary flung his sleeve and exclaimed, "Absurd!"

The old emperor gave a half-smile.

[Da Ye is a typical centralized state, where all power is concentrated in the hands of the old emperor. If the old emperor is even slightly incompetent, if he wants you dead, you really are dead; there's no room for reason.]

[You must understand, the current Great Ye is different from the late period of the previous dynasty. In the late period of the previous dynasty, imperial power was dispersed, and there were things to restrain it. The current emperor, however, holds power firmly in his hands. Therefore, it is only right that the old emperor directly executes you, a mere secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, since ancient times have it.]

"This is a fallacy, a fallacy."

"Your subject is not wrong!"

What's wrong with this person? Are they acting crazy?

The courtiers present looked at Shen Zhiyi with a hint of admiration this time.

What a brilliant robber's logic! At first glance, it seems to make sense, but upon closer inspection, it doesn't seem to make any sense at all. But anyway, it can make people feel incredibly frustrated.

[This Imperial Secretary came from Jiangnan, where wealthy families exploit ordinary people, and some official families in Wuzhong even have one or two thousand slaves.]

[This is an exaggeration, a real exaggeration! There are servants everywhere, practically everywhere! And it's such a waste to use all these servants to serve such a large family. If they could be gathered together to work, they would be a cheap source of labor.]

Unlike Shen Zhiyi, the assembled officials had something else on their minds.

This can be seen from the way the Imperial Secretary treated his servants; he didn't treat them as human beings at all.

Prolonged oppression will inevitably lead to resistance; this is unavoidable.

To put it more seriously, if this matter is not taken seriously, it will eventually endanger the rule of Daye, and cannot be ignored.

However, this system of servants has existed for thousands of years and cannot be eliminated in a short period of time.

After thinking about this, the old emperor had an idea.

"By imperial decree, if a servant is found guilty and his master or close relatives, such as maternal grandparents, beat or kill him without reporting to the authorities, he shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane. If a master kills an innocent servant, he shall be punished with sixty strokes of the cane and two years of penal servitude. All relatives of innocent servants, including spouses and children, shall be released and allowed to live as free people."

The old emperor's provision did provide a pathway for those of lowly status to be granted good status, but the cost was quite high.

[But why not just abolish the social class system altogether?]

Everyone: One by one, dreams flew out of the skylight.

What kind of grandiose daydream are you having in broad daylight!