Chapter 52: The entire ethos of Wu Country has been led astray i

Everyone in Wu Country knows that the current Emperor of Wu loves to go on frequent inspection tours. During his ten-year reign, after spending the first two years consolidating the royal power and authority, he made a tour every year for the following eight years. Of course, every time he returns from a tour, there’s always a new concubine in the palace. An unexpected incident occurred during the tour three months ago. Meng Chong took a completely new approach to his vengeance. He didn’t throw himself into martial arts training, nor did he join the bandits in the mountains to gather forces from the underworld for revenge. He didn’t even take the route of serving in the government. After all, the Meng Family, led by Tian Ping, is one of the great families, and there are plenty of officials in the court of Wu country related to the Meng Family. Meng Chong came up with an even more ruthless way to exact revenge! He seized the opportunity of the Emperor of Wu’s tour to launch an assassination! The Emperor was in his carriage, preparing to indulge in some intimate activities with a newly selected beauty, when he heard a roar. “Tian Ping Meng Chong, here to slay the profligate, incompetent, and brutal dog emperor!” The sudden roar frightened the Emperor of Wu to the point of weakness. He was livid. Meng Chong was fierce. He rampaged with a large cleaver, piercing through layers of guards – he even managed to escape successfully! The Emperor of Wu was livid. After the investigation, he found out that the culprit who attempted the assassination was the legitimate lineage of the Tian Ping Meng Family! Banishment! Total banishment! Punishment to the ninth degree! It must be punishment to the ninth degree! The Emperor immediately issued a decree, his army marched directly into the Meng Family home, and arrested everyone! The whole Meng Family was just dumbfounded. They didn’t know what had happened, but suddenly they were criminals of high treason! Once they knew the truth, they cried out in profound injustice! What an enormous wrong! The Meng Family had just banished Meng Chong, and then he went to attempt to assassinate the Emperor? This was Meng Chong’s way of revenge? Everyone in the Meng Family was struck dumb. What on earth was this? Who the hell takes revenge in such a way? Are you out of your mind?! This is a capital crime that incurs punishment to the ninth degree! The entire court of Wu Country was unsettled due to this assassination attempt; officials were fearful and cautious, and anyone associated with the Meng Family was thrown into prison. ꞦÂŊö𝖇Ęʂ This is a capital crime punishable by execution up to the ninth degree of kin! The repercussions were expanding. If punishment to the ninth degree were implemented, it seemed like it might even affect some members of the imperial family. In the end, the sentence was total banishment! Upon investigation, it appeared that this assassination attempt was Meng Chong’s revenge against the Meng Family. Though that was the case, the Emperor of Wu wouldn’t excuse the Meng Family. If this precedent were set, wouldn’t others with ulterior motives simply banish a person from their family before committing a treasonous act against the emperor? If the act failed, wouldn’t they avoid involvement? Where would be the dignity of royal authority? Where would be his dignity as the Emperor of Wu? Total banishment is a must! This precedent cannot be set! As a result, the entire Meng Family was executed! On the day of execution, with cries up to heaven and down to earth, they lamented how unjust this was and cursed at Meng Chong. How dare he exact revenge in such a way? News of this spread throughout Wu Country. Everyone was dumbstruck. Who takes revenge in such a way? What kind of mind could conceive such a ruthless method of revenge? The most ridiculous thing was that Meng Chong, the culprit of the assassination attempt on the Emperor of Wu, actually escaped… The Emperor of Wu issued a reward for his capture! Caption: Ten thousand Gold! After hearing the reason, Li Xuan found his view towards Meng Chong had changed. This bald youth sure thinks differently. “Didn’t you just say that there was a bounty of ten thousand Gold on his head? Why did you say earlier that the Wu Country offered a hundred thousand Gold?” Li Xuan suddenly noticed something was wrong. Meng Chong said that he had a bounty of ten thousand Gold on his head, and he had been hiding and fleeing to Qi Country to seek refuge. However, Shi’er had said the reward was a hundred thousand Gold! Shi’er’s face twitched; he looked at Meng Chong with a sort of awe – this natural bald youth had invented such an unprecedented method of revenge. Sir, the thing is, Meng Chong’s method of revenge has set an example for others…” Shi’er looked at Meng Chong peculiarly, recounting what had happened after Meng Chong had attempted to assassinate the Emperor of Wu. Meng Chong’s unprecedented method of revenge had spread across Wu Country, naturally becoming a big topic of conversation. Unexpectedly, it led to a trend throughout the whole Wu Country. In Wu Country, a servant of the former Minister of Personnel fell in love with a woman. However, she was taken by force by the son of the Minister. The servant sought justice, but instead, his parents were killed, and he was brutally beaten, suffering torment every day. The Minister’s son, somewhat sadistic, would frequently beat the servant and repeatedly claim the woman he loved right in front of him. He wouldn’t kill the servant. Only torture him! Upon hearing of Meng Chong’s actions, the servant was inspired. He suddenly understood what he needed to do to seek revenge. He managed to escape when no one was watching and hid himself. He made a bow and stole a knife. After the assassination attempt on Meng Chong had calmed down, the Emperor of Wu went on another tour, completing the one he couldn’t finish last time. But! He was assassinated again! The servant from the Minister of Personnel’s residence had dared to attack him! “The tyrant must die!” With this roar, the Emperor of Wu was enraged. The servant was killed! Upon investigation, he was found to be a servant from the Minister of Personnel’s household. Execution! The whole household had to be executed! The Minister of Personnel and his entire family cried out that they had been wronged! However, the Emperor’s authority could not be challenged, even if the revenge was sought by a servant. Better to kill wrongly than let anyone escape! This precedent could not be set! The entire household of the Minister of Personnel was executed! Word of this spread, and the culture of Wu Country began to twist. The Emperor of Wu once again attempted a tour, trying to complete the previous two failed ones. However, he was assassinated yet again! The assassin was the nephew of the Prince of the Warriors! His mother had been insulted by the Prince of the Warriors and was driven to suicide. So, he decided to follow Meng Chong and seek revenge! The Emperor of Wu was in distress! Execution! Execution of the entire household! The household of the Prince of the Warriors was also executed. The officials of the imperial court were in turmoil. All these were consequences of Meng Chong’s actions! Everyone advised the Emperor of Wu to stop touring and to just stay within the palace! If he toured again, there would be no telling which other high-ranked officials might be executed! The Emperor ended up feeling pressured to stop his tours. Just when it seemed like things were calming down, another high-ranked official was assassinated. A servant from a powerful merchant’s house, feeling humiliated, took it upon himself to assassinate the official! The merchant’s family was imprisoned, and their entire estate was confiscated. If the officials can’t be assassinated, then the ministers will be assassinated! The entire culture in Wu Country had been led astray. The way homeowners looked at their servants was full of vigilance. If they treated their servants kindly, wouldn’t their authority be rendered meaningless? It was unheard of for them to treat these lowly people well. They couldn’t possibly be associated with such people, could they? If they spoke harsh words and mistreated their servants, they feared the servants might retaliate with assassination. The ministers, too, were uneasy. They feared assassination while going out and worried that a servant might get a crazy idea to take up arms in their own home. If they let go of their pride and treated their servants well, wouldn’t their authority be worthless? Where would their dignity as a lord lie then? The servants of the rich families in Wu Country were also suffering. They were afraid that their masters might suspect them of wanting to seek revenge, and be beaten to death to prevent them from attempting assassination. The whole atmosphere in Wu Country had been led astray. All this was because of Meng Chong! In Wu country, a popular saying had begun to spread: “Want to seek revenge? Follow Meng Chong!”. This was truly a disaster! The Emperor of Wu increased the bounty, swearing to capture Meng Chong and have him executed by quartering! All the officials were very supportive, and they were willing to contribute their wealth to increase the reward. They raised the bounty to an astonishing one hundred thousand taels of gold!