I, Am a Living Yama; Empress Advises Me to Stay Calm

The next day, in the Council Hall, a heavy atmosphere filled the room. Many officials wore tense, uneasy expressions.
“Your Majesty,” Yang Yi began, his voice powerful and steady.
“Li Yifu is suspected of seizing nearly seventy thousand acres of land. While his holdings are registered as six hundred acres, he actually controls close to one hundred thousand acres.”
Gasps echoed through the hall as everyone looked in shock at the pale Li Yifu. Six hundred acres registered—but one hundred thousand in truth?
The discrepancy was staggering, almost one hundredfold.
Even Wu Zhao was taken aback. She had known some officials were confiscating land in secret, but she hadn’t imagined it to be on this scale. Such greed was draining the very lifeblood of Great Zhou.
Her phoenix eyes flashed with anger as she fixed Li Yifu with a cold stare.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Li Yifu trembled, his eyes filled with fear as he knelt hurriedly.
“Your Majesty, please… have mercy…”
Yang Yi’s gaze turned calculating, a faint, knowing smile playing at his lips.
“No wonder Vice Minister Li has always opposed the land survey—he clearly had a guilty conscience.”
Li Yifu shot Yang Yi a resentful glare. If it weren’t for this meddlesome man, he would never have found himself in this position.
Forcing a strained smile, he muttered under his breath,
“Yang Shizhong, to take a life is a small thing; spare me, and I will reward you handsomely.”
Yang Yi sneered, undeterred.
“Vice Minister Li, you must answer for your actions.” He turned to Wu Zhao and bowed.
“Your Majesty, the delay in implementing the ‘Single Whip Law’ and equalizing land taxes is due to lingering hopes among the officials that they can avoid scrutiny. Now that Li Yifu’s abuses have been exposed, I believe only severe punishment will deter others.”
Yang Yi’s voice rang out clear and resolute.
“I propose we confiscate Li Yifu’s property and wipe out his family as a warning to others.”
Shock rippled through the hall at these words. Confiscate his property and wipe out his family? That would mean ending Li Yifu’s entire lineage—a drastic move meant to make an example of him.
Li Yifu’s face turned ashen, his eyes bloodshot. This had to be Yang Yi’s way of using his position to settle personal scores. They had never gotten along, but this… this was cruel beyond measure.
“Yang Yi, you are ruthless…,” he spat. “I am guilty alone. Why drag my family into this?”
Yang Yi looked at him with icy indifference.
“Vice Minister Li, your family has benefited from your power. How can they be exempt from sharing responsibility for your crimes? You brought this upon yourself when you chose this path.”
Lowering his voice, he added, “When you provoked me all those years ago, you should have foreseen this day.”
Li Yifu’s fury nearly boiled over. Yang Yi was a vile scoundrel, exacting personal revenge under the guise of justice. He seethed, wishing with every fiber of his being to see Yang Yi fall.
In desperation, he turned back to Wu Zhao, pleading,
“Your Majesty, I have served Great Zhou tirelessly. I may lack merit, but I have given my all. Blinded by greed, I erred… Please, grant me mercy this once, and I swear to atone with my life.”
Wu Zhao met his gaze, considering for a moment.
Then, turning to Yang Yi, she declared,
“Minister Yang’s words are sound. We will proceed as he suggested.”
The hall fell silent, stunned. Had the Empress truly agreed to wipe out Li Yifu’s entire family?
Li Yifu felt the blood drain from his face. His mind reeled, and his whole body grew numb with despair. Though the hall was warm, he felt as though he’d been cast into an icy abyss.
He looked pleadingly at the Empress, but she turned away, dismissing him without a second glance. His spirit broken, he collapsed to the floor.
…
Two days later, at the execution ground, Li Yifu was led to the platform—his movements wooden and numb. Behind him, his family—all dressed in white prison garb—followed in shackles, expressions hollow and despairing.
Outside, a crowd of commoners gathered, murmuring among themselves.
“Who is that man?”
“I heard it’s Li Yifu, the Vice Minister of the Secretariat. And those behind him… his family.”
“Good heavens, it really is him! How did he end up here?”
“Didn’t you hear about Prime Minister Yang’s report box? Officials seizing land could be reported there.”
“Sure, but no one expected anything to actually happen. But I heard someone reported Li Yifu, and Prime Minister Yang investigated. Now, Li Yifu’s whole family is set to be executed.”
“Even a high official like Li Yifu?
Prime Minister Yang is truly impartial. Perhaps this report box isn’t just for show.”
The crowd buzzed, the talk of the report box reigniting interest. The fate of Li Yifu, a man whose mere presence once made the court tremble, had emboldened the commoners. They began to consider filing their own grievances.
Yang Yi approached Li Yifu, whose eyes were filled with loathing.
Yang Yi, unfazed, smiled coldly. “In your next life, Vice Minister, don’t provoke me.”
His voice dropped to a mockingly sympathetic tone. “And don’t worry—I’ll send your entire family with you. A family should be together, after all. Think of it as a colleague’s kindness.”
Without another glance, Yang Yi signaled the executioner and left. The executioner, waiting respectfully until Yang Yi was out of sight, hefted his tiger-headed blade, sneering as he brought it down.
.
Li Yifu’s head rolled across the ground, eyes wide in a last look of shock and pain.
…
The next day, an official reported to Yang Yi, “Minister, three new reports have arrived since last night.”
Yang Yi’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“It seems Li Yifu’s execution has given the commoners a sense of hope. Bring the reports here.”
After examining the reports, Yang Yi ordered, “Let’s go survey these individuals’ land holdings.”
Nearby officials felt a shiver of anxiety. They knew that Yang Yi needed no substantial proof to act. If an official was innocent, he wouldn’t falsely accuse—but land seizures were common. Almost no one could escape unscathed once a land survey was ordered.
Moreover, even if they could hide their land from officials, they couldn’t hide it from the commoners. They didn’t know who had been reported—but they knew these people were doomed.
Three days later, Yang Yi uncovered another group of corrupt officials. Those with minor offences were dismissed, while serious offenders were executed.
His swift and ruthless actions sent shockwaves through the court, terrifying officials while giving new hope to the commoners.
With each passing day, the number of reports in the report box continued to grow.