A short while later, officials escorted a long, sparsely populated procession.

All the gold and silver jewelry was transported by handcarts, with two large wooden crates on each cart.

Xiao Jingzhao wanted to show the people what kind of officials they used to be, so he ordered the officials to open the wooden box and let the people feast their eyes.

The procession marched in a grand procession toward the palace.

In the sunlight, the silver inside the wooden box glittered like snowflakes.

There were over a hundred chests of gleaming gold, and countless pearls, agates, and jade artifacts.

Each wooden crate was marked with its provenance.

A scholar, filled with righteous indignation, read aloud the labels stuck on the wooden box: "He Jinzhong, Vice Minister of Works; Feng Tao, Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; Shen Ao, Vice Minister of Works..."

"Who recommended these officials? They formed cliques and engaged in corruption; there must be even bigger corrupt officials behind them."

"Yes, if a fifth-rank official can embezzle so much, wouldn't first-rank and second-rank officials embezzle even more?"

"Exactly, what about the families of those former imperial concubines? Should the new emperor also investigate them?"

The angry shouts of the common people quickly drowned out the scholar's voice reciting names.

Seeing that the officials did not stop the people from cursing, everyone chimed in, almost shouting out the name of Prime Minister Wei.

Some ordinary people are illiterate, but they can still distinguish between different ranks of officials.

Someone cursed, "This is outrageous! No wonder they say a clean prefect can amass 100,000 taels of silver in three years. Even a mere Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices can embezzle so much gold and silver. The Prince of Yan should have returned to the capital long ago and replaced this tyrant."

"Emperor Renzong was truly farsighted; the Xiao family were the chosen ones, the true Sons of Heaven."

"The corrupt officials who were exposed were all ordered to have their homes confiscated and be exiled, but the new emperor was merciful and did not cut off their heads."

The new emperor swiftly purged corrupt officials and rectified the court, winning widespread approval and applause from the people.

When Xiao Jingzhao issued a decree on raising funds for the army during the morning court session, the officials realized that all the confiscated silver had filled the national treasury, and only then did they come to their senses.

It turns out the fundraising was a ruse; their real intention was to get them to hand over their own money.

The Emperor also put the Ministry of Revenue in charge of collecting payments.

The crowd in front of the palace gate dispersed, and soon officials emerged from the palace in twos and threes.

"Lord Wang, what do you think about this matter? How much silver should we contribute?" A middle-aged official hesitated for a moment before bowing and asking the older official walking ahead.

"His Majesty hasn't given a specific number, so this is difficult to handle." The older official turned around and helplessly spread his hands.

"As for military pay, the gold and silver that were just collected into the national treasury are enough. The Emperor is just trying to pressure us in a roundabout way. If all else fails, let's see how much the cabinet ministers have contributed. Those of us of lower rank should do what we can afford."

In the imperial study, Xiao Jingzhao held a letter and read it twice.

"Hmm, not bad."

He looked up and shouted, "Someone come here!"

Xiang Song and Xiang Yang strode inside. "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

Xiao Jingzhao slammed the letter on his desk. "Pass the word down: close the net."

Xiang Yang was overjoyed and said happily, "Is Young Master Lin coming to the capital?"

"I'll arrive tomorrow."

As evening fell, more than ten people gathered in the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence.

"Brother, what should we do? The managers of the grain shop and the restaurant have all been arrested and taken to the yamen. The officials are probably on their way to the old house right now."

The third branch of the Wei family was also involved. He had seen the scene in front of the palace gate today, and he looked at Prime Minister Wei with some lingering fear.

"What are you panicking about? We'll deal with whatever comes our way. The rice in the capital is in our hands now. If the Emperor doesn't show any mercy, you should stick to your guns and not reveal the location of the warehouse. Let's see how he can appease the people's anger." Prime Minister Wei glanced at his clansmen.

The Wei family's grain shops and warehouses were separate; even the shopkeepers didn't know where the warehouses were.

How could Prime Minister Wei, who was deeply entrenched in officialdom, not know that inflating rice prices was against the law?

The laws of the Eastern Tombs clearly state that any transaction involving more than double the market price and exceeding 500 dou of rice is a crime.

These past few days, the amount of rice stored in each shop has been below the amount stipulated by law.

Only then did Prime Minister Wei feel emboldened.

“What you said makes sense, but that kid surnamed Xiao doesn’t follow the rules. Who knows what he might do?”

"Yes, it's best if we don't provoke him at this critical juncture."

Some members of the clan began to regret that they had tried to inflate rice prices at this critical juncture.

An elderly man with white hair from the Wei family sat on the left at the head of the table. He looked at the second branch of the Wei family and said, "It would be better to let Du, the wife of the second son, go back to her parents' home to find out more about this matter. The person was arrested by the government. Lord Du has connections with the people in the government, so it would be more appropriate for the Du family to handle this matter."

The second branch of the family stepped forward and said, "Fourth Uncle, you're thinking too simply. Things are different now. Du Zhong might not listen to us anymore."

Prime Minister Wei frowned slightly and nodded, "Fourth Uncle is right. After all, Du is Du Zhong's own sister. Second Brother will go back and send his wife back to her parents' home."

With the elders and the eldest brother having spoken, the second branch of the family had no choice but to agree.

Reassured, the group left one after another.

...

Inside the Jiang residence, after Qiuju finished serving Jiang Shuyue her bath, she took a pair of shoes and left the courtyard.

The cool moonlight shone on the tree branches, and a night breeze blew by, occasionally causing a few leaves to fall from the trees.

Gao Mu and Cang Yun inspected the area and then returned to their respective rooms.

The young lady said that the capital was safe now, and that they should rest after patrolling once.

The errands outside the city went smoothly today, and Gao Mu prepared to rest after washing up.

Hearing familiar footsteps, Gao Mu quickly grabbed the clothes from the bedside and put them on.

"Brother Gao, are you asleep?"

"No, Miss Qiuju has come. Is there anything you need, Miss?" Gao Mu said, opening the door.

Outside the door, Qiuju held the shoes she had made herself in her arms, her head bowed shyly.

"No, I didn't tell you anything. It's getting cold. Try on the shoes I made and see if they fit." Qiu Ju said, stuffing the shoes into Gao Mu's arms.

"Miss Qiuju's shoes will surely fit perfectly." Gao Mu hugged the shoes to his chest, feeling warm inside, and grinned foolishly with happiness.

"Try it and if it doesn't suit you, I'll revise it."

Qiu Ju left after saying just one sentence.

"Slow down, don't twist your ankle."

The warm light shone down from above, and Gao Mu, so carefree, didn't even notice Qiu Ju's blushing cheeks.

After everyone had disappeared, Gao Mu finally came to his senses. It was always easy for people to gossip if a man and a woman met alone at night, and Qiu Ju's feelings for him were as clear as day.

He secretly vowed that he would treat Qiuju well in the future, just as the young lady had said, and would not take a concubine, and would be devoted to Qiuju.

Thinking that the young lady had set the marriage for the New Year, Gao Mu suddenly remembered something, turned around, closed the door, and took out the silver to count it.

Over the years, he had saved up more than three hundred taels of silver, enough for an ordinary family to hold a decent wedding.

The young lady said he didn't need to make any arrangements, and he didn't know what kind of betrothal gifts to buy. She told him to give all the money to Qiuju tomorrow so she could buy whatever she liked.

Gao Mu put the silver pouch under his pillow, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

At the side gate, a petite figure slipped out of the Jiang residence.