Chapter 299 It has always been like this, is it right?

Min Yuan was so angry that he didn't care about anything else. He pointed at Qiao Youyou and shouted:

“What you sang is correct, but the officialdom has always been like this!

Ask everyone here who has never flattered their boss? You will never get anywhere if you just bury your head in work. I tell you, only when your boss likes and appreciates you, you will have a future!

Otherwise, you will just be a table leg supporter for your whole life and will never be able to make a breakthrough! "

"It has always been like this, is that right?!"

Qiao Youyou looked straight into Min Yuan's eyes with a compelling gaze.

"Officials are supposed to serve the country and the people, but what is the reality? What I see is that those who are sincere and dedicated become tools that do nothing but work, while those who flatter and fawn on others are promoted step by step.

How many students study hard just to realize their ambitions and ideals, but what is the result? Either they become like you, or they are suppressed and excluded by you and never achieve their goals.

If I had known that your officialdom was in such a mess, many scholars in the world would have regretted spending half their lives on the imperial examinations!"

"Hahaha!" Min Yuan laughed and looked at Qiao Youyou sarcastically.

"You speak righteously, but you still come here to be an official? Why, you are jealous when you see others get promoted, and you think you are incompetent, so you pretend to be noble and want to attract the attention of the minister by your reputation?

After all, you are trying to climb up the social ladder, why are you pretending to be a saint here? Pah! "

"Are you jealous?" A cold smile flashed across Qiao Youyou's face, and he pulled off the ridiculous official hat on his head and slammed it to the ground.

"I've had enough of being a poor official!"

She then took out the resignation letter she had written long ago, turned around and faced Minister Lu and Zhang Lun, and said word by word with force:

"Qiao Youyou, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue and Finance, today - I would like to resign from my post!"

The air suddenly fell into deathly silence, with only the sound of people gasping for air.

The door of the Ministry of Revenue was crowded with people who wanted to get in but had no chance. Those who were lucky enough to get in felt very nervous and tried their best to please their superiors. They would rather work like a slave to keep the job.

But Qiao Youyou actually discarded it like a piece of trash! ?

Shen Qingzhou watched from afar, and whispered, "Tsk tsk, tsk tsk," This girl is really courageous, I admire her!"

Zhao Ming beside him said, "If you hadn't already decided to resign, who would dare to cause such a scene in the Minister's Mansion?"

Shen Qingzhou deeply agreed. He didn't expect to come to a birthday party and encounter such a big crowd. He must talk to others about it when the Hanlin Academy meets tomorrow.

He glanced at Eunuch Li who was not far away. Eunuch Li served the emperor. This drama in the Minister's Mansion might even alarm the emperor.

Qiao Youyou has now made the matter so serious that it concerns the reputation of the entire Ministry of Revenue. Minister Lu does not dare to make a decision and simply gives up and says nothing, silently waiting for Shangshu Zhang Lun to speak.

Zhang Lun had the resignation letter taken and opened. Apart from the signature, there were only four large characters written in a flamboyant style:

I quit.

Zhang Lun was a little amused but didn't say much and silently put down his resignation letter.

Qiao Youyou did not follow the etiquette and made such a mess of the birthday banquet of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and even spoke rudely. Even if he let her stay, other officials in the Ministry of Revenue would not tolerate her in the future.

What's more, the four words on the resignation letter were concise and to the point, without any trace of nostalgia.

Then let her do what she wants.

At this time, Min Yuan finally regained a bit of rationality from his rage. Although he felt embarrassed when he recalled his previous loss of composure, he couldn't help but smile when he thought that Qiao Youyou was finally going to be fired from the Ministry of Revenue.

Without her official status, she would be just an ordinary citizen. As the head of the Ministry of Revenue and the Department of Finance of the imperial court, it would be easy for him to find a reason to punish her.

Hearing that Zhang Lun approved Qiao Youyou's resignation on the spot, Min Yuan bowed to Qiao Youyou and sneered:

"Congratulations, Mr. Qiao, oh no, Miss Qiao, you got what you wanted."

Qiao Youyou and Min Yuan smiled at each other. The smiles on her faces were brighter than his, making Min Yuan lose confidence.

"Thank you, Lord Min. But I feel really bad for disturbing the Minister's birthday party today, so I specially prepared a big gift——"

Qiao Youyou looked at Minister Lu, "Sir, may I ask for your permission?"

Minister Lu mechanically turned his gaze to Zhang Lun, and Zhang Lun asked Qiao Youyou to present the gift.

Qiao Youyou smiled slightly, but did not move. Instead, she memorized the date and numbers on the spot.

"On March 28th last year, the stone painting cost 170 taels of silver.

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month last year, the four characters "Flowers are in full bloom and the moon is full" were worth three hundred taels.

On the ninth day of the seventh month of this year, I bought a fan with the inscription "Heaven rewards hard work" for 480 taels."

Qiao Youyou did not have a photographic memory and only remembered these few things from Chen San's notebook in the calligraphy and painting business. But reciting them in public now was enough to scare Min Yuan so much that he broke out in a cold sweat, took a few steps back and almost fell to the ground.

Taking advantage of this moment, Xiao Wan saw that no one was paying attention to her, so she quietly left her seat and walked towards the main door of the Minister's Mansion. When she passed by Eunuch Li, he acted as if he didn't see her.

Xiao Wan came to the door and looked around, but did not see any trace of Chen San.

In the courtyard, Zhang Lun frowned slightly, and instantly guessed what Qiao Youyou was talking about.

Minister Lu finally spoke, "Qiao Youyou, what are these things you are talking about?"

Qiao Youyou glanced at Min Yuan and replied, "Master Lu, this is the record of Master Min accepting bribes from Ning Xiang, the boss of Anju Real Estate Company. What I just said is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Min Yuan, the director of the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Revenue, used his position to provide protection for the Anju Property Company and deliberately neglected to conduct a thorough investigation during the review.

Over the years, Lord Min often sent his calligraphy and paintings to Chen San's calligraphy and painting shop for consignment at high prices. His calligraphy and painting skills were mediocre and far from worth such high prices. Only Ning Xiang, the boss of Anju Real Estate, always bought them at the price, and the two formed a profit exchange. "

Zhang Lun asked: "This matter is secret, how did you find out?"

Qiao Youyou then talked about the first time she went to Tongyun Money House to deliver a plaque and met Ning Xiang. The fan in Ning Xiang's hand at that time was exactly the same as the one sold by Chen San Calligraphy and Painting Shop.

"The workmanship of the fan was ordinary, and the words on it were not outstanding, but it appeared in the hands of a big businessman like Ning Xiang, so I felt strange. At that time, I always felt that the words were familiar, and later I remembered that it was the handwriting of Lord Min.

Lord Min is the head of the Ministry of Finance, but his casual calligraphy is hung in the calligraphy and painting shop and sold at a high price. Ning Xiang is not a vulgar person who doesn't know the value of things. He is willing to spend hundreds of taels of silver to buy Lord Min's calligraphy, so I have this association. "

"After all, Lord Min is not a poor official who would reject the kindness of others—"

Qiao Youyou tilted her head and raised her voice a little, "Is that right, Doctor Zhao?"

Zhao Shengping was suddenly mentioned by name. He stood up with a start, crawled to the courtyard and knelt down, "Sir... that black jade paperweight was really given to me by my friend, and I gave it to you, Lord Min! And those before, those before..."

Zhao Shengping spoke incoherently and couldn't even come up with an excuse.

Qiao Youyou raised her eyebrows. She didn't know what a black jade paperweight was. Zhao Shengping was now admitting the truth.

Zhang Lun's eyes turned slightly cold, and he immediately sent people to search Min Yuan's office, to find out the source as well.

The Minister of Revenue personally issued the order, so naturally no one dared to show partiality. Zhao Shengping knew that his career was completely over, and he fainted on the spot.

Zhang Lun looked at Qiao Youyou and asked her to continue.

"This happened by accident. In order to borrow money from Tongyun Bank, Anju Property Bank wanted to ask the Ministry of Revenue to prove their management ability, so they took the risk of sending the account book to me.

It's all because Ning Xiang was greedy. He bribed officials but refused to pay with his own money. He used the public account of Anju Real Estate Bank. However, the public account has frequent daily transactions, and the income and expenditure are complicated. These expenses for bribery are mixed in. It is difficult to find them by checking the accounts in the usual way, but I just found them out. "

Minister Lu couldn't help but ask, "I couldn't find it out using the usual methods, but you found it out?"

Qiao Youyou said calmly, "I'm smart."

Minister Lu was choked and almost couldn't breathe.

Well, he had indeed heard that Qiao Youyou had some strange methods in the Ministry of Revenue. Thinking back to the last time she checked the taxes of merchants in the capital, she had originally arranged for ten people to do it, but in the end it was Qiao Youyou who completed it on her own, which showed that she really had this ability.

It’s just… he is so straightforward and unpretentious, and he praises himself without blushing at all. This is the first time that Minister Lu has encountered such a weirdo in his twenty years of official career!

Qiao Youyou took out the confession that Chen San had previously put his fingerprints on and had someone present it to Minister Lu and Zhang Lun.

"This is the confession of Chen San, the owner of the calligraphy and painting shop. It mentions that the transactions between Lord Min and Ning Xiang are all verifiable. Please make a fair judgment, Minister and Minister."

"There is such a thing..." After reading the confession, Minister Lu was so angry that he almost crushed the paper.

He didn't even bother to look at Zhang Lun's expression. He slammed the table and angrily asked Min Yuan what was going on.

Min Yuan knelt on the ground, his face pale, but he still gritted his teeth and denied it.

Zhang Lun said in a deep voice, "Now that the confession is here and Chen San has signed it, don't you still refuse to admit it?"

"Your subordinate, your subordinate..." Min Yuan crawled on the ground, sweating profusely, and Yan Changwen's face suddenly flashed through his mind.

Yes, His Royal Highness Prince Qi already knows about this, and he will definitely take action.

Chen San hasn't appeared yet, maybe he is buried several feet underground!

Min Yuan suddenly looked up, the light reappeared in his eyes, and he shouted that he was innocent.

"My Lords, this matter is completely fabricated! Qiao Youyou must have been at odds with me and has been holding a grudge against me, so she fabricated the so-called evidence!"

Qiao Youyou stared at him and emphasized, "Chen San put his fingerprints on the confession."

"Who knows whether the handprint is real or fake? Even if it is real, it is possible that Chen San was tortured into confessing!" Min Yuan looked at Zhang Lun, "Sir Shangshu, you are wise. If Qiao Youyou insists on slandering me, then let her bring Chen San to testify in court!"

"Okay, then I'll make you convinced!"

Qiao Youyou sneered and turned to look in the direction of the gate. According to the plan, Xiao Wan should have brought in Chen San who was waiting outside the Minister's Mansion.

Xiao Wan appeared at the door, but she was alone.

Xiao Wan stepped into the courtyard again with a very ugly look on her face, and shook her head at Qiao Youyou from a distance.

Chen San didn't come.