Chapter 175: Prime Minister Song is arrogant and debauched?
Before she came into this world, the amount of bribes received by former Prime Minister Song amounted to 100,000 taels of silver, all of which was stored in a secret room in the southwest corner of the Prime Minister's residence.
If the emperor really ordered people to search her mansion and liquidate her property one day, the secret room would most likely not be discovered.
The original owner was a very cautious person. The secret room was located underground and the mechanism door was made of hard black iron. Except for her, no one knew how to open the secret room.
So - in fact, she was not worried about her property being counted. Now all the gold, silver and treasures in her house were properly recorded, and they could match those issued by the court.
When she calculated her savings, she never included the amount in the secret room. After all, she had to make sure that her overt expenses did not exceed what the court gave her.
"Sir, I see that they will definitely attack you today. You have been in the limelight these days, and some of them have been jealous of you for a long time, but they have no handle on you. You must be careful to deal with them."
"You don't have to worry."
Compared to the worries of the lower-level officials, Song Yunchu was calm and nonchalant. "Let me see how they will deal with me later."
Most of the 100,000 taels of silver in the secret room were gifts from lower-level officials, some of whom were no longer alive. She couldn't return all the silver one by one. All she could do now was to stop accepting bribes.
The imperial court is like a dye vat. If you want to stay clean and untainted, you will be doomed to be isolated by everyone. There is no way to be smooth in pursuing the highest position. She knows that most of her subordinates also have gray income, and the dog emperor may also know this.
But he just turned a blind eye. The dog emperor was never afraid of having villains in the court, but he was afraid that the villains would not be loyal to him.
Everyone stood still in their respective positions, and Song Yunchu looked straight ahead until Jun Li Luo arrived above the hall.
As Song Yunchu expected, someone came out and said that she lived an extravagant life.
"Your Majesty, please listen to me. Although Prime Minister Song made great contributions in fighting the epidemic in the west of the city, he acted too ostentatiously after returning to the court. I heard that Prime Minister Song gave away 70,000 taels of silver at Qianbao Pavilion yesterday. It is really shocking. As a first-rank official in the court, he acted like this... I don't know what the people will say!"
Song Yunchu glanced at the person who was speaking. It was Mr. Sun, whom Hu Si Niang had mentioned to her before, who had a private relationship with Jun Tianyi.
As soon as Scholar Sun said this, someone followed up with a sentence, "Master Sun, you don't have to blame Master Song too much. I heard that the treasure Master Song bought was the rare Xuanlin Jade. After Master Song came back from the west of the city, he was rewarded generously by His Majesty. Moreover, Master Song has repeatedly helped His Majesty with his worries and has received many commendations in the past year. If Master Song spent the money issued by the court, it would not be wrong."
"Your Majesty, Lord Lin's words are very sensible. If everything Lord Song spends comes from legitimate income, I and others will not say much. I just want to ask Lord Song to be more restrained in the future and not let the people complain about the extravagance of the court officials. However, I would like to ask Lord Song, how rich is your family background that you dare to squander like this? In addition to what the court gives you, do you have any more..."
"Everything I have was naturally given by the court."
Song Yunchu calmly interrupted the official behind him, and bowed to Jun Liluo, saying, "Others don't know how much your majesty has rewarded me with, but your majesty knows. I have never done anything that violates the laws of our dynasty. I hope your majesty will understand."
[You dog emperor, look, the fact that you went on a secret tour and spent money lavishly is now being blamed on me.]
[If I directly say that you bought that thing, it seems like I want to throw the word luxury at you. If you have a conscience, you can explain it yourself.]
"Of course I trust the Song Qing family."
Jun Liluo did not explain immediately, but just followed Song Yunchu's words and said, "Song Qing's family always helps me solve problems and worries, and they have received generous rewards based on their own abilities. It's okay for them to indulge themselves occasionally."
As he spoke, he glanced at the officials who had just spoken and said, "You are making a fuss out of nothing."
He thought that if he defended Song Yunchu so unhesitatingly, these people would become more and more anxious and unwilling, and their ugly faces would soon be exposed.
Sure enough, just as he finished speaking, Sun Xueshi said, "Your Majesty, Lord Song's extravagance is not limited to Qianbao Pavilion. As far as I know, Lord Song always buys jewelry and fancy clothes for the women in his family, which has caused a lot of discussion among the people. People are wondering whether the money in Lord Song's hands is clean."
"Since Lord Song has already caused so much suspicion, why doesn't Your Majesty investigate the matter? I dare to ask Your Majesty to send someone to count the wealth of the Song family. With just one check, we will know whether Lord Song is innocent."
"Lord Sun, that's easy to say." Song Yunchu sneered, "Your Majesty trusts me, but you don't. You question the source of my money because of some unsubstantiated gossip. Why do you think your suspicion is worth His Majesty's investigation of me?"
After Song Yunchu finished speaking, the officials who were on good terms with her echoed her one after another.
"Sir Song is right! Your Majesty is very perceptive. Sir Song has your Majesty's trust, so why should he prove his innocence to others?"
"As your Majesty just said, Lord Song has helped you to relieve your worries and has made great contributions to the country. It is not a mistake for him to spend a high price to buy a treasure that he likes."
"If Lord Song has a clear conscience, what does it matter if his wealth is counted?" Scholar Lu, who was not far away, said, "If Lord Song is innocent, he should accept the interrogation openly and don't have to worry about others gossiping about him."
"I second the motion."
"I second the motion."
Listening to the voices of seconding opinions from below, Jun Liluo sneered, "Mr. Sun, do you really like to go against me so much?"
Scholar Sun was startled when his name was mentioned. Seeing Jun Liluo's cold eyes, he quickly replied respectfully, "I dare not. I just heard too much discussion in the streets, so I want to find out the truth and clear Lord Song's name."
"What a truth seeker."
Jun Li Luo's voice was as cold as the sound of jade. "When will it be your turn to question the people I trust and the things I have determined? Today you suspect that Prime Minister Song's money came from an unknown source, and you want me to investigate his property. So does that mean that from now on, whenever you suspect someone, I have to investigate that person according to your wishes? Who do you think you are?"
Sun Xueshi felt his scalp tingle, and he knelt down quickly, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I have no such intention!"
"As officials appointed by the court, you don't think about how to share my worries, but instead pay close attention to Prime Minister Song's words and deeds. What is your purpose? If you feel that I treat Prime Minister Song too well and you are dissatisfied, you should use your own abilities to contribute to the country! Instead of being suspicious of the people I appreciate for no reason."
"I didn't want to waste my breath on you, but I didn't expect you to be so sarcastic. If I tell you now that the piece of Xuanlin jade worth 70,000 taels was not bought by Prime Minister Song, but by me, how will you respond?"
When Jun Li Luo said this, the people led by Master Sun were dumbfounded.
Your Majesty bought it?!
"I left the palace to relax and didn't want to reveal my identity, so I borrowed Prime Minister Song's private room to watch the fun. The Xuanlin Jade is calm and elegant, and I like it very much. I thought of buying it back as an accessory. But I didn't expect that because of this Xuanlin Jade, the reputation of Prime Minister Song's family was almost damaged."
"If you want to talk about extravagance, it is me who is extravagant and does not know how to be frugal. What else do you have to reprimand? You can speak frankly now."
Jun Li Luo spoke slowly and the people below knelt down in fear and trepidation.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
