Chapter 40 Chapter 40 The heavy snow finally melted. [Add...
==Chapter 40==
Regarding the Jiangnan case, since Gu Yushi returned to Beijing, the emperor arranged for a new prefect to take office, and also intended to take over the follow-up of the corruption case.
As a result of this investigation, the new prefect immediately sent someone to submit an urgent memorial to the capital.
This was a truly astonishing sight. What did it mean to have the ground paved with gold and jade? What did it mean to have treasures from overseas that had no known origin? What did it mean to have discovered tributes from past years?
Gu Yushi was holding the memorial, and when he read this part, even though he had known it in his previous life, he couldn't help but pause.
What is tribute?
It is sent to the palace every year for the emperor to use.
As a result, the real tribute was found in the house of the official involved in the case. So, is the tribute the emperor is using now the original one or a fake?
Gu Yushi glanced at Lord Jiang. Lord Jiang lowered his head, as if he hadn't heard anything. His head was lowering lower and lower, almost buried in his chest.
After reading the memorial, the Imperial Study fell completely silent. After a long moment, Emperor Wenyuan finally spoke. He was not as furious as everyone had imagined, but rather unusually calm, terrifyingly so:
"Where's the loot?"
Lord Jiang did not play dumb any longer: "The Yangzhou prefect has already sent someone to the capital."
Emperor Wenyuan was silent for a moment:
"Send it to the Cabinet and the Three Courts."
The ministers and officials from the three judicial departments came hurriedly. Gu Yushi stood on the steps, exchanged a glance with his Hanlin colleagues on duty, and then buried his head in recording the case again.
Not until the moon was above the treetops did Gu Yushi emerge from the imperial study.
It had snowed outside at some point, and the ground was covered with a layer of white. The moment the palace door opened, a chill swept over my whole body.
He glanced forward and saw that Lord Gao had become even more silent, his back not as straight as before. Except for Lord Feng, the other lords subconsciously moved a little further away from him, as if to distance themselves from him.
Perhaps it was because the weather was cold, so Lord Feng slowed down his pace. After all, Gu Yu went to the Hanlin Academy, and when he left the palace, Lord Feng had not yet gotten on the carriage.
Gu Yushi stopped, lowered his head and raised his hands to bow.
Elder Feng exhaled a breath of white air. It was too cold. He put his hands in his sleeves. He didn't know what he was looking at, but seemed to be chatting casually:
"There are more than two dozen officials involved in this case, and Gu Shidu left in a hurry."
So much so that the most important stolen goods were not even found. Wasn't it too hasty? Otherwise, there should not be such negligence.
Gu Yushi followed behind Feng Ge Lao, and as he stepped on the white snow, there was a slight creaking sound from the soles of his shoes. He said:
"It was my negligence."
This person...
Elder Feng chuckled inwardly, then said, "It's not Gu Shidu's fault that the person involved is arrogant, but..."
Elder Feng said slowly:
"I've worked with Gao Ge for decades, and this is the first time I feel that Gao Ge is tired."
Gu Yushi finally raised his head. He looked straight ahead. His voice was calm, and his words seemed ordinary, but they made Elder Feng narrow his eyes. "Goodwill will eventually run out."
Yes, the kindness has been exhausted.
When Emperor Wenyuan first learned that Gao Ge Lao was corrupt, he would let him go out of kindness. When the imperial envoy found out that Gao Ge Lao and his gang were forming a clique for personal gain, Emperor Wenyuan would still hesitate out of kindness. But now the stolen goods have been delivered to Emperor Wenyuan, and there has been a rift between them. How many times can Emperor Wenyuan let him go?
Lord Feng looked up at the snow-covered sky and thought of the news from Jiangnan.
The Feng family's ancestral home is in Yangzhou. The news of Yangzhou had been passed on to Lord Feng long ago. It couldn't be said that it was very easy for the Yangzhou prefect to find out the stolen goods, but it was also unbelievable how smoothly it went. In addition, based on the information revealed by Gu Yushi and Feng Rongyu during their conversation in the study, Lord Feng didn't believe that Gu Yushi had no backup plan in Yangzhou.
If you think about the Jiangnan corruption case carefully, you will find that Gu Yushi was involved from the beginning to the end.
But what is the reason?
Why did Gu Yushi target the Gao Party?
When he first entered the officialdom, he had a marriage relationship with the Feng family, so it could barely be said that it was a party dispute, but before the Jiangnan case, he broke off the engagement with his granddaughter. To put it bluntly, he had never been involved in the core of the Feng family, and there was no need for him to go to such lengths for the Feng family.
In this case, the reason why Gu Yushi targeted Gao Dang became puzzling.
Thinking back to the time when he broke his leg, if he wanted to hate someone, he should hate Yan Yunhe, the Duke's Mansion, and also... the Feng Party.
The only thing that should not be involved is the Gao Party.
Lord Feng discovered that since Gu Yushi entered the officialdom, he became increasingly unable to see through this junior.
Gu Yushi didn't know what Lord Feng was thinking, and if he knew, he wouldn't care.
He really didn't hate the Feng family.
He personally requested the marriage with Feng Wenyu, and he also knew the intertwined interests behind the broken leg incident, so he said Yan Yunhe was stupid.
The person who attacked him in the name of Yan Yunhe was more than just the one who broke his leg that year?
But Yan Yunhe never saw it clearly from beginning to end.
For him, the broken leg incident made the Feng family feel guilty about him. There was no obstacle to his marriage with Feng Wenyu anymore, and Yan Yunhe was able to withdraw from the matter. He believed that what he wanted was worth the price.
Gu Yushi realized one thing a long time ago - Feng Wenyu's flesh and blood and proud character were forged by the Feng family.
He would not do anything stupid, nor would he ask Feng Wenyu to choose between him and the Feng family.
The wind and snow fell as the two said goodbye in front of the carriage. Elder Feng looked up at him, his eyes cloudy and deep. He suddenly said, "You've been coming of age for almost a year now. Isn't it time for you to get married?"
Putting aside Feng Wenyu's relationship, Gu Yushi could barely be considered his junior, so it wouldn't be surprising for him to propose marriage.
However, Gu Yushi's usually calm expression finally changed slightly. He frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Having never established a career, I have no desire to start a family."
Lord Feng did not comment on this statement.
Never established a career?
He is now a fifth-rank tutor, highly regarded by the emperor. If this doesn't count as establishing a career, then what about those who have married without achieving fame in the capital?
Besides, for many people nowadays, they always feel that a person can only be truly capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities after he or she gets married and has children.
Therefore, Gu Yushi’s words were just excuses.
He doesn't want to start a family.
And the reason...
The broken engagement and the Jiangnan case, these two events happened very close in time, which made Lord Feng guess - is Gu Yushi's targeting of the Gao Party related to his granddaughter?
Once this idea came up, it could never be dispelled.
Elder Feng gave Gu Yushi a deep look, then finally turned around and got on the carriage: "It's too late, it's time for Gu Shidu to go home."
The carriage slowly moved away. Gu Yushi stood there for a moment before getting on the carriage.
Going home?
Gu's house.
When Gu Yushi came back, the old lady and Gu Yuci had already rested. Looking at the darkness in the mansion, perhaps because of what Lord Feng said, he was a little dazed, and he couldn't help but think of his previous life.
She didn't like the lights to be on when she slept, but every time he came back, there would be a dim candlelight on the desk, no matter whether she was asleep or not.
She kept saying she wanted to divorce, but in the smallest details, everything seemed to be the same as before.
The hatred is not thorough enough and the love is not expressed, and the end result is that both parties suffer.
Mu Fan was puzzled as to why the Master stopped. He could not help but shout, "Master?"
Gu Yushi came back to his senses and saw Mu Fan holding a lantern in front to lead the way for him. He stepped on the faint light and walked into the mansion as usual.
******
The next day, the news from Jiangnan spread in the court. Everyone was in an uproar and looked at each other, with shock in their eyes.
The emperor has issued an order that the officials involved in the case should avoid suspicion. As soon as this order was issued, everyone immediately understood what the emperor meant, and some people couldn't help but look at Lord Gao.
Now, let alone the annual leave, the three judicial departments were so busy that they had no time to rest. Officials from various departments went out early and came back late. After the stolen goods were sent to the capital, they were so busy that they couldn't even go home.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month in the winter of the thirty-seventh year of the Wenyuan reign, various stolen goods were escorted back to Beijing along with the officials involved in the case. The stolen money totaled about five million taels of silver, as well as various antiques and jades of inestimable value, and hundreds of tribute items.
The procession was so long that there was no end in sight. The first carriage had already reached the palace, and the last carriage was still out of sight. The people who came to watch the fun filled the streets and alleys, and the noise of discussion never stopped.
Feng Wenyu was also there to watch the fun. It wasn't that she came on her own initiative, but was called out by Jiang Zhilan.
Jiang Zhilan was stunned as she looked at the endless procession:
"Just hearing the words is not as shocking as seeing the scene before your eyes."
She learned from her father that the officials involved in the Jiangnan case were escorted back to Beijing today. She was so curious that she couldn't help but ask Feng Wenyu to come out and join in the fun.
Feng Wenyu also swallowed his saliva. This was only the stolen goods from the Jiangnan area. It was conceivable that the amount of corruption committed by the Gao Party over the years was almost an astronomical figure.
She subconsciously thought, if all of them were shocked, then what about Emperor Wenyuan himself?
You must know that these things embezzled by the Gao Party originally belonged to Emperor Wenyuan.
What did Emperor Wenyuan think?
Emperor Wenyuan was furious. Looking at the endless stream of stolen goods, all his kindness was exhausted. He couldn't help but slam the list down:
"Is this my world or his world?"
There were no other officials in the imperial study except those who served in front of the emperor and those on duty in the Hanlin Academy. Gu Yushi was on duty today. He bent down to pick up the list, knowing in his heart that once these words were spoken, the Gao Party would be completely finished.
Just as Gu Yushi had thought, after the stolen goods were brought into the capital, the imperial desk was instantly filled with memorials impeaching Gao's party. Some of them reported the truth, while others fabricated facts to add insult to injury.
Seeing this, Gu Yushi frowned slightly.
Even if the emperor dislikes Lord Gao at this moment, the thirty years of friendship cannot be faked. If there are more memorials like this, it is very likely to arouse the emperor's rebellious psychology.
He looked at them coldly. The future of those officials who had previously been affiliated with Gao's party and were now singled out to take advantage of others' misfortunes was over.
If you can betray the Gao Party today, will you betray the emperor in the future?
The human heart is hard to fathom, and the Holy Heart is even harder to fathom.
After finishing his duty, Gu Yushi returned to the Hanlin Academy and passed by the cabinet. When the tree falls, everyone pushes it. No one is not jealous of the position of Prime Minister. As long as the Prime Minister Gao does not fall, the cabinet ministers below him will have no chance of promotion.
From the second day on, the number of memorials impeaching Minister Gao decreased visibly.
This also created a psychological problem for Emperor Wenyuan - the evidence was right in front of him, but all the officials in the court still did not dare to impeach Gao, which shows the deterrent power of Gao on the court.
Then the thought came to my mind again: Who is the master of this world?!
Emperor Wenyuan's face was gloomy. He suddenly issued an imperial decree, ordering the three judicial departments to investigate the matter thoroughly!
Half a month later, the Jiangnan corruption case was finally concluded. Gao Qianming was directly dismissed from his post for corruption, forming a clique for personal gain, and multiple crimes. However, before the case was concluded, Gao Ge Lao asked to see Emperor Wenyuan alone.
No one knew what the two talked about, but the next day, Gao Ge Lao asked to resign and return home.
Logically speaking, Emperor Wenyuan should have refused three times, but he did not. He just gave a red reprimand. However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Emperor Wenyuan still showed mercy because Gao Qianming saved his life.
At this point, the Gao Party, which had been glorious for thirty years, completely withdrew from the court stage.
When Gu Yushi stepped out of the imperial study, the warm sun broke through the dark clouds and fell on him. He looked up at the sky for a long time, and then he seemed to exhale.
The Jiangnan case was over and he no longer needed to go to the Dali Temple, so he turned around and returned to the Hanlin Academy.
In front of the Hanlin Academy, he and Xie Zhujing bumped head-on. Xie Zhujing paused, his inquiring gaze falling on Gu Yushi.
"Do you hate the Gao Party?"
Gu Yushi's eyes darkened slightly, but he only glanced at Xie Zhujing once before passing him directly.
Does he hate the Gao Party?
Hate it to the core.
In her previous life, Feng Wenyu had a miscarriage, and Zhou Chiyu was just an instigator, but the one who tried to stop and kill her was Gao Dang.
He knows his enemies.
No matter in the past or present life, he had no intention of letting Gao Dang have a good end.
At the end of the first month of the year, the heavy snow finally melted under the warm sun.
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