Chapter 275 The Crown Prince's Corruption
Yin Li replied directly: "No matter what, a brush can't possibly turn into a dagger. This is ridiculous!"
Hu Xin'er looked at him seriously. "I used to think this was ridiculous, but after seeing you come back to life, I feel like nothing is impossible anymore."
After hearing this, Yin Li fell into a rare silence.
Hu Xin'er looked at him quietly, her rare gentle and calm eyes seemed to see through everything.
Yin Li almost thought that she would keep pestering him about this topic.
His mind raced, thinking of ways to divert her attention.
However, after a while, Hu Xin'er broke the awkward atmosphere: "Where's Mu Qing? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
Yin Li breathed a sigh of relief without leaving any trace: "He went to the meeting department."
Hu Xin'er frowned, "The palace is so dangerous now, what if... No, we have to go find him!"
She returned to her usual impetuous self, and Yin Li secretly laughed at himself - for a second he actually thought this girl was quite gentle and considerate, but it must have been an illusion.
Seeing Hu Xin'er getting up and about to leave, Yin Li grabbed her sleeve and said, "Don't worry, the prince won't choose to attack again at this time."
Hu Xiner naturally knew that the probability of the prince assassinating again was very small, but she was still a little worried.
Yin Li advised, "Although the Crown Prince's power is immense, it takes a great deal of effort to ambush and assassinate someone in the palace. I don't know how long he's been planning this plot. Just cleaning up the palace gates is enough to take up his time. How could he have the time to assassinate your husband?"
Hu Xiner naturally understood this truth, but she was still a little scared because she had just been assassinated.
but……
She asked suspiciously, "If my husband is really not in danger, why are you stopping me like this?"
Yin Li shook her fan guiltily, "He originally told me not to tell you, but since you've seen the clues yourself, I'll tell you reluctantly."
Hu Xin'er said impatiently, "Don't try to delay time with this nonsense. Let's get down to business!"
"Actually, he went to the Council Department to look for clues!" Yin Li said quickly.
Now it was Hu Xin'er's turn to be stunned: "Council of Meetings? What kind of place is that?"
The Ministry of Finance is the department in the inner court that accounts for official revenue and expenditure. Simply put, it is in charge of money.
The prince actually hurt Hu Xiner openly in the palace, which touched Mu Qing's bottom line.
He no longer sat there waiting for death, but chose to take the initiative, so he came to the Ministry of Meeting under the pretext of revising a book.
The Ministry of Meetings was mainly managed by eunuchs and palace maids. These people had been in the inner court for a long time and were all very shrewd. They had long heard that Lu Yunjue was in charge of the renovation of the library.
As soon as Mu Qing arrived at the gate, someone came up to him with a big smile on his face: "Wow, what's the good wind today? It even blew Lord Lu here!"
Mu Qing maintained her image as a noble lady and said indifferently, "Ask the eunuch Wang who is in charge to come and talk to me."
"Okay!" The young eunuch guarding the gate was not angry. Instead, he ran in happily as if he had encountered a great honor.
Another palace maid came out gracefully and invited Mu Qing into the reception room of the Council Department to wait.
Soon, Eunuch Wang came running over and said, "Greetings, Lord Lu! I was fortunate enough to meet Lord Lu at the Qionglin Banquet a few years ago. After not seeing him for several years, Lord Lu is still as charming as ever..."
Lu Yunjue interrupted his endless stream of pleasantries and flattery: "You're welcome. I'm here to discuss the renovation of the library."
Eunuch Wang's expression changed slightly. Lord Song, who was in charge of the library, had just come here a few days ago. Why was Lord Lu here again today?
Could it be that there was an internal conflict between the two of them?
However, no matter how much he was thinking, he did not show it on his face. He smiled and told the story of the last time Lord Song came.
Mu Qing nodded and said, "I want to check the previous income and expenditure records of the library. Please take me to the accounting office to have a look."
Eunuch Wang led him there with a smile. Mu Qing sent him away on the grounds that he was not used to having someone around when checking the accounts, and then secretly looked through the account book.
He discovered that the Eastern Palace's expenses had increased dramatically this year, and the largest sum of money was actually for the renovation of Qingliang Garden!
And the amount of that sum actually reached a staggering 300,000 taels!
"Qingliang Garden?" Mu Qing couldn't help but murmur. He suddenly remembered that when he first arrived at the Eastern Palace, he was forced to do odd jobs and was almost pushed into the pond and drowned.
It was because of that time that Hu Xiner was arrested because she was late returning home.
The place he cleaned was Qingliangyuan! It was full of dust and cobwebs and had not been renovated at all.
Even if it needs to be renovated, how can such a small courtyard cost 300,000 taels?
Could it be that the prince had embezzled this money? Mu Qing secretly thought that if this matter were exposed, the prince's current great and glorious image would inevitably be overshadowed by corruption.
You know, now that the war is about to break out, it is the time for the court to engage in a war of words over military spending.
But at this time they suddenly discovered that the prince had embezzled a full 300,000 taels for his own selfish interests. How would they feel?
Although the land price in Beijing is high, Hu Xiner rented a shop before, and the monthly rent for a shop was 30,000 taels.
But that was because she didn't take those places that were too remote into consideration.
Moreover, most of the shops in the capital are controlled by wealthy families and will not be easily sold to outsiders.
So normally speaking, based on the price of three cents per pound of pork, spending these 300,000 taels can definitely temporarily silence the endless disputes in the court.
Mu Qing had such important evidence in his hands and could hardly contain his joy. He prepared to write a memorial to denounce the prince.
The next day, he put away the memorial, put on his official uniform for a rare occasion, and prepared to go to court.
However, just as he was about to hand in the memorial, he bumped into someone.
"Why you?" the man asked in surprise. "You are in charge of the library. Didn't His Majesty exempt you from the morning court?"
Mu Qing looked closely and found that the man was actually Chu Taibao!
He didn't care about anything else and went to pick up his own memorial first. However, Chu Taibao saw the contents of the memorial first, and then picked it up with a look of surprise.
Mu Qing clenched his fists. He had not expected such a change to happen.
After reading the memorial, Chu Taibao frowned and said, "Ridiculous! You are simply courting your own death!"
Mu Qing said coldly, "Please return the memorial to me."
Chu Taibao asked, "Is the evidence mentioned in your memorial true?"
Mu Qing nodded: "Taibao Chu, it's best if you don't get involved in this matter."
However, Mu Qing originally thought that Chu Taibao, as the prince's man, would persuade him to give up the idea of submitting the memorial.
But unexpectedly, Chu Taibao said, "I'll go and deliver the memorial for you!"
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