Chapter 64: Creating Evidence Without Evidence

In Zicheng Palace, Xue Youli was called over by Murong Che again today to serve him with writing materials.

She was grinding, and Murong Che, who was sitting at the table, continued to review memorials. He said, "I heard that you and Princess Qinghe are not getting along?"

[The emperor is really well-informed. Nothing can be hidden from his ears.]

[But what does he mean by asking this? Is he trying to help me vent my anger? No, I can't let him hurt my sisters! Not even for my sake!]

Xue Youli thought about it and stopped grinding the ink stick. "Your Majesty, there was indeed a small misunderstanding between me and Princess Qinghe, but it has been explained clearly. I think Princess Qinghe is straightforward and a girl worth making friends with."

"Really?"

Murong Che raised his eyelids and glanced at her. "Yesterday, when I went to pay my respects to my mother, I happened to meet Princess Qinghe and asked her the same question."

He paused here deliberately and did not continue.

Xue Youli's eyelids twitched a few times, and she had a bad feeling in her heart.

She looked at the handsome and noble man's face and asked cautiously, "What did Princess Qinghe say?"

[Chu Xinyue, you stupid girl, wouldn't you say something nonsense in front of the emperor? If their relationship is exposed, Xue Qingyao will turn around and deal with Chu Xinyue, and we will be in trouble! ]

Seeing her nervous face, Murong Che kept her in suspense before replying slowly, "She said that although you look stupid and not very smart, you're not bad as a friend."

[Nonsense, I am obviously very smart and resourceful! However, considering her intelligence, she is already very good at giving this answer! ]

Xue Youli secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Princess Qinghe is overly kind. I have not read much since I was young, so I am indeed dull. But Your Majesty is wise and brave, and I am only responsible for my beauty."

She even praised him in passing. Although she knew that she didn't mean it, Murong Che's mouth curled up uncontrollably, "Hui Yun, just say more. I like to hear it."

Xue Youli has the super artificial intelligence, the Book of Heaven's Secrets, in his hands, so can he come up with exaggerations easily?

She blew a bunch of flattery to Murong Che, "If Your Majesty wants to hear more, I will tell you again tonight."

night?

Murong Che's eyes fell on her tender lips, his Adam's apple rolled, and his voice became slightly hoarse, "I am looking forward to it."

After chatting with her for a few words, Murong Che put down his pen and lowered his head, turning his attention back to the memorial.

However, when he saw a memorial sent back from southern Xinjiang, his face darkened and he threw the memorial on the table in anger.

"How do the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War do their job? The national treasury allocates so much money every year to pay the soldiers, but the soldiers in southern Xinjiang are still short of food and clothing. Now there is even a shortage of medicine for treating injuries!"

The memorial happened to be thrown in front of Xue Youli. She glanced over it and took in the contents of the memorial.

Her elder brother Xue Wuji was also in southern Xinjiang. The war there was intense, and the Nanzhao Kingdom was good at using poisonous insects to raise pigs. Many of the soldiers in Jiuzhou were injured by the pigs. After being poisoned by the pigs, there were not enough herbs in the barracks. General Yu could only write a memorial and send it to the palace as soon as possible, asking the emperor to allocate funds for medicine.

[Who is so wicked as to embezzle the soldiers' salaries? Without enough herbs, the wounded cannot be treated in time, which may also affect the morale of the army! ]

Murong Che listened to her thoughts and tapped the memorial with his slender fingers, trying to get her to speak. "This matter is very difficult. What do you think I should do?"

Xue Youli quickly pushed the letter back to the man, "Your Majesty, the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. I dare not speak nonsense."

[Why did Murong Che ask for my opinion? Can't he do whatever I say? ]

Before, when Xue Youli served him with writing materials, Murong Che had never so openly spread out memorials in front of her and asked for her opinion.

"It's okay, I just want to chat with you."

Xue Youli couldn't guess the man's intention, so she deliberately replied innocently, "Your Majesty, why worry? Since there is a shortage of herbs and food, why not just send someone to deliver them? Wouldn't that solve the problem?"

"If only it were that simple."

Murong Che pressed his temples with a headache and analyzed the situation for her. "Before the death of the previous emperor, the four countries bordering Jiuzhou often caused trouble on the border, so the previous emperor sent a large army to suppress them. During those years of fighting, the national treasury was completely emptied. Since I ascended the throne, in addition to the fixed monthly transfer of military pay to the border, I have to spend money everywhere to solve natural disasters and man-made disasters. Now I simply can't come up with any extra money."

Xue Youli also had a troubled expression on her face, "This is indeed a difficult problem."

[What's so difficult about that? Just find a corrupt official and confiscate his property. The money you find will be enough to fill up the national treasury!]

She thought about using the secret book of the harem to check the ranking of corrupt officials in Jiuzhou.

Corruption and bribery are very common in official circles.

Once you enter officialdom, you need money to do everything from asking people to do things for you to maintaining relationships.

If it comes down to it, how many civil and military officials in the Manchu dynasty can stand up to scrutiny?

The difference is simply how much greed there is.

When Xue Youli saw who was at the top of the list shown in the Book of Heaven's Secrets, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.

[Didn't Anguogong Shen Hongwen always claim to be honest and upright? It is said that the house he lives in was his wife's dowry. How could he be the most corrupt official in Jiuzhou?]

After reading the answer in the book of secrets, she suddenly realized: [It turns out that when the previous emperor was alive, he bought and sold official positions, and leaked the examination questions for high prices more than once. In recent years, he even used his position to embezzle military pay and enrich himself! ]

[Duke Anguo is really a talented person! He raised pigs and chickens in his backyard not only to gain a good reputation and go down in history, but more importantly, he hid all the money he embezzled under the chicken coop and pigsty! ]

[But how can I tell Murong Che that Shen Hongwen embezzled nearly one million taels of silver? ]

Xue Youli was a little puzzled. When she turned around, she found that Murong Che, who was originally sitting next to her, was gone.

"Huh? Where is the emperor, such a big man? How come he disappeared?" Did he go to the toilet?

Xue Youli felt that this was the only possibility. After all, he had been sitting here for nearly two hours, and no matter how good his kidneys were, they had reached their limit.

She thought about it and poured herself a cup of tea.

However, before she could take two sips, Murong Che came back.

"Your Majesty, I've been looking for you." Xue Youli picked up the teapot and added tea to his cup.

Murong Che took the teacup and handed her the letter in his hand. "I just received an anonymous letter of denunciation. The content of the letter is shocking! It's outrageous!"

Xue Youli took the letter, her fingers touched the words on the paper, and then her fingertips turned black.

Is this letter's ability to lock in moisture and retain moisture really good?

She couldn't help but complain: [The ink on this letter hasn't even dried up yet, could it be that Murong Che wrote it himself? ]

The Secret Book: [That’s right, he didn’t go to the toilet just now, but went to the next door and wrote a report with his left hand.]

Xue Youli: [Murong Che, you are really good! You created evidence when there was no evidence! ...Wait! ]

[How did Murong Che know that Shen Hongwen was a corrupt official? Wasn't the timing of his reporting Shen Hongwen too coincidental?]