The Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang was an extremely lucrative position.
Shen Wan still remembered that year, just two months after she fell into the water and mistakenly thought that Xie Jingyin had saved her, the old lady's nephew was promoted to the position of Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang.
In his previous life, after Xie Jingyin ascended the throne, he intended to transfer the old lady's nephew back to the capital. He declined the offer for the first two years. Later, when the young master and young lady of the Wang family reached the age of marriage, he returned to the capital. He served as the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue for only half a year before the minister of the Ministry of Revenue committed a crime, leaving the position vacant. He was then promoted to the position of minister of the Ministry of Revenue and enjoyed unparalleled prestige.
Shen Wan knew that Wang Yu was Xie Jingyin's man, but how could something have suddenly happened to him?
Shen Wan asked curiously, "What happened to the salt administration in Liangjiang?"
The guard glanced at Xie Jingyan before replying, "The imperial court issues a limited number of salt permits each year. The salt administration officials of Liangjiang abused their power and colluded with merchants to divert the salt permits for the next two years, making huge profits from them."
Salt tax is an important source of national revenue. If someone misappropriates salt permits for personal gain, the emperor will not forgive them and they will definitely be executed.
But it didn't happen in my previous life, so how could it be exposed in this one?
Shen Wan asked, "Who found out?"
Shen Wan asked the secret guard.
But the guard couldn't answer the question, so he could only look at Xie Jingyan.
Shen Wan's gaze followed the guard to Xie Jingyan's face. Xie Jingyan said, "It was your older cousin who found out."
Shen Wan, “…???”
Did your older cousin find out?
How is that possible?
Shen Wan looked incredulous. Xie Jingyan said, "The Yun family also deals in salt and tea. Before your eldest cousin went to Meizhou, the account books from various prefectures and counties were sent to the capital. Your eldest cousin found that the profits from the salt and tea business in Liangjiang had dropped significantly. At the same price, the number of salt permits purchased this year was reduced by 20% compared to previous years, which increased costs. Meanwhile, the price of salt in other shops had dropped, which made it impossible for the Yun family to sell their salt. They were forced to lower their prices as well."
Young Master Yun asked the manager of Liangjiang Shop to find out the reason, and then told Xie Jingyan about it. Xie Jingyan knew that Wang Yu was Shen Jing's cousin, and even went to Shen Jing specifically for this matter.
If someone is recommended by Shen Jing, he can personally impeach them and bring them to justice, so that Shen Jing will not be implicated.
However, Wang Yu's appointment as the Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang had nothing to do with Shen Jing, so Xie Jingyan didn't hold back. In order not to alert the enemy, Xie Jingyan did not report to the Emperor, but instead found the Third Master of the Duke of Tan's Mansion, who was serving as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and asked the Ministry of Personnel to arrange a trustworthy person to secretly investigate the salt certificate case when arranging the transfer to Liangjiang.
It was a coincidence that an official in Liangjiang suddenly died of a serious illness, leaving a vacancy that required the transfer of an official. So, Master Tang sent his wife's cousin's cousin there. The relationship was somewhat distant, but they were still related, so it didn't arouse suspicion.
Unexpectedly, they obtained conclusive evidence not long after being sent there, and their efficiency was indeed beyond Xie Jingyan's expectations.
The people sent there found conclusive evidence and immediately dispatched a trusted confidant to deliver it to the capital, handing it over to Master Tang in person. After attending the palace banquet, Master Tang returned to the Duke of Tan's mansion, received the evidence, glanced at it briefly, and determined that it could bring down the Salt Commissioner of Liangjiang. He then took the evidence to the palace to see the Emperor.
As for how angry the emperor would be upon seeing the evidence, it's easy to imagine.
Xie Jingyan went to the study, while Shen Wan continued to play with the parrot. Xie Jingyan agreed to Shen Wan's wish to continue keeping the parrot, but he made one condition: the parrot was not allowed to enter the house.
This request made the man so angry he gritted his teeth. The parrot was perfectly fine staying under the eaves with its legs chained up, and it would never come inside. Now, he had to make a request to get it done, because Shen Wan thought the parrot wouldn't run away and didn't need to be chained up...
Shen Wan played with the parrot for a while with feathers, then, feeling sleepy, she washed her hands and went to bed.
Just as she lay down, Dong'er came in and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor has summoned the Prince to the palace."
Without a doubt, this summons is definitely because of the salt permit.
Shen Wan sat up and said, "They didn't say I was going too, did they?"
Dong'er shook her head, "He didn't say..."
It's good that you didn't say anything.
She had just returned from the palace and didn't have the energy to make another trip.
Shen Wan yawned and lay back down, turned over so that her face was turned inward, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
She slept for a full hour before waking up. As soon as she woke up, Yinshuang excitedly told her, "The prince sent people to investigate the salt permit case and made a great contribution. The emperor rewarded the prince with a jade belt and the eldest cousin with a jade pendant. The eldest cousin is not in the capital, so Eunuch Xiaoxi sent him to the Yun family."
Yinshuang smiled broadly. Although the prince had no shortage of belts and the eldest son had no shortage of jade pendants, there was a huge difference between what they bought and what the emperor bestowed upon them. The prince was fine, as he had quite a few items from the emperor, but the eldest son did not. Wearing a jade pendant bestowed by the emperor, no one would dare to be disrespectful when he went out to talk.
Seeing Yinshuang's wide smile, Shen Wan couldn't laugh, and even felt a slight headache.
For such a great achievement, he was rewarded with a jade belt...
Shen Wan wasn't complaining about the small reward; after all, Xie Jingyan had just extorted two large boxes of good things from the Emperor today. But if this belt were given as a reward, all the officials would know about Xie Jingyan's meritorious service, which would bring her and the Yun family a lot of trouble. If the old lady knew that Xie Jingyan had sent people to investigate her nephew, she would definitely be furious and then come after her.
It's one thing for her to cause trouble, but after all, she is the Princess Consort of Ling, not someone the old lady can easily manipulate. In addition, she is pregnant. If she doesn't want to pay attention to the old lady, the old lady won't be able to see her until the baby is a month old. What Shen Wan is afraid of is that the old lady will cause trouble for the Yun family and take her anger out on them.
Xie Jingyan and the Yun family rendered meritorious service to the court, but the emperor used a small reward to push them into the eye of the storm.
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