Chapter 51 Letter
Cai Mingshu picked it up with trembling hands, and her pupils contracted sharply when she saw the list of names.
The Fifth Princess... she actually asked even these questions? And she even brought them directly to the Emperor's presence?!
After a long while, she slowly put down the report, bowing her body low until her forehead touched the ground, as if she had resigned herself to her fate with utter despair and self-reproach.
"Your Majesty, this old minister...is utterly ashamed."
"This old minister knows that, despite a thousand reasons and ten thousand reasons, my relatives have committed such heinous crimes, using my name to do things that harm the country and shake the foundation of the nation. This old minister cannot shirk his responsibility."
This old minister is ashamed of failing Your Majesty's trust, ashamed of the court's salary, and even more ashamed to face the wronged souls of Xishan...
"Your Majesty, please... dismiss this veteran minister to restore order to the court and appease the people!"
Emperor Jinghe looked at her gray hair and her prostrate, apology-seeking figure, his expression complex and unreadable.
"Dismiss you?" Emperor Jinghe's voice was unreadable. "Minister Cai, the court is currently in a turbulent period. Although the northern border is pacified, lingering troubles remain; the south is plagued by floods, and relief efforts are needed; new policies in various regions are facing numerous obstacles. If I were to dismiss the Grand Secretary now, the court would be thrown into turmoil. Who would stabilize the situation for me?"
Emperor Jinghe's tone calmed down as he leaned back on the couch. "Where did the profits from the Xishan mines, a million taels a year, go? Who handled the accounts at Changrong Bookstore? The list of officials who colluded with Sun Man... Minister Cai, do you think I should investigate this thoroughly?"
This question, though seemingly posed, is actually a statement: now is not the time to take action against you.
Cai Mingshu understood the implied meaning and immediately kowtowed heavily: "Your Majesty! Such corrupt officials must be severely punished! Sun Man and Du Wen will be dealt with according to the law. Changrong Company and all those involved in the case should be executed or exiled. My good-for-nothing grand-nephew Cai Youde is the ringleader and cannot escape punishment. I beg Your Majesty to issue an edict to execute him by slow slicing to uphold the law! I am willing to exhaust my family fortune to recover all the embezzled funds!"
She did not hesitate to sacrifice her own people and reiterated the need to "make up for the deficit," which was to tell the emperor that she could cover up these bad debts and prevent the national treasury from suffering losses.
Emperor Jinghe looked at her silently, then at the secret memorial on the ground.
A moment later, she reached out and brought the latter part of the secret report, which contained several pages detailing the Changrongji network and the list of bribes, close to the candlestick beside the couch.
Flames erupted, engulfing the papers filled with names and evidence of crimes, the firelight reflecting on Emperor Jinghe's calm and expressionless face.
The paper turned to ashes and fell to the ground.
"Cai Youde, executed by slow slicing. Changrong Company, seized, and all embezzled funds confiscated."
After the flames died down, Emperor Jinghe's voice rang out, "You will lead the investigation of the other officials implicated on the list, in conjunction with the Three Judicial Offices. I want to see heads roll and the accounts clear. This matter—"
That's all.
This requires Cai Mingshu to clean up the internal mess himself, and give an explanation to the court, the fifth princess, and the world.
Cai Mingshu kowtowed deeply, his forehead touching the ground: "This old minister accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude. He will certainly do his utmost to cleanse the sect and will never fail Your Majesty's grace!"
Emperor Jinghe looked at her, his tone softening, yet becoming even more inscrutable: "Minister Cai, you are old, and there are some things you are no longer capable of handling, I understand. But the court still needs you as a pillar to hold it up a little longer. From now on..." Her gaze deepened, "...keep your eyes open, and keep a tight rein on your subordinates. My patience is not inexhaustible."
"This old minister understands, this old minister thanks Your Majesty." Cai Mingshu kowtowed again, this time with a sob in his voice, as if he had survived a calamity.
They sacrificed a number of pieces and emptied their coffers, but they saved their lives and their positions of power.
"Go down. Get things done as soon as possible."
"Yes, this old minister takes his leave."
Outside the palace, the sky was overcast, and the wind was blowing harder.
Inside the warm pavilion, Emperor Jinghe sat alone for a long time, his gaze sweeping over the official seal of the "Case Summary" and then over the pile of ashes on the ground.
She sighed softly, "Little Five..."
Outside the window, the long-awaited winter snow finally began to fall in a flurry.
After getting past Sun Man, the toughest nut to crack, the rest went much more smoothly.
Zhao Ying was truly going all out this time. Now that she was on the Fifth Prince's ship, she had to row harder than anyone else.
Her garrison troops, like combs, thoroughly examined Fuling County and several surrounding prefectures and counties, following the list provided by Sun Man and Du Wen.
Arrest those who should be arrested, and shut down those who should be shut down.
The Changrongji branch in Fuling was immediately surrounded, and boxes of account books, invoices, and correspondence were brought out.
Several shopkeepers and managers who still tried to resist were pinned down in the street by Zhao Ying's personal guards. As they were being shackled, they were still shouting, "Our boss is Cai..." before their mouths were stuffed with rags.
Several clerks in the prefectural government who had close ties with the mining supervisors also failed to escape. Two of them tried to sneak out of the city at night with their valuables, but were caught red-handed by the guards at the city gate.
On the black mine side, Xuan Ying led his men to cooperate with the garrison to thoroughly clear several main mine shafts and rescued more than thirty disabled miners who had been tortured to the point of near death.
Ling Wei ordered that all the rescued people be placed in an empty official post station in the city, where Bai Ji and a reliable female doctor recruited locally would take care of and treat them. Their daily food and medicine expenses would be directly drawn from the confiscated money.
For seven or eight days in a row, the atmosphere inside and outside Fuling County was tense, and people were talking about it everywhere.
But the people soon discovered that although the arrests and raids were a big commotion, they did not disturb the people. Instead, the corrupt officials who used to run rampant in the streets and oppress the miners' families were nowhere to be seen.
The market price of grain remained stable. In fact, after the government raided several grain shops that were colluding with the government to hoard grain, the price of rice even dropped slightly after the government opened a price-controlled warehouse.
During the day, Ling Wei sat in the county government office, reviewing the documents submitted by various parties and listening to Qing Shu and Zhao Ying report on the progress.
At night, she would return to the courtyard where she was temporarily staying. Shen Zhilan would always leave a lamp on in the study, sometimes organizing the transcripts of the day's interrogations, and sometimes just sitting quietly beside her reading a book.
Confessions and evidence were passed up the chain of command, those who should have been arrested were arrested one by one, and businesses that should have been shut down were sealed off one by one.
Things were progressing smoothly, but Ling Wei knew in her heart that the real storm was brewing in the capital.
She was waiting, waiting for the verdict that would ultimately determine the outcome of this matter.
And so they waited until the winter solstice.
That evening, Ling Wei had just returned from the newly settled miners' camp outside the city. She brushed the fine snow off her shoulders and went into her study.
Besides the usual documents, there was a thick letter on the desk, with the familiar seal of the Prince's Mansion on the sealing wax.
She opened the letter.
A few withered plum petals slid out first, their fragrance long gone, yet they evoked memories of the old plum tree outside her study window in the Prince's mansion.
The letter was a thick stack of paper, and Yi Shao's handwriting was elegant and unrestrained, carrying the vibrant and passionate atmosphere of the capital.
The story begins by mentioning that the first proper snowfall of the winter has fallen in Beijing.
As is customary, the Wangfu cook made dumplings; the three-ingredient filling was delicious, and the mutton filling was rich and flavorful.
He wrote: "I put down my chopsticks after eating two. It wasn't that they were bad, it's just... I suddenly felt they had no flavor. I thought that if His Highness were here, he would definitely complain that I was being picky."
He then went on to describe in detail how he had been managing the affairs of the Prince's mansion recently, and how his sisters, having heard that he was highly regarded in the Prince's mansion, had voluntarily given up their shares in two silk shops and a wharf warehouse, "probably because they were afraid that I might whisper in His Highness's ear and make things difficult for them."
In conclusion: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will earn mountains of gold and silver for you, without a care in the world. I am just waiting for Your Highness to return to the capital so that you can see for yourself."
Towards the end of the letter, the tone suddenly softened, and the handwriting became somewhat hasty, revealing an barely suppressed fervor:
"Your Highness, is the snow heavy in the Western Hills? Are the dumplings in Fuling as delicious as those in the Prince's Palace? Are the official documents on your desk piled up like a mountain? Every night... are you still sleeping soundly?"
"Everything in the capital is fine, except for Your Highness. This palace is too big, and the quiet at night is unsettling. The quilt is too cold to warm up."
"Your Highness, when will you return?"
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