Compared with the tranquility of Pingliang Prefecture, the capital city was a boiling mess and extremely lively.
The newly appointed Dali Temple Shaoqing Yu Qizhe was trying a case in which the son of Huai'an Salt Transport Commissioner Zhai Huaiying abducted a woman and raped her to death. Later, he discovered an account book showing embezzlement of salt and silver from Jiangnan. This caused a huge uproar. It was said that the amount of silver involved in the account was as much as tens of millions, causing an uproar inside and outside the court.
"Hmph, my treasury is penniless, and he, a small salt transport envoy of Huai'an, dared to embezzle tens of millions of taels of silver in just seven years in office. You must investigate it carefully for me. I want to know where all that mountain of silver has been moved to. Not a single cent can be lost. You must bring it all back for me!" Emperor Mingzheng was so angry that his face turned blue and he threw the memorial to the ground.
Yu Qizhe picked up the letter and placed it on the table. "Your Majesty, calm down. The Zhengtong Bank where Zhai Huaiying deposited his money has been sealed, but the money has been taken away. The banker behind it refused to reveal who took the money even after being imprisoned."
Emperor Mingzheng frowned: "Pry open his mouth for me! Isn't there an account book? Can't find out who he has dealings with from the account book?"
Yu Qizhe looked up at Emperor Mingzheng and said, "The bribes received by officials on the Jiangnan Salt Road are all recorded, but they are all small amounts. Only the silver sent to the capital was not signed. If it is really discovered, it may involve powerful people in the court."
"Retrial of Zhai Huaiying!" Emperor Mingzheng said in a deep voice, "I want to see who is so bold as to take money from my pocket! It is said that Jiangnan is rich, but every year they refuse to pay the salt and grain taxes. It is as difficult as ascending to heaven to ask them for some money to build the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but they give away mountains of gold and silver to show their filial piety to others. It is obvious that they do not take me seriously! It is obvious that they are honoring others behind my back!"
When he thought about the whereabouts of the tens of millions of taels of silver, Emperor Mingzheng was furious and a little uneasy. What he feared most was that someone would covet the throne and the country under his buttocks. The tens of millions of taels of silver might be used to recruit soldiers and forge weapons...
Emperor Mingzheng broke out in a cold sweat. He stood up abruptly, tightly grasping the seal in his hand. "Let me interrogate you! No matter who you find out, I will protect you!"
He grabbed the red brush, quickly wrote a handwritten order, stamped it with the imperial seal, and handed it to Yu Qizhe: "With this handwritten order, it is as if I am here in person. Anyone who obstructs your investigation can be executed first and then reported to the emperor!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yu Qizhe took the imperial edict and knelt down to salute.
Emperor Mingzheng helped him up and said with a smile, "Cheng Ying is not in the capital, so I can only rely on you. Zhan Xing, please don't let me down. You handled the case of Yang Xu's usurpation of land very well last time. Cheng Ying sent a message back that the Hall of Supreme Harmony is about to be built, but it is still short of several million taels of silver. You must investigate the Jiangnan salt and silver case as soon as possible and recover the silver for me as soon as possible. If you have any wishes by then, just tell me."
Yu Qizhe said: "I will do my best."
After leaving the Yangxin Palace, Yu Qizhe was stopped by a palace maid as soon as he walked to the Taihu Lake. "Meet Yu Shidu. I am the jade comber beside Concubine Xue. My queen invites you to have a cup of tea."
Yu said calmly, "I have a case to handle and I really can't spare the time. Please apologize to the Imperial Concubine on my behalf."
Yu Shu knelt down immediately and said, "My queen knows that Master Yu is very busy with official duties, and that having a cup of tea won't take up much of Master's time. My queen said that if I can't invite Master over, she will kill me. I hope that Master will have mercy on me."
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