Gu Qilan's brows twisted into knots when he heard this. He wondered if these people could give him some peace of mind. He was about to ask them to go back to where they came from.
Ning Yuxi saw the emperor's impatient expression and hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, it's so late, and Concubine Xin and Concubine Rong have come to see you. They must have something important to tell you. Why don't you listen to what they have to say? Perhaps it's something really important."
After Ning Yuxi said this, the emperor had no choice but to let them in.
The two entered the main hall and bowed. Gu Qilan then got straight to the point and asked, "Why do you have to see me so late at night?"
The two of them naturally sensed the emperor's displeasure, but thinking that this incident would surely cause Concubine Yi to fall flat on her face, and she might even be abandoned by the emperor, the two of them gritted their teeth and stayed.
Rong Fei replied, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. How dare I disturb you if it's not important?"
"Okay, tell me, what's the matter?"
Concubine Xin seemed to be annoyed by Concubine Rong's nagging, so she interrupted and said, "Your Majesty, I want to sue Concubine Yi for taking advantage of her position as the head of the harem to pass off inferior goods as good ones, embezzling thousands of taels of silver for her own benefit!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Qilan's expression remained calm: "Concubine Yi has only been in charge of the harem for a few days, how could she have enriched herself?"
Seeing that the emperor did not believe her, Concubine Xin hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, everything I said is true. Just now, the steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Li Wenzhong, came in person to inform me and Concubine Rong.
It is said that Concubine Yi, under the pretext of buying fabrics for the palace ladies to make spring clothes, replaced the high-quality mulberry-lined cotton that she had always used with inferior goods that cost 200 wen per piece.
Five horses are only worth one. This price difference can easily lead to the embezzlement of thousands of taels. If the emperor doesn't believe it, he can summon Li Wenzhong to ask him. He is outside the palace right now."
Gu Qilan thought about it but didn't say anything. Seeing this, Concubine Rong hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, what Concubine Xin said is true. Concubine Yi's actions are not just for the sake of money.
Furthermore, she replaced inferior cotton that cost one tael of silver per piece with inferior goods that cost two hundred wen per piece. If anyone knew about this, it would bring disgrace to the royal family."
Rong Fei obviously knew what to say to impress the emperor.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Gu Qilan looked at Ning Yuxi with a questioning look in his eyes.
Ning Yuxi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I would never dare to do anything worse than selling inferior goods as good ones to enrich myself, let alone bring shame upon the royal family. I am wronged."
"Someone has come to expose you, and you still dare to say that you are innocent. Your Majesty, please call Li Wenzhong in to ask him and you will know." Concubine Xin said sarcastically.
Concubine Xin was just waiting to see her fall, and at this moment her expression looked as if she was about to be punished by the emperor.
Gu Qilan pondered for a moment, then asked someone to call Li Wenzhong in.
As soon as Li Wenzhong bowed and entered to pay his respects to the Emperor, Concubine Xin could not wait to say, "Eunuch Li, you are from the Imperial Household Department. Please report to the Emperor what you have seen and heard."
Li Wenzhong quickly responded, and then said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I saw with my own eyes that the purchase book sent by Concubine Yi to the Ministry of Internal Affairs listed the cloth of that grade.
Now that Her Majesty Yi is in charge of the harem, the servants are afraid of offending Her Majesty, so they have no choice but to follow Her orders. Right now, that batch of fabric is being stored in the Imperial Household Department's warehouse, and the Emperor will know immediately."
As he said this, he presented the purchasing book to the emperor with both hands.
Gu Qilan took the booklet and opened it, and saw the three words "桑褛棉" written on it. Before he could wonder, Li Wenzhong told him the difference between "桑"丝"棉 and "桑"褛"棉. There was only one word difference but the two were very different.
After hearing what Li Wenzhong said, Gu Qilan frowned and said nothing. Ning Yuxi saw this and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I have never done such a thing. I am wronged. I am willing to go to the Imperial Household Department storehouse to investigate."
Gu Qilan turned his head to look at her. Ning Yuxi did not dodge, but met the emperor's gaze directly.
"In that case, let's go to the Imperial Household Department and take a look." After saying that, Gu Qilan took the lead and left with his hands behind his back.
Everyone hurried to follow.
Soon the group arrived at the Imperial Household Department. The eunuch guarding the gate was about to close the door when he suddenly saw the emperor and several concubines coming. He thought he was seeing things and hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects.
Gu Qilan ignored him and walked straight in. Eunuch Wang was also scared to death when he received the letter. The emperor would not come to the Imperial Household Department easily.
He hurriedly straightened his clothes and came out to greet him: "Your servant greets the emperor, I pay my respects to the emperor and to all the ladies."
Gu Qilan naturally didn't need to waste time talking to him. Song Qu stepped forward and told him the reason. Eunuch Wang was shocked. Didn't Empress Yi know about this and was very angry about it, so she promoted her distant relative Fang Quan.
He glanced at Ning Yuxi secretly, and seeing that there was nothing unusual on her face, he was not sure what she meant.
But since the emperor personally asked about it, he naturally had to take the emperor as the leader.
He answered truthfully: "Your Majesty, the cloth purchased by the palace this time is the same as the cloth used in previous years. It is all high-quality mulberry "thread" cotton, not the inferior mulberry "coat" cotton."
Hearing him say this, Concubine Xin panicked and said sternly, "Impossible! Li Wenzhong saw with his own eyes that the goods your Ministry of Internal Affairs purchased this time are the same as those purchased last time. Eunuch Wang, you must have benefited from someone to say this."
Eunuch Wang then noticed Li Wenzhong behind him. What did this bastard mean? Was he going to complain to Concubine Xin about the mistakes made in the Imperial Household Department's purchases?
He recalled that Empress Yi had said last time that it was a steward from his Imperial Household Department who told her about this matter. Could it be that Li Wenzhong, that bastard, was trying to please everyone by being two-faced?
Suppressing his thoughts, Eunuch Wang hurriedly said, "Aiyo, Empress Xin, please don't wrongly accuse me. I'm wholeheartedly working for the Emperor, how dare I accept any benefits? Everything I said is true."
"In that case, why not open the warehouse and let the emperor see what kind of fabric was purchased."
Eunuch Wang: “This…”
Seeing this, Concubine Xin thought that Eunuch Wang was feeling guilty: "Why, you don't dare anymore?"
"No, no, no, it's just that the emperor's body is precious. How dare I let the emperor set foot in such a messy place like the warehouse."
Eunuch Wang's words made Concubine Xin feel that he was deliberately delaying, and her expression became more smug.
Gu Qi said without hesitation: "Lead the way!"
At this time, Concubine Rong looked at Ning Yuxi's expression and saw that she was not panicked at all. She felt a little uneasy in her heart, but since things had come to this point, she could only continue.
The group arrived at the warehouse. The moment they opened the door, they saw numerous pieces of cloth neatly stacked inside. At a glance, they saw that the ones stacked on the outermost edge were the inferior goods that cost 200 wen per piece! ! !
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