Wang Shuren stammered, unable to utter a single word. He desperately wanted to firmly deny it, saying that he had never embezzled a single penny, but after glancing at Chuanwen, he hesitated to speak, because no matter how he tried to cover it up, this girl could always get to the heart of the matter and tell the truth.
"Men, strip him naked!"
The emperor's gaze was deep as he gave the order.
Since Wang Shuren was unwilling to speak, he would speak for him. Didn't the girl say that Wang Shuren was wearing a golden robe? He would strip him of it, leaving him speechless!
Two guards stepped forward and quickly tore off Wang Shuren's official robe and the clothes underneath.
The golden robes caught everyone's eye, and the civil and military officials all gasped in astonishment.
"It really is—!"
"No way—!"
Honest and upright?
gentleman?
The emperor was most embarrassed and said "good" three times in a row.
"good!"
"good!"
"OK!"
The ministers dared not utter a sound, holding their breath and silently mourning for Wang Shuren. However, some were so frightened that their legs trembled and they could barely stand.
"Take him to prison and interrogate him properly!"
The emperor practically uttered those words through gritted teeth, and even after Wang Shuren's pleas for mercy were no longer audible as he was being dragged away, his face remained dark.
The entire hall was completely silent, the atmosphere tense and heavy. Chuanwen also sensed that the emperor was furious this time, but dared not say anything, only sighing inwardly.
This time, it seems like they're pulling up a radish and bringing out the mud along with it. Sigh, with so many corrupt officials being brought to justice lately, won't it create a climate of fear among the people?
Many officials nodded in agreement. Yes, yes, they lived in constant fear. Please don't expose anything anymore. They dared not embezzle a single penny more; they were almost so poor they were eating coarse food.
However, some officials scoffed dismissively, "What's there to be so worried about! They're upright and have nothing to fear. Girl, you'd better dig out all the corrupt officials and give the people justice!"
After the court session, Chuanwen asked the emperor for leave, saying she missed her family and wanted to go back to see them. However, what she was thinking was, "A golden house? I've never seen one before. And a golden bed—I wonder what it would feel like to lie on it!"
The emperor, with a dark expression, granted permission, but he also wanted to see for himself, so he changed into plain clothes and left the palace with Chuanwen.
[Didn't you say you were going to the Marquis of Changxing's residence with me? Why did you turn around like this?]
Walking down the street, Chuanwen muttered to himself. When he reached Wang Shuren's residence, it suddenly dawned on him: "So even the emperor wants to see a golden house and a golden bed!"
The emperor didn't want to see the golden house and golden bed; he wanted to see just how much Wang Shuren had embezzled.
The person who led the search was Pu Yingwu, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Although he was facing a poor courtyard, he did not dare to be negligent and his face was solemn.
It wasn't until a subordinate smashed the wall with a hammer, revealing a glittering golden light, that Pu Yingwu's solemn expression turned to astonishment.
With a few more thuds of the hammer, the entire golden wall was revealed, leaving everyone who had come to watch stunned.
There were ordinary people from the capital, wealthy merchants, nobles and officials of all ranks, and even the emperor. Everyone was shocked when they saw the golden house!
If it weren't for Pu Yingwu leading the Dali Temple group, many people would probably have rushed up to snatch it.
"Wow--"
"A golden house—"
Before they could even finish their shock, Pu Yingwu stomped on the ground under the peach tree, sensed something was wrong, and immediately called for people to dig it up.
Soon, a box of gold bricks was unearthed.
The emperor clenched his fist, feeling an urge to smash Wang Shuren's head with it.
The officials who mingled in the crowd to watch the spectacle were utterly astonished. Li Biao, the head of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance, thought he had embezzled quite a bit, but compared to Wang Shuren, he was nothing.
Feng Yuxiang, the Ministry of Works' agricultural colonist who only dared to greedily eat two strips of cured meat, exclaimed, "My God—!"
Chen Run, the Minister of Works who was Wang Shuren's superior and hated evil, clutched his chest in heartache and cried out, "Your Majesty, I am guilty!"
The officials in the incorruptible government offices shed tears of envy.
The emperor was already panting with anger. Thinking about how Wang Shuren had said he had scraped together the hundred taels he donated, and how even his breath looked black, and how he had actually thought Wang was an honest and upright official, and had even written calligraphy for him, the emperor wanted to chop off his own hands!
People came and went, and more than a dozen boxes were carried out from Wang Shuren's small courtyard. They contained gold bars, jewelry, and clothes made of various precious fabrics.
Alas, Wang Shuren was truly a tragic figure.
As everyone was experiencing a mix of surprise, resentment, and envy, Chuanwen sighed inwardly.
[Having grown up in hardship, often not knowing where their next meal would come from, I became obsessed with gold, which I thought could buy everything. I could only fall asleep every night while holding gold.]
Hidden in the crowd, Zhang Qing couldn't help but sigh. Was this Wang Shuren's tragedy, or the tragedy of the Great Jin Dynasty? If everyone in the Great Jin had enough to eat and wear, the elderly were cared for, and children had access to education, would there still be people like Wang Shuren?
The emperor could no longer bear to watch, and stormed off. He had no desire to accompany Chuanwen to the Marquis of Changxing's residence, leaving Zheng Yan to protect Chuanwen.
When Chuanwen arrived at the Marquis of Changxing's residence, neither his parents were home. He asked the Marquis of Changxing and learned that they were busy with their shop outside.
After being invited to sit for a while by the Marquis of Changxing and his wife, Chuanwen bid them farewell and prepared to go find his parents and check out their shop. However, before he could leave, Chuanyu stopped him.
"Wen-meimei, why did you come home today?"
Chuanyu took a walk with Chuanwen in the bamboo grove in the backyard, and missed her little sister Chuanwen very much.
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