The lights in the West Garden council hall remained on all night. Xin Jiuwei buried herself in the mountain of old Ministry of Revenue files, her cold eyes sharp as knives, scrutinizing every suspicious record and every vague expenditure. Two advisors recruited from the younger generation of the Qingliu faction—Mr. Fang, an expert in financial accounting, and Mr. Qin, well-versed in criminal law—were also focused intently, assisting in sorting through these long-standing malpractices.
The air was thick with the musty smell of old paper, the fragrance of ink, and an invisible, taut tension. The clatter of abacus beads and the rustling of turning pages became the only rhythm in this long winter night.
“Miss, please look here,” Mr. Fang pulled out a yellowed file and pointed to a note in ink, “In the seventeenth year of the Jingtai reign, Yingzhou was flooded, and the imperial court allocated 300,000 taels of silver for river works. However, in the subsequent reimbursement details, the item for ‘purchasing stone’ was as high as 150,000 taels! This is several times higher than the amount paid by neighboring prefectures with similar disasters during the same period! Moreover, the source of the stone was only vaguely recorded as ‘local mountain area,’ without any specific quarry name or acceptance certificate.”
Mr. Qin leaned closer for a closer look, his brow furrowed: "This is a classic case of 'the devil is in the details.' Such a huge sum of money, yet there's no detailed documentation? The person in charge of this matter was none other than Xue Chongyi, the then-Prefect of Yingzhou!" He pointed out the key name, "And the official in charge of verifying this sum at the Ministry of Revenue at the time was Wang Xianzhe, Xue Chongyi's contemporary, who has now been promoted to Vice Minister of Rites!"
A clear, riddled-with-holes chain of interests is faintly visible in the dim light.
Xin Jiuwei pointed at the glaring number with her fingertips, her voice as cold as ice: "150,000 taels of silver for river construction... In the seventeenth year of the Jingtai reign, Yingzhou was littered with corpses of the starving, and people even resorted to cannibalism. How much blood and tears of disaster victims were stained with this money?" She could almost see the anger and helplessness her father felt when he first took office in Yingzhou and faced the mess left by his predecessor.
“It’s not just this one,” Mr. Fang pulled out a few more documents. “Look here, in the third year of the Longchang reign, there was a small-scale flood in Yuncheng. The imperial court allocated 50,000 taels of silver for disaster relief. In the item of ‘food rations for resettling displaced people,’ they falsely reported nearly 10,000 displaced people and received nearly 20,000 taels more than they were entitled to! The local official who signed and sealed the document was the then-county magistrate of Yuncheng. This person was later… transferred to the capital region, and he was a distant relative of Xue Mingyi’s husband’s family!”
Each and every one of these incidents is shocking! The Xue family and their cronies, like a malignant tumor, have for years abused their power to embezzle and enrich themselves during every natural disaster and man-made calamity! Yingzhou and Yuncheng, two places closely connected to the Xin family, have suffered even more from their actions!
"Xue Mingyi's trip to Yingzhou is ostensibly for inspection, but in reality, she intends to repeat her old tricks!" Mr. Qin pointed out incisively. "She will definitely seize upon the funds for this spring flood relief to either force Prefect Xin to falsely report and embezzle funds, thus colluding with them, or she will frame Prefect Xin, pinning the blame for years of accumulated corruption on him! Either way, she can achieve her goal of striking at the Xin family and weakening the Sixth Prince!"
Xin Jiuwei closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The surging anger in her chest almost consumed her. These parasites! Parasites sucking blood from the corpses of ordinary people! Her father was tirelessly working in the mud for the disaster victims, her brother was fighting bloody battles on the border, Xiao Xun was turning the tide on the front lines, and these people were, in the rear, using these dirty tricks to undermine the very foundation of the Great Liang!
When she opened her eyes again, there was no trace of emotion in them, only pure, cold calculation.
“Mr. Fang, Mr. Qin,” Xin Jiuwei’s voice was unusually calm, “I would like to request that you two categorize and compile a list of all suspicious accounts, irregular write-offs, and related personnel involved in river works and disaster relief funds in Yingzhou, Yuncheng, and even other prefectures, concerning Xue Chongyi, Xue Mingyi, and their cronies. For each suspicious point, be sure to clearly indicate the source of the file, the time, the place, the person in charge, and the amount of money involved. We need irrefutable evidence! We need irrefutable evidence that they cannot refute!”
"Don't worry, Miss!" Fang Qin and his companion perked up. They were young and ambitious reformers in the Qingliu faction, and they deeply hated the Xue family, a corrupt and parasitic family. They were more than happy to participate in bringing down the Xue family.
“Youye!” Xin Jiuwei called out.
"Your subordinate is here!"
"We also need to compile the evidence we previously collected regarding Xue Mingyi's manipulation of pharmacies in Beijing, price gouging, and hoarding of substandard drugs. Witness testimonies, physical evidence, and transaction records are all essential! Especially the evidence linking her to instigating thugs to spread rumors—this chain of evidence must be solidified!"
"Yes! Witnesses have been secretly placed, and physical evidence is complete and ready to be used at any time!" A fierce glint flashed in You Ye's eyes.
Xin Jiuwei stood up and walked to the huge map of Yingzhou, tracing the location of Yuncheng with her finger. "Sister, brother-in-law, you two need to hurry! Every moment Xue Mingyi stays in Yingzhou increases the danger to Father and the suffering of the disaster victims!"
As if in response to the call in her heart, at dawn, a weary carrier pigeon, bearing the mark of Yuncheng, landed on the windowsill of the West Garden.
Xin Jiuwei practically lunged forward to untie the thin tube from the pigeon's leg and pull out the thin letter inside. It was her sister Xin Xiyao's delicate yet sharp handwriting!
To Violet:
"I have received the letter from my sister, and I am filled with shock and anger. After arriving in Yun, that wicked woman Xue became arrogant and domineering. Under the guise of inspection, she forcibly demanded the state government's account books on river works and granaries over the years. She also frequently summoned local officials and wealthy households, using coercion and bribery, as if she were fabricating charges against my father for 'embezzling relief funds,' 'failing to control the floods,' and 'allowing displaced people to cause trouble'!"
Fortunately, Huaihe had taken precautions. The matter my sister asked me to attend to is already showing signs of progress:
First, Xue Dufu's confidant had close ties with Li Gui, a clerk in the Yingzhou granary. Li Gui's family was originally poor, but after the disaster, he suddenly bought a three-courtyard mansion in the city. His brother-in-law even forcibly "bought" hundreds of acres of land deeds from the disaster victims at a low price in the area where the disaster victims gathered! Huaihe had already sent people to keep a close eye on these two men and secretly contacted the disaster victims whose land deeds had been forcibly taken away, recording their confessions and making them sign.
Second, in the state government's accounts, there are three transactions totaling 15,000 taels for "purchasing timber and stone materials," the whereabouts of which are questionable. The signatory was Li Gui. Upon investigation, the actual purchase amount is less than 30% of the recorded amount! Huaihe has managed to obtain copies of the original delivery records and receipts from the actual supplier (a small quarry)!
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