Yunrong: "What are you saying! We are husband and wife, and besides, this is not your fault. There are many people who can't stand to see me doing well. Even if there hadn't been that incident with Consort Wang and Consort Li, there would have been others in the future. Since you have given me unique favor, I can naturally accept the favor you give me."
There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Yinzhen understood the reasoning, but this time it was due to his poor planning and his outdated information.
Yinzhen: "I will resolve this matter as soon as possible." He also couldn't bear to let Yunrong suffer this injustice.
Yunrong smiled and said, "Actually, it's nothing. They're just some trivial rumors. After a while, when something new comes up, no one will bring up the old stories anymore."
Yinzhen nodded: "Yes, you're right." But in his heart, he thought that this matter could spread, there must be someone behind it, and he should investigate it.
The two didn't say much more about the matter. In their minds, it was just a minor trouble. The reason why Yinzhen was angry was simply that things had gotten out of his control, causing Yunrong to suffer an undeserved disaster.
The two of them ate dinner, played with their son, and went to bed as usual. There was nothing more to do, but this kind of life was very warm and cozy. It made Yinzhen feel relaxed and Yunrong feel at ease.
Yinzhen was swift and decisive. Since he said he would investigate, he would not delay. He had people on his side, but the matter had been circulating for quite some time, and no one could say exactly how it had come to be.
However, Yinzhen was certain that someone was indeed sabotaging him behind the scenes.
Yinzhen felt that the person behind the scenes was like a worm in the dark, utterly repulsive.
Yinzhen believed that as long as something was done, it would leave some clues. He ordered his men to continue investigating, and as long as they investigated carefully, they would eventually find something.
While investigation is necessary, rumors do need to be suppressed. Even if they are false, public opinion can be a powerful force, and if it is said too often, some people will eventually take it to heart.
Often, the way to suppress rumors is to create a bigger commotion. With something new happening, people's attention will naturally shift.
Yinzhen has trained a group of people who should be put to work. The Imperial Household Department really needs a reorganization. For so many years, they have amassed so much wealth and lived a more comfortable life than he, the emperor. It's time for them to pay back what they owe him.
Yinzhen was decisive in his actions. Once he made a decision, he immediately arranged for the person who would report him. It was a good show, and Yinzhen played along.
From the initial report to the thorough investigation, it only took four or five days. Yinzhen was indeed bold enough to investigate several high-ranking corrupt officials and confiscate their property.
Yinzhen ordered the men sent to confiscate the property to lay out the items that had been embezzled from the Imperial Household Department, starting from the embezzler's door, with each item labeled with its name...
The common people knew that the officials of the Imperial Household Department were in charge of servants who served the royal family, and were like stewards for the royal family. However, the embezzled goods were piled up all over several streets from the doorway, leaving the people dumbfounded and shocked.
Ordinary people are not very knowledgeable. When the evidence of corruption in those streets was laid out, they felt that if anyone had such a servant in their family, they would definitely beat him to death to vent their anger. Now that the emperor has only confiscated the property and beheaded the family members, it is already a sign of his wisdom not to exterminate the entire clan.
Because more than one family was raided, and the bondservant families were all living there, almost blocking the road, Yinzhen saw that the news was spreading like wildfire in the capital, and thus his goal was achieved.
This time, when confiscating property, Yinzhen did not go so far as to exterminate everyone; he arrested the major offenders and let the minor ones go.
With the major issues resolved, the minor ones naturally become more cautious and less blatant, each acting with a sense of urgency. They might still have their own schemes, but they won't be so overtly blatant anymore.
Taking advantage of the situation, Yinzhen ordered the creation of a new system.
The families of bondservants were greedy for two reasons: first, they coveted the things used by their masters, passing off inferior goods as superior ones; second, they took advantage of the fact that the masters in the palace were unaware of prices, thus inflating prices.
For example, they bought an egg for one coin, but the account book showed that the egg cost fifty coins. They could embezzle forty-nine coins from just one egg.
To address the issue of inferior goods being passed off as superior ones, Yinzhen could only establish a system of mutual supervision and reporting to raise prices. Instead, he directly implemented a bidding system.
Previously, imperial merchants were selected, and merchants would naturally try to curry favor to obtain the title of imperial merchant. Moreover, after becoming an imperial merchant, they would collude with the Imperial Household Department...
The bidding system is a quarterly bidding process, and the names of the bidders and their bid prices are made public for each bidding, making the whole process open and transparent. Even if someone from the Imperial Household Department wanted to embezzle, they would have to see if they dared to do so.
Furthermore, Yinzhen also designed an inspection agency, which was replaced every five years, did not accept nominations, and appointed its members, with him directly in charge…
With this series of reforms, the common people felt that the emperor had been betrayed by his servants, yet they also felt that the emperor was benevolent and magnanimous. Meanwhile, the Imperial Household Department was filled with anxiety. Although Yinzhen only made major changes, he was putting pressure on them.
The newly appointed official of the Imperial Household Department was a confidant of the emperor, Suhetai, Yunrong's cousin.
Suhetai was also a remarkable figure. His father was a confidant of Emperor Shunzhi. Had he not died so young, he would likely have been a regent. Because his father passed away early and because he was incorporated into the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner, he grew up with Yunrong's older brothers from a young age.
The Fucha family had few daughters, only Yunrong. As her cousin, he had witnessed Yunrong's birth and watched her grow up, so he naturally doted on her.
Su Hetai treated Yunrong no worse than her own brothers, because Su Hetai was good to Yunrong and she grew up with Li Rongbao and Maska, so they were naturally close.
Suhetai was sent to a post outside the capital in the fourteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. He requested it himself, wanting to go out and see the world.
He only recently returned. Of course, Suhetai himself is also very talented and capable. During his tenure, the people in his jurisdiction had no worries about food and drink and lived in peace and contentment.
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