Chapter 103: The Emperor is Exposed

On the third day of the third month, the first time he went to court after the beginning of the year, the emperor was very angry - because the winter disaster relief funds were embezzled.

Such things are not uncommon in the court. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. The emperor understands this principle. As long as it is not too excessive, the emperor has always turned a blind eye.

But this time is different. There was heavy snow in the west and famine. The disaster relief money that should have been distributed to the disaster victims fell into the hands of officials. Under the layers of embezzlement, the people were left with no clothes to cover their bodies, no food to fill their stomachs, and they were suffering from hunger and cold. Someone took the lead and rioted.

Yuan Ming was only a minor official of the seventh rank. If he had not been accompanied by the Minister of Justice, he would not have had the chance to enter the palace. He was now standing at the outermost circle. The officials standing in front of him all bowed their heads and bent their bodies, not daring to meet the emperor's angry eyes.

The disaster relief was handled by the Ministry of Revenue. If the incident got out of hand, someone would naturally be held responsible. The Minister of Revenue was stripped of his official hat on the spot and thrown into prison.

The emperor announced the adjournment of the court with a flick of his sleeves, and instructed them to leave the palace completely. The kneeling officials slowly stood up and walked out with sighs. Even Prime Minister Yuan Shanxi frowned, and the two officials beside him whispered something to him, but he seemed to be deaf to it.

Yuan Ming followed Li Qinggang out of the palace.

When they were alone, Li Qinggang whispered, "It seems that the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of disaster relief, but the prime minister is actually in power. He doesn't look as confident today as he used to be. Maybe we can use this opportunity to stir up trouble in front of the emperor."

Yuan Ming nodded, "You are right, sir."

Li Qinggang sighed again, looked up at the sky with strange clouds, and said, "The weather is going to change."

Yuan Ming knew that he was not just talking about the weather. Since the meeting with Prince Yong, Li Qinggang secretly sent people to the southwest border to investigate and secretly went to the palace to meet the emperor several times. This time, the emperor was probably furious not just because of the disaster relief.

However, the prime minister had a deep foundation in the court, and even if the emperor wanted to take action, he must have a legitimate reason.

The court was in turmoil, but the people of the capital were completely unaware of it. The streets, which were prosperous and bustling with business, were still bustling even after the New Year.

If you were to say the most popular shop on this street recently, it would definitely be Ji Qingyue's perfume shop.

With the supply from the perfume shop, there was no need to worry about the problem of supply exceeding demand. Ji Qingyue immediately opened a branch in the northern part of the city. On the opening day, old customers came to join in the fun, and business was booming.

Yuan Ming had to deal with the cases that had accumulated during the Spring Festival at the Ministry of Justice, so he had no time to accompany Ji Qingyue. Fortunately, the old customers of the perfume shop gave him face and came to congratulate him.

The shopkeeper and the clerk of the new store were all experienced, quick-witted and efficient. Ji Qingyue looked around and found that there were no mistakes, so she handed the store over to them with confidence and went to the private room inside with tea.

Princess Lan Yi and Li Qinggang's wife were both there.

They were all good-tempered people and never looked down on Ji Qingyue because of the difference in status. They treated him like an ordinary friend, and Ji Qingyue cherished them very much.

Princess Lan Yi took the teapot from his hand, poured a cup of tea for herself and Madam Li, and said, "You are so busy today, you don't have to come in to greet us."

Ji Qingyue smiled and said, "Everything outside is done. I hope you don't mind my poor hospitality."

"Of course not." Lan Yi glanced at Madam Li and suddenly laughed, "But if you really feel bad, why not give us a set of Brother Jin's handwritten signatures."

"Handwritten signatures?" Ji Qingyue was stunned, "I have never heard of Brother Jin being sold to the outside world. Princess, you are joking. How could I have them?"

Madam Li took a sip of tea, "We know this, and it is precisely because it has never been sold that we came to you."

Ji Qingyue was even more puzzled when he heard this.

Lan Yi was a straightforward person with a gloomy face: "What do you mean? I think I have always been good to you. I just asked your husband to sign the book as a collection. I won't sell it. Why are you pretending to be stupid?"

Madam Li held her down: "Princess, don't worry. Brother Yue is not that kind of person. There must be some misunderstanding."

Ji Qingyue was completely stunned.

Asking her husband to sign the book?

Isn't it Brother Jin's handwriting? Why did she ask her husband to sign again?

In a flash, Ji Qingyue thought of the brocade box he saw at home in Shifang Town. What was inside was...

He didn't know how he sent Princess Lan Yi and Madam Li away. He was in a daze for a while, and when he came to his senses, he had already walked to the front door of his house.

The new servant hired to look after the two children is an older boy named Su Jin. His family fell into poverty when he was young, and he was able to support himself by writing well. Unfortunately, he was unlucky. His parents died of illness one after another, and he owed a lot of money, so he sold himself to a pawnbroker. Fortunately, he met Ji Qingyue, who saved him from falling into prostitution.

Ji Qingyue knew the importance of studying, so she bought Jin, hoping that he would take care of the children and enlighten the two children at the same time. You have to know that in this era, boys were not allowed to enter private schools, and could only hire teachers to come to their homes.

He didn't want Snowball to be worse than Olaf.

The children hadn't learned to walk yet, and Su Jin held one in his arms and pushed the other in a stroller, singing a ditty in a low voice.

Seeing Ji Qingyue's somewhat lost expression, he was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly asked: "What's wrong with my husband? What happened?"

Snowball in his arms saw the familiar father and stretched out two arms like lotus roots to throw themselves on him.

Ji Qingyue cheered up and took the child to Su Jin, saying: "I'm fine, have you eaten?"

Su Jin nodded: "They were fed with goat milk twice, and my aunt steamed complementary food in the afternoon. Both children enjoyed it very much."

Hearing this, Ji Qingyue smiled: "That's good." As he said, he pressed the small pit on Snowball's lips.

Olaf and Snowball are twins, and they are exactly the same from head to toe, with only one difference, that is, Snowball has a pair of dimples. He had told Yuan Ming before that it would be nice if dimples grew on Xue Bao's face. Dimples look good on boys, but they would make a man look too delicate.

Thinking of Yuan Ming, the smile on Ji Qingyue's face faded.

Su Jin said, "My husband has been busy all day. Why don't you go back to your room and have a rest? I'm enough here."

Ji Qingyue didn't refuse. He kissed the two children on the cheek and left.

However, he didn't go to the backyard, but went straight to the study in the front yard. Yuan Ming's books and letters were all in there. He was worried that the servants would mess them up, so he usually cleaned and sorted them out himself.

Ji Qingyue knew that his letters were all placed in the niche behind the bookshelf. He had a good habit of storage. He put away the letters in different categories, so it was easy to find what he wanted.

Looking at the familiar handwriting on the envelope, Ji Qingyue sat paralyzed on the ground.

The more he turned the pages, the more his hands trembled, his heart sank to the bottom, and tears fell in big drops.

I would write a letter to Brother Jin every month, and I didn't give up even when I arrived in the capital. In order to ensure that the letters were delivered to Shifang Town smoothly, he would go to the post station in person every time and explain to the messenger in person. But he never thought that after going around in circles, these letters would return home again.

The fog was lifted, and he suddenly understood many things.

After marrying Yuan Ming, Yuan Ming inexplicably made a lot of money and was appreciated by many nobles, and he foolishly thought it was all good luck.

The closeness of Manager Zhao and the favor of Prince Yong were all because it was not only Yuan Ming but also Brother Jin.

Ji Qingyue covered his face. How stupid was he to be deceived for so many years.

It was already dark when Yuan Ming returned home. The Ministry of Justice has been very busy recently. On the one hand, it was because of the cases piled up during the Spring Festival, and on the other hand, it was because of Yuan Shanxi.

Li Qinggang was trying his best, and seemed to want to take this opportunity to bring Yuan Shanxi down in one fell swoop. He didn't know what kind of consensus Li Qinggang and the emperor had reached, but judging from Li Qinggang's skills and actions, he should have been recognized by the emperor.

Yuan Ming was happy to see this happen and spared no effort.

However, no matter how busy the officialdom is, one cannot ignore the family. Yuan Ming remembered that today was the day when the branch of the perfume shop would open for business. He did not even have time to change his official uniform before going to the main hall.

However, there were only two servants inside, feeding the children.

Yuan Ming frowned and asked, "Isn't my husband back yet?"

As he spoke, he was about to go out. It was already dark. The branch was far from home. He was worried about letting Ji Qingyue drive the carriage back alone.