Chapter 770 The Imperial Household Department is in trouble
Jiang Fenghua chatted with Black Bee for a while and forgot about the medicine in the drawer. After she left, Black Bee stared at the medicine for a long time, locked the drawer, and left the Imperial Study.
Black Bee certainly knew the effects of this medicine. When the Emperor first received the medicine, he originally intended to destroy it, but for some reason he did not destroy it and instead hid it away.
Jiang Fenghua had just reached Chengqian Gate when she encountered Shang Hong. Seeing Shang Hong leading his men in a hurried manner, she said in a deep voice, "Lord Shang."
Shang Hong hurriedly bowed to Jiang Fenghua: "This humble official greets Your Majesty the Empress."
"Where is Lord Shang and his men headed?"
Shang Hongdao said, "Your Majesty, a guard has found the body of a eunuch in a dry well. I just heard the news and am about to head over."
Jiang Fenghua said, "I will go with you to take a look."
Shang Hong gestured for them to enter, and Lianye and Hongxiu flanked Jiang Fenghua, protecting her on either side.
The discovery of the corpse in the inner palace also alarmed the Imperial Household Department. When Jiang Fenghua and Shang Hong arrived, they found Cheng Feng there.
The two groups met face to face. When Cheng Feng saw that Hongxiu had also arrived, a cold look appeared between his brows. Then he bowed to the Empress and said, "This humble official greets Your Majesty."
"No need for formalities, Steward Cheng. I heard the deceased was a palace eunuch. Have you seen the body, Steward Cheng?" Jiang Fenghua asked.
Cheng Feng said, "The dead eunuch was Xiao Shunzi, a handyman in the Imperial Household Department."
Hongxiu paused for a moment, then, upon hearing the name Xiaoshunzi, she rushed over and, upon seeing him in person, exclaimed, "So it really is him! How could he be dead?"
Jiang Fenghua asked, "You know Xiao Shunzi?"
Hongxiu said, "I guess we know each other, but we're not close. He's usually very helpful."
She still remembered that day when Xiao Shunzi came to the Imperial Household Department to ask her to help with the accounts. He said that if the accounts didn't match, Chief Steward Cheng would punish him. That day, she saw Cheng Feng and his cousin He Chunfang in the warehouse, so she was a little unhappy and didn't care about it. She never expected to see him again, but he was already dead.
After examining the body, Shang Hong said, "It should be a short knife, like a dagger, that stabbed him in the chest and killed him instantly. The murder weapon was not near the body. Judging from the scene investigation, this should be the first crime scene. He was stabbed and then thrown into the well by the murderer."
"Who was the first to discover it?"
Cheng Feng then summoned another eunuch who had discovered the body, saying, "His name is Wang Sheng; he was the first to discover the body."
Upon discovering the dead body, Wang Sheng turned pale with fright. He collapsed to the ground, trembling with fear, and did not respond when Jiang Fenghua spoke to him.
Shang Hong said, "Wang Sheng, Her Majesty the Empress has a question for you."
Wang Sheng came to his senses, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Jiang Fenghua, "This servant Wang Sheng greets Your Majesty the Empress."
Do you know Xiao Shunzi?
Wang Sheng nodded. "Your Majesty, I know him. This servant doesn't know how he died. He died... I didn't kill him, it really wasn't me."
Seeing that he was very nervous, Jiang Fenghua guessed that they had some grudge. "No one said you killed him, what are you afraid of?"
Wang Sheng shook his head. "No...it's nothing. This servant is just afraid of seeing dead people." He couldn't say it; if he did, he would be doomed.
Jiang Fenghua deliberately said to Shang Hong, "Lock up Wang Sheng first; Xiao Shunzi's death is inextricably linked to him."
Wang Sheng was stunned. "Your Majesty, it wasn't me. I only had some grudges with him, but I didn't have the guts to kill anyone!"
Shang Hong asked, "What grudge do you have against each other?"
Wang Sheng stopped talking about it.
Shang Hong said coldly, "Once I finish my investigation, it will also come to you. It will be too late for you to say anything then."
Wang Sheng was so frightened that he confessed his affair with Xiao Shunzi. The two had a falling out because they couldn't split the loot equally.
His eyes darted around. "It was Xiao Shunzi's idea to resell palace items. I was just helping him out. He gave me a little money for my trouble. It wasn't my idea."
He knew Xiao Shunzi was dead, and their affair would be exposed sooner or later, so he pinned everything on Xiao Shunzi, since the dead can't speak anyway.
Jiang Fenghua looked at Cheng Feng, "Chief Steward Cheng, you know there's a thief in your Imperial Household Department, right?"
Cheng Feng frowned. "This humble official is also investigating this matter."
"So, Chief Steward Cheng also knew that the people from the Imperial Household Department were embezzling palace items. Before the matter was even investigated, Xiao Shunzi was killed. It seems there's some kind of conspiracy!" Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice.
Cheng Feng was stunned. "I only just found out myself. The affairs of the Imperial Household Department are complicated. It is my fault for not supervising it properly. I will apologize to His Majesty when he returns."
Hongxiu and Lianye exchanged a glance. What did Cheng Feng mean? Couldn't the Empress interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Household Department?
Hongxiu knew that ever since she made it clear to Cheng Feng outside the palace that she would not marry into the Cheng family, he had been somewhat unhappy. He always felt that she was playing him, using him, and even betraying his sincerity over the past few years.
Hongxiu's lips twitched, but she ultimately said nothing. Her intuition was that if the people in the Imperial Household Department really embezzled funds, it wasn't Xiaoshunzi who orchestrated it all; there must have been someone else involved. With so many stewards, Xiaoshunzi was just a lowly eunuch. It was incredibly audacious of him to embezzle funds. But why would he ask her for help when he couldn't keep track of the accounts?
Hongxiu didn't say any of this in front of everyone; she would tell the Empress after returning to Kunning Palace.
Jiang Fenghua also realized that Cheng Feng wanted to report directly to the Emperor that she, as the Empress, did not seem to have the authority to investigate the Imperial Household Department.
She said to Shang Hong, "A murder has occurred in the palace. I am giving you three days to find the murderer as soon as possible. Can you do that, Lord Shang?"
Shang Hong paused. Three days. But if he, as the commander of the Imperial Guard, couldn't find out the murderer within three days, he wouldn't be able to continue serving as the commander of the Imperial Guard.
Shang Hong said in a deep voice, "This humble official will definitely find the murderer who killed Xiao Shunzi."
Jiang Fenghua then said to Cheng Feng, "Regarding the matter of embezzlement within the Imperial Household Department, Steward Cheng, please investigate as soon as possible. Xiao Shunzi's sudden death may also be related to corruption within the Imperial Household Department. Steward Cheng, can you cooperate with Commander Shang?"
Cheng Feng cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, "This humble official will certainly do his utmost to cooperate with Lord Shang."
The case has been handed over to the Imperial Guards for investigation. As the head of the Imperial Household Department, Cheng Feng can only assist in the investigation or cooperate with the Imperial Guards. Since the Emperor is not present, Jiang Fenghua still has this much power.
Of course, Cheng Feng was the head of the Imperial Household Department, and he should also take responsibility for investigating the corruption within the department and reporting it to the Empress.
Jiang Fenghua left directly with Hongxiu and Lianye. Cheng Feng and Shang Hong said in unison, "Respectfully seeing off Your Highness."
After the Empress left, Cheng Feng said to Shang Hong, "No matter what, Xiao Shunzi is a member of the Imperial Household Department. Can his body be handed over to the Imperial Household Department for burial?"
Shang Hong knew that Cheng Feng was the emperor's man, so he naturally dared not offend Cheng Feng. However, his Shang family had always been a pillar of the Great Zhou Dynasty, while the Cheng family had become rich from being the emperor's servants. In terms of status, the Shang family was several classes higher than the Cheng family.
It should be said that Cheng Feng's family and business are completely incomparable.
Empress Dowager Cheng's maternal family was the Duke's Mansion, but Cheng Feng's father was just a servant of Empress Dowager Cheng who was given the surname by his master. Tracing back to the source, Cheng Feng's ancestors may not have been anything at all.
The powerful families in the capital city also place great importance on their ancestral origins and social status. Therefore, no matter how high a position Cheng Feng held, he still harbored some inferiority complex deep down.
Shang Hong said politely, "Once the case is cleared up, Steward Cheng will take Xiao Shunzi's body away for burial. It's just a matter of going through the formalities. Steward Cheng is really good to his subordinates."
It means that you can't take it now; you can take it after the case is cleared up.
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