Chapter 772 Cheng Feng is actually a pretty good person
When Cheng Feng arrived at the warehouse, he was immediately squeezed into a corner by the "relatives" he had arranged to work in the Imperial Household Department.
Everyone was talking at once, arguing and shouting, "Cousin, please help me, how can this not match up? I don't know where the things went either."
"Cousin, look at this..."
"Feng, I'm the most honest one. There's no way I would sell things from the palace! You have to help me, I'm your uncle-in-law!"
"Ah Feng, you're the most promising person in our family, this little thing shouldn't be too difficult for you..."
"You are the Emperor's confidant, the person he trusts most. The Emperor will not blame you."
"These things are worthless, just a drop in the ocean. What are you asking people to investigate? The concubines in the harem just throw away what they can't finish eating! If you want to investigate, you'll have to dig up the swill buckets!"
Cheng Feng's head was throbbing from the noise. "Stop arguing! All of you, come out one by one with your questions and get your accounts sorted out as soon as possible. Otherwise, I don't care if you're uncles, cousins, or anything else. Whoever's accounts are unclear will be dealt with according to palace rules. Hurry up, Her Majesty the Empress definitely wants to see the accounts."
Everyone was stunned. "Brother Feng, why are you still investigating?"
An older man said, "We are the Emperor's men. What does it have to do with the Empress? The Emperor is the greatest, and he has the final say in everything. We haven't offended the Empress, so why should she investigate us?"
"Who taught you to say such things?" Cheng Feng's face turned ashen with anger. "Now that someone has died, if you don't find a way to make amends, I can't save you. Her Majesty the Empress has already ordered the Imperial Guards to investigate. You can figure it out yourselves!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd asked again, "Who died?"
"Xiao Shunzi is dead." Cheng Feng was also in a bind. It was difficult to deal with someone's death. How could Xiao Shunzi have died? Who killed him? Cheng Feng was also extremely worried. He was running back and forth between the palace and outside the palace, but he never expected that someone would die.
Then he remembered what the steward had said and asked, "What did Chunfang take from the palace?"
“Miss Fang, she just took some tonics, ginseng, deer antler, snow lotus, bird’s nest, donkey-hide gelatin, and pearl powder. She said her mother was not in good health, so she just took some.”
Cheng Feng's face turned green again when he heard this. "Chunfang has only been here for a short time, and she already dares to steal items from the palace. Do you know that taking palace items without permission is a capital offense?"
"Oh no! We're going to be beheaded! What should we do?" They had taken some of the money as well.
“When Brother Feng was outside the palace, he often brought things home to us, and he never said he would be beheaded!”
Cheng Feng said, "The past is the past, and the present is the present. I was the one who handled all these things in the past, and since I could make money, I naturally didn't lack these things."
"It's the same now. Aren't you still helping to manage the Emperor's estates, shops, and businesses? Just think of it as taking it home to honor your elders, like before. Ah Feng, think of a way. You're so smart and capable, you'll definitely come up with a solution, right? It's not a big deal. Besides, it's not just us who took it, but also all the big and small stewards in the palace. They're all corrupt. Everyone's taking it, so why shouldn't we?"
Cheng Feng knew that since he entered the palace as the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, several senior officials in the palace did not respect him. As for the younger and less experienced ones, he could get them to cooperate with him and get things done by giving them some gifts and benefits.
However, some people didn't respect him, which is why he wanted to cultivate his own confidants. If they were all his own people, managing the Imperial Household Department wouldn't be so tiring for him.
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Hongxiu composed herself and returned to Kunning Palace. When she saw the Empress, a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips as she pretended nothing had happened. "Your Majesty."
Jiang Fenghua was reading a book in her hands. She glanced at Hongxiu and saw the marks at the corner of her eyes. This maid must have been crying again!
She said calmly, "I'm thirsty. Make me a pot of tea, flower tea, please!"
"Sigh." Hongxiu quickly went to find the flower tea they had collected.
Lianye brought in some delicious snacks. "Your Highness, please try them. These are new products developed by Huarui. They taste great. My skills are almost being surpassed by hers."
Jiang Fenghua picked up a piece and tasted it. It was fragrant, soft, and melted in her mouth; it was indeed delicious.
She said, "Hua Rui is your apprentice, isn't she? It seems your apprentice has put a lot of effort into making pastries!"
“She is quite talented, well-behaved and sensible. What I value most about her is her calm and composed nature. At such a young age, she doesn’t compete or fight, and focuses all her attention on learning to make pastries.” Lianye added, “I’ve thought about it. I’ll observe her for a while longer. If she is diligent and hardworking, I will teach her to cook, so that more people can take good care of Your Highness and the little princess in the future.”
At this moment, Hongxiu came over with tea. She forced a smile and joked about Lianye, "I think Lianye planned this all along. She wants to get married, so she arranged for someone to serve Your Highness in advance."
“That’s not what I think,” Lianye quickly denied. “Your Highness, please don’t listen to Hongxiu’s nonsense. I will serve Your Highness in the palace from now on. I’ve already made it clear to Lin Feng that I won’t marry him unless he agrees to it.”
“If you don’t marry, there are plenty of girls who want to marry you. Many female officials and palace maids in the palace envy you. If you still don’t marry, be careful that he is snatched away by someone else, and then you will be crying.” Hongxiu said deliberately.
"Let them take it if they want. It'll save me the trouble of worrying about feeding him every day. It's so annoying." Lianye said with a smile in her eyes. She was happy to prepare meals for Lin Feng.
Jiang Fenghua watched the two bickering, then looked at Hongxiu. It might not be appropriate to ask her about Cheng Feng now, as she hadn't told her about it after returning to the palace. However, judging from their meeting today, it seemed that their talks had broken down.
She felt sorry for Hongxiu and hoped she could be happy, but the Cheng family was really difficult to deal with.
Jiang Fenghua tried to speak: "Does Cheng Feng know that there is trouble in the Imperial Household Department? As the chief steward, will he take the lead in doing these things?"
Hongxiu affirmed, "No."
Seeing her so resolute, Jiang Fenghua and Lianye both looked at her at the same time, wondering why she was still speaking up for him!
She added, "Cheng Feng is actually a very nice person."
Hongxiu composed herself, seeing through their thoughts, and analyzed seriously, "I'm not speaking up for him. Cheng Feng doesn't lack these things or money. He used to run his own business outside the palace, a pastry shop, and it was quite successful. He used to manage the Emperor's business and earned a lot. Now that he's the head of the Imperial Household Department, managing such a large department, he certainly wouldn't lead the way in embezzling these petty gains. Based on my judgment, what the Cheng family wants now isn't money, but fame. If this is discovered, he'll lose both his fame and fortune, which would be a huge loss. It's likely that his relatives are the ones who are corrupt. He's just soft-hearted, and in the end, he might be ruined because of his relatives." That's why she went to see him, but she didn't expect things to turn out like that.
Jiang Fenghua said, "Hongxiu is right. Cheng Feng probably only just found out that there was a problem with the Imperial Household Department."
At this moment, Granny Wang also came in. "Chief Steward Cheng is still young. He can't control those old generals in the Imperial Household Department, and his meddlesome father. It's no wonder the Imperial Household Department is in chaos."
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