"Your Majesty, this is the money I received earlier."
"Let me speak from the bottom of my heart. I have some property in my hometown, including land and shops, and I live a relatively affluent life. Although the salary from the court is not much, it is enough for me to spend alone. After all, with my current position, I don't need to manage anything, so I don't lack the money."
"But there are some things I don't want or want. Given the way the Ministry of Works was doing before, if I don't take this money, I won't be able to stay in the Ministry. Your Majesty, please forgive me. I'm not bold enough to expose them. I care about my reputation and feel ashamed of what I've done to Your Majesty. Please forgive me."
As he spoke, Zhao Nanxing took off his official hat and gently placed it on the ground.
"Now that Your Majesty has cleaned up the court, thoroughly investigated corruption, and restored a clear and honest Ming dynasty, I am delighted. I dare not conceal even the slightest bit of my past sins, so I will confess them to Your Majesty today. Although Your Majesty has punished me, I accept it with all my heart. I hope Your Majesty can revive the Ming dynasty and make it the greatest power in the world!"
Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhao Nanxing, not knowing how much of his words were true and how much were false, how much came from his heart, and how much was just a show for himself.
But in fact, none of this matters. What Zhu Youxiao wants is not Zhao Nanxing to tell the truth, never. What he wants is his attitude.
Walking down from the dragon throne, Zhu Youxiao came to Zhao Nanxing's side.
Chen Hong, who was standing by, hurried over and helped Zhao Nanxing up. It was impossible for Chen Hong to let Zhu Youxiao help him, so he also picked up the official hat on the ground.
Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhao Nanxing, smiled gently and said, "My dear minister, your words today comfort me deeply."
As he spoke, Zhu Youxiao took Zhao Nanxing's official hat from Chen Hong's hand, but did not put it on Zhao Nanxing.
If Zhu Youxiao personally gave Zhao Nanxing an official hat, the courtesy would be a bit too much. As an emperor, he had to grasp the right measure.
"Take it with you! Work hard for me in the future. The Ming Dynasty needs talents like you."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhao Nanxing knelt on the ground again, stretched out his hands above his head, respectfully took the hat from Zhu Youxiao's hand, and put it on his head.
After putting on his hat, Zhao Nanxing kowtowed respectfully to Zhu Youxiao and said with gratitude, "I will not refuse your death. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
Zhu Youxiao turned around and walked back to the dragon throne, smiling and saying: "My dear minister, do your best. I believe in you."
This belief is actually worthless. Both Zhu Youxiao and Zhao Nanxing know very well in their hearts that this is just a reconciliation, a reconciliation for previous events.
Zhu Youxiao would no longer hold this matter to heart, nor would he pursue the matter any further. As long as Zhao Nanxing did his job well in the future, Zhu Youxiao would not pursue him any further.
Zhao Nanxing was also aware of this, so he quickly said, "I will certainly go through fire and water, and will not refuse even if death is the only option."
"You don't have to return the silver, just consider it as a reward from me." Zhu Youxiao said again, waved his hand, and directly put the matter aside.
Zhu Youxiao thought of something and asked, "What about the Minister of Works, Wang Zuo? Have you found any evidence of his corruption?"
"Your Majesty, Lord Wang Zuo is an honest official who keeps himself clean," Zhao Nanxing said respectfully.
Zhu Youxiao nodded.
The meaning of this sentence is very clear, that is, Wang Zuo did not take the money himself, but he knew that others took the money, but he did not care, so there is a saying that he kept himself out of it.
After a brief thought, Zhu Youxiao turned his head to look at his side and asked, "Did Wang Zuo submit his farewell letter a few days ago?"
This question was addressed to Chen Hong, so Chen Hong quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed so."
With such a big incident happening in the Ministry of Works, Wang Zuo couldn't possibly escape responsibility, so he had already submitted a petition and was ready to go home. However, whether he could leave depended on whether Zhu Youxiao would allow him to do so.
Wang Zuo had been waiting at home these days, and Zhu Youxiao had ignored him because Zhu Youxiao was also waiting for the results. Only after the results came out could he decide how to deal with Wang Zuo.
Now that the results are out, it's natural to punish him. So Zhu Youxiao said indifferently, "Alright."
This means that Wang Zuo can be allowed to go home.
It wasn't that Zhu Youxiao didn't want to kill Wang Zuo, but he wanted to use Wang Zuo to set an example: those who embezzled money would die, while those who didn't take the money would still have a chance to live.
This is what Zhu Youxiao wanted to convey to the outside world, because such things will definitely happen again in the future. You cannot kill all the people who collected money. This is very crucial.
"I understand." Chen Hong agreed and stepped back to the side.
"My dear, please take over as the Minister of Works temporarily. As for how to deal with those people, please discuss it with the Ministry of Justice and prepare a memorial and submit it as soon as possible." Zhu Youxiao said.
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