But if you only ask one person, whether they can answer or not, you have a million ways to clear yourself of any involvement!
Seeing Sun Jiachen's flustered appearance, everyone knew what was going on.
This guy!
Oh no!
The more you do, the more mistakes you make; he was truly unlucky!
Looking down at him, Qin Yu was incredibly arrogant, while Sun Jiachen merely glanced up at him. Their eyes met, and the latter instantly feigned nervousness.
"May I ask you, what are your duties in the Ministry of Revenue?"
"My humble servant's duties..."
As Sun Jiachen stammered, his body trembled, and he pretended to stumble, bumping into He Fang's desk.
The stack of documents and letters, which was extremely high, suddenly fell off and hit Qin Yu all over.
"You damn lackey! Can't you even kneel properly?"
He raised his leg and kicked Sun Jiachen hard, knocking him to the ground!
"You can't even answer a simple question! I can tell you're hiding something!"
This time, the officials nearby did not kick him while he was down or gloat over the show. Instead, they rushed to help him up and begged for mercy on his behalf.
Nothing more than this, all to show respect and affection for colleagues in front of the emperor.
"Your Majesty! Steward Sun was just too nervous and it was an accident. Please forgive him!"
"Right! Manager Sun is usually very diligent in his work."
"Your Majesty, please do not be angry!"
"......."
Seeing that he had successfully attracted attention, while everyone was helping each other and the scene was in chaos, Qin Yu, without making a sound, swiftly stuffed Ah Feng's complaint into a pile of documents from his sleeve.
After a long while, Sun Jiachen, his face flushed, was helped up.
Qin Yu was surrounded and persuaded by a group of officials to sit down at He Fang's desk.
Pretending to still be furious, Qin Yu asked, his anger still lingering.
"He Fang, what are his abilities?"
"Your Majesty, please rest assured that Chief Clerk Sun is exceptionally intelligent and extremely diligent."
"Very well! Then I will now test him with some simple questions!"
Qin Yu rolled his eyes, gave a cold laugh, and questioned the person who had spoken while flipping through the documents on the table.
"If the national treasury suddenly runs out of money, how can we raise funds without increasing the burden on the people?"
"How can we reduce military spending while ensuring the security of our Great Xia territory?"
"How can we ensure the timely payment of officials' salaries when the national treasury is consistently insufficient...?"
This is what you call simple?
Even though Sun Jiachen himself knew he was acting in accordance with the emperor's wishes, he almost cursed out loud.
The officials listening in were dumbfounded.
The question that even a full assembly of ministers in the imperial court couldn't answer was arguably the most troublesome issue for the entire Great Xia Dynasty. And you're asking a mere minor official from the Ministry of Revenue to answer it?
This tyrannical ruler clearly intends to make things difficult for Sun Jiachen!
Thank goodness it didn't come to my own head!
"Ah, this..."
Sun Jiachen gritted his teeth and stammered, unable to answer.
Seeing that everyone's attention had been completely diverted, Qin Yu decided to bring up the real issue.
After flipping through a folded document, he suddenly asked, "Where is it?"
"Are all of these to be presented to me?"
The latter, almost without hesitation, immediately nodded and bowed, saying, "Yes!"
Qin Yu swiped quickly with his fingertips to the hidden room containing the legal documents. After taking them out and examining them, he suddenly frowned and pretended to be shocked.
"What? Where did this person come from?! Someone actually filed a complaint against me!"
"The letter says that some people in the court embezzled pension funds and were also silenced and beaten by the government without cause. You, He Fang, have been providing protection and standing on the side of justice!"
"Not only that, the letter also pointed out that the soldiers died in Youzhou for the Prime Minister, that the Prime Minister embezzled the pension funds, and called on them to file a complaint with me. The letter even praised you as a just and upright official!"
When Qin Yu said this, his voice was as loud as a bell, and everyone in the Ministry of Revenue could hear it clearly.
However, after only a few seconds of stunned silence, they suddenly realized what was happening, and then, utterly shocked, they pointed at each other and whispered amongst themselves, full of slander.
It turns out that this guy's claim of accumulating pension money and presenting it to the prime minister was all a lie!
On the one hand, he showed loyalty to the prime minister and made promises to himself and other officials in the Ministry of Revenue, but behind the scenes, he stirred up trouble by writing letters to criticize the prime minister.
He Fang, you're so good at doing things, and your methods are brilliant!
He originally tried to be a good guy to both sides, but now he's even holding back against the tyrannical emperor, making him a good guy to all three sides!
You've played the good guy all you want! And you still have to pocket the money yourself!
He Fang himself was filled with disbelief.
"May I see the letter?"
After trembling as he accepted the petition, he glanced at it a few times and his eyes widened in shock, as if struck by lightning!
who?
Who the hell created this image of a righteous and upright official for himself?
Who put such a big label on him?
Terrified, his legs trembled and his mind went blank. He suddenly knelt down and vehemently denied everything, hastily trying to distance himself from the situation.
"Your humble servant absolutely did not protect any family members, and was completely unaware of this matter!"
"Don't know?" Qin Yu slammed his hand on the table, then paused, feigning fury.
"This letter fucking names you by name, and you still say you don't know?"
"He Fang, He Fang, I think you're a fool too! You can even fabricate such a huge lie! How could so many soldiers have died in such a great victory at the front? General Sima Xiong Ba and the Ministry of War have been sending me victory reports that are piling up like mountains. What are you trying to do by secretly framing the Prime Minister?"
Faced with Qin Yu's terrifying and intimidating words, He Fang's face turned pale, his breathing became rapid, and his eyes were filled with fear.
"That's not what I meant! I'm saying I'm truly innocent!"
"Injustice?"
Qin Yu glared angrily, his posture aggressive, clearly determined to make He Fang suffer as soon as he got the chance.
"So you're saying you're innocent, which means the Prime Minister really embezzled the pension funds? And that you concealed your defeat and lied about military intelligence?"
He Fang, who is usually quick-witted and eloquent, was now speechless, his mouth agape but unable to utter a word.
"Hmph! I knew it, didn't I?"
"Xuejian! Take this treacherous, wicked scoundrel to the Imperial Study! I want to interrogate him thoroughly!"
Before the officials could recover from this sudden and enormous change, they began to discuss the matter in astonishment as the emperor and his entourage had already departed. The discussion quickly turned into a cacophony of voices.
"All the officials in the court said that He Fang was a shrewd and capable person, but today they have finally seen it for themselves!"
"That's for sure! He puts on a kind face on the surface, but who knows how many people he's schemed against behind the scenes! He even dares to plot against the Prime Minister and the Emperor, he's really courting death!"
"However, I have to admit that this guy is really capable and incredibly audacious! It's not something an ordinary person can do to get things done to this extent."
"......"
Of course, Sun Jiachen was not included in the discussion.
He didn't fully understand the emperor's specific plans; he was just playing along today.
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