Chapter 115 Greed for Money
Su Yanli brought Laba porridge, sesame dumplings and steamed dumplings to Prince Zhao and Fan Yanjia on duty. The breakfast attracted the two young boys to come over and eat for free.
"The tenth day of the twelfth lunar month is a day off. You two can come over. Ah Jin will help you prepare some dishes."
Su Ruojin nodded and thought, why not have a mutton hotpot, which is both warm and entertaining. However, only Fan Yanjia came that day, and the young Prince Zhao did not come. This was the first time.
Fan Yanjia explained, "Although he didn't come, he asked me to bring food to him."
Su Ruojin: ...
Zhao Lan did not come, but Fan Yanjia spent a long time in the study room asking questions attentively, and Su Dalang also followed him to listen. After the New Year, the ten-year-old Su Dalang would go to the academy to study. In the next two or three years, the Imperial College would recruit students, and if he could pass the examination, he could study in the Imperial College.
Su Yanli holds an eighth-rank official position, and his son is not qualified to enter without taking an exam. Of course, he could also enter with the recommendation of high-ranking officials such as Prince of Jin or Lord Fan, but Su Yanli is unwilling to take this path. He believes that his son can pass the exam.
Su Dalang is also willing to rely on his own abilities to get in.
Xue Wulang was also there that day. He did not go back after asking questions as usual, but stood in the corridor like Su Dalang, watching Su Sanlang playing wildly in the courtyard.
Seeing that he hadn't left, Su Dalang smiled and asked, "I heard you're going to have a brother, right?"
Xue Wulang smiled reluctantly. He didn't know why his father had lost his temper recently whenever he came home. The peaceful home had become full of dark clouds and miasma again. He didn't even want to go back. "Yeah."
The study partner seemed to be in a bad mood. Su Dalang pursed his lips slightly and said, "Achuan, aren't you going to Dongshan Academy after the New Year?"
"Yes."
So why was he unhappy? Su Dalang didn't understand.
"We're having mutton hotpot at my house tonight, so just stay here and accompany Master Fan with me."
In the past, Xue Wulang and Xue Lingchuan would definitely refuse, but today he nodded for the first time, "Thank you for bothering me then."
Su Dalang: ...Although he sincerely invites you, but...
It was really strange that Xue Wulang was willing to stay for dinner. Cheng Yingzhen liked this well-educated and polite boy very much and was very enthusiastic towards him. "Achuan, try it. The mutton slices are as thin as paper. You can eat them after just three rinses. They are very fresh."
"Thank you, auntie."
"Eat, Achuan, you're welcome."
Su Ruojin also liked the little brat pretending to be an adult, and found it quite interesting. Seeing that he was shy and embarrassed, he cooked mutton for him several times. He smiled and said, "Thank you, Jin!"
As expected, delicious food should not be missed. Xue Wulang, who was frowning, immediately relaxed after eating a meal of hotpot.
After getting off the table, he whispered to Su Dalang and his sister, "My father said that the Ministry of Industry has been very noisy recently, investigating corruption everywhere, and my father was also investigated."
"As long as your father is not greedy, don't be afraid."
Xue Wulang pursed his lips and said nothing.
No way!
Su Dalang and his sister looked at each other and dared not speak.
Xue Wulang sighed, "My father said he was not greedy, but..."
Su Dalang and his sister became nervous and stared at him.
"Some merchants and subordinates gave gifts and were found out. My father is afraid that..."
Su Ruojin asked: "Is this gift expensive?"
Xue Wulang shook his head, "I don't understand either." In fact, he didn't dare to say it. Life at home was easy, and the gift was probably not cheap. He was afraid that his father's newly promoted position would be demoted.
They don’t understand! The three little ones were silent.
Finally, Su Ruojin comforted him, "I believe Master Xue, everything will be fine."
When Su Dalang heard his sister say this, he comforted her, "I believe in Master Xue, too."
Xue Wulang returned home with the comfort of his good friend's brother and sister. The house was dead silent. Mrs. Xue, who was pregnant, had no time to ask why her son came back so late today. "Come and eat quickly. We are waiting for you."
Xue Wulang asked: "Where's Dad? Hasn't he come back yet?"
When Mrs. Xue heard this, she didn't call her son to come for dinner. She sat at the table in silence, with the oil lamp dim and looking dazed and dejected. She didn't know how her husband was doing.
In the interrogation room of the Imperial City Department, Prince Wei was interrogating Lord Xue, with a faucet blueprint in front of him. "This was given by a spy from the enemy country, who said he got it from you. What do you think, Lord Xue?"
"I'm talking shit." Lord Xue tried to please people with a spineless face, but now he was 'invited' to the Imperial City Department and he was very tough. "I got promoted and made a fortune because of this blueprint. How could I give such a valuable thing to the Liaoxia people? How is it possible?"
"So what do you say about the bribes you received?"
"Is this called accepting bribes? This is a favor given to me by my subordinates. Besides, the official didn't accept it, so what's wrong with me accepting some?" He even acted as if he was justified in accepting bribes.
Zhao Lan and Mr. Shen, who were sitting in the interrogation room, said: …There are actually officials who are so shameless.
After Xue Wulang and Fan Yanjia left, Su Dalang and his sister went to the study and told Su Yanli the news they heard from Xue Wulang, "I teach in the Imperial College all day, and I really don't know anything about the Ministry of Works."
Su Ruojin asked, "Dad, I noticed that corrupt officials are arrested every winter. Is this ordered by the government?"
Su Yanli knew something about this. "In fact, it's not just about arresting corrupt officials. The main purpose is to ensure that the national celebrations during the New Year can be held smoothly and safely. Every winter, they take the opportunity of arresting corrupt officials to clear out envoys, merchants, refugees, etc. from various countries in the capital, and clear out dangerous people from the capital."
Oh, so that's how it is! It seems to be the same in every dynasty!
"Do you think Master Xue will be arrested?"
"This..." Su Yanli didn't have much contact with Xue Changcheng, but he could still see that he was determined to climb up. "It shouldn't be a big problem."
It is impossible for a person who is bent on climbing up the social ladder to ignore the official style and evaluation.
"But Xue Wulang himself said that his father accepted gifts from others."
Su Yanli smiled, "Lord Xue has been in the officialdom for so many years, he should know what gifts he can accept and what gifts he cannot accept."
Is Lord Xue so worldly and slippery?
Because Xue Wulang told him about his father, Su Ruojin had been secretly observing Lord Xue. As a result, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, he saw Lord Xue offering sacrifices. Although he did not look very energetic, he was separated from the investigation, which showed that his father was right. Lord Xue did not commit any principled problems. At most, he would be fined some salary for some small gifts and bribes.
There were a few new faces in the place where the Imperial City Bureau specially placed spies. These people were the result of a month's hard work by Zhao Lan, Hua Ping and others. They moved around the capital of the Dayin Dynasty in the guise of businessmen, contacting low-level officials and bribing them. Several petty officials in the Ministry of Works were brought down, but the greedy and slippery Lord Xue was cleared of suspicion and returned home.
Standing in the dark corridor, Prince Wei asked his cousin beside him, "Do you believe that Lord Xue is just greedy for small amounts of money?"
Zhao Lan smiled slightly, "There's still a lot of time to go!"
Oh! This means to play the long game and catch the big fish.
After the sacrifice, Mrs. Xue asked in horror, "Did you collaborate with the enemy?"
Lord Xue scolded her for courting death, "How dare I, a damned fool, collaborate with the enemy?"
"That……"
"Well, what's wrong with me being greedy for money?"
Mrs. Xue's legs trembled when she heard the word "money". What else could it be? This is life-threatening!
(End of this chapter)
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