Chapter 32 The Wind Is About to Change
"Injustice? Come, come, tell me how Lord Shangguan wronged you."
Did your Ministry of Revenue fail to pay the Duke of Dingguo's salary for the past three years?
The Minister of Revenue was very busy with official duties, and the task of issuing salaries to officials had always been the responsibility of the Vice Minister of Revenue.
"Could it be that the Minister of Revenue instructed you to do this?" Emperor Xiao Jing asked calmly.
"This old minister only learned of this matter today," the elderly Minister of Revenue quickly said, forcing himself to distance himself from the situation.
Emperor Xiao Jing smiled.
"I know that the Minister of Revenue certainly doesn't know about this."
Back then, the Minister of Revenue's elderly mother was missing a century-old ginseng as a medicinal ingredient. She couldn't find one anywhere, so the Duke of Dingguo found one from the border and sent it to her.
The Minister of Revenue would never do something so despicable.
The Minister of Revenue trembled with fear.
Vice Minister Mei of the Ministry of Revenue didn't know what to say except to cry foul.
"Lord Mei, I have never issued an edict to revoke the title of Duke of Dingguo."
But you, as a subject, presumptuously speculated on my thoughts, deceiving your superiors and concealing the truth from your subordinates.
The Duke of Dingguo is a first-rank military official, yet he has to suffer humiliation from a petty person like you.
You've really wasted all that time studying those classic texts.
"Prime Minister Xu, how should we deal with such an official?" Emperor Xiao Jing looked at Prime Minister Xu, the head of the civil officials.
"This old minister is ashamed that such a treacherous rat has emerged from the six ministries under my command."
According to the laws of Chongqing, Lord Mei should be dismissed from his post and investigated.
"Because the matter he committed involves the Duke's mansion, it should be handed over to the Court of Judicial Review for investigation, with the Ministry of Personnel assisting," Prime Minister Xu said respectfully.
Emperor Xiao Jing nodded.
"Then let's do as Prime Minister Xu says."
As for the position of Vice Minister of Revenue... Your Highness, you have been in charge of state affairs for many days now. Go back and think carefully about who should succeed you in this position.
Upon hearing this, the King of Qin on the right changed his expression slightly.
The crown prince was overjoyed.
"Your subject obeys the decree!"
After the court session ended, the officials looked at each other, then at the spirited Crown Prince, and then at the King of Qin, whose expression remained unchanged.
Everyone was thinking, "Is the world finally about to change?"
After returning to his residence, Duke Anguo smashed a teacup in his study.
"Idiot, I told you back then there was no need to stop it, who would have thought..."
The King of Qin, who had already entered through the secret passage, sighed and personally poured a cup of tea for the Duke of Anguo before speaking.
"This... is the fault of my mother; she instructed Lord Mei to do it this way."
The mother said she wanted to force the emperor to reveal his true thoughts.
Who could have imagined that Father Emperor would endure this for three years, and for three whole years he wouldn't allow the palace to summon the family of the Duke of Dingguo's household? "The Prince of Qin advised from the side.
Duke Anguo accepted the tea from the King of Qin, took a small sip, and slowly suppressed his anger.
Although the Ministry of Revenue was under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Xu, the Minister of Revenue was getting old and would retire to his hometown in the next year or two.
The Vice Minister of Revenue was originally the best candidate to succeed him.
At this critical juncture, the Vice Minister of Revenue has actually been dismissed and is under investigation.
Everyone knows that the Ministry of Revenue is the King of Qin's money bag!
"Uncle, is there any way to protect Lord Mei?" the King of Qin asked in a low voice.
Duke Anguo shook his head.
"It's hopeless! His Majesty personally ordered his dismissal at the court meeting, and that old codger, Prime Minister Xu, is also keeping an eye on things."
Lord Mei is definitely doomed.
Have someone deliver a message to Lord Mei: do your duty, and I will ensure the safety of his entire family.
Let him think about his children and grandchildren.
When the King of Qin heard what the Duke of Anguo said, he had no choice but to remain silent.
After a while, the King of Qin asked again, "Uncle, what does Father mean by this? Is he avenging the Duke of Dingguo's family?"
"You're overthinking it. This matter has been going on for three years. Why bring it up in court all of a sudden? What does that say?"
This means His Majesty is going to give us a warning.
His Majesty is telling us to refrain from petty tricks; he knows all about them.
When you feel like tidying up, you'll naturally tidy up.
As for having the Crown Prince recommend a candidate, this is simply a way of doing a favor for the Duke of Dingguo's family.
When the Crown Prince is chosen to ascend the throne in the future, I hope that the soldiers in the Weiyuan Army will support him out of consideration for the Duke of Dingguo.
However, human relationships are fickle, and as time goes by, who will remember the favors that Duke Dingguo did for him? Duke Anguo sneered.
The King of Qin was a little annoyed.
What abilities does the Crown Prince have? He's just lucky to have crawled out of the Empress's womb.
In terms of ability, in what way is he better than me?
"That Shen Huaichen is really something. He's been missing for so long, and yet people from his household still show up to cause trouble for us," the Prince of Qin said angrily.
Duke Anguo glared at him.
"Your Highness, the King of Qin, your words have brought disaster!"
Let me tell you, the Duke of Dingguo you can see is not scary, nor is the Duke of Dingguo who is dead!
The most terrifying thing is that the Duke of Dingguo can't be found!
Back then, he led an army of 30,000 to kill 100,000 elite Northern Hu troops and broke through the entire Northern Hu defense line.
What does it rely on? It's that elusive and unpredictable whereabouts.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have given up on my original plan.
"We were just one step away back then..." Duke Anguo said bitterly.
The King of Qin did not speak, but simply looked at the Duke of Anguo.
"Uncle, what do we do next?"
"Wait, wait for an opportunity. No matter what, it's been three years. If the Duke of Dingguo is still alive, there should be news by now."
Also, when you go to the palace, talk to your mother and the Empress Dowager.
Do not interfere in the affairs of the previous dynasty.
Furthermore, you are not allowed to use any tricks against the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, nor should you treat the Seventh Prince harshly.
Otherwise, those guys from the Shangguan family might just file a complaint against you," Duke Anguo reminded him.
The King of Qin agreed to them all.
Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in the north, in a small town bordering the Northern Hu.
A middle-aged man dressed in Hu clothing, with a blade of grass in his mouth and a satchel swinging in his hand, was idly watching the Northern Hu merchants coming and going in the market.
"Master! I'm back!" A man dressed in a gray Hu-style robe jumped to the middle-aged man's side in a few steps.
The man took the wine flask tossed to him by the middle-aged man, opened it, and drank several mouthfuls.
"Damn it, it gets cold at night in the north. It's already May, and it's still so chilly in the mornings and evenings," the man muttered after finishing his drink.
The middle-aged man smiled and continued watching the passing merchants.
"How's the inquiry going? Has anyone else come looking for us?"
"When shall we move to another place?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.
The man in gray seemed a little excited when this was mentioned.
"My lord, the people from the Changsheng Marquis's family have arrived, but none of our people have come with them."
I secretly followed for a while and overheard the servant of the Marquis of Changsheng muttering, "Our family doesn't plan to come out to look for you this year."
What else is there to say? As the lady said, the Duke, who has disappeared without a trace, is like a piece of jewelry in a dressing case.
If you don't look for it, it will appear on its own.
A middle-aged man still chewing grass roots...
Indeed, the man chewing grass roots was none other than the Duke of Dingguo, who had been missing for three years.
"Sir, you and Madam are truly of one mind!"
You just said that day that you didn't want Madam to come looking for us at all, so Madam stopped coming.
"You must have appeared to the lady in a dream!" the gray-clad man laughed.
Duke Shen Huaichen of Dingguo...
"Chen Zhong, come and touch my hand to see if it's hot."
Grandpa is still alive! He even appeared in my dream!
Damn it.
"Let's go see if there's anything good at the market. If we do some trading, we'll have enough for several months' worth of food!"
As Shen Huaichen spoke, he pulled his attendant Shen Zhong away.
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