Seeing this, Zhao Ji smiled and asked his men to carry the confiscated boxes down, and called Wang Zhengrong, who was responsible for compiling the booklet of confiscated records, to come over.

Wang Zhengrong was just a small pamphleteer, and it was his first time to meet the emperor. He was a little nervous for a moment, but he remained calm when he saw Zhao Ji standing beside him.

"Wang Zhengrong, you always count and record the confiscated items, so you must be good at mental arithmetic. I specially asked the emperor for paper and pen. Today, you should record the items and silver donated by the ministers in the book!"

Zhao Ji deliberately emphasized the words "confiscation of property". The Minister of Revenue was frightened and immediately shouted, "I will donate another thousand kilograms of grain!"

When Zhao Ji saw the Minister of Revenue like this, he laughed out loud without paying attention to the Prime Minister's gloomy face, and praised him in a sarcastic tone: "The Minister of Revenue is really a loyal minister who cares about the country and the people!"

The emperor did not want to see the Minister of Revenue in such an embarrassing state, but to be honest, having this frightened Minister of Revenue standing in the palace made the other ministers behave themselves.

"I am willing to donate five thousand taels of gold and one thousand taels of grain." Feeling the gazes of Zhao Ji and the emperor, the prime minister said reluctantly but still pretended to be generous.

Wang Zhengrong's hands were shaking a little when he started recording, but he soon calmed down. It must be said that these ministers were really rich.

This morning court session was extremely long. When it was adjourned, except for Emperor Zhao Ji who was very satisfied, the other ministers basically came out with pale faces.

After the court officials left, Zhao Ji was summoned privately by the emperor again.

"Lord Zhao's method is indeed useful. He has raised so much silver. It seems that my subjects are very rich!" The emperor said meaningfully.

Zhao Ji did not respond, but smiled along with the emperor.

"My dear minister, you have done a great job. I'm afraid you will have to worry about how to safely deliver this money to Hua'an County."

When Zhao Ji heard the emperor's words, he immediately nodded: "I have no choice but to do this!"

However, at this moment, the emperor suddenly asked: "Are you sure that Zhong Lingyun's family only copied so many things?"

Zhao Ji's mind was working quickly, and he immediately said, "To be honest, the emperor searched our house from morning till night that day, and we brothers had basically nothing to eat or drink. You also know that I have just been promoted from a small eunuch to the seal holder, and I haven't received this month's salary yet, so I took a little bit."

Having said this, Zhao Ji raised his head and glanced at the emperor. The emperor's expression was normal and he could not tell anything.

Zhao Ji continued his performance: "I deserve death, so I took 1,000 taels. I gave 200 taels to my brothers as rewards, 500 taels as donations, and I hid 300 taels for myself. I feel uneasy, so I will hand it over now!"

However, before Zhao Ji could finish his words, he was helped up by the emperor. At this time, Zhao Ji heard the emperor's inner voice:

[This guy is really honest. He actually reported everything clearly. But it’s no wonder. It’s probably his first time doing this. I guess he’s different from those old sly guys! ]

[I feel at ease with such a person. Sure enough, he still has some weaknesses. Officials are bound to be greedy for money. Not bad! ]

Zhao Ji probably understood the emperor's thoughts, and he was not panicked at all. However, on the surface he still pretended to be like, "I have embezzled money, but the emperor has not blamed me. I really met a wise ruler."

As expected, the emperor enjoyed it very much.

"My dear minister, you have made great contributions in fundraising just now in the court. I will not punish you for this matter. You should handle other matters well and make me feel at ease!"

The emperor's tone was very relaxed, and it was obvious that he just wanted to control Zhao Ji and show off his imperial skills.

Zhao Ji also understood, so he gave the response that the emperor wanted.

The emperor seemed to think that Zhao Ji took too little, and coupled with what happened in the morning court, he said: "I can't reward you with a big fanfare for what happened this morning. I have seen your contributions. How about this, if you have any interest in the things confiscated this time, just take them. I will reward you with 8 boxes."

Zhao Ji didn't expect such a pleasant surprise. Only a fool would not want such a thing!

So while Zhao Ji was thanking the emperor for his grace, he was thinking about asking Wang Zhengrong, a professional in property seizure, to choose for him.

I guess you can definitely pick the most expensive and practical one!

That night, the lights in the Prime Minister's Mansion were on, and many people were destined to be unable to sleep.

The Prime Minister's staff also knew about what happened in this morning's court. Although each of them had different opinions, they basically all knew that this matter must have been deliberately arranged by the Emperor.

"It seems that the emperor's health is really getting better, otherwise he wouldn't do this!"

An aide shook his head with some regret.

Almost everyone present was the prime minister's confidant, and most of them knew the prime minister's ambitions.

Today’s events also made the Prime Minister and his faction fully aware that the situation in the capital had undergone a major reversal.

"This new chief is really an important figure. If we don't get rid of him now, it will be very troublesome in the future!" An aide said this and looked at the prime minister, probably wanting to arrange an unexpected assassination.

Hearing this, the prime minister's face became even uglier. Didn't he know that the best way was to kill Zhao Ji?

But who made Zhao Ji hold the Third Prince's power in his hands?

"The assassination is too deliberate, so let's not arrange it for now!"

The staff wanted to persuade him again, but it was obvious that the prime minister no longer wanted to listen.

"I think this is an opportunity!" said an ugly-looking aide hiding in the dark.

The prime minister respected this ugly aide very much.

"You say."

The ugly aide fanned himself and said, "First of all, the emperor must be dissatisfied with what has been achieved. If that's the case, isn't this a good opportunity for you, the prime minister, to win over these people?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the prime minister's eyes lit up.

"Please tell me in detail, sir!"

This night, the Prime Minister’s Mansion is destined to be a sleepless night!

However, Zhao Ji was not idle either. He was busy selecting eight boxes of rewards with Wang Zhengrong in the warehouse!

I guess the emperor didn’t look at it carefully, because there were a lot of good things in it, and Wang Zhengrong saw them at a glance.

After a night, Zhao Ji saw eight large boxes of gold, silver and jewelry and was very satisfied.

"Let's send it to No. 32 Fulu Lane!"

Zhao Ji ordered.

After what happened in the morning, Wang Zhengrong's admiration for Zhao Ji was like a surging waterfall, and he was completely convinced!

Sometimes Wang Zhengrong thought that Zhao Ji was truly the most honest official in the dynasty!

However, there are two things that are giving Zhao Ji a headache now. One is the disappearance of the disaster relief funds, and the other is naturally how to safely deliver the silver to Hua'an County!

There are too many things involved in these two matters, so I dare not act rashly.