Chapter 34
The atmosphere in the morning court that day was very depressing.
The officials spoke in a low voice when they reported, as if everyone had several major issues on their minds that were suffocating them.
In recent days, a lot of things have happened in Beijing.
A third-rank official was dismissed, a prince was demoted to a commoner, and many corrupt officials were raided overnight. Each incident was more shocking than the last, and the storytellers in teahouses and restaurants had no time to write their own scripts.
The Minister of Justice reported on the recent handling of corrupt officials: "... Among the above officials, those who have embezzled more than 10,000 taels have had their property confiscated. Those who have embezzled less than 300 taels have been ordered to make up the difference soon..."
Throughout history, there has never been a dynasty whose officials were not corrupt. Even if there were one or two honest and upright officials, there would not be thousands or tens of thousands of officials in the entire court who were like that.
Therefore, before Chu Huan thoroughly investigated all the other officials, many people had already voluntarily paid more money to fill the shortfall, hoping that this page could be turned quickly.
As long as they were not too greedy and did not harm others, the emperor was willing to turn a blind eye.
We can't just confiscate everything, right? There's more money in the treasury, but who's going to take care of it then?
Too harsh a punishment will only frighten people and lead them to do even more horrific things, so some leeway must be left.
For example: Everyone knows that killing someone will result in death, but if robbing even a pound of silver also results in death, then the criminal will definitely silence the witness while robbing.
As soon as the Minister of Justice finished speaking, officials began to plead for mercy because they were old acquaintances and shared the same views.
"Your Majesty, the family of Lord Yin, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, is truly impoverished..."
"Your Majesty, the Chief Clerk of the Imperial Household knows he has let his country down..."
They would either play the victim by talking about how poor someone's family was, or play the emotional card by saying that someone knew they were wrong and cried every day. Each one of them spoke so sincerely that it opened Chu Huan and the system's eyes.
It also gave Chu Huan a strong sense of déjà vu when she watched those variety show talent shows in her previous life, where the competition was supposed to be about talent, but ended up being miserable for no reason.
It's so boring.
Chu Huan chose to chat with the system: [Tong'er, is the emperor in a bad mood?]
The system took a look: [Yes.]
Chu Huan then started the conversation naturally: "I guess the Emperor is most troubled by three things right now."
System: [My guess is, the first thing should be how to deal with the treasonous Prince An, and the second is the case of Li He being wrongly accused, which we just learned about last night. Both of these cases disregard the court and the emperor, and he must be extremely angry.]
What is the third one?
Chu Hua: [The third one is of course the treasure from the previous dynasty.]
The system didn't understand: [After arresting so many corrupt officials, the national treasury has tens of millions in cash. Is he still thinking about those treasures?]
Chu Huan decided to teach this newly minted system a lesson: [He was previously obsessed with the treasures of the previous dynasty because both the national treasury and his private treasury were short of money. Now that the national treasury is rich, what about his private treasury?]
The system suddenly realized: [That's right, the emperor's personal funds can only be withdrawn from the private treasury. He is still a very poor emperor.]
Chu Hua: [Furthermore, if the treasure of the previous dynasty is left there, what if a prime minister from the previous dynasty plans to restore the previous dynasty? He won't feel at ease until such a large treasure is truly in his pocket.]
System: [Being an emperor is quite tiring.]
Chu Huan smiled but said nothing.
Some people are attracted by mountains, rivers, poetry, wine and carpentry but are forced to become emperors, while some people just like being emperors and like the dragon throne that is above millions of people and is lonely and lonely.
They have different ambitions, so there is no need to talk about whether the latter is tired or not, they just enjoy it.
Chu Hua: [Tong'er, get to work.]
The system immediately turns on the sharing function, and the subsequent conversation between one person can be heard by everyone within a radius of 50 meters.
[Sister Huan, are you going to continue investigating corrupt officials at the Ministry of Revenue? I don't think you can find any evidence of Li He here.]
emperor:?
Officials:?
Didn’t this girl say she wanted to ask her father for help?
The king and his ministers cast a dim gaze at Chu Ping in the queue: What's the matter? You don't want to help?
Chu Ping was almost in tears. Was this a question of whether he was willing to help or not? It was because he didn't have the authority to do so!
The Ministry of Justice has four departments, namely the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Comparison, and the Ministry of Gates. The head of each department is a Doctor of Justice. There are five Doctors of Justice in the entire Ministry of Justice - two of them are in the Ministry of Justice.
Chu Ping's department is the Simensi, which is responsible for restricting people from entering and leaving the palace, city gates, and checkpoints. They are also responsible for the household registration, travel permits and other documents that people need to pass through the palace gates, city gates, and checkpoints. Any items lost when entering and leaving the palace are also their responsibility.
As a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, he is neither conspicuous nor valuable.
If Li He's case really goes to the Ministry of Justice, it will go to the Ministry of Justice Department: the department in charge of laws and case reviews.
Before that, it is very likely that the Dali Temple will conduct the preliminary review.
Chu Huan also said: "Before going to court, my father gave me a detailed introduction to the four departments of the Ministry of Justice. If he were to take charge, he would be overstepping his authority."
The emperor looked up at the sky silently.
He did not forget that Chu Ping was a minor official, but because he had made too many exceptions in Chu Huan's matter, he did not care about this overstepping of his authority.
Ahem, this is not good, I need to change it.
None of the officials thought Chu Ping would actually do anything, but they didn't expect this guy to be so well-behaved and not get involved in anything that wasn't within his job scope.
He doesn't know how to adapt, and he's not very motivated, but fortunately he's well-behaved and doesn't easily get into trouble, nor does he easily cause trouble for Chu Huan.
System: [How do you check? ]
Chu Hua: [The whole story and all the details are already known, but we just lack a reasonable way to present it.]
System: [How about having Li Chen go to Shuntian Prefecture to file a complaint?]
The prefect of Shuntian Prefecture suddenly looked up and said, "Okay!"
Although it is not in line with the rules, it is a good way to cross the road.
Last night, the emperor and his ministers had already discussed how to deal with this matter. The deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard rushed to Yining County overnight to collect evidence and arrest people, trying his best to protect the honest county magistrate Li He who was about to be unjustly killed for Dasheng. The only thing missing was a clear way to avoid arousing Chu Huan's suspicion.
Chu Hua: [According to the laws of the Great Sheng Dynasty, cases must be appealed through the county, prefecture, state, prefecture, and finally the central government. This is called a cascade of appeals. Li Chen appealed from the county to Shuntian Prefecture, which was a cascade of appeals. Before he could even say a word, he was punished with forty strokes of the cane.]
Li Chen rushed all the way from Yining County, sleeping in the open, being chased, falling into a river, and enduring knife wounds, scrapes, and a cold. Now, he's relying solely on his anger to hold on. Do you think he can survive these forty blows?
System: [hiss——]
Emperor and officials: Hiss——
Last night they were busy watching how much unfair treatment the Li He family had suffered. Seeing that Li Chen was still alive and kicking, they thought that he was young and in good health. But from Chu Huan's tone, he didn't seem to be doing well.
Could it be that he had a fever in the middle of the night and something was wrong, and they haven’t received the news yet?
The Minister of Justice took two steps back and said to the Shuntian Prefecture Governor, who was also a third-rank official, "Be gentler?"
Punishments all require skill. Some look horrific on the outside, but in fact, there is no harm inside. Some are barely visible on the outside, but in fact, serious injuries are caused inside. All you need to do is find two experienced yamen runners to beat the person skillfully.
Shuntian Prefecture Governor naturally knew, but... "Does she know?"
Minister of Justice: “…”
These are the unspoken rules that only insiders know about, and it is unlikely that Chu Huan knows about them.
"Let her father talk to her."
The Assistant Minister of Justice wore a mask of pain: "Chu Ping may not know." After all, they are in different departments.
Minister of Justice: “…”
Shuntian Prefecture Governor: “…”
Once again, I hate Chu Ping for being a low-ranking official and not being ambitious!
If Chu Huan was the daughter of the Minister of Justice, the Vice Minister of Justice, or the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, why would she have so many worries?!
At the same time, the emperor was secretly sighing: If Chu Huan were my daughter, why would I need all this nonsense? Just chat face to face and get it done!
System: [Li He is in imminent danger, this matter cannot be delayed. How about Sister Huan, write a memorial to denounce him?]
emperor:"……"
Officials: "..."
This group of people are really more powerful than each other.
Chu Hua: [Only the Imperial Censor has the right to report upon hearing rumors. Yu Jiayan's prostitution scandal could be said to have happened in the capital. He happened to hear rumors while out and about, and the Imperial Guards found evidence, so he couldn't deny it.]
Yining County is thousands of miles away, so it's difficult for me to explain the source of this information. Furthermore, the evidence in Li Chen's hands alone isn't enough to completely bring down those people. The information you provided is clear, but without a source, it's unreliable.
The system replied immediately: [Either you find an imperial censor to report this, or you can say you heard it while doing business in Yining County.]
[It just so happens that chili peppers are in Yining County! While chili peppers are grown as ornamental plants in the south, they're already being eaten in Yining County. Just say you heard about it while sending someone out to do business.]
Chu Hua: [Let's do both. I'll try running into an Imperial Censor later.]
Censors: ???
Censors:!!!
There's such a pie-in-the-sky good thing? Miss Chu is really the noble person I've been waiting for!
The emperor and officials knew that Chu Huan possessed a system, something that was definitely not something that Da Sheng could do, but they could not record it.
Otherwise, future generations will look at it and wonder: "System? What system? Are the Emperor and his officials joking? This court, from top to bottom, looks a little off."
Therefore, they can rely on the "Eating Watermelon" system to collect intelligence, but they will not record the sources of the information one by one.
So far, the credit for investigating corruption and apprehending corrupt officials has basically fallen on the shoulders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Ministry of Revenue. The former can be said to have obtained information through "secret investigations" and the latter can be said to have obtained information through "auditing accounts." The sources of information are reasonable and legal.
These days, people from the two major departments followed Chu Huan to show their talents, and the credit they shared made people from other departments very jealous, and they wanted to get a piece of the pie.
The Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple will wait until this incident is over before transferring Chu Huan there so that they can also make some contributions based on the intelligence provided by the system.
Due to their duties, the Censorate had never dared to think that it would be their turn.
The censors were ready to work hard, and some had already closed their eyes and started to think about their plans.
People all say that the censors report whatever they hear, and they spread rumors and make reports on trivial matters. But supervising officials is the duty of the censors. They can't just take salaries and do nothing, right?
Big events don't happen often in the capital, so they have to start with small things, right? They have to prove that they haven't eaten in vain.
It's rare to have solid evidence. Let's investigate! Let's investigate him thoroughly!
Half an hour later, today's morning court session ended successfully.
The emperor came down from the platform, but did not rush back. Instead, he pulled his personal eunuch Chen Jiu to hide aside and watch the fun.
The other officials rubbed their legs and waists, looking a little tired after standing for a long time and wanted to take a break. No one was in a hurry to leave.
Only the censors of the Censorate, no matter whether they were old or young and strong, walked briskly and quickly reached the rank of fifth-rank officials.
Chu Huan stepped out and said, "My Lords, may I have a moment with you?"
The censors smiled happily: "Of course."
Huh? Why do a lot of people seem to be answering?
I turned around and saw that none of my colleagues from the Censorate had left, they were all there!
No one wants to miss out on this credit, and no one wants to give it to others for nothing. Okay, let’s just listen together!
The last person to ask for permission to speak was the Second Prince. Not long after, all the female members of his family, from the Second Prince's wife to the concubines' maids, went to work in the Ministry of Revenue. How could they be unwilling?
Chu Huan was slightly puzzled by the gentlemen's easygoing attitude, but she didn't say much. She just led them aside and mentioned the matter of Li He and Li Chen. The censors cooperated and showed angry expressions.
"Such a brat!"
“So rampant!”
"Court parasites!"
"They must be severely punished!"
With both parties willing to move forward, the matter was quickly settled.
Chu Huan said, "Li Chen was exposed to a cold wind last night and has a slight fever. He has already sought medical treatment. The relevant evidence is in Li Chen's hands. If you need it, I will send someone to deliver the witness and evidence."
The imperial censors were slightly stunned. Is Li Chen really sick?
If Li Chen were to file a complaint with the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, he would probably lose half his life after being beaten with forty sticks for appealing to a higher level.
Fortunately, fortunately.
"No rush," said a gray-haired old censor. "He is the only witness in this case right now. He should prioritize his own protection. I can go there in person and question him face to face."
Chu Huan: "Thank you all for your hard work."
"It's not hard, not hard at all." The imperial censors smiled more amiably than each other.
That smile made the officials, who would normally be criticized for their disheveled appearance if their sleeves were stained with oil, feel indignant: "Why don't you continue to be so aloof! Why don't you stop smiling like Maitreya Buddha!"
The censors seemed to know what they were complaining about. They all turned around, their eyes glaring: What's up? Do you want to be reported to the police a hundred times?
All the officials looked up at the sky or at the ground: Well, the weather is nice today.
The system laughed heartily in the private chat channel: [They are scared, they are scared, hahaha! ]
The civil officials valued their reputation as much as their lives, so it would have been fine if they had just been cowardly, but even those burly military generals had been cowardly.
It's really hilarious!
Chu Huan also smiled: [No matter what the process is, as long as the result is smooth.]
[I’m in a good mood today, so I’m sharing this and want to share it with everyone.]
System: [Alright!]
After the sharing function was turned on, everyone repeated what they had just said, and the officials who were leaving at a normal speed slowed down again.
Some people bent down to dust off their boots, while others slowed down to keep pace with Chu Huan.
What's the rush? Eat some melon first.
System: [Whose melon does Sister Huan want to eat?]
Chu Huan: [The old censor who just spoke to me.]
System: [It's Left Censor-in-Chief Wang You, all right.]
Left Censor-in-Chief: ???
The old man staggered and almost fell, his face full of shock and confusion.
No, if someone is trying to trick you and go against you, you can just embarrass him and ruin his life. But I’ve already helped you, why do you have to go through this again?
The civil officials stared and clenched their fists excitedly, the military generals pulled their beards excitedly, and the emperor almost ran out with joy.
It’s actually Wang You’s melon!
Quick, let me hear what dirty secrets this old censor who always bangs his head against the pillar has!
Hehehehe…the king and his ministers had the same expression of gloating on their faces.
The Left Censor-in-Chief was in a very bad mood. He had been honest and upright all his life and had never done anything bad. What could be the cause of this?
Soon, the system found a suitable melon: [Hahaha, Lord Wang is so funny! ]
Chu Hua: [What's wrong?]
The emperor and his officials were so anxious: How funny is this? Tell me quickly!
System: [Lord Wang has no other hobbies, nor does he dare to have any. As a censor, he often reports on others and is afraid of being reported. After much deliberation, he chose a particularly simple hobby: elegant fishing.]
Everyone: ???
Just fishing, what is elegant fishing?
System: [He didn't dare actually catch the fish, fearing someone might release valuable fish into the river he was fishing in, using cunning tactics to bribe him and ruin his reputation. Being a little vigilant and protective is good, but this... feels a bit like paranoia.]
He was an imperial censor, and wanted to create a better reputation for himself, so he imitated Jiang Taigong's fishing method, using a straight hook without bait, and playing the game of "whoever wants to take the bait will take it."
Chu Huan had a strong premonition after hearing this opening: [Could he really have caught a fish?]
System: [I've been fishing for over forty years with no luck, but I finally caught something not long ago. Lord Wang was so surprised that he called his friends over and pulled up the rod. It turned out to be a water snake, hahahaha...]
Chu Huan: [Hahahaha…]
The emperor and all the officials: Those who are willing to take the bait are like water snakes, hahahahaha!
The Left Censor-in-Chief sneered, "What's wrong with the water snake? Didn't we catch it anyway? You guys can't catch it!"
"What's the most interesting thing?" the system said with a smile. "This is the only time I've caught something in over forty years. Even though it was a water snake, Lord Wang took it home as a souvenir."
When Madam Wang found out, she laughed so hard her stomach hurt. This also made Master Wang so upset that he didn't dare enter Madam Wang's room for several days.
The emperor and all the officials sighed inwardly: If something like this happened to them, they wouldn't dare to do it either.
Left Censor-in-Chief: “…”
System: [Madam Wang thought this wasn't going to work, so she ordered the water snake to be stewed. Who knew the cook would find several cherry-sized pearls from the snake's belly?]
Madam Wang was frightened. Lord Wang almost fainted after seeing this, and kept shouting: "Someone is trying to harm me!"
Huh? Everyone stopped laughing and felt strange: How could there be a pearl in the belly of a water snake?
This was also what the Left Censor-in-Chief thought at the time, so he intuitively felt that this matter was not simple.
Chu Hua: [Does Lord Wang fish regularly in a certain river?]
System: [No. Madam Wang said, "We're using straight hooks and no bait. How can we harm you?" Lord Wang said, "I'm not harming anyone, so how can I guess the intentions of someone who harms me?" After fishing for a while, we moved to another location.]
Chu Hua: [They probably fed the pearl to a water snake and released it into the river. That's a very low probability. Aren't there several more water snakes in the river that have swallowed the pearl? Is it too late for me to retrieve them now?]
System: [Yes, there are a lot.]
emperor:! ! !
"Go get it! Hurry!"
No matter who the Dongzhu belongs to, if you feed it to the water snake, it’s the same as not wanting it. If he finds it, it’s his!
Lin You was helpless: "...I obey your order."
In addition to watching over the Third Prince, he actually had to go down to the river to catch water snakes. This commander's job must be really tiring.
Chu Hua: [What about the water snake and Dongzhu?]
The Left Censor-in-Chief brushed his sleeves disdainfully. Of course, that kind of scourge was thrown away. He would not leave it at home and wait for people to search for it!
System: [This is the funniest part. Lord Wang didn't dare keep it and had it processed quickly. The chef thought the water snake was a good thing and it would be a waste not to eat it, so he ate it.]
[As for the Dongzhu...he had originally intended to take it home, but he accidentally dropped it into the toilet while using it. It's a shame, but it's been dealt with.]
The disdainful expression of the Left Censor-in-Chief froze. No matter how much he regarded money as dirt, he wouldn't really throw it into the dirt, right?
Others: “…”
Lin You looked horrified: "Your Majesty, there's no need to fish it out now, right?"
The emperor's face turned pale and he gritted his teeth: "No! Not necessary!" I am not so short of money!
Chu Hua: [So who is trying to frame Lord Wang?]
The Left Censor-in-Chief pricked up his ears. He also wanted to know which old bastard went to such great lengths to harm him!
System: [No one deliberately framed Lord Wang. Someone was using a water snake to steal the Eastern Pearl, and Lord Wang accidentally caught it while fishing.]
Chu Hua: ???
Others: ???
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
