Chapter 6
A new day starts with eating melon happily.
Chu Huan finished laughing and reminded him, "Keep subscribing to the news about the Minister of Revenue. There will definitely be a sequel."
System: [I think so too!]
The Minister of Revenue: “…” Really, please change another sheep!
The emperor and his officials began discussing state affairs today with a faint smile.
In light of the unexpected downfall of the Minister of Revenue, they discovered a new use for Chu Huan and the system: to find corrupt officials.
Knowing that the system's digging was so accurate and effective, why bother searching for other ways to replenish the treasury? Wouldn't it be easier to just arrest a few more corrupt officials? That would be much quicker and easier than digging for treasures from the previous dynasty.
Lin You, commander of the Imperial Guard, presented evidence of corruption against the Minister of Revenue in court. "Former Minister Yuan Wei, during his five years in office, exploited his position to extort local officials, embezzling a total of five million taels of silver over three years. Only less than two million taels of stolen money has been seized from his home; the remaining three million taels are missing."
The system was shocked: [Five million? That's too greedy!]
Emperor and officials: Here they come! With the system, we can definitely find out where the three million taels went!
Chu Huan said in a flat tone, "A Qing prefecture received 100,000 silver coins. A fourth-rank prefect in charge of a prefecture's government could embezzle that much in three years. The Minister of Revenue is a third-rank official, in charge of the entire Dasheng finances. Household registration, taxation, and military expenditures all passed through his control. Let alone five million, even 50 million wouldn't be surprising."
The emperor and all the officials were silent. The Jinyiwei commander paused for a moment as he enumerated the various crimes. He then continued, "Yuan Wei has confessed to his crimes of extortion and corruption..."
The system couldn't understand: [This is about managing the country's finances. Only someone the emperor trusts can hold such an important position. Before committing extortion and corruption, didn't he consider what would happen to him if this was discovered?]
This is also what the emperor and his officials cannot understand.
They knew Yuan Wei's character. Why did he need so much money that he was willing to take such a risk?
Chu Huan sensed something was amiss: [System, take a look. There might be something fishy going on here.]
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, and Chen Jiu hurriedly said, "Bring Yuan Wei."
At a command, Yuan Wei, who was waiting in the side hall, was brought to the court. He was wearing a white prison uniform, his eyes were red, and his hair was messy.
A day ago, he was the third-rank Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in the Great Sheng Dynasty, deeply trusted by the emperor, chatting and laughing with the first- and second-rank officials, and being flattered by his colleagues. A day later, he became a prisoner kneeling in front of all his colleagues. Even a eunuch could look down on him and despise him. The difference in their status was huge.
Yuan Wei didn't know what he had experienced at the Jinyiwei, and he felt very depressed.
The emperor sat on the high platform and asked in a cold voice, "Yuan Wei, I gave you the position of Minister of Revenue because I had high hopes for you. Why did you betray my trust?"
Yuan Wei raised his hands high and knelt on the ground: "I, a sinner, have betrayed the emperor's trust due to a single thought. I deserve death. This matter is caused by me. I beg the emperor to be magnanimous and spare my innocent family."
After all, as a colleague who had served in the court for so many years, Yuan Wei was determined to die and pleaded only for his family, which moved many officials.
The emperor thought of Yuan Wei's achievements over the years and felt relieved. This incident did not bring disaster to his family.
"I approve..."
As soon as the word "accurate" came out of his mouth, Yuan Wei's breath just relaxed a little when the system suddenly appeared: [Sister Huan, I'm back with a big melon!]
The emperor's attention was immediately diverted. What big news was this?
All the officials had a bad premonition, and the way they looked at Yuan Wei gradually became strange. It seemed that the system was trying to dig up Yuan Wei's secrets?
Yuan Wei's eyes widened. He was already in this state, and the system still refused to let him go?
Chu Hua: [Let me guess.]
System: [Okay.]
Chu Hua: [The Great Sheng Dynasty explicitly stipulated that accepting bribes, soliciting bribes, or embezzling more than 200 taels of silver was punishable by death. While the law may seem harsh, the emperors of the Great Sheng Dynasty paid officials salaries that were half as high as those of the previous dynasty, and even allowed some officials struggling financially to borrow from the treasury. A minister of the Ministry of Revenue, frugal enough to wear his underwear inside out and not even change it until it had a hole in it, was a rare sight.]
The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a man in his fifties, almost burst into tears in court.
Please, please forget me! Can't I just wear nice underwear from now on? Can't I just be less frugal from now on?
Chu Hua: [Yuan Wei dared to extort and embezzle five million taels. It makes no sense for him to be so cooperative now that he's been discovered, desperately seeking death. Unless there's something more serious behind this than the crime of embezzlement.]
Yuan Wei's pupils suddenly dilated, and his kneeling body on the ground began to tremble.
The emperor and all the officials came to their senses. They thought Yuan Wei was cooperating in order to protect his innocent family members, but it turned out that he did so in order to close the case as quickly as possible and cover up other crimes.
But, what crime is more terrible than the death penalty?
No, no way?
Yuan Wei is not that bold, right?
The Minister of Works whispered to the Minister of Justice next door, "What could it be?"
The Minister of Justice said nothing and just cut his neck several times.
Everyone knows it well: one strike is enough for the death penalty, and several strikes mean that more than one person will die.
What is more terrifying than the death penalty is the execution of an entire family and the punishment of nine generations of the clan. This is probably the crime that Yuan Wei wants to hide.
Chu Huan also guessed this: [He's not going to rebel, is he?]
Just as the system was about to answer, Yuan Wei said in a shocking voice, "I dare not!"
Chu Huan suddenly looked up, and the system also paid attention to her. What was there to be afraid of?
The emperor stared at Yuan Wei as if he wanted to eat him.
Yuan Wei knew that the emperor wanted to know more secrets and would never allow anyone to expose the truth that they could hear the conversation between Yi Yitong.
He kowtowed and hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "Your Majesty, I beg you to spare my family!"
The emperor looked at him with a meaningful look, "That depends on whether you still have any deceptions."
"Lin You."
The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards said: "I am here."
Emperor: "What else did you find out?"
The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard did have some clues, but the time was too short and he could not torture the person before the charges were confirmed, so he gained very little.
But in this situation, he can't say that he didn't find anything, right?
Recalling Chu Huan's speculation, Lin You blindly replied, "Your Majesty, three years ago, Yuan Wei's legitimate daughter entered the Third Prince's residence less than a month after her coming-of-age ceremony. She gave birth to a daughter prematurely, and is now five months pregnant. Yuan Wei's extortion and corruption began three years ago, before his daughter married into the Third Prince's residence."
Lin You only mentioned the clues found by the Jinyiwei, and did not explain the necessary connection between them, but who among the people present did not have a keen mind? As soon as they heard it, they knew: So this is it.
The emperor sneered: "Imperial Physician, go and see if she is pregnant with a boy or a girl."
"I obey your order." The Imperial Hospital envoy left in a hurry.
At present, the suspicion that the Third Prince is the remnant of the previous dynasty has not been clarified. If Yuan Wei really has such an idea, it means that he is uniting with the remnants of the previous dynasty, intending to rebel, and restore the previous dynasty. Hiss - he is really courting death.
The atmosphere in the court seemed to be stagnant. No one dared to speak at this moment for fear of angering the emperor.
At this moment, a childish voice of "Wow" was heard.
System: [Sister Huan, can you tell if a child is a boy or a girl just by taking their pulse? Isn't this a humanoid ultrasound machine?]
Chu Hua: [It's said that experienced doctors can tell the gender of a baby from the pulse, but there's a chance they can be wrong; it's not as accurate as an ultrasound machine. Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?]
System: [It's a boy.]
The emperor and all officials: Indeed!
At that moment, the way they looked at Yuan Wei was almost as if they were looking at a dead person.
Yuan Wei's face was ashen and his whole body was hunched over.
The system shared its big news with Chu Huan: [Three years ago, Yuan Wei hooked up with the Third Prince, intending to help him ascend the throne, both by serving as his successor and becoming the emperor's father-in-law. The Third Prince promised him that his daughter would be empress and her son would be crown prince. This was how Yuan Wei took the risk to help him amass wealth.]
Chu Huan was incredulous: "The Emperor is over forty years old, in the prime of his life. He hasn't even had enough of being an emperor yet. He has several adult princes, but he hasn't appointed a crown prince. It's so obvious. Is the Third Prince so bold as to talk about appointing a queen and a crown prince?"
Officials: That’s right!
If the situation on the scene hadn't prevented them, they would have applauded Chu Huan. She was absolutely right! It really hit the nail on the head!
The emperor didn't understand either. "Yuan Wei, my eldest prince guards the borders, slaying the Northern Di and making them afraid to invade. My second prince is on a diplomatic mission to the Southern Barbarians, annexing them as a vassal state of Dasheng. My third prince has no real job, no military power, no achievements, and no mother clan. He's just a complete brat. What on earth do you see in him?"
Chu Huan couldn't help but tease: [I like his big butt and think he can have a son.]
In an instant, the whole court fell silent.
"Puchi——" An official couldn't help laughing out loud, and then light laughter rang out one after another in various places in the court.
The emperor looked at the second prince. From this angle he could only see the front and couldn't see whether his son's butt was big or not.
Tsk, what a pity.
The second prince stood in the front row with a blank expression.
The emperor's gaze in front was very penetrating, and the officials behind him were secretly looking at his butt. They all wanted to know if his butt was not as big as the third prince's, otherwise why had he only given birth to daughters in the past few years?
He missed his elder brother a little. If his elder brother were here, both of them would have their butts stared at today.
It's better to be embarrassed by two people than by one. At least you have company.
Yuan Wei's face was full of bitterness and he found it difficult to speak.
The system sighed and answered for him: [Yuan Wei actually felt a bit trapped. He caught the Third Prince and his daughter in bed, and now that they already have a child, what else can he do? He has no choice but to marry his daughter off.]
Chu Huan: [That's true. The Great Sheng Dynasty didn't place much emphasis on chastity, and while widows were encouraged to remarry, that didn't mean they could lose their virginity before marriage. If this were to become public, it would be a scandal for the Third Prince, and for Yuan Wei's daughter, her reputation would be ruined, and it would also affect the reputations of the other girls in the Yuan family. There's no other solution except to quickly marry my daughter off and disguise the birth as premature.]
System: [Can't I just take the child away?]
Chu Huan: [You know the Third Prince's identity now, but Yuan Wei didn't know it back then. His daughter was carrying the Emperor's grandson, so how could he dare to do anything? Furthermore, he probably couldn't resist the temptation of being the Third Prince's father-in-law and the future Emperor's father-in-law, and he fell into the trap once he got greedy.]
System: [Sister Huan, you're amazing! You knew before I even told you that this was a trap set by the Third Prince for Yuan Wei.]
Yuan Wei felt even more bitter, and he only came to his senses later.
Now it seems that he can't see things as clearly as a girl in the boudoir. Perhaps this is the case that those who are involved are often confused, while those who are not involved can see things more clearly?
Chu Huan: [Didn't the Emperor just say this? The Third Prince has none of the official positions, military power, achievements, or maternal lineage. How did he ascend the throne, surpassing the two previous princes? The Emperor is in his prime. Even if he kills the First and Second Princes, there will be other princes born later. So he needs to accumulate his own strength.]
Whether it's usurping the throne or plotting a rebellion, money and people are the minimum requirements. The Minister of Revenue is in charge of the country's finances, and he also happens to have a daughter. A girl of this age is in the early stages of love and is very curious about love and sex. If she sees a handsome man, especially a prince, who speaks softly and attentively to her, says nice things, holds her hand, and kisses her, and the atmosphere becomes ambiguous, wouldn't she be deceived?
The men present: "..."
There was one thing they desperately wanted to know: How did Chu Ping raise his daughter? How did he raise such a outspoken, uninhibited daughter?
Well, Chu Huan thought she was just whispering to the system, not knowing that everyone heard it.
Chu Ping sighed and covered his face. Can his daughter still get married?
System: [Sister Huan, you're amazing! The truth is pretty much as you guessed, except the Third Prince is a sea king. His fishing pond includes not only the Minister of Revenue's daughter, but also the daughters of several civil officials and military commanders. He's hooked up with some, and has already slept with others. He's just waiting for the girls to get pregnant, then finds the right moment for the father to discover, and then takes them home to marry and negotiate terms.]
Chu Huan was silent.
Many civil and military officials present were unable to sit still. Could it be that their daughters had been deceived?
Every one of the censors had a dark face. If it wasn't the inappropriate time to speak out, they would have criticized the Third Prince to pieces!
Beast! Evil creature!
Chu Hua: [System, my half-sister Chu Shu wasn't deceived, right?]
Chu Ping felt a lump in his chest. No way?
He is a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice, perhaps he is also in the third prince's fish pond?
System: [It's not on the fish pond list. Let me check.]
It took the system a while to figure out who was involved with Chu Huan's sister: [Oh, the Third Prince thinks your father has only been a fifth-rank official for so many years and has no future, so he looks down on your father.]
Chu Huan breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: [Having a low-ranking official has this benefit, not bad.]
Chu Ping, who Guan Xiao didn't like: "..."
Yuan Wei, who was favored by a high-ranking official: "..."
Other high-ranking officials: "..."
Well, I feel complicated.
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