The case of Consort De has been closed. The maid confessed that it was Consort De who did it all, and that the medicine in the Imperial Hospital was also added by a bribed eunuch.
In short, the case seems to have many suspicious points, but it is all acceptable on the surface.
Yuwen Wuji was clearly dissatisfied with this answer, but unable to find fault with King Xuan, he could only put it aside for the time being. This was because he had recently been arguing with his court officials.
Memorials opposing the canal's construction piled up on his desk like snowflakes, infuriating him.
He had all the memorials compiled and complained to King Xuan, "Look at these memorials, who wrote them all!"
King Xuan was forced to look at the memorials and timidly said, "These are all memorials from aristocratic families."
"Yes! What are they up to! They oppose everything I want to do. I'll just hand over the throne to them!"
King Xuan lowered his head and dared not speak.
"Once this canal is completed, I will be remembered in history. This canal will also benefit the people and open a new chapter for future generations. Why do they obstruct it at every turn!"
King Xuan said calmly, "Brother, think about it. Once we start digging, won't the corvée labor be used to offset taxes? If taxes are offset, won't there be no money to send up from below? If there's no money to send up..."
Before King Xuan could finish speaking, Yuwen Wuji's memorial had already landed at his feet.
No one knew better than him that he had raised these parasites himself.
Now they're actually turning against their master!
"Bring Ye Cang into the palace!"
Ye Cang has had a very bad time these past few days. His silver at the money shop has vanished into thin air, and the people at the money shop claim that he personally went to retrieve it with the official seal.
But his seal was always on him, and he had no recollection of going to collect the money!
He reasonably suspected that the people from the money shop had conspired to steal his money!
Therefore, he has been looking for someone to help him deal with the money lenders these past few days. The person who wants to take advantage of him hasn't been born yet!
He was waiting for news at the yamen when he was unexpectedly summoned to the palace, which startled him.
"Keep an eye on them and make them cough up this silver!" Ye Cang said fiercely.
He used his connections to have people close down all of the Zhao family's shops in the capital city and detain the head of the family, claiming that the fabrics they used contained harmful ingredients.
He wouldn't release the people until they handed over their silver!
Ye Cang grew increasingly angry as he followed the palace staff into the palace. Unexpectedly, the emperor ordered him to lead a search party to raid the homes of several corrupt officials.
Ye Cang's eyes darted around quickly. He had just lost a huge sum of money, and this job was practically a gift of money to him.
Just as he was thinking his good mood, he heard Yuwen Wuji say, "I will have someone from the Censorate accompany you, so that those aristocratic families won't band together to submit memorials."
Ye Cang: "......"
Well, I ended up doing all the dirty and hard work myself, and I didn't get any of the good stuff.
It's a shame the Emperor was able to marry Lu Yinghong; they're practically family. How could he possibly have any expectations of someone he shared a bed with?
Ye Cang cursed the Zhao family in his heart, determined to make this unscrupulous merchant return the money.
While Ye Cang led his men to ransack the house, Liu Jiaci immediately took account books and an abacus to check the inventory, giving him no chance to hide anything.
As Ye Cang watched him move those boxes of gold and silver jewelry into the national treasury, a sense of desolation, as if he himself had been the one being argued with, welled up within him.
After registering the stolen goods, Liu Jiaci sent a message to Xie Liwei. Having slaughtered a few fat sheep, the Ministry of Revenue now had some surplus grain to do other things.
That night, he went through a secret passage to the Prince of Xiaoyao's residence and had a late-night talk with Xie Liwei by candlelight. They needed to calculate all the costs of digging the canal, down to the smallest detail.
Liu Jiaci had household registrations in several prefectures, so he had to carefully calculate how many people to transfer to each household and how much money to pay each household for labor.
This way, we won't provoke the anger of the people after undertaking large-scale construction projects.
"So, Your Highness intends to let Ye Cang off so easily?" Liu Jiaci couldn't help but wonder during the rest. Xie Liwei wasn't the kind of person to be soft-hearted, so why did he only take Ye Cang's money and not harm him?
After writing down a number, Xie Liwei chuckled and said, "He lost such a large sum of money, so naturally he'll go after the Zhao family to settle accounts. The Zhao family certainly won't give him this money for nothing; it'll just be a dogfight between the two sides."
Liu Jiaci was slightly taken aback, thinking to herself, "You really are a master strategist."
After raiding several households, an imperial censor from the Censorate actually submitted a memorial impeaching Ye Cang for serving as an official for over a decade, selling official positions, forming cliques for personal gain, disregarding the law, and exploiting the people.
Those in the court who were unaware of the situation thought they had misheard.
Ye Cang is stingy, his clothes are always tattered, and he always makes excuses when you ask him for anything. He puts on a righteous and incorruptible appearance, but is he selling official positions?
When you ask him to do something, even after you've given him money, he still makes excuses, saying it's inappropriate and doesn't conform to the rules.
A person like him, who seems to have the word "old-fashioned" etched on his forehead, how could he possibly form cliques and engage in corrupt practices?
The censor calmly submitted the evidence, saying, "Zhao's Cloth Shop is a well-established business in the capital, but it inexplicably closed down the other day. They said the cloth it sold contained harmful substances. The people from the Jingzhao Prefecture arrested the Zhao family's leaders and forced the women and children to raise a large sum of money, saying it was to pay tribute to Lord Ye!"
The censor's words were full of sarcasm, which made Ye Cang a little uneasy.
However, he secretly cheered himself up, thinking that he hadn't done anything wrong and that he was the one who suffered the most, so why couldn't he complain?
"Impossible! Everyone knows Lord Ye's character; he wouldn't do something like that!"
"Yes, Your Excellency, could it be that you have been manipulated by treacherous people? We cannot let an innocent person be wronged!"
Those who knew the truth secretly grumbled to themselves, thinking that with Ye Cang's greed, sending him to jail would be too lenient! They were happy to see him suffer, but they couldn't let him fall from grace, since they were all in the same boat, and it wouldn't be good if he exposed them.
Thinking this way, the members of several prominent families had no choice but to step forward and plead for Ye Cang.
"Everyone has witnessed Lord Ye's character. The undergarment he wears under his court robes was made for him by his wife three years ago! How could such a frugal and honest official possibly need filial piety? Could it be that the censor has been manipulated?"
The censor straightened his sleeves, turned around unhurriedly to look at the official who had spoken, and sneered, "How does Lord Niu know that Lord Ye is wearing an undergarment made three years ago? Did Lord Ye take it off and show it to you?"
These words were quite harsh, but they also implied that the two had a good relationship, and that it was only right for the person surnamed Niu to speak up for the person surnamed Ye.
Yuwen Wuji's sharp eyes swept over the officials below the stage; he knew Ye Cang.
This person is capable, but timid. He's definitely greedy, but not too much.
"Then tell me, how much tribute does Lord Ye require?"
"Exactly! Don't bring up something as trivial as twenty taels of silver! Isn't that shameful?"
The censor sneered and slowly uttered a number: "Forty-eight million taels of silver!"
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