With the arrival of Kangxi's secret edict, Yinzhen and Yinzhen were all busy. Erlu and Bayan led their men to start arresting people, and interrogations were already underway day and night in the courtyard near the backyard.
Qingyan sat in the accounting room with a blank expression, looking down at the stewards kneeling on the ground, all of whom were kowtowing and begging for mercy.
She glanced at the investigation in her hand. Not only had Kangxi written down the list, but he had also written down on the back how much silver each person had embezzled. Qingyan was shocked when she saw the amount of silver.
The two stewards had only been in office for four months, yet they managed to embezzle approximately one million taels of silver.
"Zhang Desheng, have the people from the Criminal Justice Department arrived?" Yin specially brought people from the Criminal Justice Department from the capital, hoping to manage the naval port well.
"Master, they've arrived!" Zhang Desheng was also brought along, always ready to accompany Qingyan on his errands.
If it were an execution, it wouldn't be appropriate for Sulan and Suzhu to keep watch. Bayan would have to obey Yin's orders at any time and would occasionally be transferred out.
"Drag the two stewards out and let everyone who isn't on duty come and watch the execution. This is the consequence of greed!" Qingyan was even calmer than before.
At first, Qingyan disliked punishing servants, partly because he couldn't bring himself to do it, and partly because the people in the Criminal Division were too ruthless.
Reality often proved her wrong; if the servants hadn't been punished, those people might have given her a taste of her power.
The two stewards were gagged and tried to beg for mercy, but no sound came out. They could only look up and plead with Qingyan.
Qingyan held up her teacup, used it to shield herself from the tea leaves, and took a sip of hot tea.
The weather was still a bit chilly, and the stewards kneeling inside the main hall were all sweating profusely.
"Is it still this hot?" Qingyan said with a cold laugh.
"Fourth Princess Consort, the two stewards have certainly worked hard, if not diligently. For the past four months, they have been conscientious and dedicated to their duties." Inside the main hall, a steward in his thirties couldn't help but plead for mercy on behalf of the two.
Qingyan looked at the man and realized that he was in charge of purchasing vegetables at the military port. He must have embezzled quite a bit of it.
"Look at the ledger. After the New Year, the price of vegetables has increased significantly, even more so than during the holiday?" Qingyan looked at the man.
As Liu Hai listened to Qing Yan's question, his heart began to pound. Before the Lunar New Year, neither Yingenjueluo nor Qing Yan had much experience managing these servants. They had both begun to have ambitions, and the various departments had begun to nibble away at the silver.
When Yin and his brother returned, they brought back a lot of silver notes from the Ministry of Revenue. After withdrawing the silver from the silver shop, they placed it directly in the accounting office.
Today, Qingyan arranged for someone to go to the accounting office to count the silver, but so far, no definite answer has been given regarding the illegitimate son.
"Yes, the price of these vegetables hasn't dropped at all after the Lunar New Year!" Liu Hai said with a straight face, though he was worried.
In Liu Hai's view, Qing Yan would never personally go out to purchase things, so Qing Yan certainly wouldn't know how much silver those items cost.
"Hehe, Sulan, you read out the prices from the survey yourself." Qingyan glanced at Sulan and asked her to state the vegetable prices she had found.
Within half an hour, four or five stewards had turned pale. The list in Su Lan's hand contained the price of every aspect of clothing, food, housing, and transportation. However, there were discrepancies in the prices recorded in the ledger.
"It seems you didn't take my warning to heart. Everyone has a little greed!" Qingyan said coldly.
"This servant is guilty!" Everyone knew that Qingyan had already investigated thoroughly, and they could no longer deny it.
Qingyan placed the teacup heavily on the table beside her, watching Zhang Shengde enter from the doorway and report to her that the two stewards had been brought to justice.
“These two are too greedy. Su Lan, read out the list of people that I circled!” Qing Yan glanced at Su Lan and told her to continue reading.
One by one, the people whose names were called turned pale, and some collapsed to the ground.
Zhang Desheng waved his hand, and the little Sulas dragged the people out. These people had all been greedily paying double the price. They simply couldn't negotiate any further.
"Beating him to death!" Qingyan uttered two cold words.
Yin has already dispatched guards to arrest the families of these people. All men and women over the age of 10 are to be executed, and their children under the age of 10 are to be sent to the Imperial Household Department. They are not allowed to be granted amnesty, marry, or leave the palace.
At Qingyan's urging, Yin revised the punishment for the sons of disgraced officials, and the girls were no longer allowed to go to those shameful places, which could be considered a way of giving them some face.
"Fourth Princess Consort, please show mercy!" The stewards watched as more than a dozen people were pressed onto benches together. The sound of the boards cracking made them shudder. Qingyan was ruthless when she did act.
"Show mercy! When you were being greedy, why didn't you show mercy?!" Qingyan sneered.
"The servants are guilty." The stewards heard Bayan's report that all the family members had been arrested.
The stewards started to get scared. They actually arrested the family members. Was this an attempt to eliminate all traces of the family?
"Guilty?!" Qingyan laughed. In their eyes, the Fourth Princess Consort was very similar to the Fourth Prince, completely different from the legends.
In the capital, many servants of the Imperial Household Department said that the Fourth Princess Consort was very weak and could be bullied by anyone.
Now, however, they discovered that Qingyan was different from others; when he became ruthless, he could be extremely ruthless.
"We servants beg for death, hoping our masters will spare our families!" They are willing to die for their families, but they only wish their families could be safe.
At least they have a root left, and if the children are safe, they won't mind their own situation.
Qingyan looked at them coldly, knowing that ensuring the safety of her family was definitely not an option.
"Impossible. Father has already decided where you are going, so I have no choice but to follow the imperial decree!" Qingyan emphasized.
The stewards were deeply terrified. His Majesty already knew that among the dozen or so people who had been beaten to death, there were members of prominent families from the Imperial Household Department who had been beaten to death without even being given a chance to reveal their identities.
Is His Majesty preparing to take action against the Imperial Household Department?
In the past decade, there have been two purges of the servants in the Imperial Household Department. They all felt uneasy, because they were helping their masters with their affairs, and if they were not careful, they might lose face.
The sound of the cane striking them resonated deeply, making them feel that they too would follow in their footsteps.
So, none of them begged for mercy. They turned to look at the execution outside, their hearts sinking even lower, and an endless chill rose from their feet.
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