Chapter 554: The ministers in the court are in a panic
Tianyi immediately cooperated by uttering a short, cold laugh, and added, "Your Excellency, the minister under your command who was just investigated for embezzling disaster relief grain, although there is no hard evidence pointing directly at you, but the fault of 'lax governance' and 'negligence in supervision'..." He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, and the unspoken meaning was more chilling than if it were said explicitly.
The Minister of Revenue was shocked all over, cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead, and his back under his official robe was instantly soaked.
A huge fear gripped him, and all his reserve and physical pain were thrown out of the window.
He suddenly stretched out three fingers, his voice trembling with anxiety and panic: "No! No! This official... This official is willing to donate... donate one hundred thousand taels! One hundred thousand taels!"
Tianyi's face suddenly turned from gloomy to sunny, as if it had never changed, and his smile was as bright as if he had picked up a gold ingot.
He picked up the pen and wrote down the words in a flamboyant manner while shouting loudly: "Okay! The Minister of Revenue, donate 100,000 taels of silver!" The three words "100,000 taels" were shouted particularly loudly, striking the hearts of every minister.
The long registration process is finally over.
After the last minister reported the number, Mo Liyuan slowly stood up. His black python robe drew a cold arc in the hall. He did not say a word, nor did he look at anyone. He strode straight out of the hall, his back tall and lonely.
Tianyi quickly bowed to Emperor Mo Yifan, grabbed the plain paper with names and amounts written on it, and trotted after him.
Mo Yifan sat upright on the dragon throne, his eyes slowly sweeping across the steps below.
Those ministers who usually cried poor and told him about their difficulties now had pale or blue faces, full of unconcealable pain, regret and fear, as if a piece of their heart had just been gouged out.
Mo Yifan snorted in his heart, and the pent-up depression was finally relieved.
He also stood up suddenly, swung the wide sleeves of his bright yellow dragon robe, and strode away with a proud look on his face.
"Retreat—from the court—!" Eunuch Li's shrill voice rose high.
"Farewell, Your Majesty!" The ministers bowed hurriedly as if they had been pardoned.
Only after the imperial carriage had gone away did they stand up and walk out one after another, dejected and with heavy steps, like eggplants hit by frost. The long queue that had been queuing up to donate silver just now turned into a distraught stream, flowing silently out of the palace gate.
However, the pain of "cutting flesh" in the court had not yet subsided, and a more explosive news exploded in the capital like thunder: after leaving the palace, the Regent Mo Liyuan used thunder-like means to directly send troops to raid two well-known wealthy businessmen in the capital!
Their crime was "being rich but unkind." They were selling stale, moldy rice mixed with sand and soil as good grain, passing it off as good food to starving victims, especially in the hardest-hit areas, at ridiculously high prices! Such behavior is utterly devoid of conscience!
When the news reached the ministers who had just finished their court session, it was like a bolt from the blue.
Those ministers who had just felt the pain of donating money no longer cared about the pain. A piercing chill instantly rushed from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads.
Panic spread like a plague. Many people's faces turned pale, their legs and feet became weak, and they could hardly stand. The glances they exchanged with each other were filled with fear.
They couldn't help but wonder: Today he's a wealthy businessman, but what about tomorrow? The Regent's sharp knife flashed with a cold light. Whose neck would fall next? The shadow of confiscation and annihilation weighed heavily on everyone's heart.
One by one, they left the palace. The pain of "donating money and sacrificing one's flesh" in the court had not yet subsided, and then the news of "the rich businessman's property being confiscated by the Regent" exploded. Panic was like a cold tide, instantly drowning everyone.
"Hurry! Go back to the mansion!" Almost every senior official in a scarlet robe and jade belt let out the same rapid and suppressed growl.
They almost staggered towards their own gorgeous carriage that represented their identity and status. Their usual calm demeanor was gone, leaving only the panic of surviving a disaster.
"Hurry! Speed up!" Lord Wang almost used his hands and feet to get into the carriage. His voice was sharp and distorted due to excessive nervousness, and he urged the coachman harshly.
The coachman was shocked by this unprecedented loss of composure and did not dare to delay. He immediately drove the carriage quickly towards the mansion.
The car was shaking violently, but Lord Wang was completely unaware of it. He only felt his heart beating wildly in his chest, almost breaking his ribs.
He tightly grasped the corner of the carriage, his knuckles turning white, and his mind repeatedly flashed the half-smiling face of Tian Yi in the court, the icy eyes of the Regent Mo Liyuan, and... the horrific scene of the two wealthy businessmen disappearing in an instant, and the An Mansion being ransacked.
At the same time, the atmosphere in the Minister of Rites' carriage was equally solemn.
His face was pale and his back was pressed tightly against the cold wall of the sedan, as if this could give him a sense of security.
His rapid breathing sounded especially heavy in the cramped space. "Search the house...Search the house..." These two words lingered in his mind like a curse.
He suddenly lifted a corner of the small curtain on the side window and peeked out vigilantly, as if every pedestrian hurrying by on both sides of the street and the shadows in every corner were lurking the regent's cold and ruthless eyes and the imperial guards who might pounce at any time.
"Hurry up! Haven't you eaten yet?!"
For a moment, on the main official roads leading to the various mansions, the officials' carriages, which usually moved slowly and with great ceremony, suddenly formed a silent "race" for the first time.
Pedestrians and vendors on the roadside avoided it in astonishment.
As soon as the carriage stopped in front of the government office, the officials inside could not wait to lift the curtain and rushed out almost crawling.
He didn't bother to straighten his official hat because it was tilted, and he didn't have time to adjust his robe sleeve because it was caught on the curtain of the sedan chair. He rushed into the gate with unsteady steps.
"The master has returned home!" The doorman had just uttered half a word of greeting when he was frightened into silence by the horrifying expression and distraught look of his master.
"Quick! Call all the people in charge in the mansion to the front hall! Now! Immediately!" The officials who returned to the mansion were almost the same. They used all their strength to roar orders to the housekeeper, their voices hoarse as if on the verge of collapse.
Their chests heaved violently, their foreheads were covered with fine beads of cold sweat, and the backs of their official robes had long been soaked with cold sweat and stuck tightly to their bodies.
In less than a cup of tea, all the ladies, young masters, young ladies, housekeepers, trusted servants, and even some of the collateral relatives in the mansion were alarmed by this unprecedented emergency summons and gathered in the front hall in panic.
The hall was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was stunned by the pale face and terrified look of the man sitting in the main seat.
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