Chapter 202 Your Excellency, are you no longer angry...?
"Are you sure it was Cui Jin who sent the message? What if it was Military Advisor Zhao?" Prime Minister Zheng asked.
“It wasn’t Zhao Qi. The news must have leaked from Cui Jin. It’s either him or his wife,” Xu Ang retorted definitively. He didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so he lay down again and said, “Go away. Don’t come back.”
Prime Minister Zheng breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, Xu Ang hadn't suspected anything.
As he walked out of the prison, Prime Minister Zheng saw Meng Qing coming out of the county government office, and he stopped in his tracks.
“Prime Minister?” Meng Qing saw him too. She quickened her pace. “You’ve just come out of prison? I heard that Master Cui has been released.”
“I’m here to see Xu Ang and ask him a few questions.” Prime Minister Zheng stared at Meng Qing and said, “I’ve read the case file and found something suspicious. Why is Xu Ang using the Aphrodisiac Bureau to scare Cui Jin again without any warning?”
Meng Qing's eyes flashed, and she looked guilty.
"It seems that Lady Meng knows the reason?" Prime Minister Zheng's words were tinged with anger.
"Is my lord blaming me for taking advantage of your kindness?" Meng Qing asked directly. "Please forgive me. You learned the whole story from Cui Jin, and out of our past relationship, you left a letter reminding Du Min to be careful not to fall into Xu Ang's trap. We are very grateful to you. For this reason, even though Lord Cui looks down on us, we still tried to get close to him. My taking over his pet parrot is proof of that."
Prime Minister Zheng scoffed, clearly not believing it.
Seeing this, Meng Qing looked indignant. "Let me explain," she said, "I thought that after being reprimanded by you, he wanted to turn over a new leaf, abandon his bad habits, and declare to the people of Hanoi County that he would no longer indulge in pleasure. To help him, I took over more than seventy parrots and set up an aviary in the academy. I also worked hard to build a good reputation for Cui Langjun. During that time, all the scholars and literati in the academy knew that Prefect Cui had sponsored the academy, and they all had a good impression of him. When he went to the academy to copy books, he was very popular with the literati. You can ask them about all of this. I can't lie. If Cui Langjun is too ashamed to admit it, you can ask the regular customers of the academy."
Prime Minister Zheng doesn't need to ask; a smart person wouldn't lie about such a matter.
"Since you decided to maintain friendly relations with him, why did you later try to sow discord between him and Xu Ang?" he asked.
Seeing his expression soften, Meng Qing secretly cheered; it had worked. Yesterday, upon learning of Prime Minister Zheng's arrival, she knew her scheme would be exposed; anyone with eyes could see that Xu Ang's attempt to scare Cui Jin was flawed. This morning, Du Min sent someone to inform her that Prime Minister Zheng had visited Xu Ang in prison, and she immediately came to meet him.
"It was Cui Jin who harbored malicious intentions. He received the favor but didn't appreciate it, and even stabbed us in the back." Meng Qing's eyes turned cold. She patted her chest to catch her breath and said, "It's been so long, but I still get angry when I think about it. I sent eleven parrots to the officials of the governor's mansion with the intention of using them to gather information, but I didn't have much hope. I knew the parrots were in the hands of the women and children in the inner quarters, and the parrots could only learn some verbal disputes. But what did he do? He went to Xu Ang and exposed my scheme, not only breaking the contract and taking back the eleven parrots without my knowledge, but also keeping them in captivity for two days. I can be certain that he used those two days to dig out Xu Ang and their secrets from the parrots."
He even openly provoked me. The day he went to retrieve the parrot, he spent an hour copying books in the library. I jokingly offered to hire him as a tutor, but actually, I was intentionally giving him a legitimate excuse to associate with scholars and literati. He refused, saying he wouldn't come. At the time, I didn't understand, but after getting the parrot, I realized he had been plotting to harm me all along.” Meng Qing defended herself indignantly, then said helplessly, “Prime Minister Zheng, if I hadn't fought back, Du Min would have been the one at the banquet that night.”
Prime Minister Zheng was furious. He had ordered Cui Jin to sow discord between Du Min and Xu Ang while simultaneously trying to win over Du Min. Was this his method of winning people over? He had directly offended someone to death.
“I didn’t expect Xu Ang to react so strongly. I used the letter you left to make it clear to Xu Ang just to explicitly refuse the banquet from the governor’s mansion on behalf of Du Min, and to declare that Du Min will no longer go to the governor’s mansion. If there is any official business, he should send someone to the chief secretary’s mansion to inform him.” Meng Qing’s tone softened. “Sir, we are right outside the prison right now. If you don’t believe me, I can go with you to confront Xu Ang.”
Prime Minister Zheng waved his hand, saying he couldn't do such a foolish thing.
"Are you not angry anymore?" Meng Qing asked cautiously.
Prime Minister Zheng glanced at her and said, half-jokingly, "It's best if we have less contact with each other, lest we be used by you again sometime in the future."
“It’s inevitable. You have power and influence, and everyone who gets close to you wants to benefit from you, and we’re no exception. If we can use each other, that’s a kind of cooperation.” Meng Qing admitted it directly; if she denied it, it would be too hypocritical.
Prime Minister Zheng: ...This is the first time he has heard that mutual exploitation is a form of cooperation. Is this sophistry or just eloquence?
"You left a letter reminding Du Min for his own good, and in any case, the goal has been achieved, so you should be gratified. If it weren't for you, he really would have fallen into the trap. If he compromises, the darkness in Huaizhou's officialdom will last for at least five more years; if he doesn't compromise, it will be a lose-lose situation, his career will be tarnished, and he might even lose his life. That's something you wouldn't want to see, is it?" Meng Qing asked.
"With you here, he won't end up in a situation where he and Xu Ang perish together." Prime Minister Zheng turned and left.
Meng Qing followed, and she said shamelessly, "Thank you for your compliment."
Prime Minister Zheng ignored her.
"Are you angry that we dragged Cui Langjun into this mess?" Meng Qing asked, chasing after him. "I've been thinking about it these past two days. This is the best ending for him. If it weren't for Madam Wang's departure revealing this major corruption case, if Cui Langjun had continued to lie low, he would have only two paths: either he would have sunk deeper into the mire and inevitably faced imprisonment, or he would have met the same fate as Li Sima and the former Sima, dying at the hands of Xu Ang."
There was another way: the Cui family of Boling could make a deal with Xu Ang to get Cui Jin out of trouble, but that meant the entire Cui family of Boling would be implicated if things went wrong, Prime Minister Zheng secretly added to himself.
"You're right," Prime Minister Zheng admitted, "this is indeed the best outcome."
Meng Qing smiled, "It's almost noon, why don't you come to our house for lunch?"
"You only invited me? Not Imperial Censor Dou and the others? Aren't you afraid of offending people?" Prime Minister Zheng asked.
“They know what’s going on. Our relationship with them isn’t as close as our relationship with you,” Meng Qing said with a smile. “Sir, this way.”
After thinking for a few moments, Prime Minister Zheng left with Meng Qing.
After an incense stick had burned, Du Min received the news that he had closed the case and was rushing back immediately.
After a hearty meal, Du Min asked Prime Minister Zheng about the promised funding, "Is the Ministry of Revenue unwilling to approve it? We haven't heard anything about it."
"It's approved. The money has probably already been released from the treasury. Just wait a little longer; it will arrive in a few days," said Prime Minister Zheng. He revealed, "I applied for 200,000 strings of cash for you, but the Ministry of Revenue is only willing to give 70,000. Recently, there have been unusual movements in Tibet, and it is estimated that war is imminent. In order to prepare for war, the national treasury is somewhat strained."
“Seventy thousand strings of cash is enough.” Du Min stood up and bowed to Prime Minister Zheng. “On behalf of the people of Huai Prefecture, I thank Your Excellency for your compassion.”
Prime Minister Zheng rose to his feet and helped Du Min up, saying, "I made this decision out of trust in you. The people of Huai Prefecture have endured ten years of oppression, and this land is ravaged. A major disaster could instantly plunge their hard-won peaceful lives into chaos. Human effort cannot overcome natural disasters, so this is a huge test for you; you are essentially racing against time. I have faith in you. Go ahead and try your best to turn things around."
Du Min nodded, "This humble official will certainly do his best."
"I'm going to help out at the governor's mansion, so I won't keep you from your work," Prime Minister Zheng said as he left.
Du Min, Meng Qing, and Du Li saw him off at the door.
"Your Excellency, I have a request." Meng Qing quickly took two steps to catch up with Prime Minister Zheng. "Could the books in the residences of the Prefect, the Vice Prefect, the Sima, and the Six Military Advisors be preserved during the confiscation of their property and donated to the Qingniao Library?"
Prime Minister Zheng glanced back at her and said, “Yes, I’ll tell Imperial Censor Dou that when they confiscate your property, you should lead the men to move the books.”
Meng Qing immediately beamed with joy, "Thank you very much, Your Excellency Prime Minister."
Influenced by her, Prime Minister Zheng also smiled.
Meng Qing slowed her pace, stopped outside the mansion, and watched Prime Minister Zheng walk away. She turned her head and asked, "Third brother, when are you going to confiscate our property?"
“When death row inmates are being executed, the people will all be at the execution ground to watch the spectacle. They won’t be following the officials who are confiscating property from house to house, so as not to cause public resentment when the confiscated property is found,” Du Min replied. “Second sister-in-law, second brother, I’ve gone to the yamen to hear the case.”
“Your second brother and I are going to the library too,” Meng Qing said.
The three of them left together.
Not long after Meng Qing and Du Li arrived at the academy, they heard the yamen runners banging gongs along the street, announcing that those convicted of embezzlement and murder would be executed at Caishikou at noon the day after tomorrow.
The news spread like wildfire, and the entire city cheered.
*
On the day the convicts were executed, villagers living outside the city entered the city before dawn, and even villagers from other counties came. The road from the county government office to the market was crowded with people.
At noon, twelve death row inmates, wearing shackles on their heads and chains on their feet, were led out. As soon as they appeared, rotten vegetable leaves, gravel, swill, and stinking excrement were thrown at them.
The escorting constables all stepped back.
"What are you doing? Follow them!" The guards, who had been keeping their distance, shouted, forcing the constables to stand with the death row inmates to bear the brunt of the people's venting anger.
This was Du Min's confession. The existing yamen runners in the county government hadn't been dismissed. They hadn't committed any serious crimes or gained much profit, so they couldn't be sentenced. Coincidentally, the county government needed manpower, so they weren't dismissed either. But he felt uneasy if he didn't punish them, so he came up with this trick: instead of using a prison cart to escort death row inmates, he had the yamen runners parade them through the streets.
"Sir, this...this contains excrement!" the bailiff cried out.
"Something's happened to the prisoner, you'll take over," the guard said calmly.
The constables exchanged glances and had no choice but to bite the bullet and go up to escort the prisoner. They couldn't even open their mouths to stop him, and could only push the prisoner, whose feet were shackled, to walk faster.
At the same time, the Commandant of the Vanguard, along with his soldiers and the guards brought by Censor Dou, stormed into the backyard of the governor's mansion. All the women and servants living in the backyard were driven out, and the soldiers rushed into the inner rooms to confiscate their valuables.
Meng Qing and Du Li, along with the bookstore's staff, drove to the governor's mansion. Led by guards, the group entered Xu Ang's study and moved the books from the shelves.
"Lord Meng, there are three more studies in the inner quarters. Bring your men and come with me," the Commandant of the Vanguard called out.
"They're here," Meng Qing replied. "Two people, come with me."
After an incense stick had burned, the four oxcarts were full, and the servants drove them to the library. Meng Qing and Du Li, along with the rest of the men, followed the soldiers to confiscate the books from the governor's mansion.
After leaving the governor's mansion, Meng Qing wiped her sweat. She glanced at the sky; it was almost noon.
"The time has come; carry out the execution." Du Min threw out twelve fortune sticks.
The blade rose and fell, the head rolled off the execution platform, and blood sprayed across the execution ground.
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Author's note: See you tomorrow night.
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