Chapter 191 Using a Parrot to Investigate Secrets
Cui Jin understood: Prime Minister Zheng wanted to force Du Min to sever ties with Empress Wu and completely side with the aristocratic families.
“I can find a way to win over Du Min, but how can you guarantee that Xu Ang won’t turn around and bite me after he falls?” Cui Jin was hesitant to strike Xu Ang from behind, unless he could kill him with one blow, leaving Xu Ang no chance to identify him.
Prime Minister Zheng remained silent. If the accusation of raping and murdering an official's daughter was false, then the fact remained that Cui Jin had accepted bribes, and not only had he accepted them, he had also squandered them.
"How much money have you received in total over the past five years?" Prime Minister Zheng asked. "Do you have any evidence of Xu Ang's embezzlement?"
“He took 50,000 strings of cash the first time, and was forced to take another 10,000 strings the following year. Later, he probably saw that I was honest, so he stopped giving me money until last year when he sent me another 5,000 strings of cash,” Cui Jin replied. “As for evidence, I don’t have any. He is wary of me, and I have no access to his accounts, but I know who is colluding with him.”
"All the money has been spent? Can you still come up with 65,000 strings of cash?" Prime Minister Zheng asked.
Cui Jin shook her head.
"You deserve to die!" Prime Minister Zheng's eyes flashed with sternness. "Don't shout that you're innocent, don't say you were forced into it. These past few years of extravagant spending were your choice, weren't they?"
“If I don’t live a dissolute life, he won’t trust me,” Cui Jin denied.
"So what if he doesn't trust you? Will he kill you? So what if he trusts you? What has he spared you? What difference does it make?" Zheng Zai retorted. "Your reputation is ruined by yourself. If you go out now and say that you were forced to build your brothel, who will believe you? If you live a simple, impoverished life, and when Xu Ang falls, you suddenly come to your senses and hand over the ill-gotten gains, who will convict you?"
Cui Jin dared not face the truth. He lowered his head in shame and indignation, no longer daring to argue.
Prime Minister Zheng stroked his beard, pondering how to get Cui Jin out of prison. If Xu Ang were imprisoned, neither Prime Minister Xu nor Empress Wu would let this opportunity pass and drag the Cui family of Boling down with him. Even if he had intervened today, he might have suffered a great loss.
"Sigh..." he sighed.
“I’m thinking of a way to raise the money and donate it secretly so that Du Min can use it to build the Yellow River dam. That way, I can be lessened in the future,” Cui Jin said, revealing a thought she had once entertained.
Prime Minister Zheng looked up at him. Was Cui Jin planning to drag Du Min down with him? The disaster relief funds had been circulating in Cui Jin's hands for five years before being handed over; that was embezzled funds, not disaster relief funds. If Du Min accused Xu Ang, would Prime Minister Xu let him off?
"Do you think he'd be stupid enough to accept money that can't be made in the open?" Prime Minister Zheng asked. "Don't end up losing out and ending up in jail with him."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Cui Jin was at his wit's end. He said dejectedly, "I told you from the beginning that you couldn't save me, but you didn't believe me. You insisted that I tell you, but then you said you couldn't do this or that."
Prime Minister Zheng ignored his words. Finding no chance to turn the tables on Cui Jin, he could only think of ways to get back at her. Prime Minister Xu was Empress Wu's dog, so how could Empress Wu let Cui Jin go? There was no solution unless the Cui family of Boling pledged allegiance to her.
"Xu Ang's move was dirty, but it was indeed effective." Prime Minister Zheng was also at his wit's end, and even considered abandoning Cui Jin to preserve the reputation of the Cui family of Boling.
Cui Jin remained silent.
"I'll go back to the capital first and discuss it with your father to see what he thinks." Since he wasn't a member of the family, Prime Minister Zheng didn't want to take on too much responsibility and offer advice.
Cui Jin did not resist this time. His father would find out about this sooner or later. He wanted to raise 65,000 strings of cash and needed his family's help.
"Don't be frank with Du Min. Be careful, or he might use you as a sacrifice if you fail to win him over," Prime Minister Zheng instructed. "Keep an eye on him and let him know that he can help you at a crucial moment by causing his relationship with Xu Ang to deteriorate rapidly."
Cui Jin nodded, "Understood."
Jung Jae-hsiang remained skeptical of this statement; he no longer dared to fully trust Choi Geum.
After having lunch at the Biejia residence, Prime Minister Zheng did not linger. He left Hanoi County quietly in his Qingxiu carriage with his guards and attendants.
A day later, Du Min returned to the post station in the evening. The postman handed him a letter. He went back to his room, tore open the letter, and read a line written on it: "Be careful of Xu Ang's wine and tea."
The signature is Zheng.
Du Min understood. Cui Biejia indeed had something on Xu Cishi, most likely because of wine and tea. He pondered how to use Cui Biejia to bring down Xu Cishi, eliminating his two superiors in one fell swoop, without offending the Empress Dowager.
Du Min planned to go back and meet with Cui Biejia once he had sorted out his current affairs.
But before he could return, Governor Xu sent someone to summon him back to Hanoi County. The decree regarding the paper mill had been issued, and the paper mill was now under the jurisdiction of Huai Prefecture. Governor Xu wanted to hold a banquet to celebrate.
Upon hearing this, Du Min recalled the warning left by Prime Minister Zheng and Meng Qing's advice to avoid the situation. He refused, saying, "Go back and tell Governor Xu that I am going to Shifang in Bingzhou tomorrow to retrieve the water troughs needed for the paper mill and to check the local coal prices. It will take me more than half a month to return, so I cannot go back for the banquet."
"Chief Clerk Du, it won't cause any trouble if we leave a day later, will it? Don't spoil Governor Xu's enjoyment," said the official guarding the governor's mansion.
“No, the ship has already been arranged,” Du Min refused. “Go back, don’t delay my work.”
Seeing his firm stance, the official had no choice but to return and report.
Du Min went to the Meng family paper mill and gave a letter to the steward, asking him to deliver it to the Chief Secretary's residence. Afterwards, he took the yamen runners from Wen County and sailed to Bingzhou.
Since returning from Luoyang, Meng Qing had been busy with the construction of the library and was rarely home. She only learned of Prime Minister Zheng's visit when she received Du Min's letter, which included a reminder. Holding the letter hesitantly, she was unsure what to do.
"What are you thinking about?" Du Li walked in and pressed his hand against her forehead. "This is all furrowed up like a knot."
Meng Qing handed him the letter, saying, "Prime Minister Zheng is a good official for us. I really don't want to turn against him. If only he didn't oppose the Empress."
"You want to offend neither side?" Du Li asked.
“I even want to bring Prime Minister Zheng into our camp.”
“It’s not up to you. It depends on whether the big boss in your camp is willing to let him in,” Du Li said. “It also depends on whether Prime Minister Zheng is willing to betray the family behind him. It’s difficult. He has already risen to the position of prime minister. The benefits you can offer him can no longer sway him.”
Meng Qing understood that this was a power struggle between the female sage and Prime Minister Zheng, and she couldn't get involved.
After figuring it out, Meng Qing went to see Governor Xu and revealed that Prime Minister Zheng had visited Hanoi County.
Within three days, the wife of the Prefect arrived at the Chief Secretary's residence, bringing with her two parrots, one as a gift to Yin Caiwei and the other to Wangchuan.
"These are newly bred parrots in the aviary. They haven't started singing yet, so you can train them yourselves. They're a fun little companion," said Madam Wang.
"Does Prefect Cui know? This is his most cherished possession. We've accepted it. Will he be angry?" Meng Qing asked.
"Have you noticed that he hasn't left the house for several days? Prime Minister Zheng came a few days ago. His wife is our cousin. As her brother-in-law and superior, he came over and gave Cui Jin a good scolding. These past few days, Cui Jin has been saying that he's not going to keep these birds anymore and is going to sell them all," Madam Wang explained.
"Really selling? Prefect Cui, are you willing to part with it?" Yin Caiwei asked.
Mrs. Wang smiled wryly, "They said they wanted to sell it, but nothing happened. I'm afraid the buyer won't treat the parrot well, so I'm trying to find a good home for it now."
After Prime Minister Zheng left, Cui Jin planned to sell all the birds he kept at home and get the money. But before he could do anything about it, Governor Xu summoned him for questioning. He was afraid of alerting the governor and that Governor Xu would notice something was wrong, so he dared not make any big moves after returning.
Meng Qing pondered for a moment, then said, "If Prefect Cui really wants to sell all the birds, I might be able to help."
Madam Wang's spirits lifted. "What do you mean?"
"I wonder if Madam has heard about my plan to open a library in Huaizhou? I'm currently traveling around trying to persuade families with book collections to lend their books so we can make handwritten copies. I've been in contact with many wealthy families, so perhaps I can help make connections." Meng Qing spoke slowly, lost in thought. After a moment, an idea formed in her mind: "No, I have a better idea. Why don't you temporarily entrust the birds to me, Prefect Cui? I'll build a bird kennel next to the library and attract passersby to pay to feed them. In this way, the bird kennel can enhance the reputation of my library, the birds can earn money, and the ownership will still belong to Prefect Cui. He won't have to worry about others buying them and not taking good care of them."
Lady Wang was tempted. This move would bring her closer to the Du family, allow her to make some money, and give away the bird so that Cui Jin could legitimately turn over a new leaf without being noticed by Governor Xu.
"I'll discuss it with Cui Jin when I get back," Madam Wang agreed, then shamelessly asked, "The money Bird Room made..."
“How about a 50/50 split? The birds are yours, but I'll take care of the management. It might sound like I'm getting a good deal, but the money I get won't go into my own pocket. I'll use it to hire people to copy books and keep the library afloat,” Meng Qing explained. “You can consider this a donation to the library.”
"I can't make the decision myself; I need to go back and discuss it with Cui Jin," said Madam Wang.
“I await your reply, Madam,” Meng Qing said.
Madam Wang sat for a while longer before making an excuse to change her clothes and leave.
"Second sister-in-law, what did she come here for? Was it really to deliver two parrots?" Yin Caiwei didn't understand.
Meng Qing didn't understand either. Could it be a gesture of goodwill?
"Maybe, maybe she really wants to get rid of all the parrots in her house," Meng Qing said.
"Why are you helping them with this?" Yin Caiwei asked again. "The parrots have all been sent away. If Prefect Cui does a few more serious things, it will seem to outsiders that he is turning over a new leaf."
“Parrots can mimic speech, and his parrots are poorly managed, flying around everywhere. Who knows, they might have overheard some secrets.” Meng Qing wanted to try to find some clues from the parrots. Cui Biejia’s secrets were something he wouldn’t reveal himself, and Xu Cishi wouldn’t tell her either. Since she couldn’t get information from either side, she could only resort to unorthodox methods.
"Second Sister-in-law, I have an idea." Yin Caiwei sat up excitedly. "Why don't you try lending out the parrot? For example, the person who lends out the books can keep the parrot for a month. When you return the books, you can take the parrot back. The six military advisors of the governor's mansion, as well as Kong Sima and Governor Xu, all send a few parrots into their mansions. We can borrow the parrot to find out what kind of shady business the corrupt officials in Hanoi County are doing in private."
“You’re even more greedy than I am,” Meng Qing laughed. “You can give it a try, but don’t have too much hope. If a parrot goes to someone who doesn’t love birds, it’ll most likely be kept by their children in the back of the house.”
“It might also be in the hands of a woman. Women in the inner quarters also know many secrets.” Yin Caiwei looked at the birdcage on the table. “Look, you are such a shrewd person, yet you had the idea of using the parrots to investigate secrets, and you still spoke without any scruples in front of them. This shows that many people are not wary of them.”
"Caiwei, you are so smart." Meng Qing noticed that although Yin Caiwei appeared calm on the surface, she was actually very clear-headed.
Yin Caiwei shook her head, "So what if I'm smart? Du Min doesn't want me to get involved in things outside the manor."
"Du Min, Xu Ang, be careful," the parrot in the cage suddenly spoke.
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Author's Note: There will be another update at 12 o'clock.
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