The theft of the Empress Dowager's private treasury dragged on until winter without any news. The Three Departments were also at their wits' end, as this was no small matter. The Empress Dowager's private treasury openly contained three million taels of silver and one million taels of gold, not to mention the countless treasures listed in the registers.
If we just find someone, we can't exchange these things for them. When the Empress Dowager gets angry, we still won't be able to escape.
While the case here couldn't find a breakthrough, the disaster relief efforts were in full swing.
Not only that, Jiang Wang also planned to send people on a southern tour to see the living conditions of the people.
Now that the national treasury is full of silver, he can finally unleash his full potential and properly develop the economy of the Jiangnan region. The country is riddled with problems, yet the Jiangnan region, a land of plenty, suffers from famine year after year. It's probably not that Jiangnan can't produce grain, but rather that some people have hoarded it!
While the Empress Dowager was anxious and worried, the Emperor and Consort Ming were living a blissful life. Yin Rong gradually realized that something was wrong.
When they sent people to investigate, the people who returned said that a merchant had donated his family fortune to the imperial court, and the rest of the silver was pieced together by those aristocratic families.
The Empress Dowager was so angry she nearly fainted. What kind of merchants were these?! Her private treasury was robbed, and immediately merchants were sending silver to the Emperor. Could there be such a coincidence in the world?
She disregarded all decorum and etiquette and went straight to the Imperial Study.
When the Empress Dowager entered the Imperial Study, Jiang Wang was looking at the suggestions for improving Jiangnan that Wen Rucheng and Shen Bochun had each drafted. The Empress Dowager rushed in, startling Wen Rucheng and Shen Bochun, who quickly knelt down to pay their respects.
Empress Dowager Yin didn't even glance at the two of them. She slammed the registers from her private treasury onto the dragon table and said in a deep voice, "Look how familiar they are! Bring out your so-called merchant guild. I want to see what kind of merchant guild gives me millions of taels of silver for nothing. It's absurd!"
Jiang Wang twitched the corner of his lips and picked up the record book that had been lying on the dragon desk. One corner of the book had fallen into the inkstone, and it was covered in ink. As soon as he picked it up, ink dripped everywhere, making the dragon desk a mess. But it was no worse than the Empress Dowager's mood at this moment.
Anger surged to her head, and she almost lost all reason. How could Jiang Wang do such a thing? But then she thought that only Jiang Wang could have this ability.
This vast palace is heavily guarded, with layers of checkpoints, making it far from an uninhabited place where anyone could come and go as they pleased. If it weren't for Jiang Wang's instructions, who could have secretly stolen the item? That would be utterly ridiculous!
Jiang Wang's calmness at this moment was like adding fuel to a fire, instantly making the fire in her heart burn even brighter.
Jiang Wang observed this with unusual calmness.
He wasn't completely oblivious; the silver was indeed lost from the Empress Dowager's private treasury, and her suspicions were entirely correct. However, even if she got angry, she couldn't get the silver back, so he had nothing to fear.
"I don't quite understand what Your Majesty means. Your Majesty is a role model for the nation, so I hope you will think twice before you speak."
Yin Rong's chest heaved violently, and she couldn't catch her breath for a long time. Seeing that she was about to faint if she said another word, Jiang Wang immediately ordered Fu Gui and Shuang Xi, who were by the Empress Dowager's side, "Why don't you send the Empress Dowager back to the palace? If the Empress Dowager's health is not good, go to the Imperial Medical Academy to invite the imperial physician."
The Empress Dowager could no longer hold on; her eyelids rolled back, and she fainted.
Without money, the Empress Dowager's faction immediately became an empty shell. Why would the Duke of Wei's and Duke of Wen's mansions help the Empress Dowager? It's all for profit. Now that the Empress Dowager doesn't even have money to bribe her subordinates, who would be willing to risk their lives for her?
The Empress Dowager, meanwhile, fell ill due to the successive blows.
Lady Wei, the wife of Lady Wen, visited the palace several times, but in the end, she only offered a few words of comfort, such as "Take care of your health," before leaving the palace.
The Empress Dowager never recovered from her illness, and Song Jingxi had not dared to show her face these days. However, upon hearing that the Empress Dowager was ill, she dared not fail to attend to her.
The Empress Dowager didn't say anything bad about her anymore, and she only spoke a few words each day. She only spoke more when Princess Jiayuan came over.
Jiang Yanxin's wedding was scheduled for the winter month. She had been living in the princess's residence outside the palace. She had moved back after hearing that her mother was ill. But what she was more worried about was that if her mother fell ill and never recovered, who would protect her in the future?
She instructed the Empress Dowager to take her medicine properly and often came to serve her the medicine herself, which made the Empress Dowager feel much better.
"Mother, you must get better soon. We can't let those who harmed you get away with it. I've heard that Shen Mingzhuang is now the emperor's favorite. It's all over the palace. Some people even say that His Majesty wants to make her empress. If she becomes empress, where will we have a place in the palace?"
After lying in Cixi Palace for these days, Yin Rong had recovered somewhat. She knew she couldn't give up like this; she had to play her trump card.
But her body seemed to have been suddenly hollowed out; she was always very tired and felt like she couldn't muster any strength. Now that her daughter could think of these things, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"My son, you are your mother's only child. Your mother has always thought of you. Otherwise, she would not have gone to such lengths to fight your brothers and sisters-in-law to the death. Now that you have grown up and will soon be getting married, there are some things your mother can entrust to you."
She thought for a moment, took her daughter's hand and patted it, then instructed Shuangxi and the others to leave.
Seeing her mother's solemnity, Jiang Yanxin realized that what her mother was about to say was no small matter, but when she actually heard it, she was still surprised and opened her mouth wide.
She wondered if she had misheard, but her mother's firm yet solemn gaze made her dare not doubt it.
"How could this happen, Mother... I have never done such a thing before, I am terrified..."
Yin Rong sighed deeply, stared intently at her daughter, and said calmly, "If you refuse to do this, your mother will not be able to find anyone she can trust. You know that your emperor brother and Consort Ming of the Shen family are now working together to deal with your mother. Your uncles and cousins are also opportunists. If they see no hope, they will definitely not go all out to help."
"You don't want to marry into the Lin family, but your emperor brother insists that you marry into it. He has no pity for you as a blood relative. If you continue to cower and shrink back, I have no hope for you, and neither do you. You will only be able to spend your whole life in that merchant family and rot in the mud."
Seeing the fear on her daughter's face, she continued, "You need to understand what Princess Huirong is like. Your Uncle Prince Qin is waiting for you to fall into the dust so he can avenge his precious daughter. If you don't do it, then wait for the wall to fall and everyone to push you down, and for you to be trampled underfoot by thousands."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
