Chapter 474: Late-night Assassination
Upon seeing the Imperial Censor arrive in person, they were all so frightened that they knelt down and refused to get up.
"Get up, all of you." Daiyu's voice was kind and gentle. Her many years of official service had not concealed the fact that she was an exceptionally beautiful woman.
At this moment, dressed in official robes, she exuded an unassailable sense of majesty amidst her beauty.
It makes people want to worship it from the bottom of their hearts at first sight.
"Grandpa, how much salt can you produce in a year?"
The old cook said in a trembling voice, "Sir, if the weather is good, we can produce five hundred catties a year."
The old salt-making worker had heard that the newly arrived salt inspector was a high-ranking female official, but he never expected her to be such a beautiful woman. Moreover, the majesty between her brows immediately reminded him of the immortals he had seen in paintings.
"How much money can I get?"
"After deducting costs, it would be good if we could save ten taels of silver."
Daiyu did the math in her mind: the official salt was sold for 100 coins per pound, but these salt producers only received 20 coins. The profits in between were divided up by the salt merchants and officials.
What alarmed her even more was the salt content.
I picked up a handful at random, and it was dark in color, had a lot of impurities, and tasted bitter.
"How dare you sell salt like this for 100 coins a pound?" Daiyu laughed angrily.
Upon returning to the government office, she immediately summoned all the major salt merchants.
These salt merchants, all dressed smartly, dared not neglect Daiyu when they saw her.
"After consulting the old records, I found that the official purchase price for salt was twenty cash, but the selling price was one hundred cash," Daiyu said calmly.
"Where did all the profits go?"
The salt merchants exchanged bewildered glances, and finally an elder among them spoke up: "Your Excellency is wise; transportation, warehousing, labor—everything costs money..."
“Is that so?” Daiyu interrupted him. “Then why is it that smuggled salt only sells for thirty coins, and there’s still a profit to be made?”
The room fell silent upon hearing this.
Daiyu stood up and looked around at everyone:
"I'm giving you three days to sort out your accounts. If they're still a mess after three days, don't blame me for being impolite!"
That very night, someone secretly sent gifts to the Censorate.
The guards threw the man and the gift box out together: "By order of the lord, anyone who offers bribes will be flogged fifty times!"
Daiyu's salt administration reforms were like throwing a boulder into the seemingly calm lake of Jiangnan; the ripples quickly turned into raging waves.
The first to launch an attack were the prominent families of Jiangnan, led by the Zhen family.
These prominent families, who have dominated Jiangnan for over a hundred years, have amassed immense wealth through the salt administration. How could they allow a woman to cut off their path to riches?
That day, Daiyu was handling official business at the yamen when the salt commissioner rushed in to report: "Sir, something terrible has happened! All the salt fields have gone on strike at the same time, and the salt workers are saying... saying they're not going to work anymore!"
Daiyu frowned slightly: "What is it?"
"They say...they say the salt merchants have stopped buying salt, so they can't sell the salt they produce..."
Daiyu sneered: "What a brilliant plan to undermine our foundation."
She immediately stood up and said, "Prepare the sedan chair; I will go to the salt field myself."
The largest salt field is located on the East China Sea coast, but it is now completely deserted.
Thousands of kitchen workers gathered in the courtyard, each with a worried expression.
Upon seeing Daiyu arrive, they all knelt down and wept, pleading:
"Sir, we need to survive too!"
"The salt merchants aren't buying salt anymore, how are we supposed to survive?"
Daiyu climbed to a high place and said loudly:
"Rest assured, everyone, the government will continue to purchase salt as usual, and the price will remain unchanged! Not only that, I will also teach you how to make better salt, so that your income will double!"
These words caused a stir among the crowd.
An old cook asked in a trembling voice, "Is what you said... true?"
“My word is my bond!” Daiyu took out a sample of the newly produced salt from the Women’s Research Institute. “Look, this is salt produced using the new method. It is of better quality than the current official salt, but at a lower cost.”
The pure white salt glittered in the sunlight, leaving the salt-making workers speechless.
They had been making salt all their lives and had never seen such high-quality salt.
"If you wish to learn, the government will provide the necessary tools and guarantee you will learn!" Daiyu declared loudly.
"Moreover, the government buys this salt at forty coins per catty!"
With such a generous reward, the kitchen workers responded enthusiastically.
The Zhen family's plan to force Daiyu to give in by halting construction immediately failed.
However, this crisis is only the beginning.
Soon, someone in the imperial court impeached Daiyu for "unauthorized alteration of ancestral rules and disruption of the salt administration."
Impeachment memorials flooded the palace, all accusing Daiyu of overly radical reforms that led to the bankruptcy of salt merchants and unemployment of salt producers.
Some even spread alarmist rumors, saying that if things continued this way, a popular uprising would surely break out in Jiangnan.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Emperor frowned as he looked at the mountain of memorials: "Mr. Yuan, what do you think?"
Yuan Hongqu stepped forward calmly:
"Your Majesty, these memorials, though seemingly advocating for the people, are in fact advocating for the salt merchants. I have an account book here for Your Majesty to review."
The ledgers she presented detailed and shocking accounts of the corrupt dealings between salt merchants and officials.
“According to my investigation,” Yuan Hongqu continued.
"The ministers who impeached Censor Lin most vehemently all have family ties with salt merchants through marriage or secretly hold shares in the salt industry. They've gone to extremes!"
An uproar erupted in the imperial court.
The ministers who impeached Daiyu turned pale and knelt down to defend themselves.
At this moment, the Tenth Prince also stepped forward to speak: "Your Majesty, Imperial Censor Lin's reform of the salt administration has led to a sharp drop in salt prices, which has been praised by the people. Why should we obstruct such a beneficial policy for the country and the people? Do we have to force the people to eat inferior salt that costs 100 coins per pound in order to avoid disturbing them?"
While the debate raged in the imperial court, the situation in Jiangnan became increasingly tense.
Late that night, Daiyu was reviewing official documents when she suddenly heard a strange noise outside the window.
She alertly blew out the candle and quietly moved to the window.
Several dark figures scaled the wall and entered, their steel knives gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
"Hurry up! Take that female official's life!"
Daiyu sneered and took out a signal flare from her sleeve, shooting it into the night sky.
This was the secret code she had agreed upon with her guards.
Moments later, a squad of guards appeared as if by divine intervention, engaging the assassins in battle.
These highly trained guards were all exceptionally skilled and quickly subdued all the assassins.
“Speak! Who ordered it?” Daiyu asked coldly.
The leader of the assassins grinned maliciously: "You've cut off everyone's source of income, so naturally someone will take your life!"
Just then, another group of people stormed into the yamen.
The one leading them was none other than Zhen Yingjia, the head of the Zhen family!
"Lord Lin has been frightened," Zhen Yingjia said feignedly. "I heard there were assassins, so I came to help."
Daiyu knew this was clearly a case of the thief crying "stop thief!" but she didn't point it out: "Thank you for your concern, Master Zhen. But I can handle these petty thieves."
Zhen Yingjia's expression changed slightly as he looked at the subdued assassin on the ground. He forced a smile and said, "It's good that you're alright, sir. But... shouldn't the salt administration reform be slowed down? The people of Jiangnan are in a state of panic right now..."
"Slow down?" Daiyu raised an eyebrow. "Why slow down? Salt prices have plummeted, and the people are cheering. This is what the people truly want!"
The two were facing off when suddenly a fast horse came galloping towards them.
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