I won't take the blame for this.
Wang Shili muttered curses as he walked unsteadily through the dusty passageway.
"Pah, what's with Zhou Ziye putting on airs with me! How dare he order me around like that!" He kicked away an empty sack at his feet in frustration. "What a stupid deposit slip that I have to come here in person to find it. What bad luck!"
The grain official followed behind him, his undergarments soaked with cold sweat, and kept nodding and bowing: "Yes, yes, thank you for your hard work, Young Master Wang. It's in a small compartment deep in the warehouse ahead. The inventory records for all the years' deliveries are sealed there."
Two of Zhou Keng's personal guards followed at the back with expressionless faces, their eyes silently scanning the surroundings, which made the grain officer even more apprehensive.
Wang Shili impatiently pushed open a creaking wooden door, which reeked of mildew and dust. He covered his nose and fanned himself with his hand in disgust: "Hurry up and look! What are you dawdling for!"
The grain official, as if granted a pardon, rushed to a row of dusty wooden shelves and frantically began rummaging through them. Wang Shili, on the other hand, stood with his hands behind his back, looking around listlessly. His gaze paused slightly when it swept over a few boxes in the corner that had clearly been recently moved. He walked over and casually kicked one of them with his toe.
"What is this thing? It looks pretty new, why is it in this crappy place?"
The grain official turned around and his face turned deathly pale. His voice changed: "Ah! Those, those are... those are... those are some old, discarded ledgers! They're useless! Young Master Wang, the signing slips have been found! Found them!" He practically lunged forward and shoved a thick stack of equally dusty books in front of Wang Shili, trying to distract him.
Wang Shili was taken aback by his panic and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He looked at the grain official's pale face, then at the brand-new boxes, and then at the obviously old signature book in the other's hand. A surge of anger at being fooled welled up inside him. He was a playboy, and although Tang Qi had always scolded him for being dim-witted, it didn't mean he was really stupid.
"Are you trying to fool me?" Wang Shili shoved aside the old booklet handed to him by the grain official, pointed at the new boxes, and his voice suddenly rose, full of arrogance: "What's going on with these boxes? The dust is all over them, it's not evenly distributed. What's inside? Open them up!"
"Young Master Wang! You mustn't!" The grain official was so frightened he nearly jumped out of his skin, collapsing to his knees and grabbing Wang Shili's legs. "Inside...inside are really just some insignificant things! It's...it's..."
"Get out of my way!" Wang Shili kicked him aside and shouted at the two guards behind him, "You! Pry open the box! I want to see what trivial thing is making you so nervous."
The two bodyguards exchanged a glance. They were Zhou Keng's men and were supposed to only obey Zhou Ziye's orders. However, there was something fishy going on here, and if something was found out, they were afraid of getting burned if Zhou Keng blamed them.
One of them stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Young Master Wang, Lord Zhou only ordered us to protect your safety, not to examine the files—"
"What's with all the nagging?" Wang Shili glared at them impatiently, his tone full of frustration. "My father is the Vice Minister of Revenue. My word is law when it comes to the accounts of this granary! Open them up! I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. If you don't, believe me, I'll have my father impeach you for dereliction of duty and protecting corrupt officials!"
His threat carried weight. The two guards frowned. Wang Shili's status was indeed special; if he really caused trouble, even Lord Zhou might not be able to completely suppress the Ministry of Revenue's wrath. Finally, one of them stepped forward, drew his sword, and smashed the lock on the box with the hilt.
"Snap!" The lock broke with a sound.
Wang Shili flung open the box. Inside were neatly stacked, still-freshly inked volumes of files. He grabbed one at random, flipped through it, and after only a few pages, his face turned ashen.
This wasn't some discarded old ledger; it was clearly an original signed slip marking all the old grain as superior new grain. Every page was stamped with a bright red official seal, the handwriting neat and precise, perfectly matching the grain registers he had just seen outside.
The original, old receipts that recorded the storage of old grain have probably long been destroyed or hidden away.
"Good! What a fine example of improper storage!" Wang Shili kicked the grain official, who was slumped on the ground, his voice sharp with anger: "You dare to try to fool me, fool Lord Zhou, and fool the imperial court with these false accounts! How much of this full granary of disaster relief grain is the result of this kind of sleight of hand, where inferior goods are passed off as superior ones and old grain is replaced with new?!"
The grain official was ashen-faced, trembling like a leaf, and unable to utter a single word.
Wang Shili slammed the booklet shut. Only now did he fully understand why Zhou Ziye had sent him away to find this so-called signed document—Zhou Ziye had long known there was something fishy going on in the granary. He had sent Wang Shili to investigate so that he could use him to expose the corruption. The son of the Vice Minister of Revenue was Wang Shili's biggest backer; no matter how big the fire in Jinan burned, Wang Shili would always be able to escape unscathed. Others wouldn't have been so lucky.
A mixture of humiliation at being used and anger towards the grain official nearly drove Wang Shili to madness. He slammed the forged signature record in his hand onto the grain official's face: "Men! Tie him up and take him to the front! Zhou Ziye, where's Zhou Ziye?! Tell him to get over here! This isn't over!"
*
Outside the granary, the brief disturbance was forcibly suppressed.
"What a clever trick to deceive everyone!" Hu Xingche said indignantly, "Using old grain to replace new grain in the warehouse, the accounts are flawless. But once the old grain is distributed, if the people suffer from food poisoning or there's not enough to survive and they start a rebellion, they'll smear us, saying we incited a peasant uprising and looted government grain. Zhou Keng is truly vicious. No wonder he sent helpers here when someone from Jingzhou delivered a message a few days ago. I thought they were really here to help, but it turns out they're here to pave the way for Zhou Keng."
"The signing slips that Wang Shili was sent to check are the key." Tang Qi remained calm: "As long as we find the real signing records, proving that the grain stored was old grain rather than new grain, the accounts will not match, and the shady dealings will naturally be exposed."
Ye Qian had been silently observing the direction of the granary, but suddenly whispered, "Something's not right inside."
Sure enough, the side door of the granary was suddenly pushed open, and a commotion ensued. Wang Shili strode angrily at the front, followed by two of Zhou Keng's personal guards roughly escorting the pale-faced, trembling grain official. Wang Shili's face was filled with undisguised rage. As he walked, he roared towards the depths of the granary. Although the exact words were unclear, the direction was unmistakable—he was looking for Zhou Ziye, and it was definitely not a friendly exchange.
"It seems Wang Shili has lived up to expectations and actually dug up the treasure." Tang Qi's lips curled into a smile of watching a show, but his eyes became serious.
Could things really be that simple? Could Wang Shili find something so important so easily? Tang Qi found it strange. With Zhou Keng's cunning and shrewdness, it was impossible for them to find it so easily.
Inside the granary, Zhou Ziye remained standing in the same spot. Wang Shili's angry roar grew louder as he approached, along with the desperate sobs of the grain officer and the heavy footsteps of the soldiers. He watched all of this calmly, as if he had expected it all along.
The chaotic crowd parted before him. Wang Shili spotted Zhou Ziye and his eyes practically spitting fire with rage. He rushed over, pointing at Zhou Ziye's nose, his voice hoarse: "Zhou Ziye! You! You knew all along, didn't you?! You deliberately made me look at that lousy pledge! You knew all along that these bastards were forging documents! Using old grain to pay off debts! You deliberately made me take the blame!"
Zhou Ziye calmly met Wang Shili's angry gaze, without flinching or showing any smugness. He didn't answer Wang Shili's question, but simply turned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the grain official who was being held captive and trembling like an autumn leaf, finally settling on Wang Shili's face, which was contorted with anger. His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough: "I'm here to give you credit, aren't I?"
These words were like adding fuel to the fire, enraging Wang Shili even more, but they also definitively confirmed that Zhou Ziye knew everything. He slammed the forged signature book he was holding down at Zhou Ziye's feet.
"Are you trying to give me credit or get rid of me?!" Wang Shili cursed, pointing at the booklets and grain officials on the ground: "These beasts are audacious! It's all fake! They falsified accounts, recording old grain as new grain! Zhou Ziye, do you think I'm a fool? The granaries and the garrison have all been taken over by your second uncle. Who would believe him if he said he didn't know?"
"You don't dare offend your second uncle, so you drag me down with you as a scapegoat. You're really something!" Wang Shili continued to curse angrily, wishing he could pounce on him and punch him.
"I've arrested him, and all the evidence is right here. You can decide what to do with it!" Wang Shili snorted and threw this hot potato, along with his overwhelming anger, at Zhou Ziye.
Want him to take the blame? No way!
All eyes instantly focused on Zhou Ziye. The grain official collapsed to the ground, closing his eyes in despair.
Zhou Ziye slowly bent down and picked up the forged signature register from the ground. His movements remained steady, his fingertips brushing over the bright red official seal and neatly arranged fake accounts on the register. He didn't look at Wang Shili, nor at the grain official, but simply lowered his eyes to stare at the pages, as if studying the handwriting.
The granary was deathly silent, save for the heavy breathing and the grain officer's chattering teeth.
Zhou Ziye raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the entire room before finally settling on the grain official. His eyes were calm and collected, yet when he fixed his gaze on someone, they became exceptionally menacing. The grain official's last line of defense crumbled completely.
"Speak." Zhou Ziye's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a great deal of intimidation in the grain official's ears: "Who ordered this? Where is the new grain now?"
The grain official trembled violently, his whole body shaking, his eyes darting around in terror as if searching for a lifeline, but there was nothing there. He opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.
Zhou Ziye took a step forward; he didn't need to ask a second time.
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