~ FIND A BREAKTHROUGH ~
Yue Wang raised his eyes: “Second Imperial Brother, I don’t want to lie to you.”
Yu Wang frowned, “Fourth Imperial Brother, there are thousands of women in this world. There will always be ones that suit you better than Yunyao. You listen to Second Imperial Brother’s advice and break off contact with Mu Yunyao.”
Yue Wang shook his head: “Second Imperial Brother, it’s already too late.”
Yu Wang opened his mouth in surprise and looked shocked in his eyes. “What is it late? Could it be that you’ve already…”
Yue Wang hurriedly shook his head: “Where did Second Imperial Brother think of? Yunyao and I are affectionate and polite, and there is nothing to violate the rules.”
Yu Wang heaved a sigh of relief, “You scared me to death. Then, why do you say it’s already too late?” He had just thought that his Fourth Imperial Brother had been hanged and beaten by the Grand Princess Ye Di if they had already done it.
“Some things that, once you place it in your heart, will firmly take root and sprout, can no longer be cleaned up again.” Furthermore, he did not plan to clean up this feeling.
“But there’s Imperial Father....”
“Don’t worry, Second Imperial Brother. I will think of a way to deal with it. Also, you came here at the right time. A few days ago, I heard some rumors about the Grand Commandant Zou Min, who is responsible for assessing the official’s examination. It said that he secretly received quite a few bribes. Can Second Imperial Brotherhave the idea to deal with this person?”
“Zou Min?” Yu Wang narrowed his eyes slightly, “Before, he was old enemies with the Min family, and later, he repeatedly targeted my future father-in-law, Lord Min. Now, he finally revealed his foxtail. Fourth Imperial Brother, is this news true?”
“It’s true.”
Yu Wang revealed a sneer, “Fourth Imperial Brother, leave this matter to me. I will definitely make that crafty old fellow Zou Min suffer. The official examination is something that Imperial Father values the most. He dares to tamper with this matter, so he must be tired of living.”
“The matter was exposed by an expatriate imperial official. However, this person’s paper was intercepted before it entered the Capital. Fortunately, my man met and rescued the person who delivered the paper and then found about the news. Second Imperial Brother, you should be more careful in doing things to prevent Zou Min from biting back.”
“Yes. Don’t worry, Fourth Imperial Brother. I know what to do.” After Yu Wang finished rejoicing, his expression suddenly stiffened, “Didn’t I just talk about you and Yunyao? How come you bring up Zou Min?”
“Second Imperial Brother, you understand my temperament. The things that I decide will not be changed.”
Yu Wang wanted to continue persuading him, but when he opened his mouth and saw Yue Wang’s resolute expression, he swallowed the words on his lips: “When you were in the Cold Palace, I would often climb over the wall to see you. At that time, you were thin and small, but your temper was even more enormous than mine, and it took you nearly half a year to speak to me. From then on, I knew that your temperament was simply too stubborn. When you left the Cold Palace and were assigned to Western Guangdong, I thought you would sharpen your character, become more flexible, and speak softly to Imperial Father. But I didn’t expect you would stay in Western Guangdong for such a long time … Forget it, since you have made up your mind, I will not try to persuade you anymore. For Imperial Father, you should think of a solution as soon as possible. I won’t mention it. First and Third Imperial Brother will also make a fuss about it.”
“Yes, thank you for your reminder, Second Imperial Brother .”
“Okay, in fact, putting aside the blood relationship, you and Yunyao are extremely compatible. However, you’re still lacking compared to Fanghua and me.”
“Second Imperial Brother only dares to say these words in front of me. But, when you come to Miss Min’s place, you don’t even dare to breathe loudly.”
Yu Wang almost jumped up. “Who said that? I am just afraid of making her angry. If I hadn’t been worried about this, I wouldn’t have wronged myself so much. However, I won’t be afraid when your second sister-in-law passes the door. Once she marries the royal family, there will be no chance for her to go back on her words. When that time comes...Humph...”
Yue Wang looked at Yu Wang with envy in his heart. When could he treat Yunyao so openly and honestly?
In mid-February, as the weather grew hotter, the Imperial Court turned into a pot of boiling water over the corruption case of Grand Commandant Zou Min.
In ordinary times, when an official had been corrupted, he would not cause such a commotion even if he was a first-rank official. However, Zou Min’s timing for corruption and accepting bribes was too ingenious. It precisely was when he was the chief inspector of officials’ performance examination. As a result, who knew how many officials trembled in fear of falling into this muddy water.
Before Zou Min could move around, he was sent straight to the prison by Yu Wang’s lightning-fast methods. Within a short time, Yu Wang had gathered all of the officials reporting Zou Min’s corruption, found out who had intercepted the report, and dragged them and the evidence directly to the Golden Hall.
After the Emperor heard the causes and consequences of the incident, he became exceptionally furious and immediately ordered a thorough investigation. The officials found hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from Zou Min’s mansion. In addition, he also discovered all kinds of rare and precious antiques, jade beads, and accessories. It is said that Zou Min’s methods of hiding silver were incredibly hidden, and he hid all the silver and precious things in his concubine’s courtyard. If the official wasn’t searched meticulously, he would have really missed it.
As soon as the case was announced, the Imperial Court became particularly lively. Before the officials could react, the imperial censor under Ling Wang took the lead to investigate Yang Lian, the envoy of Liangjiang City. The Emperor was furious after hearing about the thunderstorm, and all the officials involved in the officials’ performance examination were classified as B grade. Although it was shocking, it was not to the point of appalling. According to the rumors, Yang Lian’s political performance was an upper-tier one, and it could even be said that his political performance was quite impressive. If his performance examination was obtained through bribery, this political performance examination would be a complete joke.
When Yang Lian heard the news, he couldn’t think much. Taking advantage of the dark night, he directly went to Jin Wang’s Palace. He kept a low profile and tried his best to hide from people’s eyes, but he did not know that his actions were being observed by people outside the house.
Hearing that Yang Lian had come to visit, Jin Wang’s face darkened, “Let him in.”
Upon entering, Yang Lian immediately knelt on the ground, “Your Royal Highness, you must save me.”
“Didn’t you say that nothing would go wrong and foolproof? Hadn’t you already taken care of everything and made preparations? Why is there still someone who has a clue about you?”
Yang Lian looked troubled. “Since Zou Min accepted the gift, this lower official has to leave a guarantee. Otherwise, if Zou Min goes back on his word, wouldn’t the silver be spent in vain?”
“You … Even if you want to leave a proof, you should at least keep it properly. How did it end up in someone else’s hands?”
“I also didn’t expect that the personal servant who has followed me for so many years would have thoughts of betraying me.” Yang Lian’s expression was terrified,” Your Royal Highness, the evidence has already been taken away, so this humble subject can only come to you to seek help. If you really don’t care about me, I really no way out. The salt tax policy’s silver will start shipping to the Capital soon. At this time....”
Jin Wang’s gaze turned sharp, “Are you threatening me?”
“This humble subject didn’t dare. This humble subject was also coerced by the salt merchants. Who would have thought they would use the salt tax policy’s silver to bribe you? Furthermore, they had me present the salt tax policy’s silver to you, and spending the silver is equivalent to tying up with the salt merchants. This broken ship with a leaking bottom is about to set sail now. If we don’t make up for the loophole as soon as possible, we will all die in the river.”
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It’s every man or coward for himself. 😒
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