Contentment with modest wealth

There's news in Chapter 230
Song En's scathing rebuke of Lu Jie and Liu Zheng's group was actually what Shen Qingzhou was thinking as well.

The biggest weakness of the Yan family is their embezzlement. With Lu Jie in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, it's like opening a granary and letting the rats in.

In their previous life, Shen Qingzhou and the Crown Prince spent many years gathering evidence of the Yan family's crimes. In this life, thanks to their memories from their previous life, they have almost gathered all the evidence they could find in just one year.

In other words, if the Yan family's crimes were presented to the emperor at this point, it would have caused quite a stir. However, since the Yan family had Hu Yucheng in their possession, even if all the evidence were presented, the Yan family would not fall.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Hu Yucheng has the ability to influence the political climate. It's just that with Hu Yucheng's support for the Yan family on one hand, and the other half being the decades-long relationship between the emperor and Yan Song on the other, now is not the best time.

Ultimately, as long as the emperor still trusts the Yan family, the goal of completely defeating them cannot be achieved.

Even so, Shen Qingzhou still needed to know whether Lu Jie would actually give Liu Zheng the three million taels of silver he was asking for, and how he would do so.

Several days after Shen Qingzhou sent people to keep an eye on the Liu family, Guo Yi also came looking for them.

"I haven't had a chance to congratulate you yet, but you've finally achieved your goal."

Guo Yi congratulated him, but there was a hint of resentment in his eyes. After all, back in Shawan, he had been completely outmaneuvered by Guo Yi.

He then brought up the matter of Lu Jie becoming the Minister of Revenue. Although he was unaware of the three million taels of silver, he shared the same concern: "If we have to wait until Hu Yucheng finishes his war, who knows how many years it will take."

"Even if we wait until Yan Ze retires, he will only be seventy years old, which is not too old. Moreover, with Yan Shu advising him all these years, he doesn't have to spend too much energy."

"If they continue like this, who knows how much harm they will cause!"

Shen Qingzhou said, "So we need to change our approach. We can't just foolishly confront the Yan family directly anymore."

"Then who should we keep an eye on?"

"emperor."

Guo Yi's mouth dropped open: "What did you say?"

That's incredibly audacious! Aren't they afraid of being caught by the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Shen Qingzhou paced back and forth: "The facts of so many years have proven that directly targeting the Yan family is useless, because they always find ways to protect themselves."

"No matter how much evidence is collected, as long as they have someone supporting them, they won't fall. Only when the hand supporting them is removed can this evidence be put to use."

This is the experience gained from failures in a previous life.

The evidence he and the Crown Prince had gathered was enough to wipe out the Yan family, yet in the end, only Yan Song, half-buried in the ground, died. Moreover, their desperate act of burning their boats resulted in a successful survival, and in the end, the emperor not only withdrew the charges against the Yan family but also promoted Yan Shu.

It's obvious that as long as the emperor still favors the Yan family, no matter how hard they try, it's useless.

It is clear that the key to defeating the Yan family did not lie in whether or not all their crimes were proven, but in the emperor's mind.

“But why do I feel that the path you’re suggesting is even more difficult?” Guo Yi pondered for a moment before saying, “The Emperor has been skipping morning court sessions for years, so most officials can’t even get a glimpse of him, let alone try to understand his thoughts. In other words, the Emperor has entrusted state affairs to the Grand Secretariat, and the only ones who truly understand his mind are the Yan family father and son. Even if they wanted to plot against him, they wouldn’t have the chance.”

“That’s the Emperor, the ruler of a country,” Shen Qingzhou glanced at him. “When the Emperor was brought back to inherit the throne in the first year of Jiayong, have you forgotten that important event?”

"A monarch cannot tolerate any betrayal. The reason why the Yan family has been favored for so many years is because they have always obeyed the emperor. Just think, what if the emperor discovers that they are not as obedient as he thought?"

Guo Yi was instantly moved.

Throughout history, which emperor wasn't suspicious?
Especially the current emperor, even though he hasn't held court for decades, he still firmly grasps imperial power. The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who is in charge of secretly monitoring officials, is his confidant, as is the Grand Secretary. In addition, there are several eunuchs holding official seals around him. The emperor is never short of eyes and ears, so over the years, there is no one in the court, big or small, that the emperor doesn't know.

It is true that the Yan family father and son wield immense power, yet to this day, not a single incident has been reported that has harmed the imperial authority. They are willing to be the emperor's lackeys, which is the fundamental reason why the Yan family has enjoyed enduring favor!
Guo Yi said, "So you already have a plan?"

"It's not that easy." Shen Qingzhou, with his hands in his sleeves, walked back and sat down. "Let's wait for the outcome of the Jiang family matter on the Lu family's side before we talk about it."

Jiang was Yan Song's illegitimate daughter; she was no ordinary official's wife.

Guo Yi glanced at him and said, "Speaking of which, Yan Laosan will become your brother-in-law in the future. You two sons-in-law of the Lu family will have more opportunities to meet in the future, so don't develop feelings for each other."

Shen Qingzhou raised an eyebrow: "Are you jealous?"

"Pah!" Guo Yi said.

Song En walked in, glanced at them with a smile, and said, "Lord Guo and our young master had a very pleasant chat."

Guo Yi glanced at him and asked, "Why are you so happy? Could it be that the Jiang family girl has come to see you?"

Song En's expression turned serious: "What are you talking about? It's a big news story from the Liu family."

Guo Yi was surprised to hear this: "What news? Which Liu family?"

"The reason I'm so happy is naturally the Liu family, which is married to Du, the cousin of Madam Yan Shu." Song En said as he walked up to Shen Qingzhou. "Early this morning, Liu Zheng had his wife Du block him outside because a few days ago, Liu Zheng met a beautiful actress at a banquet, and in his drunken state, he took her as his concubine."

"It's said they've been inseparable these past few days, and somehow the Du family found out. They stormed over early this morning and caught them red-handed!"

"Afterwards, Madam Du beat the actor severely, and Liu Zheng didn't fare any better either; I heard he was also beaten several times."

"This matter should have been settled, but no sooner had Madam Du left than the entertainer filed a complaint against the Liu family with the Shuntian Prefecture."

"Now the Du family has been summoned there again, and they're causing quite a stir in Shuntian Prefecture!"

After hearing this, Guo Yi and Shen Qingzhou exchanged a glance and stood up excitedly: "That woman actually has such courage?"

"She's a street performer, who knows who's backing her up? She's insisting that Liu Zheng bullied her and forcibly took her body. She's accusing Liu Zheng of abusing his power and forcing a woman into prostitution, and she's also accusing Du of beating her."

"That's not all. After a couple of rounds of wrangling, the woman even accused Liu Zheng of accepting three thousand taels of silver from officials who came to the capital to report on their duties before the new year! She even produced evidence!"
"Now, Liu Zheng has also gone to Shuntian Prefecture. Shuntian Prefecture dares not receive him without authorization, so it has reported to the Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review. Now, people from both departments have gone there, and they are making a big fuss about it!"