Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 377 A Bunch of Useless Trash!
"Isn't there anyone else in the cabinet?" The emperor frowned again. "What are the rest of them doing? Are they just drawing salaries without working?!"

"Over the years, the other Grand Secretaries have always helped Grand Secretary Yan with his work. This time, Grand Secretary Yan has a heavy workload, and the other Grand Secretaries will probably have to lend a hand as well."

"His mission is important, but my court affairs are not?" The emperor raised his voice again and slammed his fist on the kang table: "Who exactly is their master!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down." Lu Jie quickly stepped forward to appease them. "Perhaps the Grand Secretaries have also had a difficult time. After all, Grand Secretary Yan has been kind to them. I will try to find a way to handle this matter properly. Your Majesty, please do not be angry anymore."

The emperor suppressed his anger, snorted, and glanced at him sideways: "You're still speaking up for them!"

Lu Jie sighed and said, "How dare I! I have always been truthful and honest, and I would never dare to deceive Your Majesty, whether it is good or bad!"

The emperor looked at him for a moment, then looked away: "Which department's report is the most urgent?"

"The people's livelihood and economy are the foundation of the country. Apart from the Ministry of War, the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue are naturally the most urgent at present."

The emperor picked up the two sacred divination sticks and rubbed them in his hands for a few moments, then said, "You are the Minister of Revenue. You will review and approve the memorials from the Ministry of Revenue first. After you have finished reviewing them, come to the palace and report back."

Lu Jie said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

Upon returning to the Ministry of Revenue, he immediately ordered someone to summon Shen Qingzhou.

Shen Qingzhou was free when he heard the message and arrived at Lu Jie's office in no time.

"I remember that Liu Zheng's case has not yet been finalized, and the case of Zhou Sheng in Tanzhou Prefecture is still unresolved?"

Shen Qingzhou nodded: "That's right! Father-in-law just entered the palace?"

"The Emperor just issued an edict ordering me to make my own decisions on the Ministry of Revenue's case. This is a good opportunity! Haven't we already prepared all the evidence regarding Zhou Sheng and the Liu family's crimes?"
"Bring this matter back up. While the cabinet is currently on the same page as Yan Song, let's settle these two cases first! And while we're at it, let's stir up some more trouble for the cabinet!"

Shen Qingzhou thought for a moment: "This case is only one step away from being solved. Since it involves collusion for profit, it will most likely end with confiscation of property and execution. Although it is related to the Yan family, they are already in a bind and probably won't care. So, Father-in-law, are you after the money from the Liu and Zhou families?"

Lu Jie's gaze was deep: "I don't want it, but do you think the Emperor wants it? Then think again, will the Cabinet intervene in this matter or not?"

Shen Qingzhou raised an eyebrow: "Got it!"

When Lu Jia returned from seeing Lu Jie last time, she mentioned that Lu Jie already had the idea of ​​joining the cabinet to compete for power. This is certainly a good thing and we must strive for it!

At this time, the cabinet was in chaos, and Feng Chuo had just been dismissed. There were vacant positions in the government offices. If not now, when would be the right time?

When the Yan family's wealth was exposed, the emperor realized that his own fortune had been emptied. At this moment, regardless of whether he was short of money or not, why wouldn't he hurry up and take back what he had?
The thirteen officials who were named have already been investigated and punished. Would the emperor really be reluctant to let go of these two? He just didn't think of them for the moment!
The idea of ​​sowing discord in the emperor's eyes is something that will inevitably be brought up again in a serious manner.

However, the cabinet controlled by the Yan family will certainly not cause trouble for themselves at this time, so they will definitely suppress this case again.

If they can get the information to the emperor before the emperor does, how can the emperor possibly suppress it?

The Emperor is already furious that the cabinet is not doing anything right now. If he finds out that they are still suppressing this case, he will not tolerate it any longer!

If this matter is accomplished, it will certainly be of great benefit to Lu Jie in his power struggle!
Once the father-in-law and son-in-law had agreed on the terms, they went their separate ways to carry out their tasks.

The next morning, the memorial from the Court of Judicial Review was delivered to the Grand Secretariat. However, several members of the Grand Secretariat were in cahoots with Yan Song, and they had indeed been helping Yan Song investigate his cronies these past few days. This matter was very tricky because it required dealing with the emperor without being too ruthless to these people, lest it backfire.

So, what other matter is more important than this case with a two-week deadline?
As expected, it was shelved.

In the afternoon, just as the emperor was preparing to meditate and regulate his breathing, the eunuch in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs delivered a memorial to him.

"The Dali Temple has submitted a memorial stating that although the Autumn Equinox has passed, Zhou Sheng and Liu Zheng's faction, who are imprisoned in the dungeon, have not yet been executed. They request Your Majesty's instructions."

The emperor turned to look at him: "Where is the cabinet?"

The eunuch glanced at him and said, "The memorial has been submitted to the cabinet, but there has been no reply yet."

"Bastard thing!"

The emperor threw down the memorial, saying, "Are these people trying to challenge me? If they can't handle it, then get out!"

The eunuchs remained silent, trembling with fear.

At this moment, someone else handed over a memorial: "Minister Lu has approved ten memorials today and has been ordered to present them to the Emperor for review."

The emperor took it and opened it, his expression softening slightly.

"A bunch of self-proclaimed senior old guys are no match for Lu Jie, who has only been an official for a little over ten years!"

He took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and then began to peruse the remaining memorials. Having finished his imperial annotations, he instructed, "The cases of Liu Zheng and Zhou Sheng also involve embezzlement of state taxes. Issue an edict to Lu Jie; he is to preside over the handling of this case!"

"Yes!"

……

After the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree left the Ministry of Revenue, Shen Qingzhou immediately went to Lu Jie's room.

"Now that we have the case in hand, we must resolve it as quickly as possible!" Lu Jie placed the imperial edict aside and then unfolded the case file that had been moved there earlier. "Zhou Sheng's crimes are heinous, and even the extermination of his entire clan would not be excessive. But right now, we must follow the Emperor's wishes, so we cannot do that."

"Our priority is to make money. We should offer Zhou Sheng some benefits to get him to confess all the people involved. By pulling out one person, we can uncover more. The more people we pull out, the more money we'll make!"

Shen Qingzhou took out a roll of names from his pocket: "Guo Yi had already figured it out when he was in Tanzhou. As long as you interrogate Zhou Sheng one by one according to the list on this list, he will not be able to keep his mouth shut now."

Lu Jie glanced at it, then tucked it into his sleeve: "From this day forward, neither of us shall ever see each other again, not even in the yamen. If the Emperor intends to use me, he will absolutely not allow me to get too close to the Shen family. We'll discuss everything after this is done!"

Shen Qingzhou nodded: "If you have any instructions, just leave me a note. Also, Guo Yi is very clear about the matter in Tanzhou. I have already informed him in advance. If needed, you can go directly to him or have him involved in the case."

“That would be best.” Lu Jie nodded as he packed his things. “He became the imperial envoy by following my path. It’s much better to have him do it than for you to do it.”

After saying that, he said, "Go ahead! The Yan family will surely find out soon, and I need to interrogate Zhou Sheng before they do!"