Qing Yao

Chapter 280 Abundant Fortune, My Blessing!

The old master is currently listening to a report from officials of the Ministry of Works on the construction of the Ningshou Hall in the Yangxin Hall.

The Ning Shou Palace was started ten years ago, and everyone in the palace knew that it was the "Retired Emperor's Palace" built by the old master for himself.

The old emperor had already decreed that he would abdicate after sixty years on the throne, so it was necessary to build the Palace for the Retired Emperor ahead of schedule.

Also present in the hall were He Shen, the old master's most trusted advisor, as well as Peng Yuanrui, the Minister of Works, and Liu Yong, the Vice Minister of Personnel.

It's understandable that Heshen accompanied the old master, and it's also understandable that Peng Yuanrui, as the main person in charge of the project, participated in the report. But what was Liu Yong, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, doing here?
The Emperor's grace is boundless!

Considering the past merits of Liu Yong's father, Liu Tongxun, the old master bestowed a lucrative post upon Liu Yong, who had been sitting on the sidelines in the Ministry of Personnel, as the chief examiner for next year's imperial examination.

This is a positive sign, because people are usually promoted one level after serving as the chief examiner of the imperial examination.

Liu Yong is currently the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. If he is promoted one rank, he will become the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. With a little more effort, he can enter the Grand Council.

He's a complete copy of Sun Shiyi.

Sure enough, Liu Yong came to express his gratitude early in the morning, only to run into the Ministry of Works reporting on the matter of the Emperor Emeritus's Palace. The old master allowed him to listen in as well.

In fact, the entire Ning Shou Palace was completed five years ago, but the old emperor was not satisfied after visiting it several times. Heshen, understanding the old emperor's wishes, ordered the Ministry of Works to build a Ning Shou Palace Garden (commonly known as the Qianlong Garden) in the palace. The garden covered a huge area and was completely modeled after the gardens in Jiangnan. The total cost of the project was more than four million taels of silver and it took five years to complete.

After Peng Yuanrui, as the chief engineer, finished reporting to the old man, he hoped that the old man could visit the Qianlong Garden and perhaps say a few words.

Unexpectedly, the old man showed no interest and simply waved his hand, saying, "I won't go now. I'll just go and live there after I retire in a few years."

A bucket of cold water poured over Minister Peng, who had meticulously arranged the welcoming ceremony, leaving him utterly disheartened.

Heshen saw this but did not persuade the old master to visit the Qianlong Garden, because in the past two years he had learned that the old master did not want to live in that palace of the retired emperor at all. Even if he really abdicated in the future, the old master probably would not leave the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The so-called Palace of the Retired Emperor was nothing more than a vanity project put up by the old master for the world to see. Therefore, no matter how well or beautifully the Palace of Tranquil Longevity was built, the old master would not bother to go there.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation was the true center of power for the Qing Empire.

Furthermore, who says that an emperor emeritus cannot continue to hold power?
While the old man had dampened the Minister of Works' spirits, he became interested in Liu Yong, squinting as he beckoned to him: "Liu Yong, huh?"

"Chen is here!"

Upon hearing the old master call him, Liu Yong quickly took a small step forward, bowed slightly, and listened respectfully to the master's instructions.

To everyone's surprise, the old man poured a bucket of urine over his head!

"Liu Yong, you have never been willing to work wholeheartedly for me. Even when you do work, you are lazy and have many faults. I appointed you as the chief examiner for next year's imperial examination because there was no other candidate. You should take care of yourself and not disappoint me again."

"minister"

Liu Yong felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively knelt down with a thud, kowtowing without saying a word: "Your subject kowtows to thank Heaven for its grace!"

He kowtowed with utmost sincerity, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions, even more complicated than when he learned of the death of his legal wife, Lady Shan.

So, in the Emperor's eyes, Liu Yong was actually this kind of person! He was only used because no one else was available.
"Get up."

The old man was deliberately giving Liu Yong a warning, because Liu Yong always made mistakes in his work. They weren't major problems, just too many minor flaws. Without a warning, he wouldn't be of much use.

As he grew older and his spirits began to wane, he no longer wanted to listen to Heshen read any more memorials and reached out to support himself on the dragon throne as he tried to get up.

If everything has to be decided by the emperor, what is the point of having a Grand Council?

"Master, please slow down!"

Upon seeing this, Heshen quickly stepped forward to help him up. Just as he was about to ask the old man where he planned to go for a stroll, Dong Gao and Song Jun, who were on duty at the Grand Council, handed over a secret memorial jointly signed by Cao Zhenyong and Moergeng'e.

Heshen was still quite nervous. Although he had already revealed Cao and Mo's secret visit in advance, if Zhao Youlu was unprepared and slipped up, and something was discovered during the visit, he and the Grand Secretary would lose a lot of points in the Emperor's eyes.

If Zhao Youlu falls, it will definitely affect the court's perception of him and the Grand Secretary.

So the first thing I saw was the secret memorial, and I was instantly delighted. Without caring whether the old man was interested in listening, I opened it and read it aloud to him.

Although the secret memorial was jointly signed by Cao Zhenyong and Morgeng'e, it was actually Cao Zhenyong, a Hanlin Academician, who was in charge of drafting it.

In his memorial, Cao truthfully recounted everything he had heard, seen, and heard, praising Zhao Youlu as a rare and incorruptible official, and saying that the people of Jiangning called him "Tofu Justice".

It was also noted that Zhao Youlu's timely opening of the granaries and distribution of grain saved the lives of many disaster victims, and the people praised the emperor for this, saying that if the emperor had not sent such an honest official to serve as the grain transport official, how could the people have survived?

In short, although Zhao Youlu was guilty of opening the granaries and distributing grain without authorization, he won the hearts of the people in the disaster area for the court and the emperor, and was meritorious but not demeritful.

Upon hearing that Zhu Gui, the governor of Anhui, had impeached Zhao Youlu, Cao Zhenyong and Moergenge made a special trip to Wuhe, the site of the incident. After several days of secret investigation, they confirmed that Zhao Youlu had not privately stolen grain from the granary for profit. However, Cao Zhenyong frankly admitted that he could not find out whether there was a deficit in the Wuhe granary, and how much it was, and that the court needed to send a special commissioner to investigate thoroughly.

Overall, this secret memorial highly praised Zhao Youlu, and Cao Zhenyong also lavished praise on this man whom he had previously thought to be a "petty man who had risen to power."

This, along with the previous memorial from Sun Shiyi, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, created a synergistic effect.

After putting down the secret report, Heshen advised, "Your Majesty, if Cao and Mo's secret report is true, then Zhao Youlu is indeed a rare and capable official who is honest and upright. The court should reward him. Otherwise, it will inevitably discourage people's hearts, and ignorant people will think that the court cannot tolerate honest and good officials."

The old man remained silent, instead examining the secret report word by word with a magnifying glass. When he looked up again, a clear look of joy appeared on his face. He nodded and said, "If the investigation confirms the truth, Zhao Youlu's incorruptibility is no less than that of the four most incorruptible officials of the early Qing Dynasty. This is a blessing for me, a blessing for the Qing Dynasty, and a blessing for the people! I am not a ruler who is indiscriminate in rewarding and punishing. Heshen, tell me, what should we reward this child with?"

Heshen smiled obsequiously and said, "Rewards and punishments are all imperial grace; how dare this servant say more?"

As she spoke, she glanced, intentionally or unintentionally, at Liu Yong, who was standing there looking extremely awkward.

"You're always worrying about this and that. Just say what I tell you to say. Don't worry about saying too much or too little."

The old master closed the secret memorial, truly intending to reward Zhao Youlu, because Zhao Youlu's actions perfectly aligned with the old master's desire to rectify official corruption.

Or perhaps the timing of Zhao Youlu's emergence as a model of integrity was just right, so right that the old master had no choice but to reward him.

Just as he was pondering what to reward, the newly appointed Grand Councilor Songyun spoke up: "Your Majesty, the court has ordered Fuchang, the Provincial Governor of Jiangning, to thoroughly investigate the case. Shouldn't we wait until Fuchang has finished his investigation before taking any action?"

(End of this chapter)