Prime Minister

Chapter 13 013 [The Pawn Crossing the River]

“Mother, I have always firmly believed that Father was incorruptible, and those impeachments were merely malicious framing, but—”

Xue Huai got up, picked up the file from the table, and handed it to Cui Shi: "Mother, take a look at this."

Cui took it and slowly began to read it.

She came from a respectable family and, despite living a secluded life, could still discern the sinister intentions hidden within the plain words of this document.

After a long silence, she frowned and said, "That's impossible."

Xue Huai quickly asked, "What do you mean by that, Mother?"

Madam Cui refuted the issues with the account books and money one by one, and solemnly said, "Since I married your father, I have always been in charge of the family storehouse and made all the decisions on income and expenditure. Your father has never interfered. If your father had embezzled funds from the river project back then, I could not have been unaware of it. There must be a reason for these discrepancies in the accounts, and your father has always been cautious. He would never have left such ambiguous records. Therefore, there is only one possibility: these accounts have been tampered with."

Xue Huai felt a chill run down his spine.

He suddenly recalled Xue Minglun's resounding statement that these old files from the Ministry of Works could absolutely not have been tampered with.

But is that really the case?
In this era, there is no sophisticated technology for identifying counterfeits, so how could he be so certain?

While Xue Huai was deep in thought, Cui continued, "As for the matter of reducing the stone material by 30%, there are also some suspicious points here. Perhaps your father did make such a decision when he was in charge of building the dam, but he would not have said something like reducing the stone material by 30% to save the people's labor, because he wanted the dam to last for more than anyone else, even decades. He loved his people, that's true, but he would have taken other measures instead of leaving the dam with hidden dangers."

She paused, then said with absolute certainty, "Your father has always been an upright man; how could he do something so foolish?"

Compared to the information outside that was hard to distinguish between true and false, Xue Huai naturally trusted Cui's judgment more. She must be one of the few people in the world who understood Xue Mingzhang the most.

Thinking of this, Xue Huai asked, "Mother, when Father was in charge of building the Yangzhou dike, did he leave any related notes?"

Cui's eyes lit up, and she quickly nodded, saying, "Of course, come with me."

The mother and son immediately left the east courtyard and, accompanied by the maid Moyun, went straight to Songbaizhai in the west courtyard.

This is the study used by Xue Mingzhang before his death. Since his passing, Cui has had it cleaned and tidied daily. The room is spotless, and the various furnishings and bookshelves are arranged exactly as they were when Xue Mingzhang was alive.

Mo Yun stood waiting under the porch outside the door. Cui Shi opened a hidden compartment under the bookshelf on the west side, took out a stack of documents and placed them on the table. She said to Xue Huai, "Huai'er, these are the handwritten notes left by your father when he was in Yangzhou."

Xue Huai quickly found a copy of "Notes on River Works" among them. After only a few glances, he felt reassured and turned to Cui Shi, saying, "Mother, don't worry, I will definitely help Father get justice."

As Cui gazed at his confident and composed face, she was overwhelmed with emotion.

There was a time when she so desperately hoped that her son could mature quickly, not expecting him to become a high-ranking official, but just to live a peaceful and safe life.

At this moment, she even felt grateful for that accident. If Xue Huai hadn't gone through a life-or-death experience, he might still have refused to restrain his sharpness, and if he continued like that, he would have become the target of everyone's criticism sooner or later.

The dangers of the imperial court are well-known; if only her husband had listened to her advice back then…

Cui forced down her painful memories and held Xue Huai's wrist, saying, "Huai'er, you must be careful."

"Yes, mother."

Xue Huai respectfully agreed.

Madam Cui gave him some more instructions, telling him not to stay up too late, and then she and Mo Yun returned to the inner courtyard.

That night, the candles burned continuously in the study.

As dawn broke, Xue Huai rubbed his sore eyes and looked at the mess on the table. He felt no weariness at all; on the contrary, he was filled with the energy and motivation he had had when he studied hard all night in his youth.

The notes left by Xue Mingzhang were extremely useful. Xue Huai gleaned many details of the Yangzhou river works ten years ago from them, and most of the doubts in the old files of the Ministry of Works had reasonable explanations.

Even if he cannot find the missing files in the Hanlin Academy or prove the authenticity of the old files from the Ministry of Works, he still has enough confidence to deal with Gu Heng's accusations.

With the biggest crisis successfully resolved, Xue Huai began to ponder the essence of the matter.

Gu Heng's motives are understandable. As the Director of the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Works, he was responsible for supervising the construction of water conservancy facilities throughout the Great Yan territory, especially the stability of flood control dikes along the Yangtze River and its important tributaries. This year, such a major blunder occurred, causing hundreds of thousands of people to be displaced. Regardless of the fate of the relevant officials, Gu Heng could not escape the court's accountability.

In short, Gu Heng could only escape disaster by shifting the blame onto others.

However, the emperor would not be easily fooled, so he racked his brains to find Xue Mingzhang's suspicions in old documents, at least to pin the blame for the most severe losses on Yangzhou Prefecture.

So what role did Xue Minglun play in all of this?
Xue Huai got up and opened the window, feeling the chilly early morning air, his mind became very clear.

Logically speaking, as Xue Minglun's core subordinate, Gu Heng's most sensible choice at this time would be to seek the protection of his superior. After all, the floods this summer were a natural disaster, and human power has its limits. As long as Xue Minglun was willing to put in a good word for him before the emperor, the consequences would certainly not be too serious.

From Xue Minglun's perspective, Gu Heng's sudden attack could easily lead the court and the public to mistakenly believe that it was at his behest. Even the emperor would question him because he and Xue Mingzhang were of the same clan. How could the Minister of Works not understand the principle of protecting one's relatives?
Perhaps this explains why Xue Minglun gave him that case file. If Gu Heng's impeachment was at Xue Minglun's behest, then he had no reason to do so. What kind of logic is it to impeach one's father while simultaneously handing over evidence to one's son to find flaws?

"It seems the Ministry of Works is not a monolithic entity..."

Xue Huai quickly realized Xue Minglun's predicament. Gu Heng had put him in a very difficult situation, and no matter what he did, he would be caught in a dilemma.

If Xue Minglun were to take action against Gu Heng, it could very likely shake his position within the Ministry of Works.

If he went along with Gu Heng's wishes, he would not be able to explain himself to the emperor. Not to mention that Xue Mingzhang had been dead for many years, how could he smear the head of a deceased clansman?
So he handed the dossier to Xue Huai and gave him many pointers, hoping that his distant nephew could turn the situation around.

Thinking about it more deeply, if Gu Heng isn't Xue Minglun's confidant, then whose man is he?

Xue Huai felt that he had finally touched upon part of the truth of the incident.

Someone set a trap for the Ministry of Works and Xue Minglun, first having Gu Heng jump out and expose the truth, and then targeting the deceased Xue Mingzhang. This way, the emperor and the court could not ignore it and would definitely investigate along this line.

As for what will ultimately be found out, no one can say for sure.

Xue Minglun's assistance to Xue Huai was likely not just to resolve the matter properly, but more likely to use Xue Huai's status as a member of the Qingliu faction to completely muddy the waters, turning the situation into chaos, and possibly even escalating into a civil war between the Qingliu faction and the Ning faction. In this way, the focus of attention from the court and the public would not be on him.

This is what is known as factional strife.

Thinking of Xue Minglun's suggestion that he consult Shen Wang, Xue Huai's thoughts became clearer.

He still has one question: what is the emperor's attitude toward this matter?

Xue Mingzhang's short but brilliant life was inseparable from the emperor's high regard and appreciation for him. In particular, in the seventh year of the Taihe reign, he submitted a memorial requesting the construction of the dike along the Yangtze River in Yangzhou. At that time, the emperor almost made the decision unilaterally, and ordered the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the River Conservancy Office to assist him, allowing Xue Mingzhang to realize his ambitions.

Later, Xue Mingzhang was promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and in just over a year he was promoted to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Everyone thought this would be a beautiful story of the emperor and his minister, but unexpectedly Xue Mingzhang died young. It is said that the emperor was heartbroken and gave Xue Mingzhang great posthumous honors.

But now it is the eighteenth year of Taihe.

At the beginning of the reign of this emperor, he worked diligently and loved the people. Many great scholars praised him as a sage ruler. There were many loyal and capable ministers like Xue Mingzhang. Ning Hengzhi, the Minister of Personnel at that time, was not the powerful and influential chief minister he is today.

Back then, the imperial court was in good health and the people were harmonious. The Great Yan's national strength was rising day by day, and it was a scene of peace and prosperity.

As time goes by, many people and things change, and the emperor is no exception.

He still firmly controls the power in the court, but the extravagant lifestyle around him is intensifying day by day.

These days, apart from the power in his hands, it's probably difficult for anything else to attract the attention of the one in the palace.

Xue Huai's thoughts returned to the Yangzhou corruption case itself. The emperor was definitely not a magnanimous person, and Xue Mingzhang was a loyal and honest official whom he had personally appointed, and had been dead for many years. Destroying Xue Mingzhang's statue would be a slap in the face to the emperor.

But surprisingly, he did not refute Gu Heng's impeachment.

Then there is only one possibility.

The emperor also wanted to see who was behind this charade and what their intentions were.

As for the fate of the Xue family members, that is naturally a trivial matter.

It was broad daylight outside.

Xue Huai gazed quietly at the desolate scenery in the courtyard.

Whether it was the emperor, Xue Minglun, or any other important figures he had never met, they were all people standing at the chessboard.

Young people like him are naturally seen as pawns that can be placed at will.

but--

"Allow me to emulate your unwavering determination this time."

Xue Huai muttered to himself, his words naturally directed at the original owner of this body in the afterlife.

The game has only just begun, but he can no longer remain a dutiful pawn.