Prime Minister

Chapter 54 054 [Deep Within the Palace]

December 6th, afternoon.

Han Qian, the commander of the Jing'an Division, hurried into the palace carrying two thick volumes of documents.

In the East Warm Pavilion of Mingde Hall, Emperor Jiang Chen of the Great Yan Dynasty leaned back on the couch, gesturing for Zeng Min to place the two volumes on the table. He then looked at Han Qian and asked, "Did Xue Huai enter the Eastern Palace yesterday?"

Han Qian replied, “Your Majesty, Xue Shidu entered the palace at the second quarter of Chen hour and left at the last quarter of Si hour, staying for nearly two hours. According to the records of the officials in charge of the ceremony, Xue Shidu told His Highness the Crown Prince yesterday the story of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty defending Huo Guang’s loyalty.”

The emperor remained noncommittal and then asked, "How do the two get along?"

Han Qian said succinctly, "We get along quite well."

The emperor did not ask any further questions. Although he was concerned about the private interactions between the crown prince and important officials in the court, a mere Hanlin Academy reader was not enough to make him wary of the crown prince, even though he knew that the crown prince was winning over Xue Huai because of Shen Wang, who stood behind him.

"From now on, we need not interfere with Xue Huai's contact with the Crown Prince, unless it involves Shen Wang."

Upon hearing the emperor's instructions, Han Qian bowed his head and agreed.

The Jing'an Division is different from the government departments; they are the emperor's eyes and ears, and all their actions are subject to the emperor's orders, treating everyone else as nothing.

Mentioning Shen Wang, the emperor asked, "What has Shen Wang been doing these past few days?"

Han Qian replied, "Minister Shen is currently drafting a list of new junior officials for various departments of the Ministry of Works. Two of them were previously officials in the Investigation Department: Yuan Cheng, the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, is now proposed to be appointed as the Director of the Water Conservancy Department; and Fang Jiming, the Principal of the Ministry of Justice, is now proposed to be appointed as the Assistant Director of the Land Reclamation Department."

He specifically mentioned these two people for two reasons: firstly, they performed exceptionally well in their work at the investigation department; and secondly, the leap in their rank promotions was quite significant.

Yuan Cheng was promoted from the seventh rank to the fifth rank, and Fang Jiming was also promoted from the seventh rank to the fifth rank.

However, their situation was different from Xue Huai's. Yuan Cheng had been in office for twelve years, and Fang Jiming for nine years. Both of them had enough ability, seniority, and merit. They had just not encountered a suitable opportunity before, and no one in the court was willing to help them, which is why they had been stuck in the same place for many years.

Now that they have distinguished themselves by investigating the corruption case in the Ministry of Works and have gained Shen Wang's favor and appreciation, it is only natural that they will be promoted. Even if they have taken a rather big step, it can be considered as compensation for their hard work over the past years.

The emperor quickly figured out the pros and cons. Although he disliked Shen Wang's unauthorized actions, he still needed such a leader of the upright faction in the current political situation.

As long as Shen Wang remains in the court, the old foxes Ning Hengzhi and Ouyang Hui will not completely escalate the conflict. They will always be in a state of mutual vigilance but superficial peace. Otherwise, no matter who makes the first move, Shen Wang may ultimately benefit.

The emperor didn't mind the two occasionally tripping each other up, but he didn't want to see them fight each other and make a mess of the court.

Since Shen Wang cannot be allowed to fall, and the fact that he was put in charge of the Ministry of Works this time has already served as a warning, the Emperor naturally wouldn't mind if he brought a few capable assistants to the Ministry of Works.

Leaving that topic aside, the Emperor slowly asked, "What about the Shen family in Jiangnan that you mentioned the other day?"

Han Qian briefly recounted the troubles encountered by the Guangtai ship on its northward journey, and then mentioned the friendship between Xue Mingzhang and Shen Qingluan's father, Shen Bingwen.

"Ministry of Revenue..."

The emperor pondered for a moment, then said with slight displeasure, "Does that old fox Wang Xu also want to emulate Xue Minglun?"

He didn't care about the fate of the Shen family in Jiangnan, but he was very dissatisfied with the Ministry of Revenue's self-contained approach and its increasingly close ties with Shanxi merchants.

Wang Xu, the Minister of Revenue, was from Puzhou, Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi Province. He came from an official family and had close ties with Shanxi merchants.

This seasoned official has good relationships with all the factions in the court, and neither Ning Hengzhi nor Ouyang Hui dare to underestimate him, much less regard him as a powerless opportunist.

Han Qian understood the source of the emperor's displeasure. He would not defend Wang Xu, but calmly said, "Your Majesty, the Shanxi merchants have long been closely united. They have almost monopolized the money exchange business in the capital. Regardless of whether Minister Wang is from Shanxi or not, they will not stand idly by and watch the Shen family's Guangtai Money Exchange gain a foothold in the capital."

"But we can't let them do whatever they want."

The emperor frowned slightly. These people below were not easy to deal with. If he relaxed his guard even a little, they would take advantage of him. He had to keep them on their toes from time to time.

Just as he was about to make a decision, Han Qian suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I received news before entering the palace that the Ministry of Revenue has given its approval and Guangtai Money Shop has obtained the license."

The Emperor's gaze darkened slightly. The Shanxi merchants wouldn't be so kind, and Wang Xu was no soft-hearted man either. He asked thoughtfully, "Did the Shen family pull strings in the inner court, or did Xue Huai go to Shen Wang?"

In his mind, there were only two possibilities: either several senior eunuchs in the inner court helped the Shen family, or Xue Huai persuaded Shen Wang to help because of the long-standing friendship between the Xue and Shen families. Otherwise, the Ministry of Revenue would not have agreed so easily.

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Zeng Min, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who was standing not far away, lowered his head, his heart suddenly leaping into his throat.

Fortunately, Han Qian immediately explained, "No, it's not like that. The day before yesterday, Su Erniang from Princess Yun'an's residence went to Minister Wang's house, and then the Ministry of Revenue issued the license for Guangtai Money Shop."

"Jiang Li?"

The Emperor was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Is she and Xue Huai so close?" Han Qian replied calmly, "Your Majesty, more than two months ago, Xue Huai accidentally fell into the water and was rescued by Princess Yun'an's guards. The two have been in contact ever since. According to the records of the Jing'an Division, Princess Yun'an has summoned Xue Huai several times. However, in accordance with Your Majesty's orders, the Jing'an Division did not place any spies around Princess Yun'an, so we do not know what they discussed in private."

The emperor fell into deep thought this time.

He had always doted on his niece, Jiang Li, after all, she was the only bloodline left by his younger brother, the Prince of Qi, and the girl was sensible and intelligent, always behaving very well in front of him.

Now that Jiang Li is getting older, both the Empress and Consort Liu have hinted to him that the princess's marriage should be put on the agenda, but the Emperor has not yet found a suitable candidate.

He did love Jiang Li, but he wouldn't let her choose her own husband. After all, this marriage could play a greater role in helping him further balance the power structure in the court.

After a long silence, the Emperor slowly asked, "How old is that woman from the Shen family this year?"

Han Qian replied knowingly, "Your Majesty, the Shen family's daughter is more than five months younger than Xue Shidu."

"Oh."

The emperor gave a curt reply and then said nothing more.

Han Qian stood quietly, refraining from discussing Princess Yun'an's gains and losses.

The emperor's gaze shifted to the two files on the table, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "Is there any progress on that matter?"

The corruption case in the Ministry of Works was triggered by Gu Heng. At the same time, there was also turmoil in the Hanlin Academy. The emperor suspected many people, including Ning Hengzhi, Ouyang Hui, Shen Wang, and several princes. They all had the motive and the ability to become the mastermind behind the incident.

"Based on the testimonies of Gu Heng and Liu Pingshun, I dispatched a large number of skilled people to investigate further. Later, I learned of the strange behavior of Chen Quan, the former lecturer of the Hanlin Academy, and also sent people to thoroughly investigate Chen Quan."

Han Qian lowered his head slightly and continued, "The other party's whereabouts were extremely secretive, and their methods were very sophisticated, leaving no obvious evidence or flaws. However, the Jing'an Division still found a clue. Among the mysterious people who coerced Gu Heng, one of them had a very strange accent, and Gu Heng had unexpectedly seen his face. After detailed comparison and investigation, I determined that the mysterious person came from Boxing County, Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong. I then sent people to Boxing County to investigate, and discovered..."

He hesitated to speak, which was extremely rare.

As the chief official of the Jing'an Division and an absolute confidant of the emperor, Han Qian always spoke frankly and openly before the emperor, rarely hesitating to speak.

In fact, the emperor's brows had already furrowed when he mentioned Qingzhou Prefecture in Shandong.

Having spent half his life immersed in the art of power, the emperor was extremely sensitive to certain details.

"Go on."

The emperor's tone was cold and stern, and his narrow eyes seemed to gather dark clouds.

At this moment, Zeng Min felt extremely distressed. He didn't want to hear what Han Qian was going to say next, but he couldn't leave quietly.

Han Qian seemed oblivious to the emperor's change in mood. After a brief hesitation, he calmly said, "I can confirm that one of the mysterious people worked as a bodyguard for the Liu family in Qingzhou Prefecture for several years. He was later driven away by the Liu family due to a mistake and then disappeared."

The Liu family of Qingzhou.

Consort Liu's maternal clan.

The emperor slowly rose and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Han Qian and Zeng Min stood respectfully to one side.

"Queen..."

The emperor squeezed out two words through his teeth.

He did not believe that Consort Liu was behind everything, because in the end, it was Prince Jiang Chang of Dai who suffered the consequences of the corruption case in the Ministry of Works, not Crown Prince Jiang Xuan who was observing the government affairs in the Ministry of Works.

The emperor knew that Consort Liu was cunning and resourceful, but that was precisely why she would devise a scheme against her own son.

Not to mention that the scheme was full of flaws, and it just so happened that a mysterious person from Consort Liu's hometown was exposed, and Gu Heng happened to see his face. All of this made the traces of deliberate manipulation too obvious.

In the Emperor's view, this was clearly a conspiracy against the Prince of Dai and Consort Liu, and the most suspicious person was, of course, the Crown Prince's birth mother, Empress Wei, the head of the harem.

Han Qian and Zeng Min kept their eyes down, not daring to recklessly interrupt the emperor.

After a moment, the emperor exhaled, clenched his fists, and said coldly, "Catch that person, alive. I want to see who is stirring up trouble right under my nose. I will make her wish she were dead."

Han Qian bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

(End of this chapter)