Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 166 I'll make him pay today! [Seeking monthly votes]

Zhu Houcong even subconsciously glanced at Huang Jin beside him, the meaning in his eyes being extremely clear:
"Did I issue such an imperial edict?"

"..."

Huang Jin immediately shook his head slightly, his gaze filled with undisguised sincerity.

No!

Not only did His Majesty not issue such an edict, but this servant also absolutely did not convey such an edict!

Your Majesty, please don't look at me like that anymore! It's making me very uneasy!

After realizing this, Zhu Houcong felt a mixture of doubt and astonishment.

The situation seemed to be completely different from what he had imagined.

If that's really the case, and Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong were both acting on orders, then the situation doesn't seem as bad as he just speculated.

However, before fully understanding the situation, he maintained his outwardly cold and indifferent demeanor, and then said:

"Tell me, who delivered this imperial edict to you?"

"This……"

Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong both froze, their hearts trembling.

What does Your Majesty mean by asking such a question when you already know the answer? Are you planning to pretend you don't know and renege on our debt?
This is not allowed, Your Majesty!
Our estates, shops, and silver total at least several hundred thousand taels, or even millions of taels, Your Majesty. Please don't try to fool us.

Zhu Xizhong, momentarily nervous, quickly told the truth:

"This person is none other than Yan Maoqing, the Crown Prince's Chamberlain recently appointed by the Emperor!"

Zhu Xizhong also deliberately emphasized the words "recently appointed by the emperor and father" and "the crown prince's tutor".

This was intended to remind Zhu Houcong of his relationship with Yan Maoqing, and to prevent Zhu Houcong from disclaiming responsibility and denying his obligations...

If such a large fortune were to be squandered like this, when he returned to the underworld and met his ancestors, he would probably have to cover his face and wouldn't dare to speak to them.

"Yan Maoqing?!"

Upon hearing the name "Yan Maoqing," Zhu Houcong's heart tightened, and the suffocating feeling he had just experienced returned instantly.

I only asked him to give Guo Xun a hand.

It's one thing that he didn't help Guo Xun up for me!

How dare they falsely convey my imperial edict and drag Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong into this mess as well?!
Has his brain been squeezed by the door of the Imperial Household Department? How dare he be so audacious! Does he really think I won't kill him?!

Then Zhang Rong also felt that something was amiss, and immediately added from the side:

"Your Majesty, it is the same for me."

“Yan Maoqing came to my residence and told me that someone has been impeaching powerful figures in the capital for encroaching on the interests of the people.”

"Your Majesty is compelled by public opinion to investigate, but he also considers that I have only recently inherited the title and that the matter of encroaching on the interests of the people is unrelated to me. Therefore, he has come up with a solution that satisfies both sides and hopes that I will cooperate."

Taking advantage of Zhang Rong's moment of respite, Zhu Xizhong picked up the conversation and continued:

"Yan Maoqing also said the same thing to me. He said that the Emperor and Father hoped that I would return the ill-gotten gains of recent years and hand over ten relatives and evil servants who had encroached on the interests of the people, so that they could be dealt with by the Northern Garrison Command in accordance with the law."

Zhang Rong took over the conversation again and continued:
"Yan Maoqing also told me that the Emperor's intention was for me to act as bait, so that no matter how much ill-gotten wealth I returned, the corrupt officials in the capital would also have to return just as much."

Unbeknownst to him, Zhu Xizhong had begun to coordinate with him, and the two of them started reciting lines, one after another:
"Yan Maoqing also told me that the Emperor promised to return all my money after the matter was settled. As for the money of those corrupt officials, after deducting the portion returned to the people, a portion will be given to me as a reward."

"Yan Maoqing also told me that the Duke of Yi and the Duke of Cheng have begun to act on orders, and it is up to me to decide."

"That statement is slightly inaccurate. What Minister Yan told me at the time was that the Duke of Yi had already begun to act on orders..."

"???"

Upon hearing this, Huang Jin felt a tingling numbness all over his body, and he was completely dumbfounded.

He was more certain than anyone else that the Emperor had not issued such an edict recently.

Besides being ordered to go to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to ask Yan Maoqing to find a way to help Guo Xun, the Emperor has not even summoned Yan Maoqing recently, and it is impossible for him to have given him any other imperial edicts.

Therefore, this imperial edict is absolutely fake; it was Yan Maoqing who was incredibly audacious and openly forged it!
Since the imperial edict was fake, what happened to Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong could only be a complete scam...

the most important is.

Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong actually believed Yan Maoqing's lies and willingly took out most of their family fortune to return the ill-gotten gains they had accumulated over the years. They even went so far as to send the money, accounts, and the chosen scapegoats to the Northern Garrison Command with great fanfare!
What kind of outrageous, incredible operation is this?!
If we include the Duke of Yi's mansion, wouldn't Yan Maoqing have essentially seized the homes of three noble dukes of the Ming Dynasty single-handedly, or even just through his words?!

If this matter were to be revealed...

For this one incident alone, Yan Maoqing is enough to be remembered in history. I'm afraid that even a thousand years from now, people will still be telling this story as a beautiful tale.

at the same time.

Huang Jin's heart began to pound.

He was quite certain that if he hadn't been constantly by the Emperor's side, and if Yan Maoqing had used the same tactics to trick him, he would probably have fallen for it too.

After all, Yan Maoqing's actions were reasonable, in line with the Emperor's concerns, and were further enhanced by the lure of benefits. He had calculated things to the extreme!

In addition, Yan Maoqing's recent status as a favorite of the emperor, and the emperor's habit of frequently asking questions, made the officials below hesitant to contradict him, which provided favorable conditions for this act of forgery!

And on this basis...

Huang Jin believed that Yan Maoqing first used his status as an "adopted son" to win over the Yiguo Duke's mansion, and then used the Yiguo Duke as a springboard to successively influence the Chengguo Duke and the Yingguo Duke.

That's why there was a tiny, harmless difference between the last two sentences spoken by Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong...

Alright, alright, Yan Maoqing!

That day you said you would put righteousness above family ties and confiscate the property of the Duke of Yi, and I thought you were just saying it on purpose to show your loyalty to the Emperor.

So you were actually serious after all?

And confiscating one house wasn't enough, you even confiscated the houses of the Duke of Cheng and the Duke of Ying?!

You're truly amazing! I, Huang Jinjing, respect you as a hero!

You've really messed up this time!

Not only did you dare to act presumptuously under the Emperor's very nose, but you also dared to play tricks on the three Dukes. Have you thought about what the consequences of doing this would be?

Do you really not want to live in the Ming Dynasty anymore?!
I thought so in my heart.

Huang Jin began to secretly observe Zhu Houcong's reaction again. This time, the emperor probably could no longer tolerate this thing that was emitting blue smoke.

Please calm down, Your Majesty. The imperial physician just advised you not to get angry so easily...

This thing emitting blue smoke probably doesn't know about it yet.
Because of his reckless behavior, the emperor was already so angry that he even had to call the imperial physician. Based on this alone, he was doomed!
If anything were to happen to His Majesty, I, Huang Jin, would be the first to not tolerate it!
"Eh?!"

However, Huang Jin was stunned when he saw it.

Because he noticed that Zhu Houcong not only showed no anger at this moment, but his originally pale face had inexplicably become a little rosy.

"Hehehehe..."

He then heard Zhu Houcong let out a dry laugh.

"This is indeed my intention. From this incident, I have also seen the loyalty of the two of you and the Duke of Yi, and naturally I will not let you suffer any losses."

"It is my duty, Your Majesty. I humbly bow my head in gratitude for Your Majesty's grace!"

Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly kowtowed to express their gratitude.

Now I'm finally not worried about not being able to face my ancestors, but...

There are four dukes in the capital. Three of them are acting in accordance with the emperor's orders, but only Duke Dingguo, Xu Yande, has not made any move.

The Emperor's praise of our loyalty now only highlights his own. I wonder if it's because he doesn't trust Yan Maoqing, or if Yan Maoqing already has a grudge against him and deliberately didn't convey the Emperor's decree to him...

Fortunately, we were quick-witted enough, and Yan Maoqing was very open and honest with us, which helped us dispel our doubts. Otherwise, we might have lost the Emperor's trust, which would have been a huge loss.

Yan Maoqing is a person worth befriending; we should still keep in touch from time to time in the future…

"???"

Huang Jin was completely baffled.

The Emperor is clearly cooperating with Yan Maoqing again. This guy who's emitting green smoke is so audacious, yet the Emperor still wants to protect him?

"Alright, you two can leave now."

Zhu Houcong smiled slightly and waved his hand.

"Wei Chen retire."

Zhu Xizhong and Zhang Rong kowtowed and withdrew.

Zhu Houcong maintained that smile as he watched the two figures gradually leave the hall.

He maintained that smile, secretly calculating that the two should have already gone far away.

"Dangdang!"

Zhu Houcong abruptly stopped smiling, stood up, kicked over an incense burner not far away, and shouted fiercely at Huang Jin with a ferocious expression:
"Go and summon that bastard who's emitting blue smoke to me. I'll make him pay today!"

"The slaves obey the orders!"

Huang Jin immediately felt relieved.

That's right, just let it out.

If the Emperor doesn't deal with this smoky thing soon, he might climb up to the Qianqing Palace and remove the glazed tiles.

……

Lying back down on the dragon bed in the rear hall, Zhu Houcong was still carefully recalling Yan Maoqing's actions.

"Absolutely awesome!"

"That thing emitting blue smoke is absolutely amazing!"

"Although he is incredibly audacious, he is also truly brilliant, managing to come up with such an ingenious method!"

Zhu Houcong was absolutely certain that even if he personally issued an imperial edict, forcing Guo Xun, Zhu Xizhong, and Zhang Rong to return their ill-gotten gains, let alone a verbal order, it would be impossible to achieve the situation that Yan Maoqing had brought about.

This move is likely to provoke a strong backlash, pushing the three of them to the opposite side and leaving him truly isolated.

The wages of avarice is death.

He had already experienced this firsthand when he implemented the new policies, ordered severe punishment for corruption and bribery, and inspected imperial estates and estates of nobles and relatives.

Therefore, the final result was far from satisfactory, and at that time he cut himself off from almost all his maternal relatives, including those who originally belonged to the Xingwang Mansion and his birth mother's Jiang family.

However, Yan Maoqing solved this seemingly unsolvable problem with just one move: "The Duke's money will be returned in full, and the money of the powerful will be divided up afterward."

Could this be considered an unintentional mistake?

Is Yan Maoqing considered to have acted improperly?

Zhu Houcong felt... it could be disregarded.

Overall, Yan Maoqing was still acting under orders, specifically to help Guo Xun.

This miserly fellow, emitting a wisp of smoke, must be unwilling to part with that little bit of money. Given his current status and power, he has no other choice but to take this risk...

Ironically, this turned out to be a lucky accident, unintentionally helping me achieve the current favorable situation, just as it helped me expose the traitor Tao Zhongwen before.

Therefore, it can be said that this situation was actually brought about by my own hand.

If I hadn't promoted him so much before and forced him to help Guo Xun, putting such pressure on him, how could he have accomplished this?

That's right, that's exactly it. I am the only condition for him to accomplish this!

Ultimately, however, this scoundrel was indeed a loyal and devoted minister, just not as proactive as Yan Song.

If I don't push him a little from time to time, he probably won't even know he has these abilities...

By now.

It would be good to seriously consider returning the land to the people.

From the Hongwu era to the present, the land area in the country has decreased by two-thirds, and the taxes collected by the imperial court each year have also been greatly reduced.

Zhu Houcong naturally knew exactly what was going on.

They were either absorbed by the privileged class who were exempt from taxes, or incorporated into the names of the privileged class through affiliation.

This is a matter of great importance concerning the rise and fall of the nation; it cannot be rushed, otherwise chaos may ensue.

However, taking advantage of the current favorable situation, resolving the problem of powerful figures in the capital encroaching on the interests of ordinary people is a good start. Perhaps new discoveries will be made during the implementation process...

The biggest problem now is whether the censors of the Censorate and the officials in charge of criticism in various departments can still be used.

Previously, the Censorate was ordered to investigate the matter, and in the end, they only put forward Guo Xun to create difficulties for him.

Even with the current favorable situation, I fear these corrupt officials could still turn a good thing into a bad one by colluding with those inside and outside...

Just as I was thinking this.

Huang Jin came to the bedside and reported softly:

"Your Majesty, there's blue smoke... Yan Maoqing has arrived outside the palace."

"Then wipe the wet cloth on me and summon him in."

Zhu Houcong, who was clearly much better, immediately shrank deeper into the brocade quilt, closed his eyes, and pretended to be extremely weak.

"..."

Huang Jin was speechless. If Your Majesty intended to make Yan Maoqing feel fear and guilt through this, then you were being a bit childish. Your methods were becoming more and more naive.

Yan Maoqing even ransacked his godfather's house. Do you really think he would feel guilty about it?

After a while.

"This sinful subject... humbly begs Your Majesty's well-being!"

Yan Maoqing cried uncontrollably, sobbing uncontrollably with snot and tears streaming down his face.
"It is all because of this wicked minister's reckless behavior that I have unexpectedly caused the Emperor's health to deteriorate. This wicked minister is guilty and deserves to die!"

"I humbly beg Your Majesty to punish me. Whether it is dismissal from office and living in idleness, or removal from office and retirement, I am willing to bear it all without a single complaint!"

"Otherwise, this sinful subject will have no peace of mind, and will die with his eyes wide open in disgrace!"

Zhu Houcong was furious when he heard his feigned crying.

He then slowly opened one eye, trembling as he raised his hand to point at Yan Maoqing, a decaying, weak sound escaping his throat:
"Huang Jin...then drag this traitor away...and beat him to death with clubs..."

"..."

Huang Jin was truly convinced.

Is there any hope for you two, a ruler and a subject? You two could probably fill a rice sack!
Yan Maoqing, if you're so capable, then stop begging for mercy!
Your Majesty, if you have the guts, why don't you really kill him?
You two seem to be having a great time, but why are you putting me in the middle and making things difficult?

I thought so in my heart.

Huang Jin simply picked up a bronze chime next to the dragon bed:
"Your Majesty, this thief has harmed Your Majesty's health. This servant can no longer spare him. I cannot wait any longer and have already beaten him to death with clubs. Today, this servant will exchange my life for his!"

(End of this chapter)