Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

"The Governor-General has been working tirelessly for His Majesty in Jiangnan; that is true hardship. His Majesty has been talking about it every day in the Qianqing Palace these past few days, saying that the Governor-General's return to the capital must have brought back some very good news."

Wang Zhi lowered his voice, but his eyes were fixed on the heavy wooden crates that were being unloaded from the ship behind Pei Yuan.

Upon seeing this, Pei Yuan's lips curled into a knowing smile.

He turned his head and instructed the captain behind him:

"Go and bring the flat sandalwood box from cabin number three."

Before long, the captain came forward carrying an exquisite flat box.

Pei Yuan casually took it and handed it to Wang Zhi.

"Father-in-law, although the scenery of Jiangnan is beautiful, it doesn't have many local products worth mentioning. In this box are a few pearls that were just retrieved from the sea."

"It'll just gather dust if I leave it here, so I'll give it to you, sir, to have it fitted with a hat ornament."

Wang Zhi's heart pounded wildly; he knew all too well how extravagant this living devil was.

He quickly accepted it with both hands, feigning reluctance:

"This...this is unacceptable! Your Excellency is going to great lengths!"

"If you refuse, sir, then you are looking down on a rough man like me."

Pei Yuan's face hardened, feigning displeasure.

Wang Zhi immediately seized the opportunity, stuffing the box into his large sleeve pocket, his smile becoming even more obsequious.

"Then I'll accept it without hesitation. Your Excellency, His Majesty has decreed that you rest for the night and proceed directly to the palace to meet the Emperor at the morning court session tomorrow. However..."

Wang Zhi leaned close to Pei Yuan's ear, his voice low and suggestive.

"Grand Secretary Li and several ministers from the Six Ministries have been quite busy in the capital these past few months. They've somehow heard rumors that Your Excellency has secretly established a Maritime Trade Commission in Jiangnan and is raking in money."

"Tomorrow's morning court session will likely involve a tough battle. Your Excellency should prepare your explanation."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan threw his head back and laughed loudly. His laughter echoed over the dock, startling several water birds into flight.

"A tough battle? Your Excellency is overthinking it. The battles in the imperial court are never about verbal sparring, but about real gold and silver."

Pei Yuan pointed at the heavy wooden crates being carried off the ship by the strongmen with a grumbling sound, his eyes filled with arrogance.

"Does Your Excellency know what's on those ten ships? Two million taels of silver! Fifty bushels of South Sea rubies! And top-quality agarwood and rhinoceros horn!"

"These are all the arguments I brought back for the Emperor. I want to see tomorrow at Fengtian Gate whether it's the stubbornness of those poor, pedantic censors or the pain from my money!"

Upon hearing the staggering number, Wang Zhi gasped, then nodded excitedly.

With such a vast amount of wealth backing them up, let alone a few censors.

Even if all the civil and military officials joined together, His Majesty would surely protect this God of Wealth with all his might.

The next morning.

The Forbidden City, Fengtian Gate.

As the morning bell rang, civil and military officials, holding their official tablets, filed in and lined up on both sides of the imperial steps.

The atmosphere at today's court assembly was particularly oppressive.

Grand Secretary Li Xian stood at the head of the civil service, his face ashen and his eyelids slightly drooping.

He gripped the ivory tablet tightly in his hand.

Behind him, more than a dozen censors from the Censorate had already tucked their memorials, filled with impeachment accusations, into their pockets.

They were just waiting for the emperor to speak before launching a full-scale attack.

Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Jianji, sat upright on the dragon throne, wearing a brocade dragon-embroidered court robe, looking radiant.

He certainly knew what these civil officials were up to today.

Last night, Wang Zhi returned to the palace to report back to Pei Yuan, informing him that Pei Yuan had brought back two million taels of silver and countless rare treasures.

He was so excited that he couldn't sleep for half the night.

Seeing the way these civil officials were so on edge, Zhu Jianji found it all quite amusing.

"Summon Pei Yuan, Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and Right Commander-in-Chief!"

With a loud shout from the Master of Ceremonies of the Court of State Ceremonies.

A series of steady, powerful thuds of leather boots echoed across the square outside Fengtian Gate.

All the officials turned around.

Pei Yuan, dressed in a bright red five-clawed python robe, with a jade belt around his waist and a black gauze hat inlaid with South Sea pearls, calmly ascended the steps.

He was neither as fearful and trembling as ordinary military generals, nor as pretentious and reserved as civil officials.

He walked very slowly and very steadily.

His long, narrow, and deep eyes swept over the civil and military officials on both sides, revealing an innate arrogance and disdain.

It was as if he had not entered the most solemn court of the Ming Dynasty.

"Your humble servant Pei Yuan kowtows to Your Majesty, wishing you a long life! Long life! Long life!"

Pei Yuan walked down the steps, bowed slightly, and spoke in a loud voice, full of vigor and pride.

"Rise, Minister Pei! Please take a seat!"

Zhu Jianji's face was flushed, and he even leaned forward slightly, his tone full of undisguised intimacy.

A young eunuch brought over a brocade stool, and Pei Yuan thanked him and sat down with an air of authority.

This honor of being granted a seat caused the eyes of all the court officials to twitch violently once again.

Before Zhu Jianji could even ask about the situation in Jiangnan...

The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate could not contain himself and stepped out of the ranks.

He raised the memorial in his hand high, his voice mournful, like the cry of a cuckoo.

"Your Majesty! Your humble servant has a memorial to present! Your humble servant wishes to impeach Right Vice-General Pei Yuan for ten major crimes: deceiving the emperor and concealing the truth from the people, establishing private offices, enriching himself, and levying exorbitant taxes!"

"We humbly request Your Majesty to issue an edict ordering these traitors to be imprisoned and severely punished!"

These words instantly ignited tensions in the imperial court.

Immediately afterwards, five or six officials stepped forward, knelt down, and denounced Pei Yuan's "crimes".

"Your Majesty! Pei Yuan, in Jinling, is using the guise of naval escort to extort money from passing merchant ships—50,000 taels a year for large ships and 10,000 taels a year for small ships! How is this any different from the actions of pirates!"

"He privately established the Maritime Trade Commissioner's Office, bypassing the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, and pocketed all the confiscated property into the pockets of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"The people of Jiangnan are suffering terribly, and merchants are full of complaints. If this continues, a popular uprising will surely break out in Jiangnan!"

Li Xian also stepped forward at the opportune moment, cupped his hands, and sighed.

"Your Majesty, Governor Pei has rendered meritorious service in shipbuilding, and the court has already promoted him. However, merits and demerits cannot offset each other. If he is not severely punished for his blatant disregard for the law in Jiangnan, what will become of the court's legal system?"

Where is the dignity of the Ming Dynasty?

The civil officials' barrage of impeachments was quite aggressive.

In their view, setting up private government offices and extorting protection fees was a major taboo of the imperial court.

No matter how much the emperor tries to protect his own, he cannot save this madman in the face of such irrefutable evidence.

Zhu Jianji listened quietly, but his expression grew increasingly strange.

He turned his head and looked at Pei Yuan, who was sitting on a brocade stool, leisurely playing with a jade belt hook.

"Minister Pei, the ministers have impeached you for setting up a private office in Jiangnan and extorting escort fees."

"How do you explain this?"

Pei Yuan stood up, dusted off the wide sleeves of his python robe, and turned to face the group of indignant civil officials.

He suddenly laughed.

That smile was full of mockery and even a hint of pity, as if looking at a fool.

"Explanation? Why should I explain my actions to you?"

Pei Yuan's voice boomed throughout the hall.

He took a sudden step forward, staring intently at the Left Censor-in-Chief.

"You all say that I am an extortionate and tyrannical official, no different from pirates. Then let me ask you, in the past six months since my navy set sail, has a single pirate ship appeared on the East China Sea?"

"Are there any reports from coastal garrisons about looting by Japanese pirates?!"

The Left Censor-in-Chief was forced to take a step back and stammered his rebuttal.

"That...that was the navy's achievement, not a reason for you to amass wealth!"

"joke!"

Pei Yuan roared, each word piercing the heart.

"The navy's warships were built with real gold and silver! The cannon ammunition was bought with real gold and silver! Aren't the lives of our soldiers worth real gold and silver too!"

Pei Yuan pointed directly at Li Xian.

"Grand Secretary Li! Your cabinet is hoarding the silver in the Taicang treasury every day, even stingy when it comes to distributing winter clothes to the soldiers on the nine borders."

"I have built three 1,000-ton treasure ships and one hundred Fujian ships in Jiangnan, without using a single penny from the imperial treasury! Now the navy is fully operational, patrolling the seas day and night to protect merchant ships,"

"Does this mean my soldiers are supposed to foot the bill themselves?!"

"The escort fees I collect from merchants protected by the Ming Navy are taken from the merchants and used for the military!"

"They've paid the money, and I guarantee they'll be safe and sound. The enormous profits they'll make in Southeast Asia will be ten or even a hundred times more than the escort fees they paid!"

"They are willing to give, and I am willing to accept."

"What are you all doing, shouting and complaining in this court?"

Pei Yuan's robber logic was presented with such righteous indignation and overwhelming confidence that he could not help but speak it out.