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

A commotion immediately broke out inside the hall.

The new official took office and immediately targeted the court's financial backer; Yan Zheng was truly a stubborn man.

"Oh?"

Zhu Gaochi raised an eyebrow, his gaze deep.

"What crime has Gu Qing committed?"

"As a high-ranking official, Vice Minister Gu is lazy and indolent. He spends his days brewing tea and cooking in his office, and doesn't inquire about government affairs until the appointed time. As soon as the hour of You (5-7 PM) sounds, regardless of whether he has important business to attend to, he leaves the office without permission, completely disregarding the rules of the court!"

Yan Zheng recounted his observations from the previous day, his words forceful and resolute.

Contrary to the expectations of his officials, Zhu Gaochi did not fly into a rage upon hearing this.

Instead, a strange smile appeared on his lips.

He leaned forward, looked at Yan Zheng, and asked slowly:

"Minister Yan, I have only one question for you. Are there any errors or omissions in the accounts managed by Gu Yannian? Have there been any delays in the duties performed by the Ministry of Revenue?"

Yan Zheng gritted his teeth and answered truthfully, "I personally checked the accounts yesterday, and they are...not a single detail is wrong. The speed at which the task was handled is also rarely seen in the world."

"That settles it then!"

Zhu Gaochi burst into laughter.

Laughter echoed in the empty hall, leaving the assembled officials completely bewildered.

"Yan Qing, you are an upright and good official, which pleases me greatly. But you should change your temper."

"Is Gu Yannian an ordinary person? The work he did in half an hour is equivalent to what ten censors of your Censorate would do in three days and three nights!"

Zhu Gaochi pointed at Gu Yannian, his tone full of undisguised favoritism.

"I promised him long ago. As long as the national treasury is not empty and the accounts of the empire are not in disarray, even if he moves his bed to the Ministry of Revenue's office to sleep, I will let him!"

"He leaves the court at dusk, that was by special permission of mine! If you can calculate the nation's finances with the same precision as him, I will also allow you to eat broad beans in the court every day!"

Upon hearing this, all the officials in the court were dumbfounded.

This kind of favoritism goes to the point of being completely unprincipled.

Yan Zheng froze on the spot, his face flushed, and his hand holding the tablet trembled slightly.

In his decades of official service, he had never seen such "muddled" yet irrefutable words of protection.

Gu Yannian then slowly opened his eyes, stepped out of the queue, and bowed slightly.

"Your Majesty's favor is too great for me. I am humbled. Censor Yan is simply working hard for the country and it is his duty to supervise the conduct of officials. He has done nothing wrong."

"It's just that I'm naturally lazy, and I hope the Censor will forgive me."

With just a few words, he defused the tense impeachment proceedings.

This gave the emperor a way out while also preserving Yan Zheng's dignity.

Of course, if he doesn't want to give it, no one can force him.

Zhu Gaochi nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject.

"Alright, let's not bring up the impeachment again."

"I have an important matter to attend to today. Zheng He's treasure ships have brought back a massive amount of silver, and with the successful implementation of the silver conversion system in various regions, the Taicang granary is now overflowing with silver, even the passageways are blocked."

"If this continues, the silver and coins will become damp and moldy, or be stolen by fire—all major problems. Where is the Minister of Works?"

The Minister of Works quickly stepped forward and said, "Your subject is here."

"I hereby order your Ministry of Works to immediately select a site to expand the national treasury. It is imperative to ensure fire prevention, theft prevention, and that the site is spacious and well-ventilated," Zhu Gaochi instructed.

Gu Yannian retreated back into the queue, his eyes slightly lowered.

The expansion of the national treasury is a real infrastructure project involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.

However, that's a headache for the Ministry of Works.

As the Vice Minister of Revenue, he only needed to glance at the account books and allocate the silver accordingly.

The meeting dispersed.

Walking on the white jade steps, Xia Yuanji breathed a long sigh of relief and patted Gu Yannian on the shoulder.

"You scoundrel, you really have the Emperor protecting you, so you're fearless. My heart was pounding in my chest just now."

Gu Yannian smiled as he greeted the bright spring sun.

All the hustle and bustle of this world is ultimately just a play.

He watched the play from below the stage, and occasionally he would be pulled up onto the stage to sing a few lines.

But as soon as the evening drum sounds and he takes off his costume, he remains the detached immortal.

Let the storm rage, I remain steadfast on my fishing platform.

……

Early summer of the fourth year of the Hongxi reign.

The evening drum sounded precisely on time over Shuntian Prefecture.

The deep drumbeats penetrated the walls of the Ministry of Revenue's compound.

Gu Yannian closed the last book of Jiangnan debt repayments on his desk and locked it in the drawer.

He stood up, slowly smoothed out the wrinkles on his crimson official robes, and tucked the sandalwood abacus into his wide sleeves.

He walked steadily through the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue.

The few officials who were still busy around them stopped writing and bowed.

Gu Yannian nodded slightly and stepped out the door.

The sunset was exceptionally intense tonight, turning half the western sky a deep red.

Gu Yannian walked home along the bluestone path of Xuanwu Lane.

This place is only two or three miles from his residence, through a quiet, narrow alley.

The alley is flanked by towering blue brick walls.

There are usually few pedestrians, but now it is even more deserted.

He stepped into the narrow alley, but stopped after taking only ten or so steps.

A series of faint footsteps sounded simultaneously from both the front and back of the alley.

Five men dressed in coarse cloth short jackets and wearing straw hats emerged from the shadows.

They cut off his escape route.

Each of the five men held a drawn goose-feather saber, its blade gleaming coldly in the afterglow of the sunset.

They reeked of blood.

They are clearly desperate criminals who have spent years living on the edge of a knife.

"Minister Gu, someone has offered a large sum of money for your head."

The leader of the swordsmen spoke in a cold voice, the veins on the back of his hand holding the sword bulging.

Gu Yannian's face remained calm, and his deep eyes showed no emotion whatsoever.

His agility and mental attributes had already allowed him to perceive the heartbeats, breathing, and even the subtle movements of the five people's tense muscles.

"Let's do it!"

The leader of the swordsmen gave a low shout, and the five of them sprang up at the same time.

The five goose-feather sabers created a sharp whistling sound.

They dismembered Gu Yannian's head, throat, chest, and legs.

Their movements were so coordinated that they completely blocked any room for maneuver.

However, in Gu Yannian's eyes, the five people's movements were so slow that they were almost at a standstill.

He raised his right hand, bringing his index and middle fingers together.

It firmly caught the goose-feather knife that was about to strike down from above.

With a crisp "crack," the steel-forged blade shattered.

Gu Yannian flicked his finger, and the broken blade tip flew out, instantly piercing the leader's throat.

Blood gushed out, the leader's eyes widened, and he fell straight backward.

The other four looked horrified upon seeing this.

But the momentum had already been established, and there was no way to stop it.

Gu Yannian slightly turned his body to avoid the knife aimed at his chest.

He turned his left hand into a fist and struck the second assassin in the chest.

The punch landed squarely, instantly shattering the assassin's sternum.

The violent force of the punch shattered his heart meridian.

The assassin died on the spot without uttering a sound.

Immediately afterwards, Gu Yannian swept his right leg across, kicking the third person in the waist and ribs.

The man was thrown into the air and crashed heavily into the hard blue brick wall.

His internal organs ruptured, and he vomited blood as he slid to the ground.

Seeing that things were going badly, the fourth assassin was terrified and turned to flee.

Gu Yannian took a step forward and appeared behind him as if shrinking the distance between them.

Grasp the back of his neck with one hand and squeeze hard.

The sound of cervical vertebrae cracking was particularly clear in the alley.

In the blink of an eye, four of the five top assassins were gone.

The last assassin's hand, gripping the knife, trembled violently, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

He looked at the Vice Minister of Revenue in front of him, who was dressed in a red robe, not even a single drop of blood on the hem.

It was as if he were looking at a god of death from the underworld.

Gu Yannian walked up to him and looked down at him.

"Who sent you?"

Gu Yannian's tone was calm, revealing no trace of joy or anger.

The assassin, already terrified, his teeth chattering, answered haltingly:

"It's...it's Master Shen Wanquan from Suzhou in Jiangnan...he gave a bonus of 100,000 taels of silver..."

"They say you cut off their salt merchants' source of income..."