The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

Xiao Tingjun was now much more relieved, and then he heard the Emperor ask, "Then how did the Crown Princess find out about this?"

Sure enough, his answer without hesitation was correct. Xiao Tingjun thought to himself that his father had doubts and suspicions about this matter—if his second sister-in-law hadn't told him that the Crown Princess knew about the court's affairs before the Crown Prince, then there would have been a big problem.

Xiao Tingjun was stunned for a moment, and the Emperor noticed the subtle change in his expression.

“Well, when my second sister-in-law came to the palace before, she kindly gave me some advice, fearing that Yu’er would be sad.” Xiao Tingjun lowered his head.

The Emperor immediately expressed his displeasure: "Hmph, she's certainly well-informed. She even knew about it earlier than you, the Crown Prince. It seems the Prince Rui's mansion has extraordinary connections."

The Emperor had initially thought the Crown Prince was trying to cover something up for the Crown Princess, but upon hearing that it was the Second Prince's wife, he became even more certain of his suspicions: this whole affair was probably orchestrated by the Second Prince from beginning to end, after all, Prince Teng was now his father-in-law.

"I don't think she's here to remind me, but rather to see the Crown Princess make a fool of herself, is she?" The Emperor knew very well that his second son's wife would never be so kind.

“My son didn’t hear what Yu’er said. Yu’er only told me to do my job well and not to worry about her,” Xiao Tingjun replied truthfully.

After all, Xiao Tingjun didn't ask what his second sister-in-law had said, but he guessed that she was there to watch the spectacle.

The Emperor snorted, becoming increasingly satisfied with the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. He then proactively told Xiao Tingjun, "You don't need to worry about this. I have arrangements. Since they are so serious, how can I satisfy them if I don't cooperate?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Tingjun silently mourned for his second brother in advance.

The emperor had already made his plan, but he originally intended to make the Censorate work for nothing. Now he changed his mind and planned to make the people from the Censorate and Yangzhou fall into his own trap.

Now Liu Jishan has gone to Suzhou to serve as Tongzhi. In addition, the emperor has people in Yangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou. These people can submit secret memorials to the emperor. They are ostensibly local officials, but in reality, they also bear the responsibility of supervision.

The first to realize something was amiss was Song Mingshi, the Minister of Revenue. It must be said that as a seasoned official, Song Mingshi was quite perceptive: Lin Ruhai's accounts in Yangzhou were so well done that, in theory, he shouldn't have left such a big handle on him.

After cooperating with the Inspectorate for several days, Song Mingshi felt he should talk to Prince Rui.

Xiao Tingkai treated Song Mingshi, the Minister of Revenue, with considerable politeness and respect.

“Your Highness, I’m afraid we need to think about this matter more carefully. Not only have the Censorate and the Ministry of Revenue not found anything wrong, but I also feel that there’s something strange about this.” Song Mingshi told Xiao Tingkai his thoughts. “When we investigate, it’s as if an invisible hand is pushing the investigation in a strange direction.”

After listening, Xiao Tingkai pondered for a while before telling Song Mingshi, "Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. This matter was investigated by Governor-General Wang of Liangjiang, and there are even witnesses."

After all, Wang Ziteng was the father of the concubine, and the Song family was the maternal family of the principal wife. Therefore, Xiao Tingkai did not initially tell Song Mingshi the information he had found from Wang Ziteng's side. Now that Song Mingshi had doubts, he had no choice but to tell Song Mingshi the whole story.

Upon hearing that Wang Ziteng had witnesses, Song Mingshi was relieved and advised Xiao Tingkai, "The witnesses must be well protected."

After all, Jia Yucun was murdered on his way to the capital.

However, neither Xiao Tingkai nor Song Mingshi expected that the more the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice investigated, the more they uncovered problems with Sun Jingyou, the prefect of Suzhou—conclusive evidence of corruption.

The Censorate directly submitted the man's charges to the Emperor. The Emperor was immediately furious and dismissed the man from his post, also imposing a hefty fine for embezzling money.

This was a direct slap in the face to Wang Ziteng: this person was a close confidant of Wang Ziteng and had close ties with the Wang family.

However, the Ministry of Personnel still needed to re-select officials, and Xiao Tingkai immediately had an idea: it would be great if he could place his own people there.

However, since the Minister of Personnel is now the Empress's brother, Xiao Tingkai has no immediate options. He can only hope to continue investigating Lin Ruhai's case and confirm Lin Ruhai's embezzlement.

If the downfall of this one official did not yet raise Wang Ziteng's awareness, it was only after the Ye family and the Chen Yifang family ran into trouble one after another that Wang Ziteng finally woke up to the situation.

The first to get into trouble was Chen Yifang.

The Chen family wasn't actually among the top wealthy merchants in the Jiangnan region, but they were the ones who rushed to 'voluntarily donate' to Lin Ruhai.

Chen Yifang was a lecherous man who had a concubine whom he had seized through shady means. Now that the victim had filed a complaint with conclusive evidence, Chen Yifang was immediately imprisoned.

And then came the Ye family.

The situation of the Ye family is even more complicated. As one of the top ten richest merchants in Jiangnan, the Ye family has a large fortune and connections in both the business and official circles.

The Ye family had close ties with the Zhen family in the past, and now they have even more frequent interactions with Tang Rong, the current head of the salt administration in Liangjiang.

So when the collusion between officials and businessmen and the oppression of the people were exposed, it not only implicated Tang Rong, but also several officials in Liangjiang. Suddenly, what was originally an investigation into Lin Ruhai's case turned into a thorough investigation of officials of all ranks in Liangjiang.

Wang Ziteng sensed that something was wrong, but in a short period of time, apart from responding to the attack, he had no idea why this was happening.

Does the emperor truly favor the crown prince so much? Is this merely a ploy to protect the crown prince?

Chapter 198 Prince Rui Loses Troops and Offends Others

Regardless of what Wang Ziteng thought, the Emperor's order for a thorough investigation of the Liangjiang region was a done deal. The investigation would not only target current officials but also those who had served since the Emperor's ascension to the throne.

As a result, regardless of the investigation's outcome, many were already dissatisfied: the Censorate felt the workload was too heavy, with everyone working overtime and enduring immense hardship, naturally leading to numerous complaints. Consequently, many in the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue also had to work overtime.

Furthermore, some officials have already stepped down, yet they are still being investigated. Those with problems are naturally terrified, while those without problems will feel dissatisfied. They have worked hard and diligently, and finally managed to retire and enjoy their old age, only to be bothered by investigations from time to time.

Of course, no one dared to blame the Emperor, nor did they blame Shen Jun of the Censorate, or the Ye family.

Such a commotion made Xiao Tingkai realize that his father seemed unwilling to investigate Lin Ruhai's case. But if he was unwilling, why expand the scope of the investigation? Was his father so biased towards his third son?

Completely baffled, Xiao Tingkai had no choice but to write to Wang Ziteng while also personally visiting Song Mingshi for advice.

Song Mingshi didn't actually know more than Prince Rui, but he had served the late emperor and was now serving the current emperor, so he understood the emperor's thoughts better than Prince Rui.

So when Prince Rui asked if the Emperor was unhappy about their investigation of Lin Ruhai, Song Mingshi nodded affirmatively: if at first Song Mingshi only had doubts, now he was certain.

"Since Father doesn't want an investigation, why not just say so?" After asking, Xiao Tingkai realized how naive he had been.

Yes, the emperor cannot openly protect a minister, otherwise he will not be able to gain the trust of other ministers.

"I think it's not just a matter of whether or not to investigate Lin Ruhai. The Emperor is probably somewhat dissatisfied with the two Jiang regions. Therefore, Your Highness should write to Lord Wang and be careful." Song Mingshi had never liked Prince Teng. He was a typical two-faced and ruthless man. But now, because of Prince Rui, they were tied to the same boat.

"What does Your Highness think of Minister Li of the Ministry of Personnel?" Song Mingshi asked Xiao Tingkai in return.

Lord Li? The Empress's own brother. Xiao Tingkai had tried to win him over, but to no avail, so he snorted, "A slippery old mudfish."

“Lord Li once served as the Governor-General of Liangjiang. He was appreciated by the late Emperor and was also a graduate of the imperial examination. So, Your Highness, think about it. If Lin Ruhai really has something to hide, and it's such a big matter, does Lord Li really not know about it, or is it inconvenient for him to know?” Song Mingshi only realized something was wrong after careful consideration: If the Empress supported the Third Prince, but if the Lin family really had problems when choosing the Crown Princess, then the Empress would probably have intervened.

Xiao Tingkai's eyes widened upon hearing this, and after a long while, he asked, "Then, what should we do this time?"

"Since His Majesty has ordered a thorough investigation of Liangjiang, we can only wait for the results." Song Mingshi thought that, judging from Wang Ziteng's style of doing things, he would probably be fine. If he was fine, then it wouldn't affect Prince Rui too much.

“Your Highness, this old minister has a few more words to say. I will presume to speak to Your Highness today.” In his heart, Song Mingshi had been weighing whether the Second Prince could accomplish great things, but his granddaughter had already married him. “Now that the Crown Prince has been established, Your Highness should be more composed than before.”

Xiao Tingkai sighed: "I know I should keep my composure, but if I do nothing, wouldn't that be a waste of an opportunity?"

Song Mingshi, however, spoke of the emperor: "Among the late emperor's sons, the current emperor is young and not so outstanding at first. When the crown prince and the other princes were very capable, the late emperor was still studying."

Xiao Tingkai had heard this story from his mother more than once, and he had even experienced it himself: after the Crown Prince was deposed, the late emperor harbored suspicions about all his sons, and he and his younger brothers lived a very cautious life as children.

"His Majesty has always been diligent and conscientious, whether in his studies or in horsemanship and archery. Therefore, waiting, patience, knowing when to perform and when not to, are all profound skills." Song Mingshi spoke attentively and slowly.

Xiao Tingkai gradually calmed down and began to realize that since the third prince was named crown prince, he had made several moves too hastily.

For example, in this case with Wang Ziteng, although there was evidence, things were still handled too hastily. Besides, Song Mingshi came to see me last time and sensed something was wrong, but I hadn't even realized it yet.

"As the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait. Your Highness should be more patient." Seeing that Xiao Tingkai was moved, Song Mingshi didn't say anything more.

Xiao Tingkai, on the contrary, stood up and bowed solemnly to Song Mingshi.

After returning to the Prince's Mansion from the Song family, Xiao Tingkai went to his study alone. He really needed to think things through.

After spending half the night alone in his study, Xiao Tingkai finally sorted out some of his thoughts: It wasn't just him and his third son who had ambitions for the throne; his fourth son also harbored ambitions. Besides, his father was still young; there was no need to rush.

What happened next made Xiao Tingkai realize that he needed to slow down.

The thorough investigation in Liangjiang began at the beginning of the year and continued until the end. This massive and meticulous investigation swept through the region like a storm, bringing unprecedented shocks and changes to the officialdom of Liangjiang.

This thorough investigation has brought down officials who were corrupt, abused their power, or neglected their duties. Some were dismissed from their posts and lost their power and status; others were demoted and received due punishment; and still others were fined heavily for their illegal and disciplinary violations, making them pay a heavy price for their mistakes.

At the same time, some honest, upright, and capable officials were promoted and given important positions.

Wang Ziteng, the Governor-General of Liangjiang who had only been in office for a little over a year, had finally managed to build up his own team, only to have it completely disbanded. The newly promoted officials did not belong to Wang Ziteng's faction.

Not only officials, but also some wealthy businessmen in the two rivers region were greatly affected.

The most prominent example is the Ye family. This once illustrious and wealthy family has now fallen from being incredibly rich to being penniless! Moreover, its internal affairs are in chaos and fragmented, and the unity and prosperity of the past are long gone.

Besides the Ye family, four other families also suffered heavy losses. This sudden turn of events left these once-prosperous wealthy merchants terrified, like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow. They desperately wanted to sever all ties with officials; even the slightest connection would send shivers down their spines. No one knew if they would be next, and this unknown fear spread like wildfire, engulfing the entire business community of the Liangjiang region.

As a result, Wang Ziteng's sources of income were also significantly cut off.

Lin Ruhai, who was initially impeached, was instead rewarded with honors.

Chapter 199 Posthumously conferred the title of Marquis and bestowed rewards upon the orphans

Even more unexpectedly, the case of Lin Ruhai, who was initially impeached by the public for alleged embezzlement, took an astonishing turn.

The donations that the Ye family and other wealthy businessmen had initially insisted on were actually confirmed to be true after a thorough investigation. However, behind this seemingly irrefutable evidence lay a hidden truth.

It turns out that the money accused of being embezzled did not actually end up in his personal pocket for his own extravagant spending. Instead, Lin Ruhai quietly used it for an important project concerning people's livelihood—the repair of roads and bridges.

On a moonlit night, the Twenty-Four Bridges are a scenic highlight of Yangzhou. The poem describes the magnificent Five Pavilion Bridge: "Under the shadows of green pines, the setting sun casts its glow; beside the Five Pavilion Bridge, the willows sway gently." This bridge is ingeniously designed with fifteen arches. On the night of the full moon, each arch holds a moon, creating a view of fifteen full moons reflected in the water, vying for attention.

There is also the Chunbo Bridge, shrouded in mist and rain. Whenever a gentle breeze blows, the blue waves ripple beneath the bridge, and the willows sway along the banks, creating a beautiful spring scene.

The silhouette bridge incorporates Yangzhou paper-cutting and lace-making techniques. The bridge is symmetrical on both sides and hollowed out in the middle, resembling a leaping carp, which is truly admirable for its exquisite beauty.

In addition, there are roads such as Jiangdu Road and Taixing Road, which crisscross and run through Yangzhou.

These bridges and roads were all carefully repaired during Lin Ruhai's tenure as governor of Yangzhou.

Wang Ziteng certainly didn't believe it, nor did Prince Rui, Xiao Tingkai, and some officials from the Censorate. However, the account books from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works were laid out clearly before them, leaving them no choice but to believe it.

On the day the case was closed, the emperor even gave a stern rebuke to the corrupt officials in the court: "These parasites of the state disregard the lives of the people, only knowing how to amass wealth and enjoy themselves. They embezzle, break the law, and prey on the people. Their actions are truly intolerable to heaven and earth!"

After denouncing the corrupt officials, the emperor looked on with emotion and sighed, "Minister Lin was truly a pillar of our dynasty! He was wholeheartedly devoted to the people, working tirelessly and without complaint." At this point, the emperor became saddened, "It's just a pity that fate is unkind. Minister Lin fell ill due to overwork and died young, which is a great loss to our dynasty."

After speaking, a hint of regret and sorrow flashed in the Emperor's eyes. The ministers all lowered their heads in deep thought: it seemed that those who wanted to use this opportunity to frame Lin Ruhai and even implicate the Crown Prince and his wife had backfired. The Emperor's meaning was quite clear.

Sure enough, the ministers soon heard the emperor express his intention to bestow favors upon them.

"Lord Lin dedicated his life to the well-being of the nation and its people, always prioritizing their interests. He worked diligently and tirelessly, truly giving his all until his dying breath! His achievements are evident to all, making him a model and example for all officials. Although Lord Lin has been gone for many years, his outstanding contributions cannot be ignored and must never be forgotten. After careful consideration, I have decided to posthumously confer upon him the title of Marquis of Zhuoqin. This is to honor his achievements and ensure that future generations will forever remember him, so that all officials may take Lord Lin as their role model." The Emperor's words surprised many court officials, even though they had already suspected it.

Although Lin Ruhai had rendered meritorious service, frankly speaking, he didn't deserve to be posthumously granted the title of marquis. However, upon further reflection, now that Lin Ruhai's daughter had become the Crown Princess, the Emperor's actions likely had three purposes.

Firstly, it serves as a warning to those who want to use Lin Ruhai to deal with the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. On a deeper level, it's a way to keep the princes in line.

Secondly, this is an opportunity to elevate the Crown Princess's status. Especially since it's widely known that the Rongguo Mansion's title has been stripped, and the Crown Princess has been raised there for many years, there's bound to be some connection. After this action by the Emperor, the Crown Princess will henceforth be the daughter of the Marquis of Zhuoqin, and will have virtually no further ties to the Rongguo Mansion.

Considering that the name "Zhuoqin Hou" comes from the "Stele of General Liu" by Han Gong of the Tang Dynasty: "From the time of my death to my burial, all those who were virtuous and diligent were properly buried."

So, the emperor was also admonishing all officials to be diligent in their conduct and to be virtuous in their official duties.

"Now that Marquis Zhuoqin has passed away, let his orphan be rewarded." The Emperor spoke again; the orphan was, of course, the Crown Princess.

The Emperor immediately bestowed upon the Crown Princess two sandalwood screens inlaid with marble, a Zhongni-style tiger-roaring zither, a purple clay Gaopan teapot with a set of matching teacups, twelve bolts of silk, twelve bolts of Yun brocade, twelve bolts of Shu brocade, twelve bolts of Hangzhou silk, a set of rubbings of inscriptions on bronze vessels such as the Western Zhou Gui and the Jin Hou Su Ding, as well as writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

After bestowing gifts upon the Crown Princess, the Emperor felt that this was far from enough. He also wanted to express his gratitude for the generous donations and strong support from the numerous wealthy merchants over the years.

Therefore, the emperor decided to bestow rewards upon them as well. However, not all wealthy merchants could receive this honor; families like the Ye and Chen families were excluded.