Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Inside the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Biao's hand holding the cinnabar pen suddenly stopped.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" The sound of hurried footsteps mixed with heavy breathing came from outside the palace. Zhu Biao looked up suddenly, and saw the eunuch Xiao Lizi stumbling across the steps, his official hat askew and mud on the corners of his robe.

Zhu Biao's heart tightened, and the brush in his hand dropped onto the table with a "clack". "Why are you so flustered?"

"The Emperor Retired and his guards went to the Ministry of Revenue in a rage early in the morning!" Little Li knelt under the Panlong Pillar, his forehead pressed against the cold gold brick, his voice trembling, "I saw with my own eyes that he clutched the jade pendant at his waist and left the palace without even having breakfast!"

Zhu Biao's pupils suddenly contracted. The Panlong jade pendant was left to my father by my mother before she died. In the past twenty years, my father would only unconsciously rub the jade pendant when he was furious. And the Ministry of Revenue Ouyang Lun was in charge of investment promotion recently.

"Do you know why?" Zhu Biao grabbed the bright yellow cloak with dragon pattern on the desk and strode out of the hall.

Little Li followed behind him, "I heard that yesterday a wealthy businessman named Zhu wanted to see Prince Consort Ouyang, but was harassed by a clerk from the Ministry of Revenue. The businessman put down a hundred thousand taels of silver and said he had a big business deal to discuss with Prince Consort."

"It happened!"

"Father is going after Brother-in-law Ouyang!"

"Get ready! Quick!" Zhu Biao stood up suddenly, and his jade belt hooked on the corner of the table, making a crisp sound.

The hem of his dragon robe swept across the memorials on the ground, but he ignored them completely.

The cold wind blew the fine snow into the sedan chair, and Zhu Biao's knuckles turned white as he gripped the handrail.

He knew his father too well. From beggar to emperor, what he hated most was corrupt officials. Although Ouyang Lun acted flamboyantly in recent years, he was also diligent. Could it be that, as the rumors said, he had tampered with the investment promotion?

Zhu Biao leaned against the inner wall of the sedan chair, and the white breath he exhaled condensed into frost flowers in the cold air.

He suddenly remembered that at the palace banquet last month, his father had been hesitant to approve the investment promotion memorial written by Ouyang Lun, and his fingertips had repeatedly stroked the edge of the memorial. His hesitant expression overlapped with the one described by Little Leo this morning.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, my father has been promoting a policy of recuperation and rest, and has imposed many restrictions on merchants, but he made an exception and let Ouyang Lun lead the investment promotion in the capital, which was an extraordinary favor. Now it seems that this extraordinary move has become the fuse.

What my father hated most in his life was people who deceived their superiors and exploited the people.

When he served in the army in Haozhou in his early years, he witnessed with his own eyes that petty officials withheld military rations and caused soldiers to starve to death. After establishing the Ming Dynasty, he dealt with countless corrupt officials with thundering means.

Pretending to be a wealthy businessman and being humiliated, and seeing the corruption and chaos in the Ministry of Revenue, it must have touched his most sensitive nerves.

What's more terrible is that Ouyang Lun is the son-in-law of the emperor and the face of the royal family. In his father's eyes, his actions are not only corruption, but also shaking the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. If even the royal family members trample on the law at will, how can the people of the world be convinced? The more Zhu Biao thought about it, the more frightened he became. Cold sweat oozed from his palms, and he wrinkled his cloak into a ball.

Although Ouyang Lun had explained it to him, he had not yet figured out how to tell his father, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. His father, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, would surely be furious!
"Hurry up! Hurry up!"

Zhu Biao urged.

Waiting for Zhu Biao's imperial carriage to arrive.

The Ministry of Revenue was already surrounded by a crowd of people.

When Zhu Biao jumped off the carriage, he heard his father's deafening roar: "Back then, I and my ministers established an iron rule that if you embezzled 60 taels, you would be beheaded and displayed to the public! Do you know how much you have embezzled?"

He pushed through the crowd and rushed in. He saw his father's dragon robe billowing like waves, and the dragon jade pendant on his waist shone coldly in the sunlight. Ouyang Lun knelt on the blue bricks, his official hat tilted, but his back was still straight. In the mess on the ground, the mountains of gold and silver treasures formed a glaring contrast with the "Great Ming Law" hanging on the wall.

"Father, please calm down!" Zhu Biao said quickly, "Brother-in-law Ouyang did this not for himself, but for the Ming Dynasty. Maybe it was an oversight. I hope Father will calm down!"

"For the Ming Dynasty? An oversight?" Zhu Yuanzhang turned around abruptly, his cloudy eyes full of bloodshot. "Biao'er, do you know how domineering his petty officials are? They didn't even show up for the 100,000 taels of silver, and they still demanded the jade pendant! Is this an oversight? They are treating my Ming Dynasty law as a joke!"

Zhu Biao secretly glanced at Ouyang Lun and saw that he looked calm, which made him feel much calmer.

"Grand Emperor," Ouyang Lun suddenly spoke, his voice unexpectedly calm, "Even if you want to convict me, you should give me a chance to explain, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "The evidence is irrefutable, we saw it with our own eyes! What else do you have to say?"

Ouyang Lun straightened his back and looked directly at Zhu Yuanzhang: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask you to take a look at these first." He took out a thick stack of documents from his sleeve and handed them forward respectfully.

Zhu Biao was startled and looked up quietly. He saw that the document was densely written with numbers and place names, and there were many red seals he had never seen before. Ouyang Lun's voice echoed in the silent hall: "Over the years, I have indeed collected money in the name of attracting investment, but every penny has a place to go."

He pointed to the pile of gold and silver on the desk and said, "These treasures that seem to be embezzled are actually used to purchase military rations for the northwest border. Last winter, the Tatars invaded the border, and the food and grass allocated by the court were delayed. It was this minister who secretly bribed merchants with this money to transport food and grass in a roundabout way, which solved the emergency at the border." Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, and a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes. Zhu Biao was shocked. He remembered that he did receive a victory report from the northwest last winter, saying that the food and grass were supplied in time, so the Tatars were repelled. At that time, he thought it was the Ministry of Revenue's good dispatch, but he didn't expect that it was Ouyang Lun who did it secretly.

"What about the clause 'Special contributors have priority in entry'?" Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed the document and threw it to the ground. "Isn't this a fig leaf for you to make money?"

Ouyang Lun smiled bitterly: "I admit that this clause is indeed easy to be misunderstood. But in fact, it is to screen out truly capable merchants. The investment promotion in the capital may seem prosperous, but in fact, it is fraught with danger. Some merchants give money and gifts on the surface, but in fact they collude with the Japanese pirates in an attempt to disrupt the economy of our Ming Dynasty. I set up this clause to identify these people with bad intentions."

He turned to Zhu Biao and said, "Your Majesty, do you know about the smuggled goods seized last year? It was this clue that I found under the guise of attracting investment."

Zhu Biao nodded, "Father, I can testify that what Brother-in-law Ouyang said is true."

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart was shaken, and memories came flooding back. Last year, a batch of priceless smuggled goods was intercepted at the Beijing dock, implicating many court officials. At the time, he thought it was the work of the Jinyiwei, but he didn't expect it to be the work of Ouyang Lun.

"As for those petty officials," Ouyang Lun continued, "I know they are bullying others. But if I deal with them hastily, I will definitely alert the enemy. I can only pretend to be tolerant and secretly collect evidence. I have already sent someone to secretly record the 100,000 taels of silver that the petty official received yesterday, and I am preparing to submit the case file to the Ministry of Justice today."

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a long time, and his expression gradually softened.

Zhu Biao breathed a sigh of relief, but his father suddenly slammed the table and said, "Even so, you are too rash! Why didn't you report this to me in advance? Did you have to let me see this chaos with my own eyes before you told me the truth?"

Ouyang Lun straightened his back, faced Zhu Yuanzhang's sharp eagle-like gaze, and spoke calmly: "The retired emperor has long said that the government affairs of the court should be reported to His Majesty the Emperor. I, your son-in-law, have done nothing wrong!" His voice was neither humble nor arrogant, and the tail end of the tone echoed softly in the empty lobby of the Ministry of Revenue.

As soon as these words came out, the whole room fell silent. Zhu Biao's heart suddenly tightened, and he secretly looked at his father's face. Zhu Yuanzhang's brows were instantly twisted into knots, his cheeks were slightly bulging because of the force, and a trace of astonishment flashed in his turbid eyes, and then a raging anger rose.

"How dare you stop me with that?" Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he was shaking all over. His fingers under his dragon robe tightly grasped the Panlong jade pendant on his waist, and his knuckles turned white. He suddenly remembered that those were indeed the words he said when he abdicated. His original intention was to let Zhu Biao take power. He didn't expect that Ouyang Lun would use them as a shield today.

Ouyang Lun still knelt respectfully, but his tone was a little aggrieved: "I dare not. When the emperor entrusted me with the important task of attracting investment, he specifically asked me to assist Your Majesty with all my strength. I thought that as long as I could do things for the court, it would not matter if the process was a little difficult. If I alarmed the emperor for everything, wouldn't I be betraying your trust?"

Zhu Biao listened and secretly complained in his heart. He knew his father's temper too well, and he hated it most when others used his words to refute. At this moment, seeing his father's face turn from red to blue and veins popping on his forehead, he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Father, Ouyang Lun is also very thoughtful."

"Shut up!" Zhu Yuanzhang swung his sleeves violently, making the four treasures of the study on the table jingle. "What a silver tongue you have! We asked you to assist Biao'er, not to do these shameful things!"

Ouyang Lun was not impatient, and took out another document from his sleeve: "I will present the detailed accounts of investment promotion affairs to Your Majesty every month." He looked at Zhu Biao with a pleading look, "Your Majesty, please testify for me."

Zhu Biao sighed secretly in his heart, and had to bite the bullet and said: "Father, I did receive Ouyang Lun's memorial, but there were only some details, and I haven't had time to read it carefully."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, stretched out his hand to snatch the memorial from Ouyang Lun's hand, and quickly flipped through it. As he read, his expression gradually eased. The dense handwriting on the memorial recorded in detail the whereabouts of each payment, and there were also Zhu Biao's red comments to confirm it.

"Hmph, you still have some ideas." Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the memorial on the table, "But if this happens again next time, even if you are the king of heaven, you will not be able to escape my eyes!"

Ouyang Lun kowtowed heavily and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your insight! I will be more cautious in the future and report everything to Your Majesty and the Emperor."

Zhu Biao quietly breathed a sigh of relief, watching his father's anger gradually subside, and secretly felt lucky that the incident had finally ended without any danger. He glanced at Ouyang Lun who was still kneeling on the ground, and secretly decided that he must be more careful in the future and not let this kid get away with it again.

Zhu Biao saw his father's expression eased, and hurried forward to support him: "Father, although Ouyang Lun's behavior was not appropriate, he was also loyal. I hope that father will consider his hard work and great contributions and give him a lighter sentence."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, bent down and helped Ouyang Lun up: "I will forgive you this time. But this will not happen again! If you do something similar again, I will not forgive you easily!"

Ouyang Lun said perfunctorily: "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will be careful with my words and actions in the future and will sacrifice my life for the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the officials and guards who were still stunned in the hall of the Ministry of Revenue, and suddenly shouted: "What are you looking at? Go away!" His deliberately tense face seemed to be covered with a layer of frost, shaking the dust between the beams and pillars. Everyone was like a frightened bird, scrambling to leave the hall. No one even dared to help the overturned chair, leaving only the mess on the ground and scattered documents.

When the last figure disappeared outside the vermilion lacquered door, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression instantly changed from gloomy to bright. He rubbed his hands together and approached Ouyang Lun, lowering his voice and saying, "Hey, my good son-in-law, that scene just now was just for those old guys to see! How could I not know what you were thinking?" His wrinkled face was full of smiles, and his turbid eyes flashed with a cunning light, "Don't take it to heart!"

Ouyang Lun had anticipated his father-in-law's temper. He calmly adjusted his crooked official hat, and raised the corners of his mouth with just the right arc: "How dare I? The thundering measures of the Supreme Emperor can not only deter the villains, but also protect me. I am grateful to him." As he said this, he was about to kneel down, but was stopped by Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Alright, alright!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hands impatiently, looked around again, and after making sure that no one was eavesdropping, he took out a crumpled visiting card from his sleeve, "We came here this time, actually, for a private matter. Look, this is the contribution that our old brothers have collected, and we want to open a silk and satin shop. You should quickly get us the investment qualification, and don't let anyone know!" As he spoke, he stuffed the visiting card into Ouyang Lun's hand, and patted the back of his hand heavily with his fat palm.

Ouyang Lun looked down at the three characters "Zhu Wusi" written in a flamboyant style on the visiting card, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. He held the visiting card in his hand, which was suspended in the air, and did not put it into his pocket for a long time. "Your Majesty, this business invitation is related to the laws of the court. Even if he is your brother, he must follow the rules."

"According to the rules?" Zhu Yuanzhang's smile froze instantly, his eyes widened, "Didn't you just thank me? Why don't you even give me this little face?" He was so angry that he paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and the hem of his dragon robe swept across the gold and silver on the ground, making a rustling sound. "When I was conquering the world, I could mobilize troops with just a word. Now I have to endure your bullying even for opening a shop?"

Zhu Biao saw that the situation was not good, and hurried forward to smooth things over: "Father, Ouyang Lun is also fair in his work. Why not let him talk about the specific rules first?"

Ouyang Lun looked at Zhu Biao gratefully, cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, please understand that now business invitations must go through three audits: first, the merchant's family background must be verified, second, a detailed business plan must be submitted, and finally, a fifth-rank official or above from the Ministry of Revenue must jointly guarantee it." He paused, his eyes swept across Zhu Yuanzhang's gloomy face, "I know that the emperor is anxious, but the closer the person is, the more he must set an example to stop the gossip." (End of this chapter)