Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1499 Brothers!
January 20, 3:30 pm

Cui Hang returned to his residence with a tired body. Now that the year is coming to an end, the Ministry of Personnel is already very heavy with various tasks. Now His Majesty has asked the Ministry of Personnel to compile layoff reports from various places, which will undoubtedly increase the workload of the Ministry of Personnel.

With such heavy workload, almost all staff members in the Ministry of Personnel, from Shangshu Gu Sansi on down, have been working overtime until at least Youshi every day in recent times. Some young people even live directly in the yamen, and start working as soon as they open their eyes, wash up, eat breakfast, and then go to work.

Cui Hang is a representative of these young officials of the Ministry of Personnel. Before Cui Zibo got into trouble, although Cui Hang had some talent, he did not receive much attention in the court. However, after Cui Zibo got into trouble, Cui Hang, who was considered to be a rising star of the Cui family, was also pushed to the forefront!
This kind of public opinion reached its peak after Cui Hang was appointed as the Right Vice Minister!

Although everyone in the court knew that as Cui Shao's nephew, Cui Hang's career would be smooth sailing, according to the normal process, he should have gained some experience in the central government, then be transferred to the local area to serve as a prefect, and finally be transferred back to the court to hold an important position and finally enter the cabinet and become prime minister.

Based on this idea, no one was surprised that Cui Hang would serve as the Minister of Personnel in the future. However, no one expected that Ye Mingsheng would be promoted directly from the position of Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel to the position of Right Minister of Personnel just over a year after Cui Hang was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel...
Although this was just a temporary replacement after Zhang Xiong was dismissed by Ye Mingsheng for publicly advising Ye Mingsheng against reform, such a fast speed of upgrading G is still very astonishing!
Ye Mingsheng's order led to more discussions about Cui Hang in the court. Although everyone was generally optimistic that with the help of Cui Shao, Cui Hang would be able to enter the cabinet and stand at the pinnacle of power in Daqian, everyone generally believed that this process would take at least ten years!
However, following Ye Mingsheng's order, everyone was shocked, but also more optimistic about Cui Hang, thinking that Cui Hang's future entry into the cabinet was almost a foregone conclusion, and it might not even take ten years; seven years, or even five years, was possible!
Being so widely favored has brought some convenience to Cui Hang, but it has also put more pressure on him!

Although Cui Hang was very confident in his abilities, and felt that with his abilities and family background, he would be able to become not only an assistant minister in the future, but even the position of the prime minister would be just around the corner. However, he also felt that he needed time to accumulate and settle down. Becoming the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel made him feel surprised and a little frightened!
For this reason, Cui Hang asked his uncle Cui Shao about this issue, but Cui Shao did not say a word!

Although Cui Shao didn't say a word, Cui Han's heart fell to the bottom, which made him more certain of his judgment!
His Majesty asked me to temporarily serve as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Although on the surface it seems that he trusts and appreciates me, in fact, I am afraid he does not have good intentions!
Cui Hang didn’t know why His Majesty wanted to force things to happen and make himself the target of public criticism, but if the emperor wanted his subject to die, he had to die, so as a subject he could only make the best of it...

Since taking over as the temporary Right Vice Minister, Cui Hang has been acting very cautiously, treading on thin ice, for fear of making any mistakes or being caught with something. On this basis, he has been working even harder, forgetting to eat and sleep, hoping that doing so will change Ye Mingsheng's mind about him!
Because of this, at this juncture, Cui Hang has been staying in the yamen for seven consecutive days. If his wife hadn't sent someone to the yamen this afternoon to ask him whether he would go home tonight, Cui Hang would continue to work in the yamen and work overtime for the eighth day!
After returning home, Cui Hang discovered that not only his wife Wang was waiting for him at home, but also his elder brother Cui Zhi and elder sister-in-law Yun. Seeing this situation, Cui Hang immediately realized that something had happened, and his intuition told him that this was no small matter!

After the two brothers exchanged a few pleasantries, Cui Hang, who was very tired after working overtime for several days, looked at his elder brother's embarrassed expression and was too lazy to test him. He immediately said:
"Brother, you and I are brothers. If you have anything to say, just tell me. If I can do it, I will never refuse!"

After these words came out, Cui Zhi and Yun looked at each other, and Cui Zhi sighed and said:

"Second brother, if that's the case, I'll tell you straight. Yijing is not like Liaoyang. The expenses are really too high. Money is needed everywhere. So I was blinded by greed some time ago and bought some shares in Yide Company!"

After saying this, Cui Zhi looked at his wife. Yun was speechless, but she had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue:

"This Yide Company is owned by our Yun family. It mainly deals in leisure and entertainment business. The business has been booming. There was an opportunity to invest in it before, so after discussing it with your eldest brother, we invested 500 taels of silver in order to get a share of the profits..."

Hearing what his sister-in-law said, Cui Hang asked directly:
"Sister-in-law, the leisure and entertainment business you are talking about is it a brothel or a gambling den?"

Seeing that Cui Hang didn't beat around the bush and asked the truth directly, Cui Zhi and the Yun couple felt a little embarrassed. After all, although gambling dens and brothels made money, they didn't have a very good reputation in traditional concepts!
Although he felt somewhat helpless, under Cui Hang's gaze, Yun had to admit:

"It's both!"

Although he had a premonition, when he heard the answer, Cui Hang looked at his elder brother and sister-in-law with a hint of blame.

Although brothels and gambling dens have a bad reputation, they do make money. Even if the heavy taxes collected by the court are excluded, the profits are still quite substantial. Therefore, as early as the Liaoyang period, some people in the Cui family wanted to obtain the licenses for brothels and gambling dens to get a piece of the pie!

However, this practice was stopped by Cui Shao, the head of the family. Cui Shao also warned the whole family about this matter that their Cui family is a family of scholars and a noble family, not a merchant family, so they must not do such business that would bring disgrace to the family reputation. Their Cui family cannot afford to lose this person.

It was precisely because of Cui Shao's restraint that although it would have been easy for the Cui family to obtain the license for a brothel or gambling den, they never took any action.

And now the actions of my elder brother and sister-in-law have undoubtedly violated this rule!

As for the spending issue mentioned by his elder brother and sister-in-law, Cui Hang also has his own opinion.

Although Cui Shao did not allow his clansmen to get involved in brothel and gambling businesses, he also knew that his clansmen had to eat, so the Cui family got involved in many legitimate industries. Under the background of Ye Mingsheng's encouragement of industrial and commercial development, these industries of the Cui family also made a lot of profits...

Cui Shao did not put all the profits into his own pocket, but shared them with the whole family. If Cui Hang remembered correctly, his eldest brother Cui Zhi would also get several hundred taels of silver every year. Combined with the shop left by his parents, Cui Zhi's annual income was conservatively estimated to be several hundred taels of silver!

As the capital of Daqian, the consumption level in Yijing is indeed higher than that in Liaoyang, and it is not just a little bit higher, but more than half higher. This is an indisputable fact. However, it is not exaggerated to the point where one cannot survive on a few hundred taels of silver!

In fact, even in a big city like Yijing Luoan, a few hundred taels of silver a year are enough to live a very comfortable life. You can live in a big house, hire servants and maids, and eat delicious food every day!

But now, the several hundred taels of silver that my eldest brother and sister-in-law have every year are not enough to spend. This is enough to show how extravagant and licentious their daily lives are!
Although Cui Hang didn't say a word, under his gaze, Cui Zhi felt a little ashamed. But when he thought of the situation he was facing, he had to speak:
“Brother Hang! Before, everything was operating normally at Yide Company without any problems. But these few days, people from the Coordination Office suddenly sealed off all business premises under the jurisdiction of Yide Company. Many people from your sister-in-law’s family were also arrested…”

After hearing what his elder brother said, Cui Hang understood the purpose of his elder brother and sister-in-law coming to see him, and he couldn't help but frown.

Seeing that Cui Hang didn't speak, Cui Zhi didn't say anything either, but Yun on the side spoke up:
"Cui Hang! You and your elder brother are brothers from the same mother! You have to help with this matter!" "You are now the Minister of Personnel. This matter can be solved with just a word from you. You can't just watch your elder brother being arrested by the Coordination Office!"

"We all know what this coordination office is! It's a devil's den. If your brother goes in, he'll be dead or dead!"

"If something happens to your eldest brother, what will I and your two nephews and nieces do? How will our family survive?"

As Yun spoke, there was a hint of tears in her voice and her eyes became moist.

Seeing his wife about to burst into tears, Cui Zhi quickly stepped forward and said:

"Stop talking! I'm fine now!"

After stopping Yun, Cui Zhi looked at Cui Hang and asked:

"Second brother, this time big brother is really greedy, can you help big brother?"

Feeling the gaze of his elder brother, Cui Hang said in a deep voice:
"Brother, I will definitely help you!"

“But you have to tell me what happened and why Yide Company was investigated. Only if you tell me the truth can I help you. Otherwise, I can’t help you…”

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Hearing his younger brother say this, Cui Zhi's face changed slightly. Noticing the change in his elder brother's expression, Cui Hang was even more certain of his judgment. As the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Cui Hang was very clear about some rules in officialdom.

Although the functions of the Coordination Office overlap to some extent with those of the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate, normally the Coordination Office will not intervene if minor problems arise in brothels or gambling dens, and will instead hand them over to the local Censorsate and government offices for handling.

Only when some big problems arise will the Coordination Office intervene in the investigation!
Especially at this time, the primary task of the Coordination Office is to suppress the unrest caused by layoffs in various places. If it is not a very important matter, they will definitely not have the time to take care of the problems of brothels and gambling dens.

Therefore, relying on his years of experience in the G-field, Cui Hang believed that although his elder brother did not say it, the problems of Yide Trading Company were definitely not small, otherwise the Coordination Office would never step in. What's more, his elder sister-in-law's Yun family also had a deep foundation. If it was an ordinary problem, the Yun family would have handled it themselves!
And now even the Yun family has run into trouble, which is enough to show that this matter is definitely not trivial!
Thinking of this, Cui Hang's expression became more serious. At this time, Cui Zhi and Yun looked at each other again, and the couple were both silent.

Seeing this situation, Cui Hang couldn't help but be disappointed. He was now at the center of the storm, and his every move and every word were being watched by others. In such a situation, Cui Hang couldn't take care of himself!

Therefore, if someone else came to him for this matter, Cui Hang would not listen to him at all and would just tell him to get out and fend for himself...

Cui Hang wanted to help him because he was his elder brother, a brother who grew up with him from the same mother. But he didn't expect that his elder brother would ask for his help and hide it from him. What was the logic? Wasn't he trying to lead him into trouble?
Thinking of this, Cui Hang said in a deep voice:

"Brother, I am alone and weak, I am afraid I can't help you, you have to find a way out yourself!"

Hearing what Cui Hang said, Cui Zhi also hurriedly said:

"Second brother, it's not that I won't tell you, it's just that I haven't figured out how to tell you yet!"

"I don't know much about the problems of Yide Company, but it seems to be due to the problem of usury. In addition, there may be some forced prostitution!"

Cui Hang was also shocked when he heard this and immediately said:
"This is a matter that could lead to death? You knew this and still dared to get involved?"

Cui Zhi said helplessly:
"We didn't know it at first. We were also deceived. We just thought that Yide Company could make money so we bought shares. In the end, we are also victims. It's all the fault of Yide Company!"

Cui Zhi finished speaking, and before Cui Hang could say anything, Yun Shi on the side was a little unhappy and immediately retorted:
"Cui Zhi, you are such a heartless person. What didn't you know at the beginning? What didn't you know at the beginning?"

"If you hadn't begged me to go back to my mother's house and tell my second uncle, would my second uncle have let you buy the shares?"

"Now that something's happened, you're trying to clear yourself of the charges. You're still saying that you were cheated and that you're a victim. How dare you say such things? All the shameless medicine of Daqian has been taken by you, a heartless bastard..."

(End of this chapter)