Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1714 "Deep Sisterly Love!"

Yi Jing, Night

In the palace, An Miaoyi, whose sleep had been interrupted, looked at the letter in her hand with some displeasure. However, after only glancing at a few lines, a look of shock appeared in her beautiful eyes. After carefully reading through the entire contents of the letter, she looked up at Bai Yuanyuan in front of her and said:

Why is the content of this letter incomplete?

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuanyuan immediately explained:
"Your Majesty, my second brother said that the assassin tried to destroy the letter with fire, but the patrolling constables rescued it. When my second brother got the letter, this is what it contained!"

Hearing Bai Yuanyuan say this, An Miaoyi nodded slightly and said:
"Very good! Your second brother has put his heart into it!"

"This is all that the Bai family should do. The Bai family is where it is today entirely thanks to Her Majesty the Empress's care!"

An Miaoyi felt disgusted looking at Bai Yuanyuan's fawning face. She knew very well that Bai Yuanyuan was a complete slut. Don't be fooled by her humble appearance in front of her, as if she would do anything for her.

But in reality, this woman probably wished she could die sooner, because she thought that this would give her a chance to become empress and her son a chance to become crown prince.

Thinking this, An Miaoyi felt increasingly mocking. Although Bai Yuanyuan lacked any self-awareness, An Miaoyi liked her that way. This way, An Miaoyi could exploit her ambition to do her own things. Pei Zhixiu's indifferent and unambitious nature was what truly gave An Miaoyi a headache…
Seeing Bai Yuanyuan's expectant look, An Miaoyi knew what the other wanted and immediately lectured her:

"Sister Bai, your Bai family's business has grown very large over the years. The annual turnover of silver must be over a hundred thousand taels of silver. That's a lot of silver. Many people can't earn enough wealth in several lifetimes. How much silver can you earn at any time!"

Hearing An Miaoyi's words, Bai Yuanyuan couldn't help but sneer inwardly. If these words had come from someone else, she might have been moved, but coming from An Miaoyi, she just wanted to have a good laugh!
Others may not know, but do you think I don't?

Over the years, how much money have you, An Miaoyi, secretly made by relying on exclusive information? How many of those prosperous plots in Yijing are not behind your hand?

The entire Bai family doesn't earn as much money as you, An Miaoyi, do alone!

And now you're lecturing me with such righteous indignation, asking how much money you can earn before it's too late?

Although that's what she thought, she couldn't escape the fact that a higher rank could crush her. While Bai Yuanyuan was a Noble Consort, in terms of actual power, she and An Miaoyi were worlds apart. Thinking this, Bai Yuanyuan could only look at An Miaoyi with a self-reproachful expression, saying:

“Your Majesty, your teachings are correct. My second brother and I were indeed blinded by greed in this matter. We were wrong this time, and we hope Your Majesty will give us a chance to reform. My brother and I will definitely turn over a new leaf and remember Your Majesty’s teachings…”

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi waved her hand and said:
"Sister Bai, what you need to remember is my teaching. We are good sisters, and I will definitely help you if I can. But there are some things that I can't control. What do you think His Majesty will do if he finds out about this?"

Upon hearing An Miaoyi mention the name "Ye Mingsheng," a flicker of panic flashed in Bai Yuanyuan's eyes, before she continued:

"Your Majesty, please help me this time, considering how devoted I've been to you all these years!"

"This matter has now reached the Ministry of Justice, and I'm afraid I'm willing but unable to do anything about it!"

Upon hearing this, a hint of humiliation flashed in Bai Yuanyuan's eyes, but she still made a move to kneel down before An Miaoyi. However, An Miaoyi quickly helped her up and said:
"Sister Bai, what are you doing! I didn't say I wouldn't help you!"

"Your Majesty, please help me!"

Seeing that the time was almost right, An Miaoyi changed the subject and said:
"In the matter of Jinxianglou, although you and Prefect Bai were at fault, it was ultimately the owner of Jinxianglou, Wang Yingjie, who used inferior ingredients first. If he had been honest and trustworthy and had not used those bad ingredients, none of this would have happened!"

"A cunning businessman like him has no one to blame but himself for ending up in this predicament. As the ancients said, 'One can defy the wrath of Heaven, but one cannot escape the wrath of one's own actions!'"

"So I will speak to the Ministry of Justice about this matter and see if we can get Lord Liu Ning to resolve this issue peacefully!"

"Thank you so much for your help, Your Majesty. My brother and I will never forget your kindness!"

As she spoke, Bai Yuanyuan looked at An Miaoyi with a face full of gratitude. While this was her outward appearance, secretly Bai Yuanyuan truly wanted to tear this "good sister" apart...

Previously, Xing Tong and Ke Xin, the two sisters, had a conflict. Originally, it wasn't a big deal, and neither of the children was seriously injured. Bai Yuanyuan didn't intend to have any conflict with the Murong sisters over this matter. However, An Miaoyi insisted on bringing up the Jinxianglou incident and demanded that the matter be dealt with seriously.

Although Bai Yuanyuan realized that An Miaoyi was trying to put her in a difficult position, she had no choice but to admit defeat since she had been caught red-handed. Although An Miaoyi said she would transfer the case to the Ministry of Justice, she kept it under wraps, intending to control Bai Yuanyuan.

Despite knowing full well what An Miaoyi was up to, Bai Yuanyuan, having been caught red-handed, had no choice but to submit once again.

After comforting Bai Yuanyuan for a few more minutes, An Miaoyi finally told Bai Yuanyuan to go back and get some rest.

After Bai Yuanyuan left, Qiqige asked with some confusion:

"Your Majesty, weren't you planning to keep the Bai family under your thumb for a while longer? Why are you letting them go so easily?"

An Miaoyi didn't say much upon hearing this, but simply handed the letter to Qiqige.

Qiqige glanced at the contents of the letter and exclaimed in shock:
"One million taels of silver? If that's true, Sun Wenheng is truly a big spender!"

An Miaoyi asked calmly:
Do you think this is true or false?

After thinking for a moment, Qiqige said:

"Your Majesty, I think this matter is half true and half false!"

Upon hearing the phrase "half true, half false," An Miaoyi asked with great interest, "You said this matter is half true, half false, but what exactly does 'half true, half false' mean?"

Qiqige said seriously:

“This Sun Wenheng is a wealthy merchant in Jiangnan with immense wealth. However, before becoming the general manager of Wanfu Bank, he was not well-known among the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan, and his business was not very large. But since he became the general manager of Wanfu Bank under the recommendation of Murong Yuliang, he has become one of the leading figures among the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan.”

"Based on the information we had previously gathered, Sun Heng was known for his cunning and treacherous nature when he was doing business, and his business dealings were generally not very ethical."

"Therefore, after Sun Wenheng became the general manager of Wanfu Bank, I felt it was impossible for him to suddenly become a proper businessman. Most importantly, I felt his motives for becoming the general manager of Wanfu Bank were impure..."

"Ever since his family's Dashengchang changed its name to Dadechang Trading Company to avoid using His Majesty's name, it has been trying to expand throughout the entire Daqian Dynasty. Especially after Sun Heng became the general manager of Wanfu Bank, Dadechang Trading Company developed extremely rapidly. Dadechang has three stores in Yijing, one of which is on Houde Street. Behind this rapid development is a huge amount of silver!"

"Therefore, I think Sun Wenheng must have used his position as the general manager of Wanfu Bank to seek benefits for his own business. Sun Wenheng's actions will definitely harm the interests of Wanfu Bank, but one million taels is just too much!"

"Therefore, Your Majesty, I am more inclined to believe that Sun Heng did indeed engage in illegal activities, but the amount is not that large. It should be around 100,000 to 200,000 taels of silver, but one million taels of silver is a bit too exaggerated. One million taels of silver is more than the annual turnover of many banks!"

Listening to Qiqige's idea, An Miaoyi said somewhat noncommittally:
"Brother Qi, what you said makes some sense, but you're seriously underestimating Wanfu Bank. Jiangnan is the financial pillar of the entire court, and in His Majesty's plan, Wanfu Bank is responsible for the major commercial transactions in Jiangnan, with an annual turnover of at least three million taels of silver. On the surface, Sun Wenheng is just a businessman without much power, but in reality, he wields considerable authority!"

"Besides, this Sun Wenheng was recommended by Murong Yuliang. Now that something like this has happened, tell me, is Sun Wenheng's doing more, or Murong Yuliang's?"

Qiqige was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and then she reacted and asked:

"Your Majesty, are you saying that Murong Yuliang was the one who did it, and Sun Wenheng was just a scapegoat?"

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi spoke slowly:
"Whether Murong Yuliang did it or not is not important; what matters is what kind of person I want him to become!"

"Your Majesty, do you have a plan?"

In response to Qiqige's question, An Miaoyi said something meaningful:
"Do you think those two up north are able to sleep right now?"

Qiqige thought for a moment and said:
"They definitely can't sleep. Now, the sisters are the ones with the motive to kill. Although the person is dead, the letter was left behind. If the sisters knew this, they would definitely be uneasy right now!"

After finishing her sentence, Qiqige paused for a moment, then said with some regret:
"The entire document in this belief only mentions Sun Wenheng, without mentioning Murong Yuliang at all, or perhaps the words that did mention Murong Yuliang were destroyed. Otherwise, it would have been easier to drag Murong Yuliang into this mess. Right now, Murong Yuliang can still find some excuses..."

An Miaoyi smiled and said upon hearing this:

“Which of those people in the cabinet isn’t an old fox? Which one of them doesn’t see through Murong Yuliang? Even if he can find an excuse this time, Sun Wenheng was recommended by him. Now that Sun Wenheng has made such a mess right under his nose, it’s impossible for him to get away with it easily!”

Qiqige nodded and said:
"Your Majesty, you are right!"

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi immediately gave the order:
"Send a message to Zhao Yuan, instructing him to spread information about Murong Qingwu's assassins, and also to announce that the letter mentioned Murong Yuliang!"

"Your Majesty, are you suggesting we direct the investigation towards the Murong family?"

"Don't take things too seriously. Those people in the Joint Command Office aren't pushovers. Ji Xian isn't as obedient as Huo San or Wang Xuecheng. If he discovers anything, he'll definitely report it to His Majesty. In that case, we'll have lost more than we gained. So tell Zhao Yuan to be careful!"

At this point, An Miaoyi sighed. Back when Huo San and Wang Xuecheng were around, the Joint Command Office not only served Ye Mingsheng, but also listened to her every command. Back then, she didn't have to be so restrained in her actions as she is now. She didn't have to say anything or give any orders; Huo San and Wang Xuecheng, those two smart men, would do everything for her.

This Ji Xian is utterly clueless; not only does he ignore my orders, but he also keeps tattling on me to Ye Mingsheng. If I ever come to power, I'll definitely settle accounts with him...
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Rao An, October 3
Early in the morning, Ye Mingsheng and his men had breakfast at the post station and were preparing to lead their troops to their next destination, Changshan.

Zhang Hu then came over and reported:

"Your Majesty, Zhang Zhiwen, the Provincial Governor of Youyan, is outside requesting an audience!"

Ye Mingsheng was somewhat surprised to hear this, and then asked:
"What is he here for?"

"They said they wanted to plead guilty with a bundle of thorns on their backs!"

Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly upon hearing this, and after pondering for a while, he decided to give Zhang Zhiwen a chance to defend himself, considering that Zhang Zhiwen had worked hard in Youyan over the years, even if he hadn't made any great contributions. He said:

"Let him in!"

"Yes!"

At Ye Mingsheng's command, Zhang Zhiwen, weary from his journey, entered the room. Upon seeing Ye Mingsheng, the Governor of Youyan knelt down with a thud and said:
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"

Seeing Zhang Zhiwen get straight to the point, Ye Mingsheng didn't bother with any more pleasantries and asked the same question directly.
"Do you know what Wang Chong did in Zhuoxian?"

Upon hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Zhang Zhiwen was about to reply that he knew some things, but he suddenly realized that it would be very inappropriate to say that. After all, Wang Chong's case was still under trial and had not been officially announced. So if His Majesty asked him how he knew that he only knew some things, how could he know that he knew some things?

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhiwen pretended to be honest and answered:
“I know that Wang Chong was forcibly recruiting workers in Zhuoxian County and providing assistance to those factory owners.”

Upon hearing Zhang Zhiwen's words, Ye Mingsheng coldly replied:
"Do you know anything else? You still have a chance to confess and receive leniency, I hope you seize it..."