Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1760 The Imperial Envoy Arrives
December 1st, Lin'an, Jiangnan

Jianghuai Governor's Office
Including the Governor of Jiangnan, Murong Yuliang, the Provincial Treasurer of Jiangnan, Tian Yu, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan, Liu Yufeng, the Provincial Treasurer of Huainan, Wei Gaojie, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Huainan, Yin Xiang, the Prefect of Lin'an, Zhang Baoping, and other officials, all stood silently waiting in front of the yamen.

Although no one spoke, the expressions of these men were all different at this moment. Some looked uneasy and desperate, some looked heartbroken and despondent, and some even looked secretly pleased and expectant.

As the sun reached its brightest point at noon, Zhang Mang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice of the Great Qian Dynasty, and his entourage finally arrived, weary from their journey.

Upon seeing Zhang Mang and his entourage, everyone was taken aback. Zhang Mang, who had come from afar, did not greet his colleagues but directly produced the golden imperial edict. Without Zhang Mang saying a word, everyone, including Governor Murong Yuliang, knelt down in unison.

Holding the imperial edict, Zhang Mang read it aloud:
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Liu Yufeng, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan, and Wei Gaojie, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Huainan, have failed in their duties, are greedy and insatiable, and have abused their power for personal gain. Such acts of disregard for the law and pursuit of personal profit are truly unforgivable! They are hereby dismissed from their posts and investigated. Zhang Mang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, is hereby appointed as Imperial Commissioner to Jiangnan to thoroughly investigate the Wanfu Exchange House case! This is the imperial decree!"

As Zhang Mang finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the constables who had come with him headed straight for Liu Yufeng and Wei Gaojie. Everyone present had actually expected this. Both Liu Yufeng and Wei Gaojie remained calm, unlike some officials who, when investigated, cried out their innocence…

Seeing Liu Yufeng and Wei Gaojie, who had been high and mighty just a moment ago, arrested, Murong Yuliang, one of the six high-ranking officials from Jiangnan, and Tian Yu, the Jiangnan Provincial Governor, remained calm and composed, as if those arrested were not their colleagues with whom they spent every day. Yin Xiang, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Huainan, and Zhang Baoping, the Prefect of Lin'an, tried their best to control their emotions and appear as if nothing had happened, but Zhang Mang noticed a hint of sympathy in their eyes.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Mang's heart stirred. Just then, Murong Yuliang, who had stood up from the ground, stood up and said:

"Minister Zhang! We've finally been waiting for you, the imperial envoy!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mang humbly replied:

"Some things happened on the way, which caused a delay. I'm sorry to have kept Lord Murong waiting for so long!"

"Hey! Vice Minister Zhang, you flatter me. The journey from Yijing to Lin'an is long, and it's common for unexpected situations to cause delays!"

After saying that, Murong Yuliang changed the subject and said with great shame:

"As the Governor of Jiangnan, I am deeply ashamed that such a villain as Sun Wenheng has appeared in Jiangnan and such a disgrace has occurred at Wanfu Bank. I am truly guilty and have failed His Majesty's grace!"

At this point, Murong Yuliang bowed her head and stamped her feet, looking extremely ashamed.

Seeing the old fox Murong Yuliang's behavior, Zhang Mang sneered inwardly, but outwardly still offered words of comfort:
"Lord Murong, as the old saying goes, you can't see into someone's heart; you can know a person's face but not their heart. You have made great contributions to Jiangnan and to the Great Qian Dynasty. This is just a minor oversight. His Majesty knows your loyalty well, so please don't blame yourself too much..."

"Your Majesty's grace is truly beyond my ability to repay. I can only dedicate myself to the cause until my dying breath!"

After saying this, Murong Yuliang grabbed Zhang Mang's hand and said, seemingly very sincerely:
"Minister Zhang, your imperial envoy has arrived! Finally, things can be set right in Jianghuai!"

Although Murong Yuliang appeared incredibly sincere as she spoke, Zhang Mang perceived it as a test. He then calmly continued:
"Lord Murong, you flatter me. I only came to Jiangnan to investigate the case. To pursue more details, we still need Lord Murong and our colleagues in Jiangnan!"

Seeing that Zhang Mang was not reckless at all and behaved very calmly, Murong Yuliang knew that verbal probing would not yield any more useful information, so he casually agreed and then led a group of government officials from Jiangnan to welcome Zhang Mang and his entourage.

Zhang Mang did not refuse. After eating and drinking his fill that night, Zhang Mang and Murong Yuliang met in a room in the governor's office.

Compared to their warm greetings during the day, Murong Yuliang and Zhang Mang were rather silent now that they were alone together. Neither of them seemed in a hurry to speak. Just then, a maidservant served them each fragrant tea, and Murong Yuliang calmly picked up her teacup and took a sip.

Seeing Murong Yuliang's composed and relaxed demeanor, Zhang Mang was somewhat surprised. Murong Yuliang's behavior during the day was within his expectations; after all, as the Governor of Jiangnan, he always had to appear calm and composed, righteous and awe-inspiring in front of his subordinates…
However, he did not expect that Murong Yuliang would be so relaxed when he was alone with her. He originally thought that Murong Yuliang would be a little impatient!

Since Murong Yuliang was unwilling to speak first, Zhang Mang took the initiative and took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Murong Yuliang.

"Her Highness the Imperial Concubine knew I was coming to Jiangnan, so she specially gave me this letter to deliver to Lord Murong!"

Upon hearing this, Murong Yuliang took the letter from Zhang Mang. Looking at her daughter's familiar, delicate handwriting on the envelope, Murong Yuliang felt reassured. Although she had previously communicated with her daughter through letters and knew that Zhang Mang was someone who had helped her daughter rise to prominence and that they had a close relationship, having Zhang Mang deliver the letter again at this moment meant that her daughter had once again affirmed Zhang Mang's reliability.

After pondering for a moment, Murong Yuliang smiled and said:

"Thank you for delivering the letter, Vice Minister Zhang. I wonder how the Imperial Concubine, Consort Yun, Princess Kexin, and Prince Jingyan are doing lately?"

Faced with Murong Yuliang's question, Zhang Mang answered calmly:

"Does Lord Murong want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Zhang Mang's answer surprised Murong Yuliang, who asked with slight doubt:
"How do you tell the truth? How do you tell a lie?"

"The truth is, of course, that both Your Highnesses, the two princes, and the princess are all safe and sound!"

So, telling the truth means something's wrong?

"The two princesses and princes are fine. But the Imperial Concubine and Consort Yun have been extremely worried about the Wanfu Bank and Sun Wenheng's matter lately!"

At this point, Zhang Mang gave Murong Yuliang a meaningful, deep look...

Seeing Zhang Mang's change from his humble and polite demeanor during the day, Murong Yuliang sighed and said, "It's all my fault as an elder. My momentary oversight has implicated my daughter and niece!"

Hearing Murong Yuliang say this, Zhang Mang understood that the old fox Murong Yuliang did not completely trust him just because he had produced Murong Qingwu's letter.

However, this was within his expectations. If Murong Yuliang could trust others so easily, he wouldn't have gotten to where he is today.

Thinking of this, Zhang Mang spoke calmly:

"Lord Murong, you are a veteran of the Great Qian Dynasty. You should know His Majesty's style of doing things very well. I, as an imperial envoy, am just a figurehead. His Majesty does not expect me to find out anything. You should deal with the investigation by the Inner Guard and the Joint Investigation Department!"

"I'm tired from the long journey today, so I'll head back to rest. Goodbye!"

Without waiting for Murong Yuliang's reply, Zhang Mang left on his own.

Watching Zhang Mang's departing figure, Murong Yuliang remained silent, but his brows furrowed involuntarily. Just then, his advisor, Chen Mingyang, came out, and Murong Yuliang couldn't help but ask:
What's your take on the current situation?

Upon hearing this, Chen Mingyang said in a deep voice:

"Sir, things are a bit tricky!"

Upon hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Murong Yuliang's old face.

He originally thought that by making up for the deficit of Wanfu Bank, changing the reported deficit to 300,000 taels, and by executing Ma Su with tears in his eyes and handing over Liu Yufeng and Wei Gaojie, he could turn a big problem into a small one and a small problem into nothing.

But now it seems His Majesty is not satisfied. Your Majesty, this is a thorough investigation...
In fact, Murong Yuliang had anticipated this situation; it wasn't that he was completely unprepared!

However, Murong Yuliang still harbored a certain amount of wishful thinking, hoping to get away with it. But reality is reality, and fantasy is fantasy, and there is often a huge gap between the two.

Although somewhat helpless, since the matter has already happened, all Murong Yuliang can do is try her best to face it!

Having made up his mind, Murong Yuliang also thought of a question, and then asked Chen Mingyang:

Do you think Zhang Mang can be trusted?

Chen Mingyang fell silent upon hearing this, recalling Zhang Mang's words in the room. He gradually formed an idea, but instead of directly answering Murong Yuliang's question, he asked in return:

"My lord, what do you think the Imperial Concubine or the entire Murong family can offer Minister Zhang now?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Yuliang was taken aback at first, and then fell into deep thought.

Before Chen Mingyang mentioned it, he hadn't thought about it in that direction, but if it were discussed from that perspective, it would indeed be thought-provoking...
Murong Yuliang remembered his daughter Murong Qingwu telling him that when Zhang Mang was still a minor official in the Ministry of Justice, she saw his potential and thought he was a promising talent, so she wanted to invest in and win him over.

However, since the Ministry of Justice was the traditional territory of the Liaoyang gang, and Cui Shao had previously served as the Liaoyang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, many of the people in the Ministry of Justice were Cui Shao's protégés and former subordinates, having followed him for half their lives. The former Minister of Justice, Li Jian, always listened to Cui Shao's orders, the former Vice Minister of Justice, Gongsun Hao, was Cui Shao's old brother, and the former Vice Minister of Justice, Cui Zibo, was Cui Shao's son.

Therefore, given her connections within the Ministry of Justice, Murong Qingwu knew that if she used her personal connections to help Zhang Mang advance his career, making people aware that she was grooming Zhang Mang, it would not only be against Zhang Mang's interests, but would actually harm him. In the end, Zhang Mang wouldn't even know how he died in the Ministry of Justice.

Therefore, although Murong Qingwu wanted to cultivate Zhang Mang, she did not invest her political resources in him. She only gave him money so that he could devote himself to officialdom and not be affected by family matters.

Murong Qingwu gave Zhang Mang tens of thousands of taels of silver in total. For Zhang Mang, who was just a minor official at the time, this was a huge fortune. According to his salary as a minor official, it was enough for him to work for several lifetimes. This tens of thousands of taels of silver also played a crucial role in Zhang Mang's career advancement.

Although she couldn't provide political resources, she could only offer money. However, Murong Qingwu still made a promise to Zhang Mang. She told Zhang Mang that when Cui Shao retired, her father, Murong Yuliang, would be the only candidate to succeed him as the Grand Secretary. At that time, Zhang Mang would receive the Murong family's gratitude, and Murong Yuliang would do his best to help him enter the cabinet.

So, emboldened by the money and gifts, Zhang Mang was deeply grateful to Murong Qingwu. However, everything changed drastically after Zhang Mang was chosen by Ye Mingsheng to become the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice…

As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice in the Great Qian Dynasty, Zhang Mang had already entered the ranks of the elite. He no longer needed Murong Qingwu to give him money; if he wanted money, countless merchants and officials would line up to give it to him.

Therefore, all Murong Qingwu and even the entire Murong family could offer him was a vague and uncertain promise.

Of course, Murong Yuliang believed that his daughter must have something on Zhang Mang, but the problem was that these things were intertwined. Taking that step would mean mutual destruction, and no one would have a good time. Everyone would have to face Ye Mingsheng's wrath.

Therefore, it can be said that the Murong family has no bargaining chips to attract Zhang Mang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. They can only hope that Zhang Mang will be grateful for the kindness of Murong Qing in nurturing and supporting him and work for the Murong family!

Having figured all this out, Murong Yuliang's heart sank. Having been in the gambling world for so many years, he deeply understood one thing: human nature cannot withstand the test. He had seen too many cases of betrayal, where someone would be deeply affectionate to you on one hand and stab you in the back on the other. Such situations were commonplace. Therefore, compared to gratitude, he believed more in the bond of interests.

It is clear that under the current circumstances, Zhang Mang's interests are not aligned with those of the Murong family.

At this moment, Chen Mingyang noticed the change in Murong Yuyang's expression and knew that his master had figured out the intricacies of the situation, so he stopped hiding his intentions and spoke directly:

"Since Her Highness entrusted him with the letter, it means he can be trusted to some extent. However, one should always be wary of others..."