Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1763 Untitled
After secretly despising Ye Mingsheng in her heart, An Miaoyi seemed to have thought of something and asked:

Does Gu Sansi know about this?

"Your Majesty, His Majesty has ordered this to be kept secret, so not many people know about it. Only some officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Da Dong Sheng Bank know about it. Minister Gu should not know about it now!"

An Miaoyi pondered for a moment upon hearing this. Although she didn't know what Ye Mingsheng had discovered that made him want to check the accounts, An Miaoyi felt that since Ye Mingsheng had decided to check the accounts, there must be something wrong with Qilu Tao Port, and it must be a big problem. Ye Mingsheng was always tolerant of minor issues; as long as you did your job well, he would pretend not to know even if there were some small problems.

Now that Ye Mingsheng is auditing the accounts, it means that the problems at Qilutao Port are not minor issues, and Ye Mingsheng can no longer pretend to be ignorant!

Thinking about this, An Miaoyi hesitated whether to inform Gu Sansi of the news.

Ma Runchuan, the Provincial Governor of Qilu, is Gu Sansi's senior brother. The two brothers have a very good relationship. Gu Sansi is Jingren's teacher, which means he is on her side. As a result, An Miaoyi also sees Ma Runchuan as belonging to her camp.

Therefore, they might be in trouble now, and An Miaoyi wants them to be on guard so that they don't completely fail in this matter.

However, upon further reflection, An Miaoyi also felt that although this matter originally had nothing to do with her, if she were to pass the message to Gu Sansi, and Ye Mingsheng were to escalate the situation, she would be getting herself into trouble, which would be a huge loss...
Thinking about this, An Miaoyi began to ponder carefully. After a moment, she had an idea and gave instructions to Granny Huang.

After receiving the order, Granny Huang left immediately. An Miaoyi wanted to take another look at the grand red makeup ceremony, but at that moment, Qiqige quickly walked to her side and whispered something to her.

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi's expression immediately turned serious, and she promptly retorted with a question:

"Is this true?"

"The information we just received must be absolutely true!"

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi's expression immediately turned to one of barely suppressed anger, but she managed to hold it in and waved at Qiqige.

Five hours later, at midnight

In the area east of the palace, where the Imperial Study was located, squads of fully equipped Imperial Guards patrolled with kerosene lamps. Their orderly footsteps were particularly loud in the darkness. Just as everyone was sound asleep, a young eunuch suddenly rushed out in a panic and said to the patrolling Imperial Guards:
"Fire! Fire! The front yard is flooded!"

Just as the young eunuch was speaking, flames appeared in the courtyard not far away, and the smell of burning wood filled the air.

The Imperial Guards, who had initially been somewhat drowsy, immediately perked up upon seeing this. Just as they had practiced in the palace's fire drills, they began frantically searching for supplies to extinguish the flames. Seeing this, the young eunuch continued towards the Imperial Study, attempting to call for more people to help put out the fire…

Just as the guards around the Imperial Study were fetching water to put out the fire, a black figure quietly slipped into the Imperial Study through the back door.

Although the behavior seemed like that of a thief breaking into someone's house, the shadowy figure who entered the Imperial Study did not immediately search for valuables like a thief would. After entering the Imperial Study, the shadowy figure looked around the furnishings of the room, and then went straight to the chair in the middle of the Imperial Study where Ye Mingsheng usually worked and sat down.

Seated on the emperor's throne, the shadowy figure's long, slender, and pale fingers gently stroked Ye Mingsheng's daily work desk. Ye Mingsheng had been away on inspection tours for several months, but the palace maids still meticulously cleaned the imperial study, so the desk was spotless.

At this moment, the shadowy figure closed his eyes slightly, seemingly imagining Ye Mingsheng's daily office routine. After a moment, he took out a key from his deep pocket and began to unlock the drawers in the desk. Under the shadowy figure's movements, the desk drawers were opened one after another.

There was nothing else in the drawer, just memorials, official documents, or a few pieces of candy or pastries. Ye Mingsheng used to eat something to fill his stomach when he was hungry while working. However, the dark figure paid no attention to these memorials and official documents that could change the fate of an ordinary person. She kept rummaging through the drawer, but unfortunately, she did not find what she wanted.

The shadowy figure reluctantly arranged the memorials, official documents, and the sweets and pastries back to their original positions. Just as he was about to leave the imperial study with regret, he suddenly had a whim and saw the bookshelf behind Ye Mingsheng's chair. Although he felt that what he wanted wouldn't be hidden there, he still walked over...
The shadowy figure quickly discovered a mechanism in the bookcase. He gently twisted the vase, and a hidden compartment popped out of the bookcase in the next second.

Upon seeing the golden silk pouch with dragon patterns in the hidden compartment, a look of anticipation immediately appeared in the shadowy figure's eyes. He knew he had finally found what he wanted.

The silk bag was carefully opened, revealing an imperial edict inside. As the figure read the first half, a smile slowly appeared on their face. However, as they read the latter half, the smile froze, replaced by rage. Their long, slender, white fingers clenched tightly, revealing their pale knuckles.
The nails dug into the flesh, and the excruciating pain gradually brought the shadowy figure back to reason from his anger. Just then, two or three birds chirped outside the Imperial Study.

The shadowy figure knew this was a signal from his accomplices outside: the guards had dealt with the situation, and the fire would be back soon!

Although he was still very angry and confused, the shadowy figure made a rational decision. He put the edict back into the bag, then put it back into the secret compartment, restoring everything to its original state. Then, just like when he came, he quietly left through the back door of the imperial study.

A short while after the shadowy figure left, one of the remaining guards entered the imperial study. Looking at the furnishings and finding nothing amiss, he prepared to leave. Just as he turned to leave, he seemed to smell something, turned back, and looked again, muttering to himself with some confusion:
Why does it smell so good?

One of the guards seemed about to savor the fragrance more closely, but it vanished completely. Somewhat puzzled, the guard carefully examined the furnishings of the imperial study, finding nothing amiss, and shook his head, assuming he had simply misheard. He then turned and left…
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The next day, in the bedroom on the second floor of the Imperial Palace Cabinet...
Gu Sansi slowly opened his eyes. Feeling thirsty, he got up and poured himself a glass of water. After a quick wash with the help of a palace maid, Gu Sansi went downstairs and, looking at the young eunuch in front of him, casually asked:
"Nothing happened last night, right?" The little eunuch asked with a wry smile.

"A fire broke out in a courtyard next to the Imperial Study last night!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Sansi was immediately startled and quickly asked:
"What happened? Were there many casualties?"

"A palace maid and a eunuch were secretly having sex one night when they accidentally set the curtains on fire with a kerosene lamp, which then burned down the house. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, and apart from the palace maid and the eunuch who were burned to death, there were no other casualties. Her Majesty the Empress said it was not a big deal, so we did not disturb Minister Gu's rest!"

Gu Sansi nodded upon hearing this and said:
"Go back and thank Her Majesty for her kindness, but if something like this happens again, don't delay in informing me immediately!"

"Yes!"

After saying this, Gu Sansi saw that it was already completely bright outside, so he gave up his original plan to have breakfast in the cabinet and quickly walked towards the palace gate to take a carriage to the Ministry of Personnel for work.

Although as the Minister of Personnel, no one could really control Gu Sansi's tardiness or early departures—no one would say anything if he arrived a little late—Gu Sansi believed that as the Minister of Personnel, he had to set an example for all the officials in the ministry and lead by example…

Upon arriving at the yamen, Gu Sansi, who hadn't eaten breakfast, immediately went to the yamen's canteen. The low-ranking government officials who were queuing for food immediately made way for Gu Sansi when they saw him.

Because he was already quite hungry, Gu Sansi didn't stand on ceremony with his subordinates. Seeing that the steamed buns in the canteen looked good, with a fragrant aroma and the smell of meat filling the air, he couldn't help but ask the cook:
What kind of filling do the steamed buns have?

"Your Excellency, there are two kinds of fillings for today's steamed buns: one is pork and scallion, and the other is pork and cabbage!"

Do you have beef buns?

The chef looked troubled and said:
"Your Excellency, our canteen has no beef ration!"

Gu Sansi was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but he still gave the order:
"Two pork and scallion buns, one pork and cabbage bun, and a cup of soy milk!"

"Yes!"

Although pork buns are delicious and are something that ordinary families in this era can only eat during festivals, pork is still inferior to beef. After eating the beef buns that Gu Sansi ordered from the Imperial Kitchen when he was on night duty in the Cabinet, he has always preferred beef buns. However, because cattle are an important source of labor for farming, the Great Qian Dynasty restricts their slaughter, so beef is a controlled commodity and can only be supplied freely in the palace.

Of course, as the Minister of Personnel, if Gu Sansi really wanted to eat beef, it would only be a matter of saying a few words. However, Gu Sansi cherished his reputation and did not want to affect his image because of some food, so he could only order it once in the imperial kitchen when he was on night duty in the cabinet.

After receiving the food from the chef, Gu Sansi knew that staying in the canteen to eat would affect the others' meals. So, in order for his subordinates to eat properly, he returned to his cell, quickly enjoyed a delicious meal, and then had his clerk return the tableware to the canteen before starting his new day's work.

At first, Gu Sansi was very enthusiastic about his work, but as more and more memorials were sent, a hint of helplessness appeared on the face of this Minister of Personnel of the Great Qian Dynasty!
Since Zhang Xiong was removed from office, the Ministry of Personnel has been short of a vice minister. Many important official documents have been placed on the shoulders of Minister and Vice Minister Shen Changhong, which has put a lot of pressure on both of them. For this reason, Gu Sansi recommended Zhang Yilin, the deputy governor of Hebei and Henan provinces, to fill the vacant vice minister position.

Ye Mingsheng did not give a clear answer to Gu Sansi's idea, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, so the matter dragged on. Meanwhile, with no news of Gu Sansi's appointment as Vice Minister of Personnel appearing for the time being, Zhang Yilin began to consider replacing Zhang Zhiwen as the Provincial Governor of Hebei and Henan…

The Ministry of Personnel deals with personnel matters. As the Minister of Personnel, one bears the responsibility of recommending talented individuals to His Majesty. Therefore, the primary task is to understand His Majesty's psychology. You must understand what types of talent His Majesty appreciates and dislikes. Only by grasping these aspects can one maintain a stable and long-term position.

Based on Gu Sansi's understanding of Ye Mingsheng, he felt that Ye Mingsheng should still appreciate Zhang Yilin quite a bit. Zhang Yilin was the kind of person who was capable of developing the economy, and at the same time, he was quick-witted and not bound by so many rules and regulations. Thirdly, although Zhang Yilin himself had problems and had suspicious dealings with some businessmen, the problems were not very serious.

Gu Sansi believed that Ye Mingsheng would appreciate someone like Zhang Yilin, which is why he agreed to his wife Chen Wanting's suggestion and recommended Zhang Yilin to Ye Mingsheng.

Now that Ye Mingsheng has neither agreed nor disagreed, it means that His Majesty is at least not against Zhang Yilin. Otherwise, given His Majesty's personality, he would have rejected the recommendation long ago. However, this also shows that His Majesty still has doubts about Zhang Yilin.

Gu Sansi felt that Ye Mingsheng's doubts might stem from two points.

First, there are unverified but rather questionable dealings with some businessmen and government officials.

Secondly, Zhang Yilin did not serve as the Deputy Provincial Governor of Hebei and Henan for long. Therefore, the transfer from Deputy Provincial Governor to Vice Minister is basically a lateral move. However, in terms of political influence, the two are not at the same level. In particular, he is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, which is the head of the six ministries. He holds the future of many people in his hands. Such political influence should not be underestimated!