The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 336 Serving the Emperor with Sincerity Brings Snow to the World
With so many officials watching, and the incident happening right at the entrance of the Ministry of Personnel, it was absolutely impossible to cover it up.

Although Zou Yunjin did not serve as Minister of Personnel for long, he was not stupid.

Only a smart person could sit in this position.

Therefore, he immediately sent people to guard Shen Zhumo's body, and then sent people to quickly notify the Shuntian Prefecture and the Infantry Commander's Office!
Since he couldn't avoid this kind of thing, Zou Yunjin decided to drag more people down with him, which was better than taking the blame alone.

He knew in his heart that since someone was deliberately causing trouble, he couldn't hide it from them, so he could only try his best to clear himself of any wrongdoing.

As for the officials who were watching the commotion, he glanced at them indifferently and asked, "Are you all gathered around the entrance of the Ministry of Personnel on official business?"

"If so, I'll send someone to register the name right away!"

"Let's talk this over slowly!"

Although the officials who had come to watch the spectacle were reluctant to leave, the Minister of Personnel personally gave the order, and no one dared to stay any longer. Before long, most of the people had dispersed.

When the Ministry of Personnel got into trouble, the Shuntian Prefecture and the Infantry Commander's Office arrived very quickly.

Faced with this thorny issue, neither of the two government offices was willing to take on this hot potato. After much wrangling, the Infantry Commander's office finally took it on.

After all, the Ministry of Personnel was located in the inner city, which was their territory.

In the presence of the Ministry of Personnel and the Assistant Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, the coroner examined Shen Zhumo's body. Apart from the official seal that could prove his identity, there was only a suicide note.

After discovering the suicide note, Zou Yunjin hesitated for a moment, but decided to take a look at it herself.

Although this was against the rules, as the Minister of Personnel, he had to find out why this official from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had to die at the entrance of the Ministry of Personnel.

Upon opening the suicide note, Zou Yunjin's face darkened.

His suicide note was filled with grief and indignation, recounting his years of diligent work, only to be criticized as "careless" during the imperial examination and demoted.

Meanwhile, those colleagues who did nothing and idled away their time were not only not punished, but were even promoted.

The letter went even further, posing a soul-searching question: "Gentlemen of the Ministry of Personnel, have you abandoned all conscience in your pursuit of currying favor with important figures?"

Although the identity of the important figure was not explicitly stated, the article exposed a whole host of people who did nothing but received "excellent" grades.

After reading the letter, Zou Yunjin frowned even more!
He hesitated for a moment, then handed the will to the messenger from the Infantry Commander's Office.

He can't and shouldn't suppress this matter.

It's unheard of for a dignified Ministry of Personnel to have such a scandal—a sixth-rank official crashing into the gate and dying—to occur.

This is not only a slap in the face to the Ministry of Personnel, but also a slap in the face to Emperor Qianxi.

The Qianxi Emperor will definitely inquire about this.

The most important thing right now is to determine whether there are any problems with the assessment of Shen Zhumo.

If there is solid evidence to prove that the assessment of Shen Zhumo is correct, then things will be much easier!

In order to maintain the authority of the Ministry of Revenue, Emperor Qianxi might even target Shen Zhumo.

However, if the assessment is wrong, the entire Ministry of Personnel will be in deep trouble.

As the Minister of Personnel, he is the first to bear the brunt of the blame and will likely face serious consequences.

Zou Yunjin felt a chill run down her spine just thinking about the contents of Shen Zhumo's suicide note!

He had a vague feeling that Shen Zhumo was not lying.

If he were truly lying, he wouldn't have gone so far as to commit suicide to prove his innocence by crashing into the gate of the Ministry of Personnel.

Zou Yunjin immediately summoned the left and right vice ministers of the Ministry of Personnel and the senior officials of various departments to the main hall.

After briefly explaining the situation, he asked in a deep voice, "Who is specifically in charge of the Taichang Temple's assessment?"

A slightly overweight fifth-rank official in his fifties stepped forward, sweat beading on his forehead, and said, "Sir, I am in charge of the assessments at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

Zou Yunjin frowned. He had never liked this Lord Cheng too much. This man spoke to people in a way that suited them, and from the moment he started working with him, he was the kind of person who was very shrewd and adaptable. To put it bluntly, he was like an eel, too slippery!
"Lord Cheng, tell me, what was the situation with the assessment by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices? Why was Shen Zhumo assessed as negligent and even demoted?"

"Tell me your reasons."

Then, sweat poured down Lord Cheng's forehead even more. He hesitated for a moment, then said in a trembling voice, "Lord Zou... Lord Zou, the Taichang Temple's... Taichang Temple's assessment went smoothly."

"The reason why Shen Zhumo was deemed careless was... because it was decided by Minister Chen of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

"We...we are just respecting their opinion."

Upon hearing this, Zou Yunjin knew there was definitely something fishy going on.

This Lord Cheng must have received some kind of benefit.

"According to you, everyone else in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is more competent than this Shen Zhumo?" Zou Yunjin's tone turned cold.

Lord Cheng felt uneasy, but now that things had come to this, he could only bite the bullet and answer, "Yes."

"Is that really the case? Then let me ask you, Li Yunshen and Zhang Zhiming, are they really qualified?"

"Give me an honest answer."

"You might be able to fool me, but do you think you can do that to the Emperor?"

Lord Cheng's face turned pale instantly.

He glanced furtively at the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel beside him and whispered, "Lord Zou, I... request to speak with you privately."

Normally, Zou Yunjin might have given him that face.

After all, there's nothing wrong with reporting your work separately.

However, in the current situation, countless eyes are fixed on the Ministry of Personnel, and on him, the Minister of Personnel.

One wrong step and he could lose the Emperor's favor. So, after a moment's hesitation, he coldly said to Lord Cheng, "There's nothing that can't be said to others!"

"This is the Ministry of Personnel, and everyone here is one of our own people in the Ministry of Personnel. They are all trustworthy."

"Speak your mind."

"Let me tell you, hiding it won't help!"

Upon hearing Zou Yunjin's words, Lord Cheng gritted his teeth and went all out: "Lord Zou, those...those two people are both people valued by the Crown Prince."

Zou Yunjin's heart sank.

He never expected that this matter would involve the Crown Prince.

For a moment, he felt increasingly confused and disoriented.

He had a strong feeling that this matter was more complicated than he had thought.

Anything involving the Crown Prince is no small matter.

There's often more to it than meets the eye.

A sixth-rank official was executed by having his blood spilled in the Ministry of Personnel simply because he failed the assessment; this was clearly no small matter.

At first, he thought that the other party was targeting their Ministry of Personnel.

Only now did he realize: this was clearly aimed at the Crown Prince!

Their Ministry of Personnel was merely being used as a pawn.

This discovery did not make him feel relieved; instead, it instilled even more fear in him.

Because it involves a dispute over the crown prince, the slightest mistake could lead to utter destruction.

He took a deep breath and said, "Lord Cheng, I said before the capital inspection began that we must be extremely careful about it."

"Regardless of who makes the connections, our Ministry of Personnel must appoint officials based solely on merit!"

"You...you actually ignored my words. Now that something has gone wrong, let's see how you explain this to the court and to His Majesty."

At this point, he glanced at the two ministers sitting below him, who looked like stone sculptures and clay figures, and asked, "My lords, what do you think of this matter?"

Narshu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, said expressionlessly, "No one is wiser than His Majesty. Since the matter cannot be concealed, we can only request His Majesty's judgment!"

His words sounded grand and dignified, implying that everything was up to the Qianxi Emperor.

Zou Yunjin felt a tightness in her chest as she listened.

If this matter reaches Emperor Qianxi, it will be embarrassing for him, the Minister. Although Narshu is the Left Vice Minister, he is not the head of the Ministry of Personnel.

If Emperor Qianxi were to hold someone accountable, the most likely punishment would be himself.

However, Narshu was very likely to be given an important position by the Qianxi Emperor.

However, he couldn't refute Narshu's words, since what Narshu said was perfectly justified.

"This matter should naturally be reported to His Majesty." Taking a breath, Zou Yunjin suppressed his anger and flicked his sleeve, saying, "Lord Cheng, you should go and think about how to explain your assessment to His Majesty."

At this point, he turned to the Right Vice Minister Chu Mingcheng and asked, "Lord Chu, do you have any objections?"

Chu Mingcheng said, "Although our Ministry of Personnel took the lead in this capital inspection, the Censorate also participated."

“I think that when something like this happens, we can’t just bear the burden alone. The Censorate is also responsible.”

Zou Yunjin thought the idea was quite good.

Although his relationship with Chen Tingjing, the Left Censor-in-Chief, was fairly good, it was necessary to share the burden at this critical juncture.

Just as he was about to turn around and discuss it with Chen Tingjing, Lord Cheng, who was standing below with sweat dripping from his face, suddenly asked in a trembling voice, "Minister, when I explain to His Majesty, should I... should I mention the Crown Prince?"

Upon hearing this, Zou Yunjin, Narshu, and the others all turned grim.

For a moment, they didn't know how to respond.

Bringing the crown prince out would indeed lessen the punishment.

However, such a thing would also incur the Crown Prince's resentment.

The current crown prince may not be able to do anything to a mere minister, but once he ascends the throne, he will face endless troubles.

However, if he didn't mention the crown prince and asked the question in front of so many people, wouldn't that be tantamount to deceiving the emperor?

After much deliberation, Zou Yunjin steeled his resolve, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards the emperor, and said, "We, as his subjects, must be loyal and sincere to His Majesty!"

"Only in this way can we gain His Majesty's favor and understanding!"

"Lord Cheng, you have been an official for many years, do you not even know these things?"

After saying this, Zou Yunjin twirled his sleeves and said, "After you all go back, check our list of candidates for the capital inspection carefully and see if there are any problems."

"Although His Majesty is benevolent, such a serious matter has occurred, His Majesty will surely order an investigation into this capital inspection."

"I don't want anyone else to cause problems."

As they spoke, Zou Yunjin walked out of the main hall of the Ministry of Personnel.

The moment he pushed open the door, a gust of cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed towards him.

Before I knew it, it had started snowing heavily outside.

It's snowing!

　The first update of the day is here! Please, everyone, give me double monthly votes!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)