Prime Minister.

Chapter 20 020 [Making the Most of Everything]

Outside the Wenhua Hall in the Imperial City.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the pillars of the corridor, and the early winter sky, like a cold bronze mirror, reflected the figure of the Emperor of Great Yan, standing with his hands behind his back like a solitary pine tree.

Zeng Min, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, stood not far away, his body hunched over, like an inconspicuous shadow.

A northerly wind swept by, bringing a chill to the air.

Zeng Min looked at the new frost on the emperor's temples and sighed inwardly that it was two shades deeper than on the Double Ninth Festival last year.

At the age of fifty-one, the emperor's face was still as cold as cast iron, but the sharpness he had when he ascended the throne had long been worn down by eighteen years of court life.

At this moment, Zeng Min couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

He always felt very lucky. He was assigned to serve the current emperor less than two years after entering the palace. He watched him rise step by step, from Prince of Jin to Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace and then to Emperor of Great Yan. More than 20 years had passed in the blink of an eye.

It is said that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger, and the intrigues in the inner court are even more insidious and ruthless than those in the outer court. However, Zeng Min, with his cautious nature and understanding of the emperor, has always held the position of Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

But now he only feels that the emperor's thoughts are becoming increasingly difficult to fathom.

"you say--"

The emperor's deep voice rang out, and Zeng Min quickly stepped forward, his expression becoming even more respectful.

"Who is targeting Xue Minglun? Ouyang Hui or Shen Wang?"

Upon hearing this question, Zeng Min was glad that she had prepared in advance, but she still said nervously, "Your Majesty, how dare this servant speak ill of important officials in the court?"

Jiang Chen chuckled softly, raised his hand and placed it on the white jade balustrade, and said calmly, "Speak frankly."

Zeng Min dared not refuse any longer and said carefully, "Your Majesty, this servant thinks that Editor Xue has a point. Perhaps this is because Gu Heng is a heartless scoundrel who has taken a desperate risk to frame Minister Xue in order to cover up the losses of the Ministry of Works and Water Conservancy Department over the years. Moreover, this servant does not understand how Gu Heng's crime could implicate Minister Xue?"

"idiot."

Jiang Chen scoffed and shook his head, saying, "I've told you many times to read more books, but you just wouldn't listen. You're supposed to be the Grand Eunuch, yet you can't even see through this little trick."

Zeng Min said with remorse, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. It's not that I'm unwilling to read, but rather than looking at those big characters, I would rather stay by Your Majesty's side and serve you wholeheartedly."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen said calmly, "That's true. Sometimes being a little foolish isn't a bad thing; loyalty is more important."

Zeng Min understood the emperor's implied meaning and quickly bowed, saying, "This servant is truly stupid and foolish, but also truly loyal. Heaven and earth can bear witness to this."

Jiang Chen turned to look at him and said in a softer tone, "Alright, I was just saying it casually."

Zeng Min agreed, knowing that the emperor disliked rambling and pointless talk.

“This matter has been strange from the beginning. Gu Heng is not very smart, but he has served as the Director of the Water Conservancy Bureau for seven years and has experienced many twists and turns under Xue Minglun. He shouldn’t be so ignorant as to not understand even the simplest principles.”

Jiang Chen returned to the previous topic and slowly said, "How many officials in this world are not corrupt? Gu Heng is not the first, nor the last, and certainly not the only one. Not to mention his superior Xue Minglun, even Ning Hengzhi could not be so incorruptible. Did the Ning family's more than 100,000 mu of fertile land in Hangzhou Prefecture fall from the sky? The deficit of the Water Conservancy Department has long existed. I know all of this. Even if Gu Heng is stupid, he would have gone to Xue Minglun for help, rather than being foolish enough to frame Xue Mingzhang."

At this point, a hint of bewilderment appeared in his icy eyes as he continued, "Xue Mingzhang... I once thought he could succeed Ning Hengzhi as Grand Secretary, what a pity."

Zeng Min cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, was Gu Heng acting under someone's orders?"

"It's most likely coercion, or Gu Heng has been misled and lost his judgment."

On the surface, Jiang Chen was explaining to him, but in reality, he was sorting out his own thoughts: "The bigger this matter gets, the more severe the backlash will be. At that point, even I won't be able to turn a blind eye, otherwise it will affect the stability of the court. Once the investigation goes deeper, it will uncover more and more people. Gu Heng's fate is self-evident, and even Xue Minglun will be affected. Or rather, the person behind the scenes is actually targeting Xue Minglun."

Zeng Min suddenly realized, "So that's how it is, Your Majesty. Could it be that Minister Xue has offended someone?"

"His position is destined to attract the covetous eyes of those in the shadows. If he falls, it would be tantamount to cutting off Ning Hengzhi's arm, but—"

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes and slowly said, "Whether it's Gu Heng or that Hanlin Academy servant named Liu Pingshun, neither of them is capable of great responsibility. Using them to plot a scheme was a mistake. Looking at the whole story, the person who set up the scheme was very naive and had a sense of innocence. It doesn't seem like the style of Ouyang Hui or Shen Wang. It's more like the stupid things that my sons would do."

Zeng Min was completely speechless.

He could still crack a joke when it came to matters of state, but when it came to topics related to the princes, even Ning Hengzhi would be extremely cautious, let alone someone like him who was a servant of the emperor.

Jiang Chen didn't make things difficult for him. He looked up at the setting sun on the horizon, a slightly sarcastic smile curving his lips.

A young eunuch approached with small, quick steps, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, Commander Han Qian of the Jing'an Division requests an audience."

Jiang Chen's gaze sharpened slightly, and he said, "Summon him." Upon hearing the name "Han Qian," Zeng Min subtly stepped back a distance.

Before long, a figure in black suddenly appeared in the shadow cast by the gilded brackets of the Wenhua Hall.

The newcomer was Han Qian, who was over forty years old and had an unremarkable appearance. His only notable feature was his deep-set eyes, which resembled two dry wells, with two points of cold light burning at the bottom of the wells. When he looked at people, his gaze was as sharp as a needle piercing to the bone.

"Your subject, Han Qian, of the Jing'an Division, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

He bowed respectfully, meticulously, his voice deep and hoarse like a dull knife scraping its sheath.

"Flat body."

Jiang Chen continued gazing at the desolate courtyard ahead, and said calmly, "Gu Heng has spoken?"

Han Qian carried a faint smell of blood and rust on his body. Even though he would bathe and burn incense before entering the palace each time, he could never wash off the smell—naturally, it was because of the officials imprisoned in the Jing'an Division prison.

He rose and stood at attention, his expression blank, and said, “Your Majesty, according to Gu Heng’s confession, two months ago someone approached him with evidence of his years of embezzlement at the Water Conservancy Bureau, using it to coerce him into obeying orders. Later, they gave him a way out, instructing him to conceal the parts of the old Ministry of Works’ files that were favorable to Xue Mingzhang, thereby framing Xue Mingzhang for the flood disaster.”

"A fool who panics and doesn't know what to do."

Jiang Chen calmly gave his assessment of Gu Heng, and then asked, "What's the situation at the Hanlin Academy?"

Han Qian replied, "Liu Pingshun was coerced into framing Xue Huai. The files related to the Yangzhou river works in the Hanlin Academy have disappeared. The preliminary judgment is that they are not related to Gu Heng, but the mastermind behind them should be the same person."

Jiang Chen said softly, "Tell me your opinion."

Han Qian said without hesitation, "This person has a group of extremely loyal people. Whether it is controlling Gu Heng or placing orders in the Hanlin Academy, it requires capable people to carry out the work. Moreover, I have not yet found out their identities, which shows that the other party is by no means an ordinary person. However, from the overall perspective, the methods of the person in charge behind the scenes are quite crude, otherwise Xue Huai would not have been able to turn the situation around so easily."

Jiang Chen remained silent.

Han Qian's judgment was similar to his, which greatly narrowed down the range of suspects.

To be able to create such a commotion right under the nose of the Jing'an Division, it couldn't have been done by just one or two people. It must have been a group of experts who were good at concealing their identities, and the mastermind seemed to be a complete novice.

Aside from those few adult princes, which other powerful and wealthy families in the capital possess such characteristics?

but--

Jiang Chen was suspicious. What if this was done on purpose to divert his attention to the princes?

Han Qian then said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will investigate the truth as soon as possible."

"I naturally believe in your abilities."

Jiang Chen suppressed his chaotic thoughts and slowly said, "This year, Jiangnan suffered severe disasters, and the national treasury is running a deficit. Although Ning Hengzhi promised me that he would not let the court have a poor year, I will no longer tolerate those parasites under his command."

Han Qian understood immediately that the emperor would not act lightly this time, but would severely punish a group of corrupt officials. Therefore, he replied, "Your subject will have someone prepare evidence of their crimes."

To everyone's surprise, Jiang Chen shook his head and said, "You should focus your energy on finding out who's behind this. The problems with the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue will be handled by specialists."

Han Qian naturally had no objection.

Jiang Chen turned to look at him and asked, "How much do you think Xue Huai has changed?"

Upon hearing this name, Han Qian pondered for a moment before calmly saying, "I have heard about Xue Bianxiu's actions over the past two years. There are not many young officials as upright and unyielding as him. However, after experiencing the ordeal of falling into the water, he has changed a lot compared to before. Although his inherent temperament is still there, he has learned to be more flexible."

“It’s rare. I remember you haven’t praised any other officials in a long time.”

Jiang Chen smiled and said with his hands behind his back, "The imperial court has invested so much money in managing the rivers over the years, and this is the result the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works have given me. Even without the mess that Gu Heng caused, I would not have let this go."

"Let Shen Wang take charge of thoroughly investigating the corruption case in the river works project."

"As for Xue Huai... he has bothered me quite a bit these past two years, but for Xue Mingzhang's sake, I will not hold it against him."

"Since he is not afraid of offending people, then tell Shen Wang that I will give Xue Huai a chance this time and let him participate in the investigation."

"I want to see whether he is a sharp sword that is not afraid of difficulties, or a mediocre talent who only knows how to talk big."

(End of this chapter)