From street beggar to high-ranking official

At Eunuch Qian's word, all the eunuchs naturally obeyed. Just as Lu Li was about to leave, Eunuch Qian called him back.

"Little Lu, tell me, how should we get along with the Prince Consort from now on?" Eunuch Qian asked.

The official, Lu, immediately bowed and said, "I dare not speak presumptuously about the important matter of tea tax, but I do feel that the tea that the prince consort embezzled might be being wasted..."

Grandpa Qian didn't comment, but instead said to his godson, "Little Mustache, what do you think?"

The godfather bowed and stepped forward: "Godfather, I have checked the records of thunder and fire in Chengdu Prefecture this year. The summer tea suffered from drought and the autumn tea suffered from fire. Some time has passed now, so it is difficult to find out anything further."

"In other words, we can't make any new progress on the accounts." Eunuch Qian roughly understood this, then asked, "If the prince consort sold the stolen goods, where did the extra tea go?"

The eunuchs immediately bowed.

The meaning behind Eunuch Qian's words was quite clear: he didn't treat the missing tens of thousands of kilograms of tea as a loss caused by drought and fire, but rather as a case of corruption.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Li roughly understood that Eunuch Qian needed his connections now, so he took the initiative to say, "If it's necessary to dispose of stolen goods, in our opinion, only powerful and influential families can accept the extra tea."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Qian narrowed his eyes slightly: "Is that what Little Lu thinks?"

Lu Li bowed even lower: "I think this is the most likely possibility. If the Prince Consort really embezzled so much tea, no ordinary caravan or tea market could possibly handle that much cargo. Only..."

The other godsons of Eunuch Qian immediately seized the opportunity and said, "Godfather! We've checked, and the price of tea in Chengdu has risen slightly this year. This tea definitely hasn't entered the local tea market."

The godsons did not say that the prince consort sold the tea to the caravan, because the evidence was completely different.

Selling tea locally is just considered embezzlement; but selling it to caravans...that's smuggling!

The sentencing under the Great Qianlong Law was completely different!

"Then our goal is clear." Eunuch Qian clapped his hands: "The prince consort sold the tea to local powerful families, and only local powerful families have the ability to consume so much tea. Don't you agree?"

All the adopted sons nodded in agreement:

"Yes, yes."

"Godfather, please see the truth!"

"As expected of my godfather, he figured out the whole story in no time!"

......

Eunuch Qian dismissed the eunuchs, and Lu Li sensibly stayed where he was.

Seeing how sensible Lu was, Eunuch Qian couldn't help but say, "That old codger has gotten a good godson."

Faced with such praise, Lu Li naturally dared not be complacent, but simply listened quietly.

"Our adopted son has been in the palace too long. He'll learn to embezzle money according to the procedures, but he won't do his job properly anymore," Eunuch Qian said slowly. "Does Little Lu know why His Majesty has asked me to take charge?"

"Is it because of the tea and horse trading affairs of the Imperial Horse Administration directly under your management, Father-in-law?" Lu asked subconsciously.

This is the result he deduced from the very beginning.

"Yes and no," Eunuch Qian said quietly. "That's what I thought at first too, and I've been trying to find a way for the prince consort. After all, His Majesty is benevolent, the country is at peace, and all the civil and military officials praise the court for its integrity..."

Eunuch Qian subconsciously, or rather as usual, praised Emperor Yongxi's achievements in governing the country before saying, "But such things as princes and nobles embezzling state funds must never happen."

Lu Li didn't understand, so he could only bow and ask why.

"Or rather, it could happen, but it absolutely cannot happen to someone chosen by His Majesty," Eunuch Qian revealed the truth.

Upon hearing this, Lu Li gradually understood. He opened his mouth, but seeing that Eunuch Qian had given him permission to speak, he said, "That's why His Majesty arranged for the Imperial Son-in-Law to investigate the taxes."

If embezzlement is uncovered, it will be seen as an achievement for the imperial son-in-law and a testament to Emperor Yongxi's astute judgment.

At this point, a question arose in Lu Li's mind, and he couldn't help but ask, "May I ask, Eunuch Qian, what are the Prince Consort's past achievements in politics?"

"Truly a model of integrity," Qian Gonggong remarked casually.

Ouyang Luntai was born into a poor family. After becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), he caught the eye of Princess Zhaoming, the daughter of Emperor Yongxi. Emperor Yongxi's reputation for benevolent rule spread throughout the land, and he took great care of the imperial bloodline and nobles. He was truly a father and father to the world.

Therefore, even though Ouyang Luntai, the son-in-law of the emperor, held only a nominal first-rank position, he was still employed by Emperor Yongxi because of his status. His duties included transporting grain, providing disaster relief, and supervising tea taxes.

Listening to Eunuch Qian's explanation, Lu Li roughly understood the emperor's thinking.

Your Majesty seeks fame!

"So even if the Prince Consort really embezzled the tea tax, are we still going to find a scapegoat?" Lu Li asked.

"If the amount of greed isn't too much, make up for what can be made up. As for the last few, it's not unreasonable to pay someone from the Tea and Horse Bureau to take the blame." Eunuch Qian then took out the fish-scale ledger: "We spent a month thoroughly investigating the accounts of the Tea and Horse Bureau. At least for now, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Prince Consort, but the amount of tea that's missing is too much."

"There are so many that no one dares to carry this jar."

The prince consort's crimes weren't simply embezzlement, but smuggling.

Embezzling a thousand catties of gold: one person beheaded, the whole family exiled; smuggling a thousand catties of gold: the entire family executed; smuggling ten thousand catties of gold: the mastermind's entire clan exterminated, the participants beheaded, and their entire families exiled...

Lu Li then realized the seriousness of the situation.

"So, Eunuch Chen, what's next..."

The life and safety of the imperial son-in-law now rested entirely in the hands of the Imperial Horse Administration.

"We can't gather enough tea leaves," Eunuch Qian sighed. "There are only half a month left. Even if we put in a lot of effort and sweep up all the tea leaves from the surrounding prefectures and states, we still can't fill this gap."

In previous years there would have been a chance, but this year a disaster struck.

"So the Imperial Horse Administration not only needs to investigate, but also needs to investigate thoroughly?" Lu Li asked tentatively.

"It's not just about investigating to the end." Eunuch Qian slowly exhaled, "If we don't investigate thoroughly, our family will be the ones to die, just like the previous admiral!"

"Eunuch Qian, if I may be so bold as to ask a question," Lu the official bowed, "Prince Consort, should he or she die?"

Eunuch Qian glanced at Lu Li in surprise. This kid had already figured out the emperor's intentions; he was truly good material for being a eunuch.

"That depends on fate!"

......

The fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Upon receiving the news from Lu Li, the Zhou family began to keep a close watch on the Prince Consort's residence. That afternoon, Zhou Bao, a servant of the Prince Consort's residence, mobilized more than a dozen carriages from the post stations and the common people to leave the city. In the northern suburbs of Chengdu Prefecture, the Imperial Horse Administration, which had been tracking them, joined forces with the Jianmen forces from Shu and successfully captured the Prince Consort's men.

On the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Prefect Wen Suzhi received a request for help from the Imperial Son-in-Law Ouyang Luntai, so he dispatched the prefectural soldiers to protect the Imperial Son-in-Law's residence, which was in fact a form of house arrest.

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the eunuchs of the Imperial Horse Administration followed Zhou Bao, who wanted to redeem himself through meritorious service, on a campaign to investigate smugglers. For a time, smuggling in western Sichuan was brought under control by the Qing government.

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, smugglers were tortured into confessing and pointing out evidence of smuggling and embezzlement by the Prince Consort's residence.

The next day, Lu Li looked at the account book in his hand. Even though he couldn't do math, he found the accounts unbelievable.

All the stored tea was confiscated, and there was more than enough to fill the 30,000 jin mark.

The vacancy left by the prince consort's embezzlement seemed to have been filled, but the most fatal thing was brought up by the people of the Sword Sect.

The problem is not the number of cases, but the smuggling routes.

Traveling north from Chengdu Prefecture in western Sichuan, the destination is Taozhou.

That was a location specially established by the Great Qian Dynasty for tea and horse trade with the north.

Smuggled tea is sold at low prices, squeezing out government-supplied tea and making huge profits.

Corruption turns into smuggling, and smuggling turns into collusion with the enemy—a crime that is unforgivable.