Chapter 73
Chapter 73
The moment Xie Chengze entered the hall, he saw the ministers’ shoulders trembling and their faces twisted with grief, as if they had ten thousand grievances waiting to pour out.
Xie Chengze could not help brightening.
Well, his fellow employees of the imperial court were giving their performance everything they had. Were they worried the Minister of Revenue’s corruption case would implicate them, so they had deliberately put on such miserable faces to pressure Emperor Jian into leniency?
They did not have it easy either~
Much of Xie Chengze’s resentment over the morning shift finally eased. Leaning on his crutch, he limped toward his place.
Oh, do not misunderstand. His leg was not injured. He simply did not want to stand for hours at court, so he was pretending his right leg had also been wounded in hopes of finagling a chair.
Let me see~
Xie Chengze slowly shuffled to the middle of the hall and craned his neck toward his usual place, only to find absolutely nothing beside Xie Jinyu and Xie Zimiao.
His face darkened on the spot, and he turned toward the exit.
They would not even give him a stool, yet they wanted him to become everyone’s target?
Whoever wanted this lousy job could have it!
When Emperor Jian saw him turn, he seemed to sense something and glanced toward Xie Jinyu. Realizing what had happened, he hurriedly said, “Zhao Quan, why are you standing there? Help Chengze inside and grant him a seat.”
Xie Chengze stopped. After silently cursing the damned emperor, he could only turn back with grim determination and continue forward.
Zhao Quan had a chair brought over, then hurriedly supported Xie Chengze as he sat. Only after settling in did Xie Chengze clear his throat and say without much sincerity, “Thank you, Father. Father is so good to me.”
“Mm.” Emperor Jian answered with a beaming smile. Only then did he open court and address the assembled ministers below. “Where did my beloved subjects leave off yesterday?”
The Golden Throne Hall fell silent. A moment later, an official stepped forward and said with a resolute expression, “Your Majesty, since Minister Yang became Minister of Revenue, he has labored day and night and conducted himself with integrity. The entire court and realm have witnessed it. Even the Founding Emperor could find no fault in him. If Minister Yang occasionally neglected something or took a single wrong step, such errors are only human. His past achievements ought to be remembered, and he should be given a chance to atone through meritorious service – not held accountable while his contributions are forgotten.”
He paused, a trace of indignation crossing his eyes. “Yet Vice Minister Shen has spoken without cause and slandered Minister Yang with false accusations. He is young and inexperienced at court. We can understand his eagerness to achieve results, but we cannot allow him to frame Minister Yang!”
With that, the official bowed deeply and shouted, “We ask Your Majesty to judge wisely and uphold justice for Minister Yang!”
Emperor Jian hummed softly. His gaze drifted with practiced ease toward Xie Chengze, and he asked with a smile, “What do you think, Chengze?”
Shen Yuan’s dark gaze also settled on Xie Chengze, something shifting uncertainly in his eyes.
Yang Qinghui’s downfall for corruption was inevitable. Xie Chengze, before all these witnesses, which side would you choose – the loyal or the treacherous?
Xie Chengze sighed inwardly.
“This son believes…” The beautiful young man cleared his throat, then raised an arm and shouted, “Minister Yang has been wronged! Terribly, terribly wronged!”
At his words, the ministers looked up one after another and stared at Xie Chengze in astonishment. Clearly, no one had expected him to plead for Yang Qinghui.
Yang Qinghui also looked at Xie Chengze in surprise. Then he recalled something and understanding dawned.
When silver was donated to Yizhou, the Second Prince’s ten thousand taels had all been returned. The prince likely feared that matter coming to light and therefore wanted to protect him.
Emperor Jian doted on the Second Prince. With the prince supporting him, Yang Qinghui naturally had nothing to fear.
Yang Qinghui cast Shen Yuan a smug look. The boy was simply too young to understand the grudges, schemes, and sordid dealings of the court.
Shen Yuan watched Xie Chengze with a heavy gaze, his thoughts unknown. Emperor Jian, meanwhile, asked with great interest, “Why do you say so, Chengze?”
“Has Father ever considered why Minister Yang took a wrong step?” Xie Chengze asked earnestly.
Emperor Jian pondered briefly, then turned to Yang Qinghui. “Yang Qinghui, tell us. Why did you take a wrong step?”
Yang Qinghui instinctively prepared to explain that he had merely succumbed to temptation for a moment and had long since regretted it. Before he could speak, however, Xie Chengze slammed his uninjured hand onto the arm of his wooden chair, drawing every minister’s attention.
His expression was filled with outrage. “Was it not because Minister Yang is kindhearted?!”
Yang Qinghui: ?
Huh? Who is kindhearted? Me???
Xie Chengze declared indignantly, “Everyone knows the Jian’an treasury has empty pockets. Whenever disaster strikes, the Ministry of Revenue can barely produce any silver!”
“It was so last year, worse this year, and next year it will likely be even harder to produce disaster-relief funds! Without silver, resentment and anger will spread among the people. Once unrest erupts, the stability of the Jian’an Dynasty will inevitably suffer. How could Minister Yang simply stand by?”
Xie Chengze’s voice rose, his face flushed with emotion. “Yet every region runs a deficit, and the court officials are lazy and negligent. How can Minister Yang alone prop up a court as listless as a basket of dead fish? His only choice was to forge a new path and walk a dangerous road of self-sacrifice!”
The ministers’ mouths fell open. They stared in stupefaction at Xie Chengze, who was speaking with unstoppable eloquence.
A dangerous road?
What dangerous road?
“Corruption!” Xie Chengze shot to his feet and struck the chair, dragging his “broken body” upright to deliver an impassioned speech. “Think about it, everyone. If Minister Yang did not embezzle, what would happen next year?”
“War across the land! Corpses of the starved everywhere! The Xiongnu would exploit our weakness, and the Jian’an Dynasty would exist in name alone. Catastrophe!”
“But if Minister Yang did embezzle, what would happen then?”
“When the people suffer hunger next year, Minister Yang’s private treasury will already hold a vast reserve of disaster-relief silver, enough to carry the court through the crisis!”
“You all know the state treasury was already empty this year. If Minister Yang had not embezzled Yizhou’s relief funds into his private coffers, how could Prefect Liang, who had accomplished nothing for years, ever have racked his brains and devised the Land of Abundance Plan?!”
“Extreme suffering and pressure can awaken the limits of human potential. Minister Yang clearly did this intentionally. He deliberately created the illusion of an empty treasury solely to unleash your potential, making you transcend your limits like Prefect Liang and work harder for the court!”
“For that purpose, he did not hesitate to sacrifice himself. With the loyal courage of a man who declares, ‘If I do not enter hell, who will?’ he risked execution to pursue what appeared to be embezzlement but was in truth the accumulation of silver – all so the Jian’an Dynasty might enjoy peace and prosperity next year!”
“A strategist enters the game himself, plays his life as a piece, and wagers against Heaven, winning a tragic victory by half a stone!” Xie Chengze cried, his expression heroic beyond measure. “Ah! What magnificent tragedy! What a moving tale worthy of song and tears!”
Yang Qinghui: …
The ministers: …
Emperor Jian: …
Shen Yuan: …
Xie Jinyu and Xie Zimiao: …