After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 155 Impeaching the Prefect of Qingzhou

When Emperor Jian'an officially issued an edict appointing him concurrently as an imperial censor, Zheng Hao was well aware that this move was both a reward for his loyalty and a reminder for him to make further contributions.

The duties of the compilers of the Hanlin Academy were to compile the national history classics, while the duties of the censors were to supervise all officials and rectify the court's conduct.

Before returning to his hometown to visit his family, Emperor Jian'an summoned Zheng Hao to the imperial study to explain historical books. After Zheng Hao finished explaining, Emperor Jian'an ordered him to collect evidence of the local prefect's crimes of abusing the people and embezzling public funds when he passed through Qingzhou Prefecture on his way back to his hometown.

As for how Zheng Hao managed to both return to his hometown to visit relatives and collect evidence of the Qingzhou prefect's violations of discipline and law in just one month, that was not something Emperor Jian'an needed to consider.

If the other party cannot even handle these matters well, then they are not qualified to be the Crown Prince's whetstone, much less the sharp blade he uses to eliminate the Shi family's henchmen.

Completely lacking the affection he showed for the newly appointed top scholar on the day of the imperial examination, Emperor Jian'an, as an emperor, was extremely cold-blooded. One moment he could personally bestow a name upon the newly appointed top scholar who came from a commoner family, and the next moment he could use him without regard for his life or death.

Zheng Hao was fully aware of all this. He knew that if he wanted to gain a position in the imperial court, if he wanted to fight tooth and nail for flesh from the jaws of ferocious beasts, he had to be willing to risk his life. Therefore, in the Hanlin Academy, he respectfully accepted the imperial edict from Emperor Jian'an, and upon returning home, he immediately wrote down in a memorial the series of evidence of crimes committed by the prefect of Qingzhou that he had collected and organized during his visit home.

The faint candlelight flickered in the quiet study. Zheng Hao stopped writing and let the still-wet ink on the memorial dry.

The following day, Zheng Hao first took a carriage to the Censorate to submit the memorial. The Censorate was one of the few places that Emperor Jian'an could control, and all the memorials from the censors could be presented directly to the emperor without being reviewed by others.

After submitting his memorial, Zheng Hao took a carriage to the Hanlin Academy.

Hall of Supreme Harmony.

As with previous court assemblies, the ministers of the six ministries stepped forward to report their respective important affairs to Emperor Jian'an. The Minister of Revenue stepped forward, bowed towards the dragon throne, and said, "Your Majesty, I have a matter to report!"

"After the floods in the south, the local people were displaced. The court has allocated millions of taels of silver to resettle the victims. Now the national treasury is empty, but the soldiers on the frontier are in dire need of food. If we do not send food soon, the northern barbarians will attack the city and our soldiers will be exhausted. I urge Your Majesty to make a decision!"

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Rites angrily rebuked, "The tax revenue from the prefectural cities last year has only recently entered the national treasury. Why can't the Ministry of Revenue provide rations for the soldiers on the frontier?"

The Minister of Revenue glanced at them coldly: "In the Jiangnan region, many prefectures such as Jizhou Prefecture have suffered from floods. His Majesty is benevolent and has issued decrees to reduce or exempt taxes in the disaster-stricken areas. Nearly 40% of the national treasury's tax revenue comes from Jiangnan and Jizhou Prefecture. With the tax exemption and the allocation of one million taels of silver, how can the national treasury still have any surplus money?"

A supporter of the Minister of Rites stepped forward and said, "Even though the prefectures in the Jiangnan region, such as Jizhou Prefecture, suffered from disasters and His Majesty wisely exempted them from taxes, Lingnan Prefecture, Yizhou Prefecture, and other prefectures are the main places for paying taxes. These two prefectures alone pay millions of taels of tax every year. I really don't believe that the Ministry of Revenue, which is always careful with its finances, would not be able to come up with hundreds of thousands of taels of grain."

These words were practically accusing the officials from the Ministry of Revenue of embezzling from their posts.

The Minister of Revenue snorted coldly, and the Vice Minister of Revenue stepped forward and bowed to Emperor Jian'an: "Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly. No one in the Ministry of Revenue dares to have any disloyal thoughts. We are all conscientious in our duties and devoted to serving Your Majesty."

"The reason why the Ministry of Revenue cannot allocate grain and fodder to the soldiers on the frontier is that Qingzhou Prefecture has paid half less tax to the national treasury this year than in previous years. If grain and fodder are forcibly allocated to the frontier, the national treasury will only have less than 100,000 taels left. If there are any more problems in the prefectures and cities, the national treasury will not be able to allocate any more money."

After the officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites argued back and forth twice, Emperor Jian'an finally spoke in a deep voice: "Qingzhou Prefecture has never suffered from disasters, nor have I ordered a reduction or exemption of taxes from Qingzhou Prefecture. Why is it that the taxes paid by Qingzhou Prefecture to the national treasury are half of what they were in previous years?"

Through the tassels of his crown, Emperor Jian'an's gaze fell upon the Minister of Revenue, and he said in a deep voice, "Minister Li, you speak!"

The Minister of Revenue replied, "The Qingzhou Prefecture officials who escorted the tax silver from Qingzhou Prefecture to the capital explained to the Ministry of Revenue that Qingzhou Prefecture suffered from drought last year, and the good seeds sown in the spring withered before they could grow. Even though the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture later ordered the construction of irrigation canals throughout the prefecture to irrigate the farmland, it was to no avail."

"Is that so?" Upon hearing the other party's words, Emperor Jian'an said, "However, the situation in Qingzhou Prefecture that I have heard is different from what Minister Li has heard."

"I have heard that the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture is corrupt and lawless, oppressing the people and enriching himself at the expense of the public. The reason why Qingzhou Prefecture's tax revenue is half less this year is because the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture took advantage of the drought in Qingzhou Prefecture last year to build irrigation canals. After the canals successfully irrigated the farmland, the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture ordered the officials escorting the tax revenue to the capital to claim that the farmland in the prefecture was affected by the drought and the grain production was reduced, and cut off half of the tax revenue paid by the people."

After Emperor Jian'an finished speaking, his face, which was hidden by the tassels of his crown, showed disgust: "Such greedy and corrupt officials were able to rise all the way to the position of prefect. I wonder how many more such corrupt officials there are in my Great Qian Dynasty!"

Regardless of whether Emperor Jian'an held real power, when the emperor was angry, all the civil and military officials knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive us!"

Looking coldly down below, Emperor Jian'an said, "Such corrupt officials must be severely punished by me!"

The Minister of Rites' brow twitched. He glanced to the side and gestured, and an official immediately spoke up: "Your Majesty, the Prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture has consistently received excellent performance evaluations over the years, and the people of his prefecture all call him their 'parent official.' There may be some misunderstanding or error regarding the tax payment. I urge Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and not to hurt the feelings of a loyal minister, lest you allow those who stir up trouble to become complacent!"

"Ah!"

Listening to the officials below distorting the truth and arguing vehemently, Emperor Jian'an sneered. Then, he took the memorial from Eunuch Wang's hand, threw it into the hall below, and said to the officials, "The evidence collected by the Censor-in-Chief during his inspection tour of Qingzhou Prefecture, could it be false?"

"Open your eyes wide and take a good look at the good deeds the Prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture has done in the past few years!"

The memorial was thrown by Emperor Jian'an right in front of the official who had spoken out in rebuttal. He had initially thought nothing of it, but his calm heart began to feel uneasy. The official reached out and picked up the memorial from the ground, opened it, and began to read it quickly. Under the watchful eyes of the civil and military officials, his face gradually turned pale, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Seeing the change in the officials' expressions after reading the memorial, the Minister of Rites' eyes darkened slightly, while the other ministers exchanged glances, each with their own thoughts.

Emperor Jian'an spoke: "Pass down the memorials so that all my ministers may take a look."

The official's hands and legs were almost completely exhausted. His eyes were vacant, and his muscles were stiff as he passed the memorial to the person closest to him.

The memorials were passed to all the ministers in the hall one by one. Everyone read them quickly and memorized their contents. At the same time, they also wrote down the names of the people who submitted the memorials.

For a moment, the entire hall was completely silent except for the breathing of the civil and military officials and the sound of turning the pages of memorials.

When the memorial reached the Minister of Rites, he had already observed the changing expressions of all the civil and military officials after reading it, as well as the various glances he received from officials who occasionally looked at him. The Minister of Rites was prepared for this.

However, when he opened the memorial and saw its contents, the Minister of Rites lowered his aged eyelids, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes.

When his gaze fell upon the opening lines of the memorial, beginning with the words of Zheng Hao, the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, the Minister of Rites tightened his grip on the memorial, leaving a few faint scratches on the pristine white paper.

Lifting the old man's eyelids, the Minister of Rites stepped forward and said to Emperor Jian'an, "Although the Censor has the responsibility to supervise all officials, it is difficult to convince the public that the Prefect of Qingzhou is guilty based solely on the words of the Censor without concrete evidence. I implore Your Majesty to dispatch court officials to thoroughly investigate this matter, so as not to hurt the hearts of those who truly serve the court and are loyal to Your Majesty."

Emperor Jian'an coldly observed the other party's feigned sincerity, but said with genuine feeling, "Minister of Rites, you can rest assured. Since the censor dared to present the memorial to the emperor, I have collected relevant evidence. I have also ordered people to go to Qingzhou Prefecture to arrest the prefect and bring him back to the capital for investigation by the Court of Judicial Review. I will certainly not wrong any loyal minister, nor will I let any corrupt official go unpunished!"

Originally, they planned to take the initiative to investigate the matter and, incidentally, to insert people into the officials who were arresting the prefect of Qingzhou, so that the other party would cooperate with the prefect of Qingzhou to destroy relevant evidence. Unexpectedly, Emperor Jian'an secretly sent people to Qingzhou ahead of time.

The Minister of Rites tightened his grip under his sleeve.

Seeing that the ministers below remained silent, the sharp voice of Eunuch Wang, who was standing behind Emperor Jian'an, rang out: "Speak if you have something to say, otherwise the court is adjourned!"

After a moment, seeing that none of the ministers below offered any advice, Eunuch Wang flicked his whisk and said, "Court adjourned!"

After the court assembly, a commotion broke out in the six ministries. The supporters of the Minister of Rites were extremely anxious. The prefect of Qingzhou was one of their men, and they had received a considerable amount of silver from him. If His Majesty investigated thoroughly, the Minister of Rites would be spared due to his family background and status, but they might not be so lucky.

The other officials watched with skepticism, all wanting to see how the Minister of Rites, who always presented himself as upright and incorruptible in court, would resolve this matter.

This time, His Majesty will not let it go easily. If he punishes the offender severely, the prefect of Qingzhou will have a hard time keeping his job, and the Minister of Rites will also have a hard time escaping if he doesn't get away with it cleanly.

After all, of the half of the tax revenue embezzled by the prefect of Qingzhou, he kept a portion for himself, while the majority was definitely sent to the residence of the Minister of Rites.

Because of their low rank, the members of the Hanlin Academy did not attend the morning court assembly. Therefore, they were unaware that a mere sixth-rank compiler from the Hanlin Academy had stirred up a storm in the court.

However, as officials from the six ministries began to visit the Hanlin Academy more frequently than usual, the news from the court quickly spread throughout the entire Hanlin Academy, accompanied by the name of the newly appointed top scholar, Zheng Hao, shining brightly throughout the court.

If Zheng Hao's name had been heard by the civil and military officials and amazed them in the last imperial examination, then this time, the officials, led by the Minister of Rites, looked at him coldly, wishing they could devour his flesh and blood. The other officials, on the other hand, were there to see which reckless fool dared to openly submit a memorial to impeach the Minister of Rites' subordinates.

As people passed by and stared at him, Zheng Hao remained calm and composed, as always.

Unaware of the turmoil unfolding in the imperial court, Gu Lin led Zhao Saozi and Lin Xiaoyao out of the mansion early in the morning to Zhenyu Tower.

After carefully explaining the affairs of Zhenyu Tower and introducing the steward to Xiaocui, it was almost lunchtime.

Gu Lin got up, intending to take Zhao's wife and the others to the most famous restaurant in the capital for dinner, but Xiao Cui said she wanted to stay and learn more about Zhenyulou so that she could take over more quickly later.

Therefore, Gu Lin did not force the other party. After Xiao Cui stayed at Zhenyulou, Gu Lin took Zhao Saozi and the others to a restaurant for dinner. After dinner, Gu Lin had the energy to arrange things for Zhao Saozi and the others.

After putting down the tea to rinse his mouth, Gu Lin asked Sister-in-law Zhao and Brother Yu, "Sister-in-law, Brother Yu, what do you want to do in the capital?"

Xiao Cui took over Zhenyulou, and Lin Xiaoyao and Gu Lin also made arrangements. As for Zhao Saozi and Yu Ge'er, Gu Lin asked for their opinions.

Sister Zhao and Brother Yu exchanged a glance, then said to Gu Lin, "Brother Lin, we've discussed it and we think the food business is more suitable for us. Could you help us think about it?"

Hearing what Sister Zhao and Brother Yu said, Gu Lin was not surprised. In fact, he had also planned to let them open a restaurant in the capital. They made their fortune in the food business. Food is the most important thing for people, and Gu Lin would never give up this business easily.

Sister Zhao is meticulous and steady, which is suitable for internal management, while Brother Yu is flexible and adaptable, which is suitable for external management. One is internal and the other is external, which is just right to manage the entire restaurant. Gu Lin said, "Your idea is good. As long as the food is innovative and delicious, you will definitely not lose money by opening a store in the capital."

"However," Gu Lin changed the subject, "have you decided what kind of food you want to make?"

"Are you going to make hot pot and barbecue, or various dishes?" Gu Lin asked.

Sister-in-law Zhao and Brother Yu had already thought this through. Brother Yu said, "We want to open another Good Fortune Restaurant in the capital."

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin's heart stirred.

As expected, Brother Yu continued, "Brother Lin, you said before that you wanted to open Haoyunlou all over the Daqian and make it a famous brand, just like Fumanlou. Xiaoyao and Xiaocui are innovative and followed you to develop new industries. My sister-in-law and I want to help you open Haoyunlou all over the world."

Gu Lin was genuinely moved that the other party still remembered his unintentional remark from several years ago.

He said, "With you all by my side, helping and supporting me, our Lucky Tower will surely be able to open branches all over the world!"

Officials who went to Qingzhou Prefecture to investigate the case quickly uncovered the truth and arrested the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture, bringing him back to the capital.

Following Emperor Jian'an's order, the prefect of Qingzhou was sent to the Dali Temple for thorough investigation. The Dali Temple employed numerous methods of investigation, and soon the prefect of Qingzhou could not withstand it any longer. In addition to matters concerning tax revenue, he confessed to all sorts of illegal and disorderly conduct he had committed since becoming an official.

Why is it that every time a corrupt official who preys on the people is transferred to another place after his term of office is over, people line the streets to see him off? That's because those people are wealthy merchants and landlords who are on good terms with officials such as the prefect of Qingzhou and who have joined him in preying on the people.