noffsinger Chapter 155 Walking on Thin Ice
Chapter 155 Walking on Thin Ice
The next day, Yuwen Bo lost confidence in Yuwen Yuehua because of his two unsuccessful attempts, and was scolded and driven out of the palace by Yuwen Yuehua.
Then he saw,
Jiang Zhiang was summoned into the palace with an angry expression, and came to report to Yuwen Yuehua, saying, "Your Highness, I have something to report!"
"You? Why don't you stay in Tong County? When did you enter the palace? Didn't I tell you that you can't enter the capital without being summoned? Even if you have a pass, you can't!"
Today is Yuwen Yuehua's first day as a consul. She hasn't even read the memorials from the imperial study yet, and she has already met Yuwen Bo and Jiang Zhiang in succession. She really doesn't have much patience!
Jiang Zhiang knelt down with a clang, and said indignantly, "Your Highness! The situation is urgent, and I have no choice but to come and bother Your Highness! After all, Your Highness is now in charge of the government, how can you tolerate darkness under the lamp!"
"Darkness under the lamp?"
"Your Highness, please look!" Jiang Zhiang took out two account books from his clothes and presented them to them.
Yuwen Yuehua signaled the eunuch beside her to help present it. She placed the suspicious account book on the table and slowly flipped through it. The more she read, the angrier she became, until she closed the account book with a snap.
"You actually got this thing, why didn't you present it to me earlier for my inspection!"
Seeing that the situation was good, Jiang Zhiang suddenly shouted in grievance, "Your Highness! I have always been stationed in Tong County, and I don't care about leaving for a second. Even when my wife and daughter were trapped in the other courtyard by the Beijing Guards for surveillance, I still didn't dare to delay!"
"But this Minister Gao really makes me angry. Since I discovered the corruption account book, I have been threatened by him several times. I dared not speak out, but my repeated tolerance only made him get worse!"
Jiang Zhiang laid a lot of groundwork and finally got down to business. "The night before yesterday, he actually had someone burn my warehouse, just because I said that I would need to personally escort the silver and money to the capital in the future!"
Yu Wen Yuehua clenched her hands on the table tightly, and the eunuch beside her understood what she meant. He immediately went out of the hall and ordered someone to summon Shangshu Gao quickly!
At this moment, Gao Mingdezheng was feeling lucky because Yuwen Yuehua had ordered his son Gao Yuan to be released from Jinglinsi. He was so happy that he and Gao Yuan hosted a banquet in Ninghe Tower to entertain all his colleagues!
After a round of drinking, Gao Mingde, whose face was already red, never expected that Yuwen Yuehua would send someone to invite him to the palace.
Drunk, he jokingly said to the eunuch, "Your Highness, there is no need to be so anxious to reward me. Haha! It won't be too late for me to receive the reward another day!"
When the eunuch heard this, he bent down and sneered, "Whether it is a reward or not, you will know when you go there, Lord Gao!"
Gao Yuan, a young man, could not hear the sarcasm, so he echoed his father and said, "Yes! Father, just go. The Second Princess relies on you very much!"
"Yes! Yes, Yuan'er is right," Fu'er looked back at his son, then turned to look at Gong Gong, "Let's go! Grandpa, take me there right now!"
Gao Mingde waved his hand, indicating to Gao Yuan that he would be out soon, but who knew...
In a blink of an eye, Jiang Zhiang had been kneeling in the hall for half an hour. Gao Mingde had not arrived yet, but he smelled a odor of drunkenness.
Jiang Zhiang finally felt relieved when Gao Mingde appeared in front of him with a face as red as sorghum.
Gao Mingde knelt down and saw Jiang Zhiang beside him. He was still drunk and suddenly became angry.
He grabbed Jiang Zhiang by the collar, shaking his head and saying, "You fool, you dare to come to the palace! Do you know that you might lose your life!"
"Enough!" Yuwen Yuehua angrily scolded the two people kneeling in the hall. What she could not have imagined was Gao Mingde's behavior, which made her more credible in Jiang Zhiang's words, "Gao Mingde, do you admit your guilt!"
As he said this, he threw the account book in his hand into the air, and it landed in front of Gao Mingde's drowsy eyes. "Your Highness, what does this mean?"
Gao Mingde picked up the account book from the ground, opened his eyes wide and took a look at it, and suddenly he had an epiphany.
He looked at Jiang Zhiang kneeling beside him and became furious.
Looking at Yuwen Yuehua's expression, he spoke quickly, pointing at Jiang Zhiang and saying, "Your Highness, this man embezzled government funds. I went to check the records, but he not only taught me a lesson without fear, but also sent people to kill me on my way home! Your Highness, please help me!"
When Jiang Zhiang heard him mention the assassination, he felt that Gao Yuan was making trouble out of nothing, and he became even more angry. "Your Highness, Lord Gao has wronged me. I have never sent anyone to assassinate him. As for the accusation of embezzlement, that is also groundless!"
The so-called embezzlement is nothing more than letting people tell the story. Jiang Zhiang thought that he was not as stupid as Gao Mingde to keep accounts. What's more, the embezzlement was nothing more than to lure Gao Mingde to come and teach him a lesson.
"Your Highness! The robber admitted it himself. We cannot allow him to lie!" Gao Mingde said righteously.
Jiang Zhiang retorted relentlessly, "The robber will reveal his identity. Did Mr. Gao catch the robber?"
"Your Highness, ..."
"Gao Mingde! This position of Minister of Industry really gives you a lot of convenience!"
After listening to their confessions, Yuwen Yuehua did not want to investigate further because the evidence of Gao Mingde's embezzlement was already before him.
Moreover, Gao Mingde actually made a profit of more than 100,000 taels for himself. He was simply so cruel that he didn't even take her seriously.
Without allowing Gao Mingde to say another word, Yuwen Yuehua looked outside the palace and said, "Let Guan Changfeng bring his men to confiscate the Gao family's property immediately and recover all the embezzled money! No mistakes!"
"Your Highness!" Gao Mingde, who had just been bossy, suddenly became as calm as a falling leaf in autumn. "Your Highness..."
Yuwen Yuehua's tone was as cold as frost, "The entire Gao family will be imprisoned and executed soon!"
"Your Highness..." Gao Mingde was so frightened that he couldn't utter a word and was carried out of the hall by the guards!
Jiang Zhiang was left behind, feeling relieved but also a little scared. He looked up and saw Yu Wen Yuehua's indifferent expression. It can be said that serving the king is like serving a tiger. The mind of the superior is like that of a wealthy businessman in the abyss. He was afraid that he would be the next one to be executed by his entire family.
Then he whispered, "I am grateful for your insight, Your Highness. I will strengthen the protection of the warehouse in Tong County and never let this happen again!"
The so-called knowing when to quit and staying away from the center is exactly this principle. Although Jiang Zhiang is a minor official of the seventh rank, he has been an official for many years and is well aware of the principle of keeping a low profile!
"Master Jiang,"
Jiang Zhiang was flattered to be called Lord Jiang by Yuwen Yuehua, so he lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, please speak!"
"Now that I am in charge of the government, your daughter and wife are safe, you can rest assured!" Since Jiang Zhiang is so knowledgeable, I have to give him a favor.
Yuwen Yuehua retracted her gaze, looked at Jiang Zhiang who was burying his head, and said, "You have always been in charge of the Xigu Wharf in Tong County. From now on, you don't have to rely on him. You can go to the capital directly to meet me!"
"only……"
Jiang Zhiang had never felt so cautious as he did today. Every word of Yuwen Yuehua's approval seemed to be a needle hidden in cotton, which made him tremble with fear. "Your Highness, I will follow your instructions!"
"Okay! Very good! Then you..."