"You taught me this."
Fan Jian sighed and rubbed his fingers together, feeling the sensation brought by the paper.
On the paper was a drawing of a woman's head. Although there were only a few strokes, it vividly outlined the woman's expression and appearance.
In particular, the eyes of the woman in the drawing were compassionate, gentle, and mischievous … as they gazed at Fan Jian.
"The Emperor had the master painter secretly draw your portrait in the Royal Palace." Fan Jian looked at the woman in the drawing and smiled. "But for me, your appearance has always been clear in my mind."
"Every time I want to talk to you, I can't help but draw one."
"I'll draw the mischievous you, the cold you, the sad you, the happy you."
"So many of you, which one is the real you? It's a pity that I can no longer ask you. "
Fan Jian sighed and passed the paper to the candlestick to burn. He looked at the beautiful face gradually disappearing into the flames and said in a daze, "If the Emperor and I had not returned to our home in Danzhou to spend the summer, we would not have met you, and … there would not have been any of the things that happened later."
"Perhaps, I am still that painter who lingers in the brothel all day." The Minister pulled up the corners of his lips and a self-mocking smile rose to his face. "You said before, this world needs the profession of an artist. Unfortunately, in the end, I became the person with the strongest stench of copper in the entire Qing Kingdom. "
The flames on the paper gradually burned to the center, leaving behind only a few black-colored pieces of paper.
"You have always treated me as the most trustworthy brother," Fan Jian said in the end. In the end, Fan Jian said, "I am very grateful for your trust, so don't worry. Even if I don't have the ability to change too much, at the very least, I will persist in standing in the capital and watch Xian'er gradually grow up."
A soft knock came from outside the study.
"Come in," Fan Jian said with a smile.
Lady Liu walked in with the cup of sour berries and gently placed it on the desk. There was a lingering worry on her face. News of what had happened in the palace had long reached home from Yi Guipin. As the mistress of the Fan manor, of course, she knew what kind of predicament her master would face in the court the next day.
Fan Jian glanced at her and sighed. "Don't worry, His Majesty will not treat me too harshly."
A slight resentment flashed through Liu shi's eyes. She quietly said, "If His Majesty cherished old friendships, he would not have been incited by those thieves and thieves to investigate the Ministry of Revenue. Of the six ministries, who is clean from beginning to end?"
Fan Jian shook his head and said, "You must believe in His Majesty. This matter involves the affairs of the court. Of course, it cannot be taken lightly."
Madam Liu knew that her master didn't want to continue this sorrowful topic, so she nodded helplessly.
Fan Jian raised his bowl toward the lingering smell of burning paper on the desk and said, "To each other."
Then he drank it all in one gulp.
Madam Liu was slightly startled and thought to herself, 'Who is the Lord honoring?'
— —
The next day, the court conference reconvened. As everyone expected, the Emperor harshly criticized the Ministry of Revenue's clumsy performance these two years and pushed most of the blame for the empty national treasury onto the Ministry of Revenue. Because the Minister of Revenue, Fan Jian, still said he was sick and did not appear in court, no one in the Ministry of Revenue could defend themselves. The leaderless Ministry of Revenue officials pitifully endured the attacks of the civil and military officials of the court.
The court issued an edict and began to investigate the Ministry of Revenue's deficits these years. The Overwatch Council carried out the specific tasks, the Ministry of Appointments, the Ministry of Justice, and the Supreme Court assisted from the side, and Hu the Scholar of the Hall of Governmental Affairs led the investigation. The Crown Prince stood to the side and filled in the gaps.
There were rumors of an investigation of the Ministry of Revenue, so this matter did not surprise anyone. After this array was laid out, the officials still felt a glimmer of shock. With such a large array, it looked like the Emperor truly wanted the Ministry of Revenue to suffer.
Who knew how Sir Fan junior would react when he learned of this matter in Jiangnan?
In the afternoon of that day, the officials of the various departments in the joint investigation began to enter the Ministry of Revenue yamen. There were also the Jingdou garrison responsible for moving troops and watching over the various warehouses. The first target of the officials' investigation was the problem of the accounts of the seven departments of the Ministry of Revenue.
For a moment, the already lively Ministry of Revenue yamen by the big locust tree became even noisier. There were many fewer officials who had come to collect money, but there were many more officials who had come to investigate.
The officials of the Ministry of Revenue nervously welcomed these officials who had come to investigate with an edict into the yamen. After a long struggle, they finally made enough chairs for the officials to sit. Then, the left and right assistant ministers reported on the Ministry of Revenue's operations for the past two years. There were also people who, under the supervision of the Overwatch Council, began to clean up the accounts in preparation for the investigation.
Sitting in the middle, Hu the Scholar and the Crown Prince did not make things difficult for these officials of the Ministry of Revenue. With a few warm words of encouragement, they waited for the specific investigation to begin. It was the officials of the Ministry of Appointments and the Ministry of Justice who had found a rare opportunity to make things difficult for the old masters of the Ministry of Revenue. How could they pass it up? Some threatened them with words and some rebuked them loudly. They made the Ministry of Revenue sound like a place where the world hid filth and not a place that controlled money and grain for the court.
Hu the Scholar couldn't help but furrow his brows. He knew that the leaders of these two departments were not on good terms with the Fan family. If he didn't keep a closer eye on them, the investigation would probably become the other party's method of attacking dissidents.
Faced with such a grand display and seeing so many important figures sitting in the hall, including the left and right assistant ministers, all of the officials of the Ministry of Revenue felt a sense of defeat and even despair. Minister Fan was not in the yamen. These officials of the Ministry of Revenue all felt isolated by the officials of the court. They knew that what they were about to face was the biggest hurdle in their careers and even in their lives.
The officials of the Overwatch Council monitored the work of organizing the account books. In a moment, they watched as the old officials of the Ministry of Revenue cleared out as many as seven large bamboo baskets of account books. With great difficulty, everyone carried them into the hall.
The Crown Prince was startled by so many account books and said in shock, "There are so many account books. Matching them one by one, how long will it take?"
The left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue angrily said, "Your Highness, there are seven departments under the Ministry of Revenue that correspond to the finances of the seven Roads. There are also four departments for clearing officials that correspond to river works and other matters. There are three large warehouses. Xishan Bookstore and seven other workshops were transferred from the palace treasury transport company to the Ministry of Revenue's management last year. There are also 17 warehouses near Jingdou. There is also the Baoquan Bureau and the Qian Law Hall that are responsible for minting money. As for the warehouse yamen for water affairs, it is far away in Hangzhou, and …"
The assistant minister rattled on and on. He spoke for the time it took to drink a cup of tea without stopping.
The Crown Prince's mind was confused and quickly waved his hand to stop him.
The various officials who had come to the Ministry of Revenue to investigate were all dumbfounded. They had always known that the Ministry of Revenue was responsible for managing money. Who would have thought that there was such a complicated organizational setup beneath it? It looked like it would not be a matter of a day or two to investigate thoroughly.
The assistant minister smiled insincerely and said, "Your Highness, the accounts of the Ministry are still being sorted out. The seven large baskets placed here are the accounts of the Shandong Road Money Department. Because a few days ago, the Minister ordered me to be in charge of cleaning up the accounts of this Road, we were able to move them out quickly. As for the overall accounts, it will take at least a dozen days to clear them out. "
Rebuked by the assistant minister, the Crown Prince was so angry that he almost choked on his anger. He angrily rebuked, "I don't care how many accounts you have or how many days it will take, but since His Majesty has ordered an investigation, you better move quickly. Otherwise, don't blame me for secretly resisting the order to investigate!"
Who would have thought that the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue would still carelessly say, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, this lowly official naturally does not have this kind of courage. However, since the officials have come to investigate on the emperor's orders, we must draw up a plan. Which department should we start investigating? Other than the accounts, when will we start investigating the amount of silver in the treasury? A few million liang of silver, even if we want to count it … it will probably take a few days. "
The Crown Prince angrily waved his sleeve. He couldn't be bothered to argue with this picky official. In any case, when the problem was found, there would be consequences for them.
Hu the Scholar watched coldly from the head seat and felt it was strange. Under Minister Fan's management, the Ministry of Revenue was indeed different from the other ministries. Although the assistant minister was not a minor official, it was interesting that he dared to contradict the Crown Prince like this.
He knew that the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue was angry and couldn't resist smiling and explaining, "Assistant Minister Yu's words are not wrong. Since it is an investigation, it must be carried out in an orderly manner. Furthermore, it is best not to interfere with the daily work of the Ministry of Revenue. The government affairs of the entire country all require the transfer of money from the Ministry of Revenue. If for the sake of an investigation, it disturbs the administration of the Ministry of Revenue too much, presumably, the Emperor would not want to see it. "
This assistant minister, surnamed Yu, was clearly much more respectful toward Hu the Scholar. He bowed and said in an even voice, "I will listen to all your instructions."
Since they didn't know where to start the investigation, they had to first sort out all of the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue and then send specialized officials to verify them. The Overwatch Council, Ministry of Appointments, and Supreme Court all had such capable people. However, looking at it, it would be at least the day after tomorrow before they could start.
An official suddenly said to Hu the Scholar, "In my opinion, why don't we first take out the accounts of the treasury and the Jiangnan department to have a look?"
The entire hall was silent.
The treasury stored silver from the national treasury. If the Ministry of Revenue truly moved the treasury silver to Jiangnan, according to the deductions of all the civil and military officials in court, it would certainly go through the accounts of the Jiangnan department. This official straightforwardly proposed to first check the accounts of the treasury and the Jiangnan department. It was clearly directed at this rumor.
Hu the Scholar was slightly startled and couldn't find any reason to object. Furthermore, he did want to know if the Ministry of Revenue was truly daring enough to privately move national funds to Jiangnan. He discussed it with the Crown Prince and then ordered the officials of the Overwatch Council and the Ministry of Revenue to first check the accounts of these two departments.
The night passed uneventfully.
The second day passed uneventfully.
The third day passed uneventfully.
From the beginning, the Qing court's investigation of the Ministry of Revenue had sunk into the boundless ocean of battle over accounts. The officials who wanted to find something wrong with the Ministry of Revenue were instantly drowned out by the accounts that were as numerous as a mountain of snow.
In the spacious hall, the accounts were piled into a small mountain. The smell of old paper hung in the air, making it difficult for the investigating officials to breathe. Their eyes were filled with yellow paper and numbers that made them dizzy and confused.
In the quiet investigation hall, there was the endless sound of pages flipping, the clattering of abacuses, and the occasional sound of tea being sipped.
When the silence mixed with the monotonous, repetitive sounds, it was easy to hypnotize.
Although the investigating officials sitting in the grand chairs did not have to personally face the terrifying and complicated numbers, they still felt physically and mentally tired and very sleepy.
The investigating officials of each department had been busy for a few days, comparing the numbers on the accounts. Still, no problems had occurred.
Currently, they were investigating the numbers of the treasury and the Jiangnan department. For the time being, they had not found anything that could be used against the Ministry of Revenue.
This surprised everyone. Even Hu the Scholar, who was secretly leaning toward the Fan family, felt it was strange. With so many accounts, even if it was not intentional, even if it was unintentional, there had to be some mistakes, right? With such a large amount of calculation work, did the Ministry of Revenue not make a single mistake these two years?
It was said that when the water was too clear, there would be no fish. When the accounts were too clear, there would be falsehoods. It was impossible for such perfect accounts to exist in this world. If there was, then it had to be fake accounts.
Hu the Scholar thought this way. The investigating officials of the Ministry of Appointments and the Ministry of Justice also thought this way. Thus, they investigated with increasing vigor. As long as they could find a single flaw, they could move the whole body and drag the entire Ministry of Revenue down.
After this warm but tedious afternoon ended, the officials buried in the accounts of the various departments raised their heads and glanced at each other with astonishment. They then shook their heads at their respective superiors, causing countless feelings of disappointment to surge in the hearts of the investigating officials.
There was no problem, at least there was nothing wrong with the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue in the Jiangnan department and treasury.
The Ministry of Revenue that had been investigated was very clean, abnormally clean. It was as clean as a naked virgin after a bath.
…
…
"Something's wrong." The Minister of Appointments, Yan Hangshu, who had hurried to the Ministry of Revenue this afternoon, shook his head and said to Hu the Scholar beside him, "This is too abnormal."
Hu the Scholar nodded.
Yan Hangshu narrowed his eyes and thought for a bit. "Of course, we won't be able to find any problems just by investigating the accounts of these two places. Some people are not idiots. They clearly know that the court is suspicious of this area. Of course, they have to smooth out the accounts in this area. However, all of the accounts and treasury are under our control. The items and numbers have to match up. If there really is a problem with the Ministry of Revenue, then it must be done by transferring silver and smoothing things out. I think … our next step is not to just focus on these places. We should expand outwards and investigate the seven departments and the three great treasuries. All of the accounts have to be gathered together and investigated. We will certainly find something fishy within. "
Hu the Scholar furrowed his brows and said, "Putting aside the fact that it is too difficult, it will take a long time."
The Crown Prince listened at the side. A strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart. Did none of the officials beside him profit from the treasury under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue? How could they all be so daring as to expand the scope of the accounts limitlessly? He thought about it and agreed with Yan Hangshu's suggestion. Being able to deal with the Fan family was what he hoped to see the most.
The news of a complete accounting spread quickly from the Ministry of Revenue to the Fan manor. Fan Jian, who claimed to be ill in bed, did not change his expression. He only said to himself, "When an artist makes false accounts, he has to strive for perfection. Go ahead and investigate. The wider the better. The bigger the problem you find, the better."
…
…
Busy being sick, busy buying tickets, busy packing, and going home tomorrow, both physically and mentally exhausted.
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