nucmednet Chapter 240 Confiscating the house
Chapter 240 Confiscating the house
But the refreshments he had prepared were of no use, for Her Royal Highness was too busy to go there herself.
The Minister of the Central Secretariat was invited to the Ministry of Revenue.
In the room, the sound of abacus clacking could be heard one after another, accompanied by the sound of flipping through accounts.
In addition to the original officials of the Ministry of Revenue, such as Bei Huan, all the students who were good at accounting in the Hongwenguan were drafted by Bei Jingchu.
Xu Lanqi’s biological son Xu Chengzhou was also inside.
There were also those who passed the imperial examinations but were left at home unemployed because their official positions were not high enough.
She brought over some capable accountants from the Tan family, with the goal of making the best use of them.
Even Bei Jingchu herself would count a few times when she had free time.
The originally spacious Ministry of Revenue was crowded with people. When Xu Lanqi came over and saw this scene, he knew that it was all over.
But it's not him who is going to be finished, but some people who are lucky enough that Princess Tianwu can't find out their accounts.
Look at what the man in front of him is flipping through, it must be an account book from ten years ago.
The place was crowded at that time, so Bei Jingchu could only take Xu Lanqi to a very remote room so that they could talk alone for a while.
He apologized: "I know that this is not a decent thing to do."
"But when the water is muddy, people who are too proud and upright cannot survive."
"The people in the court are all in a clique, and if I don't accept some bribes, I can't stop the slanderous words of others in front of Your Majesty."
"I just want to know, this time, is it a case of admitting one's mistakes and correcting them, which is a great virtue, or is it a bait used by Your Majesty to fish?"
Bei Jing knew that he was confused by the situation, so in order to let him be the first to pay back the debt, she also gave him a reassurance: "You also know that the law does not punish everyone. We will only punish those who resist stubbornly."
With the Minister of the Central Secretariat as the first person, people who were carrying corrupt materials followed in droves.
Looking at the gradually filling treasury, the princess was surprised but also very disgusted.
How much money did these people embezzle?
Naturally, there are still people who are either disdainful or lucky and insist that they have not committed corruption.
Looking at the list that didn't match the name, Bei Jingchu didn't take any action.
Because they haven't finished their investigation yet.
Everyone was waiting for the punishment results in three days.
However, three days later, there was no movement in the capital.
Those who handed over the money saw that their colleagues who had kept the money secret were still living the same extravagant life as before.
Compared to how they tightened their belts to pay back the debts, I couldn't help but regret it.
If I had known this earlier, I would not have listened to Princess Tianwu’s threats and would have refused to admit it even if I were beaten to death.
In the end, he really fooled them and took their money.
For example, the home of Minister Guo.
The neighboring mansion is the residence of Minister Qi.
Their family did not repay the debt on time and insisted that they were honest and upright.
But whether he actually did anything or not, they are neighbors and colleagues, so how could they not see any clues?
Although the family next door has restrained themselves, compared with their real frugality, they are still extravagant.
Minister Guo was so upset that he got angry just looking at his son: "It's all your fault. You insisted on persuading me to pay off my debts. Not only have my savings been reduced, but I've also been fined!"
"The people next door are doing so well. I've lost my mind."
Guo Yang was speechless after being scolded. He poured a cup of tea and handed it to his father: "You are probably upset because of the hot weather."
"Father also knows that if we let him off lightly this time, will your majesty still have his dignity?"
"There will definitely be a bloody action afterwards. Instead of gambling on whether I will be the one who slips through the net, it is better to admit my mistake directly and get a lighter punishment."
Minister Guo was troubled by the hard times now and disagreed with his words: "It is too late for my father to stop early."
"Even if we check, it will be difficult to find out."
“Most of it is impossible to find out.”
He clapped his hands in regret and sighed, "I should have known I shouldn't have listened to you, a boy who has never experienced the world."
"Easily frightened."
"So what if you graduated from Botang?"
"You are young, but you have little experience. You are not as experienced as us old men in the officialdom."
Listening to his regretful complaints, the unfilial son boldly rants: "It's true that the family's expenses have been a little poor recently, but it's also the retribution for your corruption, isn't it?"
"If it hadn't been uncovered this time, the son would never have thought that his father was actually a corrupt official."
Minister Guo blew his beard and glared: "What do you mean by this, you little brat?"
"Do you think your father has embarrassed you?"
Guo Yang: “Yeah.”
"..."
Minister Guo regained his composure: "Who am I doing this for? It's for you and for this family!"
"If I hadn't gone against my conscience, would you brothers and sisters have lived such a comfortable life?"
Guo Yang was not afraid at all: "So now she is living in the same hardship. You asked for my sister's dowry back for emergency, and she can't even hold her head up in her husband's family."
"..."
Minister Guo, who was completely beaten to a pulp, roared, "Get lost!"
Guo Yang: “Okay.”
Minister Guo regretted it.
As a result, in the evening, the Qi family, whom he admired for their wisdom, was surrounded.
Princess Tianwu sat at the door of the Qi family. The officials beside her counted the embezzled money that the Qi family had embezzled over the years one by one.
Minister Qi and all his family members were tied up and forced to kneel at the door.
Box after box of treasures were turned over and carried out.
It turned out to be a house raid.
Minister Qi, who looked so handsome yesterday, kowtowed and begged the child to spare his family.
The masked girl couldn't tell whether she was happy or angry, but there was no joy in her voice: "Look at how much money you have plundered from the people."
"Aren't those who died as a result someone else's family?"
"I didn't give you a chance. What were you doing during the three days of repayment?"
"Now we can only recruit students according to the law."
A young man suddenly shouted at her, "Your Highness, Your Highness, please have mercy and let me go."
"We are from the same school."
"I was once a student at Hongwenguan as well."
Bei Jingchu was sure that she had never seen this person before. With her memory, it was impossible for her to forget her classmate.
"You are probably not old enough to leave school at this time, and there is no sign of someone like you in the court."
"What's going on?"
The young man hesitated, "Your Highness, I am indeed a student of Hongwenguan, and I am best friends with Zhou Jiancheng."
"It's just that because I couldn't get along with my classmates at Hongwenguan, I went home to recuperate and missed the opportunity to study with His Highness."
Bei Jingchu seemed to remember something: "What's your name?"
"My name is Qi Yun."
Okay, she remembered.
Not a good thing.
"Jiujiu told me about you."
The young man's face suddenly turned pale.
Bei Jingchu continued, "No matter what kind of person you are, at this moment, the law is merciless."
"Even your father spent his entire life working hard to sit in the position of a close minister to the emperor."
"But if you don't return the stolen money, your house will still be confiscated."
Minister Qi begged her to spare his children.
But Bei Jingchu just felt that it was moral blackmail and was very annoyed.
Then he ordered, "If anyone makes trouble again, shut his mouth."
The people around gathered around to watch the fun.
"What happened? Oh, how pitiful! Look, there are children among the kidnapped people, right?"
"I heard he was a corrupt official and his house was confiscated."
"Oh, that's okay."
"But why is it a child who brought people here?"
"The mask on the little girl's face is made of gold, isn't it? How rich!"
The most informed people proudly share gossip with the people next to them: "You don't know, do you?"
"The little girl who brought people here is the princess."
"Your Highness the Princess is here to eliminate corrupt officials for us common people."
Bei Jingchu ignored the crowd, she just needed to establish her authority.
Otherwise, someone like Minister Qi would really think she was joking.
In the following days, there was an endless stream of people being executed and exiled.
Many official positions in the capital city became vacant.