SEHE Chapter 104

Cooperation 

Although for Tang Xizhui, the matter of the Ministry of Works was certainly a small issue that could be safely navigated, Pei Yanci still privately informed him of this matter in advance.

The next day at the minor court assembly, the Emperor was absent. Tang Xizhui sat in a sandalwood chair two steps below the main seat on the left side. Through the golden beaded gauze curtain, he propped his head on his hand, listening to the other officials report.

This was Pei Yanci’s first time attending. He tilted his head slightly, using his peripheral vision to glance at the speaker, analyzing in his mind the allegiances and factions of these people in the hall. Standing in the middle of the crowd, the thin and slender youth was almost buried among those corpulent high officials.

The hundred officials reported the affairs of various offices in an orderly manner. The atmosphere in Jiuxiao Hall was peaceful and harmonious.

As the court assembly neared its end, the voices became increasingly sparse.

At this moment, he saw Gu Jiuqing, sitting at the very front of the assembled officials, playing with the smooth qilin head at the end of the armrest, casting him an indifferent glance.

Pei Yanci knew it was his turn to speak.

“This official has something to report.” He walked forward holding a document. In an instant, everyone’s gaze focused on him.

“Shao Bo, Director of the Water Works Department of the Ministry of Works, abused his official position five years ago during the excavation of river channels and waterways in Wuzhou. He accepted bribes from local officials. I respectfully request that Dugong Daren order the Censorate, the Elu Bureau, the Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Justice to thoroughly investigate this matter.”

After his resounding words finished, the great hall fell silent for a moment.

An inner attendant from below the steps walked over, took the document from his hand, and bent down to respectfully present it behind the curtain.

Cui Ya, relying on his seniority, also had a seat. At this moment, sitting on a small stool opposite the Crown Prince, he leaned toward Pei Yanci’s side. “Is Chancellor Pei being a bit hasty? You’ve just taken your position, and probably haven’t even sorted out the affairs under your own jurisdiction. Are you already looking at whether others have done well or not?”

Pei Yanci naturally knew he was being used as an insignificant pawn by Minister Zheng and the Crown Prince, but he said, “This official follows Qi Daren in his work, everything is orderly, and he is very satisfied. If Minister Cui is worried and doubts this official’s abilities, you may ask Qi Daren.”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned.

Who would have thought that the youngest official present would open his mouth and directly curse Minister Cui to die.

Should one say this was a newborn calf not fearing the tiger, or that he had no brains?

The Crown Prince and several men from the Ministries of Rites, Revenue, and War exchanged subtle glances before indifferently looking away, their expressions calm and unruffled.

“Pei Daren!” A person walked out from the crowd—it was none other than Shao Bo, his face currently flushed red with anger. “You’ve only been an official for how many days and you dare to criticize others? Do you understand the affairs of the Ministry of Works and yet you’re making noise here! Sitting before you is the Left Minister of the court. If you didn’t have that godfather from the Zheng family who relies on ancestral favor, you wouldn’t even exist as you are now.”

Only later did Pei Yanci learn that everyone in the court thought he was the illegitimate son of Zheng Qinglai and an official slave. After Zheng Qinglai left his seed with the official slave, he turned around and forgot about the matter. Later, the official slave used all means to enter the Crown Prince’s mansion and told the Crown Prince about this. The Crown Prince, being righteous, continuously supported Pei Yanci and gave them opportunities to recognize each other as father and son. After Zheng Qinglai learned about this illegitimate son of his, he immediately felt he owed too much. He let him shine brilliantly at the polo match, took the opportunity to acknowledge him as an adopted son, helped him escape slave status, gave him the position of Vice Chancellor, then Chancellor, and also had people from the Zheng faction secretly protect and escort him along the way. Such sincere fatherly love—who wouldn’t be moved?

After hearing such unfounded rumors, Pei Yanci: “……”

A romantic affair had obliterated all the efforts he had made behind the scenes.

However, he didn’t need others to know—he only needed to obtain the desired results.

“Shao Daren, this is the court hall, not a street market for buying vegetables. Such words insult scholarly dignity,” Qin Xiong said.

How could Shao Bo not know they were all in this together? He raised his chin contemptuously and asked, “This official has acted properly and sat uprightly. Not a single tael of the court’s silver has entered my own pocket. Since you’ve secretly investigated me, then tell me how much I’ve embezzled?”

“Ten thousand taels of silver,” Pei Yanci said.

As soon as these words came out, expressions of intrigue appeared on everyone’s faces.

“The Ministry of Works doesn’t seem to be an idle office after all,” someone said.

“Pei Daren’s experience is still shallow. Let’s just leave this matter at that,” the Minister of Revenue spoke at this time. He was an amiable middle-aged man with puffy eyelids drooping over his eyeballs, making him look somewhat lifeless.

“How can this be acceptable?” Cui Ya’s cheekbones were prominent, his cheeks gaunt. When he revealed a cold smile, he looked especially mean-spirited. He called out several names from the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Dali Temple in succession, saying, “On another day, you should all go examine the Ministry of Works’ accounts, see where all the money given by the Ministry of Revenue was spent, and also let everyone see how much funding the Ministry of Revenue allocates to the Ministry of Works annually.”

Another person spoke—his appearance was five-tenths similar to Wang Lingche, except he carried an air of scholarly elegance refined by the years. His skin was fair and handsome, the kind of face that easily attracted women’s favor.

This was none other than the Wang family head, Gui Jingbo.

“If you ask me, investigating Shao Daren’s family assets would suffice. Involving the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Revenue would take at least one or two months. It’s almost the autumn harvest busy season, and the Water Works Department also needs to take advantage of the lowered autumn water levels to rush the construction schedule before it gets cold. No office can afford delays—the people’s livelihoods are most urgent right now.”

“This matter will be handled according to Minister Cui’s suggestion. Later, this lord will report this matter to His Majesty.” At this moment, a clear voice came from behind the gauze curtain.

Everyone dared not say more and respectfully acknowledged.

The third minor court assembly of September ended inconclusively.

“Chancellor Pei.”

Pei Yanci was walking out with the flow of people when Chen Sihong suddenly called out to him quietly.

“His Highness requests your presence.”

Pei Yanci followed him toward the Eastern Palace with some puzzlement, his heart secretly becoming vigilant.

When they reached the great hall, he discovered that several core figures of the Zheng faction were already there.

Pei Yanci relaxed slightly, quickly scanned the room, and secretly memorized these people.

Gu Jiuqing wore a stiff, wide-sleeved robe in dark indigo, with emerald lake-green inner lining showing at the collar and sleeve edges. His black hair was meticulously bound in a purple-gold hair crown atop his head, his posture upright, dignified and solemn.

“Liu Yan, why did you show weakness before them earlier?” His cool, calm glassy eyes first looked toward the Minister of Revenue.

Liu Yan almost immediately jumped up from his chair, stammering, “Your Highness wrongs me. This official wasn’t showing weakness, it’s just that I suddenly thought—isn’t the amount of ten thousand taels we’re accusing Shao Bo of embezzling somewhat unconvincing?”

“How much more silver did you want him to embezzle?” Gu Jiuqing leaned forward slightly, his bright, sharp gaze sweeping toward him. “Did you give him the opportunity!”

It was an extremely oppressive posture, those eyes seeming to perceive everything.

Liu Yan swallowed, gave two awkward laughs, and tried hard to maintain his composure.

“Jian Ji’an,” Gu Jiuqing straightened up again, casually calling another name, “Stall for a period of time on your end.”

“Yes.” The Minister of the Dali Temple immediately clasped his hands in acknowledgment.

“Pei Yanci,” when the Crown Prince called this name, his voice paused for a moment before continuing, “During this time, investigate Shao Bo more thoroughly. When necessary, have Jian Ji’an cooperate with you.”

“Yes,” Pei Yanci said.

Gu Jiuqing kept the remaining ministers and the Wang family head behind while dismissing everyone else.

Pei Yanci couldn’t fathom what medicine this person was selling in his gourd.

But the next afternoon he still went to the Ministry of Works. He had just entered the office with Wushu when several junior assistants welcomed him into Shao Bo’s quarters. Before they could even exchange a few barbs, the Minister of Works, Zhao Zhen, “coincidentally” came by for a visit.

Shao Bo could tell at a glance that this wasn’t the Minister’s usual route, so he yielded his seat and sat to the side brewing tea as company.

They say to walk the official path, one must walk it often. The Ministry of Works had always been a major recipient of funds but had previously been restricted by the Ministry of Revenue. Later, Zhao Zhen went down the right path and paid respects to Tang Xizhui, this major patron, which finally revitalized the stagnant waters of the Ministry of Works.

Although Pei Yanci knew he was Tang Xizhui’s man, not having come to the Ministry of Works to familiarize himself, he also felt distant.

Looking at Zhao Zhen, he should know some of the inside story, but not completely. As for Shao Bo, he was completely unaware—when looking at him, there was great hostility in his gaze.

“I didn’t come here today for anything else. His Highness feels that Shao Daren’s office isn’t clean, so we must prove it is clean. We’re all working for the court, loyal to His Majesty, seeking welfare and prosperity for the common people. Tell me, if any river channel makes a mistake and destroys a dike, that affects the people of an entire county or city. His Majesty would have to issue an edict of self-reproach. If we don’t use several lives to fill the gap, how can we appease Heaven’s anger and the people’s resentment?”

“We too find it difficult.” Zhao Zhen took a sip of tea. “Let’s not talk about matters above. The common people below don’t understand and treat all officials as those who prey on the people. Isn’t this beating everyone to death with one stick? Those who truly want to do things for the people should unite and not be tainted by this filth.”

“How does Zhao Daren wish to unite?”

“This depends on how Chancellor Pei views Shao Daren’s case.”

With these words, Shao Bo’s heart finally settled completely.

From the moment he entered, he felt this superior had come to back him up. Now that he was personally stepping forward to speak for him, he was ultimately grateful.

Pei Yanci took out the edict signed by the Crown Prince and said before the two could refuse. “His Highness also knows the Ministry of Works’ affairs cannot be delayed. This visit is only to have me review those accounts from the Ministry of Works.”

“Shao Daren, notify those below to organize all the accounts from the past five years and present them to Pei Daren for review. We have nothing to hide.”

Pei Yanci smiled inwardly. These people always had one common fault—they constantly spoke of the Emperor above and the common people below, but as for themselves, they were paragons of righteousness, upright and honorable, open and aboveboard.

This had nothing to do with being upright or not. With the Crown Prince’s edict pressing down, they had to hand them over whether they wanted to or not.

“No rush, Shao Daren can take his time organizing them, lest something be missed and we wrongly accuse you.”

Shao Bo was even angrier hearing this and immediately stood up to leave.

“If irregularities are discovered, this official may need to make copies. I wonder if the Ministry of Works has any convenient copying techniques?” Pei Yanci poured Zhao Zhen a cup of tea and asked.

The Ministry of Works had never lacked skilled craftsmen. Previously, they had developed repeating crossbows and chain trebuchets for the Great Yu army. Earlier, when Taoist priests mingling closely with His Majesty exploded their alchemy furnaces, the Ministry of Works presented fireworks and firecrackers to His Majesty, adding much joy to the festivals.

“If you want copying techniques, Chancellor Pei has asked the wrong person. The Secretariat is most skilled at copying books,” Zhao Zhen deflected. “If that doesn’t work, there’s also the Hanlin Academy, which produces talented people.”

The Secretariat was independent of the Three Departments. Its power wasn’t great—it primarily managed book storage and production. All books in Great Yu, whether privately stored or from bookshops, except those privately transcribed, were all sold from there.

“To tell the truth, this morning Pei went to the Secretariat.” Pei Yanci smiled bitterly. “The Imperial Academy wants to establish a printing house and has already discussed with the Director of the Secretariat about jointly submitting a memorial to report this matter.”

“Why would Pei Daren think of doing this?” Zhao Zhen asked, puzzled.

Books were indeed expensive now, but the production process was lengthy and costly. Comparing the two, this was actually a thankless task.

Just look at how many bookshops and book publishers existed in Great Yu—no more than a hundred throughout the entire country. Their profits were truly low.

“In recent years, the imperial examination trend has grown increasingly popular. More and more common farming families also want to bring honor to their families through the examinations. Relying solely on one Secretariat to produce and print books simply cannot meet the demand, and currently, not many people have set their sights on this area.” Pei Yanci tempted him with profit. “If the Ministry of Works researches a book production method that reduces procedures and time while increasing efficiency, daren could very well invest with technique as a stake in the Imperial Academy.”

“Invest with technique as a stake?” Zhao Zhen hadn’t heard of this before.

“Whether in the name of the Ministry of Works office or in Zhao Daren’s private name, the Imperial Academy’s printing house accepts both.” Pei Yanci said, “When the imperial edict from the Secretariat comes down, how much more profit we’ll have compared to now depends on how good a tool daren’s talented people below can research.”

“This is quite novel.” Zhao Zhen considered.

Pei Yanci had also gotten this inspiration from Jiang Yi. That fellow had used several retired veterans as a favor, shamelessly saying he wanted to invest in the theater. If not for the fact that the theater couldn’t be under his own name at the time and also needed a high court official as a protective umbrella, he wouldn’t have been willing to give up even ten percent of the profit.

If so, then naturally technique could also be invested as a stake. Broadening this line of thinking further, couldn’t it extend beyond just individuals to also include government offices?

Every year, offices also greatly needed money to operate. How did you earn your achievements? Which one wasn’t obtained by spending money?

“If only I had met Chancellor Pei earlier.” Zhao Zhen laughed. “Young people—even your minds turn faster than us old fossils when it comes to making money.”

Most crucially, Pei Yanci didn’t forget to bring them along together.