Chapter 576
Exterminate All
Renshou Palace was deathly silent, with only the smoke from the two blue-and-white incense burners with cloud and crane patterns rising slowly beneath the throne, swirling endlessly under the painted ceiling with the twenty-eight constellations.
As darkness fell, the young eunuchs used copper handles to light the candles in Renshou Palace.
The officials looked at Chen Ji, who stood proudly in the hall, and only after carefully gazing at his slightly immature face did they realize that he seemed to be just nineteen years old.
Some of the older officials seemed to be transported back to more than twenty years ago.
At that time, the emperor was young and the country was in turmoil. The empress dowager ruled from behind the curtain, and the maternal relatives controlled the government. It seems that there was also a young man dressed in a bright red official robe who stood in the court and helped the emperor on the throne to stabilize the country.
The two people do not look alike, do not have similar body types, and do not have similar voices.
But for some reason, when people looked at the relics, they inexplicably thought of that person.
Prince Jing.
In that instant, many officials suddenly felt old; the other man's spirit was like a mirror reflecting their own aging and wasted time.
Some people even felt a sense of shame and inferiority.
At this moment, the officials looked at Cui Qinghe and Qi Zhenwu kneeling on the ground, and sighed inwardly. The Qi family had fallen. Now the Qi family's power was gone, the only question was how much they would have to pay.
Beneath the intricate coffered ceiling depicting the Twenty-Eight Mansions, Chen Ji looked down at Cui Qinghe beside him: "Master Cui, whose is that string of Buddhist coins? Tell me the truth."
Cui Qinghe gritted his teeth and refused to speak, only staring at his reflection in the lapis lazuli bricks, his face extremely ugly.
Chen Ji said calmly, "Master Cui, don't think that you can take all the blame by not speaking. There's no need to try to lie either. My secret agent Meng Ji found no lies during my interrogation."
But Cui Qinghe remained silent.
He knew in his heart that once he implicated Qi Zhenwu, there would be no place for him in the capital. No, there would be no place for the Cui family of Qinghe in the entire imperial court.
He preferred to wait for Mengji to interrogate him, even if he said something then, it wouldn't be his fault. Even if he was convicted of harboring a criminal, at most he would be punished, but it would secure a future for the Cui family of Qinghe.
Seeing that he still refused to speak, Chen Ji smiled and said, "Master Cui, this originally had nothing to do with you. You didn't embezzle or steal; you were just doing something for someone. As long as you reveal whose Buddhist Coin it is, there will be no problem. But if you refuse to confess, or lie and are caught by Meng Ji, then it will be the crime of deceiving the emperor..."
Chen Ji lowered his voice: "If Meng Ji finds out anything else, such as privately minting copper coins, it could mean the confiscation of our property and the extermination of our entire family."
Cui Qinghe's expression changed. He could still distinguish between "the Cui family has no future" and "the Cui family has no descendants."
This was a blatant threat, betting that the Cui family of Qinghe had many secrets that couldn't withstand interrogation.
After a moment of silence, Cui Qinghe gritted his teeth and said, "That string of Buddhist coins was given to me by Qi Zhenwu. The day before yesterday, Qi Zhenwu came to me and promised me the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. He asked me to take 600,000 taels of silver to the Jiaofangsi to redeem Bai Li. After the matter was settled, Bai Li was at my disposal."
In the front row of the hall, Grand Secretary Qi, sitting on an embroidered stool, sighed inwardly and slowly closed his eyes.
Having obtained the answer, Chen Ji walked to Qi Zhenwu's side and asked, "Lord Qi, may I ask why this Buddhist talisman is in your possession?"
However, the next moment, Qi Zhenwu said in a deep voice: "This was a bribe from Li's Pawnshop. Protecting Li's Pawnshop was my doing alone, and has nothing to do with the Qi family!"
Grand Secretary Qi suddenly opened his eyes.
Qi Zhenwu had two options. If he revealed that Li Ji Pawnshop was the private property of the Qi family, he would only be transferring funds from his own treasury. Although this would cause the Qi family to deviate from the literary world, he would be innocent. After all, it was the Qi family's own money, and how they spent it was their business.
Now Qi Zhenwu has taken the blame alone, and his crimes have been classified as corruption. Although Qi Zhenwu will be exiled to Lingnan, the reputation of the Qi family has been preserved.
For the Qi family, this is the best outcome. The rest depends on whether the one on the throne chooses to tarnish the Qi family's reputation or replace it with something more useful.
Chen Ji, behind the gauze curtain, bowed to the throne and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that Qi Zhenwu has not told the truth. I request that the secret agent Si Mengji interrogate him through official channels."
The officials knew that Chen Ji held a grudge and wouldn't rest until the Qi family's reputation was ruined. Once Meng Ji interrogated them, the Qi family would be finished.
But the next moment, Emperor Ning on the throne slowly spoke: "Grand Secretary Qi, Qi Zhenwu is a member of your Qi family, what do you think?"
Grand Secretary Qi breathed a long sigh of relief. In Renshou Palace, there was never a price that couldn't be negotiated... Moreover, this emperor, who had reigned for thirty-two years and was extremely skilled in the art of ruling, needed a balance in the court.
He slowly rose from the embroidered stool, then lifted the hem of his official robe and knelt tremblingly on the ground: "This old minister has failed in managing his family, leading to the misconduct of his clan members. This is all my fault. I have realized that this young man is impetuous and unable to distinguish right from wrong. He has even accepted bribes from merchants and interfered with the laws of the court. This old minister begs Your Majesty to issue an edict exiling him to Lingnan and never employing him again. Qi Xianzhun, as the Left Censor-in-Chief, also bears responsibility for negligence... Kneel down!" Qi Xianzhun understood immediately and also lifted his robe, kneeling beside Grand Secretary Qi: "Your Majesty, the Qi family has been a family of scholars and officials for generations. Since our ancestors, we have always upheld integrity, loyalty to the emperor, and service to the country. Now, such unworthy descendants have emerged, disgracing our family and damaging the discipline of the court. I am ashamed. I wish to resign from my position as Left Censor-in-Chief and return home to study."
The officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
Left Censor-in-Chief.
This was the price offered by the Qi family, and it was also the price that Emperor Ning was most interested in.
The Left Censor-in-Chief, who also oversaw the Censorate, was one of the most crucial officials in controlling imperial power.
In the sixth year of the Jianing era, Emperor Ning attempted three times to bestow the title of prince upon Zhu Youxiao, who was not yet Prince Jing at the time, but each time the imperial edicts were returned by the Six Ministries of the Censorate on the grounds of "inappropriateness."
In the ninth year of the Jianing era, Wang Bao, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, died suddenly in the Eagle House. Emperor Ning wanted to close the case by saying that Wang Bao had suffered a heart attack, but the Censorate insisted on a joint trial by the three judicial departments to thoroughly investigate the cause of Wang Bao's death.
Although the case was eventually dropped for unknown reasons, it did reveal some clues, leading to speculation that Wang Baoying was killed by Xu Wenhe, who was not yet the Grand Chancellor at the time.
Such examples abound.
The Qi family's decision to relinquish the position of Left Censor-in-Chief is far more important than sacrificing some money: power is always more important than money.
On his throne, Emperor Ning remained silent for a moment before finally agreeing: "Granted. Draft an edict: Qi Zhenwu shall be exiled to Lingnan immediately; Qi Xianzhun shall resign from his position as Left Censor-in-Chief; and Chen Lizun, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, shall be promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief."
Emperor Ning paused for a moment, then added: "Hu Junye has been transferred to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
The Renshou Palace was immediately thrown into turmoil. These few simple words had turned the order of several families into complete chaos.
The Chen family originally wouldn't have let go of the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but now that there is an even greater temptation, the position of Left Censor-in-Chief, how could they miss the opportunity to take command of the Censorate?
However, if this happens, the various factions will fall apart and hinder each other, leaving them with no time to stop Zhang Zhuo from implementing his new policies.
Just as the officials were discussing among themselves, Qi Xianzhun helped Qi Ge Lao to his feet. Today, they only wanted to preserve the Qi family's reputation and didn't care about anything else.
However, at this moment, Chen Ji suddenly spoke up: "Lord Qi Xianzhun, you were previously in charge of the censorate, so you must be well-versed in the laws of the Ning Dynasty. I would like to ask, if a pawnshop charges a monthly interest rate of nine percent, how should our dynasty's laws apply?"
Qi Xianzhun stood there stunned, and the officials also fell silent, looking at Chen Ji with strange expressions.
His Majesty has spoken, so why is this boy still so relentless?
Before Qi Xianzhun could answer, Zhang Zhuo said loudly, "Qi Fengxian may not be as familiar with this matter as I am. According to the laws of Da Ning, the Household Law and the Debt Law, anyone who violates the prohibition of taking profits, privately lending money or pawning property, shall not take more than three percent of the profits each month. Even if there are many months, the profit shall not exceed one percent of the principal. Violators shall be punished with forty strokes of the cane. The remaining profits shall be considered as stolen goods, and serious offenders shall be punished as stolen goods, with the maximum penalty being one hundred strokes of the cane."
Old Chao Feng shuddered.
Chen Ji then asked loudly, "In the twenty-seventh year of the Jianing era, Li's pawnshop lent money at exorbitant interest rates to a commoner named Wang Youde, totaling five taels of silver. Within three years, this five taels of silver had multiplied to one hundred and ten taels. Wang Youde hanged himself, and his wife sold herself into the Li family to pay off the debt. How should our dynasty's laws deal with such acts of forcing a good woman into prostitution?"
Zhang Zhuo echoed, "According to the laws of Da Ning, the Criminal Law, and the Book of Human Death, anyone who coerces another to death for any reason shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane. If officials or their agents coerce a commoner to death for reasons other than official business, they shall be punished in the same way, and ten taels of silver shall be confiscated for the funeral expenses. If the act is accompanied by beatings, imprisonment, or the abduction of wives and daughters to pay off debts, the perpetrator shall be executed by slow slicing as a warning to others."
Chen Ji exclaimed in admiration, "I've never seen slow slicing before!"
The old clerk knelt down and cried out, "I am just a clerk at Li's pawnshop, and I do everything according to my master's orders. As for the incident in the twenty-seventh year of Jia Ning, it was my master, Li Bing, who took a fancy to the Wang family's wife and plotted to force Wang Youde to his death. It had nothing to do with me!"
Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary Qi felt his blood surge.
Chen Ji bowed to the emperor on the throne and said, "Your Majesty, I request that Your Majesty issue an edict to immediately raid Li's pawnshop, arrest the ringleader Li Bing, and execute him by slow slicing on a chosen day. Furthermore, I request that the Secret Service investigate all pawnshops in the city. Any pawnshop with a monthly interest rate exceeding three percent should, at the very least, have its illegal profits confiscated, and at worst, have its entire operation raided and the pawnshop exiled, so as to restore a bright and just world to the people of the capital."
The officials all had different expressions. Anyone who could open a pawnshop in the capital and lend money at exorbitant interest rates must have powerful connections. And weren't all of these powerful connections currently in Renshou Palace?
On his throne, Emperor Ning calmly said, "Granted."
Qi Ge Lao's vision suddenly went black, and it took him a moment to recover. Li Ji Pawnshop was gone, and he was afraid that the top-tier silver vault in the capital would also be lost.
Qi Xianzhun supported him and whispered, "Father, just bear with it today, and preserve the Qi family's reputation..."
Before he finished speaking, Changxiu hurriedly came from outside Renshou Palace, carrying a stack of bamboo paper in her hand. She stepped into the palace gate, came to the throne, and whispered, "Your Majesty, this is today's evening report."
The officials were shocked. What exactly was published in the evening paper that made the other party disregard the court's opinion and insist on sending the paper into Renshou Palace?
They turned to look at Chen Ji, trying to glean something from his face.
Chen Ji kept his hands tucked into his sleeves, his eyes flickering uncertainly in the candlelight of Renshou Palace. (End of Chapter)