Chapter 577
Chasing After Him
Inside Renshou Palace, you could hear a pin drop.
All eyes were on the stack of bamboo paper in Changxiu's hand. Wu Xiu took the evening paper from Changxiu, unfolded it, and presented it to the gauze curtain.
The officials held their breath.
Emperor Ning did not speak immediately. The shadow behind the gauze curtain seemed to be leaning slightly towards the evening newspaper, carefully reading the words on it.
After an incense stick had burned, Emperor Ning's voice rang out, devoid of emotion: "Recite."
Wu Xiu bowed in agreement, picked up the evening paper, and read aloud to the magistrate: "Li's pawnshop has been a notorious moneylender for many years, with monthly interest rates as high as nine percent being common, and for poor families in urgent need, rates as high as one and a half qian. There was a canal worker named Chen Ada from Tongzhou who borrowed three taels of silver in the winter of the twenty-ninth year of the Jiajing era to buy medicine to save his mother. By last autumn, the principal and interest had ballooned to forty-seven taels. The Chen family sold all their fields and houses but still could not make ends meet. Li's pawnshop sent thugs to raid the shop day and night. Chen's mother, terrified, fell seriously ill and died. Chen Ada took his wife and children and jumped into the river. Only his young daughter survived, and her whereabouts are now unknown..."
"There was a widow named Zhou in the southern city, widowed and left with a son and a daughter, and five mu of meager land. Because she owed Li Ji two taels of silver in interest, her land deeds were forcibly taken away. Zhou cried and cried but had no one to turn to, so she took her daughter and jumped into a well. Her son was beaten and had his leg broken by Li Ji's thugs and was driven out of the capital. There are twenty-seven such cases for now..."
"Whenever the granary officials and clerks in the capital needed to audit the granaries or make up for deficits, they would often borrow from Li's granary, using the grain stored in the granary to pay the interest. In Tongzhou West Granary alone, more than two thousand shi of grain were handled over five years..."
The Meihua Ferry Evening News didn't flatter anyone today; instead, it used the entire front page to expose the despicable deeds of Li's Pawnshop, leaving the officials terrified.
Roughly speaking, Li's Pawnshop has driven dozens of ordinary people to their deaths over the years.
Wu Xiu paused here, discreetly observing Emperor Ning's expression. It seemed there was something more important to discuss, and he was unsure whether he should continue reading.
Emperor Ning closed his eyes and made the Three Mountains Seal with his hands: "Read it. There are still thousands of evening newspapers in the city. Whether you read them or not, you can't stop the gossip."
Wu Xiu continued reading with her head down: "The principal, accounts, deeds, and land deeds of Li's pawnshop are all supervised by Qi Xianzhun, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. The annual profits, after deducting what is retained for working capital, are all available for the Qi family to use..."
"In the twenty-seventh year of the Jianing era, Qi Xianzhun withdrew eight thousand taels to purchase a residence in Xila Hutong and to keep concubines. In the summer of the thirty-first year of the Jianing era, Qi Zhenwu withdrew three thousand taels to redeem the courtesan Liuzhuang..."
After Wu Xiu finished reading, she lowered her hands and stepped aside.
The hall was deathly silent; even breathing was suppressed to a very low level.
Grand Secretary Qi turned and stared intently at Qi Xianzhun beside him, who lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze. Grand Secretary Qi then turned back to look at Qi Zhenwu kneeling on the ground. He couldn't possibly check the accounts every day; even he himself was unaware of these matters.
Grand Secretary Qi felt a sudden dizziness; not only had he lost his position as Left Censor-in-Chief, but his scandalous affair had also been exposed. He and Emperor Ning had clearly reached an understanding, yet someone was determined to eliminate him.
He looked at Chen Ji with trembling eyes, only to see Chen Ji standing in the main hall, standing meticulously, his gaze unwavering.
In the silence, Chen Ji suddenly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and asked, "You censors are upright and incorruptible, why are you silent?"
The censors' gazes were like knives, as if they wanted to tear a piece of flesh from Chen Ji, yet they couldn't utter a single word. They had heard of Chen Ji's reputation for holding grudges, but they hadn't realized he was this vengeful.
They had previously thought Chen Ji resembled Prince Jing, but now they felt he didn't. Prince Jing had never done anything so ruthless as to exterminate people; he always left them some leeway.
The officials also had complicated expressions. For the first time, they realized that killing people with words from newspapers was even more vicious than impeachment memorials from censors of the Censorate.
The evening paper would take at least six hours to be published, including writing, typesetting, and printing. Chen Ji had already arranged everything before he even left for the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district).
The other party knew that he would definitely fight the Qi family today, and he also knew that there would always be compromises and concessions in Renshou Palace. But no matter what His Majesty thought or how the deal was made, he did not intend to let the Qi family save face and leave unscathed, nor did he leave himself a way out.
From now on, although Grand Secretary Qi will still be a cabinet minister, still in charge of the Ministry of Rites, and still have disciples and former officials all over the country, he has lost the hearts of the people, and his downfall is only a matter of time.
Ten years? Twenty years? No matter how long the Qi family's decline continues, they will just become the next Liu family.
However, at this moment, Emperor Ning, sitting on his throne, said without any anger or displeasure, "There is another poem in the second version, which was also recited."
Wu Xiu was taken aback, and quickly picked up the evening paper again: "Poem title: Bamboo and Rock... Clinging firmly to the green hills, its roots firmly planted in the broken rocks. A thousand blows and ten thousand strikes cannot break its strength..."
He took a deep breath before continuing, "Let the winds blow from east, west, north, or south."
He then added, "Chen Chong, this is my final piece."
The officials' expressions changed; this Viscount Wu Xiang not only intended to kill, but also to destroy his spirit. Before they could think further, they saw Grand Secretary Qi slowly slump to the side, his eyes tightly closed, his teeth clenched.
Qi Xianzhun exclaimed in surprise, "Father? Father! Imperial Physician, summon the Imperial Physician!"
Renshou Palace suddenly descended into chaos as everyone rushed forward to investigate. Only Emperor Ning and Chen Ji remained motionless in the entire hall, standing out awkwardly from the crowd. ...
……
The time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
More than ten imperial physicians rushed over and carried Grand Secretary Qi away, and Renshou Palace returned to peace.
The officials glanced at Chen Ji out of the corner of their eyes; they knew that Renshou Palace also had its rules.
His Majesty had intended to let the Qi family go, but Chen Ji had created a complication. While youthful arrogance may be admirable, Chen Ji's actions had their price.
His Majesty will not keep a useless knife; he will also give the Qi family an explanation.
Just then, Chen Ji bowed to the throne and said, "Your Majesty, this evening report is full of nonsense and has lost its sense of propriety, causing Grand Secretary Qi to become so angry that he suffered a heart attack. This is my dereliction of duty. I am willing to hand over the morning and evening reports to the Directorate of Ceremonial to prevent them from being used by bad people."
The officials exchanged glances. Chen Ji had actually chosen to hand over the Plum Blossom Ferry newspaper. Putting aside the annual profit of ten thousand taels of silver, the newspaper's role as a mouthpiece in the morning and evening was something no one could easily give up.
But Chen Ji just had to let go of it.
Emperor Ning slowly said from behind the gauze curtain, "Granted."
Just when everyone thought everything was settled, Emperor Ning said again: "Viscount Wu Xiang is still young and inexperienced, and needs more experience. As a nobleman, you should not run brothels. Return the Plum Blossom Ferry to whoever it came from. You do not have a register for your salt permit business, which will inevitably attract criticism. Hand both of these over to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs."
Chen Ji remained silent for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."
Emperor Ning asked casually, "Any complaints?"
Chen Ji prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed: "Your subject humbly begs for Your Majesty's grace, and has no complaints whatsoever."
Emperor Ning said calmly, "Step down."
The dust has settled.
Chen Ji stood up and slowly backed out of Renshou Palace. He turned and strode away, his pace quickening until he was running.
Along the palace path, passing eunuchs all turned their heads to look. It was the first time they had ever seen someone running wildly in the solemn palace, disregarding all decorum.
“Hey, you…” A young eunuch had just raised his finger to point at Chen Ji, intending to loudly remind him of the ritual, when another young eunuch accompanying him grabbed his wrist: “Are you out of your mind? Mind your own business.”
The young eunuch, who was speaking, inadvertently looked up at the Jiefan Tower not far away. It seemed that a figure was silently watching them from the open window on the top floor.
He quickly pulled his colleague away.
Chen Ji left Renshou Palace, passed Ciqing Palace and Wenhua Hall, and arrived at Donghua Gate.
When he arrived at the gate, he found it locked. He then realized that it was already the hour of Hai (9-11 PM). To leave the palace, he had to use either the Meridian Gate or the West Prosperity Gate; no other gate would do.
However, just as he was about to turn towards the Meridian Gate, he saw Changxiu standing in front of the East Gate, smiling and saying, "Lord Chen, don't go. The Grand Secretary instructed me to wait here and leave the gate open for you."
Chen Ji was stunned. How could they have even figured out the internal connections?
Changxiu waved to Xie Fanwei to open the Donghua Gate and said with a smile, "The Grand Chancellor said that Lord Chen acted recklessly at the age when he should have been young and impetuous, and the whole world should make way for him. Knowing that Lord Chen is anxious, please."
Chen Ji brushed past Chang Xiu: "Thank you."
Changxiu stood inside the door, silently watching Chen Ji's departing figure, and softly praised the Jie Fan Guards: "There is still a bit of chivalry left in the world, which is commendable... Never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway, so close the door."
Chen Ji was like a gust of wind; he slipped through the gap before the Donghua Gate was fully open, and then rushed through the Dong'anli Gate to the main street.
Pedestrians on the street turned their heads to look at the bright red robe with the unicorn emblem. They had never seen anyone running wildly in such an official robe before. Officials who wore red robes usually rode in carriages or sedan chairs, and were as composed as could be.
Strangely, passersby didn't find Chen Ji reckless; they only felt that the qilin-patterned robe was inappropriately worn by the neighborhood boy. (End of Chapter)