Chapter 16
How did you know it was a fake account?
On the day Emperor Jingyuan summoned the Di Kingdom delegation to the Taiji Hall, Xu Xian was sparring with veteran soldiers of the Black Cavalry Guard at the General Training Ground.
To be precise, it was the veterans of the Black Cavalry who were challenging him.
Veins bulged on Liu Shan's bald head as he swung his heavy sword down, the wind from the sword whipping up the dust around the training ground.
Xu Xian sidestepped the sword's edge, his right palm flipping out from his waist, the fierce power of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill flowing into his palm, and he slapped the spine of the sword.
The greatsword flew out of his hand and stuck in the sand, its hilt humming and shaking. Liu Shan looked down at his empty hands, then at the greatsword stuck three steps away, cursed, and then plopped down on the ground, refusing to get up.
"I'm not fighting anymore, boss. I can't take this much force—it wasn't this strong when we fought last time."
"The last time was half a month ago." Xu Xian sheathed his knife and chuckled.
"How much can it rise in half a month?" Liu Shan rolled his eyes.
"A tiny bit."
That's all I learned was the second move.
Liu Shan exhaled a breath from his nose, and the old Black Cavalry guards next to him were suppressing their laughter—they had been beaten up by Xu Xian in turn over the past two weeks, and each of them had the same expression after being beaten up as Liu Shan now.
It wasn't that Xu Xian held a grudge, but rather that he himself needed to hone his skills and improve his progress. It was simply a win-win situation and had nothing to do with his pettiness!
Just then, Zhao Bao ran in from outside the training ground, panting heavily. He held his knees and gasped for breath for a while before finally raising his head.
"Brother Xu! Brother Xu! News has come from the Taiji Palace: the Di Kingdom delegation has an audience with the Emperor today! Princess Yunshang mentioned your name in the hall!"
Xu Xianzheng bent down to help Liu Shan up from the ground. Hearing this, he turned back to look at Zhao Bao, his eyes lighting up. "The Emperor mentioned my name? Has he been rewarded?"
"It seems not."
"What's the point of talking? Keep practicing!"
He pulled Liu Shan up and pushed him back to the center of the training ground, then drew his goose-feather saber and assumed a starting stance.
Liu Shan picked up the heavy sword while cursing and swearing, and got into a fighting stance again.
...
In the afternoon, Emperor Jingyuan summoned Mo Feichang to his study.
There were no palace servants to serve them, and the old emperor even poured his own tea. The relationship between the two was not like that of a ruler and his subject, but more like that of two old friends who had known each other for so long that they did not need any formalities.
The old emperor pushed the teacup toward Mo Feichang and got straight to the point, "Your newly recruited junior officer, Princess Yunshang praised him in court today, saying that the mission case was solved entirely thanks to him."
"He's a good prospect."
Mo respectfully accepted the teacup and took a sip. "However, it still needs some polishing."
"A minor official in a border town should be promoted to the seventh rank, which is enough. Don't reward him openly, but secretly give him some gold and silver."
The old emperor picked up the memorial, flipped through it, then put it down.
"There is another matter. There are some problems with the tax and silver accounts in recent years. I had people investigate for almost half a month, but no one could pinpoint the problem. I have your people involved to investigate together with the Ministry of Revenue."
Mo's hand, which was holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.
He looked up into the old emperor's eyes and asked a question that no one in the court would dare to ask, "Your Majesty, to what extent has the investigation into the tax silver case progressed?"
The old emperor paused as he picked up the vermilion brush again, and a drop of vermilion fell onto the memorial, creating a small red dot.
He wiped the cinnabar off with his fingertip, "Let's find out as much as we can."
"Your subject understands."
Mo understood perfectly.
The emperor knew who was behind the tax silver case. To be able to tamper with the Ministry of Revenue's accounts and to have the Ministry of Revenue investigate for almost half a month without finding anything wrong, there was probably only one person in the entire Jingguo court.
But the old emperor's original words were "investigate as far as you can," not "investigate to the very end."
The meaning of these four words is very clear: the tax and silver case can be investigated. We can check the accounts, the transportation, and the people in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. It is enough to investigate up to this level.
Further investigation is not impossible, it's just that the time hasn't come yet.
Mo Feichang put down his teacup, stood up, and took his leave.
...
Hua Xi's life in the capital was much more comfortable than Fu Qing's. Every morning, Hua Xi would take her turtle out and return at noon with a bag of snacks in her arms.
The first day was candied hawthorn, the second day was osmanthus cake, and the third day was meat buns.
Starting from the fourth day, she brought back not only snacks, but also a verbal "evaluation report".
Xu Xian sat in the wicker chair and listened to her standing in front of him, holding a tortoise, giving a serious report.
"The candied hawthorn from the shop in the east of the city has the thickest sugar coating, and it's crispy when you bite into it. The osmanthus cake from the shop in the west of the city has the most honey, but the glutinous rice isn't soft enough. The meat bun from the shop in the south of the city has the thinnest skin. Brother Zhao Bao said it's the best in the capital, but I think the filling is a bit salty."
"Is this all you do every day when you go out?"
"besides..."
Hua Xi pulled out a paper package from her pocket, inside which were three walnut shortbreads that were slightly deformed from being pressed.
"This place is newly opened. The owner said it's free if it's not good. I took a bite and didn't pay. You should try it, brother."
Xu Xian took the walnut pastry and took a bite. The flaky crust melted in his mouth, the aroma of walnuts was strong, and the sweetness was just right. He chewed a couple of times, swallowed, and nodded seriously.
"Yes, you can add it to your frequently purchased list!"
Hua Xi took out a small notebook—it was cut up by Xu a few days ago, bound together from scrap paper, with the words "Hua Xi's Food Notes" crookedly written on the cover. She turned to a new page, drew the shape of a walnut on the paper with a charcoal pencil, and drew three stars next to it.
As Xu Xian watched her intently drawing stars on the table, he suddenly remembered the review website from his previous life.
If this girl traveled back to Earth, with her mouth and perseverance, she would easily be a food blogger with millions of followers.
The tortoise lay on the table watching Hua Xi draw stars, blinked its beady eyes, and stretched out its front paw to scoop a crumb of walnut pastry that rolled in front of it into its mouth.
...
The next morning, Mo sent the old gatekeeper to tell Xu to go to his office first.
When Xu Xian entered, Mo Feichang was sitting behind the table with a small wooden box in front of him. The lid of the box was open, and inside were neatly stacked ten ingots of official silver.
Beside him were stacks of account books, the covers stamped with the red seal of the Ministry of Revenue and bearing the word "tax". Mo was looking at the summary table on the last page, his brows furrowed into a shallow "川" shape.
He pushed the small wooden box in front of Xu Xian first: "It was a gift from the emperor. Princess Yunshang praised you in the palace. Don't forget to invite her to dinner."
"The princess has already returned to the Di Kingdom."
"You actually invited me? I was just saying..."
Mo Feichang looked up from the ledger and glanced at Xu Xian.
"Take the money you were given back first. Doesn't your younger sister love snacks? Buy her some more."
"Thank you, sir!"
Xu Xian bowed and said, "Sir, does our Inspection Division have any medicine or anything to strengthen the body? My two underlings haven't been promoted yet, and I'd like to ask for some benefits for them. I'll buy them myself."
Mo glanced at him. "Those two dowry items you brought?"
Xu Xian's eyelids twitched, and he nodded silently.
Mo continued looking down at the ledger, "I'll give you a note later. You can take whatever you want yourself. You don't need to spend any money. Our company is well-off. Why should our own people pay for anything..."
"Thank you very much, sir."
Xu Xian thanked him, picked up the small wooden box, and was about to leave when he glanced at the account book next to Mo Feichang and suddenly stopped.
He put the wooden box back on the table and casually opened the account book. Mo Feichang put down his teacup and looked at Xu Xian's changing expression. Just as he was about to speak, Xu Xian had already turned back to the first page of the account book and started turning the pages one by one again.
The pace was neither too fast nor too slow; the time spent on each page was just enough for his eyes to scan from left to right before turning to the next page.
When Xu Xian turned to the last page of the summary table, his lips twitched slightly. He spread the ledger open on the table, pointed to one of the pages, and...
"Lord Mo, why are you looking at this falsified account book?"
Mo Feichang's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air. He paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and stared at Xu Xian.
How do you know it's a fake account?
To be precise, it was the veterans of the Black Cavalry who were challenging him.
Veins bulged on Liu Shan's bald head as he swung his heavy sword down, the wind from the sword whipping up the dust around the training ground.
Xu Xian sidestepped the sword's edge, his right palm flipping out from his waist, the fierce power of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill flowing into his palm, and he slapped the spine of the sword.
The greatsword flew out of his hand and stuck in the sand, its hilt humming and shaking. Liu Shan looked down at his empty hands, then at the greatsword stuck three steps away, cursed, and then plopped down on the ground, refusing to get up.
"I'm not fighting anymore, boss. I can't take this much force—it wasn't this strong when we fought last time."
"The last time was half a month ago." Xu Xian sheathed his knife and chuckled.
"How much can it rise in half a month?" Liu Shan rolled his eyes.
"A tiny bit."
That's all I learned was the second move.
Liu Shan exhaled a breath from his nose, and the old Black Cavalry guards next to him were suppressing their laughter—they had been beaten up by Xu Xian in turn over the past two weeks, and each of them had the same expression after being beaten up as Liu Shan now.
It wasn't that Xu Xian held a grudge, but rather that he himself needed to hone his skills and improve his progress. It was simply a win-win situation and had nothing to do with his pettiness!
Just then, Zhao Bao ran in from outside the training ground, panting heavily. He held his knees and gasped for breath for a while before finally raising his head.
"Brother Xu! Brother Xu! News has come from the Taiji Palace: the Di Kingdom delegation has an audience with the Emperor today! Princess Yunshang mentioned your name in the hall!"
Xu Xianzheng bent down to help Liu Shan up from the ground. Hearing this, he turned back to look at Zhao Bao, his eyes lighting up. "The Emperor mentioned my name? Has he been rewarded?"
"It seems not."
"What's the point of talking? Keep practicing!"
He pulled Liu Shan up and pushed him back to the center of the training ground, then drew his goose-feather saber and assumed a starting stance.
Liu Shan picked up the heavy sword while cursing and swearing, and got into a fighting stance again.
...
In the afternoon, Emperor Jingyuan summoned Mo Feichang to his study.
There were no palace servants to serve them, and the old emperor even poured his own tea. The relationship between the two was not like that of a ruler and his subject, but more like that of two old friends who had known each other for so long that they did not need any formalities.
The old emperor pushed the teacup toward Mo Feichang and got straight to the point, "Your newly recruited junior officer, Princess Yunshang praised him in court today, saying that the mission case was solved entirely thanks to him."
"He's a good prospect."
Mo respectfully accepted the teacup and took a sip. "However, it still needs some polishing."
"A minor official in a border town should be promoted to the seventh rank, which is enough. Don't reward him openly, but secretly give him some gold and silver."
The old emperor picked up the memorial, flipped through it, then put it down.
"There is another matter. There are some problems with the tax and silver accounts in recent years. I had people investigate for almost half a month, but no one could pinpoint the problem. I have your people involved to investigate together with the Ministry of Revenue."
Mo's hand, which was holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.
He looked up into the old emperor's eyes and asked a question that no one in the court would dare to ask, "Your Majesty, to what extent has the investigation into the tax silver case progressed?"
The old emperor paused as he picked up the vermilion brush again, and a drop of vermilion fell onto the memorial, creating a small red dot.
He wiped the cinnabar off with his fingertip, "Let's find out as much as we can."
"Your subject understands."
Mo understood perfectly.
The emperor knew who was behind the tax silver case. To be able to tamper with the Ministry of Revenue's accounts and to have the Ministry of Revenue investigate for almost half a month without finding anything wrong, there was probably only one person in the entire Jingguo court.
But the old emperor's original words were "investigate as far as you can," not "investigate to the very end."
The meaning of these four words is very clear: the tax and silver case can be investigated. We can check the accounts, the transportation, and the people in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. It is enough to investigate up to this level.
Further investigation is not impossible, it's just that the time hasn't come yet.
Mo Feichang put down his teacup, stood up, and took his leave.
...
Hua Xi's life in the capital was much more comfortable than Fu Qing's. Every morning, Hua Xi would take her turtle out and return at noon with a bag of snacks in her arms.
The first day was candied hawthorn, the second day was osmanthus cake, and the third day was meat buns.
Starting from the fourth day, she brought back not only snacks, but also a verbal "evaluation report".
Xu Xian sat in the wicker chair and listened to her standing in front of him, holding a tortoise, giving a serious report.
"The candied hawthorn from the shop in the east of the city has the thickest sugar coating, and it's crispy when you bite into it. The osmanthus cake from the shop in the west of the city has the most honey, but the glutinous rice isn't soft enough. The meat bun from the shop in the south of the city has the thinnest skin. Brother Zhao Bao said it's the best in the capital, but I think the filling is a bit salty."
"Is this all you do every day when you go out?"
"besides..."
Hua Xi pulled out a paper package from her pocket, inside which were three walnut shortbreads that were slightly deformed from being pressed.
"This place is newly opened. The owner said it's free if it's not good. I took a bite and didn't pay. You should try it, brother."
Xu Xian took the walnut pastry and took a bite. The flaky crust melted in his mouth, the aroma of walnuts was strong, and the sweetness was just right. He chewed a couple of times, swallowed, and nodded seriously.
"Yes, you can add it to your frequently purchased list!"
Hua Xi took out a small notebook—it was cut up by Xu a few days ago, bound together from scrap paper, with the words "Hua Xi's Food Notes" crookedly written on the cover. She turned to a new page, drew the shape of a walnut on the paper with a charcoal pencil, and drew three stars next to it.
As Xu Xian watched her intently drawing stars on the table, he suddenly remembered the review website from his previous life.
If this girl traveled back to Earth, with her mouth and perseverance, she would easily be a food blogger with millions of followers.
The tortoise lay on the table watching Hua Xi draw stars, blinked its beady eyes, and stretched out its front paw to scoop a crumb of walnut pastry that rolled in front of it into its mouth.
...
The next morning, Mo sent the old gatekeeper to tell Xu to go to his office first.
When Xu Xian entered, Mo Feichang was sitting behind the table with a small wooden box in front of him. The lid of the box was open, and inside were neatly stacked ten ingots of official silver.
Beside him were stacks of account books, the covers stamped with the red seal of the Ministry of Revenue and bearing the word "tax". Mo was looking at the summary table on the last page, his brows furrowed into a shallow "川" shape.
He pushed the small wooden box in front of Xu Xian first: "It was a gift from the emperor. Princess Yunshang praised you in the palace. Don't forget to invite her to dinner."
"The princess has already returned to the Di Kingdom."
"You actually invited me? I was just saying..."
Mo Feichang looked up from the ledger and glanced at Xu Xian.
"Take the money you were given back first. Doesn't your younger sister love snacks? Buy her some more."
"Thank you, sir!"
Xu Xian bowed and said, "Sir, does our Inspection Division have any medicine or anything to strengthen the body? My two underlings haven't been promoted yet, and I'd like to ask for some benefits for them. I'll buy them myself."
Mo glanced at him. "Those two dowry items you brought?"
Xu Xian's eyelids twitched, and he nodded silently.
Mo continued looking down at the ledger, "I'll give you a note later. You can take whatever you want yourself. You don't need to spend any money. Our company is well-off. Why should our own people pay for anything..."
"Thank you very much, sir."
Xu Xian thanked him, picked up the small wooden box, and was about to leave when he glanced at the account book next to Mo Feichang and suddenly stopped.
He put the wooden box back on the table and casually opened the account book. Mo Feichang put down his teacup and looked at Xu Xian's changing expression. Just as he was about to speak, Xu Xian had already turned back to the first page of the account book and started turning the pages one by one again.
The pace was neither too fast nor too slow; the time spent on each page was just enough for his eyes to scan from left to right before turning to the next page.
When Xu Xian turned to the last page of the summary table, his lips twitched slightly. He spread the ledger open on the table, pointed to one of the pages, and...
"Lord Mo, why are you looking at this falsified account book?"
Mo Feichang's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air. He paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and stared at Xu Xian.
How do you know it's a fake account?