sjar Chapter 52 I am the Crown Princess, not a Japanese soldier. Let's sweep through the village!
Chapter 52 I am the Crown Princess, not a Japanese soldier. Let's sweep through the village!
Every moment.
Because he hadn't slept enough last night, Lin Shiming couldn't resist leaning against Lu Yuxi and dozing off for another fifteen minutes on the way here. This directly resulted in him yawning constantly and feeling weak all over.
"Your Highness, we pay our respects."
Wiping away the tears that had welled up in his eyes from yawning, Lin Shiming casually waved his hand, signaling them to get up.
"Everyone, get up."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"Is everyone here?"
"Your Highness, everyone has arrived."
Lin Shiming nodded knowingly and took out a list from his sleeve.
"Gao Heyi, take these people on the list to the Ministry of Revenue and make a copy of all the relevant account books. Each page must have the signatures of three people."
This group is the most dangerous. They're either pretending to be Prince An's men and have jumped out, or they're acting peacefully but harboring ulterior motives. Keeping them in the capital and placing them in relatively unimportant positions will prevent them from causing trouble and make it easier to monitor and eliminate them.
“Mu Baihu.” Lin Shiming’s gaze fell on a person with a very low profile.
"The minister is here."
Mu Baihu is the son of Mu Xiaoguang, the father of Princess An, and the father-in-law of Prince An.
Because Mu Xiaoguang was the most important figure in Prince An's faction, many people only remember that Prince An married Mu Xiaoguang's granddaughter as his principal wife, but forgot about this father of Prince An's wife, who did not hold a high official position.
“I remember you are Prince An’s father-in-law.”
Mu Baihu smirked and bowed respectfully, saying, "In court, I am merely a subject."
Mu Baihu is indeed a law-abiding person. If Mu Xiaoguang was implicated by the foolish Prince An, then Mu Baihu was implicated by his ambitious father and his love-struck daughter.
He didn't want to get involved in the power struggle for the throne, and he could see how much Emperor Longyun favored the Empress. So, despite his talent, he only served as a minor official in the Ministry of Justice under his father.
But unexpectedly, his daughter became infatuated with Prince An, and her father also wanted to take this opportunity to try and gain favor with the Empress's family. Mu Baihu tried to dissuade him again and again, but filial piety was paramount, and he was powerless to do so.
However, precisely because of this, Mu Baihu never participated in anything related to Prince An, simply working quietly as a minor official. He was always thinking about the day his father and daughter's dreams would shatter, so that he, being clean and upright, could hold the family together and prevent the whole family from being exiled.
The last time he defended his father was the only thing he had ever done for Prince An and his father.
Lin Shiming had heard Lin Shihe mention these things to him before the marriage, so he still had some goodwill towards Mu Baihu, this sober but unlucky fellow.
Lin Shiming smiled calmly and took out a second list.
"In that case, you should go back and pack your things. Take these people and set off for the Southern Region tomorrow to be responsible for collecting evidence in the Southern Region part of this case. Zeng Wenyu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, will lead several officials to accompany you. The Tingyun Army will escort you throughout the journey. As for the specific procedures, you can follow the instructions of the Tingyun Army Commander and Zeng Wenyu."
Emperor Longyun sent a message to the Eastern Palace yesterday, saying that Zeng Wenyu was the new governor of the Southern Region whom he had chosen. The imperial edict would be issued today, and Zeng Wenyu would leave the capital to take up his post tomorrow.
The group of people Lin Shiming selected were former members of the Prince An's team who had genuinely pledged allegiance and hadn't committed any major mistakes. They still had room to turn back; their trip to the Southern Region was ostensibly to investigate a case, but in reality, it was a demotion.
Working under Zeng Wenyu, a capable man, for a few years and receiving some training, could lead to a promising future. If they performed well, they would also have the opportunity to return to Beijing and be promoted.
This was already a way for Lin Shiming to clear their names. As long as they focused on their work, they could remove the mark of the Prince An's faction from their bodies once things were settled, and they would have a bright future.
Mu Baihu, being clear-headed, naturally understood this as well.
He bowed deeply and said, "Your Highness, I thank you for your trust."
"However, the southern region is far away, and I don't know when I will be able to return. I am worried about my daughter who is bedridden. I wonder if Your Highness would allow me a day off to visit Princess An and say goodbye, so that I can be at ease."
She was, after all, his daughter. Although she had been blinded by Prince An, she gradually came to her senses and felt remorse. However, by then her father had already made up his mind to board Prince An's pirate ship, and his daughter had been married into the prince's mansion for quite some time, so she could only go along with the mistake.
Fortunately, even though her father has fallen ill, the Crown Princess is still willing to give him a chance. He needs to comfort his daughter and encourage her to pull herself together and get through these next few years.
He will definitely work day and night and be diligent during this assignment, so as to accumulate some merit as soon as possible. That way, when Prince An enters the Imperial Clan Court, he can use these merits to get his daughter released. Even if he is sent to a remote county town because of this, it will be worth it as long as he can live happily with his wife and daughter.
Lin Shiming understood his meaning; he was indeed a good father, having gone to great lengths for his daughter.
"Go ahead. Just remember not to neglect your duties."
The warning still needs to be given; even if you're given a chance, don't take it and start acting recklessly again.
Mu Baihu was fully aware of Lin Shiming's warning, and he bowed deeply again, saying, "Your subject understands."
Having dealt with the defectors, Lin Shiming was left with only a list of the most law-abiding and diligent personnel. Most of these people held low positions in the Ministry of Justice and had no powerful backers, but they had managed to survive for so many years under Mu Xiaoguang's control, which meant they all possessed some shrewdness and ability.
"The remaining people then joined me in handling the tax case of the Southern Region in the capital."
Once this case is resolved, it will be their day of reckoning.
The remaining people, who were originally uneasy, immediately became excited.
"I obey your orders!"
*
From receiving the imperial decree to now, it has been less than a day.
But in less than a day, Lin Shiming, with his strategic planning and decisive actions, swiftly and decisively took complete control of the Ministry of Justice, which had long been firmly established by Prince An, and excluded those with ulterior motives.
Oh, and incidentally, a group of ministers who sneaked out in the middle of the night were also sent to the Military Affairs Bureau prison.
However, this matter is kept secret, and no one knows about it yet. Lin Shiming is naturally in no hurry to deal with it; otherwise, wouldn't it be obvious at a glance that he was the one who did it, that he had planted people in the Prince An's residence? He is not like that fool, the Prince An.
Although everyone can guess what will happen when the truth comes out.
But you still have to maintain appearances!
Lin Shiming stretched lazily in a good mood, then picked out a big apple from the fruit plate next to him and took a bite.
"Let's go, the people from the palace's military command must be getting impatient. Let's raid their house!"
*
The house that was searched was naturally the home of Du Duan, the former governor of the Southern Region and the main culprit in the case.
He had been secretly escorted back to the capital by the Imperial Guards sent by Emperor Longyun a few days earlier and imprisoned in the heavily guarded Imperial Prison.
Logically, Lin Shiming should have interrogated Du Duan first, giving him a chance to defend himself. But unfortunately, what most people probably don't know is that Lin Shiming was summoned back from the Southern Region by his brother under the pretext of having him deliver account books as evidence.
Therefore, Lin Shiming knew from the beginning that Du Duan was guilty, and also knew that the money had ended up in Prince An's pocket. After all, it was Lin Shihe who had asked him to investigate this matter, and he had personally replaced and stolen the account books.
Therefore, Lin Shiming confidently submitted and approved his own memorial, skipping the process of interrogating Du Duan and preparing to move directly to the second stage.
That is, they led people to search Du Duan's home in the capital, and took control of his blood relatives and in-laws to find out where he had hidden the stolen money.
Although most of the money went into Prince An's pocket, given the corrupt practices of those officials, Du Duan couldn't possibly keep none for himself.
Moreover, judging from the ledger that Lin Shiming obtained, Du Duan must have hidden at least 300,000 yuan.
The money that Prince An received was used to bribe officials, and it's estimated that it's been mostly spent. Therefore, Du Duan's ill-gotten gains should be the only part that can be found.
Such a large sum of money that could go into the national treasury was certainly not going to be missed by the stingy Emperor Longyun. When Lin Shiming left the palace, he specially sent Li An to follow him and deliver a message, telling Lin Shiming to remember to thoroughly investigate Du Duan's residence inside and out, and preferably to scrape off the gold leaf from everything that was gilded.
Lin Shiming: "... ..."
I'm saying that I'm the Crown Princess, and I'm here to investigate a case, not like the Japanese invaders raiding a village!
Li An smiled obsequiously, looking rather embarrassed. "Your Highness, what do you think?"
Although it's really outrageous, please agree to it. Don't make things difficult for this servant who's delivering the message!
Lin Shiming rolled his eyes. "Okay!"