Chapter 70 None of them are as good as my cousin.

Chapter 70 None of them are as good as my cousin.

Knowing that Pei Wu and Zhao Tuo disapproved, and seeing Pei Wu speak of someone like this with such undisguised disgust, Jiang Ru almost laughed: "You hate him that much?"

Pei Wu's expression was still somewhat cold, and his gaze towards Jiang Ru carried a hint of reproach, roughly meaning that we all disliked him before, but now you've turned against him.

Jiang Ru patted him reassuringly: "That's not what I meant. After all, they sent us something so useful. I can't possibly speak ill of them, that would be very impolite."

Pei Wu naturally knew the same principles she knew, but he still felt a pang in his heart, since Zhao Tuo was hardly a good person in his eyes.

Zhao Tuo's image was so deeply ingrained that Pei Wu couldn't help but wonder: "Is what's written in this book true?"

This kind of thing is hard to fake, and there are no mistakes in any of the procedures. Jiang Ru knew it was real after flipping through a few pages, so she nodded and said, "Yes."

Pei Wu reflected for two seconds and said, "I was being petty."

It's no wonder he overthought things; Jiang Ru had also overthought things at first. So she flipped through a few pages to make sure that what Zhao Tuo gave her was genuine before she sincerely thanked him.

Both she and Pei Wu were petty-minded.

Jiang Ru grinned at Pei Wu: "It's not your fault, I was thinking the same thing just now."

The two looked at each other, both filled with the same shame. After a long while, Jiang Ru couldn't help but laugh: "We really are siblings." Even what we're thinking is so synchronized.

Pei Wu didn't answer her for some reason, but urged her to hurry up and go inside.

A few days later at the court assembly, Imperial Censor Lin Chenghai presented the results of his investigation to the emperor. The Minister of Revenue, Chen Ming, had amassed approximately 30 million strings of cash, more than the annual tax revenue of the Great Xia Dynasty.

All the officials were astonished.

These records were not only collected in the past few days, but also included many that had been suppressed before, which are only now being brought to light.

With the evidence irrefutable, the Empress Dowager could no longer protect him, especially since much of the evidence implicated Chen Ling. In order to clear himself of any involvement, Chen Ling had no choice but to plead guilty, saying that he knew nothing about what Chen Ming had said.

Knowing he was in deep trouble, or perhaps because he firmly believed the Empress Dowager would protect him, Chen Ming had no choice but to confess his crimes. The Minister's mansion was raided, but Chen Ming was spared execution and was only exiled. All the women in the Minister's mansion were made government slaves, while the men were exiled to the army.

Chen Ming was dragged away without uttering a word, without offering any explanation.

The morning court session ended very late that day. Taking advantage of this time, many officials impeached Chen Ling. In principle, Chen Ling should also be implicated in Chen Ming's crime. However, in order to give the Empress Dowager some face, Chen Ling was only given a light punishment in the end.

However, impeachment was inevitable. Although Chen Ling's face was gloomy, he could only swallow his anger and accept a small deduction from his salary as a formality.

The government troops had completely surrounded the Minister's residence, and everyone inside had been arrested and imprisoned, so they were all together.

Chen Ming had too many houses. It took the soldiers several days to search all of his houses. The Censorate was very familiar with the confiscation of property. They even knocked down the artificial hill in his house, hiding the money in the ground, in the walls, and even in the ground. They only found ten million strings of cash.

Two-thirds less.

One day, Imperial Censor Lin Chenghai came to visit. He was still upset about the 20 million strings of cash that had not been found, since it was his fault for not doing a good job.

Pei Wu offered a few words of comfort, saying that the fact that the money couldn't be found didn't necessarily mean it was Lin Chenghai's fault, since it was questionable whether the money was still in Bianjing at all.

Even though they couldn't find it, Lin Chenghai didn't give up. Encouraged by Pei Wu, he led his soldiers to the Chen family's house, vowing to dig three feet into the ground to find the money.

After seeing Lin Chenghai off, Jiang Ru stepped forward and asked, "Ten million? That's a lot of money!"

Jiang Ru had never seen so much money in her past life, or even in this one, and this was only a small part of what Chen Ming had embezzled.

Pei Wu simply said, "Even the national treasury couldn't contain it."

Jiang Ru: "..."

So, these common people are eating coarse food every day, while all the money flows into the hands of those who don't lack money. If Chen Ming, a mere Minister of Revenue, has so much money, then Chen Ling, the head of the Three Departments, must have even more.

These men were all promoted when Emperor Wen was bedridden, and now, in just a few years, they have amassed such a fortune.

Jiang Ru could only sigh and say, "Chen Ming is gone. I wonder if we can replace him with an official who is less corrupt."

There are very few officials like Pei Wu who only collect their own salary. In fact, the salary in the Great Xia Dynasty is very high, and there are many benefits. A few years in the court can basically cover the expenses of the rest of one's life. However, people's greed is limitless, and it is easier to be blinded when you sit in that position.

The Chen family members were imprisoned, but thanks to the Empress Dowager's protection, they were doing relatively well. However, they still needed to be interrogated about where the money was hidden, so they couldn't be dealt with for the time being.

Chen Ming was tight-lipped and couldn't be pried open. The officers interrogated him for a long time, but Chen Ming didn't say a word.

On an ordinary day, the guards brought food to the prison. Because they had been bribed in advance, Chen Ming and the others were not mistreated in their meals, which included meat and vegetables.

The Chen family members had all been interrogated. Their clothes were tattered and stained with blood. Even though they had connections, they still had to suffer. If they couldn't find out where the money went, they would still be punished.

The bailiff walked to the outside of a certain cell and placed the food under the door. The person inside hurriedly stepped forward and stuffed a note that he had been preparing for a long time into the bailiff's hand.

The constable glanced at it and discreetly hid the note in his sleeve.

The person who slipped the note was Chen Ming. He had been severely tortured these past few days and was no longer recognizable. His hair was tangled and messy, his body was covered in dried bloodstains, and his face was cracked and filthy.

He handed the note to the constable before sitting back down, feeling reassured.

The food was already cold, but he was starving and wolfed it down. After finishing, he put the bowl at the cell door, and soon after, the soldiers came and took it away.

Chen Ming had already nestled back into the straw and lay down. He closed his eyes and was drowsy, but the pain from his wounds constantly reminded him of his condition, so he couldn't sleep soundly.

Suddenly, Chen Ming convulsed a few times. In fear, he clutched his chest, his eyes wide open. After a while, blood flowed from his mouth and nose, and he collapsed to the ground in pain.

Poison cannot kill a person quickly, even arsenic. Chen Ming was in great pain and could not speak. He convulsed on the ground for a long time. Unfortunately, it was already night, and the guards would not come over. No one cared about him. He just lay on the ground in pain until dawn before he finally breathed his last.

At that moment, the same scene was playing out in the prison cells of Chen Ming's wife, children, and other close relatives.

The news of Chen Ming's death was delivered to the emperor the next day. He had died in prison before being exiled. The emperor ordered a thorough investigation, but everyone knew that nothing could be found.

Just as the money Chen Ming embezzled vanished without a trace, the cause of Chen Ming's death will also remain an unsolved mystery.

Since Chen Ming's death, the court has been in a state of panic. Several officials who had grudges against the Chen family were afraid of being implicated and had been extremely cautious these past few days.

Fortunately, no problems arose, and gradually, the officials were somewhat relieved.

Jiang Ru also had to go to the palace every few days. She often took notes in a small booklet, recording the planting process and habits of Liaocheng rice so that it would be easier to promote it in the future.

This place is very close to where the emperor usually rests. According to the booklet given by Zhao Tuo, the ripening time of Liaocheng rice is extremely short, about three months. Therefore, every crucial moment must not be missed.

Time passed slowly, and with Chen Ming gone, the position of Minister of Revenue became vacant. Both Song Pingzhang and the Chen family secretly exerted their efforts to get their people into the position. In the end, Song Pingzhang emerged victorious and promoted his own person to Minister of Revenue.

With the matter temporarily settled, Song Pingzhang couldn't contain himself any longer. He privately summoned Pei Wu and told him that he had done a good job this time. Now that he was in high spirits, getting married would be a double blessing.

Pei Wuping politely refused, but Song Pingzhang persisted: "Think it over carefully. Once you're married, you can also make arrangements for your cousin. Now is the perfect time; it won't be so easy to discuss it in a few years."

The elder brother promised the marriage first, and then the cousin promised it; this process is quite normal. Pei Wu paused slightly after hearing this and said, "I'm not in a hurry. My cousin can make the arrangements."

Pei Wu had been thinking about his relationship with Jiang Ru these past few days. Jiang Ru was almost seventeen, and he couldn't keep following him around like this; it wouldn't be good for her.

In fact, even if Song Pingzhang didn't make arrangements, Pei Wu would have made them for her himself. She was easily implicated by Pei Wu now, but if she married into his family, she would have less to do with him in the future, and Jiang Ru could live a peaceful life.

Perhaps not expecting Pei Wu to agree, Song Pingzhang was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy: "Very well, in a few days I will host a banquet at my residence and invite all the fine young men and women in the capital to the Song residence. You can take a look, and also let your cousin and Xiao Shu take a look. It's killing three birds with one stone."

Pei Wu wanted to say he didn't need it, but after thinking about it, he figured he could help Jiang Ru take a look later, so he agreed.

Before leaving the Song residence, Pei Wu asked Song Pingzhang to send a portrait of each of the young men from the banquet to his home. Song Pingzhang agreed, and the portraits were delivered to his home the next day.

That night, Pei Wu took several scrolls of portraits and called Jiang Ru to go to the study together.

Jiang Ru thought these people were important, so she looked at the portraits carefully and asked curiously. She pointed to the first one: "I know this one, Song Shu's cousin."

Pei Wu paused, then asked, "What do you think of him?"

They had discussed this issue before, and Jiang Ru repeated their previous conclusions. Pei Wu then placed the portrait at the very bottom.

Next was the second son of Imperial Censor Lin Chenghai. He was of average appearance and about the same age as Jiang Ru. He had already passed the preliminary examination and was a 17-year-old scholar.

Jiang Ru looked at him and said, "A seventeen-year-old scholar is quite capable, young and promising, but not as good as you."

Pei Wu paused for a moment, then placed him at the very bottom.

Then came the next one, Jiang Ru said: "A ninth-rank official at twenty-three is actually quite good, but I still feel it's not as good as you."

As she looked around, she spotted a familiar face: Ning Yiheng, the third-ranked scholar who had passed the imperial examination alongside Pei Wu. Jiang Ru pointed at him and exclaimed, "What? Ning Yiheng is here too? He's also one of Prime Minister Song's men!"

Yes, Jiang Ru thought that Pei Wu was helping her identify people, since these people were all Song Pingzhang's men, so that she could have someone to look after her in the future.

Jiang Ru leaned forward and said earnestly, "Although Ning Tanhua is older than you, her face is still very beautiful, but I still think she's not as good as..."

Before she could finish speaking, Pei Wu slammed all the picture books shut.

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Author's Note: I'm a little late again, so I'm just hoping for a little relief.

Xiao Pei's got a screw loose, let's give him a chance to make a foolish mistake.