Wei Xiao stood where he was, his expression apparently unchanged. Yet his hands tightened uncontrollably inside his sleeves, and a dark, brooding viciousness silently rose in his eyes.
What was Gongsun E playing at?
Was he deliberately making a fool of him?
Only yesterday he had spoken with such seeming sincerity about joining Wei Xiao. In the space of one night, he had turned cold and distant, acting as though he barely knew him. Who was this performance supposed to impress?
Wei Xiao let out a slow breath, so softly that the movement was barely perceptible. But anyone who knew him would have sensed, beneath that unreadable face, a dangerously restrained ferocity.
The palace gates slowly swung open. The civil and military officials straightened their robes and filed inside. Wei Xiao gathered himself, concealed that brief loss of composure, and followed them into the great hall with a sweep of his sleeves. Nothing unusual remained on his face.
The emperor had long ago established that, barring urgent military or state affairs, grand court audiences would be held only three times a month.
Once inside, the officials took their places in order of rank. At the heralding cry of the palace attendants, they swept their sleeves aside, knelt, and shouted wishes for the emperor’s long life.
The emperor settled into his throne, his gaze sweeping over the sea of heads beneath the steps. He spoke with an effortless authority that carried clearly through the hall.
“Rise, my ministers.”
The officials thanked him and rose. As usual, they began reporting matters of state according to court procedure. Today, however, the audience was plainly far from peaceful.
Right Chancellor Zhang Xuan was the first to step forward. He reported flooding in the Jiangnan region during the rainy season and the inundation of its fertile fields.
Before he could finish, a senior provincial official came forward to report that the granaries in the northwestern borderlands were running empty, the people had too little grain to survive, and bandits gathering in the hills were plundering merchants along the relay roads. The local authorities were unable to control the disorder.
Finally, even the Minister of War stepped forward to report that years of campaigning and training had taken a terrible toll on the army’s horses. Funds were desperately needed to purchase replacements.
The ministers recited every disaster and military emergency with heartfelt anguish and earnest words. But however they circled the matter, they had only one goal.
Your Majesty, please release silver from the state treasury to address these emergencies.
The emperor’s expression visibly darkened.
Silver? Where was he supposed to find silver?
The state treasury had not been prosperous for years. To make matters worse, over a million taels in salt-tax revenue had recently gone missing without a trace.
At the thought of the vanished taxes, his cheek twitched violently. Over a million taels! The equivalent of a full year’s taxes from three or four prosperous prefectures. If such an amount had been thrown into the water, it would at least have made a splash. Instead, it had sunk out of sight without so much as a sound.
Suppressing the anger rising in his chest, the emperor swept a grim gaze over the assembly.
“Jiangnan floods every year! Why did the local officials not reinforce the embankments and prepare in advance? Why wait until the fields are underwater before coming to court and begging for relief?! The northwestern granaries are empty, yet we already dispatched a shipment of grain this year. How can they still be so desperately short? And as for these gangs of bandits, they flourish because the local governors are incapable of governing! What use are such idle, negligent officials?!”
Each word rang with imperial authority. By the time he finished, his rage had erupted. He flung his sleeve across the imperial desk, scattering the mountain of memorials piled upon it all over the floor.
Every courtier’s expression changed. They dropped to their knees in unison to beg forgiveness.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”
They kept their heads bowed and held their breath, afraid even to breathe too loudly lest his fury turn upon them.
At the rear of the kneeling assembly, a local prefect in the green robes of a seventh-rank official trembled so violently that his eyes finally rolled back and he fainted on the spot.
Needless to say, he governed the region where the bandits had been running rampant.
When someone caused trouble, someone else had to offer the emperor a way to step down gracefully. Usually the Left Chancellor played peacemaker. Perhaps today’s matter was too serious, for he kept pretending not to notice and showed no intention of stepping forward.
In the end, the person who emerged was someone no one had expected. His aged voice was sharp as a blade.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the treasury may be empty, but there are still ways to turn matters around. At this time in previous years, two major sources sustained the treasury: the substantial salt taxes remitted from the Lianghuai and Liangzhe salt works, and the customs duties paid by merchants traveling through the various regions. Revenue from mining and smelting and rents from government-owned fields were then sent to the capital throughout the four seasons to cover remaining expenses.”
“Now that expenditures on every front have become urgent, the root of the problem is the disappearance of that million taels in salt tax, which cut off the treasury’s greatest source of revenue. The only way to address our immediate crisis is to recover the missing silver.”
The speaker wore the purple robe of a third-rank official. His back was stooped and his temples graying. He looked like a kindly old man, yet the moment he spoke, the assembled officials turned green, as though they had eaten shit and now had it stuck in their throats, unable either to swallow it or spit it out.
It was none other than Chief Censor Du Zheng.
He possessed little actual executive power, but his seniority was considerable. His venomous eyes excelled at finding flaws, and that wretched mouth of his had cursed every civil and military official in court. Even a passing dog would not escape a scolding.
Would such a man really step forward out of kindness to smooth matters over?
Of course not.
He was probably just setting the stage before dragging any number of people out and verbally flaying them alive.
No sooner had that thought occurred to the officials than Du Zheng changed direction, as expected. His stern gaze shot straight toward Gongsun E in the crowd, and he demanded coldly:
“This investigation was entrusted entirely to Lord Gongsun long ago. Yet you returned from Yangzhou without uncovering a shred of conclusive evidence. This old minister dares ask: how far have you progressed in a case involving such a large part of the state’s finances? When will you recover the missing million taels of salt tax and relieve His Majesty’s urgent distress?”
As soon as he finished, civil and military officials throughout the hall turned toward Gongsun E. Countless searching gazes settled upon him.
Wei Xiao alone did not move. He merely gave a cold smile.
Let him see how Gongsun E intended to extricate himself now that this mad dog surnamed Du had sunk its teeth into him.
Yet the expected clash of razor-sharp words never came. Gongsun E only glanced at Du Zheng before calmly looking away.
“Lord Du must have grown hard of hearing with age and misunderstood the imperial decree. His Majesty ordered me to investigate the murder of the Shen family. He did not order me to investigate the disappearance of a million taels in salt tax.”
He had deflected a thousand pounds with four ounces of effort and sent the question straight back.
Du Zheng’s face darkened. Convinced that Gongsun E was shirking responsibility, he retorted, “What difference does it make? They are clearly the same case! If you discover who killed Shen Wanjin, the whereabouts of the tax silver will naturally come to light!”
Gongsun E gave a faint smile. “Of course there is a difference. The imperial decree clearly apportioned responsibility. How could we lump two distinct duties together?”
“Take you, Lord Du, as an example. Suppose one day someone savagely beat and murdered you over a quarrel, and at the same time a thief took advantage of the confusion to steal from your household. The murderer might not be the thief; the thief might not be the murderer. If I were assigned to investigate your killer, that would not mean I was also responsible for recovering your stolen possessions. Murder and theft are two different cases.”
Du Zheng’s face turned green. Several officials lowered their heads to hide their laughter.
Gongsun E continued, “Furthermore, salt-tax revenue falls under the Ministry of Revenue’s supervision and accounting. Recovering stolen treasury silver is not among my official duties. By forcibly tying these two investigations together, Lord Du, are you suggesting His Majesty’s decree did not divide responsibilities clearly enough?”
The entire hall went silent.
Du Zheng’s face turned from blue to white. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Gongsun E’s deftly twisted argument had left him utterly speechless.
The other officials marveled inwardly. They had almost forgotten that Gongsun E came from the Gongsun clan of Luzhou, a family that had handled trials and legal judgments for generations. Half the realm’s renowned advocates and criminal-law specialists came from the Gongsun clan.
How could Du Zheng possibly win a war of words against someone whose family specialized in dissecting legal language and finding every loophole in the law?
At the head of the court ranks, Wei Xiao remained motionless. Only now did he finally lift his eyes and look coldly toward Gongsun E.
Some of his earlier irritation had yet to fade. He had expected Gongsun E to be thoroughly cornered and humiliated today. Instead, with only a few sentences, the man had escaped cleanly and absolved himself of all connection to the matter.
But then Wei Xiao’s brows contracted almost imperceptibly.
An inexplicable sense of discord troubled him. Something was wrong.
Gongsun E’s argument looked like an attempt to protect himself by refusing duties beyond his mandate. But considered carefully, each sentence deliberately drew boundaries between official responsibilities. It was almost as though he were digging a pit for someone, quietly transferring the liabilities and weaknesses of the salt-tax case elsewhere…
Suddenly remembering something, Wei Xiao’s face changed. He looked sharply toward the eastern side of the imperial throne, but it was already too late.
On the throne, the emperor’s expression was impossible to interpret. He turned his gaze on Gongsun E and spoke with disquieting calm, his intentions unreadable.
“Minister Gongsun, your explanation is reasonable. Criminal cases and treasury funds are indeed administered separately and should not be confused. Then, under our regulations, who would be most appropriate to investigate this missing salt-tax silver?”
Gongsun E stood still for a moment, allowing his eyes to sweep over both sides of the hall and take in everyone’s reactions. Then he answered at an unhurried pace.
“This case touches too many interests for an ordinary minister to coordinate. The task requires someone who commands the confidence of the court and also holds a position within the Ministry of Revenue.”
He paused, as though considering his phrasing. Those few heartbeats of silence left everyone’s hearts suspended.
“…His Highness the Crown Prince happens to be overseeing the Ministry of Revenue. In my humble opinion, he is the most suitable person to direct this investigation.”
Dead silence fell across the court.
To the east of the throne, the Crown Prince, who had been listening with lowered head, went rigid. He had never imagined such a catastrophic burden would suddenly land on his shoulders. His expression changed, and he instinctively glanced at Wei Xiao in search of guidance.
But before Wei Xiao could respond, another catastrophe came crashing down upon them.
Gongsun E appeared to consider the matter a moment longer before speaking again, still perfectly composed. His words delivered a second deadly blow.
“However, the Crown Prince is heir to the throne and has countless affairs to manage. It would be difficult for him to oversee the case alone. I suggest ordering the Eastern Depot to assist him. Chief Eunuch Wei is meticulous and acts with decisive efficiency. He will surely help His Highness recover the missing treasury silver at the earliest possible date.”
Crack.
Wei Xiao was so furious he nearly ground his back teeth to pieces.