All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

Page 188

Otherwise, the emperor would have no way to save face and would have to bring out the Dali Temple.

Chen Pingping remained calm. What was this entrapment? The Censorate had done far more serious things.

However, Fan Xian made a big fuss this time, and Lai Mingcheng found a handle against him.

After listening, Emperor Qing nodded and said, "Although the Supervisory Council is directly under my jurisdiction, it is not a lawless place."

"Since Chen Pingping knew about it beforehand, then this matter is Dean Chen's responsibility."

Chen Pingping is to be fined one year's salary, and the regulations of the Supervisory Council must be improved!

"Although Fan Xian's enforcement of the law was flawed, he acted out of public interest and was following Dean Chen's orders, so he will not be punished."

Chen Pingping cupped his hands and said, "Your subject accepts the punishment and thanks Your subject for Your Majesty."

Fan Xian was initially unconvinced, but seeing that Chen Pingping had accepted the punishment, he couldn't say anything more.

Lai Mingcheng was also dissatisfied, but he still needed to consult with the Censorate later, so the matter was left unresolved.

"Your Majesty, the third family I wish to impeach is the Cui family, one of the distributors of the Imperial Treasury!"

"The Supervisory Council received the surrender and report from the second son of the Cui family, who confessed to all their smuggling activities with Northern Qi."

"The owners of more than a dozen shops involved in this case have also reported and exposed the case to the Supervisory Commission, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review."

Your Majesty, I have compiled all the evidence and documents into a joint memorial, which I request your review!

"As distributors of the Imperial Treasury, the Cui family has received great favor from the Emperor, yet they have committed such an act of embezzlement. They are utterly lawless and blinded by greed!"

Eunuch Hou handed over Lai Mingcheng's thick memorial, which Emperor Qing only glanced at briefly.

The heads of various departments have already submitted reports on this matter, and the details of the case are quite clear.

"The Cui family has failed me!"

"The internal inventory contains fourteen products, and the Cui family markets six of them. This is an immense favor."

"I never imagined that the Cui family would engage in smuggling with an enemy country. Their methods are despicable and their audacity is outrageous!"

"The Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Supervisory Commission—do you have any objections to this joint memorial?"

None of the officials had any objections, and Emperor Qing then appointed the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

"Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, do you also agree with the final criminal punishment?"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review replied, "I personally review and approve all criminal cases and punishments!"

"Eighteen members of the Cui family were directly involved in smuggling, and thirty-two other members were also involved; all of them were beheaded and their heads displayed in public."

"All of the Cui family's property shall be confiscated, and the rest of them shall be exiled to Kuizhou and never released!"

Emperor Qing snorted coldly, "If it were an ordinary merchant, this judgment would be perfectly reasonable!"

"But these are the imperial treasury distributors; they manage my imperial treasury and steal my money!"

"The Cui family is guilty of heinous crimes and their crimes are unforgivable. The entire family should be executed as a warning to others!"

The Cui family was a large and powerful clan; the execution of the entire family would likely result in hundreds or even thousands of heads rolling.

Emperor Qing had long suspected smuggling within the Imperial Treasury, and now that it had finally been confirmed, he was naturally going to deal with it severely.

"Lai Mingcheng, who else are you going to impeach?"

Seeing Emperor Qing's harsh punishments of the Cui family, Lai Mingcheng seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

"The fourth person I wish to impeach is Fan Jian, the Marquis of Sinan, and his son!"

“Yuan Meng, the manager of Baoyuelou, filed a second complaint with the emperor. The joint trial by the three judicial departments has concluded. The main culprit, Li Chengze, will be impeached later.”

Li Chengze, who was initially anxious, is now completely numb.

He didn't participate in the first one, nor even the third or fourth. It seems we'll have to wait and see.

"Your Majesty, the Fan family is implicated in the Baoyue Tower case. Fan Sizhe, the son of the Marquis of Sinan, was misled and opened a brothel in secret, which is a serious violation of public morals!"

"The Fan family's failure to properly educate their son has damaged the reputation of officials; both father and son should bear responsibility!"

Emperor Qing took the memorial delivered by Eunuch Hou and casually asked, "Fan Jian and Fan Xian, what do you have to say?"

Fan Jian stepped forward and reported, "My second son, Fan Sizhe, is unruly and incompetent. He has indeed been misled and has become the owner of Baoyue Tower."

"Although he is called the boss, he only cares about money and cannot distinguish right from wrong. It was Yuan Meng who forced women into prostitution."

"Fortunately, His Highness Prince Yong discovered the matter in time, shut down Baoyue Tower, and ordered Fan Sizhe to return to his residence to reflect on his actions."

"Now that Fan Sizhe has repented and deeply understands his mistakes, I will severely punish him according to family rules!"

Lai Mingcheng replied, "Minister Fan is indeed a veteran of the court, unlike some young people who shamelessly deny their mistakes."

Fan Xian almost couldn't hold back when he heard this, but fortunately Xin Qiwu pulled him back.

Lai Mingcheng continued, "Your Majesty, since Fan Sizhe has become the master, he must be punished."

"I suggest that all income from the operation of Baoyuelou by Fan Sizhe and the other owner be confiscated, and that Fan Sizhe and the other owner each be fined 100,000 taels of silver!"

"The confiscated property and fines will be paid to the women who were forcibly sold, to help them restart their businesses!"

"Both the Fan family father and son will have their salaries reduced by six months as a punishment!"

The third prince was too young, so Lai Mingcheng spared his face.

Fan Jian was shocked when he heard the amount. If he didn't have any illicit income, such a punishment would have been enough to bankrupt him.

Emperor Qing said slowly, "Fan Sizhe and that other employer are so greedy, they should be severely punished. Granted!"

Seeing that Fan Jian did not appeal, Fan Xian naturally remained silent, as things that could be resolved with money were the easiest to solve.

This was a trap set up by Li Chengze. Fortunately, no one died, otherwise it would have been even more troublesome.

Fan Xian touched the memorial in his sleeve and stared at Lai Mingcheng's back.

Oh, you deadbeat, surely Li Chengze will be next!

Emperor Qing approved Lai Mingcheng's suggestion, which further fueled Lai Mingcheng's fighting spirit.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

"The fifth person I wish to impeach is His Highness, Li Chengze!"

"Li Chengze's first crime is that he is the main culprit in the Baoyuelou case!"

For the sake of factional strife, he incited others to open brothels, forcing women into prostitution, and even attempted murder!

"Li Chengze's second crime: He was the mastermind behind the major smuggling case of the Imperial Treasury!"

The second young master of the Cui family has confessed that most of the smuggling proceeds were handed over through Li Chengze's guards.

"Several million taels of silver every year, which should have gone into the national treasury, all ended up in Li Chengze's pocket!"

The Cui family's accountant and the accounts he kept were irrefutable evidence!

"Your Majesty, I humbly request permission to thoroughly investigate the whereabouts of Li Chengze's large sums of gold and silver!"

Emperor Qing did not respond directly, but asked, "Do any other government departments have anything to say?"

At this moment, Fan Xian also took out a memorial and continued Lai Mingcheng's words, saying, "Your Majesty, the Supervisory Council has achieved great results in this crackdown on corruption!"

"Since Censor Lai intends to impeach the Second Prince, I will also report to Your Majesty the results of your efforts to combat corruption related to the Second Prince!"

"Among them, more than twenty officials in Kyoto were found to have large sums of gold and silver of unknown origin, and they were subordinates of the Second Prince!"

"Among the officials of the fourth rank or above found in the local area, thirty-eight were subordinates of the Second Prince, and their corruption and abuse of power were shocking. All of these have been verified!"

Emperor Qing flipped through the memorials concerning the previous cases of Baoyue Tower and the smuggling of the Imperial Treasury, as well as the results of the anti-corruption efforts that Fan Xian had just presented.

Li Chengze, Li Chengze, you've managed to get so much concrete evidence against you.

At this moment, Li Chengze took the initiative to walk to the middle and knelt down with a thud.

Emperor Qing sighed. "Li Chengze, do you have anything else to say?"

Li Chengze immediately knelt down on the ground, "Your Majesty, I have nothing to say. Please grant me death!"

Emperor Qing patted the memorial in his hand and said with a sigh, "Strip him of his princely title and confine him to the princely palace for life."

Upon hearing this result, Li Chengze was struck dumb. Being mentally prepared was one thing, but the fact that the shoe had dropped was another.

Emperor Qing's words meant that his hopes of seizing the throne were completely shattered.

Li Chengze chuckled coldly a few times, and was about to speak when he heard Lai Mingcheng speak again.

"Your Majesty, Li Chengze has taken a total of over ten million taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury. Where did this silver go? We must investigate!"

"Furthermore, it is common knowledge throughout the land that the Cui family is under the tutelage of Li Yunrui."

However, there is no direct connection between smuggling and Li Yunrui, which is quite strange!

"In short, Li Chengze's crimes should be thoroughly investigated; the case cannot be closed so hastily!"

Emperor Qing's voice was surprisingly calm in response to Lai Mingcheng's accusations.

"Li Chengze has been stripped of his princely title, but he is still my son. This matter ends here!"

"As for Li Yunrui, despite so many reports and accusations, there is not a single piece of evidence pointing to him."

Lai Mingcheng argued, "Your Majesty, if we simply ask the Surveillance Bureau to interrogate Li Chengze, there will definitely be progress!"

Taking advantage of Lai Mingcheng's moment of respite, Fan Xian immediately added, "I second that!"