Chapter 767 - 769: Badmouthing
Chapter 767: Chapter 769: Badmouthing
Zhou Shixiong received the letter on the day of the Laba Festival. After scanning its contents, he immediately ordered a horse to be brought over and rode straight for the imperial palace.
"Minister Zhou, why did you decide to come to the palace instead of celebrating the festival at home today?"
Zhou Shixiong directly presented the letter from his breast pocket. "Holy Emperor, can you give me an explanation for this?"
Frowning, Hua Shunming gestured for Le San, who was standing nearby, to take the letter. Glancing at the opening lines, Hua Shunming raised an eyebrow at Zhou Shixiong before continuing to read.
Gu Wenheng truly lived up to his title as Champion Scholar. The entire letter was written with such passionate indignation that Hua Shunming almost had the illusion that he himself was a despicable, shameless scoundrel who burned bridges after crossing them.
Of course, that wasn’t exactly what the letter explicitly said. He wouldn’t dare.
However, reading between the lines, it was filled with grievances regarding the unfair handling of the sea trade. Despite the complaints, Gu Wenheng still provided a solution, solely hoping that Zhou Shixiong would help him wash his hands of the sea trade business.
"I knew nothing about this," Hua Shunming said, almost laughing out of exasperation when he saw Zhou Shixiong’s suspicious gaze.
"I am the Emperor. My word is law. If I couldn’t tolerate giving up this much, I wouldn’t have offered the terms in the first place."
Zhou Shixiong looked apologetic. "I was too rash. It’s just that Brother Gu has already entrusted this matter to me. How do you think we should handle this now, Holy Emperor?"
Hua Shunming gave Zhou Shixiong a deep look. There was no such thing as a simpleton in this world. Anyone capable of leading troops into battle possessed a mind full of endless tactics and schemes.
"Since he entrusted it to you, naturally, it’s for you to handle." Hua Shunming threw the question right back.
"And what about the missing portion?"
"What, do you expect me to make up for it?" What was this man thinking? He certainly wasn’t going to take the blame for this mess.
"Then I would like to sell off his remaining shares, just to recoup Brother Gu’s initial investment. Otherwise, if the losses continue like this, it won’t be long before Brother Gu has to pay out of his own pocket to cover it. This business is simply untenable.
"Holy Emperor, if the sea trade is so difficult to manage, perhaps it’s best to fold early.
"Back then, Mr. Gu and I were the ones who single-handedly pushed this initiative forward. The responsibility is too immense; Mr. Gu and I simply cannot bear the consequences."
Zhou Shixiong shamelessly planted seeds of discord. It was obvious that Brother Gu had retained roughly the same amount of shares as he did, yet the Silver they received differed drastically. Bai Jinglie’s audacity was simply beyond bounds.
Hua Shunming also felt utterly disgraced. His subordinate was bold enough to deceive his superiors and bully his subordinates. If he dared to shortchange Gu Wenheng this time, would he start eyeing what belonged to the Emperor next?
He had initially been considering allowing Bai Jinglie to cut his Ding You mourning period short and return to office. Now, it seemed Bai Jinglie was better off staying home to properly observe his mourning and clear his head.
"I have my own plans for this."
Zhou Shixiong sighed. "I am just a little disheartened. Back then, Brother Gu and his wife worked tirelessly and risked their entire fortune on the sea trade to create the success we see today.
"They say out of sight, out of mind. It hasn’t even been a year, and they are already being treated like this. Alas, if such an opportunity arises again in the future, who knows if they’d ever dare to try?"
Hua Shunming was speechless. If this man weren’t his brother-in-law, to whom he had to give some face, he would have taken off his shoe and smacked him with it.
With such passive-aggressive and pointed remarks, could he really continue to play deaf and dumb?
Besides, was he the type of person to kick someone to the curb once their usefulness ended?
Bai Jinglie was working for him, but he wasn’t irreplaceable.
Gu Wenheng was different. Not only had he brought him massive wealth, but he could also help him stabilize the empire.
Which of them was more important was obvious at a glance.
"Le San, send someone to the Marquis Wu’an Mansion. Tell Bai Jinglie to hand over the sea trade account books from the past year.
"No, have him hand over all the account books."
Hua Shunming was thoroughly suspicious now. If Bai Jinglie dared to steal from Gu Wenheng, how much was the Emperor’s trust in him over the years really worth?
After Le San withdrew, Zhou Shixiong continued, "Holy Emperor, here is also the dividend report I received. I only managed to get such a large sum because of my connection to you. I am ashamed."
Hua Shunming walked over, picked it up, and compared it with Gu Wenheng’s letter. His lips pressed into a tight line.
That damn Bai Jinglie had completely squandered his years of trust.
"Should Gu Wenheng’s shares still be transferred out? Holy Emperor, will you take them?" Zhou Shixiong’s expression, resembling someone offering a sweet deal to a relative, left Hua Shunming speechless.
Hua Shunming kept the soles of his shoes firmly planted on the floor. If he kicked Zhou Shixiong right now, he wondered if the Empress would end up kneeling outside the study door later.
"This is a matter of my subordinates acting improperly. I will give Gu Aiqing a proper explanation.
"As for the dividends, they will continue to be handled exactly as previously agreed."
Gu Wenheng and his wife had already given up so much, a fact everyone was well aware of.
He did have the urge to seize all the dividend shares for himself, but doing so would risk losing a good minister and tarnish his own reputation.
Zhou Shixiong had achieved his goal for entering the palace today. "On behalf of Gu Wenheng, I thank you for your immense grace, Holy Emperor.
"You are a wise ruler of our generation, seeing clearly into the minutest details..."
The blatant flattery was too much even for Hua Shunming to listen to. He waved his hand, dismissing Zhou Shixiong so he could finally catch his breath.
`「Marquis Wu’an Mansion.」`
Bai Jinglie sat ashen-faced in his study. The Emperor had just ordered all the account books to be brought into the palace. Did this mean the Emperor no longer trusted him, or had he already found someone else to take over?
He had slipped silver notes into the edict-bearing eunuch’s hands several times just now, but he hadn’t received a single piece of useful information. This made him feel even more uneasy.
Wang Lei was also somewhat worried. Back then, he had advised his master against harboring such thoughts, and now he feared the plot had come to light.
However, he still held onto a sliver of hope. The Marquis was currently observing his mourning period, so it really was somewhat inappropriate for him to continue holding onto those account books.
"Marquis, there is no need to worry. You have served the Holy Emperor with absolute loyalty all these years. For now, we can only wait patiently. You will eventually be reinstated after your Ding You ends."
"Right now, my biggest fear is that they’ll find discrepancies in the account books," Bai Jinglie said. "Back then..."
At this moment, Bai Jinglie was consumed by regret. He wondered if he had resisted the temptation and kept his hands clean back then, perhaps he wouldn’t be sitting here consumed by anxiety now.
Now, it was too late for words. They could only pray that the higher-ups wouldn’t notice the discrepancies.
Little did they know that the moment the account books arrived at the palace, Hua Shunming ordered the group of eunuchs who had studied mathematics under Gu Wenheng to audit them on the spot.
"There are no issues with the account books?" Hua Shunming raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, they are completely clean. There isn’t a single error."
Hua Shunming certainly didn’t think Gu Wenheng would write a letter complaining for no reason. "Have someone bring me the sea trade accounts for this year."
He decided to personally see what kind of underhanded tricks were going on.
After flipping through a few pages, Hua Shunming let out an angry laugh.
There was nothing wrong with the account books themselves; the issue was that the dividend amount Gu Wenheng received didn’t match the numbers.
If Gu Wenheng hadn’t written to Zhou Shixiong to complain, by the time his tenure ended and an audit was conducted, there wouldn’t have been any evidence left to prove the discrepancy.
"What a brilliant scheme." Hua Shunming didn’t even need to verify it to know where the problem lay.
"Take these account books to Marquis Wu’an and demand a clear answer," Hua Shunming ordered, summoning his trusted aides. "Then, go and bring the people who work closely with Bai Jinglie to me."
He had sent them to supervise, yet this was the result.