Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 152 The Old Slave Complains to the Emperor

"You should be honest and self-disciplined."

Yuan Qingbai picked up his pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote these six big words.

He is used to writing regular script, and compared with other types of calligraphy such as cursive script and running script, his regular script is the best.

Although it is a sentence in regular script, it is written with vigor and power, like a dragon soaring and a snake running, and the force leaves a lingering sound through the paper.

Yuan Qingbai stamped his seal with the seal script "Tianlong Chenhan", which is simple and elegant, showing his nobility.

Jia Zhu stepped forward and respectfully took the calligraphy with both hands. After taking a look at it, he was deeply awed and knelt on the ground: "My nephew Jia Yun has done me a great favor. I have not yet done anything to repay the emperor's kindness, but I have been blessed to receive the emperor's calligraphy. I am truly honored."

"This calligraphy must be carefully framed and hung in the main hall of Ningguo Mansion. I will instruct Jia Yun to remember this motto and be strict with himself and honest in his duties after he takes office in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I will also set an example and follow this instruction."

Yuan Qingbai nodded and said in a deep voice: "Tell Jia Yun that if he keeps his word, I will not hesitate to promote him in the future. If he fails to keep his word, I will punish him severely! Let him be careful not to repeat Jia Zhen's mistakes!"

Jia Zhu bowed again and said, "I obey your order."

There are three reasons why Yuan Qingbai appointed Jia Yun as the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and gave him a calligraphy with his own hand.

First, to comfort Jia Zhu, who is now Yuan Qingbai's trusted aide, and Yuan Qingbai feels that Jia Zhu will be a pillar of the Tianlong dynasty.

Second, according to the original description, Jia Yun should be a talented person who can be developed and used.

Third, the Imperial Household Department manages Yuan Qingbai’s personal property. According to Yuan Qingbai’s future plans, the power of the Imperial Household Department will increase day by day, and the four words "integrity and self-discipline" are particularly crucial.

From then on, Yuan Qingbai would often personally select and appoint officials to the Imperial Household Department, supervise them from time to time, and severely punish those who committed crimes.

……

……

Since ascending the throne, Yuan Qingbai has paid special attention to health maintenance. Although he works diligently, he does not overwork his body.

With his current physical condition and good maintenance, if nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to live a long life and become the Son of Longevity...

Sleep is an important part of maintenance.

No matter how busy he was, Yuan Qingbai insisted on sleeping about eight hours a day, or about four hours, instead of only two or three hours like the previous Emperor Chengtai.

Generally, Yuan Qingbai sleeps seven hours at night and one hour during the day.

In his opinion, taking a nap is a good habit that is not only good for the body, but also relieves mental fatigue and improves work efficiency.

At noon today, Yuan Qingbai took a nap for an hour in the Yangxin Palace.

When I woke up, I found that it was drizzling outside the window.

The drizzle was falling like smoke, the sky and earth were filled with mist, and the scenery seemed to be in the realm of ink and color painting.

The drizzle in the capital city of Shenjing in late January brought out some of the charm of the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River.

Yuan Qingbai felt like taking a leisurely walk in the rain, so he changed into casual clothes, put on deerskin boots, took an umbrella, and left the palace through Xihua Gate.

The only person accompanying him was the imperial guard Guo Han, who was also dressed in disguise.

Outside Xihua Gate, there are three departments of the Imperial Household Department, namely the Construction Department, the Du Yu Department, and the Accounting Department.

Among them, the Accounting Department was mainly responsible for managing the cashiering of the Imperial Household Department and the imperial farm land.

There is a residential area to the south of the Accounting Department, where almost all the residents are from the Imperial Household Department.

Yuan Qingbai strolled leisurely with an umbrella and turned into an alley in the residential area. As he walked, he saw a familiar figure coming towards him.

Yuan Qingbai deliberately raised his umbrella so that the person opposite him could see him clearly.

The man opposite saw Yuan Qingbai clearly, but he paused for a moment before reacting, stunned: "Is... Is it His Majesty?"

Yuan Qingbai smiled and said, "Is it Lu Liang?"

When the man opposite heard this, he knelt on the slippery bluestone slab with a thud, kowtowed, and said in a trembling voice: "Your servant... Your servant Lu Liang kowtows to His Majesty!"

Lu Liang was once the head of a farm in Prince Yiqin's palace. After Emperor Chengtai ascended the throne, he promoted him to be the head of the Accounting Department of the Imperial Household Department, in charge of the imperial farm.

When Yuan Qingbai first traveled through time, Lu Liang was still a middle-aged man in his fifties.

The Lu Liang in front of him was already an old man with gray hair, wrinkled face and hunched back.

Yuan Qingbai said, "Get up."

Lu Liang continued to kowtow: "I dare not get up."

Yuan Qingbai strengthened his tone: "I order you to stand up."

Lu Liang then stood up tremblingly. His forehead and the gray hair on his forehead were wet, and his eyes, which were full of crow's feet, were also wet, with tears in their eyes.

Yuan Qingbai subconsciously thought that Lu Liang was crying because of excitement.

In fact, these tears contain excitement, grievance, and guilt...

Yuan Qingbai asked, "Do you live nearby?"

Lu Liang pointed to a small courtyard nearby and said respectfully, "I live in that house."

Yuan Qingbai nodded and said, "I'll go to your house for a while." He wanted to talk to Lu Liang about the past and the group of servants in the old Yiqin Palace.

Lu Liang hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I am honored to have you here."

After saying this, he led Yuan Qingbai into the small courtyard where he lived, led him to the main hall, and reverently poured a cup of tea for Yuan Qingbai with his old hands.

Lu Liang's first wife died of illness a few years ago. They had a daughter who has already married.

This small courtyard house located near the West Garden in the imperial city was allocated to him by Emperor Chengtai when he rewarded the old people in the vassal state.

After Lu Liang's first wife passed away, he never remarried. Now he and three servants live in this small courtyard.

Yuan Qingbai took two sips of tea and was about to ask Lu Liang a question, but unexpectedly Lu Liang knelt in front of him and complained bitterly: "Your Majesty, I want to report Wei Erniu for corruption and abuse of power!"

Upon hearing this, the cheerful Yuan Qingbai's face suddenly darkened, showing the solemnity of a monarch and his subjects speaking to each other: "Oh? Is this true?"

Wei Erniu was a trusted servant of Emperor Chengtai when he was in the fiefdom, and was loved by the emperor.

Wei Erniu had served Emperor Chengtai for many years. Sometimes, Emperor Chengtai even asked him to help him with things like washing his face and bathing his feet.

Emperor Chengtai also paid special attention to cultivating Wei Erniu, allowing him to study and learn accounting.

After Emperor Chengtai ascended the throne, he appointed Wei Erniu as an official of the Imperial Household Department and transferred him to be a Langzhong of the Accounting Department, in charge of the entire Accounting Department.

Yuan Qingbai had a good impression of Wei Erniu and thought he was a trustworthy person. It has been nearly a year since he ascended the throne, but he has not transferred Wei Erniu and allowed him to continue to be in charge of the Accounting Department of the Imperial Household Department.

Unexpectedly, Lu Liang, whom he met by chance today, suddenly reported Wei Erniu for corruption and abuse of power in person.

Yuan Qingbai subconsciously felt that this should be true.

Lu Liang is a loyal and honest man, and he has worked in the accounting department to manage the imperial farm. If Wei Erniu had not been corrupt, he would not have dared to file a complaint with the emperor today.

Lu Liang pounded the garlic again and kowtowed: "How dare I make false accusations? This is absolutely true!"

Immediately, Lu Liang explained in detail.

According to Lu Liang, during the reign of Emperor Chengtai, Wei Erniu was corrupt in the imperial farm, but the case was not serious.

In the one year since Yuan Qingbai ascended the throne, Wei Erniu's corruption in the imperial farm has become serious.

Wei Erniu secretly purchased a valuable mansion in the suburbs of Beijing and secretly supported three women.

Lu Liang was dissatisfied with Wei Erniu's behavior.

Wei Erniu originally wanted to use money to silence Lu Liang and make him obey him, but Lu Liang refused.

Wei Erniu then set up a trap for Lu Liang's daughter and son-in-law. Because the couple were addicted to gambling, Wei Erniu deliberately set up a trap for them to owe a large gambling debt. The two asked Lu Liang for money to repay the debt. Lu Liang accepted Wei Erniu's suggestion and embezzled two thousand taels of silver from the accounting department.

Wei Erniu used this matter to threaten Lu Liang, saying that if Lu Liang dared to make any unusual moves, he would be in trouble, and his daughter, son-in-law and grandson would also be implicated.

Lu Liang did not dare to report Wei Erniu, nor did he want to continue to be in cahoots with Wei Erniu, so he resigned from his position as head of the Accounting Department.

Wei Erniu was worried, fearing that Lu Liang would report him, and asked Lu Liang to move out of the imperial city many times, but Lu Liang refused.

Recently, because Wei Erniu set up a trap again, Lu Liang's daughter and son-in-law owed a large amount of gambling debts again. They asked Lu Liang for money to repay the debt, but Lu Liang could not give it.

The above is what Lu Liang said to Yuan Qingbai.

This is only what Lu Liang knew. Apart from this, Wei Erniu must have committed other corruption crimes.

Wei Erniu, the doctor of the Accounting Department of the Imperial Household Department, was not only in charge of the imperial farm land, but also in charge of the Imperial Household Department's cashier matters.

"I am also guilty, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Lu Liang kowtowed to Yuan Qingbai while crying.

He had originally planned not to report Wei Erniu, but today he suddenly met Yuan Qingbai, who came to his house on his own initiative, which made him feel very upset and unable to control himself, so he filed a complaint to the emperor. He felt that if he reported Wei Erniu in this way, Yuan Qingbai might forgive his crime.

After hearing this, Yuan Qingbai's face remained calm, but anger was burning in his heart. He did not expect Wei Erniu to be so corrupt and pervert the law. Moreover, Jia Zhu had been the Minister in charge of the Imperial Household Department for more than half a year, but he failed to notice this matter.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside the courtyard: "Is Master Lu home?"

Lu Liang identified the voice and realized it was Wei Erniu's personal servant. He guessed that Wei Erniu had come to him again to "discuss" moving out of the imperial city.

"What a coincidence!"

Yuan Qingbai sneered, gave Lu Liang a few instructions, and deliberately hid in the inner room with the guard Guo Han.

Lu Liang went to the yard and led Wei Erniu into the main room.

Wei Erniu is in his thirties and less than forty years old. More than ten years ago, when he was serving his master in the Prince Yiqin's Palace, he was still a little thin, but now he has become fat.

Wei Erniu didn't know that Yuan Qingbai was hiding in the inner room. Seeing that Lu Liang looked uncomfortable, he thought it was because he disliked and was afraid of him.

Wei Erniu deliberately exchanged a few pleasantries with Lu Liang, and then got to the point: "I came here today to implore you to move out of the imperial city. As I told you before, I have bought a mansion outside the capital, which is worth one thousand taels of silver. I will still give it to you, and another two thousand taels of silver."

"I have also agreed with your daughter and son-in-law that they are willing to bring your grandson to live with you, so that you can enjoy your old age with the company and care of your younger generation. Isn't this much better than living alone here?"

Lu Liang said: "Don't mention this matter anymore. I will not move out of this house no matter what. I have already let down the late emperor and the present emperor because of my corruption. I really don't want to lose this house that the late emperor gave me!"

Anger was evident between Wei Erniu's brows...

(End of this chapter)