Chapter 33

Zhao Junchen's inquiry was merely to divert the topic.

However, he received an answer that left him speechless.

After hearing Zhao Junchen's question, Fang Ru did not immediately respond but instead turned her head and nodded to a maid who was serving beside her.

The maid hurried away and quickly returned, holding several thick account books in her hands.

Fang Ru took the account books and placed them in front of Zhao Junchen, explaining, "Before you left for the capital, you asked me to help manage the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Treasury. I didn't plan to get too involved, thinking that just having a general idea would be enough. However, the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Treasury are too important, and there are too many people watching. As soon as you left, some people were eager to seize power. So I took the initiative and pretended to pass on your orders, making the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Treasury send all matters to our residence for decision. These are the financial records of the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Treasury for the past two months. Please check if there are any issues."

After hearing Fang Ru's words, Zhao Junchen was taken aback. Upon carefully examining the account books, he was even more surprised.

The account books were divided into six parts: the financial records of the Ministry of Revenue, the Inner Treasury, and the Zhao residence. Three were genuine, and three were fake accounts with balanced figures.

After comparing the real and fake account books, Zhao Junchen discovered that although Fang Ru had been acting under his name, she had managed the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Treasury very well over the past two months. Not only that, she had used various means to help Zhao Junchen embezzle nearly 70,000 taels of silver from the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Treasury. However, if one only looked at the account books, there would be no way to find any faults.

After carefully reading through the account books, Zhao Junchen looked up at Fang Ru and asked, "Did you do all these accounts?"

Fang Ru seemed to misunderstand Zhao Junchen's intention. Her face turned slightly pale, and her eyes showed a hint of tension. She asked in a low voice, "Sir, you won't blame me for overstepping, will you? I didn't plan to get involved so much. After all, before you left for the capital, you only asked me to help manage things. But I didn't expect that the day after you left, the Minister of Revenue, Li Chengru, would try to regain power. Later, people from the Chief Cabinet Minister Zhou Shangjing also tried to meddle in the Ministry of Revenue. If I hadn't taken action, things would have been difficult to handle when you returned. So I took the initiative..."

Before Fang Ru could finish, Zhao Junchen waved his hand and said, "I don't blame you. I'm just surprised that you did better than I expected."

Although he didn't blame Fang Ru, Zhao Junchen was indeed very surprised. He never thought that during his absence, the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Treasury would be managed by Fang Ru, and she would do such a good job.

Seeing that Zhao Junchen didn't intend to blame her and even praised her, Fang Ru visibly relaxed. Her usual bright smile returned, and she said softly, "I'm glad you don't blame me, sir."

Zhao Junchen suppressed his surprise and asked, "Things are urgent, and I won't blame you. However, as the Minister of Revenue, Li Chengru has the right to manage the Ministry of Revenue. When I was there, it was easy to sideline him with the emperor's support. But how did you manage to do it?"

Fang Ru smiled and said, "Sir, you have the emperor's support, and I have your support. You know what kind of person Li Chengru is. When you managed the Ministry of Revenue, you and the other officials could share the benefits. But if Li Chengru were in charge, he wouldn't share the benefits with others. So, who would be willing to work sincerely for him? When I saw his intention to seize power, I informed the people in the Ministry of Revenue and pretended to pass on your orders, making all matters of the Ministry of Revenue be decided at our residence. As for other matters, they continued as before. The officials in the Ministry of Revenue understood and quickly sidelined Li Chengru again. Although he is the Minister of Revenue, he still needs the cooperation of the officials to get things done. Present officials are better than those in name."

Fang Ru was beautiful, but her beauty leaned towards seductiveness. However, when talking about these matters, she was radiant, with less seductiveness and more sharpness and competence.

Zhao Junchen increasingly felt that Fang Ru was not an ordinary person. He asked, "What about Zhou Shangjing? As the Chief Cabinet Minister, he wanted to meddle in the Ministry of Revenue. Even if I were in the capital, it would be difficult to handle. How did you deal with him?"

Fang Ru replied, "Sir, have you heard the saying, 'If you want to frame someone, you can always find a reason'? Zhou Shangjing is the Chief Cabinet Minister, but the Ministry of Revenue has been under your management for years. It's not easy to meddle. I just made a few false entries and blamed them on the people Zhou Shangjing sent. Some were demoted, and some lost their positions. Zhou Shangjing didn't know when you would return and didn't dare to make big moves, so he had to accept this silent loss."

As she spoke, Fang Ru's eyes became brighter, clearly interested in these political intrigues, almost instinctively.

After hearing Fang Ru's explanation, Zhao Junchen was silent, finally understanding why Xu Qingyan was so wary of Fang Ru.

This woman was not only temperamental but also intelligent and resourceful. If she were an ally, everything would be fine, but if she were an enemy, it would be troublesome.

On the other side, Fang Ru continued to explain the situation with the Inner Treasury.

Fang Ru bit her lip, her eyes filled with anger, and she said quickly, "However, while I can help manage the Ministry of Revenue, the Inner Treasury is different. Although you have been in charge of the Inner Treasury since the beginning of the year, most of the people handling the affairs there are eunuchs from the palace. I can't show myself, and it's difficult to bribe or use the eunuchs. Moreover, as soon as you left, the eunuchs who used to manage the Inner Treasury jumped at the opportunity to cause trouble. I couldn't intervene. Although I did my best, I could only prevent major chaos. The Inner Treasury is already in a mess. Fortunately, unlike the Ministry of Revenue, even if it's in chaos, the power won't fall into others' hands. Now that you're back, everything will be easier."

As she spoke, Fang Ru looked up at Zhao Junchen, her fair and seductive face filled with a killing intent. "However, this incident reminds us that the Inner Treasury must be reorganized. Otherwise, you won't be able to control it effectively. As for the eunuchs who used to manage the Inner Treasury, they must be eliminated. They still have influence in the Inner Treasury, and no one knows what they might do in the future. It's better to eliminate this隐患 early for peace of mind. You said you want to ally with eunuchs and form a faction. This is an opportunity. By reorganizing, you can eliminate the old guard, strengthen your control over the Inner Treasury, and introduce other eunuch factions to show goodwill. It's a win-win situation."

On the other side, Xu Qingyan snorted, seemingly dissatisfied with Fang Ru's overreach, but he had to admit that it was a good idea, one he couldn't have thought of.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Junchen also secretly approved of Fang Ru's idea. Just as he was about to say something, a servant from the Zhao residence rushed in to report, "Sir, there is a messenger from the palace."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ps: Requesting recommendations, favorites, and Three Rivers votes. Thank you all.

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends