Chapter 222: Volume 1, Chapter 222 — Just When Short on Silver, Someone Delivered It

Rong Luoge met Hu Zongxi in the side hall. Hu Zongxi was much thinner and smaller than the tall and burly Fan Mingzhang, and his whole demeanor was somewhat gloomy and taciturn, but when he spoke he was exceedingly crisp and direct, laying out the matter with perfect clarity.

Rong Luoge was not surprised — sure enough, the one who had committed the offense was a relative of Fan Mingzhang's. She looked at Hu Zongxi and said, "Since Lord Hu has come to find me, you must be unwilling to remain under another's thumb for long."

At these words, Hu Zongxi's expression shifted slightly. He raised his head to look at the Noble Consort. Outside, there were many different rumors about this Noble Consort, but he firmly believed that Noble Consort Rong was certainly no harmless person.

How could a truly harmless person sit in such a position — not only granted the title of Noble Consort but sitting securely in it, and even carrying a dragon fetus in her womb?

Which of the other consorts in His Majesty's Hou Gong did not come from a more powerful family than Noble Consort Rong? Noble Consort Rong had not only severed ties with her biological father but had also been married before. Even if she had saved His Majesty's life, these things alone were not enough to make His Majesty shower her with such favor.

Noble Consort Rong was, in his mind, an extremely cunning and capable person. Meeting her today, he felt his guess was right.

"To answer Your Ladyship, this humble official believes himself no inferior to Lord Fan. Moreover, Lord Fan appoints only his own kin and has suppressed this humble official on multiple occasions. This humble official had no choice but to act — I beg Your Ladyship to see clearly." Hu Zongxi immediately made his case. Whether the Noble Consort believed him was not the point; what mattered was that he had given a legitimate reason.

"Lord Hu does indeed have genuine grievances. I will put in a good word for you before His Majesty. But Lord Hu, you must understand one thing: to accomplish anything, one cannot rely on words alone. You must have evidence — and not only evidence, but also the preparation to either not act at all or stun the world with a single stroke. Lord Hu, are you ready?"

Hearing Noble Consort Rong's words, a layer of cold sweat slowly seeped from Hu Zongxi's palms. He knew that the Noble Consort was asking whether he could overturn Fan Mingzhang in one fell swoop. If he could not, then he should not act; if he did act, he must strike with a single decisive blow and leave Fan Mingzhang no chance to recover.

He could not help but grow slightly tense, and then he heard Noble Consort Rong speak again, slowly: "Lord Hu, you also know that the Internal Affairs Office has only recently been reorganized. It would not be appropriate for incidents to occur one after another. It would be best to have a proper cause — otherwise, I fear I will not be able to help you."

In other words, the single charge of skimming from palace consorts would not suffice. He had better have more powerful evidence, or there was nothing to discuss.

Since Hu Zongxi had come, he had no intention of retreating. He produced a ledger from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

Rong Xin quickly reached out to take it and turned to hand it to the Noble Consort.

Rong Luoge opened the ledger. At first, her expression was relaxed. The Internal Affairs Office managed all provisions for the Hou Gong — with such vast power, deceiving superiors and concealing matters from below was trivial, and extorting kickbacks from imperial merchants was not even worth mentioning.

But as Rong Luoge turned further through the pages, her expression grew ever more serious, and the further she read, the grimmer her face became. After finishing it, she looked at Hu Zongxi and asked, "Is everything written in this ledger true? Do not deceive me, or the lives of your entire family, old and young, will be ruined by your own hands."

Hu Zongxi immediately said, "This matter is of the utmost gravity. How would this humble official dare to forge a ledger? These are all indeed true. Originally, this humble official did not know either — it was only after this humble official assumed the position of Deputy Director that the former Deputy Director's confidant privately sought me out and gave it to me."

The people in the Internal Affairs Office, knowing that the Emperor was unaware of market prices, bought low and sold high to the Emperor, pocketing the difference. They embezzled construction funds — repairs to palace buildings in the Hou Gong were a constant occurrence, and these people would dare to report a hundred thousand taels for ten thousand taels of actual expenditure. Furthermore, they dared to steal and divert the palace's treasures, lining their own pockets while deceiving superiors and concealing the truth from below.

Rong Luoge knew that the Late Emperor, in his early years on the throne, had still more or less attended to governance, but in his later years had grown increasingly debauched and depraved. The Internal Affairs Office getting away with these petty schemes was understandable — after all, the Late Emperor was easy to fool at that time.

But she had not expected that even after Han Xinglan had already cleaned up the Internal Affairs Office, Fan Mingzhang would dare to resume the same practices upon taking his position!

Hu Zongxi could tell from the Noble Consort's expression that the matter was settled. He said in a low voice, "Your Ladyship, this humble official has already traced the whereabouts of some of the treasures. Moreover, this humble official has also obtained the internal accounts for the palace construction. The ledger in Your Ladyship's hands is merely a simple summary — the true detailed accounts this humble official has hidden away. If no one upholds justice, this humble official would not dare produce them even under threat of death."

Rong Luoge gave a slight nod. "You have done well. In that case, not only must you trace the whereabouts of more treasures smuggled out of the palace's inner treasury, but you must also identify every person involved. Beyond that, the matters of buying low and selling high and embezzling palace repair funds must all be backed by solid evidence that can withstand scrutiny — not only physical evidence but also witness testimony. Can you accomplish this?"

Hu Zongxi immediately said, "This humble official is willing to serve Your Ladyship with utmost devotion and will carry out this matter to the best of his ability, so as not to betray Your Ladyship's high expectations."

"Good. As long as you accomplish it, I will certainly petition His Majesty for credit on your behalf," Rong Luoge said in a deep voice. "The position of Chief Director — as long as you dare to take it, I will secure it for you."

Hu Zongxi's eyes lit up. "This humble official thanks Your Ladyship for her great grace."

"Rise. I shall await your good news. Since you still have the detailed accounts elsewhere, this ledger will remain with me. I will present it to His Majesty for his review when I have the time. What do you say?" Rong Luoge said.

Hu Zongxi immediately agreed. He had brought the ledger in precisely so that it would reach His Majesty's hands through Noble Consort Rong.

After Hu Zongxi left, Rong Luoge examined the ledger once more in detail. She recalled how in the Qing dynasty the Imperial Household Department had deceived the Emperor in the palace — daring to report a single egg at thirty taels of silver, charging three thousand taels of white silver to patch a hole in a pair of the Emperor's silk trousers, and embezzling hundreds of thousands of taels building an opera tower for Cixi. She had always thought it was a joke — did they really take the Emperor and the Empress Dowager for fools?

Now, looking at the ledger in her hands, she realized that such fools did indeed exist.

While it was not as extreme as thirty taels for a single egg, the overall expenditures of the Imperial Kitchen were indeed much higher, with the reported prices inflated by at least several-fold.

She remembered that in the Late Emperor's later years, palace buildings were rarely repaired. Thinking of it now, it was not that the Emperor did not want repairs — there was simply no silver.

With the Internal Affairs Office's quoted prices, one truly could not afford to carry out repairs.

What surprised Rong Luoge even more was Fan Mingzhang's audacity. After all, Han Xinglan had only recently dealt with the previous Chief Director of the Internal Affairs Office. This one, upon taking the position, did not think to keep a low profile — instead, he had picked up this lucrative scheme again so quickly. What was he relying on behind him?

Rong Luoge did not recall Han Xinglan ever mentioning that Fan Mingzhang had any backer. For him to be this bold, that backer must be no simple matter.

Thinking of this, Rong Luoge looked at Que Cai. "Go tell Yuan Bao to go up front and ask His Majesty whether he will be free to return to Yuzhao Gong this evening."

Que Cai acknowledged, "Yes, this servant will go ask right away."

Rong Luoge was in an excellent mood at this moment. In history, when Heshen fell, Jiaqing feasted full. Now, with two successive Chief Directors of the Internal Affairs Office brought down, His Majesty could also eat half-full.

They were just short of silver, and now someone had delivered it. How delightful.