Chapter 532: Spending Money to Take the Blame

Seeing who had arrived, Huang Changzong was taken aback. He hadn't expected the visitor to be Wei Chao.

This Wei Chao was someone Huang Changzong dared not treat lightly. He was one of the most trusted senior eunuchs at the Emperor's side.

One had to understand that within the imperial palace, ordinary people could never come into contact with eunuchs of this rank.

In the current court, there were four senior eunuchs known to all.

The first was Wang An, whose status had originally been very high. However, after the current Emperor ascended the throne, Wang An fell out of favor for a time. Still, this man could be said to have real skill—he quickly latched onto the Empress's coattails. Now he resided in Cining Palace, staying with Empress Zhang, and could be said to be extremely powerful. He also managed part of the Imperial Household Department, holding considerable sway there, and could be counted as a node of communication between Huang Changzong and the inner court.

Then there was Chen Hong, the current Emperor's personal eunuch. Much of the entire palace's affairs were his responsibility, and he even had some entanglements with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Under such circumstances, Chen Hong was not someone to be trifled with—his power was immense, and one should avoid him whenever possible.

Beyond that, Wei Zhongxian, the Wei gonggong of the Eastern Depot, naturally ranked near the top as well. Although the Emperor had favored the Embroidered Uniform Guard in recent years, no one underestimated the Eastern Depot, for this Wei gonggong had always been His Majesty's confidant. Moreover, with the civil official Cui Chengxiu assisting him, he had accomplished no small number of things over the years. Though he had grown less active lately, his status remained firmly in place.

This Wei Chao before them was even more extraordinary. In the old days he had been one of the most favored eunuchs in the palace. Later, after the Emperor ascended the throne, Wei Chao went to Liaodong, where he accompanied Xiong Tingbi in that place. After bitterly enduring several years there, Liaodong won a great victory, and only then was he recalled to the Emperor's side.

By now Wei Chao's reputation for understanding military affairs had spread, and his relationship with the Imperial Guard was also excellent—he was usually the one who handled liaison with the Imperial Guard Command headquarters. His status was equally very high.

This time, the Emperor had brought two eunuchs on his journey—one was Chen Hong, and the other was Wei Chao.

At this moment, for Wei Chao to come here—there must be business!

Huang Changzong hurriedly rose to his feet, went straight to Wei Chao's side, and cupped his hands in salute, saying: "Greetings, gonggong."

Upon hearing these words, Cao Bang, who had been sitting behind Huang Changzong, suddenly stood up.

At this moment, Cao Bang's face was filled with disbelief, and his body swayed as he nearly collapsed onto the ground.

The man before him was actually a gonggong—so what did that mean?

It meant the Emperor was right here!

The Emperor was here—and what had he himself just said?

As for Cao Bang's nervousness, Wei Chao paid it no mind at all. He merely glanced at him once before withdrawing his gaze.

His eyes falling on Huang Changzong, Wei Chao said: "Enough, no need for ceremony. Your conversation is about finished, isn't it? Then come along with me."

Having said this, Wei Chao turned and walked out.

Huang Changzong hurriedly glanced at Cao Bang and gave him a signal with his eyes.

As for whether Cao Bang understood, Huang Changzong could no longer concern himself with that at this moment—he turned and walked out as well. When the Emperor summoned you, one naturally dared not delay.

Cao Bang was now panicked beyond measure. He forced himself to calm down, then followed Huang Changzong out.

After the two left the room, they went straight around to Room Son of Heaven Number Three, where Wei Chao led them inside.

Huang Changzong hastily knelt to the ground and said: "Your servant Huang Changzong pays respects to Your Majesty."

Beside him, Cao Bang fell to his knees with a thud.

Rather than a formal grand salute, it was more accurate to say he had collapsed to his knees from fright. At this moment he truly could not speak a word, not even daring to raise his face—he knelt on the ground with his head pressed to the floor.

It was simply too terrifying—the Emperor was actually here!

The things he had just said—the Emperor had likely heard them all!

No wonder Huang Changzong had kept interrupting him and steering the conversation—he was trying to stop him from saying those things!

And despite all that, he had still spouted off nonsense!

Zhu Youxiao was at this moment reclining sideways on the couch, expressionless as he looked at Huang Changzong and the other man.

Chen Yu'er sat beside Zhu Youxiao attending to him, holding a silk handkerchief to wipe his lips. As for the scene below, she seemed not to see it at all.

In these past few days Chen Yu'er had seen much—seeing nothing at all was the best behavior.

Zhu Youxiao was not particularly concerned either, and subsequently said: "All of you, rise."

After Huang Changzong and the other man stood up, Zhu Youxiao looked at Huang Changzong and said: "The person you went to such trouble to protect doesn't seem worth your protection. I originally thought he would be clever—turns out he's merely not too stupid."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao say this, an awkward expression immediately appeared on Huang Changzong's face, and he hastily said: "I report to Your Majesty—your servant merely wished to recruit a talent for the court."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao smiled and said: "There are too many stupid people in this world, but no shortage of talents either. That Ye Chi of the Ye family—was he not a talent? And his ancestors—were they not talents too? But what did they accomplish?"

"Sometimes, what people fear most is being clever in their own conceit. The Great Ming is so vast, with so many people—there is no shortage of talents. Still, what you did was not bad; it's just that your judgment of people is lacking. That one hardly counts as a talent."

Huang Changzong hastily bowed and said: "Yes, Your Majesty. Your servant's vision is shallow—I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."

At a time like this, one had to decisively admit defeat. To put it plainly, since His Majesty was willing to see Cao Bang, that proved what he had done was useful.

As for the words His Majesty had spoken, they were nothing more than a rap on the knuckles. For a subject, listening to His Majesty's admonishments was also part of the job—lest one grow arrogant, for otherwise the Emperor would eventually have no choice but to kill disobedient subjects.

The rap on the knuckles was an indispensable process—regardless of the outcome of matters, this process had to happen.

Huang Changzong accepted it with ease, and his attitude was sincere, reverent and respectful.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said nothing further.

He knew Huang Changzong was a clever man—what he had said was already enough.

Zhu Youxiao turned his head to look at Cao Bang.

At this moment, Cao Bang had knelt down again.

After being told to rise the last time, his legs had already gone weak. Later, upon hearing Zhu Youxiao speak as he did, he naturally could not remain standing.

Glancing at Cao Bang, Zhu Youxiao said: "Put away those little schemes of yours. I am the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, possessor of all within the four seas—my words carry the force of law. If not for Huang Changzong pleading on your behalf, your family would already have met the same fate as the Han family."

"This time I came to Jiangnan precisely to deal with the salt merchants. Greed beyond measure, bribing officials—I won't list the charges; you all know them well enough in your own hearts."

"In recent years the court has been in chaos, factions warring against each other, and I had no mind to deal with you. But now I do have the mind for it. All under heaven is the king's land; all who dwell upon it are the king's subjects. What I say goes."

"Since Huang Changzong has vouched for you, I'll give you a chance. The salt business is finished—hand it over. Your family's land, I don't want it; keep it for yourselves, consider it a reward. Your porcelain shops I also don't want—run them well."

"That's all, then. Withdraw. Cooperate with the Office of Transmission to get the case investigated thoroughly—handle it as it should be handled."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Cao Bang hastily said: "When I return, I will immediately take inventory and immediately complete the transfer."

Having said this, Cao Bang stood up and tried to walk out, but he stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.

Huang Changzong hurried over, reached out to steady Cao Bang, and together they walked out.

After the two left the room, Cao Bang gasped for breath heavily, his face covered in cold sweat.

Subsequently, he bowed deeply to Huang Changzong and said: "Brother Huang, your great kindness today—Cao has no way to repay it. From now on, should anything arise, so long as Brother Huang speaks one word, Cao will never refuse."

Upon hearing this, Huang Changzong helped Cao Bang up and said with a bitter smile: "Let's just get by."

Huang Changzong knew full well that although he had gotten the job done this time, his days ahead would likely be difficult. He would have to keep his head down and work hard for a while — otherwise, he was finished.

At that moment, Chen Hong walked out from inside the house. After glancing at the two of them, he said, "This old servant will see you out."

Looking at Chen Hong's brilliant smile, Huang Changzong and the other man both felt a tightness in their hearts.

They did not believe Chen Hong was really just seeing the two of them off. Given their status, they were not worth Chen Hong coming out to escort personally.

This clearly meant something was up.

After seeing Huang Changzong and the other man to the door, Chen Hong said with a smile, "This Jiangnan truly is splendid as brocade — everywhere you look, there's something alluring. How wonderful!"

Having said this, Chen Hong turned and walked back inside the door.

Cao Bang hurriedly grabbed Huang Changzong at this moment and asked, "Brother Huang, what does this Eunuch Chen mean?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Changzong said, "What else could it mean? Jiangnan is splendid as brocade. Why is it splendid as brocade? Isn't it because of money? He's talking about money."

He could connect that to money?

Cao Bang's face was full of bewilderment.

Although Cao Bang was a merchant, although he had dealt with officials of every sort — those who came straight out asking for money, those who were refined and cultured and played with antiques and calligraphy, those who liked fair maidens adding fragrance to their sleeves and wanted beauties — they could never escape the vices of wine, women, wealth, and temper.

Once you found the pattern, they were easy to handle. But this one seemed not to play by the rules — the first thing he did was sigh about how splendid as brocade it all was. What did that have to do with money?

Still, Cao Bang trusted what Huang Changzong said — after all, the man had experience, and he had just saved his life.

Cao Bang asked directly, "What should I do?"

At this point, Huang Changzong naturally had no more reservations, so he spoke plainly without concealment: "Gather up your family's liquid assets and tidy them well — don't keep too much. Best to do it to the degree of a confiscation, and offer it all up. The justification is that you hope the court will help settle these boatmen and common folk."

"You're about to enter officialdom yourself, so you can no longer look after their livelihoods. Thus you hope the court will care for them on your behalf — giving up a bit more money is hardly unreasonable. Of course, don't publicize the exact figure."

"You abandoned them in order to become an official, so you can only compensate them with money. To put it plainly: you have to spend money, and you have to take the blame."