Chapter 68 Taking Matters into His Own Hands

Seeing that familiar confident smile appear on Ning Chen’s face once again, Xiao Anzi knew the young emperor must have everything well in hand, so he no longer worried about the issue.

Yet, he couldn't help asking, "Your Majesty, this servant has one more question. I wonder if I should ask it?"

Ning Chen smiled. "With just the two of us here, is there anything that cannot be asked?"

A warmth surged through Xiao Anzi’s heart, prompting him to ask, "Your Majesty, even if Zhao Siwen falls from power, who will succeed him as the Minister of Revenue? If Your Majesty cannot arrange for one of your own people to take the position, what is the point of getting rid of Zhao Siwen? Surely you aren't planning to arrange for Hu Wantsan to succeed him..."

Ning Chen laughed and interrupted, "I certainly don't have the ability to arrange for Hu Wantsan to take over the post of Minister of Revenue! As for who will succeed Zhao Siwen, there is no need for me to arrange it either. After all, there are only so many people in the Ministry of Revenue!"

Xiao Anzi was startled, then worriedly said, "If no arrangements are made at all, I'm afraid the only person who can succeed him is the Right Vice Minister of Revenue, Xiao Jingyu! According to the intelligence gathered by the Melodic Sound Pavilion, this man has always been Zhao Siwen's bootlicker. It is even said that the prototype for Zhao Siwen's official-selling and crime-redeeming silver schemes was originally conceived by this very Xiao Jingyu..."

Ning Chen nodded, saying with profound meaning, "Doesn't that just prove that this little goldfish is quite capable?"

"Little goldfish?" Xiao Anzi was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted. "Your Majesty, what time is it, and you're still in the mood for jokes? Given that Xiao Jingyu could devise such schemes, he's probably no good either! What if he is just as loyal to the Empress Dowager as Zhao Siwen? Wouldn't all our efforts be in vain..."

Ning Chen said with feigned mystery, "Didn't you know? This little goldfish just got married..."

Xiao Anzi was first taken aback, then slapped his forehead as if something had dawned on him, suddenly realizing, "Ah, right, right! Look at this brain of mine, what a waste of a head! The wife he married... isn't she from the Melodic Sound Pavilion..."

Ning Chen smiled and interrupted, "Why else do you think I went to such painstaking lengths to develop the Melodic Sound Pavilion? Apart from routine intelligence gathering, I also need them to infiltrate the inner residences of various officials as much as possible..."

The morning sunlight finally shone into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Ning Chen had slept soundly through the night. When he woke up, although his body was still weak, his mind felt refreshed and clear. He knew this must be the effect of the old scholar's life-extending pill.

Unconsciously, he thought of the old scholar's limping figure once more, but this time, his vision did not blur; instead, his gaze grew increasingly resolute.

Accompanied by Xiao Anzi, Ning Chen arrived early at the Golden Throne Hall to await the morning court session.

Having not seen the young emperor for such a long time, everyone could not help but feel somewhat surprised. Even the Empress Dowager, who arrived last, did not expect it.

She looked at Ning Chen, "Chen'er, are you feeling better? Why don't you go back and rest properly? With your mother here, you don't need to worry..."

Ning Chen obediently bowed to the Empress Dowager. "Mother, although Chen'er's body is still quite weak, my spirit has recovered a great deal! With Mother here, Chen'er naturally has nothing to worry about. It's just that I haven't seen Mother in a long time, so I wanted to come and accompany you..."

What a picture of filial piety and maternal love!

Little did he know that deep in her heart, the Empress Dowager was filled with disdain for Ning Chen's words, but since his presence or absence had no bearing on the morning court, she didn't care either way.

As for Ning Chen, he thought to himself inwardly: *My good mother, isn't this weakness of mine entirely a gift from you? Rest assured, I will soon return everything I have suffered back to you tenfold! Let us begin with today's fine show...*

With this thought, Ning Chen quietly glanced among the ranks of the officials at Zhao Siwen, who bore heavy dark circles under his eyes and a dazed, absent-minded expression.

Old Dog Zhao! You haven't slept a wink all night, have you...

As the officials performed the grand kowtow of three kneelings and nine kowtows, Ning Chen sat obediently upon the dragon throne, listening to the Empress Dowager and the officials debate affairs of state!

From time to time, Ning Chen's gaze shifted to Zhao Siwen, and then to Prime Minister Song Guozhong, who sat with his eyes half-closed and a completely expressionless face.

Without a doubt, during today's court session, Prime Minister Song Guozhong would definitely make a move against Zhao Siwen. However, given the nature of that old fox Song Guozhong, he would certainly not poke this hornet's nest himself. He would arrange for someone else to impeach Zhao Siwen first, and then present the human witness Gao Xi to firmly nail down Zhao Siwen's capital crimes of corruption and the assassination of a court official—while remaining entirely detached on the sidelines himself!

Thinking of this, Ning Chen couldn't help feeling somewhat curious as to who Song Guozhong would send out to act as this "spear"...

As time ticked away, Zhao Siwen grew increasingly nervous.

The assassins sent out last night had not returned all night, and he had even sent people to search for Gao Xi, yet he couldn't find a trace of him anywhere. He knew very well that if Gao Xi were to appear in the court today, he would undoubtedly die without a burial place...

Until the end of the political discussions, the scene he dreaded never materialized. This made him heave a long sigh of relief!

At last, the voice of the Empress Dowager suddenly rang out: "If there are memorials, present them; if not, the court is dismissed..."

Hearing these words, Zhao Siwen felt an immense sense of release and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

All of this was caught by Ning Chen's eyes. He couldn't help but frown: *Dismissed just like that? Why hasn't a single person stepped forward? Could Prime Minister Song Guozhong truly be planning to let Zhao Siwen off? Clearly, Gao Xi the Left Vice Minister of Revenue went to Song Guozhong's residence last night! Could my guess have been wrong, and this Song Guozhong really doesn't want to seize such a golden opportunity to eliminate Zhao Siwen?*

At this thought, Ning Chen felt a wave of intense annoyance: *It seems I misjudged this old fox Song Guozhong after all! No! Since you, Song Guozhong, refuse to have anyone make a move, I'll do it myself!*

With that thought, Ning Chen immediately stood up: "Mother—"

Unexpectedly, before the words left his mouth, a familiar voice rang out first: "Your Majesty, this humble minister has a memorial of impeachment!"

Hearing this, everyone was startled and turned their heads toward the source of the voice.

The speaker was none other than the Grand Prime Minister of Great Ning—Song Guozhong, who had been sitting there with his eyes half-closed and an expressionless face all along!

Song Guozhong slowly stepped out, bowed respectfully to the Empress Dowager, and spoke with his eyes still half-closed and his expression unreadable: "Your Majesty, this humble minister has a memorial of impeachment!"

Shocked gazes swept across the court, for they had heard it clearly: the Prime Minister had not said he had "matters to report," but rather that he had a "memorial of impeachment"!

For all these years, they had never seen Prime Minister Song Guozhong proactively step forward to impeach anyone!

Ning Chen was also stunned, a flash of genuine shock crossing his eyes: *Could this old fox Song Guozhong actually be impeaching Zhao Siwen himself? Shouldn't an old fox like him use someone else as a spear?*

Zhao Siwen, on the other hand, turned pale with fright, every trace of color draining from his face.

The Empress Dowager frowned in puzzlement. "For the Prime Minister to personally impeach someone, the sun must have risen from the west! Tell me, whom are you impeaching?"

Song Guozhong's eyes remained tranquil as a well without ripples as he calmly replied, "This humble minister is impeaching the Minister of Revenue, Zhao Siwen!"

At these words, the court erupted in shock, instantly bursting into a clamor of noisy discussion.

The Empress Dowager was also taken aback, casting a malevolent glare at Zhao Siwen.

Ning Chen's brows furrowed deeply!

He was naturally more than happy to see Song Guozhong step forward to impeach Zhao Siwen, for that was precisely what he wanted—to have Song Guozhong handle Zhao Siwen. Otherwise, he would never have sent Gao Xi to the Prime Minister's estate last night.

Yet what he failed to understand was why Song Guozhong would personally step into the fray to impeach Zhao Siwen! Wasn't he afraid the Empress Dowager would grow suspicious of him because of this?

As he pondered this, Prime Minister Song Guozhong slowly continued, "Your Majesty, last night Gao Xi, the Left Vice Minister of Revenue, suddenly sought out this humble minister, claiming that Zhao Siwen intended to murder him! To save his own life, Gao Xi surrendered an account book—an account book that clearly records Zhao Siwen's corrupt practices over the years, and specifically the evidence concerning the new policies of selling official posts and collecting crime-redeeming silver that he spearheaded!

"According to the records, ever since the implementation of these new policies, he has amassed a total of over ten million taels through various means! Yet he only turned over eight million taels to the imperial treasury, embezzling two million taels for himself! And out of those eight million taels, he further misappropriated five million taels under various pretexts! In the end, the actual amount used for the state was a mere three million taels! The scale of his corruption is utterly appalling!"

Hearing this, the court exploded once again:

"Embezzling two million, then misappropriating another five million—that's seven million in total..."

"Good heavens, that's more than the entire imperial treasury's revenue for a normal year..."

"He—he actually dared to steal so much money? This, this is simply beyond belief..."

Someone cried out, "Such monumental corruption! If he is not executed, the anger of the common people cannot be appeased!"

Soon, the majority of the officials joined in shouting, "Such monumental corruption! If he is not executed, the anger of the common people cannot be appeased!"

The Prime Minister kept his eyes half-closed and his expression blank, appearing entirely oblivious to the surrounding commotion as he continued, "Your Majesty, Gao Xi, the Left Vice Minister of Revenue, is waiting right outside the hall at this moment, ready to enter and testify at any time!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Siwen collapsed to the floor as if struck by a bolt from the blue!

His eyes grew hollow, his face devoid of color, and he muttered incessantly, "It's over... this, this time it's truly over..."

He was no fool! If anyone else had come forward to accuse him, he might still have been able to refute the charges with a few arguments. But the person standing up to impeach him now was none other than Song Guozhong, the Prime Minister of Great Ning!

He knew all too well that with the Prime Minister personally entering the arena, it meant that no matter how cunningly he argued, it would be utterly useless!

Suddenly, the man who had looked like a corpse came to his senses and scrambled to his knees, kowtowing frantically toward the Empress Dowager as he wailed, "Your Majesty, save me! Your Majesty..."

"Your Majesty, you must save this old servant, Your Majesty..."

"This old servant's actions were all—"

Before he could finish, the Empress Dowager let out a sharp, furious cry: "Enough!"

"Zhao Siwen, oh Zhao Siwen, to think how deeply Her Majesty trusted you! And what did you do? Ten million taels, and you actually dared to embezzle seven million of them? What is this, were you planning to split it seventy-thirty with me..."