Chapter 117 Account Books
Ethereal wisps of incense curled upward from behind the sandalwood desk. After the steward eunuchs had secretly wiped cold sweat from their foreheads countless times, they finally heard Wen Yu, seated above, speak: "How is it that I find so many miscalculations in the account books you've delivered, gentlemen?"
The chief steward eunuch forced a smile onto his face and said, "These account records... have always been reviewed by Her Majesty the Empress Dowager in the past..."
Before he could finish, a cold rebuke sharp as shattering jade cut through the air: "How dare you!"
The steward eunuch looked up in terror, beholding Wen Yu's jade-like features that remained breathtakingly beautiful despite her imposing dignity and barely concealed anger. His heart pounded wildly, unsure whether from shock or fear. By the time he regained his senses, his forehead was already knocking against the floor with a "thud," while he repeatedly muttered: "This slave deserves death, this slave deserves death..."
Wen Yu said coldly: "You have abused your authority for personal gain, embezzled funds, fabricated accounts, and now you dare to implicate the Empress Dowager?"
The several steward eunuchs were nearly frightened out of their wits, hurriedly pleading: "We wouldn't dare, how could we dare..."
The palace accounts had always been managed by the Empress Dowager. While Wen Yu was organizing the Mid-Autumn banquet, several steward eunuchs from the internal affairs office had received instructions from Lingxi Palace and had repeatedly obstructed her preparations—sometimes claiming the specific wines she requested from this year's tributes were unavailable, other times presenting substandard newly purchased silks that were unusable for the palace banquet.
With the Mid-Atern Festival merely days away, everyone had assumed the Princess of Liang would be overwhelmed with urgent matters. Unexpectedly, she had temporarily set aside the banquet preparations to thoroughly investigate the internal affairs accounts of King Chen's palace from recent years.
Many items procured for the palace were purchased through the Jiang Family's business networks. After layers of kickbacks were skimmed off the profits, what remained in the internal affairs accounts were masses of fraudulent entries.
Although the court advocated frugality yearly and new tax policies were implemented nationwide, the national treasury continued to show annual deficits. During the Ministry of Revenue's year-end account audits, senior officials would argue vehemently until red-faced in the main hall.
Everyone knew the current state of the Chen Kingdom and understood the nature of these fraudulent accounts, yet none dared raise objections, let alone conduct thorough investigations.
These several chests of account books from the internal affairs office had been forcibly retrieved by Wen Yu's guards who stormed the accounting office under the pretext of investigating stolen items designated for the palace banquet.
The steward eunuchs summoned to Zhaohua Palace knew disaster was imminent. Invoking Empress Dowager Jiang's name, they had assumed Wen Yu would show restraint—after all, everything occurred with the Empress Dowager's tacit approval. Investigating the internal affairs accounts would inevitably lead to the Empress Dowager's private treasury and the maternal clan Jiang Family.
Throughout the court, even those veteran ministers who considered themselves pillars of the state dared not confront the Empress Dowager and Jiang Family directly. What could a newly arrived queen with unstable footing in Chen possibly use to challenge the Empress Dowager?
But Wen Yu's accusation of fabricating accounts and implicating the Empress Dowager changed everything.
These accounts didn't require further investigation. If the matter ended with them, they would be deemed the masterminds behind procurement embezzlement—a crime punishable by extermination of nine clans.
Moreover, if exposed, Empress Dowager Jiang wouldn't protect them but would rather capitalize on the situation to firmly pin the blame entirely on them.After all, once these few individuals died, all the accumulated messy accounts from the inner palace and court over the years could be conveniently pinned on them. This would solve a long-standing problem that had troubled the Empress Dowager and the Jiang Family for quite some time.
Having grasped the underlying stakes, the chief eunuchs felt their limbs turn cold with fear. Trembling, they kowtowed repeatedly, their foreheads striking the ground as they begged for mercy: "Your Highness, please see reason! Even if this servant were granted the boldness of the heavens, he would never dare commit such a capital offense..."
Wen Yu continued flipping through the account book in her hands, paying them no mind.
Tong Que presented a cup of clear tea, placing it to Wen Yu's left. Steam curled from the cup's rim, making her delicate features appear even more aloof and indistinct.
From the bronze ice container, threads of cool air seeped out continuously. Though the hall wasn't stuffy, the lead eunuch felt as if his robe could be wrung out to produce sweat.
It was as though an invisible axe hung over his head. Swallowing with difficulty, he knew he had to choose sides and demonstrate his loyalty now.
Betraying the Empress Dowager might mean losing any place of refuge within the palace henceforth.
But if he continued playing dumb before Wen Yu, and she handed over these accounts while firmly pinning the blame on them, the Empress Dowager and Jiang Family would gladly accept this outcome. The court officials wouldn't dare investigate thoroughly for fear of offending the Empress Dowager—then their lives would be instantly forfeit.
After weighing his options repeatedly, the lead eunuch ceased his tearful pleading. Having kowtowed until his forehead showed bloody marks, he declared his loyalty to Wen Yu: "We few are but rootless duckweeds in this palace, doing only what our superiors command... Often, we have no choice in our actions. If Your Highness would mercifully spare our wretched lives, henceforth you alone shall be our mistress! We would gladly devote our utmost loyalty to you! We beg Your Highness to grant us a chance to redeem ourselves!"
Wen Yu remained silent.
The eunuchs exchanged nervous glances, seeing their own despair in each other's eyes. Remembering the obstacles they'd created for the Mid-Autumn Palace banquet preparations, the lead eunuch desperately searched for ways to further ingratiate himself: "The grape wine Your Highness requires for the Mid-Autumn banquet—this servant will definitely find a way to gather it for you..."
Tong Que, standing beside Wen Yu, coolly interjected at just the right moment: "Wasn't it said the inner treasury has none left, and there isn't enough time to purchase more from neighboring tributary states?"
The eunuchs immediately looked embarrassed. One of them smiled obsequiously and explained: "The treasury truly has none left. The remaining hundred-thirty jars were reserved long ago by Chu Cui of Lingxi Palace, intended for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. However, Her Majesty's birthday is still months away. We could allocate this grape wine for the Mid-Aumn banquet first, then have our subordinates repurchase more to replenish the stock before the Empress Dowager's celebration."
After speaking, the eunuchs watched Wen Yu with anxious expressions.
By offering Wen Yu the grape wine "originally designated" for the Empress Dowager, they were effectively betting everything—offending the Empress Dowager for Wen Yu's sake, henceforth relying entirely on Wen Yu for survival in the palace.
After all, the Empress Dowager showed no tolerance for traitors.
Yet Wen Yu still showed no intention of speaking. Instead, Tong Que, standing behind her with crossed arms, asked: "What about the batch of Luminous Satin my lady requested?"Whether it was the chill from the ice basins or the oppressive summer heat seeping in from outside, the few eunuchs in charge had long been mentally strained to the point of dizziness and splitting headaches. Yet upon hearing this, they immediately scrambled to respond: "This humble servant will also find a way to procure them before the Mid-Autumn banquet—along with Ge kiln porcelain cups, Jianning Maojian tea... All the food and items required for the Mid-Autumn banquet, this humble servant will ensure everything is properly arranged!"
Tong Que let out a cold snort through his nostrils, finally avenging the repeated setbacks he had faced at the Imperial Household Department these past days, then turned to Wen Yu awaiting her response.
Wen Yu set down the account books in her hand, picked up the cooled clear tea beside her, and took a small sip before speaking unhurriedly: "You gentlemen are all clever men."
The eunuchs in charge hurriedly replied, "We dare not claim such praise."
Wen Yu continued: "This princess has quite the temper, but I am most protective of my own."
Her eyes lifted slightly, their gaze restrained yet carrying an air of disdain: "Whether you can become someone under my protection depends on your sincerity, gentlemen."
The eunuchs, who had been waiting for these words from Wen Yu, nearly wept with joy: "Your Highness, whatever tasks you have for us lowly servants, just give the order! We would go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Wen Yu's dark eyes remained calm, like the still night before a storm: "I want the secret account books from the Imperial Household Department."
After the eunuchs withdrew and the palace staff auditing the accounts were dismissed, Tong Que could barely contain his excitement: "Your Highness, this masterstroke of cutting the ground from under their feet is brilliant! By grasping those eunuchs' vulnerabilities, we've finally leashed those dogs properly!"
If they hadn't switched allegiance to Wen Yu, merely presenting these uncovered accounts at court would be enough to sentence those eunuchs to death—thus severing one of the Empress Dowager's arms within the palace.
Naturally, once they recognized the situation and pledged loyalty to Wen Yu to save themselves, having former trusted subordinates become another's lackeys would also deal a heavy blow to the Empress Dowager.
Wen Yu gently brushed aside the incense smoke drifting from the censer's pores: "Have the Azure Guard keep close watch on the Imperial Household Department. If the Empress Dowager learns those eunuchs have defected to me, she will certainly eliminate them to protect the secret accounts between the Department and the Jiang Family."
The secret account books she wanted were the true records of how the Imperial Household Department eunuchs, through procurement, purchased all palace goods from the Jiang family's business network.
A bolt of silk worth only two taels on the market would be recorded in the Department's official accounts as at least twenty taels.
Of the eighteen taels embezzled in between, a small portion became the eunuchs' personal gains, while the bulk flowed to Lingxi Palace and the Jiang Family.
Knowing the Mid-Autumn banquet was approaching, Tong Que understood that if those eunuchs were killed, their replacements might not be as competent, causing Wen Yu continued trouble: "Sister Zhao Bai is thorough and reliable. She will personally retrieve the accounts and ensure everything is properly arranged."
Only then did Wen Yu rest her forehead in her hand and close her eyes for a brief nap on the couch.
Before long, a female guard from the Azure Guard hurried into the inner hall: "Your Highness, Physician Fang has been taken away by King Chen's men!"
Wen Yu's eyes snapped open from her rest: "What happened?"
After Physician Fang began working for her, Wen Yu had secretly ordered his protection to prevent Empress Dowager Jiang from assassinating him.She had been in the palace for several days without any incidents at the Imperial Hospital. Yet today, as soon as she finished meeting with several eunuch supervisors from the Internal Affairs Office, King Chen immediately summoned Physician Fang.
No matter how one looked at it, this was clearly the Empress Dowager’s way of sending a warning to the eunuch supervisors of the Internal Affairs Office:
—If she couldn’t protect Physician Fang, she certainly wouldn’t be able to protect those men from the Internal Affairs Office in the future.
The female guard from Qingyun reported, “King Chen suddenly claimed to be unwell, and the eunuchs from his palace specifically requested Physician Fang for treatment. However, the physicians who usually attend to King Chen reside directly in Zhanghua Hall and are not part of the Imperial Hospital.”
Tong Que’s mind raced, vaguely realizing that the Empress Dowager and King Chen might be using Physician Fang as an example to intimidate others. She hurriedly asked, “How many people are aware of this matter now?”
The female guard replied, “As soon as King Chen’s men arrived at the Imperial Hospital, our informants sent word back. Unless someone is deliberately monitoring the Imperial Hospital, very few in the palace should know about this yet.”
Tong Que breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Wen Yu. “Your Highness, we should find a way to block the news from the Internal Affairs Office first…”
But Wen Yu said, “Since the Empress Dowager set this trap to intimidate those men from the Internal Affairs Office, they will undoubtedly learn of it before we do.”
Tong Que checked the time, her anxiety growing.
Zhao Bai had been gone for so long without returning—it was clear that retrieving the account books was not going smoothly.
She looked at Wen Yu. “Your Highness, what should we do now?”
Wen Yu rose from the couch and said, “Help me change. I’m going to Zhanghua Hall.”
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