Chapter 588 - 366: Making You Laugh

Chapter 588: Chapter 366: Making You Laugh

"How’s the investigation?"

"My husband told me the Ling Family’s business in the south is indeed massive, but a big tree has many branches, and their family is rife with conflict. Ling Yunhe is considered the most outstanding of his generation. For him to secure this deal in the Capital City means that many others in the family have their eyes on him. You have to be careful. Don’t let their infighting harm you," He Lan Yun said with great concern.

"I understand. You can rest assured," Song Yunzhao said with a nod. "No matter how fiercely the Ling Family fights amongst themselves, they would never dare to trifle with a deal involving the Imperial Family. After all, if anything goes wrong, it could mean the execution of their entire clan."

He Lan Yun was left speechless.

’That’s true.’

’This friend of mine has the Emperor’s backing.’

Seeing He Lan Yun’s expression, Song Yunzhao was incredibly amused.

He Lan Yun finally realized Song Yunzhao had been pulling her leg. She said, exasperated, "You’re teasing me again!"

"I was just trying to make you smile. Are you happy now?"

He Lan Yun laughed too. "You’re really something else. With the new concubines entering the palace and the trouble at Baozhuang Building, you still have the heart to tease me. It looks like you’re truly going to overcome this."

Song Yunzhao looked at He Lan Yun. "The Six Departments and the Inner Workshop have been riddled with deep-seated problems for ages. They’ve even tried to fracture the power within the palace; their ambition is considerable. The Emperor has tolerated them for a long time. This time, they came looking for death themselves. Do you think he’ll let them off lightly?"

He Lan Yun was stunned. Just last night, Cao Jitong had told her the Emperor was going to use this opportunity to move against the Six Departments, but she had called it nonsense. The Six Departments had been in charge of harem affairs since the late Emperor’s reign. Their roots ran deep; uprooting them would be no easy task.

’Is this incident really that serious?’

’At any rate, she couldn’t see how.’

Seeing He Lan Yun’s bewildered expression, Song Yunzhao probed a little and was surprised by the answers. ’So Cao Jitong is one who hides his true depths. He has this persona of an honest and simple man, but he’s far more shrewd than he lets on.’

Song Yunzhao’s eyes lit up. She looked at He Lan Yun and asked, "Does your family have any connection to the Six Departments?"

"How would I know?" He Lan Yun didn’t concern herself with such matters; Cao Jitong handled all the family’s affairs. Yes, even the inner workings of the Duke Mansion were partly managed by the Lord Duke himself.

Song Yunzhao clicked her tongue. "Go back and tell Duke Qin what I just told you."

"What are you planning?" He Lan Yun asked. ’What’s the use in telling Cao Jitong?’

Song Yunzhao smiled. "Duke Qin has been in the Capital City for many years. He must have plenty of friends and acquaintances. Perhaps some of them have good connections within the Six Departments."

"Oh, I get it! You want him to persuade those people to see the writing on the wall, right? That makes sense. I’ll go back and tell him."

Song Yunzhao paused. ’Well, that works too. There’s nothing wrong with her interpretation.’

’In reality, she believed that a man as clever as Cao Jitong would, after learning the Emperor’s stance from her, use the information to put some people in his debt. Those debts to him would, in turn, become a debt to her. Later, after the rectification of the Six Departments, anyone who managed to survive thanks to his warning would remember her kindness, making things much easier for her down the line.’

’Even if Feng Yi were to purge the Six Departments, he couldn’t replace everyone from top to bottom. He would only get rid of the biggest troublemakers. The small fry would be allowed to remain, and these people shouldn’t be underestimated.’

’Even small players have their uses.’

He Lan Yun bid Yun Zhao farewell. After returning to the Duke Mansion, she waited for Cao Jitong to come home and joyfully relayed what she had been told. Then, she added gleefully, "You must handle this matter properly."

Cao Jitong smiled and readily agreed, thinking to himself that his wife had likely misunderstood Ming Fei’s intentions.

’Someone like Ming Fei wouldn’t reveal such crucial information just to have him do something so minor.’

But his wife was so happy that he wouldn’t dream of raining on her parade. Instead, he played along to make her even happier, reassuring her that he would handle everything perfectly.

Cao Jitong had lost his father young, inheriting the title of Duke at a tender age. With a mother who was a simple, warm, and kind-hearted woman, he had been forced to grit his teeth and single-handedly support the entire household.

He saw things with more depth and foresight than most. Having experienced life’s hardships, he understood the value of a person’s character.

That very night, Cao Jitong set about his task. He knocked on the door of an acquaintance he rarely contacted. This friend worked in the Six Departments. Though his rank wasn’t high—just a small manager—in the current climate, even a small manager carried significant weight.

Cao Jitong soon took his leave, his figure disappearing into the pitch-black night.

A few days later, infighting broke out within the Six Departments. In the dead of night, a small, secret account book was tossed into the Ministry of Justice. The next day, a young attendant sweeping the grounds found the book and immediately brought it to a clerk. One look at it and the clerk’s legs went weak; he immediately handed the ledger up the chain of command.

After passing through several hands, the ledger ended up with Fu Ming, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Fu Ming felt as if he’d just been handed a hot potato.

The ledger contained nothing less than the accounts for the Six Departments’ procurement of raw materials for Baozhuang Building. As he looked at the itemized records of inflated prices and kickbacks, a cold chill shot up his spine.

Fu Ming didn’t dare to delay. The matter had already been a subject of heated debate in court for days. For such a ledger to be thrown into the Ministry of Justice at this critical time—wasn’t this just roasting him over an open fire?

But even if he were to be roasted like a pig with crispy, golden, glistening skin, Fu Ming didn’t dare pretend he knew nothing. He immediately presented the ledger to the imperial court.

The secret ledger instantly stoked the Emperor’s fury. He immediately dispatched men to search the Six Departments, and the one appointed to lead the investigation was none other than Duke Qin, Cao Jitong.

Cao Jitong was baffled.

’Why me again?’

Cao Jitong had always been reserved and mature, viewed by all as an honest man. With the Emperor now entrusting this matter to him, many onlookers watched with undisguised glee, eager to see a show.

Cao Jitong pretended not to notice and immediately led his men toward the Six Departments.

By the time Song Yunzhao received the news, Ling Yunhe had already delivered the first batch of raw material catalogs and samples. Zhang Maoquan received them and had them sent into the palace, and Yun Zhao took them to Princess Consort Wan.

’This sort of thing was best left to the experts.’ After Princess Consort Wan inspected them, she looked at Yun Zhao with pleasant surprise. "The quality of these is even better than what the Six Departments used to provide."

Song Yunzhao wasn’t surprised. She looked at Princess Consort Wan and asked, "Do you still have any of the materials the Six Departments sent over before?"

"I have a little left, but I used most of it for creating new blends."

"Then please let me have what’s left."

Without asking why, Princess Consort Wan had her attendant sort the remaining materials from the Six Departments and give them all to Yun Zhao.

Yun Zhao had Zhang Maoquan take these items to Taixi Hall. This would serve as further evidence.

The Six Departments were passing off inferior goods as premium ones, charging the highest prices but delivering subpar products.

Zhang Maoquan’s legs felt weak as he exited Taixi Hall. But as luck would have it, Xu Sixi was standing right outside, so he had to force himself to act as if nothing was amiss.

Xu Sixi no longer looked at Zhang Maoquan with his usual animosity. ’Ming Fei is truly formidable,’ he thought. ’What’s the use of new concubines entering the palace? The Emperor has no time to even look at the new Beauties. In the blink of an eye, Ming Fei stirred up such a massive commotion that His Majesty is completely preoccupied with purging the Six Departments.’

’Those new Beauties have likely been completely forgotten.’