What Shen Junming had done was all seen by Mrs. Shen, and her heart grew cold. She felt that the past dozen years of her life had been a joke. Walking in the mansion, she even felt that the servants were laughing at her.
"Mother, don't worry. The Fourth Prince said that he's already sent people to the Western Yue Kingdom to find medicine that can restore my appearance! Once the medicine arrives, my appearance will be restored to its former glory!" Shen Miao stroked the scar on her face through the thin veil and said with a hint of longing.
"Good! That's good! By then, my Miao'er will be the most beautiful bride in the entire capital!" Hearing this, Mrs. Shen's smile widened. She took Shen Miao's hand and said with a smile.
"Before, because you were injured, I temporarily stopped preparing for your wedding. Now it's time to get things in order again! Miao'er, don't worry. I'll give you all my savings as your dowry, so that you can get married in style."
Naturally, Shen Miao nodded with a smile, but Mrs. Shen's smile dimmed a bit.
These days, the expenses in the mansion had increased dramatically. There were a multitude of matters, big and small, all of which required silver. The money in the public accounts of the Shen Mansion had long since ended up in her pocket, and there was little left.
Now the accounts were just an empty shell. The manors and farmlands of the Shen Mansion had been gradually turned into her own properties, so the income of the Shen Mansion had decreased significantly.
These days, first there was Shen Junming, who spent recklessly to please his concubine without any sense of thrift. And recently, some of the shops under her name were doing poorly, often running at a deficit. Mrs. Shen was reluctant to close these shops, so she had to invest some money to keep them operating, hoping that they would turn the situation around in the future.
All these things required a large amount of silver. Watching the silver slip through her fingers, Mrs. Shen felt as if her heart was bleeding. Now the only thing she was looking forward to was that the 30,000 taels of silver she had given to Shen Feng to do business with would bring her several times the return as Shen Feng had promised before, so as to compensate for the nearly 20,000 taels of silver she had invested recently...
Recently, Emperor Dongling had ordered a strict investigation of the merchants coming and going in the capital in order to find the assassin from that day. Although the assassin's trail had not been found, many illegal traders had been caught.
When interrogated in the prison, it was unexpectedly found that seven out of ten of them were salt smugglers.
On this day in the court, Emperor Dongling was furious and directly threw two memorials on the hall.
"I still remember the last time I asked you why the national treasury was empty. You all kept shirking. Why didn't you tell me that it was because of the loss of private salt and the reduction of salt tax?"
Emperor Dongling sat on the dragon throne with his hands on the armrests. He looked at the officials below and asked with a sneer.
Hearing this, Minister Guo of the Ministry of Revenue wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He stepped forward and said to Emperor Dongling, "Your Majesty, it is indeed my fault that I failed to notice this matter! After the court session, I will surely order everyone in the Ministry of Revenue to re - check this year's salt tax!"
"Humph! After the court session? Minister Guo, there's no need to wait. I've already checked for you!" As Emperor Dongling said this, he picked up a booklet on the table and threw it in front of Minister Guo.
"Over the years, the salt production in our Dongling Kingdom has been decreasing every year. Minister Guo, how do you explain this?"
Minister Guo opened the booklet thrown by Emperor Dongling. His eyes quickly scanned the words on it, but the more he read, the more shocked he became. The cold sweat on his forehead kept flowing down.
"I... I failed to notice!"
"Over the past seven years, the salt production in the southern salt fields has decreased so much, but you only tell me that you don't know? Then tell me, how did you become the minister?" Emperor Dongling's anger was no longer concealed.
"I deserve to die for my crime!" Minister Guo's legs trembled with fear. He knelt on the ground and pleaded guilty to Emperor Dongling.
"You are indeed guilty! Minister Guo, don't you know how important the salt in our Dongling Kingdom is? Do I still need to tell you this?"
"Or do you mean that you were also involved in these matters, which is why you act so ignorant and pretend to be confused in front of me."
Hearing this, Minister Guo bowed his head even lower, and his voice trembled. "I wouldn't dare! Please, Your Majesty, investigate clearly!"
Emperor Dongling didn't say a word. He just stared at Minister Guo's back on the ground for a while, and then slowly said, "Whether you failed to notice or concealed the truth, and whether you were involved or not, I will find out clearly!"
"Also, the rest of you! Whether you have a hand in this or not, I will investigate it clearly!"
For a moment, all the civil and military officials in the court knelt down, feeling insecure.
After the court session, Emperor Dongling still felt the anger in his heart hard to subside. Immediately, he summoned Shen Yi to the imperial study.
"Shen Yi, I order you to thoroughly investigate the matter of illegal salt trafficking. Find out how many of the civil and military officials in the court are involved, when they got involved, and what they have done. I'll give you three days. Find out all these clearly for me!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Shen Yi's answer was concise.
Just as Shen Yi thought Emperor Dongling had no more orders and was about to leave, Emperor Dongling suddenly said, "Also, check on my sons. See if any of them are involved."
"Report to me immediately if you find anything. There must be no concealment!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After Shen Yi left, Emperor Dongling closed his eyes wearily and rubbed his temples. It was as if he was talking to himself, looking into the void. "I'm really old! Such a big matter has been concealed from me for so long. Those people have great ambitions!"
"Before I abdicate, I must find a way to get rid of these maggots from my country!"
Eunuch Li was like an invisible person throughout. He constantly reduced his presence in the room and didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
On the other side, Shen Yi returned to the Nightly Nether Division and called a dozen people to discuss things. By the time he was done, it was already past lunchtime.
"Brother, you really don't take care of your own body! You're such a grown - up, but you can't even take care of yourself!" Shen Li complained as she put the food box on the table in front of Shen Yi.
"His Majesty summoned me to the palace today. There are some things to deal with. I may be busy for a while and won't have time to accompany you." Shen Yi never concealed anything from Shen Li. He used to tell her things, but back then Shen Li was simple - minded. He was afraid that she might be tricked by others, so he only told her unimportant things.
Now that Shen Li had become smart and resourceful, he didn't have to worry anymore. So he would tell her everything.