Tianliangyuan

Chapter 258: First, some foreshadowing.

Xu Zhaozhao didn't hide it from Chen Cong, letting him hear it too, so he would naturally know some of the shady dealings in officialdom.

"Magistrate Fang, go back and have the magistrate write a memorial. Remember, you and the county lieutenant must both sign it. Since we've taken this step, we should make a big score this time. It's not just about ridding Lantian County of a scourge; we can't be anonymous heroes!"

Fang Youwei's eyes lit up, and he instantly understood what she meant.

This is to help him start accumulating political achievements.

Once he signs the memorial, it will be considered that the memorial has been seen by the Emperor when it is sent to the Emperor's court.

He asked for nothing more than for His Majesty to see his name, so that he might have a chance to be promoted in the future.

"I will never forget the great kindness of the county magistrate."

Chen Cong, who was standing to the side, was still in a daze.

It's just signing my name, why is it such a big favor?

“Magistrate Fang, you needn’t be so polite. If everything goes smoothly and the magistrate is promoted in the future, I will naturally remind him to recommend you to succeed him as the magistrate of Lantian County. At that time, if my cousin Chen Cong also enters the court, he may even come to Lantian County to replace you as the magistrate.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Youwei burst into laughter: "Thank you, County Princess!"

Chen Cong understood this time. It seemed that Zhao Zhao wanted to elevate the Fang family, and also him?

No, Zhao Zhao was going to elevate him, something he already knew.

But the Fang family?

Chen Cong felt that it was probably because of his father.

Sure enough, having connections in the court makes things much easier.

The magistrate quickly wrote a memorial, and Fang Youwei invited the county lieutenant to come as well. Both of them signed the memorial.

"My lord, rest assured, whether this matter incurs the emperor's wrath or offends powerful figures, my brother and I will fight alongside you."

The magistrate patted the two men on the shoulders: "Alright! Let's take the gamble this time! If the county magistrate can really help us get rid of this cancer, then my political achievements next year will definitely be remarkable. If we lose, we'll at least show some backbone and not break the pride of us scholars."

"We two will do our utmost to support you, sir!"

The county government expressed its loyalty, but Xu Zhaozhao was thinking that these things alone were not enough to get the emperor to issue an edict, so she needed to add fuel to the fire.

The testimonies that Xu Zhaozhao obtained were actually lawsuits filed by local merchants and farmers against the Zhou family, a local wealthy family.

The Zhou family isn't particularly outstanding; at most, they have a scholar in the family, but he's not exactly a big shot.

The problem is that this second son of the Zhou family was selected to work in the Prince An's mansion. I heard that he is now a favorite of the Prince An and has become a steward.

This made the Zhou family incredibly powerful!

The steward of the Prince's mansion is someone you wouldn't trade for even a seventh-rank official position!

Now the Zhou family has become quite arrogant. Last year, the Zhou family was sued in the county government. The county magistrate had just imprisoned the people when people from the Prince An's mansion arrived, including guards and servants, which greatly frightened the county magistrate.

More importantly, the Zhou family has been living a prosperous life in recent years, and has even begun to acquire land and maintain a large number of servants, to the point that Lantian County can no longer contain them.

Xu Zhaozhao had been thinking that she had been too harsh on Prince Zhong during this period, which had only made Prince An more arrogant.

I was just thinking about how to deflate his arrogance.

Tsk, here comes the opportunity right to our doorstep?

The things the Zhou family has done deserve to die ten times over!

Xu Zhaozhao asked Jian Jiu to investigate whether Steward Zhou of the Prince An's Mansion had done anything out of line.

The result of this investigation was quite shocking.

There are two stewards in the Prince An's mansion. One of them is old, in his early fifties, and now he hardly ever leaves the mansion.

There's also Zhou Jia Dalang.

This Zhou Dalang is quite audacious. Not only did he keep a mistress for himself, but he also stole many things from the Prince An's mansion for his own use.

Some were even sold directly for money.

Tsk tsk, I have to say, these days, the bold get rich while the timid starve.

He even dared to steal from the Prince An's mansion; I really don't know who gave him that audacity.

Zhou Dalang had a wife in Lantian County, but he worked in the Prince's Mansion and couldn't come home often, so he kept a mistress in the capital.

When Zhou Dalang got married, he had not yet worked for Prince An, so he married an ordinary peasant woman. Now that he has become successful, he naturally looks down on that old hag. He is not short of money, so he keeps a mistress.

Moreover, they even kept three more in the outer residence!

This isn't a servant, this is clearly a master!

Xu Zhaozhao didn't rush to file a complaint with the emperor. Instead, she sent a message first, and then submitted the memorial impeaching Prince An.

Emperor Yong'an was furious, but he still considered that this was his own son, so he did not question him at the grand court assembly, but instead held a small court assembly in the Taiji Hall to question his son.

Prince An was completely dumbfounded.

How could he possibly pawn something bestowed upon him by the emperor?

Besides, even if he's short of money, it's not this bad!

He's short of big money, like several thousand or tens of thousands of strings of cash, how could he possibly be short of such a small amount?

Moreover, he wasn't someone who didn't know the value of things. That imperial inkstone must have been worth at least several hundred strings of cash. How could he have pawned it for just a dozen strings of cash?

He is not stupid!

Prince An was quick-witted, and with his uncle's help, he knelt down with a thud.

"Father, it's all my fault. This must be a traitor within the palace. I beg you, Father, to allow me to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

"You're going to investigate? How are you going to investigate? The servants in your own household can steal these things right under your nose. Are you blind, master?"

When Prince An uttered those words, his uncle Qu Shiji closed his eyes in helplessness and disappointment.

How could they possibly admit to this outright?

You, a prince, can't even manage your own residence and private treasury. How can the Emperor possibly believe that you can govern a country well?

This is practically handing over leverage against us!

Sure enough, people on the Prince Zhong's side also began to subtly criticize the Prince An for being too careless. Some even accused him of being too indulgent and lenient with his servants, otherwise how could he have done such a disloyal thing?

Emperor Yong'an was furious!

At a time like this, how could we possibly send Prince An to conduct an internal investigation?

"Zhao Changqing, you investigate! I want to see which lowly servant is so audacious as to steal from the royal family!"

"Yes, I obey the order."

This kind of thing is too easy to investigate.

Zhao Changqing felt that it was a waste of his talents to ask him to investigate.

When Zhou Dalang was arrested, he was still in bed with his concubine.

Zhao Changqing hadn't finished his trial when Xu Zhaozhao went into the palace first.

Moreover, she entered the palace to meet the emperor.

With the jade pendant bestowed upon her by Emperor Yong'an, who would dare to stop her?

Emperor Yong'an frowned: "She came from the Marquis's residence?"

The chief steward replied, "I just asked, and they said that Princess Anle came to the palace in a hurry from Lantian County. She traveled all the way without returning to her residence."

Emperor Yong'an was slightly taken aback and murmured, "Is there really something important to report?"