Prime Minister.

Chapter 31 031 [Elevation]

Inside the private room, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

Xu Hui personally served fragrant tea and said with a smile, "Editor Xue, please have a seat."

After the two sat down, Xu Hui praised again: "I have long heard that Editor Xue is upright and honest, and has the style of Xue Wensu. Today, I have seen him and I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved. In the past two years, Editor Xue has often spoken up for the people and has never backed down in the face of corrupt officials. I can't help but admire him very much."

"Chief Secretary Xu, there's no need for such formalities."

Xue Huai didn't give him a friendly look. Although the chief secretary of the Prince's mansion was of a higher rank than him, their positions in the court were incomparable.

One is an official under the Prince's court, and the other is a noble scholar and close minister of the Emperor. How can they be compared?
Xu Hui was not annoyed and continued to laugh, "This is not just polite talk, but what I, Xu, truly mean. That day at the Grand Court Assembly, Editor Xue's resounding rebuke left Gu Heng utterly ashamed. It was truly exhilarating and satisfying, and we should raise a toast to him."

He paused, seemingly regretfully, and said, "If I hadn't known that Editor Xue was on official business, I would have shamelessly invited you to have a couple of drinks."

Xue Huai remained calm, raised his hand to grasp the white jade teacup, and slowly said, "Prefect Xu's sudden invitation today must not be solely to praise me, is it?"

Xu Hui's expression froze for a moment, then returned to normal, though he inwardly cursed twice.

Isn't this just a very ordinary greeting?

He was, after all, the chief secretary of the Prince's residence, representing the dignity of the Prince when he went out. Yet Xue Huai showed him no respect at all. No wonder few officials in the court were willing to be close to him.

Despite cursing inwardly, Xu Hui still said kindly, "So that Editor Xue may know that after the corruption case in the Ministry of Works broke out, the Prince was so angry that he smashed several fine porcelain vases."

Xue Huai frowned and said, "The Ministry of Works has problems. Why is His Highness Prince Dai so angry? Could it be that His Highness is involved in the corruption case?"

Xu Hui felt stifled by his words and quickly explained, "Of course it's unrelated! Your Highness and Editor Xue are both men of strong character, and they can't stand those corrupt officials. They are like termites gnawing away at the foundation of the Great Yan! The reason Your Highness is angry is because those people in the Ministry of Works are truly outrageous. Not only do they embezzle state funds, but they also tried to frame your father. They are truly inhuman!"

Xue Huai stared at him for a moment, but did not take the opportunity to express his approval of the Prince of Dai.

Xu Hui knew that these words would not dispel the doubts of the scholar in front of him, so he said frankly, "To be honest, the reason I have taken the liberty of approaching Editor Xue today is that I am acting on the orders of the Prince to lend you a helping hand."

Xue Huai softened his tone slightly and said, "I would like to hear the details."

Xu Hui was overjoyed and quickly began to give a lengthy account.

Of the five adult princes under the current emperor, apart from the Crown Prince, the most favored prince is the Prince of Dai, simply because his birth mother, Consort Liu, is extremely favored by the emperor.

The Prince of Dai had no power to govern. The emperor, mindful of the calamities he suffered in his childhood that had caused him to have an eccentric personality, not only ordered the Ministry of Works to build him a luxurious palace, but also provided the palace with many properties to make a living, thus ensuring that the Prince of Dai would have no worries for the rest of his life.

Xu Hui and several clerks were in charge of managing the properties of the Prince Dai’s Mansion. In the spring and summer of this year, Xu Hui learned that the Ministry of Works’ Land Reclamation Department had a piece of wasteland that no one wanted, located more than ten miles south of the capital. So he thought of acquiring that wasteland.

He has several talented people under his command who are skilled at cultivating exotic flowers and plants. They will use that wasteland to grow flowers and plants to supply the powerful and wealthy in the capital. This alone will bring the Prince's Mansion several thousand taels of silver in revenue every year.

Upon hearing this, Xue Huai said calmly, "As long as Chief Secretary Xu purchased the wasteland in accordance with the regulations of the imperial court, there is nothing wrong with this matter."

Xu Hui replied, "His Highness has repeatedly ordered that I not act recklessly, so how could I dare to disobey the regulations? Who knew that the Ministry of Works' Land Reclamation Department dragged its feet and only recently completed the task. After it was finished, I sent someone to the southern suburbs to inspect it in person, and guess what? It wasn't wasteland at all, but a large area of ​​fertile land with excellent harvests!"

Xue Huai's heart stirred, and his gaze gradually sharpened.

Meeting his piercing gaze, Xu Hui felt a little uneasy, but he angrily said, "Those sons of bitches from the Tuntian Division actually sold fertile land to our Prince's Mansion as wasteland! If His Majesty finds out, he'll think our Prince is blinded by greed and poisoning the people's livelihood!"

Xue Huai said coldly, "But why would they do that?"

"Why else?"

Xu Hui said indignantly, “I don’t know who spread the rumors that the Prince’s Mansion wanted a lot of land, and the people from the Land Reclamation Bureau heard about it and did this on their own initiative. Of course, they did this not only to please our Prince, but the money from the land sale must have gone into their own pockets!”

Xue Huai remained silent, his mind churning with thoughts.

This time, he witnessed what it meant to manipulate people's hearts. Shen Wang had only changed his style of doing things, and Xue Minglun wanted to shift the blame. This was all within Shen Wang's expectations, which only shows that Shen Wang understood Xue Minglun better.

His mentor seemed unassuming, having achieved nothing despite being hailed as a leader of the "pure stream" faction over the years. In reality, he was simply observing the core members of the Ning Party in silence.

Now Xue Minglun can no longer hold back, and the iron curtain of the Ministry of Works is gradually showing cracks.

I just didn't expect that the first one to jump out would be the Prince of Dai.

Xue Huai recalled Jiang Li's reminder: This Prince Dai was eccentric and liked to act unconventionally. To put it bluntly, he was more arrogant and domineering than other princes because he relied on the Emperor and Consort Liu's guilt and favor. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent the Prince's Chief Secretary to find the Secretary of the Investigation Office at such a sensitive time.

After clarifying his thoughts, Xue Huai said calmly, "Xu Changshi, since you have already discovered the strangeness of this matter, why don't you report it to the court, instead of seeking private instruction from me, a compiler in the Hanlin Academy?"

Xu Hui knew Xue Huai wasn't easily fooled, so he spoke cryptically, "Editor Xue, if His Majesty finds out that someone in the court is plotting against our Prince, many heads will likely be lost, and it might even lead to a bloodbath. The Prince is indeed fiercely opposed to evil, but he doesn't want innocent people to be implicated. Therefore, he specifically sent me to see Editor Xue, hoping that this matter can be kept within the Tuntian Division, and preferably not involve the Prince. Anyway, those people have certainly done this more than once." "Why me?"

"Let's be frank, you are Minister Shen's personal disciple, and there is really no one else who can do this job."

"Xu Changshi's intention is for me to inform Vice Minister Shen that the Ministry of Works' Agricultural Reclamation Department is engaging in embezzlement, but as a reward to you, this matter must not involve the Prince of Dai's residence?"

"Editor Xue is indeed a straightforward person!"

"Prefect Xu, don't rush to flatter me—"

Xue Huai's gaze was cold and stern as he bluntly said, "Chief Secretary Xu, words alone are not enough. Besides, this is our first meeting. I can't possibly believe you based on just a few words, can I?"

"It's natural."

Xu Hui got up and went into the inner room. After a while, he took out a bulging envelope and said in a low voice, "Editor Xue, this contains evidence that the Tuntian Division sold fertile land as wasteland."

He didn't hand it over; he simply placed it casually on the table.

Xue Huai knew this man had ulterior motives, and calmly watched him.

Xu Hui smiled slightly, then took out another envelope from the letter and said, "Editor Xue, this is the land deed for a shop in Pingkang Ward, West City. As long as you put your fingerprint on it and sign your name, this shop will be the property of your Xue family."

Xue Huai stroked the white jade teacup and said calmly, "What do you mean?"

"His Highness has always admired Xue, the editor, and knows that you would never try to make money like those corrupt officials. The Xue family doesn't have much property, and Xue will inevitably be short of money after he gets married. Therefore, His Highness ordered me to give Xue a shop."

Xu Hui stepped forward and said kindly, "Editor Xue, there's no need to worry. This shop is not owned by the Prince's Mansion, but by my cousin who purchased it with clean money. Please accept this small gift."

Pingkangfang in the western part of the city was the most prosperous and wealthy area in the capital. The houses there were so valuable that every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. The land deed for a single storefront was worth a thousand taels of silver. Moreover, such shops were like goose that lays golden eggs, as they could generate a considerable income every year even if they were rented out.

In fact, whether the storefront is valuable or not is not important to Xue Huai. As long as he accepts this gift today, it means that he and the Prince of Dai's Mansion have formed a connection of interests.

Both envelopes were placed in front of Xue Huai.

Inside was evidence of the Ministry of Works' land reclamation department's crimes, as well as the price Xue Huai had to pay to obtain this evidence. Accepting this storefront meant that he had pledged allegiance to the Prince of Dai—that he would not involve the Prince of Dai's residence in this investigation of the Ministry of Works.

Xue Huai looked up at Xu Hui, a mocking expression on his face: "Why would I accept it?"

Xu Hui smiled and said condescendingly, "Editor Xue, you should know that His Majesty has given us a deadline to investigate this case. But as someone who also comes from the Xue clan of Hedong, you must know a thing or two about Minister Xue's methods. Without external assistance, can Vice Minister Shen really clear up the case within the deadline? If Vice Minister Shen returns empty-handed, this matter will likely be difficult to resolve, and if Vice Minister Shen's career is thwarted, Editor Xue's situation in the court will be even worse..."

He stopped speaking, but the unspoken words were already clear.

As if afraid that Xue Huai might not realize the seriousness of the problem, Xu Hui thought for a moment and added, "This time, Editor Xue charged ahead without any regard for family ties. I suppose Minister Xue has long harbored resentment towards you."

Xue Huai stood up: "Chief Secretary Xu really knows me very well."

"I just know a little bit."

Xu Hui clearly didn't want to escalate the situation, so he wisely said, "Editor Xue, wouldn't it be a win-win situation if you accepted these gifts? Minister Shen can solve the case quickly, you can resolve your worries, and you'll also gain the friendship of our Prince."

Xue Huai suddenly smiled.

He straightened his back and looked directly at the other person: "Chief Secretary Xu's intentions are good, but unfortunately I cannot accept them. Not to mention that doing so is against the rules, even if I shamelessly took it back, my master would only scold me for being a fool."

Xu Hui's brows gradually furrowed.

Xue Huai glanced at the envelope on the table and chuckled, "However, I still have to thank Chief Secretary Xu for the invitation today. Now I finally understand why those parasites in the Ministry of Works dare to be so unscrupulous."

Xu Hui's expression changed; he understood Xue Huai's implied meaning and immediately said in a deep voice, "Editor Xue, you must not be ignorant—"

"You don't know what's good for you, do you?"

Xue Huai interrupted him directly, his expression suddenly becoming serious, and said word by word: "You just said you understand me very well, don't you know that I, Xue Jingche, have never learned to be servile and flattering in this world!"

Xu Hui was stunned.

Just then, the sound of cups and saucers shattering on the floor came from the inner room of the elegant house.

(End of this chapter)