After the failed attempt to pretend to be dead, the sickly child was favored by the treacherous mini

After being searched by the guards at the palace gate, Tian Ding walked stiffly through the long palace corridor.

Looking at the red walls and yellow tiles on both sides of the palace road, Tian Ding felt a sense of excitement while hesitating.

Looking up at Shen Jinmo in front of him, Tian Ding's eyes were filled with admiration.

If he had not met Shen Jinmo, he would never have been able to rise from a mere merchant to a court official who could enter the imperial palace.

Tian Ding believed that one day he would be able to step out from the court and become a person who could benefit the country and the people.

Just when he was feeling excited, Tian Ding appeared at the steps of the Golden Palace.

Thinking of the person sitting in the golden palace, Tian Ding's face suddenly turned pale, and the sweat on his body soaked his clothes in an instant.

With the might of heaven in front of him, Tian Ding was still very afraid.

"Disrespecting etiquette in front of the emperor is also a capital crime."

Shen Jinmo glanced sideways at Tian Ding, as if he was somewhat disgusted by Tian Ding's dirtiness, and stepped back several steps.

After hearing what Shen Jinmo said, Tian Ding became even more frightened, and every inch of his skin from head to toe was shaking uncontrollably.

When Eunuch Lin heard the noise outside the palace, he walked out in person. When he confirmed that the person was Shen Jinmo, the worry on his face was immediately replaced by a smile:

"Sir Shen, you are here. The emperor is very angry now."

"Yeah." Shen Leng responded with one word, and Shen Jinmo walked past Eunuch Lin and entered the Golden Palace.

Seeing the opportunity that Shen Jinmo had specially left for him, Tian Ding bowed repeatedly to Eunuch Lin with an extremely humble look on his face.

Even though his hands were shaking, he stuffed the silver into Eunuch Lin's hand skillfully and in a low-key manner: "Eunuch Lin, please take good care of me."

Eunuch Lin pinched the weight of the silver bills in his sleeves, his expression unchanged, and turned around and walked into the hall with Tian Ding.

When Tian Ding saw that Eunuch Lin accepted it, he felt a little relieved.

Judging from what Tian Ding had done in the past, if he was given more silver, he would always suffer less.

Under the Golden Palace, one person bowed and another kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live the emperor."

Xia Hong was a little angry today. After a while, several rashes appeared on the corners of his mouth:

"Wang Heng, sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Shen Jinmo sat down on the soft stool. Xia Hong did not ask Tian Ding, and Shen Jinmo did not mention Tian Ding. Tian Ding knelt obediently in the hall, and the uncontrollable cold sweat flowed down his cheeks onto the jade floor.

Xia Hong drank the fire-clearing tea handed to him by Eunuch Lin and asked directly, "What does Wang Heng think about the drought and locust plague?"

"The words that the emperor said in the court today about punishing corrupt officials gave me a lot of inspiration."

Shen Jinmo first pushed the credit onto Xia Hong, and then continued at Xia Hong's suggestion:

"With the natural disaster imminent, it is indeed risky for the officials of the counties to move, but it is okay for the officials of Luoan to move a little."

Shen Jinmo never brought useless people to Xia Hong. After hearing what Shen Jinmo said, Xia Hong's eyes fell on Tian Ding.

Tian Ding, who was kneeling on the ground, felt the pressure and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your humble servant, the third-rank commander of the Imperial Guard, Tian Ding, pays respect to the emperor."

With these identities made public, Xia Hong naturally understood who the officials Shen Jinmo was referring to.

As the money came in again, Xia Hong's expression became much more relaxed.

No matter how corrupt the local officials are, how can they compare to the big termites like Luo An?

"Since the silver has been swallowed, how can they be willing to spit it out?"

Shen Jinmo's expression did not change, and he said calmly: "Master Tian, ​​present the evidence."

Tian Ding handed the booklet to Eunuch Lin and explained tremblingly:

"My family has been in business for generations. After the suppression of bandits at Hutou Mountain, I was promoted by the Emperor to the third-rank governor of the Imperial Guards. I was used to keeping account books, so I made a roll call book to record the attendance of personnel after I started work."

Xia Hong closed the book. He didn't think those sons of noble families would look down on someone like Tian Ding who came from a merchant family.

According to Xia Hong's understanding, it was already very good that those sons of nobles did not eat Tian Ding alive.

With doubts in mind, Xia Hong asked directly: "How did you convince these noble children to listen to you so much?"

Tian Ding's body was shaking more and more. Seeing that Shen Jinmo had no intention of speaking for him, he had to speak again:

"After I took office, these nobles did make things difficult for me. In order to blend in with them, I spent more money to spend every day with them."

"After eating, drinking and having fun together, they no longer troubled me."

After confirming the authenticity of the evidence in his hand, Xia Hong knew how to recover the money:

"How dare you, Tian Ding, neglect your duty?"

He kowtowed several times in succession, and the pain in his forehead made Tian Ding's voice choke: "I am guilty of the death penalty. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Shen Jinmo stood up from the stool at this moment and said:

"Your Majesty, Tian Ding is naturally less important than the people of the world. Now that there is a drought and locust plague, why not let him donate some money for disaster relief to make up for his mistakes."

"Since I have not been strict in my administration, I will go home and discuss with Xie Nanxing and use all the money in my family to help the victims."

Tian Ding followed up Shen Jinmo's words and hurriedly said, "I am willing to donate 10,000 taels of silver to atone for my crime."

Tian Ding's words were like jade beads falling on a silver plate. They were so pleasant to Xia Hong's ears.

One field cost ten thousand taels.

There are at least a hundred guards above the fifth rank in the Imperial Guard Department, which means nearly one million taels of silver.

Slamming the desk with one hand, Xia Hong said angrily:

"Come here, quickly go to various restaurants to check whether this situation is true. If it is true, escort them directly to the palace for me."

Xia Hong's intentions are already clear.

He didn't care how the parents of these guards raised the money; today he would exchange 12,000 taels of silver for each person.

If they fail to hand over the money, not only will they be occupying their positions without doing any work, but the elders of each family will also be accused of failing to educate their children properly.

As for whether the investigation will continue after the accusation of poor parenting, it depends on Xia Hong's mood.

"I obey your orders."

The imperial guards took orders and left. Xia Hong looked at Tian Ding with anger still lingering in his eyes:

"Tian Ding's crime is indeed serious, but considering that you took the initiative to confess your crime and care about the victims, I will punish you with fifty lashes of the cane."

"Eunuch Lin, you go and watch the execution in person."

Fifty lashes of the cane was indeed a heavy punishment, but letting Eunuch Lin oversee the execution was to save Tian Ding's life.

After all, Shen Jinmo doesn't have many capable people under his command, so it would be difficult for him to find jobs for Xia Hong in the future.

Tian Ding slowly calmed down and thanked Xia Hong: "I thank the emperor for his grace."

The imperial guards dragged Tian Ding out under the scorching sun and placed the punishment bench under the shade of a tree.

Without Eunuch Lin's order, these people naturally did not dare to punish him.

Tian Ding waited on the torture bench for a long time, and suddenly he was not so scared anymore.

With a smiling face, he looked at Eunuch Lin and said, "Eunuch, when will this humble servant be punished?"

Tian Ding in front of him was Shen Jinmo's man, and he was generous. Eunuch Lin was also willing to give a few suggestions:

"Of course, it will be most effective if we wait until we catch the criminal red-handed. It will be extremely painful when the board falls. If Sir Tian really can't bear it, then feel free to shout it out."