Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Qi Xiao couldn't see any problems with the Ministry of Revenue's accounts; at least the numbers were correct, but the problem lay with the timing. The accounts for the past three years had the same problem: calculating the money in and out of the vault took an incredibly long time. Even if each ingot of silver was weighed ten times, checked on the first day of the first lunar month, and deposited on the thirtieth, had the silver sat out in the Ministry's courtyard for a month? Or perhaps the money was transferred fifteen times, only to leave the vault on the first day of the following month. Had the silver been stuck in the cracks of the door during those fifteen days?

The accounts of the four departments of the Ministry of Revenue are separate. If the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Treasury are not combined and calculated one by one, it is impossible to find any tricks. In particular, major payments are generally counted, cleared and then deposited into the warehouse in batches. It is normal to have a delay of a few days or even more than ten days.

But these time differences occurred too frequently, and were becoming more and more frequent. Someone must have diverted the money for other purposes, and then used the money that had been diverted before to replenish the treasury. The amount was clear, but in fact, the amount of silver flowing out of the treasury could be as much as hundreds of thousands of taels in a month.

Based on the three percent profit from lending money on the black market, he could earn at least 100,000 taels a month, enough to support a Tiger Army. This was not comparable to any ordinary embezzlement case.

Qi Xiao looked at Pei Hao. For such a serious case, His Majesty was merciful not to have the entire Ministry of Revenue executed. But could the Crown Prince, relying solely on him, have the entire Ministry of Revenue colluded to commit such a crime?

Pei Hao walked over and sat down across from Qi Xiao, sighing deeply, "This is a serious illness that is difficult to cure."

With just four words, Qi Xiao understood everything. The Ministry of Revenue's misappropriation of treasury funds for other purposes wasn't a recent phenomenon; it had always been going on. However, the amounts were small, so no one noticed. Even if someone did, the Ministry of Revenue controlled the treasury's finances, so who could possibly mess with money? They simply turned a blind eye. This wasn't something the eldest prince could decide alone. The six ministries of the court collaborated and checked each other. The Qin and Gongsun families were undoubtedly aware of this, though perhaps they simply didn't want to expose it. But this time, it was the Sixth Prince, Qi Ji, who had nearly gotten into trouble in Liaoshan County, and out of resentment, they brought trouble upon the Ministry of Revenue.

Minister of Revenue Xi Zucheng served through two dynasties, holding the position for fifteen years. However, due to his advanced age, Xi Zucheng often avoided direct Ministry affairs, leaving them to Vice Minister Meng Huaijie. In recent years, Meng Huaijie has become increasingly unbridled, leaving none of the four departments of the Ministry to escape punishment. However, if the entire Ministry of Revenue were beheaded, it would be the most earth-shattering bloodbath in the history of the Great Chen Kingdom. Not only would the Yuan capital be flooded with blood, but the government would also be abolished. The Minister of Revenue, Vice Minister, and the heads of the four departments would all be eliminated. With one-third of the positions vacant, the Ministry of Revenue is already struggling. The cabinet's temporary oversight of the Ministry is only temporary; selecting a new leader to take charge is the real headache for His Majesty.

In the Ministry of Revenue case, His Majesty used military pay as an excuse to act swiftly. It took the Dali Temple a whole month to arrest, interrogate, decide the case, and sentence, but the Ministry of Justice only took three days to approve it. This was tantamount to scraping the bone to cure the poison. Qi Xiao was sweating on his forehead just by looking at the account book, and felt it was thrilling.

Before coming to Yuanjing, he could never have imagined that the situation in the Great Chen Dynasty would be like this.

"Where did the money go?" Qi Xiao raised his eyes and asked Pei Hao the most important question. So much silver, enough to support a Tiger Army over the years, where did it go?

Pei Hao took a sip of tea and kept his mouth shut. Qi Xiao stared at Pei Hao for a long time before finally giving up. Pei Hao didn't say anything, which meant he couldn't say anything. The silver would definitely not be recovered. Although the eldest prince was the eldest son, he was not a disciple, and his mother's family was not prominent. However, as the first child of His Majesty, he was still loved by His Majesty, at least when he was a child. However, later His Majesty had a legitimate son, and the favorite Concubine Zhao gave him the twins, the sixth and seventh sons, and His Majesty's favor was divided up. The eldest prince wanted to win over court officials and consolidate his power, and money was the most direct and effective way. Since he was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, there was no reason not to use it.

Pei Hao probably didn't dare to check the whereabouts of the silver. What if a thorough investigation led to the involvement of half of the court? Would His Majesty then execute half of the civil and military officials in the court?

Since the Ministry of Revenue was being investigated under the guise of the military pay case, it was concluded with the military pay case alone, and nothing else was involved. Those in the Ministry of Revenue imprisoned were to serve as an example to others.

Qi Xiao sighed and couldn't help rubbing his forehead.

When Pei Hao saw Qi Xiao's expression, he had an idea. His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu had not been in Yuanjing City for many years and had never been involved in party struggles and court affairs. As an outsider, he could see things more clearly and think more clearly than those inside. The shock at the first moment, the anger afterwards, and the repression at the moment, he was very smart and looked very much like His Majesty. His expression was almost 90% similar to His Majesty's expression when he first saw the Ministry of Revenue files.

"To be honest, Your Highness, I once advocated for a detailed investigation, but Lord Luo said the military pay case should be the top priority... I was so preoccupied with the account books that I didn't pay much attention to Lord Luo's mention of the secret report on the military pay case. Otherwise... even if I couldn't save Lord Luo, I should be able to help him now."

Qi Xiao shook his head slightly. "Master Pei, there's no need to blame yourself. I'm sure you've heard about what happened last night. I secretly went to Luo Mansion again in the middle of the night. At first, I successfully circumvented the sentries and the Five City Guards on patrol. Later, I set off a firework at Luo Mansion. Judging from the speed at which the Jingji Protectorate and the Five City Guards arrived, it's completely confirmed that the assassin who assassinated Master Luo and the arsonist were not the same person. One of my men has already gone to Jingji Protectorate to help Master Cao catch the traitor in Luo Mansion. I believe we'll have new clues soon."

Qi Xiao was so young, and he had just returned to Yuanjing City when he encountered this heinous case. He was also ordered by the emperor to intervene in it, but he did not show any fear, panic, or shrinking back. He was so calm and efficient, even more experienced than Pei Hao, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple. Pei Hao could not help but look at him with admiration. No wonder His Majesty asked him to investigate, and it was not just for him to hold a jade token of the Tiance Camp.

As the two were talking, Cao Weishan hurried to the Dali Temple, followed by Zong Sheng and Chi Yue, and also locked up a servant from the Luo Mansion.

Chi Yue examined Luo Yu's body and explained his inference to Cao Weishan. Cao Weishan originally felt that there was something wrong with the confessions, but he couldn't figure it out for a while. After getting Chi Yue's inference, he immediately came to his senses, caught the arsonist, and brought him to the Dali Temple for trial.

At night, Qi Xiao returned to the guild hall much earlier than yesterday and was able to catch dinner. The carriage stopped directly at the side door on the Huaxi Villa side. Qi Xiao went to Tang Ling's place without taking anyone with him.

After Qi Xiao left, Bai Xiqiao glanced at Chi Yue. Chi Yue giggled and turned to look at Zong Sheng. Zong Sheng looked straight ahead as if everything was normal and nothing had happened.

Bai Xiqiao didn't understand what Chi Yue meant, but he still heard: "If it has nothing to do with the case, then it has nothing to do with me."

In Huaxi's courtyard, Qinglan entered the room and called out, "Young Master."

"Are you back?" Tang Ling asked this question many times a day. Whenever Qinglan was in front of him, he would ask her this question, which made Qinglan afraid to enter the house.

Qinglan opened his mouth, looking a little gloomy. Tang Ling sighed softly and said, "It's okay, eat first."

"Aren't you waiting for me?" Qi Xiao came in from outside, which surprised and delighted Tang Ling. She quickly got up to greet him.

"You're back?" Tang Ling couldn't help but laugh, "I thought you'd be late again today."

Qing Lan looked at Tang Ling's joyful expression, and he even began to doubt whether this was still the young master he had served since childhood. Normally, the young master was humble and polite to everyone, but he had never been so caring and warm to anyone. Had he changed his personality just because he liked Qi Xiao? But to others, he was still the same young master.

Tang Ling asked Qi Xiao to sit down and eat, and gave Qinglan a look to drive him out.