With a million soldiers, the empress begged me not to rebel

Qiao'er asked worriedly

"Your Majesty, if people knew these things came from Shannan County, those ministers..."

Chen Qingwan waved her hand and interrupted her

"It's okay, just do it. I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. I want to see what tricks they can come up with."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

At this moment, a eunuch hurried in, knelt on the ground and reported:

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister requests an audience."

Chen Qingwan frowned and cursed the old fox in her heart.

This old guy never brings good things every time he comes.

"Let him in."

Chen Qingwan said lightly.

The eunuch took the order and left.

After a while, an old man in official uniform and with white hair walked in.

He was the prime minister of the time, Liu An.

"Your Majesty, this old minister pays homage." Liu An bowed.

"Prime Minister, please don't be so polite." Chen Qingwan said lightly.

"I wonder what's the matter that brings the Prime Minister to visit so late at night?"

Liu An raised his head and said seriously:

"Your Majesty, I heard that Your Majesty recently went to Shannan County?"

Chen Qingwan was startled. This old man was well-informed.

"So what?" Chen Qingwan asked calmly.

"Your Majesty, Shannan County Magistrate Lu Yan has disregarded the law and discipline, carried out reforms without authorization, and disrupted the government. I, an old minister, implore Your Majesty to dismiss him and investigate him!"

Liu An said righteously.

Chen Qingwan sneered and looked at Liu An with amusement, as if she was looking at a clown.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, Shannan County under Lu Yan's administration is now thriving, and the people are living and working in peace and contentment."

"A few days ago, he quelled the barbarian rebellion for me. How come you've made him 'disregard lawlessness and disruptive to the government'?"

"Could it be that the Prime Minister feels that my vision...is not as good as yours?"

This old fox, I haven't figured out how to deal with Lu Yan yet, but he jumps out and starts giving me advice.

Fine beads of sweat oozed out of Liu An's forehead. He didn't expect Chen Qingwan to defend Lu Yan so much.

But he still said firmly:

"Your Majesty, the barbarian issue is only a minor concern. Lu Yan's unauthorized reforms are shaking the foundation of the nation. This is the real problem!"

"I, your Majesty, beg you to be discerning and not be deceived by these treacherous men!"

"Traitor?" Chen Qingwan's tone suddenly turned cold.

"Prime Minister, are you saying that I have been deceived by a traitor?"

Liu An's heart trembled, and he knelt down and kowtowed:

"I dare not! I am just worried that Your Majesty will be deceived by Lu Yan's sweet words..."

"Okay," Chen Qingwan waved her hand impatiently.

"Qingzhou is suffering from a drought right now. You should be thinking about disaster relief instead of arguing with me. Do we have enough food?"

Liu An was stunned. He didn't expect Chen Qingwan to suddenly change the subject. He hesitated and said:

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue's granaries... should be... sufficient for disaster relief."

"Should?" Chen Qingwan raised her eyebrows.

"Prime Minister, what does 'should' mean?"

"What I need is a definite answer, not this kind of ambiguous response."

The sweat on Liu An's forehead became more frequent.

"This old minister...this old minister will go and verify it right away."

"No need," Chen Qingwan stood up with a cold tone.

"I'll go and see for myself."

Liu An's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition came over him.

Soon, Chen Qingwan took Qiao'er and a team of guards and headed to the Ministry of Revenue's granary.

This made all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue terrified.

The Minister of Revenue even came out to greet him, his face full of flattering smiles:

"Your Majesty, I am humbled and humbled. I did not know that Your Majesty was coming, and I am sorry for not coming to greet you..."

Chen Qingwan didn't even look at him and walked straight towards the granary.

Upon seeing this, the Minister of Revenue hurriedly followed, smiling apologetically as he walked:

"Your Majesty, this granary is a very important place, no outsiders are allowed to enter..."

"Am I an outsider?"

Chen Qingwan stopped and looked at him with a smile.

The Minister of Revenue was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost fell to his knees. He quickly explained:

"Your humble servant dares not! What your humble servant means is... there's too much dust in this granary, and I'm afraid it might contaminate Your Majesty's body..."

"Stop talking nonsense," Chen Qingwan pushed him away and strode into the granary.

Inside the granary, the air was filled with a musty smell.

Chen Qingwan looked around and saw grain bags that should have been piled up like mountains.

Now they are sparse, with only a few piles.

"Is this what you call 'enough for disaster relief'?"

Chen Qingwan turned around and stared at the Minister of Revenue with eyes as sharp as knives.

Liu An's face turned pale as he stammered, explaining:

"This...this...maybe...maybe someone below me remembered it wrong..."

"Did you remember it wrong?" Chen Qingwan sneered.

"I think you are corrupt!"

"Your Majesty, you are innocent!" The Minister of Revenue fell to his knees with a thud.

"Your Majesty, I am loyal and devoted, and I would never dare to harbor even the slightest greed..."

"Loyal?" Chen Qingwan pointed to the empty granary.

"Is this your loyalty to me?"

"You embezzled all the food for disaster relief. How are the people going to survive the drought?"

"What crime have you committed?"

The Minister of Revenue was so frightened that he trembled all over and kowtowed like crazy:

"Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me! I know I was wrong..."

Chen Qingwan was furious and kicked him to the ground:

"Come here, drag this corrupt official out and execute him immediately!"

The Minister of Revenue was so frightened that he lost his soul and struggled desperately crying:

"Your Majesty, please spare me! Please spare me..."

However, Chen Qingwan no longer looked at him and turned to leave the granary.

Chen Qingwan returned to her bedroom and sat down on the dragon throne, her chest heaving violently.

Her eyes were wide open, and her anger almost set the magnificent palace on fire.

"A bunch of people worse than pigs and dogs! My people are suffering, but they are lining their own pockets! Damn it! All of them deserve to die!"

Chen Qingwan cursed with gritted teeth.

The slender fingers tightly grasped the armrest of the dragon throne, and the knuckles were white.

Qiao'er stood aside, not daring to breathe.

She knew the empress's temper too well. Whoever went up to her now would be in trouble.

She carefully poured a cup of tea and placed it gently next to Chen Qingwan.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. It's not worth getting yourself hurt by anger."

Chen Qingwan grabbed the teacup and drank it down.

The scalding tea flowed down his throat, but it couldn't extinguish the rage burning in his heart.

"Calm down? Tell me how to calm down!"

"This...this bunch of corrupt officials are truly despicable!"

Qiao'er racked her brains to come up with a flattering remark that wasn't quite flattering.

"However, Your Majesty is wise and will surely bring them to justice and restore justice to the people!"

"Fair?" Chen Qingwan sneered.

"People are starving to death, what justice do we want? What we want is food! I want the heads of those corrupt officials!"

"Your Majesty is absolutely right! I will immediately pass on the order to thoroughly investigate the Ministry of Revenue! All officials involved in corruption will be severely punished!"

Qiao'er quickly responded, fearing that she would be a step slower and displease the empress.