Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Having obtained evidence of Tong Guan's crimes and apprehended several corrupt officials, the investigation in Jiangnan could finally come to a close. Pang Wanchun and Pang Qiuxia knew the importance of this mission, and to ensure that Wu Yong and Zhao Tianming could successfully bring the evidence back to the capital, they dispatched capable assistants to help them.

Carrying evidence and the captured corrupt officials, Wu Yong and Zhao Tianming, escorted by men sent by the Pang siblings, embarked on their journey back to the capital. Along the way, they were extremely cautious, not daring to relax their guard in the slightest, fearing that Tong Guan's remaining followers would try to seize the evidence or silence them.

After several days of travel, they finally arrived in the capital. Wu Yong, without taking a break, immediately set off to find Chai Jin.

Upon hearing that Wu Yong had arrived, Chai Jin hurriedly came out to greet him.

“Mr. Wu, this trip to Jiangnan must have been very arduous,” Chai Jin said.

Wu Yong bowed respectfully, his expression solemn: "Lord Chai, I have not failed you. We have obtained irrefutable evidence of Tong Guan's crimes."

As he spoke, Wu Yong handed a stack of letters and related evidence to Chai Jin.

Chai Jin took the evidence and carefully examined it. The more he read, the more solemn his expression became, and his eyes blazed with anger: "How dare Tong Guan be so audacious as to commit such a heinous crime!"

Wu Yong said, "We were able to successfully obtain the evidence this time thanks to everyone's concerted efforts. We hope that Lord Chai can uphold justice for the people of Jiangnan and ensure that this thief is severely punished by law."

Chai Jin nodded heavily and said, "Mr. Wu, rest assured, leave this matter to me. I will make Tong Guan pay for his evil deeds!"

Chai Jin knew that this matter was of great importance and could not be taken lightly. He immediately summoned his trusted advisors and confidants to discuss how to present the evidence to the court and how to deal with any possible situations.

“Tong Guan has many cronies in the court. If we act rashly, we may alert him,” an advisor said worriedly.

After a moment of contemplation, Chai Jin said, "We need to secretly contact those upright officials and try to gain their support. At the same time, we must make thorough preparations in case Tong Guan's henchmen resort to desperate measures."

Everyone nodded and began to act according to Chai Jin's plan.

Chai Jin personally visited several respected and upright officials in the court, presenting them with evidence of Tong Guan's crimes. Upon seeing the evidence, these officials were all filled with righteous indignation and expressed their willingness to impeach Tong Guan together in court.

At the same time, Chai Jin did not relax his surveillance of Tong Guan and his cronies. He sent out men to closely monitor their every move in order to prevent them from becoming aware of his intentions and taking preemptive action.

On this day, Zhang Youzhi hurriedly sought an audience with Tong Guan. Tong Guan was leisurely sipping tea in his residence when he saw Zhang Youzhi's flustered state and immediately sensed something was wrong.

"What's the matter that you're so alarmed?" Tong Guan put down his teacup and asked, frowning.

Zhang Youzhi, panting heavily, said urgently, "My lord, something terrible has happened! Chai Jin has joined forces with high-ranking officials in the court to impeach you!"

Upon hearing this, Tong Guan's expression changed drastically. He abruptly stood up and exclaimed in surprise, "Is this really true?"

He then waved for all the servants around him to leave, leaving only him and Zhang Youzhi inside.

Tong Guan approached Zhang Youzhi and lowered his voice, saying, "Tell me in detail which high-ranking officials are involved."

Zhang Youzhi wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied, "My lord, there are Minister Wang, Vice Minister Li, and Imperial Censor Zhao, among other officials."

Tong Guan frowned, pacing back and forth in the room, muttering to himself, "These old guys, who are usually at odds with me, are now joining forces with Chai Jin to deal with me."

He stopped, staring sharply at Zhang Youzhi, and asked, "Do you know how much evidence they have?"

Zhang Youzhi shook his head and said, "I don't know either. I only heard that they were all indignant, as if the evidence was conclusive."

Tong Guan gritted his teeth and said, "That brat Chai Jin dares to oppose me!"

He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Have they discussed when to launch their attack in court?"

Zhang Youzhi said, "We haven't found out the details about this junior yet, but it shouldn't be too long."

Tong Guan slammed his fist on the table and roared, "These people are really going too far!"

Then, a sinister glint flashed in Tong Guan's eyes as he said to Zhang Youzhi, "Go and contact our people immediately and tell them to be prepared. Also, send someone to investigate the source of their evidence and see if you can sabotage it."

Zhang Youzhi quickly replied, "Yes, sir, I will take care of it right away."

Tong Guan sat down with a gloomy expression, pondering a countermeasure in his mind, his eyes filled with anxiety and anger.

Tong Guan knew that he was in a critical situation and that if he did not find a way to resolve it, he would be doomed. Therefore, he decided to start by targeting Consort Shu and Eunuch Chen in the palace.

On this day, Tong Guan carefully selected a pair of fine jade bracelets, packed them in a brocade box, and personally went to Consort Shu's palace.

Consort Shu was sitting in front of her dressing table, her hair being styled by palace maids. When she saw Tong Guan arrive, she slightly raised her eyes, a hint of doubt in them.

"Lord Tong, what brings you to my palace today?" Consort Shu's voice was soft and melodious.

Tong Guan hurriedly stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and then presented the brocade box in his hand.

"Your Majesty, these are a pair of jade bracelets that I specially found for you. They are rare treasures in the world, and only someone as beautiful as Your Majesty is worthy of them," Tong Guan said obsequiously.

Consort Shu opened the brocade box and saw the pair of jade bracelets. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Lord Tong, what brings you to such a fawning manner?" Consort Shu is not so easily bribed.

When Tong Guan saw that Consort Shu had asked the question directly, he stopped beating around the bush.

"Your Majesty, I am in deep trouble. I hope Your Majesty can put in a good word for me before His Majesty and save me from this predicament," Tong Guan said with a bitter expression.

Consort Shu frowned slightly: "Lord Tong, I have never interfered in politics in the palace. You have put me in a difficult position."

Tong Guan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, as long as you are willing to help, I will repay you many times over in the future."

Consort Shu pondered for a moment and said, "Very well, I will listen to what you have encountered."

Tong Guan told Consort Shu everything about Chai Jin and others' plans to impeach him.

Upon hearing this, Consort Shu's expression also turned serious.

"This matter is of utmost importance, and I dare not agree lightly. However, I will consider putting in a good word for you before His Majesty," said Consort Shu.

Tong Guan left Consort Shu's palace with profuse thanks, but he was still uneasy.

After leaving Consort Shu's residence, Tong Guan immediately took two thousand taels of silver to Eunuch Chen's residence.

Eunuch Chen's room was luxuriously and exquisitely furnished. When Tong Guan entered, Eunuch Chen was sitting in a chair drinking tea.

"Lord Tong, what brings you here today?" Eunuch Chen asked, feigning ignorance.

With a forced smile, Tong Guan presented the silver notes: "Eunuch Chen, I have come here today to ask you for a favor."

Eunuch Chen glanced at the silver note and said calmly, "Lord Tong, just say what you have to say."

Tong Guan leaned closer to Eunuch Chen and whispered, "Eunuch, Chai Jin and others intend to impeach me in court. I hope you can stop Chai Jin at the crucial moment and prevent him from presenting his testimony."

Eunuch Chen narrowed his eyes slightly: "This matter is not easy to handle. That boy Chai Jin has come prepared."

Tong Guan hurriedly replied, "Your Excellency is incredibly powerful and surely has a way. As long as you can help me through this ordeal, you will surely reap the rewards in the future."

After a moment of silence, Eunuch Chen said, "Let me think about it..."

Seeing this, Tong Guan embellished his story, describing the terrible consequences of being impeached, in an attempt to sway Eunuch Chen.

Finally, Eunuch Chen spoke up: "Fine, I'll help you this time. But don't let me down."

Tong Guan was overjoyed: "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Eunuch Chen continued, "When Chai Jin enters the palace, we will try to stall him and then send someone to steal his letters as evidence. However, if anything goes wrong during this process, neither of us will be held accountable."

Tong Guan nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, Father-in-law, I will follow your arrangements."

Subsequently, Tong Guan and Eunuch Chen discussed the specific action plan in detail.

On the day Chai Jin entered the palace, Eunuch Chen waited at the palace gate early in the morning.

As soon as Chai Jin appeared, Eunuch Chen went to greet him.

"Lord Chai, are you in such a hurry to meet the Emperor?" Eunuch Chen said with a smile.

Chai Jin was wary, but still politely replied, "Indeed, Eunuch Chen."

Eunuch Chen feigned concern and said, "Lord Chai, I've heard you have something important to discuss with me. May I know if you could tell me a little about it beforehand?"

Chai Jin said, "Eunuch Chen, this matter is of great importance. It would be best to present it to His Majesty in person."

But Eunuch Chen wouldn't let it go, pulling Chai Jin along and trying to stall for time.

After Chai Jin finished speaking, he was about to leave when Eunuch Chen became anxious. He knew that he could not delay any longer and had to take action immediately.

His eyes flashed, and suddenly he cried out in pain, his body swaying as he fell towards Chai Jin. Chai Jin instinctively reached out to help him, but Chen Gonggong seized the opportunity to grab Chai Jin's sleeve tightly, pretending to be unsteady, and muttering, "Oh dear, Lord Chai, quickly help me up, this old body is no good anymore."

Chai Jin asked, "Eunuch Chen, are you alright?"

While pretending to be unsteady on his feet, Eunuch Chen secretly reached into Chai Jin's robes and, taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, successfully stole the letter.

Eunuch Chen straightened up and said, "Thank you, Lord Chai. We are all right now. Please go to the palace to meet the Emperor."

Chai Jin, unsuspecting, hurried toward the palace.

As Eunuch Chen watched Chai Jin's retreating figure, a triumphant smile crept onto his lips. He then hurried off to find Tong Guan with the letter in hand.

When Tong Guan saw Eunuch Chen return, he asked anxiously, "Did you succeed?"

Eunuch Chen presented the letter and said, "My lord, I have not failed in my mission."

Tong Guan was overjoyed. He opened the letter and read it, a sinister smile spreading across his face: "Hmph, Chai Jin, let's see how you impeach me this time."

Meanwhile, Chai Jin entered the palace to meet the emperor. Just as he was about to present the evidence, he reached into his robes and discovered that the letter was missing. He was immediately alarmed.

"What...what should we do?" Chai Jin was extremely anxious.

Seeing that Chai Jin was slow to present his testimony, the emperor asked, "Minister Chai, didn't you have something important to report? Why haven't you produced any evidence yet?"

Chai Jin had no choice but to say, "Your Majesty, I...I have unfortunately lost my evidence."

The emperor's face darkened: "How could you lose something so important?"

Chai Jin immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I will do my best to find the evidence as soon as possible."

At this moment, Chai Jin knew that this matter was of great importance. If he could not find the evidence, not only would he be unable to bring down Tong Guan, but he himself might also be implicated. After leaving the palace, he immediately gathered people to investigate the loss of the letters.