Chapter 47: Impeachment
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Su Wen couldn’t be bothered with Xue Meng’s thoughts. He looked at the title deed in Xue Meng’s hand with a smile.
This gold mine was an eternal road to wealth.
Xue Meng looked at Su Wen and sneered. “Young Master Su, have you ever thought that your ostentatious behavior will bring trouble to your father? You squandered so much money today that even your father’s salary for ten lifetimes wouldn’t be able to earn it. What should His Majesty think?”
In his opinion, it was already too late for Su Wen to find out his motive.
During the last few days, his uncle had already done his preparations.
He really wanted to see Su Wen’s stunned expression at this time.
Unexpectedly, Su Wen rolled his eyes and said, “It’s none of your business how much I spend. If you can think of a scheme then go ahead, but if you can’t, best you just scram. You’ve already lost, yet you are still complaining here. Hand over the title deed.”
As he spoke, he reached out to grab the title deed in Xue Meng’s hand. Xue Meng had no choice but to give it to him.
At this moment, Zhao Jin walked over. Su Wen handed over the title deed and said, “Brother Jin, I have to criticize you today. Do you still require me to do such a thing?”
Zhao Jin’s face was full of flattery as he said with a smile, “Yes, Young Master, I was wrong. Next time, I definitely won’t let those dirty people’s items sully your hands.”
“Never again!”
Su Wen left smugly, leaving Xue Meng gritting his teeth behind.
The Su Residence. Zhao Wanrou returned back to the residence with Su Wen.
As she changed out of her clothes, she could not help but recall the scene from yesterday. Su Wen pulled her to his home and got the tailor to measure her measurements before making a gown that she had never seen before.
After putting it on, even she, as a princess, felt amazed.
Today, she even appeared in front of everyone wearing such a gorgeous outfit. This kind of feeling was unprecedented.
Zhao Wanrou was reluctant to even put down the gown she had just taken off.
“Your Highness, my young master said that you can proceed to the main hall after changing your clothes. The hotpot has already been prepared.”
Ning Shuang’s voice sounded from outside the door.
Zhao Wanrou put down her gown and walked out of the room, following her to the front hall.
All kinds of ingredients were already prepared on the table, as well as a steaming copper pot.
Su Wen smiled and said, “Come quickly, come quickly. We freshly slaughtered some lamb today. Directly cooking it in the hotpot and eating it is the most delicious way.”
Zhao Wanrou sat down with him.
She had never eaten hotpot before, but she had heard that this kind of eating method was quite popular in the capital. It seemed to be passed down from the Su family.
The sauce was already prepared for her, so she imitated Su Wen and started to cook the meat in the pot before eating it.
The flavor was indeed good!
As Zhao Wanrou ate, she stole a glance at Su Wen. Su Wen did not think too much about it, though. In his eyes, Zhao Wanrou was just here to help out and he conveniently treated her to a meal.
He ate heartily.
Suddenly, Su Wen realized that Zhao Wanrou was looking at him.
He grinned and asked, “Why aren’t you eating? Does it not suit your taste?”
“No, it’s delicious!” Zhao Wanrou lowered her head quickly.
“Can you give me that dress?”
Su Wen was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He laughed, “It’s yours in the first place. It’s made according to your size, so others naturally can’t fit in it.”
That was true. Zhao Wanrou’s figure was truly flawless.
Not only was she slender and well-proportioned. According to the later generations, she was a golden ratio beauty.
(TL Note: The golden ratio of a human body is said to be one where the size of the head in proportion to one’s height is 1:9.)
“Then, can I still come here to look for you in the future?” Zhao Wanrou asked.
“I’m afraid this might not be possible!”
Hearing Su Wen’s words, Zhao Wanrou felt an inexplicable pain in her heart. She buried her head deeper and tears welled up in her eyes.
Only to hear Su Wen continue, “My father has already constructed my own residence, so I will be leaving the main Su Residence tomorrow. If you want to look for me, you can only go to my place. You won’t be able to find me here.”
Zhao Wanrou raised her head and laughed. The tears in her eyes fell uncontrollably.
Su Wen was shocked. “What are you doing? Why are you laughing and crying?”
Zhao Wanrou sniffled, “Something went into my eyes just now.”
Su Wen immediately turned towards her, “Don’t move, let me take a look.”
The two of them got closer and closer. Su Wen looked at Zhao Wanrou’s light blue eyes which were so mesmerizing and was momentarily lost in them.
“It should be fine now. Let’s continue eating!”
The battle in wealth came to an end, but it quickly spread throughout the capital. People could not help but sigh at the Su family’s wealth.
The next morning.
The Zhou Emperor followed his usual practice during court assembly, “If there’s anything else, report to me now. If there’s nothing else, withdraw from the court!”
At this moment, Xue Meng’s uncle, Wu Qiuhan, stepped forward and said, “This official wishes to present a memorial to the Emperor! This official wishes to impeach Prime Minister Su Changqing. He has been abusing his power for personal gain all year round, embezzling bribes and amassing wealth without restraint. Just this month, his son, Su Wen, spent nearly ten million taels of silver to redeem a brothel’s courtesan for himself. He even competed with others in wealth. His extravagance and grandness far surpasses His Majesty’s. Please mete out punishment to him accordingly.
In addition, this official has a list of twenty-six people who have sent gifts to Su Changqing. Please take a look, Your Majesty. These people can all testify against Su Changqing!”
This guy had put in a lot of effort. Not to mention anything else, even these 26 people were all officials in the court. If they were willing to stand up and testify, it was unknown how many promises Wu Qiuhan had made behind the scenes.
Even after hearing his request, the Emperor’s expression remained calm, and so was Su Changqing.
The former casually spoke, “Let Minister Su see the memorial, and hear what he has to say.”
The memorial was delivered to Su Changqing’s hands. After unfurling it, he glanced at it before replying, “This official has indeed accepted the gifts. However, these gifts are all personal and have nothing to do with official business.”
“Let’s talk about this Sun Hai first. This person is the County Magistrate in Rui Prefecture’s An Nuo. When he entered the capital to report on his duties, he sent me ten pairs of prosperity jade scepters and a chest of gold beads.
However, he was later sent to the northern border to guard it. It can be seen that I did not confuse his official duties for personal reasons. Otherwise, I would have sent him back to Rui Prefecture or to an even more prosperous county. I definitely would not have sent him to the bitter lands of the northern border. Next, let’s talk about this He Jun…”
Su Changqing’s every word was clear and precise. He actually spoke clearly about the dispatch of the 26 people.
Most of these people had given gifts and wanted to ask Su Changqing for help. In the end, Su Changqing only accepted gifts and did not do anything. Hence, these people bore grudges in their hearts. That was why Wu Qiuhan successfully persuaded them to form a united front with him.
Wu Qiuhan said, “This matter is not so simple. Su Changqing is in charge of the Ministry of Appointments and is insatiable. He asked for money. These people did not receive any benefits because they failed to satisfy Su Changqing’s request. The 26 people all have testified to this. Su Changqing, what else do you have to say?”
This was pure slander. Wu Qiuhan’s plan was for all 26 of them to say the same thing. When the time came, even if something was not shit, they would speak until it turned into shit.
Su Changqing sneered and said, “Since Lord Wu said so, doesn’t that mean that all the civil and military officials in the dynasty have been extorted by me? Wu Qiuhan, I wonder how much money you’ve given me? 26 people can be witnesses, but the entire dynasty’s Civil and Military departments can’t be witnesses? Are you, Wu Qiuhan, going to be a witness for me too?”
Wu Qiuhan angrily rebuked, “Then how did you get your money? You, Su Changqing, come from a poor family. Even if you were the prime minister, how much would your salary be? How could your son spend so much money?”
Su Changqing immediately revealed his businesses, starting from various industries, how he started his business, and how he managed his business. All the civil and military officials belatedly realized that Su Changqing was actually a business genius.
It could be said that many people knew that Su Changqing had businesses, but they did not think that Su Changqing’s businesses could earn so much money. Most people still believed that at least half of the Su family’s wealth came from corruption.
After Su Changqing explained everything, he sneered, “What else do you have to say?”
The Zhou Emperor shook his head slightly. In his opinion, there was nothing to discuss about this matter. He had already expected this outcome. Even if Su Changqing really did some selfish things, he would find a way to protect him.
Right at this moment, the Head of the Ministry of Appointments stood out and declared, “This official also has a memorial. This official impeaches Su Changqing for not teaching his son well and for leading our Great Zhou Dynasty astray!”
Everyone present got a shock. One had to know that the Ministry of Appointments was the faction loyal to Su Changqing!
