Climbing to the Top: A Reborn Queen's Journey-Chapter 677: Vole (Part 5)

After witnessing the execution ground, the people from the Ministry of Revenue still had to go to the Wan Family to confiscate their assets.

On ordinary days, this was the Ministry of Revenue’s most anticipated task. Confiscating property meant ample spoils. It was common to slip a few small valuable items from the warehouse into one’s pocket. Anyway, during the chaos of asset confiscation, the inventory of the warehouse was often incomplete, and no one would check item by item.

However, today’s confiscation at the Wan Family was another story.

Minister Ji stood with a cold face in front of the Wan Family’s warehouse, his gaze closely watching the officials.

Actually, even if Minister Ji wasn’t watching, the officials from the Ministry of Revenue, who had just witnessed Doctor Wan’s decapitation and were scared out of their wits, didn’t dare to make a move.

Doctor Wan’s family was also miserable, unable to take anything with them, they were taken away amidst sobbing cries. Exiled three thousand miles, those who couldn’t endure the hardships of the journey might fall ill or die halfway.

The Emperor’s informant, Tang Youyin, stood openly beside Minister Ji, waiting for Minister Ji’s command.

Minister Ji knew very well that the case of Doctor Wan was reported by Tang Youyin to the Emperor... No, that’s not accurate. Tang Sili is straightforward in his actions, and reporting to the palace was not sneaky at all.

In the future, Tang Youyin would remain in the Ministry of Revenue permanently, everything he hears and sees would be reported to the Emperor without any reservation. It was no different from hanging a guillotine over the Ministry of Revenue.

However, Minister Ji neither had the power nor the courage to refuse.

A fourth-rank doctor, beheaded at the Emperor’s command, from the incident to the head falling only took three days. How could anyone resist such swift actions?

Minister Ji forced a not-so-pleasant smile: "After finishing the confiscation of the Wan Family, should we proceed to the Zhang Family next?"

This was somewhat disrespectful to Minister Zhang, but the Zhang Family members also bore the surname Zhang and lived near the Zhang Mansion. A grand confiscation would surely alarm Minister Zhang’s Mansion.

Tang Youyin respectfully replied to Minister Ji: "The Emperor has instructed that Lord Minister has full authority over the confiscation of assets. I will follow your lead."

Minister Ji hesitated slightly, then whispered: "Regarding the Zhang Family, should we give some face to Minister Zhang and be a little lenient during the confiscation?"

There might be a considerable portion of the Zhang Family’s properties that actually belonged to Minister Zhang. If everything were to be honestly confiscated, Minister Zhang would suffer terribly and lose face.

Though Minister Ji and Minister Zhang’s relationship was just ordinary, they were still court ministers of the Six Ministries. It was indeed difficult for Minister Ji to thoroughly embarrass Minister Zhang.

Tang Youyin responded righteously: "I believe it is proper to handle the matter impartially. Otherwise, malicious gossipers might spread unfounded rumors, truly damaging Minister Zhang’s reputation."

Minister Ji gave a dry laugh: "That’s a reasonable point."

Alright then, handle it impartially!

The confiscation at the Wan Family lasted two days, uncovering hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and numerous rare treasures. There weren’t many farmlands and shops — most of them were registered under the names of the Wan Family members. This was a usual practice among court officials. Having too many assets under one’s name was unseemly, so they often split a small or large portion registered under family members’ names.

Doctor Wan was not guilty of a crime warranting family extermination, so the family members were lucky to escape. However, they were all terrified out of their wits by Doctor Wan’s execution, hardly daring to stay in the Capital City. They hurriedly sold off their properties in private, fleeing the city as if running away, uncertain if they returned to their ancestral hometown or changed identities to seek a new life.

By reason, this relative of Minister Zhang was insignificant and had no substantial business, so there shouldn’t have been many assets. Surprisingly, the amount confiscated from the Zhang Family shocked the Ministry of Revenue’s officials.

It was even more than the Wan Family’s assets!

The warehouse inventory filled three thick books, plus there were more than a dozen shops and tens of thousands of acres of fertile land.

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue were also stunned and murmured privately: "Really didn’t expect the Zhang Mansion to be so wealthy."

"Ah, think about it, he’s the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Civil and military officials need to grease the wheels with the Ministry of Personnel for promotions. The Ministry of Personnel’s gains are no less than ours in the Ministry of Revenue."

"Minister Zhang is really unlucky this time, caught red-handed by the Emperor."

"Don’t talk nonsense. The one who committed the crime is Zhang Si, Minister Zhang’s nephew. At most, Minister Zhang is guilty of not managing his family well. A little scolding from the Emperor, and there’s not much harm done. His minister position is still stable."

"Whether or not it remains stable, that’s uncertain now..."

Minister Ji appeared expressionlessly, and the originally murmuring officials immediately fell silent.

...

Minister Ji took a few ledgers to the palace to report to the Emperor. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Jiang Shaohua flipped through the books, taking half an hour to finish. He mocked lightly: "Just a relative of the Zhang Family possesses such abundant property, truly an eye-opener for Us."

"We’ve also heard that Minister Zhang’s wife fell ill these past two days. Not sure if it’s due to excessive worry or overwhelming grief."

When Jiang Shaohua said this, he wasn’t secretly hinting at anyone.

Thus, it quickly reached Minister Zhang’s Mansion.

Minister Zhang’s complexion was extremely ugly as he silently went to the inner courtyard, to his elderly wife lying on the bed, clutching her chest in audible pain, he said: "Stop lying there. If you continue this way, when the Emperor sends an Imperial Physician to check your pulse, it will be entirely disgraceful."

In recent days, Mrs. Zhang had developed many new strands of white hair, her voice hoarse from crying: "My heart aches unbearably. Gold and silver jewelry is one thing, but those tens of thousands of acres of fertile land were hard to acquire. You insisted on registering them under Zhang Si’s name. Now, look, they’ve all been confiscated and taken in for public use."

Those tens of thousands of acres of prime land were worth fifty thousand taels at market price. The Zhang family had accumulated for decades, only having two such large plots of land. One was at the ancestral home, and the other was this large field manor outside the Capital. At that time, to avoid notice, Minister Zhang registered the land under Zhang Si’s name. As a result, overnight, the fertile land was seized by the government.

In this way, the Zhang Family’s assets suddenly reduced by one-sixth.

This was akin to gouging out Mrs. Zhang’s heart.

Minister Zhang, livid with rage, rebuked: "What’s the point of crying! At least I wasn’t implicated. If I were dragged in, losing the Minister position would give you a real reason to cry."

The Zhang Family had today’s status entirely due to Minister Zhang. When Minister Zhang got angry, Mrs. Zhang dared not cry anymore, she wiped her tears with a handkerchief, worriedly whispering: "Master, with the Emperor’s methods being so ruthless, what should we do in the future?"

Minister Zhang, in turmoil, had no mood to talk with his wife about these matters, irritable as he said: "You just manage the internal affairs, and don’t concern yourself with other things."

After speaking, Minister Zhang brushed his sleeve and returned to the study, summoning a few trusted advisors for a private discussion.

Mrs. Zhang pounded her chest and stamped her feet in the bedroom, wailing bitterly for a while.

However, no matter how heart-wrenchingly Mrs. Zhang cried, the confiscated assets would not return.