Fake Eunuch: Discovering the Emperor is a Woman!-Chapter 225 - 223: Stick and Carrot (Twentieth Update)

This made them look at Lin Yi with eyes filled with both doubt and a hint of uneasy trepidation.

The young Emperor patted the scroll on the jade case, which made them all look in that direction.

They were all eager to know exactly what was inscribed on it. Could there be any leverage against them in the other party’s hands?

Could it be that the target was not just the Imperial Censorate?

Just when everyone was very puzzled and trying to figure out what was going on, Lin Yi’s voice rang out again.

Lin Yi first made a bow to the young Emperor, then turned his gaze to the surrounding people before he began to speak calmly:

"Heh heh, since Your Majesty has instructed this official to speak, I shall discuss this matter.

This is the sales record from the Glazed Tile Shop yesterday. There are some numbers in there that I find questionable."

Once Lin Yi spoke, the crowd felt a lurch in their hearts.

Nobody had expected that these would be the sales ledgers from the Glazed Tile Shop from the day before.

Casting doubt in their minds.

They did not know what Lin Yi intended by presenting this document.

But even though they did not know what this fellow was up to, it caused everyone’s heart to begin to feel uneasy.

It felt as though some ill omen was about to unfold.

Sure enough, in the next moment, Lin Yi’s voice continued.

Lin Yi now looked directly at Wang Kui and the group of officials from the Imperial Censorate before he spoke to the young Emperor:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, after reviewing yesterday’s sales ledger, I found some of the officials’ expenditure to be abnormal.

This includes Master Wang from the Imperial Censorate and Imperial Censor Liu.

After comparing, I found that these two officials receive a salary of only twelve taels of silver per month, amounting to no more than one hundred and twenty taels a year.

Yet just yesterday, Master Wang spent over three thousand taels of patterned silver.

And Imperial Censor Liu also spent three thousand five hundred taels.

I would like to ask Master Wang and Imperial Censor Liu, where did this money come from? Surely, it isn’t all from your salaries, is it?"

Upon hearing these words, everyone couldn’t help but take in a sharp breath.

Nobody expected Lin Yi to reveal such a thing.

This caused almost none of the Civil and Military Officials to not feel a chill down their spine.

Because just yesterday, almost every official who attended the event had made purchases, with the least amount spent still totalling over a thousand taels.

This suddenly made it quite difficult for anyone to explain.

For instance, the Imperial Censor, who was only earning a hundred taels of patterned silver a year, spent three thousand taels in one day, which is equivalent to thirty years of his salary.

This was something that simply could not be explained.

After all, it’s not like one could just save up their entire salary – daily expenses can be substantial.

Apart from daily necessities, being able to save ten or twenty taels of one’s annual salary was already quite considerable.

And saving up three thousand taels would obviously take an unthinkable amount of time.

Without any accidents, even if one saved for a lifetime, they could hardly accumulate such a sum.

Most of the Civil and Military Officials shared the same fate and were in the same predicament.

Their spending far exceeded what their salary could justify.

As expected, when Lin Yi said this, a few faces instantly turned colors.

Especially Master Wang Kui and Imperial Censor Liu, whose faces turned ashen.

Their mouths opened, but their lips quivered a few times without knowing what to say.

However, at this moment, Lin Yi’s voice suddenly took on a cheery tone that reached the ears of everyone present, including Imperial Censor Liu and Wang Kui:

"Heh heh, I had previously heard that some merchants operate under the names of officials. I am afraid that some merchants have been relying on Imperial Censor Liu and Master Wang Kui’s names, haven’t they?

Otherwise, such large sums of money would be somewhat difficult to explain."

Upon hearing this, the two of them clutched at this lifeline as if it were their last hope.

Without thinking, they just wanted to use this explanation to clean up the inexplicable funds.

But they failed to notice the playful look in Lin Yi’s eyes.

Even the surrounding Civil and Military Officials, upon hearing Lin Yi’s words, couldn’t help but give him a thumbs up.

Knowing that this man had indeed offered a hard blow and then a sweet date, aiming to nail the point perfectly.

By tapping on these two, he also offered the other party a way out.

In doing so, he warned the other party not to cross him again in the future, or else he would put them in an untenable position.

At this time, Imperial Censor Liu and Wang Kui also thought that Lin Yi truly had some tricks up his sleeve.

They considered Lin Yi an experienced operator, seeing that he didn’t strike them down with one blow.

Thus, the two immediately nodded vigorously to Lin Yi, and began to say:

"What Lin Yi said is extremely true, very true indeed.

Just as Lin Yi mentioned, indeed there are merchants associated with this official’s name, and it is because of this that these funds were gifts to this official."

However, when these words came out, Lin Yi’s smile grew wider and his characteristic grin shone even brighter.

To the oblivious Imperial Censor Liu and Wang Kui, on seeing this smile, they mistook Lin Yi’s cheerful expression as a friendly one.

They thought it meant that after he had given them a way out, they would no longer make things difficult for him.

Hence, both of them fearfully squeezed out an awkward smile toward Lin Yi.

Of course, Lin Yi understood the meaning behind that smile.

Not only did Lin Yi understand, but the young Emperor sitting on the Dragon Chair understood as well.

Yet the young Emperor said nothing; she did not intervene.

She simply watched coldly from the sidelines, waiting for Lin Yi to lead the discussion.

When the Fourth Prince observed this scene, his heart also missed a beat.

He silently praised Lin Yi’s finesse, admiring how effortlessly he had resolved the crisis and simultaneously made the entire Imperial Censorate owe him a favor.

Indeed, if Lin Yi really got into trouble one day, it is likely that the entire Imperial Censorate would go to great lengths to help him.

Perhaps it could even be feasible for Lin Yi to reclaim the authority of the entire Imperial Censorate.

What a masterful stroke at winning hearts and minds, a brilliant strategy of offering both a stick and a sweet date.

He had not expected someone so young to be so proficient in these tactics.

...End of Chapter...