The Prime Minister’s Darling-Chapter 407 - : 205 Exposing Fake (Two updates combined into one)_4
Chapter 407: 205 Exposing Fake (Two updates combined into one)_4
The gains from this trip were truly immense.
The condition of the injured, the deceit of the Ministry of Works, and that little miracle doctor who treated their ailment in the country town.
Moreover, that miracle doctor turned out to be the biological daughter of marquis Ding’an—
In that case, she must also be responsible for the air boxes—
Ding’an Marquis, Ding’an Marquis, are you a fool!
—
...
The first thing the Emperor did upon returning to the palace was summon Minister Zhao to his Imperial Study Room and ask him about the actual extent of the damage.
Minister Zhao initially tried to struggle in vain, however, the Emperor directly threw the list of the injured onto the table in front of him.
Minister Zhao was stunned upon seeing the list.
Hadn’t he already ordered a total lockdown? Which bastard had dared to leak the truth?
Those within the Ministry naturally wouldn’t dare to do so, hence the Emperor hadn’t held any hope from the Ministry and had instead sent Gu Changqing.
Today, most of the injured have been escorted to the hospital by Gu Changqing’s guards. He knows which medical halls they’ve been taken to, and he has easily obtained the names of the patients.
The majority of the injured, including a dying patient who was rejected by other medical halls, six critically wounded patients, seven severely injured patients, and ten lightly wounded patients, were treated in the Miracle Hall.
Minister Zhao turned pale upon seeing the list.
Even though the accident was caused by Gu Jinyu’s reckless alterations to the air boxes, as the head of the Ministry of Works, Minister Zhao had responsibility too. The regulations of the Yamen stipulated that work should commence at the Chen hour (7-9 am), but the incident happened at the Mao hour (5-7 am).
This meant that the craftsmen had been hard at work even before dawn.
Minister Zhao had delayed reporting for an hour to cover up the fact that work had started early.
But this was far from the most terrifying part, the most horrifying thing was that among the victims, many were unregistered workers brought in by the Yamen—they worked the longest hours doing the most dangerous jobs for the least pay, while the court assumed they were regular craftsmen and paid them accordingly. So where has the difference gone?
There are countless workshops, large and small, under the Ministry of Works. This is just the tip of the iceberg. If other workshops also have such scandals, it would amount to a terrifying sum of money.
The Emperor was filled with rage, “Are my eyes blind, are my ears deaf?”
If such egregious things could happen right under the nose of the Emperor, what could be happening throughout Zhan Country?
The treasury deficit, it’s all due to these parasites!
Minister Zhao kowtowed frantically, “Your Majesty! I was unaware of this matter! I failed in my duties! Please give me the chance to redeem myself, I will thoroughly investigate this matter and root out the perpetrators causing chaos behind the scenes!”
The Emperor would never believe him, he had the Imperial Guards drag him away.
The Emperor was shaking with rage.
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
Eunuch Wei brought him a cup of tea, “Your Majesty, please cool down.”
The Emperor fumed, “After such a huge incident, they all treat me as if I’m deaf and blind! How do you expect me to cool down?”
Eunuch Wei sighed.
Minister Zhao was actually a capable man, having served two terms as the Minister of the Ministry of Works, his merits far outweigh his mistakes. If not for the incidents with the furnace and the wind boxes, he would most likely have been promoted again next year.
Just his bad luck to cross paths with that Miss Gu—
Is Minister Zhao the unlucky one, or is it those who get involved with Gu Jinyu who are unlucky?
Eunuch Wei shook his head helplessly, thought of something, and asked, “Your Majesty, as for Princess Hui…”
Oh yes, there was still this trouble to deal with.
The Emperor had a headache and pinched his throbbing temples, “Summon her to the palace tomorrow.”
Early the next day, Eunuch Wei went to the Marquis Residence and brought Gu Jinyu to the palace.
Having learnt a lesson from before, Gu Jinyu was more cautious. On the way to the Imperial Study room, she secretly slipped a heavy pouch into Eunuch Wei’s hand.
She softly asked, “Eunuch Wei, may I ask why His Majesty has summoned me today?”
Eunuch Wei pocketed the pouch with a smile.
Seeing him accept it, Gu Jinyu was delighted, but then she heard him say, “Your Highness will find out once you enter, it’s not my place to guess the Emperor’s mind!”
Gu Jinyu: “…”
After Gu Jinyu entered the Imperial Study room, she respectfully curtsied, “Your servant greets Your Majesty.”
The Emperor did not ask her to rise, but continued to review his documents, making her wait for a while—until her knees were numb—before he spoke in a nonchalant manner, “The investigation into the accident has concluded that it was caused by an excess of air boxes, which you personally modified. What do you have to say to that?”
Gu Jinyu, having spent the entire previous night awake, had already anticipated such a possibility and had prepared her argument.
She knelt and bowed her head, her words sincere and heartfelt, “This servant is guilty. When I was calculating the maximum wind force and volume that the furnace could withstand, I made an error in my calculations.”
These were the words Gu Jiao had used against her, and she was putting them to good use now.
