boyutpedia Chapter 172 The National Treasury Was Stolen by Refugees
Chapter 172 The National Treasury Was Stolen by Refugees
On a winter afternoon, sunlight shines through the carved window lattices, casting mottled light and shadows on the blue brick floor of the hall.
The light was dim, rather cold, adding a sense of oppression to the entire hall. Incense curled slowly within the hall, its smoke rising slowly, but it failed to dispel the heavy atmosphere that permeated the air.
Eunuch Wu walked quickly into the hall with joy in his heart, carrying the good news from the front line.
He walked briskly, his eyes filled with excitement and anticipation, and he was eager to tell the emperor the good news as soon as possible and receive a great reward.
However, the moment he stepped into the hall, the corners of his mouth, which had been raised, froze instantly.
The emperor was sitting upright on the dragon throne, his face stern. His eyes were as cold as the ice in December, revealing a solemn chill, and shot straight at him.
Eunuch Wu felt a chill running up his spine from the soles of his feet, and his body suddenly froze in place as if he had been cast under a spell.
"Your Majesty?"
Eunuch Wu's voice trembled slightly, with a hint of cautious tentativeness, and seemed particularly weak in the empty hall.
He quickly shifted his gaze from the emperor to the two ministers of finance standing beside him. His eyes were filled with confusion and uneasiness, as if silently asking, "What's wrong with the emperor?"
The Minister of Revenue subconsciously looked at each other, his eyes also full of doubts.
They frowned slightly, then shook their heads helplessly. The sunlight outside was still cold, shining on them, but they could not feel a trace of warmth.
Obviously, there was great news of victory coming from the front, which was a happy event worthy of national celebration, but the emperor had a gloomy face at the moment, without any joy on his face. This weird atmosphere made them feel cold in their hearts and confused.
"Eunuch Wu, are you holding a military report from the front line?"
The emperor's voice was low and cold, echoing in the silent hall, as if carrying an invisible sense of oppression, causing Eunuch Wu's legs to tremble slightly.
He has served the emperor for so many years, but this is the first time he has seen the emperor like this.
"Reply...Reply to Your Majesty, that's right."
Eunuch Wu hurriedly raised the military report high with both hands, his voice trembling more and more, "Good news has come from the front line. Our army has won a great victory at the border. The enemy has been beaten back step by step. The border crisis has been resolved. This is great news. I am sure that His Majesty will be very pleased to hear it." As he spoke, he secretly raised his eyes, observing the emperor's expression, secretly praying in his heart that the emperor would smile because of this.
However, the emperor did not show his joy as Eunuch Wu had expected. Instead, he snorted coldly and suddenly threw the memorial in his hand to the ground. There was a crisp "pa" sound that was particularly harsh in the hall.
"Get out, all of you, get out."
There was a crackling sound of things falling, and Eunuch Wu, the Minister of Revenue and others crawled out of the hall. They did not stop until they were far away from the hall gate, gasping for breath.
Eunuch Wu was still in shock, his hands still tightly grasping the military newspaper, his knuckles turning white from the force.
The Minister of Revenue also looked very ugly, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead, which looked particularly abrupt in this cold winter day.
"What on earth is going on?"
Eunuch Wu finally couldn't help but speak, his voice tinged with tears, "Such great news, why is the Emperor not only unhappy, but furious?"
The Minister of Revenue shook his head slightly, his face full of worry. "I don't understand either. Although the Emperor is usually majestic, he is not unreasonable. Could it be that because of County Lady Yan's disobedience, the Emperor is acting so abnormally today?"
"Disobeying the order? What's going on?"
Eunuch Wu was immediately shocked. How could the general's wife disobey the order?
The Minister of Revenue immediately explained the whole story. Eunuch Wu had a sullen face but could not say anything. After all, the court had done something unkind in this matter, and the emperor was probably angry out of shame. It just so happened that he submitted the military report at this time, which made him unlucky.
Suddenly, a young eunuch ran over in a panic. "My Lords, this is terrible! We just received news from the Imperial Household Department that the national treasury has been robbed, and a large amount of gold, silver, treasures, and precious cultural relics have been lost."
"What?" Eunuch Wu and others exclaimed in unison, their faces full of shock.
"This...how is this possible? The national treasury is heavily guarded, how could it be stolen?" The Minister of Revenue had an expression of disbelief on his face, his hands clenched into fists.
The young eunuch lowered his head and said in a trembling voice, "I don't know the specific circumstances, but I only know that it was discovered early this morning, and the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are already investigating it thoroughly."
As soon as he finished speaking, a young eunuch came running over and said, "The thief has been found."
"Who is it?" several people asked in unison.
"It was those refugees." The young eunuch took a deep breath and said, "The Imperial Household Department sent people to investigate, and they found the missing jewels and other items in the refugees' quarters."
In an instant, the whole place fell into deathly silence.
This answer seems like a fairy tale and is hard to believe - how could those hungry and displaced refugees, who have difficulty even surviving, have the ability to sneak into the heavily guarded treasury and steal priceless property?
They were making quite a lot of noise outside the hall, and soon the emperor's call came from inside the hall.
This time the emperor's attitude seemed to soften. "The treasury was robbed?"
Several people dared not say anything, and finally it was Eunuch Wu who said, "Your Majesty, the things have been found."
"Who did it?"
“It’s… it’s the refugees.”
The emperor once again fell into a long silence. The air in the hall seemed to have frozen. No one dared to breathe. Only the candlelight flickered and the light and shadows swayed on the wall.
After a long time, the emperor finally broke the silence. His voice was low but filled with unquestionable authority as he spoke directly, "Since County Lady Yan said that Nanping Prefecture is unable to accept those refugees, then send them all to Dongping Prefecture."
As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the audience was shocked.
The Minister of Revenue's expression changed drastically, his eyes full of disbelief.
His lips trembled slightly as he pondered, "Are we sending the refugees to the territory of the newly appointed Prince?" But this Prince was so mysterious that no one had ever seen his true face. And Dongping and Nanping Prefectures... now that this thorny task of refugee resettlement was in his hands, there were too many variables involved. The wind was rising.
No one mentioned the theft from the national treasury again, and the refugees were taken on carriages to Dongping Prefecture that same day.
When Yan Wanwan learned that Qin Yu had won a victory and was about to return to the court, she took out a letter and smiled slightly, saying, "It's time to hand this over."
There were a few big words written on the envelope, and it was obviously a divorce letter.