Chapter 65: Commoners and Princes Alike Are Guilty Before the Law

Chapter 65: Commoners Breaking the Law Shall Be Punished Just Like Imperial Princes

Zhu Gaozhi listened for a while before suddenly feeling that his second brother was not as universally reviled as people made him out to be. In fact, he thought his brother was doing a good deed and deserved a hefty reward.

"If everyone were like my second brother, only charging an interest rate of fifteen percent, the common people wouldn't have to sell their sons and daughters. Think of how many heartbreaking separations of flesh and blood could be prevented! What he has done is wonderful and of boundless merit. I must seek an audience with His Majesty to request a commendation for him!"

"Hold on."

Xu Jingchang stopped Zhu Gaozhi. "Do not breathe a word of this. At least for now, do not submit a memorial to His Majesty. Keep it suppressed for me."

Big-fat Zhu was taken aback. "Merits must be rewarded, and faults must be punished. Even if it was my second brother who did a good deed, I cannot keep it from His Majesty. I still understand the principle that affairs of state come first."

Xu Jingchang gave him a sidelong glance. "What do you understand? This matter must be put on hold no matter what, but it won't take many days anyway. We can inform His Majesty then. Whatever happens, I will take the blame; you won't have to shoulder any responsibility. However, I must remind His Highness: if you cannot control yourself and cause trouble for me, not only will the Prince of Han not be grateful to you in the end, but His Majesty will also blame you. Let's see how you tidy up that mess then!"

Big-fat Zhu was startled. Moreover, he could tell that Xu Jingchang's actions did not seem aimed at helping him seize the throne or suppressing the Prince of Han... It turned out he had just been indulging in wishful thinking.

At this moment, Yao Guangxiao coughed lightly and said, "Your Highness, just listen to the Chief Administrator Xu. Wait and see how things develop. With this old monk here, I will handle matters at His Majesty's end."

Hearing this, Zhu Gaozhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, he began to wonder what on earth Xu Jingchang was up to. Wait a few days—what kind of outcome could waiting possibly produce?

Yet Xu Jingchang kept his lips tightly sealed, leaving Big-fat Zhu with no choice but to wait. Fortunately, the Office of Transmission was at the nerve center of court politics, and all kinds of memorials were continuously submitted, among which the impeachments against the Prince of Han were growing increasingly numerous.

Some accused him of competing with the people for profit, exploiting the populace, and acting with unbridled madness; others even claimed that the Prince of Han was buying people's hearts in a treasonous conspiracy... The more Zhu Gaozhi read, the more his heart pounded with fright. He even entertained the thought: could his second brother really be plotting a rebellion, and was his cousin just waiting for evidence?

Just like that, another seven days passed, and the memorials impeaching Zhu Gaozhi reached a total of twenty. Coincidentally, this fell upon the decennial council meeting of the Nine Ministers at the Office of Transmission.

Zheng Ci, the Minister of Punishments, looked at Xu Jingchang and finally spoke, "Chief Administrator Xu, look at all these memorials impeaching the Prince of Han. We cannot just turn a blind eye, can we? Should we ask His Majesty to make a decision?"

Xu Jingchang wore a smile. "Minister Zheng, the matter of the Prince of Han issuing loans has been circulating for several days now. I figure that anyone who ought to understand the situation already understands it fully. If your Ministry of Punishments wishes to impeach him, my Office of Transmission will certainly not join you in signing off. Feel free to do as you please."

Xia Yuanji chuckled. "Well said. Our Ministry of Revenue has no interest in this either."

As for Song Li, Luo Qian, and the others, they simply lowered their heads in silence, as if to say this had nothing to do with them.

Impeaching an imperial prince, even if successful, would make an enemy of him, let alone the high probability of failure... They were not ordinary censors who needed to gamble for a future.

Those who sat securely at the pinnacle of the imperial court preferred to avoid trouble whenever possible, especially messy, extraneous complications—the fewer, the better.

Zheng Ci frowned deeply. "Chief Administrator Xu, it truly is not that I am meddling unnecessarily. With more and more people launching impeachments, if the Ministry of Punishments takes no stance, people will surely accuse us of dereliction of duty, and next time, I'll be impeached right along with him."

Jian Yi said with a taut expression, "There won't be a next time."

Zheng Ci was stunned.

Jian Yi added, "Someone has already come to the Ministry of Personnel to file a denunciation."

Zheng Ci's old face instantly collapsed. "Then the few of you must quickly think of a way out for me! I need to clear this hurdle!"

Xia Yuanji smiled faintly. "Clear the hurdle how? Are you going to say that the Prince of Han's fifteen percent interest rate is wrong? Spouting nonsense with your eyes wide open—do you think you can fool His Majesty?"

Zheng Ci said miserably, "Minister Xia, you don't understand. Such a low interest rate from the Prince of Han will genuinely breed idleness. I've heard that some people are getting something for nothing: they actually borrow money at fifteen percent interest and then turn around and lend it to rural villagers at twenty percent, pocketing a five percent margin for doing nothing at all. That is truly going too far."

Xia Yuanji snorted, "That's because some people are too greedy. Even a twenty-percent interest rate can be considered conscientious, let alone fifteen percent!"

Zheng Ci grew anxious. "Minister Xia, why do you keep speaking up for the Prince of Han? What on earth are you thinking?"

Xia Yuanji scoffed, "What am I thinking? Are you trying to pin the crime of being part of the Prince of Han's faction on me as well? I might as well make things completely clear: the Prince of Han borrowed money from the Paper Currency Bureau. He exchanged solid gold and silver for paper currency and then went out to issue loans. The Ministry of Revenue has no logical reason to object. I can tell Minister Zheng plainly: if you dare to go impeach him before His Majesty, I will state the unvarnished truth."

So the man surnamed Xia had already lined his pockets. With him acting as a protector, this was indeed going to be difficult to handle.

After discussing among themselves for a long time without reaching any conclusion, Jian Yi directly declared the council meeting adjourned, flicked his sleeves, and left. Xia Yuanji and the others also took their leave one after another.

Only Zheng Ci remained until the very end.

"Chief Administrator Xu, things have come to this. If the Prince of Han is really allowed to keep this up, the common folk of Yingtian will know only the Prince of Han and not His Majesty. Something is bound to go wrong."

Xu Jingchang smiled. "Minister Zheng, I understand your meaning, but Minister Xia's stance is equally clear. If you want to attack him for competing with the people for profit, or claim that his interest rates are inappropriate, Xia Yuanji will not agree. As for framing the Prince of Han on charges of treasonous intent, as some have suggested, I cannot agree to that either. You know very well what kind of crime it is to frame a direct imperial prince. Don't forget, Her Majesty the Empress is still around. That is not the way to go looking for death."

Zheng Ci wore a bitter expression, feeling more troubled than ever.

Xu Jingchang looked at him and said in a low voice, "Minister Zheng, tell me the honest truth: is it because your own family issues loans and the Prince of Han has stolen your business that you are in such a rush?"

Zheng Ci could not help rolling his eyes. "Chief Administrator Xu, this matter truly has nothing to do with me. It's just that His Highness the Prince of Han has offended the gentry and powerful families of Yingtian. There's no telling how many people will be implicated in this, and I honestly cannot sort it out. More people will impeach him soon enough, and it cannot be suppressed; it will inevitably reach His Majesty. When the Three Judicial Offices hold a joint trial with the Ministry of Punishments taking the lead, everything I do will be wrong. I hope Chief Administrator Xu will see the bigger picture!"

Xu Jingchang rolled his eyes slightly and mused, "Minister Zheng, I might as well lay my cards on the table. If there is a genuine impeachment attack against the Prince of Han, I will step forward to help him as well. After all, the Prince of Han has done nothing wrong. The only way forward right now is to force him to retreat in the face of difficulties and voluntarily abandon this business, or raise his interest rates to over thirty percent, putting him on par with everyone else."

Zheng Ci was stunned. "Then... what if he refuses?"

Xu Jingchang laughed in exasperation. "Haven't you ever heard the common saying: people will do business that leads to execution, but no one does business at a loss? You just need to drive up his costs and force him to raise his interest rates. Isn't that all it takes?"

Zheng Ci still frowned. "Chief Administrator Xu, can you speak more plainly? I still don't understand."

"You don't understand? I don't understand either!" Xu Jingchang turned and walked away, too lazy to utter another word.

I still have to play Go with that old crafty bald monk. Talking too much to this blockhead affects my intelligence.

Scratching his head, Zheng Ci returned to the Ministry of Punishments and pondered Xu Jingchang's words over and over. How was he supposed to increase the Prince of Han's costs? Without a doubt, it meant making the Prince of Han pay more money. How to make him pay more?

Looking at the mountains of case files piled on his desk, Zheng Ci suddenly had an epiphany.

Ever since the commercial tax was levied, cases of tax evasion had emerged endlessly.

When the Prince of Han issued loans, even though the interest was only fifteen percent, he was still making a profit. Since he was making a profit, he had to pay taxes.

If he evaded taxes, he could be penalized at three times the amount. Wouldn't that drive his costs right back up?!

Moreover, the Prince of Han was delinquent on his taxes, and penalizing him threefold would be entirely justified and within the bounds of the law: a prince breaking the law shall be punished just like a commoner. Furthermore, since Xu Jingchang was the one in charge of taxation, he wouldn't be able to refute it and would even have to support him.

Xia Yuanji managed finances, but he also needed to replenish the national treasury.

Dragging these two men in, claiming the moral high ground, and taking the matter before His Majesty—he might well manage to extricate himself.

The more Zheng Ci thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. That brat Xu Jingchang had been hinting at him, and it undoubtedly meant this very thing.

That kid really was a genius.

Three days later, inside the Office of Transmission, Xu Jingchang was drinking tea and slacking off when news suddenly arrived that Marquis of Jing'an, Wang Zhong, had arrived.

Xu Jingchang invited him in and asked with a smile, "Are the troops prepared?"

Wang Zhong immediately replied, "Rest assured, Chief Administrator Xu. As long as you give the order, I will definitely charge to the front. I will brave mountains of blades and seas of fire without hesitation."

Xu Jingchang smiled. "It's not that serious. Sit down and have some tea first."

After waiting a moment longer, memorials from the six ministries arrived successively, and Xu Jingchang specifically requested the one from the Ministry of Punishments.

From a pile of memorials, he fished out the one penalizing the Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu.

"Alright, you all organize the rest. I'm heading into the palace."

With that, Xu Jingchang did not look back, heading straight into the palace to see Zhu Di.

"Your Majesty, quickly affix the imperial seal and approve the request from the Ministry of Punishments."

Zhu Di frowned deeply. "I haven't even read it clearly. This seems to be an impeachment of the Second Prince. Explain yourself clearly."

Xu Jingchang said, "There's no time, Your Majesty! Approve it quickly, and I will immediately go inform the public gazette to report extensively on this matter: a prince breaking the law shall be punished just like a commoner... But shouldn't a commoner breaking the law be punished even more so like an imperial prince?"

Zhu Di was still frowning when Hou Xian suddenly rushed in.

"Reporting to Your Majesty! Minister of Punishments Zheng Ci, Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Wu Zhong, and Censor-in-Chief-Left Guo Zi are all requesting an audience."

Zhu Di was taken aback. All three judicial offices had arrived.

He lifted his eyelids, glanced at Xu Jingchang, and immediately picked up the imperial vermillion brush to make his markings. There was no time for hesitation.

Xu Jingchang felt a great sense of relief. At this point, wanting to change things would require forcing Zhu Di to rescind his imperial decree.

And that was simply impossible!