novelAbuy Chapter 29 Untimely Variables
Chapter 29 Untimely Variables
"What? Wei Dongting? He hanged himself?"
Yin'e's voice rose half an octave, and for a moment, he even doubted that there was something wrong with his ears.
"Is this information accurate?" he pressed.
"Reporting to Tenth Master, it is absolutely true. The news came from the Ministry of Justice, and I have sent someone to the Wei residence to verify it."
Lord Wei was found by his family around 3 PM this afternoon, hanging from the beam in his study. By the time they pulled him down... he was already dead.
He paused, looked up at Yin'e's face, then lowered his head again and continued, "This matter has already had a considerable impact on the officials, and the news has spread even faster than the matter of our Crown Prince."
After all, what is Lord Wei's status? He has a connection with the Emperor...
"Alright." Yin'e waved his hand, interrupting Yin De.
He knew what Yin De was going to say.
Wei Dongting was Emperor Kangxi's childhood companion and a loyal subject who served the emperor for his entire life; their bond was extraordinary.
It's inappropriate to say such things in the yard.
Walls have ears; if word gets out, it will be that "the people of the Tenth Prince's mansion are gossiping about Wei Dongting's relationship with the Emperor," which will cause considerable trouble.
A slight rustling sound of fabric came from behind me.
The princess stood up.
"Tenth Prince, I am just a woman and I don't understand matters of the court, so I won't cause any trouble here. You should go to the study to talk."
After saying that, she nodded slightly as a farewell and turned to walk into the house.
Yin'e withdrew his gaze and said to Yin De in a low voice, "Get up and go to the study."
The two walked out of the courtyard one after the other.
Passing through the veranda to the study in the front courtyard, Yin'e pushed open the door and went in.
Yin'e did not sit down, but stood in front of the desk with his hands behind his back.
"Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Yin De stood behind him, bowing deeply, and began to report in detail.
"Tenth Master, Lord Wei owes the national treasury 300,000 taels of silver. It wasn't borrowed all at once; it was withdrawn from the Ministry of Revenue over the years."
Yin'e didn't turn around, but simply hummed in acknowledgment, signaling him to continue.
"That ruthless official Tian Wenjing was most relentless in pursuing debts, and it was Lord Wei who did it the most," Yin De said with a hint of indignation.
"The next day, Lord Wei will be summoned to the Ministry of Revenue for questioning in the main hall in front of a group of people."
The next day, someone was sent to the Wei residence to urge them to hurry up, and the gatekeeper and his family were all scolded.
Lord Wei is over sixty years old this year. He has served the Emperor since the early years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign and has never suffered such humiliation in his entire life.
Yin De sighed as he finished speaking: "During the court hearing, Tian Wenjing's words were extremely unpleasant to hear."
Such statements as "The imperial court's money doesn't come from thin air," "Paying back debts is a matter of course," and "No matter who you are or how senior you are, everyone is equal before the emperor's decree"...
What he said was true, but his attitude and tone made it sound like he was interrogating Lord Wei as a criminal.
Lord Wei is so old; how could he possibly save face being lectured like a grandson by a young junior in front of a whole hall?
Yin De spoke casually, but to Yin E, the fire in his heart rose higher and higher.
He wasn't standing up for Wei Dongting.
Although he was indeed a pitiful person.
He saw himself in this incident.
If Lao Jiu hadn't offered to pay off his debts, would he have been the one to hang himself later?
"Is this Tian Wenjing so desperate for power? A lowly official who came from the Imperial Academy has driven a first-rank official to his death. He's got some nerve."
Yin De didn't respond; he didn't dare to.
Behind Tian Wenjing stood the Fourth Prince, and behind the Fourth Prince stood the imperial edict.
If you criticize Tian Wenjing, it's the same as criticizing Fourth Master for being incompetent.
To criticize the Fourth Prince is tantamount to questioning the Emperor's decree to collect debts.
To say such a thing, at best, is being unrestrained in speech; at worst, it's being extremely disrespectful.
Yin'e certainly understood this principle, so he only cursed once and then said nothing more.
"What's going on in court? Has Father Emperor sent any news?"
Yin De shook his head: "There is still no news from the Emperor. He may still be considering it, or he may not want to express his opinion at this time."
After all, Lord Wei was no ordinary man; he had served the Emperor his entire life, and to end up like this, the Emperor must be feeling terrible.
He paused, then added, "However, the officials are quite interesting. After such a big incident, everyone has fallen silent."
All those people who had caused such a commotion at the Ministry of Revenue's gate have fallen silent.
No one dared to step forward, no one dared to discuss it, and they hardly even mentioned it in private.
Yin'e nodded, his gaze becoming profound.
"That's normal. This matter is too shocking and has frightened them. It's true that the Emperor ordered the debt collection, but things are now developing in an uncontrollable direction."
"Now that Wei Dongting is dead, what will those ministers think?"
He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.
A night breeze swept in, carrying a hint of coolness.
"These people are all very shrewd," he continued. "They are not speaking now because they are waiting for the Emperor's statement, to see what his attitude is towards this matter."
If the Emperor were to hold Tian Wenjing accountable, they would seize the opportunity to cause trouble, bring up all the past grievances, and force the Fourth Prince to stop.
"If the Emperor doesn't pursue the matter, then Wei Dongting's death will be an isolated case, and they will shut up and obediently repay the money."
Yin De nodded repeatedly, secretly admiring him.
"However," Yin'e suddenly changed the subject, "Wei Dongting worked at the Jiangning Textile Bureau for so many years; it was one of the most lucrative positions in the world."
How could he possibly be unable to repay a mere 300,000 taels of silver?
"Even if he's been spending a lot of money and hasn't been well-off these past few years, it's unlikely he'd be driven to suicide by 300,000 taels of silver. Has something happened to his family?"
Yin De paused for a moment, then shook his head: "This servant does not know."
It's very difficult for outsiders to find out about what's going on in Lord Wei's family.
However, I have heard that Lord Wei's sons are all rather useless and spend money like water.
In his early years, he did several unprofitable business deals, losing a significant portion of his family's wealth. Perhaps... that's related.
Yin'e did not ask any further questions.
He knew that Yin Deneng could not find out the specific financial situation of Wei Dongting's family.
But his intuition told him that things weren't that simple.
Even if a veteran official who had served as the Imperial Textile Commissioner in Jiangnan for more than a decade had a few spendthrift sons, he wouldn't be so poor as to be unable to come up with 300,000 taels of silver.
There must be something else behind this debt.
But that's a matter for later.
Right now, he has something more important to do.
"Is the mourning hall for Wei Dongting all set up?" he asked.
"Reporting to Tenth Master, everything is arranged," Yin De replied.
"The Wei family residence is located in Weijia Hutong on the north side of Chaoyangmen Inner Street, not far from here."
This afternoon, I sent someone to inquire; the mourning hall has already been set up, and it should be able to receive mourners tomorrow.
"Alright." Yin'e nodded. "Tomorrow morning, you'll come with me to offer incense to the old man."
Regardless, Lord Wei is a veteran official of the court, having served Father Emperor his entire life. As his juniors, we must not neglect the proper etiquette.