Zhou Zhao sensed something amiss. She glanced down, her expression unreadable. As Xu Zhaorongf pondered what to make of it, Zhou Zhao suddenly slammed her fist on the imperial desk. Her phoenix eyes flashed upward, filled with towering rage:
“Such audacity! To dare embezzle over 70 million taels of silver. I never imagined our Great Zhou had such greedy vermin.”
The Mingtang, also known as the Hall of Supreme Harmony, was a ritual building constructed by the ancestral emperor to follow ancient customs for governance and worship. Each year on Buddha’s birthday, commoners were allowed to freely enter and visit. It was also a place established by the ancestral emperor to interact with the people.
Its design was unique, incorporating the craftsmanship of artisans from across the nation. It had three levels in total.
The bottom level was square, symbolizing the four seasons, guarded by the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.
The middle level was dodecagonal, mimicking the twelve earthly branches. Above it was a round dome supported by nine dragons.
The top level had twenty-four sides, representing the twenty-four solar terms. Twenty-four auspicious beasts each occupied one side.
At the apex were golden dragons and phoenixes holding a flaming pearl, with a massive pillar (about 5.3 meters in diameter) running through the center from top to bottom.
It contained countless Buddhist treasures and incorporated meteorological and esoteric elements, making it a truly one-of-a-kind structure.
Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a great fire two years ago. Upon hearing the news, the Empress immediately decreed that the Minister of Works must complete the reconstruction of the Mingtang, with an unlimited budget.
However, an unlimited budget did not mean it was free for these vermin below to line their own pockets.
“How many are involved?” Her voice carried obvious displeasure.
Xu Zhaorongf replied with a trembling voice: “All officials involved in the reconstruction participated, except for Lord Zhang Baohuan. But the Mingtang reconstruction was entrusted to Lord Zhang’s overall planning by Your Majesty that year…”
Xu Zhaorongf needn’t elaborate on the details that followed. The people below were in chaos, but the leader was unaware, though he couldn’t escape blame either.
Zhou Zhao’s phoenix eyes grew pensive: “Although Baohuan is well-versed in literature, he’s not skilled in accounting matters. He couldn’t have imagined those people would be so brazenly audacious. I didn’t expect it either, and now Baohuan has been implicated.”
Zhou Zhao personally exculpating Zhang Baohuan showed his importance in the Empress’s heart.
Xu Zhaorongf nodded: “Indeed, it’s a shame for Eunuch Zhang, who only had Your Majesty’s interests at heart.”
Zhang Baohuan’s fate was for the Empress to decide. The urgent matter now was the corruption and dereliction of duty in the Mingtang reconstruction. Xu Zhaorongf opened another register and pointed to the list of officials:
“These officials belong to various factions at court. This humble servant boldly guesses that their leaders must have known about this.”
“Different factions?” Zhou Zhao’s phoenix eyes instantly darkened. “Tell me which factions.”
Xu Zhaorongf looked embarrassed, but under the pressure of Zhou Zhao’s gaze, he had to say: “The Censorate faction, Princess Chaoyang’s faction, Princess Yong’an’s faction, and… and the Zhou clan faction.”
Zhou Zhao looked over, seeming doubtful. Xu Zhaorongf hurriedly added: “The Crown Prince’s faction, led by Prime Minister Zhang Xingwei, abhors such embezzlement and didn’t participate.”
Zhou Zhao’s phoenix eyes blinked, pausing for a moment before nodding: “You say Chaoyang was involved too?”
“This humble servant doesn’t know for certain, but officials she promoted were involved.”
This was tantamount to saying Princess Chaoyang was involved, just not explicitly.
Zhou Zhao’s face showed obvious disappointment, but she quickly regained composure: “I thought after ruling Great Zhou for so many years, although court officials had their agendas, they all cared for the realm. I didn’t realize the cancer started small, but now shadows loom and people’s hearts are hard to fathom.”
Weariness swept over Zhou Zhao. In the past, these issues hadn’t surfaced, but now they all emerged, almost overwhelming this devoted Empress.
Not just Zhou Zhao, even Xu Zhaorongf was shocked upon learning this news today. If he hadn’t followed the Empress for years, his composure might have crumbled.
Xu Zhaorongf brought up another matter: “The court officials have different thoughts, and the various factions have been secretly fighting for years. But these were just power struggles. Now I fear they want more, especially after the incident with Moqian, the Governor of Yingzhou. It’s clear they’re getting impatient, otherwise they wouldn’t have made such obvious mistakes.”
The officials not accepting her rule was something Zhou Zhao had always worried about. For thousands of years, she was the first true female emperor to ascend the throne. No matter how impressive her achievements, some would always use her gender against her, never fully satisfied.
When Moqian openly raised the banner of rebellion against the female emperor of Great Zhou, although he failed, it was like termites boring holes in a thousand-mile-long dike. Though the termites were eliminated, the holes remained. After a few more impacts, the dike would collapse.
“Hmph, they can forget about it,” she said, rubbing her aching forehead. Zhou Zhao felt inexplicably tired. “Lai Luozhi has been embezzling for years, and I’ve been turning a blind eye. Now they don’t know restraint and need to be taught a lesson.”
When the Empress first ascended the throne, the court had various intentions. Lai Luozhi helped her deal with the opposition. This Lai Luozhi was known for framing others and his insatiable greed for money. Zhou Zhao, being who she was, naturally saw through him clearly, but keeping him around was more beneficial than harmful. So she had been quite tolerant over the years. But the Mingtang reconstruction was such a major project, and for Lai Luozhi to also take a share was simply touching the Empress’s reverse scale.
Seeing the Empress mention Lai Luozhi, Xu Zhaorongf hurriedly brought up Shen Du’s matter subtly.
He had just learned about the arranged marriage. Although he didn’t know why they came here earlier, it didn’t take much guessing to know it was about canceling the engagement.
Regardless of whether Shen Du had already married Zhu Yan, even if both were unmarried, Shen Du wouldn’t marry Princess Jia’an. Once married, he would be part of Princess Chaoyang’s faction, with many constraints on his actions. This was what Shen Du was unwilling to do.
It was indeed as he had guessed.
“Your Majesty, the current situation is critical. We shouldn’t hurt their hearts and should take this opportunity to make good use of them.”
He advised this way, but the Empress was still somewhat displeased. Xu Zhaorongf had a plan in mind and slowly said,
“Your Majesty, everyone knows the head of the Grand Secretariat stays away from women and is impartial. Now that Shen Du is wholeheartedly devoted to Zhu Yan, isn’t this a perfect restraint? In the future, he will surely serve Your Majesty wholeheartedly.”
An imposing aura emanated from Zhou Zhao’s body. A cold wind swirled, blowing over the memorials on the imperial desk and lifting a corner of the Empress’s dragon robe.
Xu Zhaorongf went to close the window lattice, then came back to look at the Empress, saying softly: “Your Majesty!”
Under Xu Zhaorongf’s urgent gaze, the Empress sighed deeply and picked up her brush…
Soon, two orders silently flew out of the Daming Palace, quietly entering the Censorate and the Grand Secretariat, to keep her left and right hands in check.
The first order: The Grand Secretariat must closely monitor the Crown Prince’s faction and Princess Yong’an’s faction, and secretly monitor the Censorate.
The second order: The Censorate must closely monitor the Zhou clan faction and Princess Chaoyang’s faction, and secretly monitor the Grand Secretariat.
Shen Du and Lai Luozhi received secret orders simultaneously, both guessing at the Empress’s intentions. But one thing was certain: the capital was about to see upheaval.
As for the embezzlement in the Mingtang reconstruction, after much deliberation, the Empress summoned Zhang Baohuan and Xu Zhaorongf overnight. They discussed it for a whole night. As twilight faded, Xu Zhaorongf and Zhang Baohuan left the imperial study. The Empress, exhausted, went straight to bed in the study and fell into a deep sleep.