Shortly after.
Pang Yu ran back from behind the fish shed, sweating profusely.
"Hall Master, we've looked into it."
Pang Yu stepped a half-pace closer and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his face.
"Of these thirty-seven boat owners, seventeen are hard-core operators who transport large quantities of grain via the water transport system. As soon as they stopped sailing, all the smaller boat owners behind them followed suit and halted operations."
Xu Wuyou stared at the empty boats bobbing with the waves on the river.
"Have we investigated the backgrounds of these seventeen?"
Pang Yu nodded repeatedly and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his belt.
"Of course we have! These people usually aren't short of silver, but at the end of every month, they all go to the same bank to clear their accounts."
Xu Wuyou turned his head and looked at the piece of paper in Pang Yu's hand.
"Which one?"
"Guanghui Bank."
Xu Wuyou quickly ran through the rules of the docks in his mind.
Running boats required an immense amount of capital.
Repairing boats, hiring people, and greasing palms along the waterways all required ready silver.
When times were bad, or when the Imperial Court delayed payments, boat owners had no choice but to borrow money at exorbitant interest rates.
Guanghui Bank?
These words rolled around on the tip of Xu Wuyou's tongue.
This wasn't simply a fear of the Imperial Court reneging on its debts.
This was someone holding the boat owners' lifelines, forcing them to stop their boats.
Taking the lead in halting navigation to create panic.
Once the waterways were cut off, military rations couldn't be transported, and the entire court and country would be shaken.
Ultimately, the blame for this massive disaster would fall squarely on the Xu family's shoulders.
Xu Wuyou turned around and strode towards the hall entrance.
"Prepare a horse. Send the list of these seventeen boat owners, along with the name of Guanghui Bank, back to the Earl's Mansion in the capital immediately."
Pang Yu acknowledged the order and turned to run.
Xu Wuyou stopped and looked back at the river.
Thirty-seven empty boats were neatly lined up in their berths, without a single mooring rope showing any sign of being untied.
This was a show of force against the Xu family, and a show of force against the entire Imperial Court of the Great Qian Dynasty.
The question was, did they have the lives to spare for this?
Inside the Grand Secretariat's duty room in the Forbidden City, sandalwood smoke curled upwards. Chief Minister Xu Jie held a teacup, toying with the floating leaves.
Hurried footsteps echoed from outside, shattering the tranquility of the duty room.
An official from the Office of Transmission rushed in, sweating profusely, holding an urgent dispatch splattered with muddy water.
"Chief Minister! The waterways around the capital are in chaos!"
The official dropped to one knee, holding the urgent dispatch high with both hands, his voice trembling slightly.
"The Tongjin Lock is blocked, and seventeen major boat owners have collectively gone on strike! The military ration fleet for the Central Route Prefecture in the Northern Territory is stranded at the port, and the transport schedule will be delayed by at least half a month!"
Several Grand Secretaries in the duty room stopped writing and gathered around.
The contents of the urgent dispatch were shocking.
Three grain boats had run aground at night, completely blocking the channel.
Rumors were running rampant at the docks, claiming that the Ministry of Revenue was digging up old accounts to arrest people, and that water bandits were active on the river.
One Grand Secretary slammed his hand on the desk, furious.
"Preposterous! Xu Youde is making a big show of investigating twenty-year-old accounts in the Ministry of Revenue, causing panic on the waterways, which has led to this disaster!"
Another Grand Secretary chimed in, his tone urgent.
"The audit must be stopped immediately! If military rations are delayed and something happens at the border, who will bear the responsibility?"
Xu Jie gently set down his teacup. The porcelain lid clinked against the rim, making a crisp sound.
This crisp sound instantly silenced all the discussions in the duty room.
Xu Jie sat upright in his armchair, his old eyes half-closed.
Shang Qitai's scheme to force the emperor's hand was ruthless and venomous.
Using the paralysis of the waterways to force the Grand Secretariat to take a stance, and to force the Emperor to stop the audit.
The Xu family, acting as the knife, was now being roasted over a fire.
Xu Jie looked at the urgent dispatch.
The Tongjin Lock was blocked, and seventeen major boat owners were on strike.
This was absolutely no coincidence.
Shang Qitai had been operating in the Ministry of Revenue for many years and had deep roots.
With this move, he was using the lifeblood of the entire Great Qian Dynasty as a bargaining chip.
Once the waterways were cut off, not only would military rations for the Northern Territory fail to arrive, but the taxes from Jiangnan wouldn't reach the capital either.
The national treasury would be empty, and the borders would be in peril.
This dual pressure was enough to crush any official attempting to thoroughly investigate this case.
Xu Jie picked up his teacup and took a sip.
The tea had grown cold, carrying a hint of bitterness.
The Emperor wanted to use the Xu family to clean up the water transport system. Shang Qitai wanted to use the paralysis of the waterways to force the Emperor to back down.
This game of chess was getting more and more interesting.
It's just... this student of mine is too bold! I'm afraid he won't survive this!
"Send this urgent dispatch, exactly as it is, into the palace," Xu Jie ordered.
"Tell the Emperor that the Grand Secretariat has no authority to handle this matter and request His Majesty's imperial decision."
The official received the order and withdrew.
Xu Jie wanted to see how Xu Youde would break this deadlock.
"The Grand Secretariat will withhold this and not issue a statement."
After Xu Jie uttered these words, the Grand Secretaries looked at each other, none daring to say more.
"Tomorrow at the morning court, we will request the imperial decision."
Xu Jie picked up his vermilion brush again and continued reviewing the memorials on his desk.
The duty room returned to silence, leaving only the rustling sound of the brush tip against the paper.
Inside the study of the Chengyi Earl's Mansion.
Xu Fu rushed in hastily, forgetting even to knock.
"Master!"
Xu Fu walked up to the desk, stomping his feet in anxiety.
"The news of the paralyzed waterways has spread throughout the capital. The Censorate is frantically colluding, preparing to jointly impeach you at tomorrow's morning court!"
Xu Youde sat in his armchair, holding a copy of an old water transport registry transcribed the night before.
He didn't look up; his gaze remained fixed on the paper.
"Impeach me for what?"
Xu Fu rubbed his hands together anxiously, beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks.
"Impeaching you for ruining the country with your audit! They say that because you're digging up old accounts, you've forced the boat owners to rebel! They want to pin the capital crime of sabotaging the transport of military rations entirely on your head!"
Xu Youde sneered and placed the old registry on the desk.
He stood up and walked over to the charcoal brazier.
He picked up a piece of scrap paper from the floor and tossed it into the fire.
"What the boat owners fear isn't water bandits, nor is it the audit."
Xu Youde stared at the dancing flames.
"What they fear is that the masters behind them won't let them sail."
Xu Fu stood frozen, his face full of confusion.
"Masters?"
Xu Youde turned around and walked back to the desk.
"Have you read the letter Wuyou sent back from the docks?"
Xu Fu nodded.
"I read it. The Eldest Young Master said that the seventeen major boat owners leading the strike all have ties to a bank called Guanghui Bank."
Xu Youde picked up his brush and wrote the words "Guanghui" on a blank piece of paper.
"Don't worry about how chaotic the waterways are. Go tell the secret agents Shen Lian left behind."
Xu Youde pushed the slip of paper toward Xu Fu.
"Investigate the owners of those three stranded grain boats, as well as those seventeen boat owners who are waiting and watching."
Xu Fu leaned in for a look and tucked the paper away.
"Focus on finding out who holds their boat loans, and whether there have been any unusually large deposits of silver in the past three months."
Xu Youde tapped the desk.
"Go get it done."
Xu Fu took the order and quickly turned to leave the study.
Xu Youde sat back down in his armchair, looking at the old registry on the desk.
Guanghui Bank.
These words were a key that unlocked all the doubts in his mind.
Why did Shang Qitai dare to block the waterways so blatantly?
Because behind Guanghui Bank was the First Prince.
As long as they investigated Guanghui Bank, it would implicate the shocking "minor" case of the First Prince secretly raising death squads.
To preserve the face of the royal family, the Emperor would never allow this case to be investigated further.
Shang Qitai was using the First Prince's life to protect his own.
Xu Youde sneered.
Shang Qitai had miscalculated one step.
He thought the Emperor didn't know the First Prince's secrets, but in fact, the Emperor knew everything.
What the Emperor wanted was not the First Prince's life, but Shang Qitai's.
Xu Youde stood up and walked over to the charcoal brazier.
At tomorrow's morning court, he had to present irrefutable evidence proving that the paralysis of the waterways was single-handedly orchestrated by Shang Qitai.
At the same time, he had to completely extricate the First Prince from this case.
This was not only to protect the First Prince, but also to protect the Xu family.
Xu Youde picked up the iron tongs and poked at the burning charcoal in the basin.
Sparks flew in all directions.
This fire had to burn just right.
A fraction more, and it would burn the First Prince.
A fraction less, and it wouldn't be enough to burn Shang Qitai to death.
...
Just before three in the morning.
Xu Youde sat at his desk, his eyes closed as he rested his mind.
Two very faint knocks sounded from outside the door. Xu Fu pushed the door open and entered, holding a sealed memorial in his hands.
"Master, this was sent over from the Imperial City Department."
Xu Youde opened his eyes and took the memorial.
The paper detailed the loan transactions between seventeen boatmen families and the Guanghui Bank, as well as the abnormal influx of funds into the bank over the past three months.
Xu Youde's gaze swept down the page, stopping at the very last line.
There, the name of the true owner behind Guanghui Bank was written.
Xu Youde slowly closed his eyes and let out a deep, heavy breath.
This game of chess had finally reached its most perilous move.
Shang Qitai was gambling—gambling that the Emperor, in order to preserve the First Prince's dignity, would forcefully suppress this storm and call off the audit.
The imperial decree that Shen Lian had conveyed that night still echoed in his ears: Shang Qitai must be put to death, but the investigation must absolutely not point toward the First Prince.
The Xu family had to personally cover up the scandal for the First Prince.
Xu Youde stood up and walked to the window. A hint of pale white had already begun to show in the eastern sky.
Dawn was breaking.
The civil and military officials of the entire court were all waiting to see the Xu family become a laughingstock, waiting to see how he, Xu Youde, would be utterly ruined in the Golden Throne Room.
Xu Youde straightened his official robes.
"Prepare the sedan chair."
...
Early morning, outside the Jingyun Gate, the officials had gathered.
The morning mist had yet to dissipate, and a chill seeped from the bluestone slabs.
The officials gathered in twos and threes, conversing in low voices.
"Have you heard? Three grain ships blocked the Tongjin Lock. The entire waterway is paralyzed."
"How could I not have? The price of rice in the capital has already risen by thirty percent."
"Xu Youde is being far too ruthless with his audits. He's driving the boatmen to a dead end."
"If you ask me, the Xu family is trying to seize control of the water transport under the guise of an audit."
"Shh, keep your voice down. The Minister is right over there."
The officials whispered to one another, buzzing with discussion.
Without exception, every topic revolved around the paralyzed capital waterways and the impending storm in the royal court.
Shang Qitai stood at the very front of the crowd. The surrounding officials, whether intentionally or not, kept their distance from him.
Listening to these discussions, Shang Qitai sneered inwardly.
Xu Youde, you are already the target of public criticism. Let's see how you explain yourself in the Golden Throne Room today.
A series of light footsteps came from behind, and the officials hurriedly parted to make way.
Xu Youde, walking with a steady pace, approached the Jingyun Gate step by step.
The surrounding murmurs gradually died down as everyone's eyes fixed upon Xu Youde.
Shang Qitai turned around. From several yards away, he stared coldly at the approaching Xu Youde.
Xu Youde stopped in his tracks.
The two men stood outside the Jingyun Gate, facing each other from afar through the morning mist.
Shang Qitai's face twitched into a tight smile.
"Lord Xu, did you sleep well last night?"
Xu Youde folded his hands in front of him.
"Thanks to your blessing, Minister, I slept extremely soundly."
Shang Qitai gave a cold snort.
"The waterways are severed, and the border is short on grain. I'm afraid Lord Xu's peace of mind won't last until the court session ends."
Xu Youde gave a slight nod.
"If the waterway is severed, we simply dredge it. But if the rotting mud at the bottom of the water isn't dug out completely, it will only block up again in the future."
Shang Qitai took a step forward, lowering his voice.
"Xu Youde, do you insist on a fight where the fish dies and the net breaks?"
Xu Youde looked straight at Shang Qitai.
"The fish will die."
Xu Youde enunciated every word clearly.
"But the net will not break."
The Jingyun Gate slowly opened, and a eunuch's sharp voice pierced through the morning mist.
"Officials, enter the court—"
Shang Qitai violently flicked his sleeves and took a large stride over the threshold.
Xu Youde stood where he was, watching Shang Qitai's retreating back. He reached out and touched the copy of the Guanghui Bank's registry in his sleeve pocket, which he had transcribed overnight.
