vstars Chapter 183 The Heart of Doing Good
Chapter 183 The Heart of Doing Good
Qian Hui snorted coldly, "I'm afraid some people don't care about this!"
It was clearly aimed at Concubine Yi, who had just been promoted to concubine.
Third Master Lan, Lan Youkong, who had remained silent the entire time, finally stepped forward. "Your Majesty, please allow me to report! My niece, Consort Yi, has been compassionate since childhood. She has supported the weak and done good deeds on the border, saving countless lives. Therefore, after becoming acquainted through correspondence with Miss Gao, they joined forces to open the Qingciyuan in the poor streets of the Imperial City. My father and brother are both aware of this, and it has been over a decade since then. Consort Yi had no idea she would be marrying far away in the Imperial City, so revealing this now is incredibly fortuitous."
It was a coincidence! Prince Ding glanced at his Grand Tutor and Minister Chen, fearing they were both behind this, all for their own daughters. If Concubine Yi were labeled as greedy and money-grubbing, her character would be tainted, and she would no longer have a chance at the throne. The Sixth Prince would then be a bastard. This scheme was incredibly sinister, and the ultimate target was the Sixth Prince, the Emperor's beloved son!
Qian Hui continued, "Your Majesty, yesterday, officials with a search warrant attempted to break into Qingciyuan, but I stopped them. Is Your Majesty aware of this?"
The Shenwu Emperor said calmly, "Oh? So fast? You guys are so anxious! I wonder whose orders you are following?"
There was a hint of sarcasm in the tone.
"Left Censor, your suspicion is simply that the Qingciyuan received a large amount of donations. If you can prove that the funds were used to help the people who received them, then there will be no other doubts."
The Left Censor hesitated: "That's the theory, but..."
At this time, a voice came from outside the palace. Xiao Fuzi bowed and walked quickly into the palace: "Your Majesty, this is the bill of Qingciyuan sent by Concubine Yi."
Li Xiang walked down the steps, took the account book with both hands, took a few quick steps, and presented it to the Shenwu Emperor with both hands. The Shenwu Emperor read it quickly, closed the account book with both hands, and handed it to Li Xiang: "Pass it on, let them have a look!"
As soon as the master received it in his hand, his heart sank. It seemed that he had done a lot of hard work today.
Minister after minister reviewed the account book, and finally the Left Censor stood up and said, "Your Majesty, there is a huge amount of donation in this account book that has no source and no indication of who donated it!"
Jiang Qi said expressionlessly, "You're talking about that anonymous person, right? If someone doesn't want to reveal their name or identity, can we force them to do so? As long as the anonymous person's donation is used for the benefit of the people, what's the point of digging into their details?"
Emperor Shenwu narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Speaking of this nameless person, I also have an account book, Li Xiang!"
Li Xiang took out a thin account book from his wide sleeves.
Emperor Shenwu said directly: "Let them all see!"
After all the civil and military officials had finished reading the documents, the hall fell silent for a moment. Wei Yanting was the first to break the silence: "Your Majesty, the numbers in this account book look familiar to me! These numbers are exactly the same as the ones donated by that anonymous individual! Could it be..."
The Shenwu Emperor stood up and said, "Yes! I am the Nameless One! Since I returned from the border, I have donated a sum of money from my private treasury to several large charitable institutions within the imperial city every year. This is my true intention, and it is also my heart of compassion for the weak and the young. I do not intend to make this public. I simply want to do my best to help the people of Dasheng. As long as I can truly help those who are vulnerable, I don't care about empty reputation! I didn't expect that today, I would be forced by my own ministers to recognize this Nameless One."
All the civil and military officials knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty has blessed the people of the world! I am terrified! I feel ashamed!"
"You should feel ashamed! Let me ask you, you are the backbone of Dasheng, the pillars of the country! How many people have you saved over the years? Have you ever looked down at those at the bottom of society and offered a hand? Or perhaps, like me, you can at least donate a little money to charity every year, just for show! How many of you have done that?"
All the civil and military officials were ashamed and remained silent.
Emperor Shenwu continued, "I will show you something else, so that you won't have any doubts later. If you bring this up again, I don't have that much patience!"
At this time, two young eunuchs came into the hall carrying a large wooden box. They placed the box in the center of the hall.
Wei Yanting said: "Your Majesty, this is..."
Emperor Shenwu stretched out his wide sleeves and said, "Read!"
One of the young eunuchs picked up an old, mottled account book and read out in a shrill voice, "In the spring of the 40th year of the Jingwen reign, I bought two young children from the market. In the autumn of the same year, I rescued several beggars... In the 42nd year of the Jingwen reign, I encountered a little girl thrown into a well by her parents and rescued her. In the 43rd year of the Jingwen reign, I rescued a little girl from a prisoner cart in a border village..."
The faces of the civil and military officials in the court gradually became solemn. Lin Suzhi couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, this is Concubine Yi..."
Emperor Shenwu did not answer but asked, "Lord Lan, it is the fortieth year of Jingwen. How old is Concubine Yi?"
"If I remember correctly, I was just six years old."
Emperor Shenwu nodded: "Six years old! Do you know how much silver it cost to save these people?"
"This... although it's not a lot, for Empress Yi back then, the monthly allowance was never enough. Therefore, Empress Yi rarely wore new clothes when she was young, which even my father couldn't stand, so he secretly subsidized his granddaughter. But Empress Yi never stopped doing this, so..."
"Have these people been properly arranged?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, these people have all been properly arranged by Concubine Yi!"
Emperor Shenwu spoke with powerful force: "Your Excellencies, please take a look at these account books. For more than a decade, they have recorded a person's conduct. My Excellencies! Among those standing in this court, is there anyone who can stand up and say, 'I have done the same! I have also silently saved hundreds and thousands of people! I can compare with them! Who can stand up!'"
All the civil and military officials in the court were shocked, and some court officials looked ashamed and lowered their heads deeply.
"I do not wish for one's compassion, kindness, and benevolence to be used as a tool, or even a sacrifice, for court struggles! You may not be able to do these things, but I ask that you allow others to maintain these qualities! I truly do not wish to witness only my ministers' intrigues and attacks upon each other, as well as endless conspiracies and schemes, even involving my harem."
Prince Ding was filled with admiration. He had never admired a woman so much before. He also understood more deeply why Emperor Shenwu was so in love with Concubine Yi.
Prince Ding spoke first, "Your servants are ashamed. Although we are more powerful than a woman, we are not as noble as Concubine Yi, who has compassion and a heart to save the world! I—truly admire you!"
Afterwards, all the civil and military officials reacted: "We are deeply impressed and ashamed!"
The Master's heart sank to the bottom. This time, Concubine Wen had lost, a huge loss! This incident had almost sealed Concubine Yi's chances of promotion. As long as there was another opportunity, Concubine Yi's promotion was almost certain, and no one could stop her!
Emperor Shenwu sat back on the dragon throne, his expression icy. "Actually, Concubine Yi doesn't need your admiration. Like me, she does these things simply out of her own heart. That's all! Come! Take off the official uniforms and crowns of the Left Censor and Lord Wang, and throw them into the Heavenly Prison! Lin Suzhi, you investigate this case. I don't want such slander and framing of concubines to happen again!"