Chapter 859: Chapter 857: The Feasibility of Throwing Them in Jail
In the silence of the hall, Ye Xinyan looked up several times, hoping the Emperor would allow her to stand. You say you all are a group of old masters, standing, sitting, making me, a mere woman, kneel alone. Don’t you find it degrading?
However, the Emperor showed no such inclination, and the others also ignored her, completely unperturbed, without feeling the slightest bit ashamed.
The Eunuch brought in account books, surprisingly more than everyone expected, neatly tied in two large stacks.
At Zhang Cunhai’s gesture, the Eunuch placed these two stacks of account books in front of Ye Xinyan.
The Emperor looked at the stacks of account books, somewhat surprised: “Would the construction records for the wooden tracks really have this much?”
Ye Xinyan was reluctant to respond; shouldn’t one speak with courtesy when asking questions? And they expected her to explain while kneeling? Absurd!
Fine, she’d accept it—after all, she was an oppressed individual in ancient times.
“Your Majesty, within these are batch numbers for various materials, entry and exit times, who handled them, and times of issuance and usage. The rest are construction records: daily, which section each workshop head was responsible for, and the records and signed receipts for materials taken from the warehouse. I did not know which records Your Majesty and the officials required, so I brought them all.”
The Emperor summoned You Chenghui, instructing him to arrange the testimonies based on the serial numbers for the transaction materials as determined by the capital’s yamen investigation, and hand them over to Ye Xinyan.
Ye Xinyan was initially waiting for the Emperor to allow her to stand, but whether intentionally or forgotten, he only instructed her to find the problematic sections without letting her rise.
Really! Wasn’t this just bullying?
Ye Xinyan thought about it. A clueless woman like her probably wouldn’t know many protocols and etiquette, right? A saying goes, ignorance absolves—she wasn’t disrespectful, just uninformed.
Also, finding things while lying on the ground would be challenging.
Ye Xinyan spontaneously got up from the ground, asked for paper and pen, took the account books, and went to a nearby tea cabinet. Comparing with the testimony You Chenghui found, she located the account books for the corresponding times.
After some searching, marking, and noting, Ye Xinyan turned back holding the documents.
She remained standing, bowed to the Emperor, and said: “Your Majesty, the serial numbers provided by Lord You pertain to incidents after June. If that’s the case, only materials used for the latter sections of the track had issues, and they were all concentrated in the hands of three workshop heads. The range of tracks needing rework isn’t very large.”
Ye Xinyan presented the account books she selected and the other excerpted content to Zhang Cunhai.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor’s expression visibly relaxed. If true, the court’s losses would be significantly reduced.
He took the items presented by Zhang Cunhai, reviewed the first few pieces carefully, and reluctantly admitted he wasn’t knowledgeable about them.
Looking again at his sons and Han Yanhui among the court officials, none pleased him.
“Go to the Imperial Workshops Bureau and bring Cheng Dahui.” The Emperor set aside the account books and other items, instructing.
Wang Xian and Liu Chengzhi, who had craned their necks in anticipation to glimpse the style of Guangsha Construction’s account books, felt disappointed; after all, they hailed from the Ministry of Works and ought to have been allowed some opportunity to gain experience.
The Director of Imperial Workshops soon arrived, having heard a rough account of the situation from the Eunuch en route. Upon arrival, the Emperor didn’t elaborate further, handing him the items: “Go and examine them thoroughly; are the accounts reasonably recorded? Is this recording style reliable?”
Ye Xinyan immediately looked upwards helplessly, such a grown man, couldn’t even speak properly. Why be blunt, what would it cost him?
His own two sons weren’t well-schooled, using his livelihood as a contest’s bargaining chip, yet she could minimize the losses caused by his sons’ conflicts — recognizing talent, indeed!
Expressing doubt while avoiding such top-notch talent is prudent, at least it doesn’t hurt feelings.
On the other side, Cheng Dahui took the account books Ye Xinyan selected, scrutinizing them one-by-one. His duty wasn’t to check details or quantify records, but to ascertain if the recordings were standardized and reliable.
As he scanned them, Cheng Dahui was privately shocked, quickly browsing and casting complex glances towards Ye Xinyan.
Seeing Cheng Dahui’s expression, the Emperor already sensed the outcome yet still asked further: “Following Guangsha Construction’s records, can one identify the material numbers used for specific sections?”
Cheng Dahui nodded: “Yes.”
The Emperor again cast a glance at Wang Xian and Prince Fu, continued: “Does the court maintain records of its constructions in such a manner?”
Cheng Dahui hesitated a moment, visibly ashamed, stating: “Your Majesty, Guangsha Construction’s recording format is superior; the same content is straightforwardly chronicled in these basic account books. The court’s constructions have records, but the formats are complex, inconvenient for inspection. Thus, we only record significant projects, sparing details for routine ones.”
Seeing Wang Xian’s grim face, Cheng Dahui hesitated briefly, then continued: “It’s not that we don’t record — but for large projects, the chaotic formats make finding and reviewing difficult; even recorded, it’s ineffective, wasting resources. Recording Guangsha Construction’s data in the court format would inflate the account books to three to five times their size, and clarity wouldn’t be ensured.”
Seeing the meditative, stoic expressions of Wang Xian and Prince Fu, the Emperor suddenly felt unsettled. Was the court, a massive institution, actually inferior to a private construction firm?
This realization struck His Majesty heavily.
Turning his gaze again to Ye Xinyan, he acknowledged her intelligence. Yet, she undeniably made a mistake here. This incident was clearly premeditated; otherwise, where did all those inferior materials come from? As for the intentions behind this, that was hard to ascertain.
Nevertheless, a mistake is a mistake. No one can evade punishment for their errors, especially given the publicity of this incident; those sly foxes present were covertly observing.
“Ye Xinyan, do you realize how grave a mistake your Guangsha Construction made in this matter?”
Ye Xinyan blinked, feigning ignorance: “Your Majesty, come spring when construction can resume, Guangsha Construction will exert utmost effort to quickly repair the tracks, making amends through action.”
The Emperor’s brows furrowed; this Ye Family girl was entirely a fearless sort. Unless made clear to her, she’d keep pretending ignorance.
This was the palace and the Emperor faced her; the court’s transport routes were damaged — such grave consequences couldn’t merely be resolved by remedy!
Confronted by the Emperor’s demeanor, Ye Xinyan added: “Your Majesty, for Guangsha Construction’s rectification work, we don’t seek payment.” Apparently, this was more a reminder.
Expressionless, the Emperor examined her, pondering the feasibility of imprisoning her in the capital’s yamen.
“Indeed, once you have repaired the tracks completely, Guangsha Construction’s offenders will enter the capital’s yamen jail, and we’ll calculate precisely how much the court lost in this project.” The Emperor, ice-cold, stated to Ye Xinyan.