Hubu Office.
Bi Ziyan held the “spreadsheet,” staring at the deficit marked in red, his beard trembling with rage.
Lin Yuan watched him, unconsciously swallowing hard.
[Old Bi’s expression is grim again. How pitiful. Ever since he became the Shoufu, his face has never brightened. At his age, I’m really afraid he won’t hold up.]
[These corrupt officials are truly formidable. Three hundred thousand taels! It shows how much of a “sucker” Chongzhen used to be.]
“Lin Yuan.” Bi Ziyan steadied his emotions and looked at Lin Yuan.
“Accompany this official into the palace for an audience with His Majesty.”
Lin Yuan’s knees went weak, nearly buckling on the spot.
[Why?! Why drag me to the front lines again to be cannon fodder! Why are Chongzhen and his courtiers all like this! Whoever wants this transmigration job can have it—I don’t want it anymore!]
Inside Qianqinggong.
Chongzhen looked at the “spreadsheet,” his expression dark and terrifying.
“Good, very good.” The anger in his voice was almost overflowing.
“Gongbu Yuanwailang, Liu Jiancheng. I thought he was merely foolish, but I never expected he would undermine my foundation right under my nose.”
Bi Ziyan and Lin Yuan both knelt prostrate on the ground, even their breathing muted.
“Wang Chengen, issue the decree. Tomorrow morning, have all members of Gongbu attend the morning court. I want to properly ‘reward’ them.”
As he spoke, Chongzhen stood up and walked over to Lin Yuan, looking down at the trembling, quail-like girl.
“Lin Yuan, at tomorrow’s morning court, you will stand by my side. I want you to personally explain to those parasites how these accounts were calculated.”
Lin Yuan slowly raised her head, feeling utterly numb, as if hearing a death knell.
[What?! Have me speak at the morning court?? How is this any different from throwing me into a pit of fire! Boss, if you want me dead, can’t you find another way? I’m just a lowly palace maid who serves tea and grinds ink—poisoned wine would be kinder than this!]
Listening to the complaints and wails in his mind, Chongzhen inexplicably felt his mood improve slightly.
He bent down and whispered into Lin Yuan’s ear, “Do well, and I’ll reward you with a thousand taels. Fail, and… you can go join Wang Hua.”
Lin Yuan’s previously lifeless eyes instantly lit up, and she straightened her back.
[A thousand taels?! Boss, you should have said so earlier! When money’s involved, I’m not scared anymore.]
“Yes. This humble servant will not disappoint Your Majesty’s expectations.”
[It’s just doing some accounting work in front of all the top scholars of ancient times. Money can make the donkey pull the mill! I, Da Ming’s strongest CFO, am stepping up!]
The next day, Huangji Dian.
The civil and military officials noticed that the atmosphere at today’s morning court had once again turned strange.
Especially since that little palace maid who usually blended into the background in the corner was now standing behind and to the side of the Longyi, holding a large roll of paper.
“Gongbu Yuanwailang, Liu Jiancheng. Step forward.” Wang Chengen announced loudly.
Liu Jiancheng shakily walked out.
“Your humble servant is here.”
“Regarding the funds for the imperial mausoleum repairs, report them again in my presence.”
Chongzhen spoke calmly from his high seat, his tone betraying neither joy nor anger.
For this question, Liu Jiancheng had long prepared his response.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the imperial mausoleum repairs are a massive project, with enormous material consumption. Including transportation costs and labor, the total expenditure amounts to eight hundred thousand taels. The accounts are clear and verifiable.”
“Clear accounts?” Chongzhen sneered coldly and turned to look at Lin Yuan.
“Lin Yuan, show Minister Liu what true ‘clear accounting’ looks like.”
Lin Yuan steeled herself and, under the gaze of all the officials, publicly unfurled that enormous spreadsheet.
Two young eunuchs held up each side, the black characters stark against the white paper, rows of neat grids, among which the red numbers were particularly glaring.
Lin Yuan took a deep breath and officially entered her workhorse mode.
[Come on, accept this Jiangwei Daji from the era of big data.]
“This is the ‘timber procurement’ item.” Lin Yuan pointed to one of the grids, initiating the precise strike of a modern workplace professional.
Who would have thought? After graduating with a history degree and failing to find a relevant job, she became a small accounting assistant, and this skill actually became her survival tool after transmigrating.
“Three hundred thousand taels were recorded, but using this method to cross-check, it was discovered that ten thousand taels flowed to a private pasture in the outskirts of Jingcheng. And the owner of that timber yard, what a coincidence, happens to be your nephew, Minister Liu.”
“This is the ‘artisans’ meals’ item.” Lin Yuan continued her relentless attack.
“Three thousand workers were falsely reported. Tracing back with this method, the money was exchanged for gold bars in batches last December and entered through the back door of the Liu residence.”
“Minister Liu, your accounts are not only unbalanced, they’re full of holes.”
The hall fell into silence.
All the officials looked at that miraculous spreadsheet, finding it unbelievable.
In the past, investigating accounts required flipping through hundreds of ledgers, while guarding against accountants cooking the books. But now, just by following these grids, how much was embezzled and how it was done became crystal clear.
“Nonsense! This is utter nonsense!” Liu Jiancheng pointed at Lin Yuan and cursed furiously.
“What does a mere palace maid know about auditing accounts? Your Majesty, this woman must have been instigated to falsely accuse this old minister!”
“Bang!”
Chongzhen slammed the armrest of the Longyi with force.
“False accusation? Chief Minister Bi, you speak.”
Bi Ziyan stepped forward.
“Reporting to Your Majesty. I led over ten veteran accountants from the Hubu to verify through the night using this method. The evidence of Liu Jiancheng’s embezzlement is conclusive. Not only these three hundred thousand taels, but also last year’s riverway construction funds, various imperial estate repair funds… totaling no less than a million taels of silver!”
A million taels!
This enormous number set everyone abuzz.
First, there were Wen Tiren’s accounts outside Jingcheng that had yet to be fully investigated, and now a mere Yuanwailang could embezzle so much…
Chongzhen slowly stood up, his eyes sharp as blades.
“So this is my good minister!”
“Wang Chengen, issue the decree! Gongbu Yuanwailang Liu Jiancheng is dismissed from his post and investigated, his home confiscated immediately!”
“I will personally lead the team, taking this spreadsheet to check item by item! For every tael missing, one head from the Liu family will pay!”
Lin Yuan stood behind Chongzhen, watching the frenzied look in this overachiever emperor’s eyes, feeling a wave of fear in her heart.
[The emperor is still the emperor, even if he’s an emperor in the dynasty’s final days, he can still cause rivers of blood with his wrath!]
[But confiscating a home, huh… I’ve never seen a real-life home confiscation. Will I actually get to see lots of treasures?]
When Chongzhen heard the inner voice again, he also remembered this “Tianji” palace maid he had temporarily forgotten for a few minutes.
“Lin Yuan, you come along too. I want you to calculate all the ill-gotten gains of the Liu family on the spot for me.”
Lin Yuan: …
[What the hell…]
Liu Residence, home confiscation scene.
The Jinyiwei sealed off the entire street, wails and cries shaking the heavens from within the residence.
Chongzhen sat in the main hall of the Liu residence, with Lin Yuan seated beside him. Before them lay a large table covered by an even larger blank form.
Lin Yuan felt as though her hand was about to break from writing.
“Report! Five thousand taels of silver seized!”
“Record it!” Chongzhen’s voice was cold.
Lin Yuan swiftly put brush to paper, writing the number under the “Income” column.
“Report! Ten ancient paintings from the previous dynasty seized, estimated value three thousand taels!”
“Report! Twenty land deeds seized!”
“Report! A chest of gold bricks dug out from under the bed.”
As the reports came one after another, Lin Yuan’s writing grew faster and faster, the numbers on the form multiplying exponentially.
Tsk tsk, the boss is making a fortune this time! With this confiscation, not only will the treasury recover, it’ll soar straight to the heavens. This is way faster than collecting taxes.
Hearing Lin Yuan’s excited inner thoughts and watching the numbers on the form climb higher and higher, the anger in Chongzhen’s heart gradually subsided.
This little palace maid, though a bit too talkative, truly is my lucky general—and a money magnet at that.
Just then, a Jinyiwei rushed in with a hurried expression, holding an exquisite rosewood box in his hands.
“Your Majesty. This was found hidden in a secret compartment in the study.”
The box was opened, revealing not gold or silver, but stacks of letters.
Chongzhen casually picked one up and unfolded it. With just a glance, his previously slightly eased expression turned dark and stormy once more.
Curious, Lin Yuan leaned forward slightly to steal a look…
Holy crap! These unreadable characters… they look like Manchu script.
This… this… not only was this guy corrupt, but he also dared to collude with the enemy and betray the country? Oh no, the boss is probably going to lose it.
Chongzhen slammed the letter heavily onto the table, making the teacups tremble.
“Good, good, good!”
Then, he turned his gaze to Lin Yuan.
“As for these letters, it seems Lin Dianzheng recognizes these characters. Why don’t you translate for me and tell me exactly what they say?”
Lin Yuan: ??
What the hell is Lin Dianzheng? Did I get promoted? But I don’t want to! Especially not under circumstances like these!
Boss, just kill me instead! I really don’t know Manchu! I’m just a history graduate turned workhorse—this isn’t even my field!