044 [Withering Cold Reveals the Everlasting Green]

"Provide a seat for the Senior Grand Secretary."

At the Emperor's command, Zeng Min hurriedly brought over a round stool and placed it beside Ning Hengzhi.

The violent storm of moments ago had subsided for some time. More than a dozen senior ministers had departed the imperial city with heavy hearts, along with Xue Minglun, whose political career had come to an abrupt end. Only the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet was kept behind by the Emperor.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Ning Hengzhi offered a respectful bow of gratitude without declining.

Though his health was still fair and he practiced the utmost care in preserving his vitality, he was, after all, an old man past fifty. Having stood through two lengthy court assemblies today, fatigue was inevitable.

Compared to his previous gloomy and leaden expression, the Emperor's countenance had now returned to its normal composure.

Understanding that the ruler and his subject were about to engage in a more profound conversation, Zeng Min dismissed all the palace attendants and stood guard himself outside the outer doors of the Imperial Study.

"Senior Grand Secretary, was My punishment of Xue Minglun too severe?"

The Emperor picked up a white jade teacup and asked the question as casually as it might seem.

Without much thought, Ning Hengzhi replied sincerely, "Your Majesty, Xue Minglun hails from the Xue clan of Hedong. Although these prominent noble families no longer possess the formidable power they did centuries ago, they still retain a certain foundation. I do not believe he was so short-sighted as to embezzle such a vast amount of the national treasury."

The Emperor sipped his fragrant tea quietly, saying nothing.

Accustomed to this atmosphere, Ning Hengzhi continued, "However, Your Majesty's previous remark hit the nail on the head. Even if Xue Minglun did not steal, it does not mean he bears no responsibility. As the Minister of Works, whether he personally embezzled or not is actually not the most important issue; rather, it is whether he was capable of managing his subordinates. From this perspective, the error Xue Minglun committed is extremely grave. For Your Majesty to merely permit him to retire with his honors is, in my view, by no means overly harsh. Your Majesty is truly a benevolent sovereign."

"You..."

A hint of a smile surfaced on the Emperor's face, clearly well-pleased with the Senior Grand Secretary's response.

If the late Xue Mingxiang, who died in the prime of his life, was an irreplaceable regret in the Emperor's heart, then Ning Hengzhi was the partner who had walked side by side with him through wind and rain.

The two had met thirty years ago. Back then, the Emperor was merely a prince who had just reached his majority, seemingly a step away from the dragon throne yet treading on thin ice at every turn. Ning Hengzhi, on the other hand, was a rising young talent in the imperial court, enjoying an even greater reputation than Xue Huai does today, having achieved the status of top scholar in the imperial examinations at the age of eighteen.

Back then, Ning Hengzhi devised strategies for Jiang Chen. When the latter finally endured hardship to ascend the throne as emperor, Ning Hengzhi's official career enjoyed a meteoric rise, completing a triple jump from Compiler in the Academy of Hanlin and Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites to Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in a mere seven years—transforming from a fifth-rank academician into a heavenly official capable of rivaling the senior ministers of the Cabinet.

Time had flown. Today, Ning Hengzhi stood apart from all officials in terms of protocol, yet he never abused his favor and always maintained a posture of utmost respect before the Emperor.

Unconsciously recalling those past events, the Emperor felt a stirring of emotion and promptly asked, "What is your view on what Shen Wang has done?"

As time passed, the Emperor's thoughts gradually cleared.

Naturally, he was well aware of the underhanded dealings within the Ministry of Works. The Jing'an Bureau was not idling away its time; although Shen Qing could not maintain absolute control, it was impossible for such matters to go completely unnoticed.

The reason the Emperor flew into such a rage was because Shen Wang had skillfully employed a progressive, step-by-step approach.

From the initial exposure of corruption in the Directorate of Waterways, to the involvement of Prince Dai's estate and various departments of the Ministry of Works, and finally to Shen Wang's revelation of that staggering figure of over ten million taels—this sequence rendered the Emperor's fury uncontrollable, leading him to decisively cut short Xue Minglun's official career.

Throughout the entire affair, Xue Huai was merely a blade acting as the vanguard, while Shen Wang was the true helmsman steering the course.

He utilized continuous layers of groundwork to manipulate the Emperor's emotions, ultimately executing a fatal blow against Xue Minglun.

How could Ning Hengzhi fail to see the oddity in this matter? He had long since realized that Xue Minglun could not escape his doom, but since all of Shen Wang's plotting was backed by solid, irrefutable evidence rather than malicious framing, there was nothing he could do.

Hearing the Emperor's question now, he understood that the Emperor had awakened to the truth. Yet, rather than seizing the opportunity to attack Shen Wang, Ning Hengzhi replied calmly, "Your Majesty, Vice Minister Shen racked his brains entirely for the sake of the Great Yan dynasty and its people. I believe his actions stemmed completely from public duty and leave no room for criticism."

The Emperor fixed his gaze upon him, then remarked with profound meaning, "As expected of my Senior Grand Secretary; this breadth of mind far surpasses ordinary men."

His words were direct, and Ning Hengzhi made no attempt at artificial adornment.

Who in the court did not know that Xue Minglun was the right-hand man of the Senior Grand Secretary? Shen Wang had successfully overthrown the Minister of Works by exploiting the Directorate of Waterways case. Aside from Xue Minglun himself, the person who suffered the greatest loss in this affair was Ning Hengzhi, the very man who had propelled him to the esteemed position of Minister of Works.

The six ministers were already the topmost tier of the Great Yan court. Securing one of those seats was exceptionally difficult, requiring a near-perfect alignment of opportunity, ability, background, and connections—most importantly, winning the Emperor's favor.

To pave the way for Xue Minglun, Ning Hengzhi had expended no small amount of effort over the years, only to find his labors coming to nothing.

Therefore, Ning Hengzhi spoke candidly, "Your Majesty, Vice Minister Shen's actions this time did not stem from a struggle for power, but out of absolute devotion to the state. Thus, while I feel a deep frustration at Xue Minglun's failure to live up to expectations, I certainly will not shield him on matters of great principle."

He knew what should and should not be said; there was no need to deliberately conceal his relationship with Xue Minglun in front of the Emperor.

The Emperor nodded slightly.

Setting down his teacup, he said faintly, "I considered giving Xue Minglun another chance, but since Shen Wang has turned the Ministry of Works upside down, I can hardly pretend not to see it. Xue Minglun can be considered an efficient official, but his temperament was somewhat too soft, and his control over his subordinates was lax. I hope he takes this lesson to heart."

"Your Majesty is benevolent. I believe Xue Minglun will certainly thoroughly reform himself."

A ripple stirred in Ning Hengzhi's heart. He recognized this as the Emperor offering a sweetmeat after delivering a blow, leaving some leeway in his words and not entirely extinguishing the hope of Xue Minglun's resurgence.

Yet, he still dared not let down his guard.

Although the Emperor had just appeared somewhat displeased with Shen Wang, Ning Hengzhi reviewed the entire sequence of events and found two questions that still lacked answers.

First, who instigated Gu Heng to step forward and denounce Xue Mingxiang?
Second, was this trap targeting Xue Minglun jointly laid by the Emperor and Shen Wang?

Based on these considerations, he spoke in defense of Shen Wang before the Emperor, suspecting that the Emperor was still testing him.

To this day, Ning Hengzhi no longer dared view the Emperor as the dashing, spirited prince of thirty years ago; nearly twenty years of supreme sovereign rule were enough to completely change a man.

Gazing at the Senior Grand Secretary's unruffled countenance, the Emperor shifted the topic and said, "Senior Grand Secretary, the post of Minister of Works is now vacant. Whom do you intend to recommend as Xue Minglun's successor?"

This was another difficult question to answer, but it could not stump Ning Hengzhi, who had floated through the treacherous seas of officialdom for decades and now reached the pinnacle of subjects.

Pondering slightly, he replied unhurriedly, "Your Majesty, I recommend the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Shen Wang."

The Emperor was momentarily taken aback.

Ning Hengzhi continued methodically, "If Your Majesty will permit me to explain: the Ministry of Works is currently beset with thorns and facing a sweeping replacement of officials across all its bureaus. It urgently requires a firm and brilliant chief official to take charge. Vice Minister Shen possesses profound learning and outstanding ability; as the imperial commissioner who investigated the case, he is thoroughly acquainted with the problems of the Ministry of Works. Moreover, he commands sufficient prestige to overawe petty individuals. I truly cannot think of anyone more suitable than him."

These reasons were indeed sufficient, but for Shen Wang, promotion to Minister of Works was by no means a favorable choice.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites held a third-rank senior post, while the Minister of Works was second-rank. While Shen Wang's appointment appeared to be a promotion, the problem was that, looking back at over a century of Great Yan history, the probability of a Minister of Works entering the Cabinet was exceedingly low.

Shen Wang's original path of advancement was clear and definite: from Academician of the Hanlin Academy to Vice Minister of Rites, the next step would be a transitional stint as Minister of Rites followed by direct entry into the Cabinet—a standard, prestigious career track.

If he were transferred to Minister of Works now, it would be equivalent to abruptly severing his hope of entering the Cabinet. Even if he could eventually stage a comeback and use the Ministry of Rites as a stepping stone to the Cabinet, it would inevitably cause a lengthy delay.

The seniority of senior Cabinet ministers had always been determined by the chronological order of their entry into the Cabinet; lagging behind by even a step could result in being overshadowed by others for a lifetime.

Did one not see how the Junior Grand Secretary Ouyang Hui, despite his advanced age, had never been able to surpass Ning Hengzhi precisely because he had entered the Cabinet later than Ning Hengzhi?

Naturally, the Emperor understood these intricacies, and he could not help but hesitate.

Observing this, Ning Hengzhi pressed on, "Your Majesty, Vice Minister Shen is a loyal and steadfast man; otherwise, he would not have pursued the problems in the Ministry of Works to the very end. Presumably, he would hardly resist taking up the post in the Ministry of Works. I trust that under his administration, the deep-seated abuses of the Ministry of Works will be thoroughly swept away, and the officials of the various bureaus—even if not entirely untainted—will at least cease the unbridled conduct of the past few years."

His move served three purposes. The first was to have Shen Wang clean up the mess left behind by Xue Minglun, ensuring under any circumstances that the operations of the Ministry of Works would not grind to a halt.

The second was to test the sovereign heart: if this affair had been a joint plot between the Emperor and Shen Wang, the Emperor certainly would not allow Shen Wang's official career to suffer major setbacks, in which case Ning Hengzhi would need to adjust his strategy accordingly.

The third was to launch a small counterattack against Shen Wang.

Shen Wang had caused Xue Minglun to lose face completely and ruin his career. If Ning Hengzhi showed no reaction whatsoever, how could he command the officials beneath him in the future?

This trace of sharpness had to be displayed, lest the Emperor eventually harbor suspicions; he could not let the Emperor think he was playing the saint.

After prolonged reflection, the Emperor finally made up his mind and slowly said, "Very well. Let Shen Wang take charge of the Ministry of Works for a period, and later we can transfer him back to the Ministry of Rites."

By implication, he would not cut off Shen Wang's path to the Cabinet.

Ning Hengzhi raised no objections whatsoever.

The Ministry of Works was a bottomless quagmire; once Shen Wang stepped foot into it, extricating himself would be no easy matter.

Furthermore, as the Senior Grand Secretary, how could he rely on just this single move?

It was merely a matter of proceeding step by step.

At this thought, Ning Hengzhi rose and bowed, saying, "I will obey the imperial decree. Tomorrow, I shall hold a court recommendation within the Cabinet."

His expression remained steady, his eyes like a deep pool, unrippled by waves.