Chapter 1011: Chapter 847: Delivering Silver

Chen Zhao was originally quite apprehensive, afraid of becoming a small shrimp swallowed by a big fish.

And now that Li Taixing said this, doesn’t that mean he’s targeting Mr. Qian?

Mr. Qian has already committed suicide, and a dead person cannot differentiate. The only one left is his eldest son, who is still young and knows nothing but studying; how could he understand all the twists and turns in this?

As long as he testifies, there is no one to defend Mr. Qian, which is the best outcome.

Although he felt a bit guilty pushing all this onto Mr. Qian, he couldn’t follow him into the grave, could he? He still had a family to care for.

As long as this matter is settled, he will be safe, and in the future, he will surely help take care of Mr. Qian’s eldest son. Anyway, now that Mr. Qian is gone, his name already stinks to high heaven, and adding a bit more notoriety doesn’t matter.

Besides, it’s true that Mr. Qian wasn’t wronged in this matter; when he received the benefits back then, he wasn’t exactly hesitant. Though not comparable to those high officials, he didn’t fare badly either.

Now, this matter just lets Qian Hui Chun take the fall alone, which is better than all of them being buried together.

Thinking like this, the guilt in Chen Zhao’s heart lessened a bit.

"Let’s not beat around the bush; you know very well what happened with the river embankment in Changtian Prefecture. How much did Qian Hui Chun profit from it? Otherwise, how could the river embankment in Changtian Prefecture be so vulnerable?"

Li Taixing looked deeply at Chen Zhao. Although this person was quite sensibly tactful, his mind was too active.

He didn’t dare keep such a person around, or if something happened one day, he might turn against him.

It was likely that when Qian Hui Chun was eating meat, Chen Zhao was drinking soup. Now that the scandal has broken out, Chen Zhao must be feeling anxious.

Li Taixing was confident that Chen Zhao would agree and would go all out to handle this matter properly.

"Sir! I know very little about this; I am merely a government official. How could Mr. Qian inform me of such an important matter?"

Chen Zhao suddenly realized that his prospects were ruined. Even if this embezzlement case didn’t target him.

The court would certainly not spare him over the disaster management in Changtian Prefecture. Not just him, but all surviving officials in the Changtian Prefecture government office would be implicated.

If he later made active efforts in disaster relief, he might redeem himself. Finally, if Mr. Li spoke favorably for him before the imperial envoy, he might be able to retain his position as a government official.

With this in mind, Chen Zhao naturally couldn’t agree too readily.

Li Taixing was an experienced old fox in officialdom and could certainly see through Chen Zhao’s little schemes.

He snorted coldly to himself; this man was truly greedy. Not only did he want to preserve his life, but he also wanted to keep his job, truly delusional.

Li Taixing had no intention of keeping this man around; he was too cunning, and if kept, would certainly bring endless trouble.

Who knows if one day he would defect to someone else and reveal the truth of this matter?

Furthermore, if the person occasionally came to blackmail him, wouldn’t he suffer greatly? So, Chen Zhao must die too!

Originally, Li Taixing was still a bit hesitant, but seeing Chen Zhao’s insatiable greed, he immediately made up his mind.

However, he still needed to keep Chen Zhao stable for now, as the matter was not yet accomplished!

"I know you have the people’s interests at heart, and your dereliction of duty back then was unavoidable. When I meet Lord Imperial Envoy, I will surely speak well of you in front of him. Rest assured, the Lord Imperial Envoy is a schoolmate of mine, even graduated the same year, so your issue is just a minor one."

Li Taixing’s face was displeased, but he also made a promise.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhao was overjoyed. It seemed that Li Taixing must have made quite a profit from the river embankment reinforcement earlier in the year; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so eager and wouldn’t make such a promise.

"Thank you so much for your kindness, sir! Although Mr. Qian wouldn’t share much with me, I’ve been through a lot of it, so I do have quite a bit of evidence myself."

When Chen Zhao said this, Li Taixing’s expression improved slightly.

"Although Mr. Qian usually appreciated me, this issue concerns the safety of tens of thousands of people. Mr. Qian’s actions disregard the lives of the people of Changtian Prefecture!"

Chen Zhao looked anguished, with a face full of guilt mixed with a bit of resentment.

"I did try to advise the man at the time, but he was headstrong and blinded by gold and silver. My lowly status left me helpless!"

Chen Zhao said a few words in self-defense, implying in his previous statements that he was taking on this matter.

Li Taixing sneered inwardly. Chen Zhao himself probably gained a lot, yet shamelessly cast himself as a man of righteousness.

If he had truly cared, why didn’t he find a way to report it back then?

Li Taixing grew impatient listening to Chen Zhao’s self-promotion and quickly interrupted him.

"Since that’s the case, you should have plenty of evidence. I give you three days to hand all the evidence over to me; can you do it?"

At this time, most of Changtian Prefecture was already submerged, and it was uncertain if Chen Zhao’s evidence was intact.

Without hesitation, Chen Zhao said, "I will do my utmost to get this done!"

Seeing no difficulty on Chen Zhao’s face and the terms now settled, he waved his hand.

Li Taixing said impatiently, "Then you should rest for now. Set off for Changtian Prefecture early the day after tomorrow. I have a letter for you to deliver to the Lord Imperial Envoy in Changtian Prefecture!"

Chen Zhao agreed, and the two individuals with differing thoughts finally concluded their conspiracy.

After Chen Zhao left, Li Taixing called for the steward, "Has Mr. Min gotten up and washed?"

The steward respectfully replied, "Sir! I just sent someone to inquire, and Mr. Min got up not long ago; by now, he’s probably finished washing."

The steward glanced discreetly at his master and then added, "Mr. Min seems to be quite satisfied with Hua Rong..."

The servants reported that Mr. Min looked as if he were basking in spring sunshine, in a very good mood!

Li Taixing understood the steward’s implication, meaning Min Feng was quite pleased with Hua Rong.

Thinking of Hua Rong, he couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful.

Hua Rong was quite a looker, with a captivating figure and a delightful personality, whom he had had his eyes on for a long time.

But the incident in Changtian Prefecture happened suddenly; he knew higher-ups would definitely send down an imperial envoy.

Of the actors in the residence, besides Hua Rong, he had been close to all the other girls. So, he had to reluctantly part with her.

Hua Rong was well-trained in matters of pleasure, no wonder Min Feng would be satisfied.

He turned to sit at his desk and glanced at the letter, furrowing his brows.

But after a moment, he had an idea.

"Go to the accounts office and draw a hundred taels of gold, discreetly, and send it to Mr. Min."

Li Taixing quickly calculated in his heart; one hundred taels of gold is equivalent to a thousand taels of silver, which is quite substantial.

If it weren’t for the imminent need for Min Feng’s assistance, he wouldn’t part with so much silver at this time.