Chapter 142 - 106: Dad’s Confidence

Chapter 142: Chapter 106: Dad’s Confidence

He just hadn’t expected that this man hadn’t sought refuge under Li Zhen, nor had he become a lapdog for the Eunuch Faction.

"Master, we’ve arrived," the driver’s voice rang out respectfully.

"Mhm." Dad slowly stepped down from the carriage, preparing to head toward the manor’s entrance. However, just as he reached the door, he stopped. Before him stood a resolute figure.

"Assistant Minister Lou?" The person was none other than Lou Yingqi, who had just left the grand hall not long ago.

Dad frowned at the man before him.

Lou Yingqi revealed a smile. He looked up at Zeng Shilin and said softly, "Minister Zeng’s mansion was truly difficult to find. It exhausted the old horse pulling my carriage, but fortunately, although the old horse is a bit advanced in years, it still has some speed left in it."

Dad listened thoughtfully to the hidden meaning in his words. Then, he broke into a smile and asked, "Although we have entered the spring months, the weather is still a bit chilly. Why not come inside the mansion to warm up?"

"That is exactly what I hoped for, though I dared not ask."

The two men walked all the way into the main hall of the Minister’s Mansion. Halfway there, they saw Zeng Anmin lazily basking in the sun in the courtyard. Zeng Anmin cast his gaze over, just in time to see his father and Lou Yingqi walking together. A smile slowly surfaced on his lips.

"Dad, you’re back?" He stood up and went to greet them.

"Mhm." Dad, who seemed lost in thought, had a completely expressionless face.

"Um, Mr. Lou?" Zeng Anmin blinked and looked at Lou Yingqi.

Mr. Lou? Since when did this brat have such a close relationship with Lou Yingqi? At these words, Dad paused slightly in his tracks. He looked silently at Lou Yingqi, then swept his gaze toward his precious son.

"Haha, Anmin, you didn’t go to study at the Imperial College today?" Lou Yingqi’s smile was extremely radiant, and he looked at Zeng Anmin with a hint of doting affection.

"Not today. The Imperial College is on a holiday, so I’m stealing half a day of leisure," Zeng Anmin said with a grin. He met his father’s questioning gaze and asked, "Shall we walk together?"

"Mhm." Dad sensed that there was something fishy going on between his precious son and Lou Yingqi, and he also wanted to know exactly what the situation was, so he nodded in agreement.

The group of three soon arrived at the main hall and took their seats.

As soon as they sat down, Dad looked at a servant and instructed expressionlessly, "Serve some good tea."

"Yes, sir."

Just as the servant stepped out of the main hall, the smile completely vanished from Lou Yingqi’s face. In its place was a look of utter misery. He slowly stood up, bowed deeply to Dad, and said with a trembling voice, "I implore Duke Zeng to save my life!"

Dad was bewildered for a moment. He shifted his gaze to Zeng Anmin, but Zeng Anmin merely grinned without saying a word.

"Why act like this, Assistant Minister Lou? Did something happen?" After a moment of silence, Dad chose to stand up and help Lou Yingqi to his feet, looking at him with a solemn and serious expression.

Lou Yingqi just offered a bitter smile. "Since Minister Zeng already knows everything, why bother asking?"

Lou Yingqi thought, "Your son told me everything yesterday, yet you’re still playing dumb."

Dad wondered what he could possibly know. The more he heard, the more confused he became.

"Yesterday at the Assistant Minister’s Mansion, Mr. Zeng had already warned me." Seeing Dad’s blank expression, Lou Yingqi sensed that something was amiss and looked toward Zeng Anmin.

Zeng Anmin smacked his forehead and stood up with a chuckle. "I actually haven’t mentioned this matter to my father yet."

"What exactly happened?" Dad’s brow furrowed deeply.

"It’s like this... Didn’t Bai Ziqing go to raid Prince Qi’s Mansion a few days ago? He invited me to tag along, and I found some secret letters inside the mansion."

Zeng Anmin pretended to reach into his robes, and with a thought, he retrieved several secret letters from the Preparation Space. He handed them over to his father.

"Secret letters?" Dad took them with a calm expression and cast his eyes over the contents. Soon, his face turned incredibly gloomy.

After finishing all the letters, he sat in his chair, quietly lost in thought. Lou Yingqi’s body tensed up; he was even acting a bit reserved. In Zeng Anmin’s eyes, he looked exactly like a job applicant waiting for an interviewer to finish reading his resume.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Dad’s fingers tapped rhythmically against the tabletop. His face was as dark as still water, not betraying a single trace of emotion. After a long while, he slowly looked up and glared at Zeng Anmin first. Zeng Anmin pursed his lips into a smile. Upon seeing that look, he knew his father had agreed.

"To think that the person backing Ren Weizhi is actually the Eldest Princess." Dad narrowed his eyes, a cold glint appearing on his face.

Zeng Anmin stared at his father in bewilderment. He wondered how his father could possibly deduce that the letters belonged to the Eldest Princess just by reading them.

"Sigh." Lou Yingqi let out a deep breath. "I didn’t expect it initially either. I originally thought Ren Weizhi was just working for Li Zhen, until I later discovered traces of the Liangyou Chamber of Commerce involved... What’s more, Prince Qi is also involved. The waters here are as deep as an abyss."

"Mhm." Dad’s eyes remained unchanged. He took the tea offered by the servant, took a gentle sip, and slowly let out a breath. For the first time, he looked at Lou Yingqi with an accepting gaze. "During all these years at the Ministry of Revenue, you were able to uphold your integrity and refuse to collude with them. You did very well in this regard."

Lou Yingqi gave a bitter smile. "And it’s precisely this personality of mine that caused my son to suffer such a disaster."

"Heh!" A cold glint flashed across Dad’s eyes. He slowly raised his head, gazing into the distance. "That was because I hadn’t entered the capital yet. Now that I’m here, it’s time to clear out these muddy waters."

As he spoke, an unquestionable authority radiated from his face. The extremely oppressive aura of a Great Confucian Scholar emanated from him, filling the main hall! He was giving Lou Yingqi reassurance! As a Third Grade expert in the Firewood Carrying Realm, his father naturally had the confidence to back it up!

Zeng Anmin thought, "My dad is awesome!" He was deeply moved by his father’s imposing manner.

Lou Yingqi abruptly looked up at Dad as well. After a long while, he took a deep breath and said, "But such filth is deeply rooted in the capital. How could clearing it out be the work of a single day?"

Dad didn’t answer directly. He gave a soft chuckle and said, "Then there’s no need to rush it for now." He fixed his gaze on the teacup on the table. "Tea, naturally, becomes more fragrant the longer it brews."

Zeng Anmin picked up his own teacup and took a sip. If it were red wine, he might be able to taste some of its notes. But as for tea... he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

"Right now, the first thing we should do is make the Eldest Princess and Ren Weizhi wary of taking action, right?" Zeng Anmin chimed in. He looked at Lou Yingqi with a wide grin and said, "A thief can steal for a thousand days, but who has the energy to guard against a thief for a thousand days?"

Lou Yingqi cast a grateful look at Zeng Anmin before cautiously glancing at Dad.

"Mhm." Zeng Shilin didn’t disappoint Lou Yingqi. Showing a placid expression, he looked over and asked, "Do you still have the evidence you’ve collected over the years?"

With a serious face, Lou Yingqi immediately pulled a stack of documents from his sleeve and respectfully handed them over. "Every transaction record between the Ministry of Revenue and the Liangyou Chamber of Commerce is here. Please take a look."

Dad didn’t even glance at them, merely scoffing. "Account books? What can these prove?

"With only the Ministry of Revenue’s ledgers and no corresponding books from the Liangyou Chamber of Commerce to cross-reference, what credibility do they have?

"These accounts will, at most, cause some minor trouble for Ren Weizhi. The Eldest Princess is royalty; she represents the dignity of the imperial family. Even if this evidence was placed right on His Majesty’s desk...

"It would result in a slap on the wrist at worst. Once the Eldest Princess balances the books, the matter will be dropped.

"These ledgers are even less credible than the few secret letters I hold in my hand."

"Uh." Following Dad’s words, Lou Yingqi’s face flushed slightly red.

"However, although they aren’t of much use now, at a critical moment, they could become the straw that breaks the camel’s back." Dad nonchalantly reached out and tucked the ledgers into his robes.

"Phew." Lou Yingqi breathed a sigh of relief, but a new wave of distress quickly washed over his heart. Doesn’t this mean they still had to guard against the thieves? He wondered who could possibly be on guard against the endless schemes of Ren Weizhi and the Eldest Princess every single day.