PCA Chapter 133

“Five hundred thousand taels?” Liang Fang’s eyebrows shot up. “What five hundred thousand taels?!”

 

Su Cen raised his eyebrows slightly: “Lord Liang doesn’t know?”

 

Liang Fang wore an expression that clearly said “you bewitching fox, don’t try to frame me,” and stiffly replied: “What should I know?”

 

With the imperial envoy at his door pressing charges and him still refusing to admit anything, Su Cen couldn’t be bothered to play guessing games anymore. He said directly, “Last September, the Ministry of Revenue allocated five hundred thousand taels for repairs to the Xuzhou embankments. They were meant to last a hundred years, so how did they collapse so soon after?”

 

“Nonsense, complete nonsense!” Liang Fang slammed the table and stood up abruptly. “Xuzhou never saw any river repair funds. If the imperial court had allocated even a bit of silver, Xuzhou wouldn’t be in this state today!”

 

Su Cen frowned and looked toward Li Shi. Li Shi said, “When I arrived, the Xuzhou embankments were indeed old, with no signs of recent repairs.”

 

“But Huang Ting clearly said the Ministry of Revenue allocated funds,” Su Cen furrowed his brows. “He wouldn’t lie in front of the Crown Prince and court officials, would he?”

 

“You mean that Deputy Minister of Revenue Huang Ting who always has his nose in the air?” Liang Fang snorted. “He was the one who came to inspect Xuzhou and said the embankments were still usable. Tight as a miser, he wouldn’t part with a single coin. The Xuzhou officials who accompanied him can all testify—expecting him to allocate funds for Xuzhou? Maybe in the next life!”

 

Su Cen turned back to look at Li Shi, “This Huang Ting relies on his ancestral privilege and can be arrogant about his talents, but would he really dare to deceive the Emperor?”

 

Li Shi replied, “He wouldn’t dare.”

 

“Are you suggesting I embezzled those five hundred thousand taels?” Liang Fang stepped forward. “Prince Ning, you cannot listen to this fox— this… bewitching talk! If I took even one tael of imperial funds, may I die a terrible death! May my entire family die terrible deaths!!”

 

“Zhong’an, calm yourself,” Li Shi frowned and said to Qi Lin: “Issue an order summoning Huang Ting to Xuzhou to see me.”

 

Then he said to Liang Fang: “Five hundred thousand taels isn’t a small amount. When the time comes, I’ll give you both a chance to argue your cases. I refuse to believe that such river repair funds could simply vanish into thin air.”

 

Only then did Liang Fang calm down somewhat, sitting back in his chair to silently fume.

 

Su Cen observed Liang Fang across the desk with narrowed eyes. The man’s anger seemed genuine, and his ignorance also seemed genuine. At the moment, Su Cen couldn’t distinguish whether Liang Fang was highly skilled at deception or if he had truly been set up by Huang Ting. Perhaps they would only know once Huang Ting arrived and they could argue it out.

 

Su Cen temporarily set aside this matter and said, “Then let’s discuss the diversion of the Nanqing River and the flooding of Cao Village.”

 

Cao Village was located in Chanzhou County under Xuzhou’s jurisdiction. Since the incident happened, Liang Fang couldn’t escape responsibility. Su Cen wanted to see what Liang Fang would say this time.

 

Unexpectedly, Liang Fang admitted it straightforwardly: “I ordered the river’s course to be changed.”

 

Su Cen’s heart trembled as he thought of Uncle Cao from Cao Village, of Huzi and Er Ya, and the grief on their faces when they said “Cao Village is gone.” Generations of hard work and labor, destroyed by one word from someone in power. Su Cen felt heartbroken, “What right did you have to decide their life and death? Just because Cao Village was small and insignificant, did that make them deserving of sacrifice?”

 

“That was only because the imperial court wouldn’t allocate funds!” Liang Fang retorted. “Without embankment repairs, we could only reduce the flow. That’s why I allocated one hundred thousand taels from Xuzhou’s treasury to dredge and clear the old Nanqing River channel. By diverting the Nanqing River from Cao Village to flow directly into the sea instead of the Huai River, we aimed to reduce the burden on Xuzhou’s embankments. How could I have known they would line their own pockets and never actually repair the riverbed? As soon as the river was diverted, the Nanqing River immediately breached! ‘Harsh mountains and evil waters produce scoundrels’—this saying is true. They didn’t value themselves, so who can they blame!”

 

“Are you saying the villagers of Cao Village embezzled one hundred thousand taels of public funds, yet failed to fulfill their dredging responsibilities?” Su Cen frowned. “The villagers of Cao Village are currently in the traveling palace. Do you dare to confront them face to face?”

 

Liang Fang tossed his head: “Why wouldn’t I dare!”

 

The person who came was Uncle Cao, the head of Cao Village. Upon entering, he first knelt and paid respects to everyone. When he raised his head and saw who was sitting in the main position, he was momentarily stunned.

 

Su Cen smiled and explained his intentions at that time. When Li Shi heard that Su Cen had been rescued from the cliff face, his brows furrowed slightly. He couldn’t imagine what Su Cen had been thinking while suspended on that cliff, or how desperate he must have felt. Li Shi placed a hand on Su Cen’s shoulder and patted it gently, a gesture of both comfort and concern. Su Cen turned his head and smiled at him—he had returned now, it was all in the past—indicating that Li Shi needn’t worry.

 

Su Cen turned back to Uncle Cao and said, “The reason I called you here is to verify something. Before the Nanqing River was diverted, were you asked to clear the riverbed?”

 

Uncle Cao was about to reach for his pipe, but considering the presence of so many important figures, he refrained. He merely rubbed his fingers, reminiscing for a moment, before saying, “I believe there was such a matter.”

 

“You see? What did I tell you?” Liang Fang slapped the table. “They brought this upon themselves and implicated all of Xuzhou!”

 

“What does Lord mean by that?” Uncle Cao had studied for a few years in his youth and had almost qualified as a xiucai scholar. He was among the few literate people in Cao Village and could sense the hostility in Liang Fang’s words. He frowned and asked, “What do you mean we brought this upon ourselves and implicated Xuzhou? It was clearly Xuzhou that abandoned us. They talked about dredging the riverbed but gave us nothing—no wages. The villagers treated it as forced labor, but even the shovels and baskets had to come from our own pockets. Many people were in water for long periods, their legs swollen from leech bites, with calves becoming thicker than thighs. Without any benefit, the villagers complained constantly—who would continue working?! When the flood came, you diverted the river without a second glance and then blamed us for implicating Xuzhou. Cao Village has been wronged!” Uncle Cao fell to his knees with a thud. “Lords, please bring justice to Cao Village!”

 

Su Cen quickly helped him up and frowned at Liang Fang: “Didn’t you say one hundred thousand taels were allocated?”

 

“Yes, one hundred thousand taels were allocated,” Liang Fang was also puzzled. “I personally gave it to the magistrate of Chanzhou County and instructed him to coordinate the Nanqing River diversion. He reported to me several times that the riverbed dredging was proceeding smoothly and that the river could be diverted at any time.”

 

“Cao Village never received a single coin,” Uncle Cao coughed heavily twice and was about to kneel again, but Su Cen held him back.

 

Uncle Cao clutched Su Cen’s sleeve tightly, refusing to let go. “You’ve seen the people of Cao Village. You must bring justice for us! Cao Village is already gone—we cannot bear this false accusation on top of everything!”

 

Su Cen nodded in agreement: “I will investigate thoroughly and restore justice to Cao Village.”

 

Li Shi asked: “Where is the magistrate of Chanzhou County now?”

 

Everyone exchanged glances before Liang Fang said: “He seems to have… died in the flood.”

 

Su Cen frowned slightly. Li Shi’s question was pertinent—the Chanzhou County magistrate was a key figure, yet the person was now dead. A county magistrate dying in a flood—was it truly an accident or a deliberate murder?

 

Su Cen asked Liang Fang: “Do you have any evidence to prove you disbursed those one hundred thousand taels?”

 

“You still suspect me?” Liang Fang glared angrily at Su Cen. “When funds leave the treasury, there are naturally archived records.”

 

Su Cen summoned the treasury official who managed Xuzhou’s government funds and asked about the ledgers recording treasury transactions. The official explained that the flood came too quickly, and they hadn’t had time to remove the ledgers, which were still soaking in Xuzhou city. When asked if he remembered Liang Fang allocating one hundred thousand taels from the treasury last year, the official replied that he had only taken office this year, and the previous treasury official had retired at the end of last year.

 

After dismissing Liang Fang and Uncle Cao, Su Cen understood Liang Fang’s third offense without further investigation. Liang Fang had believed that the people of Cao Village took the money without doing the work, so his hostility toward them made sense. It was understandable that he wouldn’t want to let the Cao villagers up the mountain.

 

Su Cen sat in his chair with eyes closed, gathering his thoughts. He hadn’t expected such a seemingly straightforward case to be so convoluted. The investigation had reached an impasse: Huang Ting claimed he had allocated five hundred thousand taels for Xuzhou river repairs, but Liang Fang said he never received it; Liang Fang claimed he allocated one hundred thousand taels for the Nanqing River diversion, but the Cao villagers said they received nothing. If everyone was telling the truth, it meant six hundred thousand taels of silver had vanished into thin air. It was these six hundred thousand taels that led to the breach at Cao Village, the flooding of Xuzhou city, and hundreds of thousands of people being displaced—truly chilling.

 

Li Shi brought a cup of tea and asked, “What are your thoughts?”

 

“Without other evidence, Liang Fang is the most suspicious,” Su Cen said, opening his eyes. “He’s involved in both cases. First, as the governor of Xuzhou, he couldn’t possibly be unaware if the imperial court allocated funds. I still think it’s less likely that Huang Ting is lying. He mentioned the allocation after you arrived in Xuzhou—if he had embezzled the money, he had no reason to create trouble for himself then. After all, if he hadn’t mentioned it, no one would have known the imperial court had ever allocated funds to Xuzhou. And regarding the hundred thousand taels Liang Fang claimed to give to Cao Village, both witness testimony and physical evidence have been destroyed. It would be impossible for Cao Village to assassinate a county magistrate and replace the treasury official, but Liang Fang could do it easily. Once all informed persons are gone, whatever he says becomes the truth.”

 

Li Shi nodded, “So he seems most suspicious. Should we place him under house arrest for you?”

 

Su Cen shook his head, “If he wanted to flee, he would have left already. Sending people to watch him would only alert him. Before Huang Ting arrives, there’s no clear evidence pointing to him. Everything I’ve said is just suspicion. Let’s wait until Huang Ting arrives.”

 

Li Shi smiled slightly. This person was increasingly confident and measured in his judgments. Although Su Cen hadn’t said it explicitly, Li Shi understood that in this situation, Su Cen was investigating the case while he was providing disaster relief—each had their own responsibilities. From an investigative standpoint, Liang Fang should be confined, but from a disaster relief perspective, this wasn’t possible. Liang Fang was still the governor of Xuzhou with considerable prestige among the people. Confining him without solid evidence would likely provoke public resentment. Su Cen was considering this for Li Shi’s sake, and Li Shi was indebted to him for this.

 

“There’s one more thing I’m concerned about,” Su Cen looked up at Li Shi. “Huang Wan’er was arrested during the period when Huang Ting allocated the river repair funds. If Song Fan is involved in this matter, then that’s an entirely different situation.”

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