The Colossal Parasite

Gu Chengyin's warning was like a block of ice thrown into boiling oil, instantly stirring up a silent, turbulent storm within the Hall of Illustrious Reason.

Even the candlelight seemed to flicker in response.

Shangguan Yunying's face suddenly turned pale. Having followed Luo Zhao for many years, she knew exactly how deep the treacherous waters of the royal court and the palace ran.

She instantly understood what Gu Chengyin's words implied.

This was absolutely not a minor issue of unclear accounting, but rather pointed to an incredibly vast and deeply rooted web of interests!

Once uncovered, the ensuing chain reaction and backlash would be devastating.

She subconsciously looked toward Luo Zhao on the main seat, her eyes filled with worry.

Luo Zhao sat upright in the red sandalwood chair, her posture unmoving. Only those inherently cold phoenix eyes of hers, upon hearing Gu Chengyin's warning...

...narrowed slightly, sharp and dangerous like the suddenly contracting pupils of a predator on the frozen tundra.

A deathly silence filled the hall, broken only by the occasional faint crackle of a distant candlewick popping and the suppressed breathing of those present.

Gu Chengyin calmly waited for Luo Zhao's response.

He had tossed the choice to this Crown Princess.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then, Luo Zhao slowly curled the corners of her lips.

It was not a smile, but the absolute confidence belonging to one in power.

Her voice rang out, clear and sonorous like the striking of gold and jade, echoing through the silent hall:

"Secretary Gu."

Luo Zhao paused, her gaze locking onto Gu Chengyin like cold stars.

"I am the Crown Princess of the Great Luo. In the future, I shall inherit my royal father's legacy and rule over these ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains, and billions of subjects."

Her tone was flat, yet it contained unparalleled determination and an imposing aura:

"Corrupt vermin who erode the foundation of the state and shake the empire are my mortal enemies, and they are the cancerous tumors of the Great Luo."

"If I lack even the courage and preparation to confront such demons and monsters..."

A powerful aura belonging to a future Empress exploded outward. Even though she was merely sitting there in a simple palace dress, no one dared to look directly at her.

"...then I have no need to sit upon this position of Crown Princess, and the empire of the Great Luo would deserve to perish!"

Luo Zhao looked directly at Gu Chengyin, articulating every word with absolute resolve:

"Speak your mind freely. Even if the sky falls, I will hold it up!"

These words were awe-inspiring and breathtakingly bold!

It was not only a response to Gu Chengyin, but also a declaration to herself.

Since she, Luo Zhao, had chosen this path, she would fear nothing!

Shangguan Yunying looked at Luo Zhao, her eyes instantly filling with reverence and excitement.

This was the Highness she had sworn to follow to the death!

A trace of admiration also flashed through Gu Chengyin's eyes. No matter how much forbearance and hatred Luo Zhao harbored within her heart...

...at least in this very moment, in the face of momentous national affairs, she displayed the responsibility and boldness a Crown Princess ought to possess.

Without further hesitation, Gu Chengyin gently pushed the ledger in his hand to the center of the desk, his fingers precisely turning to a few marked pages.

"Please take a look, Your Highness."

Gu Chengyin returned to his state of calm analysis. Without keeping them in suspense, he began to break things down point by point.

"These general ledgers and detailed accounts submitted by the Ministry of Revenue, on the surface, are indeed beautifully crafted."

"Every item of income and expenditure is clearly stated. The cross-references of the numbers all match up in the final summary, and the budget is balanced. There seems to be no problem."

Changing the subject, he said, "However, this is exactly the biggest problem. If there are no issues with the accounts, then where does the emptiness of the national treasury come from?"

"It is like a magnificent palace that looks resplendent on the outside, but if you get close and look at it from a certain angle, you will find that its foundation has long been hollowed out by termites."

Gu Chengyin pointed to a line of record in the ledger. "Take this item, for example. The southeastern section of the Divine Capital's outer city wall had been in disrepair for years and urgently needed maintenance. The Department of Construction under the Ministry of Works applied for a special maintenance fund: one hundred thousand taels of silver."

"The reason for the application was sufficient, and the process was also complete. The Department of Construction applied, the Ministry of Works reviewed it, it was forwarded to the Ministry of Revenue for a second check, approved by the Grand Secretariat, and disbursed in full, all recorded on file."

Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying's gazes both fell upon that line of numbers, and they nodded slightly.

One hundred thousand taels to maintain a section of the city wall, although not a small sum, was within a reasonable range, especially since the Divine Capital's city wall was of great importance.

"The silver was allocated. Logically speaking, the Department of Construction should have taken these one hundred thousand taels to purchase stone, mortar, and labor to repair and reinforce the city wall, right?"

Gu Chengyin's finger traced across the ledger. "Next, let us look at the accounting records of several imperial merchants who had purchasing dealings with the Department of Construction in the same year."

He quickly pulled out a few booklets stamped with various seals from the side and turned to the corresponding sections.

"This is the shipping record of the Eternal Solidity Stone Workshop. They supplied top-grade bluestone materials for the southeastern city wall maintenance project of the Department of Construction, totaling thirty-eight thousand taels in value."

"This is the mortar supply record of the Western Capital Official Kiln, totaling twenty-one thousand taels in value."

"There are also a few scattered records of expenses for labor, tools, and transportation. Added together..."

Gu Chengyin raised his head, his gaze sharp. "...not a penny more, not a penny less. Exactly one hundred thousand taels."

Exactly one hundred thousand taels?

Luo Zhao's brows instantly furrowed tightly.

Applying for one hundred thousand, and the actual purchase was exactly one hundred thousand taels? Was this not a bit too coincidental?

"Then here comes the question," Gu Chengyin's voice was like an ice pick, chipping away at the truth. "How did these imperial merchants manage to make it not a penny more, not a penny less, but exactly one hundred thousand taels?"

Gu Chengyin answered his own question, "Could it be that they knew the exact amount of the special maintenance fund of the Department of Construction in advance?"

He flipped back to another internal running account book of the Department of Construction and pointed to one of the lines. "Look here again. Less than three months after the one hundred thousand taels were allocated, the Department of Construction submitted another document, claiming that the maintenance funds for the southeastern city wall had been exhausted."

"Stating that the project was not yet completed due to the discovery of new hidden dangers and the rising prices of materials, they applied for an additional appropriation: eighty thousand taels of silver!"

"What is even more brilliant," Gu Chengyin's tone carried a hint of mockery, "is that this application for additional appropriation also smoothly passed the review of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue, and even received the approval of the Grand Secretariat once again."

His finger tapped on the records of the two application approvals, separated by a few months. "The first time, they applied for one hundred thousand, and the actual expenditure was one hundred thousand. The books were balanced."

"The second time, they applied for another eighty thousand, and the reason was still city wall maintenance. And when I went to check the purchasing records after the second application for appropriation..."

He flipped out the corresponding imperial merchant accounts again. "...the value of the purchased stone and mortar was still not a penny more, not a penny less. Exactly eighty thousand taels."

Gu Chengyin put down the ledger in his hand and looked at Luo Zhao with a blazing gaze. "Your Highness, this is merely the single item of city wall maintenance. Similar examples can be found everywhere within these vast, ocean-like accounts."

"River dredging, official road repairs, annual palace maintenance... almost all engineering projects where there is profit to be skimmed operate on this exact model!"

His voice suddenly grew heavier. "Furthermore, Your Highness, have you noticed? This is not the petty corruption of a single official lining his own pockets! This is a complete, interlocking process!"

"Fraudulent applications, negligent reviews, by-the-book appropriations, tacitly coordinated purchases, the cooperation of imperial merchants... and then, before long, another round begins!"

"Such a massive amount of funds evaporated silently right under the nose of the Divine Capital, funneled through a seemingly legitimate process."

Gu Chengyin finally looked at Luo Zhao, his tone as heavy as iron:

"Your Highness, this is no longer a simple case of grand corruption."

"This is a single, or perhaps a swarm of, creatures hidden deep within the flesh of Great Luo..."

"...colossal parasites!"