The Show Begins

When Shangguan Yuan saw clearly that his white-glazed celadon teacup, treasured for many years and as warm and smooth as jade, had been reduced to shattered pieces on the ground, a mixture of shock, heartache, and instantly rising fury exploded in his chest like boiling oil poured over water!

He sprang up from his rocking chair on instinct. Disregarding any semblance of a Minister's dignity, he lunged toward the pile of shards in two quick strides.

With trembling hands, he picked up the largest fragment, which still bore the vibrant green interlocking lotus pattern. As his fingertips brushed across the broken edge, the muscles in his face twitched.

"My... my white-glazed celadon cup! This was a one-of-a-kind piece from the Luodu South Kiln! It took over a decade of steeping tea to cultivate such a jade-like luster! You... you..."

He snapped his head up, his hair and beard bristling, eyes wide with rage. Glaring fiercely at Gu Chengyin, his voice pitched into a sharp shriek of anger and heartbreak, completely stripped of its usual composure:

"Gu Chengyin! Are you out of your damn mind?!"

Shangguan Yuan was clearly beside himself with rage. Forgetting his refined official speech, he resorted to outright cursing, pointing a trembling finger at Gu Chengyin:

"Don't think that just because Her Highness trusts you and bestowed upon you the title of Marquis, you can act with utter lawlessness! Coming to my Ministry of Revenue to run wild!"

"This is a vital stronghold of the imperial court's Six Ministries! It is not a place for your reckless behavior!!"

His roars echoed through the small courtyard and reached the ears of the watching clerks and officials clearly, drawing a collective gasp. The Minister was truly enraged.

Facing Shangguan Yuan's furious scolding, Gu Chengyin only responded with a scoff full of mockery.

Instead of backing down, he straightened his back, amplifying his deliberately cultivated aura of anger even further.

He then raised the old account book in his hand high into the air. The gesture was so exaggerated that not only could Shangguan Yuan, who was right in front of him, see it clearly,

but even the gossip-hungry onlookers outside the courtyard, craning their necks and peeking from behind the pillars and windows, could clearly make out the cover's design.

Gu Chengyin's voice slammed down like a magistrate's gavel, every word resonant and carrying undisguised interrogation. It rang through the entire courtyard and carried far beyond:

"Shangguan Yuan! Open your eyes and look closely! Do you know what this Marquis is holding in his hand?!"

Shangguan Yuan froze for a moment, instinctively narrowing his old eyes to peer at the account book Gu Chengyin was holding up.

The familiar format and faint lettering allowed him to recognize it.

"This..." Shangguan Yuan frowned, his anger subsiding slightly, and replied uncertainly, "It seems... to be an old account book from the Ministry of Revenue?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt his momentum weaken. He quickly puffed out his chest and restored his tough tone. "It's nothing but an old, outdated ledger! Gu Chengyin, coming to the Ministry of Revenue to throw a tantrum and destroy my treasures over a torn account book—you are showing far too little regard for the laws of the imperial court!"

This admission was exactly what Gu Chengyin had been waiting for.

"So you do know this is your Ministry's account book!"

Gu Chengyin shouted sternly, taking a menacing step forward. "Then explain to this Marquis! Why is this ledger missing pages and full of holes?!"

"The crucial original vouchers, approval attachments, and data details have all vanished, leaving nothing but contradictory summaries?!"

Gu Chengyin rapidly flipped through a few pages, displaying the striking red circles marked with vermilion ink inside.

"Shangguan Yuan! You are the dignified Minister of Revenue, a high-ranking official of the court! You manage the world's money, grain, and taxes, overseeing all expenditures and audits!"

"Is this how you manage things?! Allowing such important account books to be damaged and incomplete?! What kind of Minister are you?!"

This barrage of questions crashed over Shangguan Yuan's head like a violent storm, directly pinning the blame squarely on him as the highest-ranking official.

Shangguan Yuan was momentarily dazed by the fierce interrogation and opened his mouth to defend himself. "This... the ledger has been stored for a long time, so some wear and tear is normal... How can you..."

"Normal?!"

Gu Chengyin didn't give him a chance to finish. His voice rose another octave, filled with grief, indignation, and bitter heartache.

"Today, this Marquis wants to see exactly what kind of intentions you, Shangguan Yuan, and your Ministry of Revenue are harboring!"

He turned around to face the courtyard gates, as if declaring to everyone present:

"Since Her Highness returned from Luodu, she has been deeply concerned about state affairs and compassionate toward the people!"

"Seeing the empty treasury and the hardships of the citizens, she has been burning with anxiety! Disregarding her own exhaustion, she has worked day and night, pouring her heart and blood into her duties."

"She personally led her female officials and dove headfirst into that mountainous pile of ledgers and documents! And for what?!"

Gu Chengyin's voice grew even more impassioned:

"It was to clarify the flow of money and grain, to investigate the root causes of these long-standing abuses! It was to find the right cure to enrich the treasury and lighten the burden on the commoners! It was for the sake of Great Luo's state and society, for thousands of generations to come!!"

His vivid description painted Luo Zhao as a wise, benevolent leader who neglected sleep and meals, exhausting herself for the nation and its people.

The emotion in his words was so sincere and surging that the onlookers couldn't help but be moved. Some even nodded unconsciously, feeling that the Eldest Princess truly had it hard.

However, Gu Chengyin abruptly changed his tune. His tone shifted from tragic and impassioned to thunderous fury. He whipped back around, pinning Shangguan Yuan with a gaze burning with rage:

"Yet you, Shangguan Yuan! Is this how you treat Her Highness's sincere devotion to toiling for the common people?!"

With a rustle, he flipped the ledger open again, pointing at the glaring missing marks highlighted in red, his voice trembling with anger:

"Look! All of you, open your eyes and look! The accounts that Her Highness went through unimaginable hardships to verify actually look like this!"

"Missing pages and full of holes! We can't even piece together a single complete number! How are we supposed to audit this?! How do we cross-reference?! How do we find the problems?!"

"Shangguan Yuan! Tell this Marquis! Was this done deliberately by someone trying to obstruct Her Highness's investigation and cover up some unspeakable deeds?"

"Or is the entire Ministry of Revenue colluding together, deceiving superiors and hiding things from subordinates, failing to fulfill even the most basic duty of safekeeping?!"

"If you do not give this Marquis a proper explanation today, I will absolutely not let this go!!"

Among the crowd of onlookers outside the courtyard, an uproar had already broken out.

Many whispered among themselves, and the gazes directed at Shangguan Yuan were now tinged with suspicion and scrutiny.

If things were truly as Gu Chengyin claimed, and the missing accounts were this severe, the Ministry of Revenue would be in massive trouble!

"Bullshit!!"

Shangguan Yuan also threw caution to the wind. Tossing his official prestige and dignity aside for the moment, he stiffened his neck and cursed right back at Gu Chengyin:

"Gu Chengyin! Stop spouting nonsense and spewing lies right here!"

"The annual ledgers of my Ministry of Revenue go through countless hands—from drafting, verification, and re-checking to final archiving—with strict checks at every level. How can I allow you to slander us like this?!"

He pointed at the ledger in Gu Chengyin's hand and roared, "That book in your hand is nothing but an old account that has been stored away for years!"