Broken

Cui Shifan's temples throbbed violently. He scolded, Enough! Sit down first! The matter hasn't even been clarified yet, what are you arguing about!

Only then did Shangguan Yuan reluctantly sit back down, but his one good eye continued to glare viciously at Gu Chengyin.

Cui Shifan took a deep breath, barely suppressing his anger, and turned his gaze to Gu Chengyin.

Towards this newly risen noble, his tone softened slightly, but it still carried a sense of reprimand.

Gu Chengyin, I know you are a capable man by His Highness's side, and His Majesty has also praised you highly.

It is a good thing for young people to have drive, but drive does not equal hostility, much less does it mean you can rely on favor to be arrogant and act without any scruples!

Publicly beating a Minister is an extremely severe matter. Regardless of the cause, you must provide an explanation!

Cui Shifan wanted to knock Gu Chengyin down a peg first, hoping he would yield and admit his mistake, even if only on the surface, so the matter could be easily resolved.

However, Gu Chengyin did not take the bait at all.

He met Cui Shifan's gaze calmly, his voice clear and firm.

Grand Secretary Cui! Please watch your words!

He stood up, straightened his back, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, I did not beat a high official of the imperial court! Everyone present at the Ministry of Revenue office can testify for me!

Gu Chengyin pointed at Shangguan Yuan, his tone resolute. It was Shangguan Yuan who struck first! He took advantage of my unpreparedness and suddenly launched a sneak attack with a punch!

In a moment of urgency, I acted out of instinct in self-defense! How can that be called a beating? If Grand Secretary Cui wants to assign guilt, you should first condemn him for his crime of a sneak attack!

Bullshit!!

Shangguan Yuan instantly exploded again, slamming the table and standing up. Pointing at Gu Chengyin's nose, he cursed, Gu Chengyin! Stop inverting black and white and confusing the public here!

It was clearly you who barged into my courtyard first and, without a word, kicked over my white-glazed celadon teacup! You destroyed my precious antique first!

If we are really going to argue about it, you made the first move! I was just too angry and tried to reason with you. When you couldn't out-argue me, you brazenly attacked, bullying me for being old and weak!

The two clashed head-on again, exposing each other's crimes. One claimed the other smashed things first, while the other claimed the other launched a sneak attack first. They argued fiercely, their spit almost flying into each other's faces.

Watching this scene that resembled a squabble in a vegetable market, Cui Shifan only felt a severe headache coming on.

Now, both sides claimed to be in the right, and unfortunately, both held special statuses. Neither side was willing to bow their head.

He waved his hand, signaling several Golden Feather Guards to step forward and forcibly separate the two men, who were practically pressed against each other cursing, and pushed them back into their respective seats.

Shut up, both of you!

Cui Shifan rubbed his throbbing temples and shouted in a low voice.

He knew that if they continued to dwell on the question of who struck first, they could argue until tomorrow without reaching a conclusion.

The most urgent task was to figure out the root cause of the conflict; perhaps then he could find an opportunity to resolve it.

His gaze swept back and forth between the two men, eventually landing on Gu Chengyin. Cui Shifan changed the subject and asked:

Let us set aside these minor details for now.

Gu Chengyin, why did you suddenly visit the Ministry of Revenue office today? You couldn't have gone specifically just to kick over Shangguan Yuan's teacup, could you?

Hearing this, the anger on Gu Chengyin's face subsided slightly, but his eyes remained cold and stern.

Then, he took out an old account book with dog-eared pages from his robes and placed it solemnly on the desk in front of Cui Shifan.

Grand Secretary Cui, please see clearly.

Gu Chengyin's voice became heavy, carrying an earnestness born of concern for state affairs. My presumptuous visit to the Ministry of Revenue today was not for personal grievances, much less to make trouble out of nothing.

Rather, it was for official business entrusted to me by His Highness. It is a major matter concerning the lifeblood of our Great Luo's national treasury and the clarity of the realm's finances!

He pointed at the account book, his tone becoming deeply distressed.

His Highness is thoroughly investigating the accounts of past years to clear up accumulated abuses, increase revenues, and reduce expenditures, seeking a path to enrich the state and benefit the people for our Great Luo.

He assigned me to assist in this matter. I dared not slack off, verifying the accounts day and night with His Highness and colleagues from the Internal Affairs Department.

He paused, his gaze sweeping toward Shangguan Yuan like a blade, his voice suddenly rising with interrogation.

However! During the verification process, we discovered that many of the core account books handed over by the Ministry of Revenue, especially the key files from recent years, are missing parts and full of loopholes!

Countless important original vouchers, approval records, and data details have vanished into thin air! This has caused the accounting chain to break, making it entirely impossible to conduct effective audits and tracing!

He pushed the account book forward. This account is one such example! For the details of the water transport repair funds in the year 556 of the Luo Calendar, not even one in ten of the key attachments remains!

I went to the Ministry of Revenue today to personally ask the Lord Minister why the heavy financial archives kept by the Ministry have been damaged and lost to such an extent.

Is it a natural disaster, or a man-made calamity? Is it poor management, or did someone do it intentionally to obstruct His Highness's audit and cover up certain shady dealings?!

In a moment of righteous indignation, I questioned him. Not only did the Lord Minister fail to reflect on his dereliction of duty, but he also made all sorts of excuses and verbally provoked me. Finally, flying into a rage out of humiliation, he struck first! That is what triggered the subsequent events!

Gu Chengyin cupped his hands toward Cui Shifan, his tone sorrowful yet resolute. Grand Secretary! His Highness works tirelessly for the state, shedding his heart's blood, yet the Ministry of Revenue cooperates in such a manner!

As His Highness's subject, seeing this situation, how could I not be furious? Although the method of today's conflict was extreme, the root cause lies in the unclear accounts of the Ministry of Revenue, and someone trying to deceive the Emperor and obstruct His Highness from purging the accumulated corruption!

This matter concerns the foundation of the state, and even more so the welfare of the people across the realm! I beseech the Grand Secretary to investigate clearly, report to His Majesty, thoroughly investigate the reasons for the missing Ministry of Revenue accounts, and severely punish those who have neglected or even abused their duties!

His speech was impassioned, reasonable, and well-founded, completely elevating a personal conflict to the political height of serving the country and the people.

At the same time, it formally placed the heavy bombshell of the missing accounts in front of the Grand Secretariat.

Cui Shifan looked at the worn account book on the desk, then at Gu Chengyin's young and righteous face, and finally glanced at Shangguan Yuan beside him, whose expression was constantly changing as he covered his bruised eye socket.

He suddenly felt that this matter was probably far more than just two officials engaging in a physical brawl.

It was going to be much more complex, and much more troublesome.

Cui Shifan reached out and picked up the account book that Gu Chengyin had pushed over.

The sheepskin cover felt rough to the touch, and the edges were heavily worn, truly exuding the aura of an aged relic.

He opened it expressionlessly, his gaze quickly sweeping over page after page of dense yet neatly arranged numbers and entries.

As a Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, currently serving as the Second Assistant and originally from the Ministry of Rites, Cui Shifan was no stranger to accounts; in fact, he could be considered quite proficient.

He could tell at a glance that this account book was formally complete. The copying was neat, the format was standard, and the total numbers seemed to add up.

However, when he tried to trace a certain fund back to its original source and verify the key vouchers.

He found that it was exactly as Gu Chengyin had said.

The critical links were broken.