Chapter 191

Chapter 191

Meng Shuping was speechless. "When did I ever admit to abusing power for personal gain?"

[Even if he wants to pin a crime on me, he can't just make things up, can he? Is he hard of hearing? Which word did I say that admitted it?]

The Vice Minister of Personnel snorted. "Since you admit to having a conflict with that man and then had him punished, what else could it be if not abusing power for personal gain? Moreover, you didn’t deny it just now, did you?"

Meng Shuping had a sudden realization. "So, not denying means admitting it!"

He immediately turned to Emperor Qianyou. "Your Majesty, I also accuse Minister Wu of spreading hearsay, fabricating lies, and slandering a loyal official. This is the crime of deceiving the emperor, punishable by death!"

[Does he think he’s the only one who can pin crimes on others? Look, the charges I’m bringing against him are far more serious! It’s just about labeling people—who doesn’t know how to do that?]

The Vice Minister of Personnel turned pale with anger. "Meng Shuping! Stop twisting things around. We’re discussing your issues right now!"

This Meng Shuping—why does he never play by the rules? Normally, when someone is exposed like this, shouldn’t they immediately defend themselves? But Meng Shuping? He even has the time to shift the blame onto others!

And he’s just stating the facts—how dare Meng Shuping even think about having him executed?

Meng Shuping said coldly, "But your issues seem much bigger! And you didn’t deny the charge just now, so that means you admit to deceiving the emperor?"

[When he accuses me, it’s justified, but when I accuse him, it’s being unreasonable? I’m not criticizing him, but talk about double standards!]

The Vice Minister of Personnel was so choked with anger he could barely speak. Fuming, he said, "What I said is the truth. How is it deceiving the emperor? So many families were urged to pay taxes, but only the Sun family was punished by you. Meanwhile, the Meng family got off lightly without a scratch. Isn’t that abusing power for personal gain? Or are you saying you didn’t deliberately retaliate because of personal grudges?"

Hearing this, others began whispering among themselves. "Could it be that Director Meng really did abuse his power for personal gain? Could there be something wrong with the Meng family’s tax payments?"

"Hard to say. Although Director Meng is known for being impartial, who can guarantee he didn’t do something behind the scenes? This is his own clan—if he offends them too badly, it’ll be hard to face them."

"Actually, cutting a few corners isn’t a big deal, as long as it doesn’t go too far. No one can really criticize it…"

Meng Shuping said righteously, "They refused to pay taxes, and they’re still in the right? Are you saying we should indulge those who oppose the court? I’m really curious—which side are you on?"

[Honestly, so what if I deliberately retaliated? Others bullied me first. Should I be magnanimous and let it slide? I’m no saint—why should I forgive them?]

[Besides, if they had obeyed the law, would I have been able to catch them breaking the law? Ultimately, it’s their own misconduct. How can they blame me? Ah, it’s just that I’m too upright. If they had offended someone truly malicious, wouldn’t they be worse off? They should be grateful for the outcome they got. How can anyone still be dissatisfied? Do they think their crimes aren’t serious enough?]

The Minister of Revenue also agreed. "Exactly. Evading taxes is itself an act of opposing the court. Not punishing those people was already an act of mercy, giving them another chance. But we can’t take it for granted that not punishing them is the right thing! Even if Director Meng punished that man’s family, it’s still justified, isn’t it?"

The Vice Minister of Personnel didn’t expect Meng Shuping to be so unapologetic. Suppressing his anger, he said, "Even so, Director Meng shouldn’t deliberately retaliate out of personal spite, should he? Moreover, they were already gathering the tax money!"

Meng Shuping looked at him incredulously. "So they should raise rents for their tenants and drive them to bankruptcy and ruin?"

[The tenants already have low harvests, and they still raise rents? Do they even leave them a way to survive? And you have the nerve to criticize me for punishing the Sun family? They didn’t leave others a way to live either!]

[No wonder Minister Wu is in cahoots with the Sun family—they’re both so cold-hearted!]

Emperor Qianyou’s expression turned serious. What? There’s such an inside story? It seems the Sun family’s punishment was well-deserved.

The Vice Minister of Personnel was backed into a corner again. Fuming, he said, "Director Meng, why are you changing the subject again? One thing at a time. We’re discussing your issue of showing favoritism and abusing power for personal gain. Dare you say that the taxes paid by the Meng family are completely without issue?"

Meng Shuping said without any guilt, "I dare!"

[Why wouldn’t I dare? I’m not like them, showing favoritism! Did he think dragging the Meng family into this would help him find dirt on me? Please, so many people are waiting to catch me in a mistake—how could I leave such a big loophole?]

[But it’s strange—Minister Wu and I have no grudges. Why does he keep targeting me?]

[Ah! I get it now!]

[Could it be that this tax collection affected many people’s interests, so they want to have me removed from office together? Once I’m punished by the emperor, will their next step be to jointly pressure the emperor? How brazen is that!]

Emperor Qianyou’s eyes turned cold. It seems their real intentions lie elsewhere!

The Vice Minister of Personnel took a deep breath. When did he ever want to pressure the emperor jointly with others? This Meng Shuping—he’s reading way too much into this!

Gritting his teeth, he said, "Then does Director Meng dare to guarantee that you didn’t show them favoritism?"

Meng Shuping was completely fed up. This Vice Minister of Personnel—why is he still going on and on? Expressionless, he said, "Fine, I admit I was unfair in this matter."

The court officials exchanged uneasy glances. Did Meng Shuping really just admit it? Could he have deliberately retaliated?

The Vice Minister of Personnel was first stunned, then delighted. He hadn’t expected Meng Shuping to admit it so easily. He looked at the court officials and said, "Did you all hear that? He admitted it himself. You can’t say I wronged him now, can you?"

Emperor Qianyou was also full of doubt. "Director Meng, what do you mean by this?"

Meng Shuping said coldly, his voice tense, "Your Majesty, what I meant to say is that the Sun family not only evaded taxes, driving many tenant families to ruin, but also assaulted an imperial official and attempted rebellion. I now believe the punishment for the Sun family was too lenient and unfair to the other citizens. They should be punished to the full extent of the law. And Minister Wu, who speaks up for the Sun family, is clearly their accomplice and should also be punished!"

[He’s complaining on behalf of the Sun family? Well, in that case, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Even if I pin a crime on them, it might not stick, so I’ll just make it as big as possible—scare him to death!]

Emperor Qianyou: "Whoa!"

The court officials: "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"

Isn’t Meng Shuping playing this a bit too hard? If these charges stick, the Sun family and the Vice Minister of Personnel would be facing dire consequences!

The Vice Minister of Personnel was so angry the veins on his neck nearly burst. "Meng Shuping! Don’t make baseless accusations! Accusing them of rebellion—what evidence do you have?"

Meng Shuping said with his back stiff, "The court was clearly collecting overdue taxes from them, but they shifted the burden onto the common people, claiming it was the court raising taxes and making the people resent the court. What else is this if not stirring conflict between the people and the court? If the people become dissatisfied with the court, need I spell out what follows? Moreover, I am an imperial official, and they dared to assault me. Isn’t this a disregard for Your Majesty?"

[Don’t say this isn’t serious. Which dynasty in history fell because the people couldn’t survive? If every family acted like this, wouldn’t it force the people to rebel?]

Jiang Cihe also chimed in, "Father, Director Meng is absolutely right. They are clearly inciting the people to oppose the court. Their intentions are condemnable. Even if it doesn’t lead to major disaster, it could create significant instability in the region."

The Minister of Revenue and others also found it very reasonable. "Exactly. I hadn’t expected Director Meng to have such foresight. How did I not think of it?"

"Admirable! Truly admirable! Director Meng sees the big picture from small details and thinks far ahead!"

"Hmph! Minister Wu dares to shield those who show such contempt for imperial authority. Who knows what his real intentions are?"

"If I recall correctly, Minister Wu’s sister’s husband’s family is named Sun, right? Could it be the family that was punished?"

Meng Shuping looked at the Vice Minister of Personnel with a mocking realization. [Ohoho, and he has the nerve to accuse me of abusing power for personal gain? Who knows who the real abuser is! No wonder that Sun Zi was so arrogant—he was relying on Minister Wu’s influence!]

[He can’t even conduct himself properly, yet he dares to criticize me? How hypocritical! Watch me crush him this time!]

He immediately turned to Emperor Qianyou and said, "Your Majesty, the Sun family committed countless atrocities in the region. After their family was raided, we collected a stack of indictments. The detailed records should have reached the Ministry of Justice. Minister Wu, aware of the Sun family’s actions, still shielded them. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"

The Vice Minister of Personnel panicked and knelt with a thud. "Your Majesty, I beg you to believe me! I really didn’t!"

In the letter from his sister, she clearly said it was because they offended Meng Shuping that they were framed out of spite. Moreover, the Yangzhou Prefect also said it was all Meng Shuping’s doing—he just didn’t dare to offend Meng Shuping. How did it become him shielding them?

Right, Meng Shuping must have fabricated the evidence. There’s no way his sister and the Yangzhou Prefect both lied to him, right?

But as soon as he finished, Meng Shuping’s annoying voice rang out again. [Nothing? What do you mean nothing? He dares to deceive Your Majesty right in front of him—is there anything he wouldn’t do? It’s only because the emperor isn’t a foolish ruler that he hasn’t fallen for his slander!]

The Vice Minister of Personnel seethed with even more hatred. This Meng Shuping—is he determined to make things difficult for him? But right now, he had no time to argue with Meng Shuping. The priority was to prevent Emperor Qianyou from truly believing Meng Shuping’s words.

He kowtowed repeatedly on the floor. "Your Majesty, I implore Your Majesty to see the truth! Minister Wu and the Sun family are truly wronged. The Sun family is just a small family—how would they dare?"

Meng Shuping couldn’t help but add in his mind, [So if there were more people, they would dare, huh!]