The 'Involution King' Second Female Lead Quits [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: A Female Official in Disguise?

Shu Heng wasn’t really happy about her promotion, but she still had to show her gratitude and kneel to thank the Emperor. When her colleagues in the Hanlin Academy learned that she was being transferred to the Ministry of Revenue to be a grain transport official, most of them looked at her with pity rather than envy.

Anyone with a brain knew that Li Jianwei’s defiance of the imperial decree meant she had a problem with the Emperor. The so-called ‘missing’ eunuch and imperial guards were probably dead. As a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, if Shu Heng wasn’t careful and offended the other party, she would probably be left in the Northern Frontier forever, with no body to be found.

“Congratulations on your promotion, Brother Shu. To be promoted to a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue in just one year is unprecedented in the Hanlin Academy,” a colleague from the Hanlin Academy said insincerely, schadenfreude practically spilling from his eyes.

“It was just a stroke of luck that I caught His Majesty’s eye,” Shu Heng said, her smile not reaching her eyes. As a commoner who became the top scholar without a famous teacher, her position in the Hanlin Academy wasn’t good. This trip to the Northern Frontier was full of dangers, but it also offered many opportunities. If she handled it well, a promotion after returning to the capital was guaranteed, and she might even become a confidant of the King of Cheng.

Shu Heng hated the Emperor’s way of abandoning loyal subjects, but that didn’t stop her from seizing the opportunity that was handed to her to climb up the ladder. The Emperor was old and senile and wary of capable officials, but the next emperor might not have this bad habit, Shu Heng told herself. At least the Third Prince, the King of Cheng, didn’t seem to agree with such behavior and knew that the war in the Northern Frontier was more important and that military provisions shouldn’t be withheld at this time.

…

After learning that she would be departing in three days to transport the grain, Shu Heng changed into a plain-colored outfit and went to a cemetery in the suburbs with some offerings. Although the Great General of the Northern Frontier was slandered with crimes of rebellion and offending a concubine, the Emperor was not so insane as to let his and his son’s bodies be exposed in the wilderness. He tacitly allowed some people to build tombs and offer sacrifices.

“So, you’ve come too, Minister Shu?” the King of Cheng’s voice came from behind her, causing Shu Heng to subconsciously suppress the grief and indignation on her face. When she turned to look at him, there was only a hint of regret in her expression.

“This subordinate greets Your Highness the King of Cheng,” Shu Heng said, bowing.

“There’s no need for formalities between us out here. I’ll need your help in three days, Minister Shu,” the King of Cheng said with a smile. He was five years younger than Shu Heng and was just a young adult.

Shu Heng didn’t reply, just bowed her head slightly to show her respect.

“The Marquis of Loyalty and Courage’s case has many suspicious points. I once advised my father to investigate the case thoroughly, but unfortunately, the King of Wei strongly opposed it, and the matter was left unsettled in the end,” the King of Cheng said with a look of regret. “The Crown Prince Li and I had a good relationship. We often enjoyed flowers and the moon together. I never thought…”

“Sigh…” The King of Cheng let out a long sigh, took a wine jar from a follower, and slowly poured the wine onto the ground in front of him. “Now I can only drink with the Crown Prince Li in this way.”

Shu Heng took in the King of Cheng’s actions, but she didn’t offer her opinion. She just stood silently to the side. Only when the King of Cheng stopped did she light the incense and candles she had brought and bow to offer a sacrifice.

“Minister Shu, it’s still early. Why don’t you join me in checking the provisions?” the King of Cheng invited.

In the King of Cheng’s eyes, Shu Heng was a top scholar with real talent but no connections. Such a person would be easy to win over. Furthermore, Shu Heng seemed to have caught his father’s eye. If the two of them could return from the Northern Frontier without a hitch, Shu Heng could become a key figure under his command.

“Thank you, Your Highness, for taking this trip with this subordinate,” Shu Heng did not refuse. Counting the provisions was her job. With a prince accompanying her, she could check more carefully, in case someone replaced the goods with inferior ones, which could cost her her life in the Northern Frontier.

It was called transporting grain, but the Ministry of Revenue in the capital couldn’t transport all the grain from the capital to the Northern Frontier. Setting aside the impact on the capital’s grain prices, the cost of transportation alone would be astronomical. So, in reality, the Ministry of Revenue’s grain was only enough to feed a two-thousand-person transport team. The grain that was truly needed for the Northern Frontier would have to be purchased gradually along the way. This would prevent the grain prices in a specific area from fluctuating wildly and would also reduce the cost of transporting the grain.

What Li Jianwei needed was enough grain to feed a three-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-strong army for three months. At the current price of one tael of silver per picul of grain, the Emperor was supposedly allocating a million taels of silver to purchase the grain, but it was hard to say how much the Ministry of Revenue would actually provide.

“Your Highness the King of Cheng, Minister Shu, it’s not that this subordinate is uncooperative, but the treasury’s silver is truly insufficient. We can only provide this much,” a Ministry of Revenue official said with a look of distress as Shu Heng was checking. The Ministry of Revenue had been swamped for the past few days because of the Emperor’s casual remark about a million taels of military funds. The treasury seemed to be bringing in more than twenty million taels a year, but didn’t quelling the rebellion in the south cost money? Didn’t the salaries of various officials cost money? Didn’t the Emperor’s desire to build a courtyard and a temporary palace cost money?

Furthermore, the south not only needed to be quelled but also needed disaster relief funds, and the post-war pension was also a huge expense. So, the treasury seemed to have a whole ten million taels of silver, but in reality, half of it was absolutely untouchable, and the rest had to be carefully distributed to each area.

“His Majesty’s decree has already been sent to the Northern Frontier. The Ministry of Revenue is only providing five hundred thousand taels out of the one million taels. Are you trying to put His Highness in danger? What are your intentions!” Shu Heng immediately challenged him.

The King of Cheng, who had just been going through the motions, was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that this matter was closely related to him. If the Ministry of Revenue only provided half of the silver, then only half of the grain would be delivered to the Northern Frontier. If Li Jianwei made a fuss about it, wouldn’t he be in danger!

“You are disobeying the imperial decree! Are you trying to make the Northern Frontier soldiers fight the Xiongnu on an empty stomach!” the Third Prince glared, looking truly angered. This must be the doing of his two older brothers, who deliberately told the Ministry of Revenue not to give him the silver! They must be hoping something would happen to him in the Northern Frontier!

The Ministry of Revenue official seemed to be submissive, but his words didn’t budge. “Your Highness, please calm down. This is not something this subordinate can decide. This subordinate is only acting on orders.”

Shu Heng spoke up. “Whose orders? Are their orders more effective than His Majesty’s?”

The King of Cheng snorted, giving the Ministry of Revenue official no face. “I will come back at this time tomorrow. If the silver is still insufficient, I will personally take you to my father to atone for your crime!”

After the King of Cheng left in a huff, Shu Heng didn’t stay long at the Ministry of Revenue. But even so, by the time she returned to her residence, it was almost dark.

“Young Master, you’ve eaten so little these past few days. If this continues, your body won’t be able to handle it,” the steward couldn’t help but remind her, seeing the uneaten food.

“Aunt Liu, I met the King of Cheng today when I was offering a sacrifice to the Great General of the Northern Frontier,” Shu Heng sighed. “The princes all know that the Great General of the Northern Frontier was wronged. Why does no one stand up for him, just because that’s what His Majesty wants to see?”

“Young Master, be careful of eavesdroppers,” the steward said in a low voice. “You can know these things in your heart, but you must not say them out loud.”

Shu Heng pursed her lips. “Aunt Liu, can I really clear my father’s name? The Great General of the Northern Frontier did so much for the great Jin, but in the end, he had such an absurd outcome. As time goes by, almost all the civil and military officials have accepted the result that the Great General committed suicide out of guilt. Fewer and fewer officials are willing to clear his name.”

“Even if I find the truth in the future, will those officials, to avoid offending the former Senior Grand Academician, choose to pretend to be deaf and dumb?”

The steward sighed after hearing this. “Young Master, perhaps the evidence you have now is useless, but as long as you can become a Grand Academician, you might be able to clear your father’s name even without evidence.”

“As long as you can return from the Northern Frontier safely, a rapid rise is not difficult. Please be patient, Young Master, and learn to adapt to officialdom.”

Shu Heng didn’t say anything. She just felt that she was a bit useless. She had the courage to disguise herself as a man to take the imperial examination and become the top scholar, risking beheading, but after becoming the top scholar and entering the Hanlin Academy, her spirit seemed to have been worn down. She had become cautious and afraid to offend anyone around her.

“Young Master, the most important thing now is to be as prepared as possible. It’s already autumn. If you stay in the Northern Frontier for too long, you might not be able to return until spring.”

“The death of the Great General of the Northern Frontier will definitely not be taken lightly by the soldiers of the Northern Frontier. If you are forced to stay there, you might even expose your identity.”

Shu Heng nodded. If it weren’t for Aunt Liu, she wouldn’t be wearing this official uniform now. She might be working as an official courtesan, forced to entertain guests and sell smiles, under the identity of a criminal’s daughter.

…

The King of Cheng’s threat had some effect on the Ministry of Revenue, but it wasn’t enough to make them compromise. There was no money; there was no money. Even if the Emperor personally asked, the Minister of Revenue would have the guts to say that the silver was insufficient and that it was already very difficult to come up with six hundred and fifty thousand.

Yes, the King of Cheng’s threat made the Ministry of Revenue provide an additional one hundred and fifty thousand, but there was still a shortfall of three hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver from the original one million. This meant that Shu Heng could only gather enough grain for two months out of the three months’ worth needed, and that was assuming the grain prices along the way were normal.

The King of Cheng was naturally not satisfied with this result. He also followed through on his word and took the people from the Ministry of Revenue to see the Emperor. But even so, it didn’t change much. In the end, the Emperor, seeing the King of Cheng’s filial piety, allocated another fifty thousand taels from his private treasury, bringing the total to seven hundred thousand taels of silver.

Two days later, Shu Heng rode on a horse behind the King of Cheng, heading north to start purchasing grain. According to the reports from local officials, the drought had affected the harvest in various places, but the grain prices were generally stable, and one tael of silver could still buy one picul. Shu Heng had heard this news herself while recording a court meeting. Since the grain prices in the capital were indeed stable, she didn’t doubt the truth of the statement.

But she had only traveled a hundred miles out of the capital when the grain price changed from one tael per picul to one tael and two hundred wen. If the King of Cheng hadn’t shown his face to the prefect, Shu Heng would not have been able to purchase grain in large quantities at that price.

“Minister Shu, it’s not that the grain merchants are treacherous, but the harvest this year doesn’t look good. The yield per acre has been cut by almost half. Everyone is busy hoarding grain, and the grain merchants can’t acquire too much,” the prefect said with a look of distress.

“The drought is affecting the south,” Shu Heng said, her face expressionless.

The prefect’s reply was well-founded. “We also sell rice from the south. The south is a land of fish and rice. Once their production decreases, it affects everything.”

Shu Heng couldn’t deny this point. She could only try to optimize the food structure and increase the total amount of food by diversifying the types of food.

The King of Cheng was initially anxious as well, but after seeing Shu Heng diligently purchasing grain, he slowly relaxed. It would be best if he could appease Li Jianwei and bring her back, but if he couldn’t, he, as a prince, wouldn’t be in too much danger. Li Jianwei was only a third-rank general. Would she dare to lay a hand on him, a prince who might inherit the throne?

…

The grain transport team traveled according to the set schedule. Before they arrived, the border army had already had a skirmish with the Xiongnu on the front line. According to the plan, the border army would deliberately show weakness in the first battle. They would sound the retreat signal as soon as the battle started, reinforcing the enemy’s belief that without the Great General of the Northern Frontier, the border army was nothing.

Didn’t Li Jianwei kill Xiongnu princes and generals? Why wouldn’t the Xiongnu think she could become the backbone of the border army? The answer was simple. Li Jianwei had sent out a message a day ago, saying that an imperial decree had arrived from the capital, temporarily forbidding her from leading troops into battle and that she had to wait until the Great General’s treason case was completely concluded.

Li Jianwei did not appear in the first frontal battle. Instead, she personally led the logistics army to patrol the villages and towns without defensive fortifications, to prevent the Xiongnu cavalry from coming to burn, kill, and plunder.

“What are the casualties?” Li Jianwei asked after successfully annihilating a hundred Xiongnu cavalry.

General Han: “To answer the General, the plan went smoothly. Casualties were kept within a hundred.”

“General, there’s a decree from the capital. It says that His Majesty has agreed to give us enough provisions and has even sent the King of Cheng to personally escort them,” General Zhang said.

This result surprised Li Jianwei. The Emperor dared to send a prince over. Was this a gesture of goodwill, or did he think this would be enough to trick her into going to the capital?

“Is the King of Cheng escorting them alone?” Li Jianwei asked.

General Zhang: “There’s also a junior official from the Ministry of Revenue. He seems to be last year’s top scholar and is highly valued by His Majesty.”

The news wasn’t too useful or too useless. A prince who was involved in the succession struggle and a new favorite of the court. It wasn’t too difficult to handle.

“When they arrive, first check if the amount of grain is sufficient. Then, disperse the soldiers who escorted the grain and integrate them into our troops. Don’t give them too many opportunities to pry into our secrets,” Li Jianwei quickly made her arrangements. There were definitely spies among the soldiers from the capital, but at this critical moment, she didn’t have time to check them one by one. Dispersing the team was the best solution.

“Should we send people to cause them some trouble on the way?” General Li asked. If the General ordered it, he would be willing to take cavalry to ambush the people from the capital right now.

Li Jianwei shook her head. “Since they brought the provisions, we should give them due respect. I’ll personally go to the city gates to welcome them.”

“The most important thing now is still how to lure the enemy in. The rest can be put aside. It’s not too late to talk about them after we have repelled the Xiongnu.”

“Yes!” the generals said in unison. Their obedience to Li Jianwei was visibly increasing.

…

The farther the transport team got from the capital, the less grain they could purchase with the same amount of silver. They even encountered situations where old rice was sold as new rice, which infuriated Shu Heng.

The local officials were quick to prostrate themselves, immediately putting all the blame on the grain merchants. They put them in jail before Shu Heng could act and promised to investigate the truth within a month and give Shu Heng an explanation. This kind of rhetoric amused Shu Heng. She was here to deliver grain and wouldn’t stay in one place for more than two days. What was the difference between “investigating within a month” and the person being released as soon as she left?

Shu Heng was angry. She was angry that the officials and merchants were colluding and didn’t care about the court’s orders. She was angry that they didn’t care about the hunger of the Northern Frontier soldiers and only cared about themselves.

But all Shu Heng could do was be angry. She couldn’t find any fault with the local officials’ answers. She couldn’t take the people out of jail and interrogate them herself, nor could she stay for a month to force the grain merchants to be punished. In the end, she could only choose to take a step back and use not pursuing the matter as leverage to purchase a relatively larger amount of grain.

A month later, Shu Heng arrived at the Northern Frontier with approximately three hundred thousand piculs of grain.

“Greetings, Your Highness the King of Cheng.” Li Jianwei, with a white cloth tied to her waist and wearing black armor, rode a tall horse and cupped her hands towards the King of Cheng. Her salute was perfunctory. This made the King of Cheng, who had gotten out of his carriage and had to look up at her, feel a genuine sense of dissatisfaction. He said with a fake smile, “General, have you just returned from a battle with the Xiongnu?”

“You have a good eye, Your Highness. I just chopped off the heads of thirty-five Xiongnu an hour ago,” Li Jianwei said, showing six teeth. “I’m having a Jingguan (a tower of enemy heads) built outside the city. Would Your Highness like to go and see it?”

Upon hearing the words “Jingguan,” both the King of Cheng and Shu Heng’s faces changed. “No, I’ve come to deliver grain to the soldiers. I will not interfere with the front line.”

“Oh,” Li Jianwei said perfunctorily, her gaze shifting from the King of Cheng to Shu Heng. Shu Heng was wearing a scarlet official robe, which was very glaring in Li Jianwei’s eyes. If it weren’t for the white cloth on her waist, Li Jianwei would have likely used the opportunity to cause trouble.

“General Li, I have been specially sent by His Majesty to deliver the court’s provisions. Please inspect them so the soldiers can have no worries,” Shu Heng said, neither humble nor arrogant, looking up to meet Li Jianwei’s gaze. Li Jianwei’s appearance was different from what Shu Heng had imagined. She was not rough-looking but rather delicate. Her facial features were just deeper, which was a common feature of people from the Northern Frontier. Li Jianwei’s skin was not the fair white of most girls in the capital, but a wheat color that looked like it had been exposed to the sun and wind, not much different from a regular soldier.

After feeling that she had given the other party enough of a show of force, Li Jianwei dismounted and walked towards Shu Heng only when she was asked a second time to inspect the grain.

“What is this official’s name?” Li Jianwei asked, her sharp, hawk-like eyes fixed on the seemingly frail but exceptionally upright civil official.

“This subordinate’s name is Shu Heng. I am currently a junior official in the Ministry of Revenue, responsible for grain procurement and transportation,” Shu Heng said patiently, introducing herself.

“Little Minister Shu, do you mind if I call you that?” Li Jianwei asked, her gaze moving from Shu Heng’s handsome face to her not-so-obvious Adam’s apple.

“Of course not. As long as it’s easy for the General to say, you can call this subordinate whatever you want,” Shu Heng, who was being scrutinized, subconsciously tensed up, resisting the urge to swallow, and trying to answer without being humble or arrogant.

“Good. Then, Little Minister Shu, please lead the way,” Li Jianwei smiled, taking a step back to avoid intimidating the frail little white rabbit in front of her.

As Li Jianwei and Shu Heng walked farther away, the King of Cheng, who had been completely ignored, couldn’t help but frown. It was one thing for Li Jianwei to show him disrespect. After all, his father was indeed wrong in forcing the Great General of the Northern Frontier to his death, so her resentment towards him was understandable. But what was Shu Heng doing? Did he not know that he was the head official here? He just walked away with Li Jianwei, leaving a prince behind?

“Your Highness the King of Cheng, the General is a bit anxious about the soldiers. I hope you can understand,” General Zhang said with a chuckle, walking over. “If Your Highness doesn’t mind, why don’t I throw a welcoming banquet for you?”

General Zhang’s appearance softened the King of Cheng’s expression, and his tone became gentler. “I naturally understand General Li. There’s no need for a banquet. I just need a relatively quiet place to stay.” The King of Cheng’s ambition was not small. Transporting grain and bringing Li Jianwei back were his stated goals. But secretly, he also wanted to win over the generals of the Northern Frontier.

…

“A million taels in provisions should have brought a million piculs of grain. How is there less than three hundred thousand?” After walking around, Li Jianwei said in an unfriendly tone.

“General, it’s not that this subordinate is unwilling, but the drought has led to a reduction in grain production. At a price not exceeding one tael and five hundred wen per picul, this subordinate could only purchase this much grain,” Shu Heng said, cupping her hands.

Li Jianwei crossed her arms. “Little Minister Shu, do you mean to give me the silver directly and let me purchase it myself?”

“Even though I’m not good at math, I know that at a price of one tael and five hundred wen, this grain is only worth four hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver. There should be fifty-five thousand taels of provisions left, not the less than two hundred thousand taels we have now.”

“Or, are you saying that you think I’m a fool?” Li Jianwei snorted, her eyes becoming aggressive again.

“Please forgive me, General. The provisions this subordinate received from the Ministry of Revenue are all here. This subordinate cannot guarantee that there is not a single difference, but I can swear that I have never embezzled a single coin,” Shu Heng said, raising three fingers. “If the General doesn’t believe me, this subordinate can swear that if a single word of what I said is false, I, Shu Heng, will die a horrible death.”

Shu Heng was clear-headed. She knew whose hands her life was in now. Her intuition told her that it was best not to lie to this General. One was one, two was two. Being straightforward was the only way to not anger the other party.

Li Jianwei didn’t say anything, but she didn’t stop her scrutinizing gaze. A woman disguised as a man not only passed the imperial examination last year to become the top scholar but also became a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue a year later. Was Shu Heng’s disguise so good that she fooled the Emperor and all the civil and military officials? Or did the Emperor deliberately put Shu Heng in this position so he could use her gender to gain her trust and then get rid of her? Li Jianwei narrowed her eyes and immediately made a decision in her heart.

No matter which of these possibilities was true, Shu Heng could not leave the Northern Frontier. If it was the first, then Shu Heng, who could fool the Emperor and the officials for a whole year, must be smart. Sending her back would only make it more difficult for herself to march on the capital in the future. If it was the second, then there was even less to discuss. No matter what information Shu Heng had gathered, she would have to sleep forever in the Northern Frontier.