Xu Xie had not yet picked up his brush to write a letter apologizing to Shen Tang when Shen Tang already realized that Xun Zhen had intercepted her private savings. Don't ask how she knew. The answer was Jiang Sheng saying, "My lord, you have the look of someone about to lose money today," which immediately made Shen Tang think of this terrible calamity.
Jiang Sheng had initially been puzzled about how Shen Tang could still receive a windfall while her Qi Yun was in decline—even though the windfall was gone, it had appeared in the first place. After hearing the whole story, he understood most of it. He was also worried that his lord might hold a grudge against Xun Zhen over this.
It was rare for him to plead on behalf of a colleague.
"Though Han Zhang overstepped in doing this, his intentions were not bad. In addition, the Ministry of Revenue has been struggling lately. I ask that Your Majesty punish him lightly."
As Minister of War, he knew the Ministry of Revenue's situation rather well.
Kang State had been waging frequent wars abroad these past few years. How many soldiers were mobilized for each battle, how much grain was used, and how much postwar compensation was paid—Jiang Sheng had handled all those accounts and knew exactly how much pressure Xun Zhen was under. Though he found the Ministry of Revenue's procedures irritating, and disliked Xun Zhen's increasingly miserly nature even more, he would be the first to oppose replacing Xun Zhen with another Minister of Revenue.
Of course, no one else dared take over the Ministry of Revenue.
Shen Tang sighed. "What could I blame him for? If I were really going to blame him, would I have waited until today? It's just that he didn't