The upright officials spoke out, their words like knives gouging at hearts, tormenting the soul!
For a moment, several officials of the Shen Faction in the hall had already changed color.
Yao Zhen was not impeaching some nameless underling. He was pointing at Shen Duan's nose and cursing him.
Emperor Jing of Zhou did not respond to Yao Zhen's words.
"Gentlemen, which of you will tell me:
How should this case be investigated? And how far should the investigation go?"
This was the most heart-piercing question of the entire morning audience.
No one dared speak first.
Kou Yuan was pleading guilty, while Lu Jing and Yao Zhen knelt on the floor.
The civil and military officials in the hall exchanged looks. None dared take up the question first.
Investigate? Investigate whom? How far should they go?
Trace the trail upward from the Southern Capital Ever-Normal Granary, and uncover those who had doctored the accounts?
Uncover those who had suppressed the censors' memorials, and those who had tampered with the Ministry of Revenue's official documents?
When the investigation reached the end, could they touch the man sitting atop the Ministry of Revenue?
Just as everyone hesitated, Shen Duan moved.
He stepped forward from the head of the civil officials' ranks, his movements steady and composed.
"Your Majesty." Shen Duan's deep, forceful voice echoed through the hall.
"In the case of the deficit at the Southern Capital Ever-Normal Granary,
As Chief Minister, overseeing all officials, I am guilty of failing in my oversight. I dare not deny it.
The Granary Superintendent, Granary Registrars, and Grain Measurers deceived their superiors at every level, stealing what they were entrusted to guard and lining their own pockets with grain meant to feed the court's soldiers and relieve its people.
The Ministry of Revenue bears