Chapter 352: Chapter 353: Parting

Everyone present heard the mockery in Cao Xiangqian’s words. Xu Zhiwen sneered, "How will it be, exactly? We’ll have to wait and see the real results. Let’s just hope you don’t use ’I’m just a crude oaf’ as an excuse in the end."

It was Ancient Wen Heng’s first time seeing these high officials clash head-on at such close range. But this Mr. Xu from the Astronomical Bureau seemed to be digging traps for people with every word he spoke, just waiting to watch the drama unfold.

Cao Xiangqian said with brimming confidence, "Today, I’ll let you all see just how a crude oaf manages the Ministry of War. But if your other ministries lose to our Ministry of War, you might not be able to save face."

This remark offended everyone from the other ministries present. They all got fired up, preparing to nitpick the accounts.

One after another, the ledgers were opened. The courtyard of the Ministry of War filled with the CLACK-CLACK-CLACK of abacuses.

Ancient Wen Heng and He Nan sat quietly in a corner, flipping through the ledgers page by page. They were working twice to three times as fast as everyone else.

Ancient Wen Heng, in particular, could even divide his attention. He was mentally noting the Ministry of War’s biggest annual expenditures and paying attention to yearly price fluctuations.

Cao Xiangqian walked over to Ancient Wen Heng’s side. Seeing him flip through the ledger as if it were a game, he asked curiously, "Is this mental calculation easy to learn?"

Wenheng replied, "As long as you grasp the techniques, it’s quite fast to learn."

Cao Xiangqian glanced at the little eunuchs rechecking the ledgers behind them, a flicker in his eyes. "Can someone who isn’t very sharp learn it?"

Wenheng replied, "That depends on *how* not sharp they are. Someone who can’t even count properly definitely wouldn’t be able to learn it."

Cao Xiangqian said, "He’s not stupid, just can’t get into books or learn scholarly subjects."

Wenheng answered, his attention still split as he continued his calculations, "He’d still need to be literate. For the specifics, you could ask those eunuchs. They haven’t been learning for very long."

Watching Wenheng chat with him while still turning pages, Cao Xiangqian commented, "You can divide your attention while calculating? Be careful not to miss anything."

"That’s also a testament to how well you’ve kept your ledgers, Mr. Cao," Wenheng said. "All the numbers I calculate match up, so it naturally saves a lot of effort."

’If I can’t even handle this tiny distraction, I probably wouldn’t have been able to keep my title as the ’Little Prince of Mental Calculation’ back in the day,’ he thought. ’But with a layman, it’s better not to overexplain, or it’ll never end.’

Cao Xiangqian moved on to other tables to watch the others work their abacuses.

He watched them flick one bead after another. When he looked back, Ancient Wen Heng had already finished the first ledger and was reaching for the second. Cao Xiangqian couldn’t help but lick his lips, wondering if his boys at home could learn this skill to keep them from failing in both literary and martial fields.

Xu Zhiwen also noticed Ancient Wen Heng’s speed. Muttering that he was just playing to the crowd, he began to stare down his own subordinate officials, hoping they would find a flaw so he could mock that old oaf with the surname Cao.

But by the time night fell, all those people had only managed to find a few typos. The entire set of accounts was clean and transparent; even the annual price increases were clearly marked.

"So? My accounts are passable, wouldn’t you say?" Facing a few officials who had come over to watch the show, Cao Xiangqian grinned smugly. Although he was a crude oaf, he didn’t play mind games like these scholars.

Every month, not only did his subordinates check the accounts several times, but he himself would also stay on high alert and personally oversee them for a few days.

"Hmph. Who knows if someone missed something?" Xu Zhiwen said, deliberately looking at Ancient Wen Heng and He Nan, his intention all too obvious.

"I don’t like the sound of that. Even if these men here missed something, are you implying the people sent by the Holy Emperor also have a problem?

They’ve been checked twice on-site. If you don’t believe it, go calculate them yourself." Cao Xiangqian snorted. "You should start worrying about your own accounts! When that day comes, I will most certainly be there in person. I hope you have the same good fortune I did."

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Xu Zhiwen turned his head aside. For days, his entire Astronomical Bureau had been working overtime. They had already conducted a self-audit and corrected any problems they found, but seeing two consecutive rounds of auditing today, he honestly wasn’t confident.

Cao Xiangqian was in a good mood. Seeing all the ledgers returned to storage, he wasn’t stingy. He went to a restaurant and booked several tables, treating everyone out of his own pocket.

’He was happy to spend this silver. Now that he had set the precedent, he refused to believe the other ministries could be stingier than he was. He would have to go join in on the fun for the next few days.’

However, starting the next day, Cao Xiangqian would realize all his plans had come to nothing. The other ministries’ accounts were not nearly as clean as his; problems were found in all of them, to varying degrees.

These other officials were terrified; they were in no mood to treat anyone to food and drinks.

However, after this round of audits, it could be said that all the officials in the court gained a new level of understanding of Ancient Wen Heng.

This was because he was the one who had discovered most of the problems. No matter how cleverly they were hidden, nothing escaped his eyes.

When he returned home after all the work was done, Wenheng grumbled privately to Jin Qianqian, "Now I’m probably going to become an isolated minister."

Jin Qianqian had already sensed it from the increasingly grave look in his eyes over the past few days. Although she hadn’t asked many questions, as the news came back piece by piece, she was already mentally prepared.

"Being an isolated minister is actually a good thing," she said. "At least you won’t get drawn into factional struggles.

The Holy Emperor may be young now, but in a decade or so, a new generation of Princes will have grown up. If you don’t want to be embroiled in those conflicts, you should just focus on being a Pure Minister."

Although life in the official world will be much harder this way, at least you won’t have to get involved in so many messy disputes.

Wenheng replied, "I suppose that’s the only way to think about it."

When problems were found, accountability was inevitable. But this time, far too many people were implicated. Even Cao Xiangqian, who had been looking forward to a good show, did his best to lie low in the Ministry of War.

* * *

「Chengen Marquis Mansion」

Before the imperial edict for his marriage could be bestowed, Zhou Shixiong had to rush back to the border again.

"Wenheng, if anything happens in the future, just write and tell your big brother. No one gets to bully a brother of Zhou Shixiong."

Although he was a military general, he had his own channels for news within the Capital.

Ever since the audits a few days ago, those who were reprimanded all seemed to be taking out their anger on Ancient Wen Heng, the one who had uncovered the problems.

Although they hadn’t made any moves yet, he knew what these scholars were like. They were undoubtedly plotting something nasty.

"Brother Zhou, don’t worry," Wenheng said, sensing his concern. "If anything happens, I will definitely ask for your help. Just don’t find your little brother to be a nuisance then." He added, "I’m planning to push for an assignment outside the Capital next time I’m dispatched."

Wenheng knew that at most, these people would only make things difficult for him in his official career; they wouldn’t dare to go too far.

Still, he was tired of all the passive-aggressive behavior. It would be more liberating to just be a local official.

"That’s a good idea," Zhou Shixiong said. "If you really need help, just send a letter to my mansion. The steward knows what to do."

Zhou Shixiong had already instructed his household steward that if Wenheng was in real trouble—even if he didn’t come asking for help himself—the steward was to go directly to the palace and find the Empress.

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