I woke up as the Villainous Empress

When leaving the Main Palace, Zheng Liang helped Yang Ning into the carriage and asked her to wait while he went to find Zheng Xiang. He pulled him aside and inquired, "I heard that you visited the Finance Department and requested the financial records."

Zheng Xiang nodded, "Yes. Before assuming my duties, I wanted to review the records to understand how they were managed previously, so I can lead effectively. Although I haven't officially started, I sought permission from His Majesty." He explained, concerned about any potential misunderstanding.

Zheng Liang shook his head and said, "You did the right thing. You earned this position on merit. What I want to say is," He paused, hesitant, "I recommended you for this position because I believe you're the best candidate to handle the financial records."

"I just want you to scrutinize the documents carefully and keep an eye on Head Minister Yang Luoyang. If you notice anything suspicious, please inform me. Alright?" Zheng Liang requested, feeling awkward about asking for this favor but recognizing the urgency of the situation.

His priority was to deal with Yang Luoyang as swiftly as possible. If his suspicions were correct and Yang Luoyang was indeed behind his wife's death, rather than it being an accident, then this man was far more dangerous than he had anticipated.

Zheng Liang couldn't afford to take any risks.

Zheng Xiang was taken aback by his words. "Minister Yang? Isn't he… the Crown Princess's father? Are you suspecting him?"

Zheng Liang's silence served as confirmation to his question.

Pursing his lips, Zheng Xiang pressed further, "Then what about the Princess? Do you suspect her as well?"

Zheng Liang frowned and shook his head. "She may be his daughter, but she is not the same. Don't associate her with him. What I want you to do is simply check the financial records and see if Minister Yang and the previous Financial Inspector were involved in any shady deals. It would be better if you could collect evidence as well."

Observing Zheng Liang's serious demeanor, Zheng Xiang realized that there was likely more to this situation than met the eye. He pursed his lips thoughtfully and nodded. "I will do that, and if I find anything, I will reach out to you," he assured.

The fact that his usually aloof and distant brother had approached him for such a favor indicated the gravity of the situation. It seemed his decision to examine the financial records and maintain a distance from Yang Luoyang had been the correct course of action.

___

After officially assuming his position as Financial Inspector, Zheng Xiang and his two subordinates began examining the documents. He had only two people on his team because the other subordinates under the previous financial inspector were also under investigation for corruption and couldn't continue working for the meantime.

That's why Zheng Liang had recommended two candidates who had scored the highest marks in the national examination but hadn't secured official positions after the interview session. However, Zheng Liang held a positive impression of both of them, which is why he assigned them to Zheng Xiang to support him in his work.

They would assist Zheng Xiang in the investigation until the official recruitment process could be conducted.

Even after a thorough one-week-long investigation, Zheng Xiang couldn't find anything suspicious. All the documents appeared clean and clear. However, the problem lay in their perfect condition, raising suspicions. No matter how meticulously documents were handled, there was usually something to uncover through unexpected investigation. Yet, nothing of the sort surfaced in these documents.

Pursing his lips, Zheng Xiang pondered for a moment before summoning his subordinate to his office. "Go to the finance department and retrieve the documents that weren't examined by the previous inspector and were subsequently discarded," he ordered.

The subordinate looked puzzled. "My Lord, didn't we obtain all the documents last time and check them thoroughly?"

Zheng Xiang shook his head. "We only received documents approved by the previous inspector. Despite my request for all documents, they only provided us with the ones that were officially stamped and already checked, using the excuse that I was not officially appointed at the time."

"They didn't hand over the other documents that lacked the official seal of the previous financial inspector. They may have disposed of them by now. Retrieve those documents, even if they've been shredded."

Even if the already-checked documents were clean and had no issues, there must be something hidden away that was not included in the documents. Even if it hasn't been proven yet, if the previous officer was indeed involved in corruption, there is a high chance that these documents have been tampered with already.

The subordinate was taken aback by Zheng Xiang's resolute demeanor but refrained from questioning further. If he was requesting shredded documents, there must be a valid reason. "Yes, My Lord. I will go there right away."

___

After having tea with other ministers to make connections and fill their ears against Zheng Liang, when Yang Luoyang returned to his office, one of his subordinates informed him that Officer Ruan had come from Zheng Xiang's office and taken away all the unofficial documents that were supposed to be discarded, including the ones from the shredded basket.

Yang Luoyang's face contorted with anger. He clenched his fist and kicked his subordinate on the shin, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees. "YOU USELESS IDIOT! Why were you just standing there when they were ransacking the office and taking everything away? Huh?"

"Don't you have a tongue to speak up and stop them? How could you let them take everything?" he roared at the man, hurling a porcelain flower vase from his desk in rage.

As Yang Luoyang berated and humiliated the manager of the finance department in his office, the other officers outside trembled in fear and felt sorry for their senior.

The man lowered his head and hesitantly replied in a choked voice, "My Lord, I did try to stop Officer Ruan, but he showed me Inspector Xiang's official seal and, bound by the rules, I had no choice but to step aside while they took all the documents. They even checked through the trash outside and took away all the shredded papers."

Yang Luoyang's face darkened even further. "What? They took the trashed documents as well? You imbecile!" he shouted in anger, slapping the man in frustration. He grabbed the man's collar and stared into his eyes. "Didn't I tell you to burn those documents and not shred them?

Why didn't you destroy them? Why?"

The man was horrified to see Yang Luoyang's different side. Speechless, he somehow managed to respond to the question. "But according to the rules, we cannot burn the official documents, even if they're discarded. That's why I followed procedure and discarded them."

Yang Luoyang sneered at him. "Ah! You're that new guy who was recently appointed as manager of the department, right?"

After the previous finance inspector came under investigation, Yang Luoyang shuffled his staff and appointed a man who had previously worked as a clerk in the office as the temporary manager of the finance department. He needed someone with a clean image and background, and there could be no one as innocent as this man.

But who would have thought that his honesty and innocence would backfire one day?

"Even if this is your first time directly working under me, you should have learned the way things work here," Yang Luoyang growled. "In this office, royal protocols don't apply. Only my commands matter. Do you understand?" He glared at the man, kicking him in the stomach before pushing him aside like a sack.

"Now get lost! You've already ruined everything. And let me warn you, if anything goes wrong, I won't spare you or your family." He threatened him and dismissed him, instructing him not to create a scene in his office.