The dream clung to Zhu Haolang like a cobweb as he awoke. The image of that flashing red cell, a single digit out of place, was seared behind his eyelids. It was a sensation he knew well from his past life: the gut-deep certainty that somewhere in a mountain of data, a tiny, critical error was hiding.
He sat up on his divan, the silken sheets feeling suddenly restrictive. The hum of the palace was different today. It wasn't the busy hum of implementation he'd left behind; it was the low, gossipy thrum of scandal brewing.
Eunuch Xi, his personal attendant, entered with a pot of tea, his face a carefully neutral mask that did nothing to hide the anxiety in his eyes.
"Out with it," Zhu Haolang said, his voice still rough with sleep. "What's the chatter in the courtyards?"
Eunuch Xi knelt, pouring the tea with practiced grace. "It is nothing for Your Majesty to trouble himself with," he demurred.
"The last time someone said that to me, I got hit by a truck," the emperor muttered in English. Switching back, he fixed the eunuch with a look. "The chatter, Xi."
"The Ministry of Works, Your Majesty," Xi relented, speaking softly. "There are... whispers. Regarding the new irrigation canals in Hebei province. The project led by Assistant Minister Bao, a protégé of Minister Wang."
"Whispers of what?"
"Of inflated costs. Of paid laborers who do not exist. Of timber and stone that was paid for but never delivered." Xi kept his eyes downcast. "They say Assistant Minister Bao has bought a new concubine and a summer villa far beyond his means."
Zhu Haolang took a sip of tea. So, this was Liu's move. He wasn't attacking the crops—the undeniable, miraculous success. He was attacking the administration, the "modern" system the emperor had put in place. Find a corrupt official, expose him, and by association, taint the entire reform.
It was clever. And it was incredibly annoying.
"Summon the ledgers for the Hebei canal project," the emperor said, his tone devoid of its usual lazy drawl. "And bring me the personnel rolls for the work crews."
Eunuch Xi blinked. "The... the actual ledgers, Your Majesty? They are vast. Dull. It would take a team of accountants—"
"Now, Xi."
An hour later, the Jade Dew Pavilion resembled a scholar's library after a hurricane. Scrolls and leather-bound ledgers were spread across every surface. Zhu Haolang, still in his simple linen clothes, was pacing between them, his eyes scanning columns of figures with a speed that baffled the few scribes who had been summoned to assist.
His modern mind, trained to spot patterns and anomalies in vast datasets, clicked into gear. The ancient Ming accounting system was child's play compared to the corporate spreadsheets he was used to.
He ignored the grandiose calligraphy and the verbose justifications. He went straight for the numbers. Costs of materials. Daily wages. Number of workers. Days worked.
The scribes watched in silent astonishment as their emperor, who they thought only cared for pastries and naps, devoured the data. He would cross-reference a payment for gravel in one ledger with a inventory receipt in another, muttering to himself.
"…timber shipment from Shanxi, cost plus transport… but the transport fee is 20% higher than the same distance for the stone… why?" He traced a finger down a column. "Ah. Paid to 'Green River Transport,' a new company. Not the usual contractors."
He moved to the personnel rolls. "Five hundred laborers. Daily wage. Three meals a day." His finger stopped. "The grain requisition for the meals… it's for six hundred people." A tiny discrepancy. A decimal point in the wrong place.
He looked up, a cold smile on his face. "Eunuch Xi. Find out who owns 'Green River Transport.' And send a quiet message to Minister Wang. I require the presence of his protégé, Assistant Minister Bao. Tell him…" he thought for a moment, "...tell him the Emperor is so pleased with the Hebei project, he wishes to discuss its expansion. Personally."
Assistant Minister Bao arrived at the Jade Dew Pavilion puffed up with pride. The Emperor himself! Requesting his presence! Minister Liu had been right—excellence was noticed. He was sure his meticulous (and creatively padded) reports had been instrumental.
He kowtowed before the emperor, who was lounging on his divan, idly eating a slice of melon.
"Assistant Minister Bao," Zhu Haolang said, not looking at him. "Your work on the Hebei canals. commendable. The speed. The efficiency."
"Your Majesty is too kind! This unworthy servant merely sought to implement your divine vision with all due haste!" Bao gushed.
"Mmm. Haste often leads to… errors." The emperor's voice was casual, but it carried a chill. "Small things. Easily overlooked."
Bao's smile tightened. "Errors, Your Majesty?"
"For example," Zhu Haolang said, finally turning his gaze to the official. It was not the gaze of a lazy monarch. It was the piercing, unnervingly specific gaze of an auditor. "The grain requisitions for your workers' meals. You requested and received enough for six hundred men. Yet your own payroll, which I have here," he tapped a scroll beside him, "only lists five hundred. Did one hundred men work for free? Or did they forget to eat?"
Bao's face went pale. "A… a clerical error, surely, Your Majesty! The scribes must have—"
"Then there is the matter of 'Green River Transport,'" the emperor continued, his voice like silk over steel. "A new company. Their fees are significantly higher than the established carriers. A curious choice for a project watching its costs. Even more curious is that the owner of this company is your wife's cousin."
The blood drained from Bao's face completely. He began to tremble.
"The math is quite simple, you see," Zhu Haolang said, sitting up. "The over-inflated transport costs, plus the wages for one hundred non-existent laborers, plus the proceeds from the resold grain that was meant to feed them… it adds up almost exactly to the price of a new summer villa and a very expensive concubine."
He leaned forward. "You didn't even try to hide it well. You got sloppy. You thought I wouldn't look." He shook his head in genuine disappointment. "You see, Minister Bao, the problem with lazy people is that we hate inefficiency. And corruption is deeply, profoundly inefficient. It creates messes. And I," he said, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper, "am the one who has to clean them up."
Bao collapsed into a kowtow, sobbing. "Mercy, Your Majesty! Mercy! I was pressured! Minister Liu, he… he said a show of success was needed! He implied that certain… flexibilities… were understood!"
Zhu Haolang's eyes narrowed. He had his confirmation. Liu hadn't just found a crack; he'd helped create one.
"Guards," the emperor said, his voice returning to its normal, bored tone. He took another bite of melon. "Take Assistant Minister Bao to the Ministry of Justice. He is to repay every stolen tael, plus a 100% penalty, to be taken from his family's assets. Then, he is to be stripped of his