Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

Chapter 419: In Silence, Hear the Thunder

Time entered the second year of Su Ming's exile.

Spring passed, autumn arrived, and the landscape of the capital underwent subtle changes amid undercurrents. The war in the Northern Frontier continued sporadically, and the Yongchang Marquis faction's influence swelled as military power became increasingly concentrated, threatening to become an uncontrollable force.

The Great Xing emperor on the dragon throne finally began to feel uneasy.

He needed a pawn—one without deep roots, with a clean background, yet clever enough and tough enough. A spike to be driven ruthlessly into what seemed like an impenetrable military interest group.

Thus, Xu Qing, that obscure figure buried in dusty archives at the Ministry of Revenue, nearly forgotten by all, re-entered the emperor's field of vision.

An imperial decree unexpectedly promoted Xu Qing from a junior clerk at the sixth rank to a sixth-rank senior clerk at the Ministry of Revenue.

This appointment stirred little commotion in the court. To the truly powerful, it was just another of the emperor's inconsequential balancing acts. What waves could a powerless upright official stir up?

But for Xu Qing, this decree was like a key.

A senior clerk at the Ministry of Revenue could now access the most core ledgers of military expenditures.

These were no longer dusty old accounts from years past, but real-time records currently in motion.When Xu Qing first opened that volume wrapped in bright yellow silk brocade—the "Compendium of Military Funds"—under the personal supervision of the Minister of Revenue, he could barely control his trembling fingers.

He saw more, and he saw deeper.

He saw massive sums allocated under the pretext of "soldier rewards" ending up in jewelry orders for a certain noble's newly taken concubine in the capital.

He saw batches of "refined iron ore" supposedly purchased from the Southern Frontier, priced three times the market rate, with the transport caravan backed by the Yongchang Marquis's brother-in-law.

who fell at the front lines melt away like snow under a scorching sun as it passed through layers

darkness was more shocking than

was like repeatedly flaying

learned to hide

Senior Clerk, just a man buried in his work. Facing the Minister of Revenue's scrutinizing and probing gaze, he always wore a dull expression as if to say, "I saw

buried all his discoveries deep in his heart, only daring to sort out the tangled webs of interest at dead of night on a small

he held in his hands was a shocking secret capable of shaking the entire Great Xing dynasty. But he also knew that this was

hunter, quietly lying in ambush in the darkness, waiting

beasts always have sharper instincts than

Year three, early summer.

into the realm of weapon manufacturing and the substitution of inferior goods, the

Danger arrived uninvited.

a secluded path along the moat, the two docile draft horses suddenly seemed startled by something. They

out of his wits by the sudden turn of events and was thrown from

hurtled straight toward the

instant, Xu Qing's mind went blank. He only heard the harsh scraping of wheels over gravel and the dull thuds of his body hitting the wooden walls

seemed

the carriage's front wheels were about to leave the embankment and

"Clang—"

exploded like

he felt a tremendous force from the side. The entire carriage tilted

"Boom!"

carriage crashed heavily onto the hard ground, splintering

and aching all over. A gash on his forehead was bleeding, and