"Lu Qingwan smiled, 'I'll contact a few warehouses and have Lord Chen find some reliable people to move the goods from the storage rooms to temporary warehouses. I'll have people put fake goods, old grain, and the like into the warehouses. I'll inform Lord Chen in advance before setting the fire, so Lord Chen must play his part well. We must not leave any trace that the goods were swapped out, nor can we let people think the court did not do its utmost to fight the fire, which would give them something to talk about. Lord Chen must grasp this balance precisely!'
Her directness and boldness caught Chen Jianzhang off guard. 'As for the Lin Family Business, do you need this subordinate to do anything?' Although Chen Jianzhang was happy that Lu Qingwan was helping to resolve the warehouse issue, this was still a matter for the Ministry of Revenue, and he had no sense of participation, giving him a sense of crisis that he might be marginalized at any time.
Lu Qingwan, considerate of the elder's feelings, said thoughtfully, 'I will handle the initial work for the Lin Family Business myself. However, after the incident occurs, Lord Chen will have to contact the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Works to deal with the Lin Family Business. Perhaps Lord Chen can start preparing for this in advance! After all, claiming compensation can be quite troublesome.'
Before anything had even truly begun, Lu Qingwan was already thinking about compensation. Her confidence stunned Chen Jianzhang into silence, leaving him almost speechless.
As their discussion concluded, a servant announced, 'Reporting to the Princess, my lord, Vice Minister Qu and Chief Clerk Zheng have arrived.'
Lu Qingwan immediately stood up, 'Then let's go see. I'm very curious, just how unreliable is this shoddy engineering that the Lin Family Business created, cutting corners and delivering subpar work, all while risking the wrath of the court?'
Vice Minister of Revenue Qu Zhong was newly promoted by Si Fengwu in alliance with Prime Minister Nan and Elder Wen. Lu Qingwan was not very familiar with him, but it didn't matter. With Chen Jianzhang, the Minister of Revenue, present, there was no need for others to flock to Lu Qingwan. They simply had to obediently open the storage rooms and stand aside.
As they exited, the outermost gate of the national treasury had already been opened. Qu Zhong, as the Vice Minister of Revenue, was opening the door to the miscellaneous goods storage. Seeing Lu Qingwan and Chen Jianzhang arrive, he instinctively moved to bow, but Lu Qingwan said, 'Vice Minister Qu, no need for formalities. Just open the door.'
The three storage doors were increasingly important the further inside they went, so the key to the innermost grain storage was held by Chen Jianzhang. As Qu Zhong opened the miscellaneous goods storage, Chen Jianzhang stepped forward to open the grain storage. Lu Qingwan then realized that the outermost door of the national treasury only required the key of the storekeeper to open. The miscellaneous goods storage door required the keys of both the storekeeper and the Vice Minister of Revenue. As for the innermost grain storage, it required the keys of the storekeeper, the Vice Minister of Revenue, and the Minister of Revenue to open. On the surface, the security seemed adequate. However, compared to the complex and high-end mechanisms and locks of the Qin Dynasty's national treasury, this large brass lock that required three keys felt somewhat lacking. Furthermore, as Chen Jianzhang had mentioned, the gold and silver vault had no issues, and its iron-cast walls and doors looked very secure. But the miscellaneous goods storage already contained a lot of wood. It was only in the grain storage that Lu Qingwan truly understood what 'no discount' meant. The vast granary visible was as large as a three-courtyard house, but from the walls to the roof, everything was made of wood. Even the ground was crudely made of wooden planks. Lu Qingwan strode forward, circled the grain storage, and then followed Chen Jianzhang inside for a closer look. The high granaries were placed close to the roof, with no leak-proof devices above and no fire or water-proofing devices below. It was as if someone had moved a giant wooden box, divided it internally, and placed it here to impersonate a storage facility. Lu Qingwan clenched her fists in anger. Turning to Chen Jianzhang, she sarcastically asked, 'How did such shoddy engineering pass inspection back then? Lord Chen, aren't you quite tenacious? You weren't afraid to go head-to-head with my Prince, so how did you manage to accept such a piece of junk with gritted teeth?' Chen Jianzhang was over fifty years old. If he were being scolded by a girl in her early twenties, he would have been furious. But now, all he felt was guilt, and a shared anger with Lu Qingwan. He no longer cared about saving face and could only repeatedly say, 'Princess, please calm down.' Unfortunately, Lu Qingwan could not calm down. She turned to Li Su and asked, 'In the current court, who are the most authoritative painters and calligraphers in the new capital?' Li Su, rarely seeing Lu Qingwan's anger so openly displayed, whispered, 'Those serving in the court and also renowned in the art world, besides Lord Chi, are only Ji Jiu Mo Xiao An of the Imperial Academy and Song Xi He, the Vice Minister of Rites.' Lu Qingwan nodded, 'Three people are just right, and their official positions are sufficient. As exhibits for the court, they will be enough. Lord Chen, tomorrow, immediately invite these three lords to accurately paint the current state of the storage rooms. Then find someone to retrieve the blueprints of the national treasuries of Shangjing, Xiliang, Beiwei, and Daqin. I want Lin Dongye to be rendered speechless in the Ministry of Justice hall when facing the accusations, unable to utter a single word of defense.' Chen Jianzhang had already witnessed Lu Qingwan's rage before, and while he was somewhat nervous now, he could still tolerate it. Vice Minister of Revenue Qu Zhong and the chief clerk surnamed Zheng were not so lucky, both shrinking against the wall, not daring to breathe loudly. Seeing this, Li Su quietly stepped forward and whispered, 'Princess, you want to rebuild the official roads. Do you need to discuss it with Lord Chen?' Lu Qingwan suddenly realized. She had not known the Ministry of Revenue's storage facilities were in such a state before coming. It was almost nightfall, and she had personally come to the Ministry of Revenue not just to help Chen Jianzhang rebuild the national treasury. Hearing Li Su's words, she decisively said, 'On the way to the capital, my Prince and I both felt that the official roads in the new capital were a bit too narrow. With the constant flow of merchants, the movement of troops, and the transport of supplies, it's inconvenient. I plan to re-plan and rebuild the official roads nationwide. Lord Chen, do you think the current national treasury's finances can support such a large project?' Lu Qingwan was not a hands-off manager who was unaware of the cost of living. She knew that building a nationwide road network would require considerable manpower, materials, and financial resources. Therefore, she was genuinely asking for Chen Jianzhang's opinion now, not trying to pressure him with her authority. Chen Jianzhang was also truly straightforward. Logically, after such a major mishap, and waiting for Lu Qingwan to help solve the problem, he should have been more tactful. However, this lord chose a different approach."