Deng Yue was in so much pain that he was on the verge of collapse. He pleaded, "As long as I tell you, Lord Xiao will spare my life. Lord Xiao, you must keep your word."

Xiao Jiangwei laughed and said, "I am, after all, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial City Guard of Jiangling Prefecture. How can my words be taken lightly?"

Deng Yue steeled his heart and said, "Shangguan Xiao, it's all He Yuanshan who's pulling the strings behind the scenes. Shangguan Xiao, I swear, I'm telling the truth!"

"What exactly did He Yuanshan do to you that made me torture you like this before you would finally spit it out?"

Deng Yue said, "Xiao Shangguan, do you remember the massacre of the Lu family two years ago?"

"Of course I remember, a group of bandits robbed and killed!"

"No, no, no, it was He Yuanshan who did it. The lives of my whole family, young and old, are in his hands. My old mother's life is in his hands too. The garrison soldiers in Jiangling Prefecture are his men, the bandits are all his men, and even those local thugs are controlled by his adopted sons. He is the one you have been looking for, the one hiding behind the scenes, controlling Jiangling Prefecture."

After saying that, Deng Yue immediately added, "Shangguan Xiao, I've already said what I wanted to say. You did say that my family has already been brought here. Although my Deng family is not a large family, I still want to continue the family line."

Liu Yuan cursed Deng Yue for being shameless, not because he truly believed Deng Yue was shameless for betraying He Yuanshan.

Instead, he said that if He Yuanshan were arrested, the lives of their families would be threatened.

Can the Imperial Guards protect them for a time, or for a lifetime?

Xu Qing, the prefect of Jiangling Prefecture, said tragically, "Deng Yue, we will never let you go, even if it means our deaths."

The Imperial City Guard had reported He Yuanshan as one of the suspects several days earlier.

The Transport Commissioner's Office was the highest administrative office in Jiangling Prefecture.

At this moment, He Yuanshan was making tea, and Luo Cong was sitting opposite him.

Xiao Jiangwei arrived quickly with his men.

"He Caosi, is there anything else you want to say?"

He Yuanshan was naturally exposed, but he remained calm and confident: "I advise you to stop immediately."

"The reason for stopping?"

He Yuanshan looked at Luo Cong and Xiao Jiangwei: "Do you know who's behind me?"

Xiao Jiangwei and Luo Cong looked at each other, both curious.

Who exactly gave He Yuanshan such confidence to say such things when the evidence was already conclusive?

"He Caosi, we don't care who's behind you. You can tell His Majesty that."

He Yuanshan suddenly raised his voice and laughed, "Does His Majesty think he can turn the imperial clan upside down?"

Both of them were stunned when he said that.

No wonder, with members of the imperial family involved, it's no wonder He Yuanshan was so fearless.

Luo Cong said, "Have you forgotten the case of Prince Su from back then?"

"Of course I remember, but did you know that a member of the junior clan was involved this time?"

Both of them lowered their heads and remained silent.

This matter has clearly exceeded their authority.

Luo Cong asked, "When did it start?"

"It started as early as when Jiaozhou was incorporated into the Song Dynasty, when grain was transported from the southwest to the Central Plains," He Yuanshan said. "I advise you two to stop interfering and let them die. If this matter escalates further, you will also face the crazy retaliation of the imperial clan!"

The "they" that He Yuanshan was referring to naturally meant Liu Yuan, Deng Yue, Xu Qing, and others.

It benefits everyone by making these people scapegoats and taking all the blame.

But if this were to come to light, it would be a huge royal scandal.

The emperor would never punish all members of the imperial clan.

That involves the lineages of Emperor Taizu, Prince Wei, and Emperor Taizong.

Almost all members of the Zhao Song imperial family had their interests involved.

How can this case be solved?

Are we to tell the whole world that members of the royal family have been embezzling grain in Jiangling Prefecture, a transportation hub, for the past few years?

Every year, a steady stream of grain was transported from Jiaozhou and Guangnan West Road. According to figures released by the State Council, in the fifth year of the Jingkang era, 9 million shi of grain were transported north from Jiaozhou, enough to feed several routes.

That was a huge piece of meat. The 9 million shi was a total. With such a massive amount of grain passing through Jiangling Prefecture, someone was trying to tamper with it. No one in the imperial court dared to guess just how huge that number really was.

He Yuanshan's words were truly scathing. The emperor had executed Prince Su, but that was only for Prince Su alone.

“Now, members of the imperial clan in Luoyang, Yingtianfu, and Dongjingcheng are all involved.”

"Will the emperor execute Prince Su in the same way?"

"it's out of the question!"

"The members of the royal family will not be executed, they will only be scolded, and this source of income will indeed be cut off in the future, but what about you two? You will risk your own lives and the lives of the entire clan."

He Yuanshan's tone remained calm, as if he were chatting with an old friend: "As a subject, one should do one's best to assist the monarch, but one must never get involved in the affairs of the imperial family, or one will die without a burial place!"

This brief exchange, however, plunged Luo Cong and Xiao Jiangwei into deep thought.

After leaving the transport commissioner's office, Luo Cong asked, "Brother Xiao..."

He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Xiao Jiangwei only paused briefly at the Transport Commissioner's office, looking at his subordinates outside and at their uniforms.

“Prefect Luo, Yue Pengju is now under the watchful eye of the Censorate because of this matter. If we back down now, wouldn’t we be letting him down!”

At this moment, Xiao Jiangwei did not exude a chilling murderous aura, but instead revealed a rare trace of sadness: "A true man has things he will do and things he will not do. Since I put on this official uniform, I have disregarded life and death."

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