Chapter 74: Great Shame

Lord Zhang immediately fell silent. Although he didn't know what evidence the eunuch had brought, he knew what the Zhang family had done when the Li-Zhang marriage took place, but they had never taken human life.

But the Zhang family has been prosperous till now, it is impossible to say that there is no dirty trick inside. It cannot withstand investigation, and it cannot be allowed to be investigated. Lord Zhang remained silent and wanted to admit it.

At most, he would be demoted one level and fined a few years' salary, which is better than being completely exposed and having his entire family destroyed.

He looked up at Xiao Ze with a hint of hatred in his eyes. He was really badly tricked by the Second Prince today!

The emperor calmed down and was about to punish the Zhang family when, at this moment, the eunuch reported. Shen Changhe and Zhou Yunfeng are back.

The emperor looked at the people being brought in and the scroll behind Zhou Yunfeng, "Tell us what you have found out."

Xiao Ze finally straightened up after bending for a long time. He looked at Zhou Yunfeng with a stern look on his face, and his lips were cold.

But Zhou Yunfeng didn't even look at him. He took the scroll and handed it to the eunuch, asking him to present it to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I found this in a secret compartment of Hu's Bank."

The emperor took it from the chief eunuch and opened it, his eyes gradually becoming extremely cold.

He lowered his eyes to look at Xiao Ze who was standing with his head held high, then glanced at Wang Ganzhi who was among the ministers.

That look completely broke down the last bit of psychological defense of Wang Ganzhi, who had already been frightened. His legs went soft and he knelt on the ground.

Xiao Ze was completely unaware of this, and stared at Xiao Yuan with a cold gaze, determined to win.

The emperor finally spoke, "Xiao Ze, do you want to see what is in this scroll?"

Xiao Ze was startled and quickly bent down and stretched out his hands. The eunuch immediately handed the book to him down the imperial steps and placed it in his palms.

Xiao Ze lowered his eyes to look, and that smug smile slowly cracked in front of everyone, and even a hint of horror appeared on his face.

"This is impossible, Father, this is absolutely impossible..."

The emperor sneered, "Wang Ganzhi has already knelt down, and you tell me that it's impossible?"

Xiao Ze turned his head with a stiff neck and looked behind him, but did not see Wang Ganzhi's shadow. He pushed people away and walked back, and finally saw the person kneeling on the ground and shivering.

Not to mention Wang Ganzhi, his hands began to tremble slightly at this moment.

"Lord Wang, is this yours?" he asked unwillingly.

Wang Ganzhi was so frightened when Zhou Yunfeng came back with the scroll that he turned pale. "Second Prince, there is a misunderstanding here. You must save me."

Xiao Ze was silent for a moment, then suddenly walked over and kicked him hard, his face twisted.

The court officials all stepped back and watched this dramatic scene in silence, their minds calculating.

Today, it seems that the Second Prince has been schemed against by the Fourth Prince again.

After venting his anger, Xiao Ze also reacted and strode into the hall and stared at Xiao Yuan, "The trap set by fourth brother is really well calculated."

No one spoke, only Zhou Yunfeng frowned fiercely, regretting once again that he did not dare to marry his sister into the Second Prince's mansion. His father really made a mistake back then.

"Second Prince." He lowered his voice to remind, "What you should think about now is how to escape."

Zhou Yunfeng almost gritted his teeth.

Wang Ganzhi represents the Second Prince's Mansion to a certain extent. If he collaborates with the enemy, can the Second Prince stay out of it?

Xiao Ze reacted instantly and explained immediately, "Father, your son..."

"That's enough," the emperor waved his hand, "I'll deal with you after this is over."

The obvious disappointment in the emperor's tone made Xiao Ze's face pale. Even if he could break away from the relationship now, his image of being a bad judge of people would be confirmed in his father's mind. As a king, these two points are the most taboo.

His face gradually turned gray. Xiao Yuan, this game is really a good plan!

Xiao Yuan stood aside as if it had nothing to do with him, watching this farce like a spectator.

With the evidence before him, the emperor looked at Wang Ganzhi with a gloomy gaze, "Sir Wang, what else do you have to say?"

“Your humble servant, your humble servant…” Wang Ganzhi stammered for a long time but could not utter a word, his face turned pale.

The emperor ignored him and waved his hand, ordering the eunuchs to drag the man out and execute him.

Xiao Ze gritted his teeth. Wang Ganzhi's begging for mercy continued for a long time, but he didn't dare to say another word. He had already thought about what to do with Wang and the boy in her belly.

Zhou Yunfeng watched Wang Ganzhi being dragged away with cold eyes, a hint of sarcasm flashing across his eyes. The Second Prince actually dared to employ such a reckless person.

"Your Majesty, in addition to Lord Wang, I have also found some other things."

As soon as he opened his mouth, all the court officials looked at him. Zhou Yunfeng personally took something from the hands of the officers and soldiers behind him and handed it to the eunuch.

The chief eunuch handed it to the emperor. The emperor glanced at the not-so-small wooden box and ordered, "Open it."

"Yes." The eunuch placed the box on the dragon table. As soon as he opened it, he was almost dazzled by the golden light.

There was a box full of gold bars. The eunuch was shocked. He looked up at the emperor's expression and carefully stepped aside.

The emperor looked at the box of gold bars and suddenly laughed, "Okay, very good. Tell me, what's going on?"

The common transaction money among the people is usually silver ingots and gold ingots, but gold bars are too precious, and a small piece is worth a lot.

Therefore, even wealthy businessmen who want to avoid being investigated by the government know the principle of not showing off their wealth and will not cast gold bars.

In the capital, apart from the national treasury managed by the Ministry of Revenue, no one dared to openly store large amounts of gold bars in their homes.

The reason why Zhou Yunfeng took it to the court shows that it is not just this box.

Sure enough, Zhou Yunfeng cupped his hands and said, "What Your Majesty saw before you was only less than one-tenth of the gold bars found in Hu's Bank. It is not too much of an overreach for a bank to store a large amount of gold bars, but I found the stamp of the national treasury on these gold bars."

The emperor narrowed his sharp eyes, and the eunuch immediately stepped forward and picked up a gold bar, and sure enough, he found a clue at the bottom.

"Your Majesty, look." He handed the gold bar to the emperor.

The emperor was furious, his face was extremely cold, "I don't know when my treasury was handed over to a bank to manage it. Officials of the Ministry of Revenue, get out of here!"

Many people immediately stood up, and everyone was trembling with fear, including the eldest son of the Zhang family.

"You guys played a great trick on me!" The emperor sneered and slammed the table and stood up.

"All the money in my treasury has gone to the banks. What's the point of me supporting you? I think you can take off your official hats and pay your salaries to the banks!"

More importantly, the money house was run by a member of the royal family of the Western Regions, which was a great shame and humiliation.

The emperor even saw a look of watching a show in the eyes of the man who was brought here.

He was so angry that his chest felt stuffy and painful. One thing after another, each and every one of them was really capable.

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue all put their heads on the ground, tilted their heads slightly to look at each other, suspected their colleagues beside them, and then said in unison, "Your Majesty, we are really unaware of this, Your Majesty, please understand."

This is a serious crime that will lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire family. They may be greedy, but they would never dare to collaborate with the enemy and sell out their country, or steal money from the national treasury and give it to other countries.

"You were totally clueless?" The emperor sneered. "Whenever something happened, you always said the same thing. When it came to claiming credit and getting rewards, you all rushed to get in first."

"Minister of Revenue, what do you say?"

The Minister of Revenue was an old man in his fifties. He was kneeling on the ground with his face pale with fear.

Although he knew that this matter had nothing to do with him, he could not escape the crime of negligence, and his official hat would probably change hands!

"Your Majesty, only this old minister and two assistant ministers have access to the treasury silver. If there really is something wrong with the Ministry of Revenue, as long as we investigate this old minister and the other three, we can find out the owner of the gold bar."

He did not say a word of excuse and insisted on an immediate investigation. The emperor's gloomy expression then eased a little.

"Why bother with so much trouble?" The emperor lowered his eyes and looked at the strong man kneeling below him, "Lord Shen, drag him out. If he doesn't tell us who he is colluding with, we will use all the tortures in Daliang on him."

"Yes." Shen Changhe waved his hand and pulled the strong man out again. From the time he came to the time he left, he had no chance to say a word except for watching the show for a while.

Today's morning court session lasted until almost noon, but the ministers did not show any signs of fatigue. They were all energetic and nervous.

The problem here has not been solved for the time being, and the emperor turned his gaze to Xiao Ze again, "Xiao Ze, did you know about what Wang Ganzhi did in advance?"

Xiao Ze's body froze, and he immediately denied it, "Father, please understand. I know nothing about this. I am the prince of Daliang, how could I be collaborating with the enemy?"

"But he is yours, and his daughter is your concubine. You want to sever your ties without knowing anything about it?"

The emperor stared at him for a while in a cold tone before speaking again in a calm voice, "It is difficult to convince the public with just your words. From today on, you will be imprisoned in the Second Prince's Mansion. Before the matter is investigated, you will stay here honestly. If you dare to make trouble again, watch your head!"

Xiao Ze's face turned paler, but he knew this was the lightest punishment and could only kneel down and accept it.

"As for Wang, considering that her married daughter is pregnant with the royal heir, we will spare her life and demote her to a criminal slave from today. We will deal with her after the child is born."

"Yes." Xiao Ze lowered his head without saying a word of pleading.

How could he, the son of a prince, crawl out of the belly of a criminal slave? Xiao Ze's eyes were cold and he tried his best to hide it.

The emperor also appointed two officials to assist in investigating the case of Wang Ganzhi and the second prince.