Chapter 304

"Eunuch Zhou." Chu Liuzheng smiled and bowed to Zhou Yuande who was waiting at the door.

Zhou Yuande glanced at the two people behind her and smiled: "Your Majesty is waiting, go in quickly."

Chu Liuzheng agreed and led Li Yuwan and Wang Qi inside.

The two men knelt down and paid their respects.

Xiao Jingfan raised his head from behind his desk and glanced at the two of them: "Everyone, stand up and take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Yuwan stood up with her brother and sat down on a chair beside them.

Wang Qi was a little nervous. He placed his hands neatly on his knees, looked straight ahead, and kept his back straight.

Li Yuwan was also nervous and worried.

She pinched her palms hard, breathing in and out secretly, trying to calm herself down and waiting for the emperor to speak.

Xiao Jingfan finished reviewing the memorial in front of him before putting down his red brush and looking at the two of them: "Do you know why I summoned you two alone?"

Wang Qi didn't know and turned to look at Li Yuwan.

Li Yuwan said respectfully, "I dare not speculate on your Majesty's intentions. I beg Your Majesty to clarify."

Xiao Jingfan said: "The mastermind of illegal iron ore mining is guilty, and the accomplices are also guilty."

The Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery was the mastermind, and the entire Dongjing Manor was an accomplice. Their punishment would be exile at the very least, and beheading at the worst.

The worry came true.

Li Yuwan clenched her fists, stood up, and knelt, pleading, "Dongjing Manor has been struck by a tragedy, and Wang Qi is the only one left alive. Your Majesty, please consider Wang Qi's report of this tragedy to the heavens, and consider his young age and pitiful fate, and grant him some mercy."

Although Wang Qi didn't understand, he knelt down and kowtowed three times with sincerity.

"I don't dwell on the dead. Sending people to bury the bones and build a tomb for Dongjing Manor is already a mercy." Xiao Jingfan said in a deep voice, "Wang Qi's fate is pitiful, but he was guilty first. The two cannot be confused."

[Tsk, you tyrant, if you really wanted to punish Wang Qi in Fengtian Hall, you would have done it together. Why would you wait until now?]

Chu Liuzheng curled his lips and complained silently.

Knowing that the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery is a tough nut to crack, he's picking on the softer bones first. The tyrant is deliberately trying to trick Miss Li.

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

Although those who served before the emperor could more or less guess at the emperor's intentions, at least he was kept in the dark. But this woman, guessing wasn't enough; she also cursed him in her heart.

He held his breath, picked up the teacup beside him and took a sip.

Decided to double the spot check time.

Chu Liuzheng didn't know what was waiting for him in a while, and was worried about Li Yuwan and Wang Qi.

[Miss Li is so smart, she should be able to guess what the tyrant means, right?]

She observed Li Yuwan's expression and urged her in her heart.

[Don't hesitate, just tell me what happened! ]

Li Yuwan glanced at the young man kneeling beside her, pursed her lips, and said softly, "Your Majesty, I once accidentally learned a secret while in the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's Mansion."

Xiao Jingfan raised his eyebrows slightly and winked at Chu Liuzheng.

Chu Liuzheng waved his hand and asked the palace servants to leave.

Li Yuwan didn't wait for the emperor to ask before she said, "Prince Li was killed by mistake by the secret guards sent by Li You."

Xiao Jingfan thought she was going to say something, and was a little disappointed when he heard it, but he didn't interrupt her. He just listened to her continue:

"Prince Li had his attendants poison the porridge barrels at the Grand Tutor's residence with strychnine. Fearing the attendants would confess under torture, he sent men to the Shuntian Prefecture prison to rescue the prisoners. However, they were arrested instead of being rescued. Prince Li feared the conspiracy would be exposed and he would be implicated, so he secretly sought help from Li You."

"Li You wanted to pin the blame on Prince Cheng and had his secret guards stage an assassination attempt on Prince Li. However, because the guards suffered from an ear disease, they misheard the order and killed Prince Li by mistake."

Xiao Jingfan had already known these inside stories from Chu Liuzheng's thoughts and was not surprised.

However, he still asked, "How did you know the inside story?"

Li Yuwan truthfully said, "When I left home for Shisong County, a friend accompanied and protected me. That friend was the secret guard who accidentally killed Prince Li."

Xiao Jingfan asked, "Do you want to excuse this secret guard?"

"I dare not." Li Yuwan thought of the man she had buried with her own hands, and a warm feeling filled her eyes. "Although there was a misunderstanding, my friend was just following orders. He died last night at the hands of the assassins sent by Li You. His guilt is absolved. I simply want to tell the truth for him."

[Girl, please stop talking. The tyrant doesn't care at all about how Prince Li's nephew died, okay? Hurry and tell me the most important thing before the tyrant's patience runs out!]

Chu Liuzheng urged in her heart, she really didn't want to do it alone.

Isn’t there always a double agent like Aunt Qiao to give her an excuse?

Xiao Jingfan glanced at her secretly and said to Li Yuwan: "You can talk about these things after you go to the Dali Temple. Come, bring-"

"Your Majesty, this isn't the secret I know," Li Yuwan interrupted, quickly saying, "Li You has been secretly communicating with Prince Li, helping him raise private soldiers. If my suspicions are correct, the illegally mined iron ore should have been sent to Prince Li's fiefdom."

Hearing this, Xiao Jingfan's face darkened.

Even though he had already known it from Chu Liuzheng's thoughts in Fengtian Hall, he was still very angry!

Li Yuwan didn't dare look at him and continued speaking in one breath, "Li You has a private residence in the south of the city. There's a tunnel dug underneath, and there are traps and devices. I don't know what's hidden inside, but since they've gone to such great lengths to find it, it must be something extremely important."

"Yes, yes, there are not only traps but also explosives buried inside. Triggering the traps will ignite the explosives and blow everything up."

Chu Liuzheng finally waited until Li Yuwan spoke out. If she didn't, she would have to find a way to do it herself.

She glanced at Xiao Jingfan quietly.

[What is the tyrant thinking? Send someone to inform Master Xie immediately. Do not act rashly!]

While the Imperial Guards are still ransacking the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's mansion, quickly evacuate the residents surrounding the residence and dispatch personnel to dismantle the mechanisms and explosives in the tunnel!

Upon hearing about explosives, Xiao Jingfan, who had been planning to think about it carefully, could no longer sit still. After asking Li Yuwan about the exact location of the house, he called Zhou Yuande in and ordered Lu Fei to take people to surround the house and evacuate the surrounding people. No one was allowed to move without his order.

When Zhou Yuande heard that there was explosives, he was so frightened that he took two steps longer, and walked as fast as the wind.

Li Yuwan watched the fat eunuch come in and go out, feeling uneasy, wondering if what she said would satisfy the emperor enough to show mercy and let Wang Qi go.

Xiao Jingfan was reluctantly satisfied and decided to let Wang Qi make amends for his crime and provide a detailed account of the situation at the iron mine. Li Yuwan would record it and bind it into a book to assist the new county magistrate in resuming mining at the iron mine.

Knowing that he would not be exiled, Wang Qi was so happy that his mouth almost stretched to his ears.

As for why it was almost, it really hurt when my face was bruised and I had to make a big expression.

Li Yuwan was also happy.

She had originally planned to take Wang Qi back to Shisong County after this matter was settled, where she and Wang Qi grew up.

She left at the age of twelve, not knowing what the future held for her. She secretly buried some silver in the valley, originally for peace of mind, but now she can dig it out, enough for her and her brother to start a new life.

She was thinking in her mind when she suddenly saw Xiao Anzi walk in and said, "Your Majesty, Master Hua has arrived."