Chapter 61

Song Qianzhao smiled lightly: "As long as it is man-made, there will always be traces left. Send someone to investigate and the matter will be clear."

Liu Ming'an stroked his beard and nodded, "That's right. I'll arrange for someone to investigate right away."

"Wait!" Song Qianzhao suddenly stopped him, "Master Liu, this matter must be kept secret and must not be known to anyone other than those present."

Yang Yuan smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Envoy Song is worrying too much. If I can prove my innocence for the country, the more people who know, the better."

Song Qianzhao's expression grew serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Lord Yang, you are mistaken. If someone truly is framing the Duke, they must be lurking in the dark. If we rashly announce the progress of the case, wouldn't that alert the enemy? In my opinion, only by keeping the secret can the person behind the scenes reveal their true intentions."

Yang Yuan slapped his thigh suddenly, a look of sudden realization on his face: "You are right, it's my fault for not thinking it through."

The sun set and the sky gradually darkened.

The guards on duty had already started lighting the lamps, and lanterns were lit up in the corridor.

It was at this moment that Liu Ming'an returned. He strode towards them with great speed, his embroidered spring sword swaying gently with his rapid steps. Seeing this, the guards guarding the door quickly straightened their posture.

In the side hall, Song Qianzhao stood by the window, hands behind his back, calmly observing the movements in the courtyard. Yang Yuan sat upright in his armchair, his slender fingers tapping the armrests intermittently, his gaze as steady as water. Only Fan Sheng fidgeted restlessly, picking up and putting down his teacup, the tea already cold.

"The commander is back." The officer guarding the door whispered.

The three people in the hall moved at the sound.

Liu Ming'an strode into the hall, his eyes sweeping over everyone's faces one by one.

Fan Sheng unconsciously took a half step forward, "Commander Liu, did you gain anything?"

Everyone looked at Liu Mingan, holding their breath, waiting for his answer.

Liu Ming'an didn't answer immediately. He reached into his lapel, pulled out a small oil-paper package, and carefully unfolded it. A few strands of brown hair lay on the oil-paper.

"It's just as Envoy Song predicted," Liu Ming'an said solemnly. "We found the beast's hair on the window and in the secret room. Upon closer inspection, we also discovered some footprints. We can now definitively conclude that it was the beast that placed the secret letter into the Duke of Ying's secret room."

Song Qianzhao's eyes moved slightly, and they met Fan Sheng's. A hint of relief flashed across their eyes at the same time.

"It seems," Song Qianzhao nodded slightly, "it must be the work of that fat monk."

Liu Mingan said in a deep voice: "I have issued an order to hunt down the entire city!"

Fan Sheng bowed, the solemn expression on his face softening. "Now that the suspicion has been cleared, I'll take my leave today. If there are any new developments in the case, please let the commander know."

Song Qianzhao stopped him and said, "My lord, please wait."

Fan Sheng paused, a puzzled look on his face. "Does Envoy Song have any further instructions?"

"I've already said that the mastermind behind this is undoubtedly still in hiding, carefully observing the movements. Not only can the Duke of Ying not leave, but the Commander-in-Chief must also spread the word: evidence of the Duke of Ying's treason has been found."

"this……"

Fan Sheng's throat choked and he swallowed the words back.

He was a little depressed. He had maintained a good reputation for most of his life. Was it going to be ruined in his later years?

"The Duke of Ying will stay at the Ministry of Justice for a few days. It won't be too late to leave after we find the mastermind behind this."

Fan Sheng thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, in order to find the culprit, I'll take the blame!"

Song Qianzhao wasn't in a hurry to leave. She had been enjoying herself quite a bit in the Ministry of Justice these days. She slept until she woke up naturally, had three hot meals delivered to her on time, and her desk was always stocked with freshly brewed tea and seasonal snacks. She didn't even have to get up early.

When Song Qianzhao was leaning against the window and sipping tea, Suifeng appeared again, this time bringing a key clue.

"Sir, I've found out!" Suifeng lowered his voice, his tone filled with a hint of excitement. "The Imperial Censor Liu Wei had some dealings with the former Minister of War Liu Yan. The place where the fat monk disappeared was Liu Yan's villa!"

"Liu Yan?" Song Qianzhao's eyes narrowed, and he was surprised.

She immediately recalled that it was Du Zhan who had accepted the woman's complaint and exposed Liu Ming's collusion with Liu Yan, sparking the emperor's wrath and leading to Liu Yan's dismissal. She also had been behind Du Zhan's taking on the case. Could it be... that Liu Yan harbored a grudge and was plotting revenge?

"Continue investigating," she ordered immediately, her voice calm, "see if there's anything else about this person."

Suifeng clasped his fists and accepted the order. As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed out of the door like an arrow.

The next morning, Song Qianzhao was tidying up his clothes when he suddenly heard Fan Sheng's hearty laughter outside: "Is Envoy Song up yet?"

Song Qianzhao quickly straightened his clothes and hurried out to greet him.

Fan Sheng was standing in the courtyard in casual clothes, looking relaxed. It seemed the Ministry of Justice had lifted the restrictions on their movements.

"The Duke of England got up so early." Song Qianzhao bowed and smiled.

Fan Sheng stepped forward with a sincere smile on his face: "This case can be successfully resolved and I can clear my name, all thanks to Envoy Song." He bowed solemnly.

Song Qianzhao quickly reached out to support him, shook his head and smiled, "You're too kind, Duke. Finding out the truth will not only clear your name, but also clear my own suspicion. This is..."

Before he finished speaking, Fan Sheng suddenly burst into laughter. He patted Song Qianzhao on the shoulder, his eyes full of admiration, "Hahaha, Envoy Song is so calm and steady at such a young age, and he handles things so cleverly. He is truly a rare pillar of our dynasty!"

"It's a blessing for my son to have a friend like you." Fan Sheng stroked his beard and smiled, but he couldn't help feeling embarrassed when he thought of his past neglect of his illegitimate son Fan Zhiyu.

"Your Excellency, you are too kind." Song Qianzhao smiled slightly, and said with a hint of meaning, "Your son treats others with sincerity, which must be in line with your character. But some people, with a pearl right beside them, insist on praising the fake..."

Upon hearing this, Fan Sheng's face froze, and he coughed twice. "Well... I came here today to discuss something else with Envoy Song."

"Please come in, Duke." As he spoke, Song Qianzhao made a gesture of invitation with his left hand.

At this moment, a servant brought tea into the hall and carefully placed it on the table. Fan Sheng picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then frowned. He gently put the teacup aside and said calmly, "This is Fucha from Longnan. This tea needs to be boiled. It's not fragrant when brewed."

Seeing this, Song Qianzhao sneered, "Why don't you go and fry it again? This is how the Ministry of Justice treats its guests?"

The servant's heart skipped a beat, and he secretly groaned. He was just an errand boy, how could he know the ins and outs of brewing tea? But he didn't dare to argue, so he could only bow his head and respond, and was about to leave.

"How have I been disrespectful to cause you two any displeasure?"

A steady voice came from the door. Yang Yuan walked into the hall with his hands behind his back. He glanced at the two of them and then glanced at the teacup on the table.

Song Qianzhao said bluntly, "Master Yang, the tea you serve to our guests is really inadequate."

Yang Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly, puzzled, "This is the official tea of ​​Longnan Province, the annual tribute. How can it not meet your standards?"

"The tea is good, but there's something wrong with the brewing method," Song Qianzhao said slowly, stroking the rim of the cup with his fingertips. "This is Jingyang Fucha, a top-grade black tea, mellow and sweet. But you can't use boiling water, otherwise the water temperature will not be high enough to stimulate the true flavor of the tea."

Boiling water at a temperature of about 80 to 90 degrees is suitable for brewing green tea. This water temperature will not destroy the vitamins in the tea, and the tea polyphenols will slowly leach out, giving the tea a pure aroma.

Fan Sheng clapped his hands and laughed, "I never thought that Envoy Song was so well versed in the art of tea."

Yang Yuan looked puzzled. "Excuse me, Mr. Song, how should we brew this tea?"

Song Qianzhao put down the teaspoon in his hand and said softly, "You need to use three boiling waters to ensure that the water temperature reaches boiling."

"Three boiling waters?" Yang Yuan's face changed. "Isn't tea made with three boiling waters bitter?"

He muttered to himself, maybe Song Qianzhao was fooling people.

Song Qianzhao's lips curled up slightly when he heard this: "Lord Yang was talking about green tea. As the Duke said, black tea requires three boiled waters."

Yang Yuan suddenly realized what was going on and turned to the servant standing beside him, "Did you hear that clearly? Just do as the Duke ordered and boil another pot."

The servant bowed in agreement and went back to prepare new tea.

Fan Sheng suddenly changed the subject: "I came here to discuss with Envoy Song why someone wants to frame us."

Yang Yuan immediately responded, "I am also completely baffled. What exactly is the intention of this person behind this?"

Song Qianzhao pretended not to hear and looked at the teapot on the table with a serious look.

"Song Envoy?" Fan Sheng raised his voice.

Song Qianzhao raised his head suddenly, a gleam in his eyes: "I know!"

The two said in unison: "What do you know?"

Song Qianzhao said to himself: "Green tea needs to be boiled once, but Fu tea needs to be boiled three times. This is the right medicine for the right disease, and also the right medicine for the right person."

Fan Sheng and Yang Yuan looked at each other in confusion. Why were they talking about tea again?

"Gentlemen, why do you think this man would attack the Duke of England?"

"Well..." Yang Yuan thought for a moment, "Maybe there is some grudge between him and the Duke of England?"

Song Qianzhao shook his head: "No."

Yang Yuan stared at Song Qianzhao: "Then why do you say that?"

"To prescribe the right medicine for a disease, you must first identify the disease. What you have is exactly what the other party lacks, so they want to attack you because they want to snatch what they have from you!"

"Rob...what?"

"Ru'an City and Jinling City, the military power of the two cities!"

Fan Sheng and Yang Yuan exchanged a glance, their expressions suddenly changing. They had initially assumed it was just a personal grudge within the Fan family, but they hadn't anticipated the situation would be so serious. If the mastermind was after military power, then the next step would be rebellion!