Chapter 413: The Chief Supervisor

On Princess Zhaoyang's second birthday, Emperor Yan Xiuyun of Liang personally selected a nine-curve pearl as a birthday gift for the princess, with the meaning of "the pearl in the palm of your hand".

Who would have thought that just last night, the Nine-Curved Pearl that was originally stored in the treasury of the Shaofujian disappeared without a trace.

As the highest institution responsible for Daliang's handicraft industry, the Shaofujian was also responsible for storing treasures. Every item in the Shaofujian's treasure house was priceless.

When Yan Xiuyun learned that the Nine-Bend Pearl was lost, he was furious and immediately ordered the Censorate and the Dali Temple to jointly investigate and recover the pearl.

…

Shaofujian.

When Zhu Lan and his men arrived, the people from the Dali Temple had already arrived and were talking to Li Xiang, the chief supervisor of the Imperial Household.

"The Grand Censor has arrived!"

Upon hearing the voice, everyone in the prison stopped talking and all eyes were cast towards the gate of Shaofu Prison.

A team of guards in red and black official uniforms entered the Shaofu Prison and stood neatly on both sides of the avenue. Then Zhu Lan, wearing a deep red official uniform with gold patterns, appeared in front of everyone.

Li Xiang, the Supervisor of the Imperial Household, came forward quickly.

"Master Zhongcheng, I've been waiting for you."

Li Xiang had naturally seen Zhu Lan often in the court, but many lower-level officials in the Shaofu Supervisor were seeing her for the first time and could not help but secretly look at her.

This Chief Censor was only 22 years old. Not only was she a woman, she was also the youngest Chief Censor in history.

Li Xiang is not tall and is slightly fat, with wrinkles and fat on his face. He does not look like the Supervisor of the Imperial Household, but more like a shrewd businessman.

Facing Li Xiang's courtesy, Zhu Lan showed no reaction on the surface, but was very alert in his heart.

She gave a distant, polite smile.

"Li Jianzheng is in charge of the Shaofu Supervisor. According to the system of our Daliang Dynasty, you are on the same level as me. Such enthusiasm is really embarrassing for me."

While Zhu Lan and Li Xiang were talking, some people in the Shaofu Supervisor started whispering.

"Although this Chief Censor is young, she is quite capable. Our former Chief Censor was found by her to have secretly sold the treasures in the prison, which led to his property being confiscated and exiled."

"No wonder our Li Jianzheng is so attentive even though he is on the same level as her..."

"Our Supervisor was not recommended by the Ministry of Personnel, but was directly appointed by the Emperor. Why would he need to curry favor with the Censorate?"

"Yes, the Li family is also a prominent family in the capital. Think about Li Jianzheng's two sons and niece... Aren't their backgrounds much stronger than that of Zhu Zhongcheng?"

"That's right, our Li Jianzheng has a niece in the harem, and his son is the current deputy commander of the imperial guards.

No matter how high her position as Zhongcheng is, she is just from a humble family. Who in the court will help her?"

"But I heard that Li Jianzheng and this Lord Zhongcheng seem to have some conflicts, and the relationship between the two should not be good. Why do they seem to be on good terms today?"

Everyone shook their heads, unable to guess the mystery.

Zhu Lan's heart was as bright as a mirror.

The Li family is a prominent family in the capital. As for the grudges between the Li family and himself, those happened several years ago.

Li Xiang's elder brother was Li Changjing, the former commander of the Five Cities Army. He was reported to the late emperor by Murong Jing and was directly dismissed from his official position.

Li Changjing's daughter Li Yao entered the Eastern Palace with Qin Yuwei and is now Concubine Li.

Li Xiang's son, Li Changjing's nephew, is the current deputy commander of the imperial guard, Li Yan.

Li Yan had flirted with Lin Xiaoqi, who called himself Chu Xin, in a teahouse. He was punished in public by himself and Qingyan. In broad daylight, his clothes were cut off by a soft sword, and he made a fool of himself.

Li Yan has never forgotten this grudge.

When Li Changjing was dismissed from office, Li Yao and Li Yan, who were in the Eastern Palace, were not only not implicated, but the late emperor even raised their positions and ranks himself, which was confusing.

But now, over the past few years, Zhu Lan has seen through the late emperor's intentions.

During the Qi Wang Rebellion, in order to prevent Qi Wang from joining forces with Zhenbei Wang, the late emperor offered complete control over the border tea-horse trade in exchange for Zhenbei Wang's defection.

However, the control of the tea-horse trade is a double-edged sword. Although it resolved the rebellion of Prince Qi, it also accelerated the expansion of Prince Zhenbei's power.

The rebellion was successful at that time because the King of Zhenbei was not fully prepared.

Now, four years have passed, and the equipment and food supplies of the Northern Frontier Camp are more sufficient than before. Once the troops march south, the consequences will be disastrous.

The previous emperor naturally took this into consideration when he was in power, and began to make plans to cultivate a force that could fight against the King of Zhenbei in the future.

The clans that the late emperor valued were the Dong family in Longyou, which had shown signs of making a comeback in recent years, and the Li family in the capital.

Both clans have produced people who commanded the military. They have the potential to be trained, and most importantly, they can check and balance each other to avoid a situation like the King of Zhenbei who is too powerful to be eliminated.

In short, because of his son Li Yan, Li Xiang often mocked the Censorate and the Hanlin Academy behind their backs. Although he never mentioned any names, anyone with a discerning eye could see who he was scolding.

As soon as I stepped into the Shaofujian today, Li Xiang was so attentive to me. There must be something wrong.

Zhu Lan was alert in his heart, but his face remained calm. He said to Li Xiang directly:

"Li Jianzheng, where did the Nine-Curved Pearl get lost last night?"

"It's in the treasure house." Li Xiang confirmed.

"Take me to see it."

…

Li Xiang personally brought Zhu Lan to the treasury of the Shaofujian, where several people from the Dali Temple were waiting outside the treasury.

When Zhu Lan arrived, a man was just walking out of the treasure house.

"Patrolman Si?" Zhu Lan saw clearly that the man was none other than Patrolman Si Ying of the Dali Temple.

"I'm Si Ying, your humble servant. I'm honored to meet His Excellency the Minister of Justice." Si Ying had a sword on his waist. When he saw Zhu Lan, the solemn look on his face faded a little and he stepped forward to salute.

Zhu Lan helped her up, looked around, and was a little confused:

"Your Majesty ordered the Imperial Censorate and the Dali Temple to jointly search for the pearl. Logically, you, Chang Shaoqing, should also come forward, but why did you only be sent?"

Si Ying is always serious, but her expression showed a hint of embarrassment.

"Zhongcheng should know..."

Si Ying lowered her voice a bit, "Shaoqing said... there are so many cases involving human lives that he doesn't have time to catch thieves for the Shaofu Supervisor."

Zhu Lan smiled, this is really Lao Chang’s style.

"What are you talking about!" Li Xiang was so angry that he threw his sleeves and wanted to curse, but he swallowed the words back when they came to his lips.

Everyone in the court knows that Chang Yunxiao, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, has a strange and eccentric personality. Although he holds a high position, he never attends any social events in the officialdom and has no friends in the court.

Despite such a strange man, Dali Temple Minister Zhong Maoqing protected him like his own son and actually helped him to avoid many troubles.

Zhong Maoqing was a very good person with many people. Li Xiang thought about it and decided not to offend him.

"Okay." Zhu Lan said to Si Ying, "Patrolman Si, tell me what you found first."