Chapter 454: Collective Efforts

Imperial Fragrance Pavilion.

In the most secluded dining hall shaded by lush bamboos, the voices of several people could be heard faintly.

"Old Chang, even the Dali Temple can't do anything about this case?" A rare look of anxiety emerged on Xiao Wan's usually gentle face.

Chang Yunxiao sat in the corner, his expression unclear, and he just shook his head slightly.

"I don't believe this case is so difficult to try." Xiao Wan said angrily.

“It is clear that Li Moxu was colluding with the Qingzhou officials. Could it be that since the prefect is dead, no one else knows about this?

"Oh, right? Isn't there that wealthy businessman named Shen? He has such a close relationship with the Qingzhou prefect, is it possible that he doesn't know anything about Li Moxu?

As long as Li Moxu's crime is proven and he deserves to die, won't Zhu Lan be fine?"

Seeing that Xiao Wan was very emotional, Zhao Sicheng quickly stepped forward, put his arm around her shoulders, and comforted her softly.

He turned around and looked at Chang Yunxiao again, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

Zhou Da on the side spoke up:

"This is not Old Chang's fault... He has not slept for two days and one night because of Zhu Lan's case. He went to the Ministry of Justice several times to inquire about the news, but..."

Zhou Da sighed, and the four people present fell silent.

In the years since Chang Yunxiao entered the Dali Temple, he has used professional autopsy methods to clear up countless old cases and redressed many unjust cases.

Although the deceased was able to rest in peace, he also offended many officials behind the past unjust cases. Many of them had already been promoted or transferred to the Ministry of Justice or the Censorate, with promising futures.

Now, after so many years, his career has been affected by the appearance of Chang Yunxiao. How can he not hold a grudge?

In addition, Chang Yunxiao was obsessed with autopsies and investigating cases, and never spent time trying to curry favor with officials. Therefore, although he was promoted to the position of Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, his popularity was not good, and it could even be said that it was quite poor.

If it weren't for the fact that Dali Temple Minister Zhong Maoqing loved talents and helped Chang Yunxiao to avoid a lot of trouble, I'm afraid the Dali Temple would have long since closed its doors to him.

This time Zhu Lan's case was mainly handled by the Ministry of Justice, so it was not Chang Yunxiao's fault that he could not get any information.

Chang Yunxiao finally spoke, his voice calm but tired.

“All those brought back from Qingzhou are imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice. I have no right to interrogate them directly.

But judging from the information sent to the Dali Temple...someone had secretly sent them messages through some means, forcing them to hold on to their words and not reveal anything about Li Moxu.

Zhu Lan has caused a stir in the Qingzhou officialdom, and now these people know that they cannot escape the death penalty, and they are determined to perish with Zhu Lan."

"Sending a message? Could it be... someone from the Li family?" Xiao Wan murmured.

Chang Yunxiao said, "I'm afraid the Li family doesn't have such great power yet."

Xiao Wan sat back in her chair helplessly.

"Right now, Yu Wei is in the harem and can't get away, and You You is not in the capital...

If the two of them were here, we could work together and perhaps come up with some solutions."

The four of them were silent for a moment, and Zhou Da suddenly looked up at Zhao Sicheng.

"Sicheng, among all of us now, you, as the Minister of Works, hold the highest position.

Is there any way to write a petition to ask for mercy?"

Xiao Wan nodded when she heard this:

"Yes, since the Li family is determined to put Zhu Lan to death, then we will also gather some officials from the Censorate and ministers from various ministries, and have them jointly write a petition to plead for Zhu Lan!"

Zhao Sicheng considered it for a while, and finally made up his mind. He stood up and said:

“Things have developed to this point, we can’t just watch Zhu Lan being forced to death by those people.

This time, even if it means risking my future, I must get her out of the prison.

I will go back and compose the music sheet right away!"

Xiao Wan also stood up and said, "Then I will contact the officials of the Ministry of Revenue. I believe many of them are willing to speak for Zhu Lan."

Zhou Da and Chang Yunxiao also stood up. The four of them had already made up their minds and were about to leave when they saw someone push the door open.

It was Zhu Qingyan.

When Xiao Wan saw her, she immediately said:

"You came at the right time. We were just about to write a joint petition to get Zhu Lan out.

She once worked in the Hanlin Academy. I wonder if the officials in the Hanlin Academy would be willing to join in writing a petition?"

Zhu Qingyan looked at Xiao Wan for a moment, and suddenly said something without any context:

"This guy...she guessed it right again."

"What?" Xiao Wan didn't understand.

Zhu Qingyan closed the door again and told them not to leave in a hurry.

Several people sat down again, all four of them looking at Zhu Qingyan, waiting for her opinion.

“As soon as Zhu Lan and I arrived in the capital, she was taken away by the military department, and we didn’t have time to inform you.

But she guessed that you might think of writing a joint letter because you were too concerned, so she asked me to come and see you."

"Isn't it enough for us to write a joint letter?" Zhao Sicheng said.

"Then I'll go find some old officials. I'm now the Minister of Industry, and they'll have to give me some respect.

Oh, and there is the Sixth Prince, he will definitely help..."

Zhu Qingyan interrupted him and said in a serious tone:

“If you do nothing, Zhu Lan still has a chance of survival.

If the officials write to plead for mercy, Zhu Lan will be killed."

Zhao Sicheng stood there in a daze.

Xiao Wan calmed down and thought about Zhu Qingyan's words, and she began to come to her senses.

"You mean..."

Zhu Qingyan nodded.

“This time we ruined the King of Zhenbei’s plan, so he used Li Moxu’s death to instigate the Li family and the Duke of Weiguo to force Zhu Lan to death.

I know that you are all Zhu Lan's best friends and will never watch her get into trouble.

But look at your identities——"

Her eyes swept over the people in front of her one by one.

"The Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War, the Dali Temple... If you add the Hanlin Academy and the Censorate, that would be half of the imperial court!

Zhu Lan was the Chief Censor, responsible for supervising all officials in the court.

She was in such a sensitive and important position, but as soon as she was imprisoned, so many important officials in the court came to plead for her.

How would the emperor feel if he saw this scene? "

"Winning over court officials and colluding with cliques..." Zhao Sicheng murmured as if he had suddenly been enlightened.

Emperors in ancient times have always been most wary of their subjects forming factions.

How many people who are suspected by the emperor can have a good ending?

Even if they joined forces with all the officials to save Zhu Lan this time, it would be tantamount to pushing her to the edge of the cliff.

Having lost the emperor's favor, she could be shattered to pieces at any time!

Xiao Wan's eyes lit up and she asked her:

“Zhu Lan, since you have guessed that we might want to write a joint letter, let you dissuade us.

Then she must have thought of a solution, tell us quickly."

This time, Xiao Wan did not get the answer she expected.

Zhu Qingyan said sadly:

"Li Moxu's death was indeed beyond our expectations. Zhu Lan was taken away by the troops before he had time to understand the situation in the capital. How could we come up with a countermeasure so quickly?

This time, it’s up to us.”