Chapter 181 Interlocking Links

A pang of sadness welled up in Dou Ruzhang's heart. "Fourth Sister, do you really think so?"

Since his incident, the most common complaints I've heard are that he shouldn't have gone to that kind of place to entertain his colleagues and shouldn't have caused trouble.

But he was clearly the victim. They just wanted him to be a coward, to bow down to power regardless of right or wrong, and there was no justice to be found.

He wasn't unaware of these principles, but it was only when he experienced the pain firsthand that he truly understood the importance of power.

Both his aunt and his father, Dou Bochang, believed that it was his youthful impetuosity that caused him to bring this upon himself, that he had offended the wrong person and ruined his promising future!

Only his fourth sister, with whom he was not usually close, stood by his side.

Dou Wenyi nodded heavily. "The fault is not yours. They picked a fight and beat you in anger. You are innocent."

Dou Ruzhang couldn't hold back any longer, his voice choked with emotion, "Miss Sisi wasn't invited by us. My colleagues, though they have some talent and are inspired to write poetry, don't have any masterpieces to their name, so how could they possibly catch her eye?"

"But she suddenly became interested and wanted to think with us, so I couldn't refuse her... Who would have thought that this would make Meng Duo jealous."

“They outnumbered me and, fueled by alcohol, started attacking me right away. Unfortunately, several of my classmates were accidentally injured by them.”

"Even Miss Sisi got slapped twice!"

Dou Ruzhang's eyes glistened with tears. "Now that things have come to this, I've finally figured it out. Prime Minister Meng's exceptional promotion of me wasn't out of appreciation for my talent; he must have something else in mind. I'm worried they have other plans. If they can't outmaneuver me, they'll outmaneuver the Dou family and the Crown Prince!"

He was still somewhat lucid.

Dou Wenyi seemed to be deep in thought, and then analyzed the political situation for him, "What you said is very true, Second Brother. In order to assist Prince Rui, Prime Minister Meng is determined to bring down the Crown Prince. The Dou family is weak, so it naturally became the best target for them to strike."

"Your superior, Gu Zixiao, the Transport Commissioner of Jianghuai, has probably been corrupt. His backer is naturally Prince Rui. However, with you as a scapegoat, this corrupt person can become the Crown Prince. Do you understand now why you were promoted so exceptionally?"

Dou Ruzhang felt cold in his hands and feet, and a chill ran down his spine.

If he were implicated, they would definitely use threats and inducements. Under such pressure, he would not be able to withstand any turmoil. Even if he did not make false accusations, they might still force him to sign a document and identify the Crown Prince.

Did his decision not to become the deputy transport commissioner turn out to be a blessing in disguise?

"Second brother, although our relationship has become somewhat distant, we are still blood relatives. Think carefully about what you have done this past month. Have you checked the accounts and warehousing? Have you left any evidence against us?"

Dou Ruzhang recalled carefully, "Gu Zixiao treated me very politely. Even though I was not familiar with many things, he still treated me politely. He even said that he would let me keep the account books and sent a trusted confidant to assist me. But that person mainly urged me to sign."

"However, I am really unfamiliar with the matter and dare not take it on rashly, so I declined."

"Moreover, I was very careful with everything they asked me to sign, and I checked it several times. Even for warehousing and scheduling, I sent reliable people to conduct on-site inspections."

"However, several ships fully loaded with grain encountered storms and unfortunately sank. I couldn't verify this, so I signed off on it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Dou Wenyi immediately asked, "Is it the disaster relief grain being transported to Tianning City?"

Dou Ruzhang felt a little flustered and hesitated. "The storm at sea, they can't fake it."

Dou Wenyi remained silent. The disaster was devastating, and the entire city of Tianning was relying on grain shipments from outside. Although the casualties were not as severe as in the previous life, a large number of people still died.

What if those ships hadn't sunk at all?

Why were those grains that were originally intended for disaster relief transported to Tianning City and sold at high prices?

That day, Meng Jingshu specifically reminded her that many of the grain shops in Tianning City belonged to the Sheng family. She sent people to investigate and found that not only the Sheng family, but also the Meng and Gu families were the real major grain merchants.

Dou Wenyi's eyes turned slightly cold. "Second brother, don't be naive. These ships probably didn't sink at all! The Ministry of Justice has been investigating the disappearance of nearly a million shi of grain from the Yuanfeng and Yongfeng granaries. With the disaster in Tianning City, that grain must have flowed back into the market."

"Perhaps the Ministry of Justice has already found out who the mastermind is, but Prime Minister Meng has put you here as a smokescreen, easily turning corruption into factional strife."

"A major corruption case might be brought up high and then easily dismissed due to factional strife. But you are the source of this factional strife, an unforgivable crime. In that case, the Emperor will have no choice but to use your head!"

Dou Ruzhang was completely thrown into disarray, and gave a bitter smile. "So, I've only been in office for less than a month, and they're already trying to kill me? They're going to pin this huge blame on me? They're really too ruthless!"

Even if Dou Wenyi disliked the Dou family, she had no choice but to stand on their side.

She couldn't stand those people doing evil, resorting to any means to amass wealth, and showing no regard for human life.

Don't the lives of those disaster victims matter?

Dou Wenyi left Dou Ruzhang's courtyard, her heart still heavy.

Disguised as a man, she led a group to Lanxiang Courtyard, slipped the madam several silver notes, and specifically requested to see Miss Xu Sisi.

Xu Sisi was graceful and dressed in a simple white dress with her hair styled in a loose bun, dressed as a frivolous and alluring courtesan. However, her face was covered by a thin veil, which added to her charm.

She could tell at a glance that I was a woman. "Miss, what brings you here?"

Two lifetimes apart, old friends meet again.

Dou Wenyi was overwhelmed with emotions and wanted to hold her and cry her heart out.

When she first arrived at the Northern Barbarian army camp, she volunteered to impersonate Crown Princess Dou Mingyan for her, using charcoal powder and dust to help her disguise herself and save her from inhuman abuse.

Xu Sisi was sent to Wanyan Tai's camp every night...