Chapter 422: Silencing
Eunuch An took the book of division of spoils from Xie Jingyu and presented it to the emperor.
The emperor opened it, took a quick glance, and his face darkened.
Because the amount of spoils recorded in the account book was somewhat shocking.
A granary was sold out, and finally a fire was set to destroy all traces. The Zuo Xiang and those people in Jizhou were so bold and presumptuous that it was beyond words.
North Vietnam has evil ambitions and it is only a matter of time before it invades our borders. Without food and grass support, even a strong army will be of no use.
This is destroying the foundation of the court!
The emperor was furious, his entire body trembling with anger. Xie Jingyu said, "Jizhou sold out its granaries, and 90% of all the money was sent to the capital, and then distributed by the Minister of Rites. The amount of embezzlement was so huge that the Minister of Rites alone would never have the courage to do it. They had to arrest him and force him to confess his accomplices."
The emperor handed the matter over to Xie Jingyu and said, "Take your men to investigate immediately!"
"I obey your order."
After receiving the task, Xie Jingyu took out the token from his arms and returned it to the emperor on behalf of Chu Yang.
But the emperor confiscated it and said, "You can take it."
The right prime minister sat aside, listening to the conversation between the emperor and Xie Jingyu while thinking about the chess game.
Glancing at the token that said "As if I were present in person", the Right Prime Minister's heart trembled slightly. The Emperor gave the token to Xie Jingyu, and the Right Prime Minister was shocked.
This is not an ordinary token. With this token, you can execute first and report later. This is also the deterrent power of the token.
The Prince of Jingbei has a father who commands a large army, and a father-in-law who holds military power. The Yun family dotes on the Prince of Jingbei's wife. Despite her status, the Emperor is not afraid of her and trusts her so much...
What surprised the Right Prime Minister even more was that the Emperor had great trust in Xie Jingyu. Xie Jingyu did not refuse and accepted it readily, "Then I will accept it."
Right Prime Minister, “…???”
With the intelligence of the Prince of Jingbei, he should know that this thing cannot be accepted casually...
You accepted it without even saying a word of refusal?
The emperor asked, "Where is Wan'er?"
Xie Jingyu replied, "Before entering the palace, Wan'er asked me to pay his respects to the emperor on his behalf, saying that he would come to the palace to have dinner with you another day."
The emperor was angry just now, but his mood improved a lot immediately.
The Right Prime Minister saw it all and had a vague guess in his heart about 70% of what was going on.
Yesterday, the Lin Mansion held an adopted son banquet, and the Emperor went to the Lin Mansion and met the Princess Consort of Prince Jingbei. Even though he was very angry about the Jizhou granary robbery, he still asked about the Princess Consort of Prince Jingbei, which shows how much he loves the Princess Consort of Prince Jingbei.
The Princess Consort of Prince Jingbei is not Shen Ji's biological daughter, and she has repeatedly accompanied the emperor to dine. Not everyone is qualified to accompany the emperor to dine. If she still can't guess it, she is not worthy of sitting in the position of Right Prime Minister.
Xie Jingyu did not delay, took his leave, and took his men to the residence of the Minister of Honglu Temple to arrest someone.
The officers and soldiers surrounded the residence of the Minister of Honglu Temple. Xie Jingyu went directly to the Minister of Honglu Temple's study, but unfortunately he was a step too late.
When he pushed open the door of the study, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites was already dead.
He died leaning on a chair with his eyes open and bleeding from all seven orifices.
Not only the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, but also his wife was hanged from the beam of the house.
So cruel.
The journey from Chu Yang back to Beijing went smoothly. Xie Jingyu guessed that when the Left Prime Minister ordered people to set fire to the granary in Jizhou, he had a backup plan. Even if Chu Yang brought the evidence back to Beijing, it would be difficult for the fire to burn him.
Xie Jingyu thought that as long as he acted quickly enough, he could find evidence from the Honglu Temple Minister's residence. However, he didn't expect that the Left Prime Minister was afraid that the Honglu Temple Minister would be arrested and give him away, so he killed everyone to silence them, even leaving his own wife's sister alive.
Xie Jingyu had the study searched, but as he expected, no evidence was found.
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites and his wife were killed, and the other people in the Cheng Mansion were also imprisoned. Xie Jingyu reported the matter to the emperor, and the emperor directly ordered the Cheng Mansion to be raided. The corrupt officials in the Jizhou government were either beheaded or exiled. Most of the Jizhou officialdom from top to bottom was empty.
Left Prime Minister's Mansion.
The wife of the Left Prime Minister was in a state of anxiety. She leaned on the small couch and let the maid rub her eyebrows.
A maid came in from outside and whispered, "Madam, that woman has climbed over the wall to look for the master again..."
Swish.
The wife of the Left Prime Minister had a face as cold as if covered with frost.
The hands under the cloud sleeves were clenched so tightly that even the nails dug into the flesh without causing any pain.
The Left Prime Minister's wife was about to get up when a maid ran in hurriedly, saying, "Madam, this is bad! Something terrible has happened!"
The wife of the Left Prime Minister was feeling uneasy and asked angrily, "What big thing happened?"
The maid gasped, "Prince Jingbei led his men to surround the Cheng Mansion, intending to arrest Master Cheng for interrogation. However, Master Cheng was killed first, and Madam Cheng was also…"
Madam Cheng is the biological sister of the wife of the Left Prime Minister, and they have a very good relationship.
Hearing this, the wife of the Left Prime Minister turned pale and her heart sank. She thought she had misheard and said in a hurried and trembling voice, "Tell me again, what happened to Madam Cheng?"
The maid said stiffly, "Mrs. Cheng was also hanged from the beam in her own house..."
The Left Prime Minister's wife's face was completely pale.
Thinking of something, the wife of the Left Prime Minister hurriedly stood up and trotted all the way to the outer courtyard, to the Left Prime Minister's study.
The Left Prime Minister's wife was about to go in, but was stopped by a servant, "Madam, please allow me to report to the Prime Minister..."
Pop.
The wife of the Left Prime Minister was not a good-tempered person. If a servant dared to stop her, she would slap him.
The servant didn't dare to stop him and pushed the door open directly. However, there was only the Left Prime Minister in the study, and no woman was seen.
The Left Prime Minister's wife glanced around and asked unhappily, "Madam, what are you doing?"
Catching an adulterer and his wife, catching a thief and seizing stolen goods, but failing to catch them in the act, the Left Prime Minister's wife did not want to alert the enemy.
The wife of the Left Prime Minister asked, "Did you kill my brother-in-law?"
The Left Prime Minister said, "I don't want to kill him either. Those good-for-nothings in Jizhou let the Linjiang Marquis find evidence and bring it back to the capital. If he doesn't die, I will be implicated."
The wife of the Left Prime Minister also knew that he did this to protect himself. She said, "It's fine if you killed your brother-in-law, but why did you kill my sister too?!"
"She is my biological sister!"
"She doesn't know about official affairs. Saving her life won't ruin your business!"
There were tears in the eyes of the Left Prime Minister's wife.
She knew that Zuo Xiang was cruel and ruthless, but she didn't expect him to be so cruel.
The Left Prime Minister was still unaware of this. He frowned and said, "If the Jizhou granary is traced back to me, it will be a capital crime with my entire clan exterminated. We must not entertain any hope."
Before the Left Prime Minister's wife could say anything, the Left Prime Minister lost his patience and said, "He's already dead. You won't be able to come back alive if you continue to argue with me."
"Help the lady go back."
The maid almost dragged the wife of the Left Prime Minister out.
As the wife of the Left Prime Minister left, a graceful figure gradually appeared behind the screen.
The Left Prime Minister said coldly, "Who told you to kill Madam Cheng?!"
The woman behind the screen was none other than Yu Niang from Tianxiang Tower.
Yu Niang came over and stroked Zuo Xiang's chest with her soft, boneless hand. "My Lord, don't you know that the Jizhou granary is a knife hanging over your head? Don't take any chances."
"I knew that the Prime Minister and his wife had a good relationship, and I couldn't bear to see her sad, so I went to silence her. It's too heartbreaking that the Prime Minister didn't praise me, but he blamed me."
Her body was soft and her voice was charming to the core.
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