The emperor frowned, and his mouth was gagged. He was bound tightly with all his might, and his official hat and outer robe were stripped off.
"Mu Xinghe, you handled this matter well." The emperor's tone was slow, but it was one of approval.
"If Li Zanran's crimes are proven, you will have prevented a serious consequence and made a great contribution."
Mu Xinghe said, "It is my duty to relieve Your Majesty's worries and troubles."
"very good."
After leaving the main hall and reaching the outside of the palace, Lord Gu, who had been silent all along, finally spoke after glancing back behind him.
"Xinghe, I noticed something was wrong. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"It's not that I don't want you to make contributions, but if you can't handle it and instead fall into Li Zanran's hands, how am I supposed to protect you, and how am I supposed to explain to Lord Lu?"
Mu Xinghe cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.
"It's not that I intentionally concealed anything from Lord Gu, nor was it for the purpose of gaining merit. Xinghe is only temporarily serving in the Court of State Ceremonial. Lord Li has followed Lord Gu for many years. If we were to argue in front of Lord Gu, Xinghe wouldn't be very confident. On the contrary, I'm afraid Li Zanran will muddy the waters."
"There may be someone deeper behind Li Zanran in this matter. Only by attracting the attention of the Emperor and involving the Three Departments can we find out the truth. Xinghe has done something wrong, please forgive me, Lord Gu."
Lord Gu thought about it and agreed. He trusted Li Zanran implicitly, a trust built up over many years. If he had asked Li Zanran to make the decision, things might have turned out differently. After all, everyone has their own selfish motives. It was just a mistake on a single sheet of paper. Perhaps Li Zanran could cry, plead for leniency, and say that he didn't do it on purpose, and the matter would be over.
Thinking about this case again, something seemed off from beginning to end. He sighed and said, "Li Zanran has worked under me for many years. I know he sometimes likes to slack off and take shortcuts, but I never expected him to be so audacious."
He patted Mu Xinghe on the shoulder: "Xinghe, with your composure, meticulousness, and cleverness, your future prospects are very promising."
The next day, Pei Shijiu tied up the informant that Li Zanran had contacted and handed him over to the Three Departments along with the letter addressed to the northern Da Nu Kingdom.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review carried a note and entered the palace to see the Emperor.
Upon seeing the name Mu Tai, the emperor remained silent for a moment before waving his hand to dismiss the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Now, it's no longer possible to hide the fact that the eldest prince has gone to serve the Da Nu Kingdom.
The emperor knew that no amount of regret would help; he would have to constantly face the incursions from the eldest prince, and behind him was the enemy state of Da Nu.
Under the relentless interrogation of the three officials, the truth quickly came out: Li Zanran had accepted Mu Tai's bribe and wanted to use the opportunity of foreign guests' visit to the court to cause Mu Xinghe to make a mistake, thereby framing the Qiao family. He also wanted to replace Lord Gu, as he was nearly fifty years old and had long coveted the position. Besides these, he also confessed to another objective: to sow discord between the Bai and Zhao families and the Qiao family, causing them constant unrest.
Everything was just as Qiao Lian'er had predicted. The Zhao siblings should know very well that they were in the wrong. Now, she was just waiting to see the Zhao family's attitude.
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