Chapter 243: Killing the Chicken to Frighten the Monkey
The Jinyi Yunqi, along with soldiers from the local garrison of Jixiang County, raided the home of County Magistrate Xie in a swift and decisive manner.
He first raided the house behind the county government office, making sure that everyone was under control and that every exit, including the dog hole, was guarded. He ensured that no master or servant had been let out due to negligence. Then, Li Shisuo led his men and rode fast on horseback to the Xie family's villa, Xianmei Garden.
However, the results of the house searches in both places were not ideal.
The items and money obtained were basically not of much value.
After that, the theft case of the Xie family came into Li Shisuo's attention.
Li Shisuo was originally named Li Si. He was a subordinate of Li Gan and was left to him by Li Gan's mother.
Later, because of his outstanding strength, the child stood out in the competition of lifting stone locks. He became the strongest man among the Jinyi Yunqi, second only to Li Gan, and was nicknamed Shisuo.
Later on, only a few people called him by his real name, Li Si.
Most people called him Li Shisuo, and he gladly accepted it.
This time, Jinyi Yunqi received the package sent by the escort agency and started an investigation.
As a result, it was discovered that the things in County Magistrate Xie's hand were actually evidence of the connection between the prince and the ministers of the previous dynasty. Jinyi Yunqi was always loyal to the emperor, so it was impossible for them to cover up for County Magistrate Xie.
After the emperor looked at the package and heard the results of Jinyi Yunqi's investigation, he became furious.
However, "the bald son's own good is the best", even if his own son has made any mistakes, it is because the people around him have bad intentions and instigated him!
After receiving the imperial edict, the Jinyi Yunqi set out from Kyoto, galloped on horseback, and quickly arrived at Jixiang County, where they arrested Magistrate Xie, who was still trying to figure out who was plotting against him.
All members of Magistrate Xie's family, regardless of gender, age or status, were exiled to Lingnan and would not be pardoned even if pardoned.
Inadvertently involved in the struggle for succession, County Magistrate Xie was deeply afraid that he would be punished later, so he secretly made two preparations. However, he never expected that this gift not only failed to save his life, but instead became a death warrant.
Not only did County Magistrate Xie fail to gain the credit of following the dragon, but he became the chicken that was killed to scare the monkeys. He felt so remorseful that he vomited blood several times.
But even if he spat out all his blood, the outcome of the matter could not be changed.
After Li Shisuo had settled the matter here, he took some time to go to Daohuaxiang - the reputation of this store had spread to Kyoto. Of course, it was the credit of Li Gan's mother's family.
Because Xia Daohua brought the token given by Li Gan when she came to the door, Li Gan's maternal family, although they also coveted the store, regarded it as Li Gan's property.
They believed that Li Gan pushed the Xia family to the front just for some reason as a cover to attract attention.
When Li Shisuo came to Jixiang County, he naturally had to bring Li Gan's letter and gift to Xia Daohua.
Xia Daohua was the first to learn from Li Shisuo about what happened after Li Gan and his men returned to Kyoto.
After Li Gan returned, he was kicked out by the guards shortly after entering the palace to meet the emperor. He was also punished to kneel at the palace gate because he failed to protect the noble, causing Gu Mingzhen and others to be injured.
This punishment is not only extremely painful and difficult to endure, but also very humiliating.
Because the ministers who came and went, and even the officials and their wives who went to the palace to pay homage to the Empress Dowager and the Queen, could all see from afar the scene of Li Gan being punished by kneeling there.
In other words, Li Gan's stepmother could sit in a sedan chair and pass by Li Gan, watching him staggering under the scorching sun, but he had to kneel upright and strong, as still as a clock.
This is a great humiliation for a young man.
Many people even speculated whether Li Gan, a rising star, had fallen out of favor?
Li Gan had already fallen out with his family. His biological father had now completely sided with his stepmother, sacrificing his reputation to train his first son born to his stepwife.
If he lost the emperor's favor again, Li Gan's days of tyranny in Kyoto would probably be a thing of the past forever.
From now on, can we take revenge for our grievances and revenge for our grudges?
However, this is just speculation by most people.
Li Gan once again deeply experienced the fickleness of the world.
After the kneeling punishment, Li Gan stayed at home to recuperate.
The only people who came to offer their condolences were Li Gan's maternal family and two or three kittens.
When Li Gan recovered from his injury and was ready to return to the social circle of Kyoto, he planned to hold a banquet at the Jade Tower. However, after he sent out the invitation, only a few people were willing to receive it, reply to it, or keep the invitation.
More than half of the dandies who usually went sightseeing, cockfighting and dog walking with him found various excuses to leave him alone.
Some people even stopped attending his appointments.
And quite a number of his subordinates who used to accompany him, surround him, and be respectful to him began to keep their distance from him.
Even those ladies who used to love throwing flowers, fruits, purses and sachets to him every time they saw him had calmed down. They no longer blushed when they saw him. Instead, they would calmly put on their veils and quietly walk away.
Li Gan said nothing and watched all this coldly.
On the other hand, the grandson, whom he had taken out of the palace for a few outings, was still as close and attached to him as ever, and did not change his attitude towards him because of other people's attitudes.
In fact, Li Gan had not fallen out of favor. On the contrary, he had already received the emperor's secret order before he was "punished to kneel".
The emperor asked him to investigate the power distribution of several influential nobles in the court of Da Chu, including Gu Mingzhen, and especially their power in the army.
Speaking of which, the relationship between Gu Mingzhen and the emperor was quite subtle.
On the surface, the emperor trusted Gu Mingzhen very much and praised his abilities highly, but secretly, he was quite wary of Gu Mingzhen and several other clansmen who had a good reputation.
Compared with his several adult and underage sons, he felt that people like Gu Mingzhen were the real opponents worthy of his vigilance and precautions.
But he didn't have the money and didn't need to use assassination tactics to deal with Gu Mingzhen.
If he really wanted to deal with Gu Mingzhen, he only needed an imperial edict.
If Gu Mingzhen had no intention of rebelling, it would be easy for him to seize Gu Mingzhen's power. There was no need to send out killers or assassins. Moreover, those killers and assassins were too unprofessional.
If Gu Mingzhen really had the intention of rebelling, then he would have lost his righteousness. Even if he spent some effort and money, it would only take three to five years to capture Gu Mingzhen.
However, even though he knew clearly that he had an absolute advantage in his relationship with Gu Mingzhen, the emperor still couldn't help but feel cautious and wary of Gu Mingzhen.
The only thing to worry about, perhaps, is Gu Mingzhen's influence. Perhaps, Gu Mingzhen is constantly participating in government affairs, gradually encroaching on his power and quietly hollowing out his power.
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(End of this chapter)
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