Chapter 269 Qian Baokun Enters the Trap
After Xiao Yan went to the Queen's palace, Qian Baokun felt uneasy. The Lu family's affairs were in turmoil, and Queen Lu came to Xiao Yan at this time. He always felt that she had bad intentions.
After waiting for more than half an hour, he finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xiao Yan coming back safe and sound.
"Are you okay?"
Qian Baokun went to meet him and was about to ask the Queen what she wanted to do when he saw Xiao Yan's face was uglier than ever. Although he hadn't said anything, the extremely strong and violent aura surrounding him made him feel frightened. He hesitated for a moment: "What's wrong? What happened?"
Xiao Yan waved his hand and asked Jinyun and the others to retreat, leaving Qian Baokun alone.
After the two of them returned to the long table and sat down, he reached into his sleeve and handed him the things he had obtained from the Queen's palace.
"What is this?" Qian Baokun took it in surprise.
"The Queen gave it to me."
Qian Baokun's eyes showed a more strange look. He lowered his head and looked through the book. When he had read half of the blood letter, his hands began to tremble.
When he read the following sentence, "Lu Chongyuan ordered people to seal the city with kerosene, put drugs in the well, expelled more than 9,000 civilians from the city, and burned the city down," his face was filled with rage.
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes coldly, "The Fourth Prince was recently imprisoned. He Wengran, the doctor who treated him at the Imperial Medical Bureau, bribed someone to tamper with the medicine. The Fourth Prince's face is ruined, and he will be lame even after his injury heals. A few days ago, people in the Empress's palace died one after another, and even the Empress was nearly poisoned, but she suppressed the incident."
"The Lu family did it?" Qian Baokun was incredulous: "Is the Lu family crazy?"
"I'm not crazy, I'm afraid that the Fourth Prince forced Guan to death that day and stepped on the bottom line of the Lu family."
Xiao Yan gave Qian Baokun the letter left by the He family. After seeing him open it and read it, he said, "I've always wondered why His Majesty was so skeptical about the Lu family. Now that I've read this, I know he and the Lu family are birds of a feather."
Qian Baokun looked at the handwriting left by He Wenzhuo, the third master of the He family, on the letter. It talked about the shipwreck in the disaster relief in the south twenty years ago, and how the officers and soldiers who were transporting the disaster relief silver had died before they fell into the water. He suspected that the disaster relief silver and grain had been tampered with. Qian Baokun couldn't help but tremble in his palms.
Xiao Yan saw the change in his expression and said, "I originally thought it was just the aristocratic family's selfishness and that the Lu family was dishonest, so I rashly dragged Uncle Qian into this. But now this matter is no longer just about the Lu family. If I continue to investigate, I may encounter danger."
"I'm a lonely man with no worries, but Uncle Qian is different. You have a wife, children, and the Qian family behind you. If you get involved, you might bring disaster upon yourself and your family."
Xiao Yan reached out and took the thing from Qian Baokun's hand, saying to him, "Uncle Qian, just pretend you never knew anything about this matter. Don't have anything to do with me from now on. Whether it's the grain tax or the Lu family's affairs, Uncle Qian, please don't interfere anymore. I'll investigate alone, and I'll take all the responsibility for anything that comes up..."
"What are you talking about?!"
Qian Baokun was originally a little hesitant in his heart. This matter could be big or small. Once it was investigated and uncovered, it would be a shocking case. He was a little hesitant whether to continue to follow up, but when Xiao Yan directly excluded him and took the responsibility of the matter on him without hesitation, the hesitation in his heart instantly disappeared.
Xiao Yan was just a young man in his twenties. As a powerful eunuch, he held great power and had a comfortable bed. He could have ignored everything and just lived a carefree life.
But he has no regrets, so how can he have the nerve to back down?
Qian Baokun made up his mind instantly. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with determination. "I have a wife, children and relatives, but I also know how to behave. Nearly ten thousand people died in vain in Rongjiang, and countless people died in vain in the South. If I turn a blind eye, how can I have the face to stay in the court?!"
When he entered the court, he was determined to speak for the people and to bring peace to the world. However, he has been in a daze over the years and has somewhat forgotten his original aspirations.
Qian Baokun said in a deep voice, "I originally thought that His Majesty was only retreating because he was trying to balance power in the court, fearing that the noble families would turn against each other and cause unrest in the world. I didn't expect that he and those people were already the same. This case must be investigated, even if it has been twenty years, we must get to the bottom of it."
It is the Lu family's sin, and the Lu family must take responsibility for it.
It was Emperor An's sin, and he had to admit it.
So many lives cannot be lost in vain, and those wronged souls must be vindicated before they can enter paradise.
Xiao Yan frowned: "But..."
"Nothing to worry about."
Qian Baokun abruptly interrupted Xiao Yan, "It's going to take a while to investigate this case. If the situation is truly hopeless, I can send my wife and children to Lingnan. As for my clan, the Qian family isn't in the capital, so even if someone wants to take action against them, it won't be easy."
The Qian family is different from other aristocratic families. They have been entrenched in Lingnan for hundreds of years. It is not an exaggeration to call them "local tyrants". The Qian family has never fought for power and he is the only one in the court in Beijing. But this does not mean that they have no confidence. If the Lu family dares to cross the border to attack the Qian family, they will definitely be killed.
As for His Majesty, it would not be easy to touch the Qian family unless he sent troops to attack. But if he talked about sending troops, Emperor An had to give a reason.
Qian Baokun said to Xiao Yan, "I know your character, and this case involves many people. If we can't kill him in one blow, we won't take action easily."
Seeing Xiao Yan's hesitation, he said, "You said you were alone and had nothing to worry about, but what about the Princess of Yiyang?"
Xiao Yan pursed his lips.
Qian Baokun turned around and patted him on the shoulder: "Since you call me uncle, I can't let you laugh at me. If I back down now, what will I become?"
Xiao Yan's face was moved: "No matter what happens in the future, I will do my best to protect my uncle and the Qian family."
Qian Baokun smiled: "With your words, I feel relieved."
Xiao Yan was not a hypocritical person. Seeing that Qian Baokun had made up his mind, he said nothing more. After carefully putting away the two things, he said to Qian Baokun:
"Empress Lu gave these to me because she wanted to use me to eliminate the Lu family. She hates the Lu family so much right now that she'll naturally side with us, but there's no guarantee she won't regret it later. So next, I have to find a way to make her see the benefits and be reluctant to let go..."
"I understand." Qian Baokun said, "The Fourth Prince has been in a difficult situation recently. I will find a way to have someone intervene on his behalf in the court. Please stay out of this matter, lest the Lu family become suspicious of your relationship with the Queen and her son, and put Lu Chongyuan on guard in advance."
Xiao Yan nodded and said, "Excuse me, Uncle Qian. I have one more thing to ask. Since Uncle Qian is in the Ministry of Revenue, could you find a way to access the Ministry's account books from twenty years ago?"
Qian Baokun frowned: "Are you trying to check the grain funds for disaster relief?"
Xiao Yan hummed, "Back then, the imperial court allocated over 900,000 taels of silver for disaster relief. Adding to that the grain needed to purchase food and the disaster relief funds, the sums required were substantial. Since He Wenzhuo said the escorting officers and soldiers were already dead before the ship sank, I'm afraid someone tampered with the money and grain before they left Beijing."
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