His father, Bao Qianjun, originally worked in the Censorate and was later assigned to Anji as the Imperial Censor in charge of grain transport.
Bao Qianjun was upright and incorruptible, which inevitably made him offend people. On his son's wedding day, someone paid an assassin organization to kidnap the bride.
"Are people from the underworld really this bold? What's their purpose in doing this? Are they using someone's daughter-in-law to threaten the father-in-law?"
The You Tan organization only cares about money. If the money is right, they will dare to mess with anyone below the emperor.
This organization has no bottom line; their influence was behind the destruction of the Dayan Kingdom.
Lord Bao Yuanjun frowned. His grandson was indeed getting married tomorrow, but his son was still far away in Anji and had not returned. He could not find out who he had offended in the short term.
We can only hope that the divine artifact can reveal who is behind it; otherwise, even if we avoid tomorrow's events, they won't give up so easily.
Emperor Mingxi suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. No, he needed to send more people to his Shadow Army.
As for the purpose the master mentioned, it's related to a list and ledger. For years, Bao Qianjun has been secretly investigating corruption in the canal transport system.
He had accumulated a lot of evidence over the years, and he planned to take the opportunity to return when his son got married and hand the account books to the emperor.
However, word got out, and not only was he tied up at the Anji Prefecture canal wharf and unable to return, but when those people couldn't find the account books after searching his residence, they had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure: kidnapping the bride and exchanging her for the account books.
Emperor Mingxi gave Eunuch Qian a wink, and Eunuch Qian immediately and quietly withdrew, sending someone to Anji Prefecture to protect Lord Bao Qianjun, hoping it was not too late.
"Since they need to exchange something as important as the account book, wouldn't it have been more appropriate to just rob the small bag? The daughter-in-law might not be able to help, but the son wouldn't want to leave her alone!"
If it were someone else, kidnapping the son would definitely be more useful than kidnapping the wife, but as mentioned before, Bao Qianjun is upright and incorruptible.
If it were Xiao Bao who was robbed, he would definitely rather lose his son than abandon the evidence. However, his daughter-in-law is his friend's daughter, and he wouldn't ignore it out of respect for his old friend.
"Don't you have backups of this evidence? Just give them a few more copies, or if that doesn't work, print them out and post them all over the city."
They wanted it, so here it is, one for each person!
[The Anning Prefecture is utterly corrupt. Even so, the evidence probably won't extend beyond that area. Officials and merchants are in cahoots; the emperor's words are likely less effective than those of a local official.]
"Doesn't Emperor Mingxi realize that his control over Jiangnan is weakening?"
Do you know who the highest-ranking official in Jiangnan is? It's his cousin, Sima Jing. His words carry more weight in Jiangnan's officialdom than the emperor's edict.
They have formed a strong interest group. These officials in Jiangnan only know about Lord Sima, not the emperor, or rather, Sima is the local tyrant.
As for the emperor, he must have trusted his cousin to appoint him to such an important position. If an ordinary person were to accuse him, do you think the emperor, with his limited mind, would believe anyone?
Therefore, Bao Qianjun endured for many years, determined to obtain solid evidence before daring to report to the imperial court.
Emperor Mingxi: Sima Jing? Sima Jing! Not only was he his cousin, but also his study companion. The two of them worked together to get through the dark period when the late emperor was alive.
Emperor Mingxi had such deep feelings for him that he never expected that his cousin and study companion would betray him one day!
Emperor Mingxi was so shocked by this that he even forgot that the Divine Artifact Master had scolded him for being stupid. At this moment, his face was ashen, and the anger of being betrayed by the people he trusted most was burning in his heart.
His bloodshot eyes were hidden behind twelve tassels, and his silver teeth were almost ground to powder.
Eunuch Qian knew best about His Majesty's feelings for Sima Jing, and fearing that he might get sick from anger, he quickly and quietly served him a cup of warm tea.
"In the original timeline, did they succeed? Was Bao Qianjun replaced?"
[They did exchange it, but by the time the message reached them, ten days had passed—just before the Lunar New Year. All they received in return was a disfigured corpse.]
"The bride is dead? These people have no integrity whatsoever? What kind of gangsters are they?"
【Master, not everyone in the martial arts world is trustworthy, especially since the other party is a ruthless assassin.】
However, the bride did not die. She was switched by Sima Jing's son, and the Bao family was given only a pitiful, nameless female corpse.
When the bride reappeared, she was already a Noble Consort of the Great Wei Dynasty.
"The Imperial Concubine of Great Wei? Great Wei, one of the short-lived separatist regimes established after the fall of the Dayan Kingdom?"
Yes, that's the one. Their first emperor was Sima Ying, the son of Sima Jing.
The Sima family amassed enormous wealth by exploiting the blood of the Great Yan.
After the destruction of Dayan, he immediately raised an army and eventually established the Great Wei dynasty, carving out a territory in Jiangnan.
At this moment, Emperor Mingxi's eyes turned even redder, the veins on his hands bulged, and he clenched his teeth, the humiliation of being so fooled striking his nerves again and again.
Whether they heard the inner voice or not, all the officials lowered their heads, looking like quails.
The reason for such unanimous agreement was that the stubborn man in the main hall was impeaching the emperor's companion and cousin, Sima Jing, for encroaching on farmland.
Everyone in the court and the public knew how much the emperor protected this man. Impeaching him was truly a stubborn act. Who was so stubborn? Of course, it was Feng Tang, the top censor, and one of Yue Fuguang's biggest fans.
Censors who hear rumors can impeach officials in court even without evidence.
His impeachment now is nothing more than handing a knife to Emperor Mingxi. However, Sima Jing has been operating in Jiangnan for many years, with deeply entrenched interests; even the emperor would have to be fully prepared to take action against him.
Seeing Feng Tang's crazy behavior, those who heard his inner thoughts knew what was going on, but those who couldn't hear him were thinking, "Zhao Xu has only been gone for a few days, and Feng Tang hasn't even warmed his seat yet, and he's already walking into the line of fire."
Has he gotten too cocky lately? He's impeached princesses, princes, and county princesses, and now he even dares to impeach His Majesty's most trusted confidant.
If Emperor Mingxi heard these words from his most trusted confidant, he would probably be embarrassed!
"Little Pearl, the Sima family must have occupied a lot of land, right? Did they use all the grain produced to support their private army? The Dayan Kingdom fell, and Sima Ying was able to quickly raise an army. It doesn't make sense that they didn't prepare beforehand, does it?"
While Emperor Mingxi is still alive, they don't have the guts yet; they only have some initial signs. However, once his health begins to decline in a few years, the Sima family's ambitions will be impossible to hide.
Do you remember Shen Wanchuan? The wealthy merchant from Jiangnan that we met at the auction house.
He was actually a member of the Sima family, or rather, he was the Sima family's front man.
This man, who was specifically there to make money for the Sima family, was originally a servant of Sima Jing. Before Emperor Mingxi ascended the throne, he was sent to Jiangnan to develop his power.
Therefore, even Emperor Mingxi's cousin was richer than him; Sima Jing's current silver reserves were comparable to the national treasury.
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