Yin Yichen said he would investigate the matter, and within two days he summoned Jiao Da, the old manager of Fengxian Restaurant, to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Jiao Da was now over sixty years old, his hair had turned quite a bit grey, and when he saw Yin Yichen, he burst into tears and pleaded for mercy, dropping to his knees with a thud, "Prime Minister, I've requested an audience several times but no one has come to announce it. Now I finally get to see you. Please spare my son's life. He's a good person, but I've spoiled him over the years. If you can spare him this time, I'll do anything you ask me to do. I know I've let you down, and I've let the old man down. When I die, I'll naturally go to the underworld to make amends."
Jiao Da was an old servant who had served Old Master Yin for decades, and even now, he was clearly not a bad person. It was just that, as the only son in the family, Jiao Rong, they doted on him. They then allowed him to take over the Fengxian Restaurant, where he began to act recklessly. Who would have thought he would become so lawless?
But Jiao Da only has this one son after all. Even if he makes something wrong, Jiao Da always wants to excuse his son and do something to make up for it.
"Let me ask you, your son embezzled so much money after taking over the Fengxian Restaurant, allowing your family to live such a wealthy life, and you were completely oblivious to it?" Yin Yichen looked at the elderly man, his voice icy and without a trace of warmth. "It's not that I didn't know about this before, but I thought since you were my father's old servant, I should at least give you some face. But who would have known that you would allow your son to swallow so much money from the Prime Minister's Mansion at the Fengxian Restaurant, and turn the restaurant into a Jiao family business."
"I... I was confused for a moment." Jiao Da also knew that he had done something wrong. He had allowed Jiao Rong to embezzle money from the restaurant all these years, and he knew this day would come. Jiao Da was now crying and suddenly said, "It's too late to say anything now. I only beg the Prime Minister to spare my son's life."
Yin Yichen looked at Jiao Da, who was in tears, and said slowly, "The bandits on Langfeng Mountain almost took my wife's life. Your son Jiao Rong colluded with them and committed a heinous crime. I heard that you have an ancestral method to prevent miasma. If you can hand it over, I will talk to the Dali Temple and ask them to give you a lighter sentence."
Upon seeing this, Jiao Da hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Yin Yichen, "Thank you, Prime Minister. Your kindness and kindness will be remembered by our family forever."
Yin Yichen looked at the old servant of Master Yin and didn't want to embarrass him too much, so he said in a deep voice, "Just write down the method of how to break the miasma and go back to rest. You are old, so don't bother yourself with it."
"Yes, yes, what the Prime Minister said is right." Jiao Da responded, raised his sleeve to wipe his tears, and went out to write the prescription. He didn't dare to say no.
After Yin Yichen finished dealing with this matter, he went back to the palace without stopping. He was afraid that Song Jing would talk about the Langfeng Mountain incident in the palace today, so he had to go into the palace to see what the situation was.
When Yin Yichen entered the palace, it was time for the morning court session.
Song Jing was now pleading in the court, "Your Majesty, the bandits in Langfeng Mountain are so rampant these days. I've heard they come down the mountain from time to time to rob passersby. Now they've even extended their prey to the children of officials. My daughter nearly got into trouble while passing through the outskirts of the city a few days ago. Such a thing could happen right here under the feet of the Emperor. They truly don't take Your Majesty seriously. I beg Your Majesty to understand and allow me to lead the troops to suppress the bandits."
"How could such a thing actually happen?" The emperor above exclaimed in surprise, "These bandits have been entrenched for a long time, they really should be wiped out in one fell swoop. Then..."
"Your Majesty, I have something to say." At this moment, Prince An Xie Ke stepped forward, looked at the emperor above him, and said, "From what I know, there is a lot of miasma on Langfeng Mountain, and there are many poisonous insects. If we go up the mountain to suppress the bandits, I am afraid we will suffer heavy losses. Those bandits usually don't dare to cause trouble. I am afraid they have some old grudges with General Song Jing that made them so ruthless. If we send troops up the mountain to suppress the bandits just for General Song Jing's family, I am afraid it is not worth it. It would be better to wait for the bandits to come down the mountain and find an opportunity to kill them one by one."
"How long will it take to kill them all? Furthermore, the bandits are elusive. By the time the soldiers arrive, they'll have already gone back up the mountain, making it impossible to apprehend them." Song Jing stood in the court and said coldly, "When I led the troops to suppress the bandits, these little thieves managed to escape, and now they hold a grudge against me. I wish to go up the mountain now to atone for my mistake. I beg Your Majesty to grant me permission to suppress the bandits and demonstrate the majesty of the royal family. If you remain silent, I'm afraid the bandits in Langfeng Mountain will only become more rampant."
Upon seeing this, Prince An immediately retorted, "General Song Jing is so decisive, but is there any way to prevent the miasma on Mount Langfeng?"
Song Jing was stunned and stood there without saying anything.
At this moment, Yin Yichen strode forward and said to everyone, "I have a way to resist the miasma..."
Yin Yichen stepped forward and spoke to the emperor above, "Your Majesty, I believe General Song Jing is right. The bandits in Langfeng Mountain are acting so recklessly and are challenging the majesty of heaven. Now that they have committed such a serious mistake, and yet they are still tolerated, it will only encourage their arrogance. Today, it is my wife who is in trouble, but who will be in trouble tomorrow?"
Upon seeing this, Xie Ke immediately refuted Yin Yichen in the court, saying, "Prime Minister Yin is concerned about his wife and is determined to avenge her, which is why he proposed to suppress the bandits. Langfeng Mountain is easy to defend and attack, so it's not something that can be taken casually."
"We're not asking Prince An to go up the mountain to suppress the bandits, so why is he so anxious?" Yin Yichen sneered. "If they fail, the general will be punished, not Prince An. It would be a laughing stock for a scholar like Prince An to teach the general how to march and fight. If Prince An wants to be a coward, he'd better stay in the background and don't say anything."
"You..." Prince An's face was now ashen.
Yin Yichen was notorious in the court for not giving face to anyone, but the emperor was very fond of him. The emperor liked his arrogant and unruly appearance the most, and immediately ordered, "In this case, General Song Jing will be in charge of this bandit suppression. Completely eliminate the bandits in Langfeng Mountain. In the future, the officials and their families and the people in the capital can rest assured."
Song Jing recommended Song Lan in the court, saying, "Your Majesty, I have been fighting outside for decades. It's useless to use a butcher knife to kill a chicken against the bandits in Langfeng Mountain. I think we should let our son Song Lan go."
The emperor sitting above didn't care about these details and immediately said, "Approved."
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