Si Jinxing thought that Qi Nancheng came here early in the morning, probably because he had something to say.
She nodded to Bai Xi and said, "Please come in, Your Majesty."
Soon, Qi Nancheng strode over.
When he stepped into the yard, he still dared to look at the woman, but when he got closer, he quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere.
Si Jinxing extended her hand and invited him to sit on the bamboo chair in the courtyard. She then asked Zisu to serve some fragrant tea before asking:
"I wonder why the prince has come here?"
Qi Nancheng said:
"Just received a letter from Jianzhou, Liu Zuhe of Qingcheng County confessed:
It was he who sent people to force the postmaster's nephew Chang Run to replace the candles in the three rooms in the backyard of the post station in an attempt to burn the county lady to death.
Afterwards, he sent someone to kill Chang Run, creating the illusion that he had committed suicide out of fear of punishment, in order to deceive the emperor's uncle and Lord He."
Si Jinxing asked, "Did the letter mention Chang Run? Did he return to Qingcheng County?"
When Qi Nancheng heard this, a hint of anger appeared on his usually gentle face, and he said:
"That man still wants to return to Qingcheng County? Humph, even if he was forced, he still almost took the life of the county lord!
How could the Emperor's uncle let him go so easily? He has already requested an imperial decree to exile him three thousand miles away!
If I were to ask him, this is the lightest of all. If he hadn't coveted the position of Qingcheng County Postmaster, how could Liu Zuhe have taken advantage of him?"
It was the first time that Si Jinxing saw Prince An so angry. He had always been a calm and reserved person!
She stopped talking about Chang Run and asked, "Did Liu Zuhe mention anything about his dealings with Jia Wensheng?"
Qi Nancheng frowned and said:
"Liu Zuhe said that he had donated 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver to the Jia Mansion over the past two years, hoping that Jia Wensheng would arrange an official position for him in the capital. He really doesn't know what he's talking about!
The evidence of Jia Wensheng's bribery has been presented to the Emperor. He is furious and has ordered a strict investigation by Lord He!
After hearing this, Si Jinxing knew that the letters she had obtained by pretending to be mysterious in Liu Zuhe's house had come in handy!
She glanced at Qi Nancheng and asked with a guilty conscience:
"Jia Wensheng embezzled tens of thousands of dan of rice. I imagine he embezzled even more silver. Has anyone found out where that silver is?"
Qi Nancheng shook his head and said:
“Those account books are so complicated, I estimate there are five or six million taels!
However, he couldn't find out where it was, Jia Wensheng just insisted that it was lost..."
Five or six million taels?
Si Jinxing subconsciously glanced at Xinglin Yaxu. Are there so many gold and silver ingots piled up all over the roof?
Tsk tsk, she has to think about how to spend this money?
Suddenly, she thought of the Baicaolou she met on the street that day!
Si Jinxing immediately became interested and asked, "Your Highness, I wonder if Lord He has made plans for winter housing for the disaster victims?"
Qi Nancheng actually discussed this matter with He Wenqin.
He sighed softly and said:
"Now that Han Lan is constantly provoking us, the national treasury is extremely empty. I'm afraid it will be difficult to help tens of thousands of disaster victims rebuild their homes!"
This is exactly what Si Jinxing was waiting for!
She asked tentatively:
"Your Highness, tell me, if someone were to buy He Wenqin's shops after they were sealed, would that be considered a solution to the Emperor's urgent needs?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Nancheng thought for a moment before realizing something, and then turned his gaze to the young woman in front of him.
Seeing her eyes full of light, he laughed heartily and said:
"County Lady, you are truly a business genius!"
He paused and continued:
"However, he has shops all over Xuzhou Prefecture, at least a hundred of them. This amount of money is not a small sum!"
Si Jinxing waved his hand and said:
"I would be willing to sacrifice everything for the imperial court, even if it means losing everything I own!"
Seeing her generous behavior, Qi Nancheng couldn't help but laugh:
"In that case, thank you so much for your generosity!
After I and the Imperial Envoy have thoroughly checked, I will come back and reply to the County Master!"
Si Jinxing curled her lips into a smile and said, "Thank you for taking care of this matter, Your Highness!"
Qi Nancheng looked at the woman in front of him and smiled brilliantly, but he felt that the string of rationality in his heart was about to break!
He quickly stood up and said, "It's alright, I'll take my leave now!"
When Qi Nancheng jumped on his horse and walked out of the alley, he still felt like there was a drum beating in his chest!
It was not until he reached the prefectural yamen that he calmed down.
When the errand boy next to He Wenqin saw Qi Nancheng entering the yamen compound, he hurried forward and reported:
"Your Highness, Jia Wensheng wants to see you!"
Qi Nancheng glanced at the official and asked, "Did he say anything?"
The official replied truthfully, "He said he had something important to tell you, but he wouldn't tell you until he saw you."
Upon hearing this, Qi Nancheng thought for a moment, then turned and walked towards the cell on the southwest side!
He wanted to see what tricks Jia Wensheng could play!
The cell is low and the windows are extremely small. It can be said that there is no sunlight all year round, and it is very dark and damp inside.
In addition, the prisoners eat, drink, defecate and urinate in there, and the smell is extremely bad!
If it were any other prince, he probably wouldn't be able to walk into this cell calmly and confidently, except Qi Nancheng!
Although he was a prince, he often walked among the people and learned to use manure to make fertilizer, the smell of which was even more pungent!
When he entered the cell, he heard several prisoners talking about Jia Wensheng, some even cursing him:
"What a fate! We finally caught this beast!"
"I just feel sorry for my daughter. He took her away to be his concubine. What a shameless bastard!"
"The Emperor should have sent someone to arrest him long ago. This corrupt official is so cruel to the people!"
"My shop was doing well, but that bastard official forced me to sell it to him at a low price. Humph, this is my retribution!"
"They say officials protect each other. Stop talking about it! You never know when they'll let him out again!"
"Hiss... No way?"
Qi Nancheng listened to those people and stopped talking, then he walked deeper!
The deeper you go, the more serious the prisoner's troubles are, and Jia Wensheng was locked up in the innermost cell.
He stood outside the cell and saw Jia Wensheng squatting dejectedly in the corner.
I saw that after he took off his official uniform yesterday, the light-colored undershirt inside had already turned gray and black, and his hair was scattered in a mess, making him look like a beggar on the street!
At this time, Jia Wensheng also heard the sound. He looked up woodenly and saw that the person coming was His Royal Highness Prince An!
He quickly stood up and rushed towards the cell door!
However, after he ran a few steps, he was pulled by the iron chain tied to his feet and fell to the ground!
Qi Nancheng frowned and looked over, and saw that the skin on Jia Wensheng's ankle was immediately squeezed and had a bloody mark, which showed how hard he had run just now!
He asked in a cold voice, "I heard that you want to see this king?"
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