Chapter 1107 Meng Yunzheng: I've given you the clues
The emperor certainly knew that there were many such items, but to say that the amount was enormous was still a bit low.
Meng Yunzheng is still not knowledgeable enough. If Gongqiu had needed such evidence in the past, the emperor might have made him provide it and let it pass with a blind eye.
As for forming cliques for personal gain, this small-scale activity hasn't crossed his bottom line yet.
Such evidence is insufficient to bring down Miyako.
In other words, the emperor can no longer tolerate Gong Qiu, which is why he hopes for as much evidence as possible of his crimes, ideally evidence of collusion between him and the second prince. This way, he can punish both of them at the same time.
Therefore, the emperor interrupted Meng Yunzheng before he could finish speaking, "Besides these two pieces of evidence, did you see anything else in the secret room?"
Meng Yunzheng frowned, looking somewhat nervous. He carefully recalled the events, his eyes flashing with a light, and said urgently, "Yes, there seems to be a large box in the secret room, locked with a lock. But I was in a hurry at the time, and the guards outside returned, so the box was too big to take out. I thought that this account book was enough to prove Gong Qiu's crimes, so I quickly took it out to the Emperor to file a complaint."
The implication was that he knew nothing at all.
Aside from the account books, he knew nothing about Gong Qiu's secret meeting with Consort Liu, his collusion with the Second Prince, or who Gong Qiu had harmed, or what earth-shattering things he had done.
But Your Majesty, you can investigate for yourself. The secret room is right there, and the evidence... is also there.
The emperor indeed pondered for a moment, then summoned Xi Ping and gave him a few instructions.
Xi Ping nodded and went out.
Only the Emperor and Meng Yunzheng remained in the Imperial Study. Meng Yunzheng asked somewhat nervously, "Your Majesty, Gong Qiu has committed heinous crimes and embezzled public funds. Will he be sentenced to death?"
"What if I say no?"
"How could that be? Then I won't be able to avenge my mother, I..." Meng Yunzheng's face turned pale, and he knelt on the ground in a daze. The next moment, he stood up again, "Your Majesty, I will go back to find evidence now. Gongqiu has done so many evils, there must be a lot of evidence that we haven't found yet. I will go now."
The emperor waved his hand, "Alright, I know what I'm doing. I'll handle the matter of the palace mound, and I'll take your words to heart."
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty."
"You will remain in the palace for now. If anything else comes up, I will summon you at any time."
Meng Yunzheng nodded respectfully, "Yes."
The emperor waved his hand, and someone came and took Meng Yunzheng away.
At the same time, the already chaotic Gong family was suddenly attacked by a large number of imperial guards who rushed straight to Gong Qiu's study.
Seeing this, the steward hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, but the leader of the Imperial Guards drew a knife and forced him back. "The eldest son of the Gong family, Gong Xiao, has accused Gong Qiu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, of embezzlement, corruption, and forming cliques. His Majesty has ordered us to investigate the truth and bring Lord Gong to the palace."
The butler's expression changed drastically. The young master... sued the master?
How is that possible?
However, before he could ask any more questions, the leader of the Imperial Guard waved his hand, ordering his men to keep watch over all the members of the Gong family, while he himself led his men quickly to Gong Qiu's study.
When Madam Gong heard this, she rushed over despite her illness, only to find that the secret room in the study had already been found and opened.
The Imperial Guard leader and his men searched the secret room thoroughly and naturally came across the large box.
Madam Gong insisted on going in, but was frightened by the swords held by the Imperial Guards and immediately fell silent.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
