Taking on jobs
Jun Qiyu appeared before Emperor Jun in disheveled clothes. Noticing the expression on Emperor Jun's face, he symbolically straightened his clothes, yawned wearily, and then turned his gaze to him.
"Father, you're disturbing my sweet dreams so early in the morning," he said, yawning again.
Noticing the Emperor's gaze, Jun Qiyu tilted his body slightly to the side, just in time to dodge the inkstone that the Emperor had thrown at him.
“Father, this inkstone is so fine, don’t break it.” Jun Qiyu said, picking up the inkstone from the ground and blowing on it. “If Father doesn’t want it, you can give it to me.” He wiped the inkstone with his sleeve and put it in his bosom.
The Emperor sat there, looking at the expression on his face, and said with exasperation, "Jun Qiyu, can't you learn from others? Look at the state you're in now! You're hopeless!" After saying that, he picked up the memorial beside him and threw it at Jun Qiyu.
"Father, why should I learn from them?" Jun Qiyu smiled casually. "I've said it before, I'm just a tough nut to crack, I'm someone who's easily swayed by beauty."
"Father, you never disciplined me when I was young, so why say such things now?" Jun Qiyu said with a mocking expression. "Do you want to make up for the lack of fatherly love you received back then?"
Jun Qiyu glanced at the Emperor and sighed, "Father, even if you make amends now, what good will it do? I can't change my nature. I'm just a rotten person. You can let me rot and stink in the ground. Why bother calling me here and making me look bad, and making you unhappy?"
As soon as Jun Qiyu finished speaking, he felt the Emperor throw all the memorials on the table at him. Huai En, who was next to him, quickly patted his back to help him breathe.
“Father, let’s be frank. If you don’t come looking for me, I promise to disappear from your sight forever.”
The emperor slightly bent his hand on the table. Whether it was the eldest, second, or third son, they were all unreliable people. They all wanted to place their own people in various institutions.
The position of Grand Secretary is best left to Jun Qiyu.
If he remembered correctly, this Grand Secretary was the Crown Prince's man.
Thinking of this, the emperor's face grew even more gloomy.
Jun Qiyu took in all the emotions on the Emperor's face, lowered his head, and curled the corners of his lips.
Having composed himself, the Emperor looked at Jun Qiyu, "Fourth Prince, you must already know about the matter of the Grand Secretary..."
Jun Qiyu's expression froze, his tone tinged with mockery, "Father, if you want to ask me where there are new girls or where new songs have been composed, I will naturally know. But as for matters of the court, I know nothing. I wonder if Father could tell me..."
Jun Qiyu received a pen thrown to him by the Emperor, and the ink-dipped pen left marks on his robe.
"Jun Qiyu, I can ignore other matters, but only you can handle this one." The Emperor interrupted Jun Qiyu angrily. "The matter involving the Fang and Zhao families is too complicated. The 'Joint Trial by the Three Judicial Offices' needs a prince to oversee it, and you are the most suitable candidate."
"Big brother, second brother, third brother..."
"They won't do! Only you, only you." The Emperor interrupted him sternly. "If the matter of the Grand Secretary can be resolved smoothly, I will not pursue your other crimes."
“Father, I am not cut out for this, so why force me to do this…”
"Consider it for the sake of the people of the world." After saying this, the emperor rubbed his temples wearily. "If Fang Ye's matter is true, then it must serve as a warning to others. If it is false..." The emperor did not finish his sentence.
"However, if I do not do well, please do not blame me." Jun Qiyu looked up at the Emperor and sighed, "Your subject has never dealt with these matters before."
“The fault won’t be yours then.” The Emperor interrupted Jun Qiyu after glancing at him. “You just need to keep an eye on the progress of the Three Departments. The rest will be handled by the Three Departments.”
"Then I'll reluctantly accept. But if I find out the truth, Father, could you please stop looking for me and just leave me to rot and stink in the ground..."
"Get out! Get out of here!" The Emperor's furious voice rang out.
Jun Qiyu glanced at Emperor Jun before turning to leave. In that instant, his eyes revealed an unprecedentedly sinister and ruthless glint.
"Your Majesty, calm down." Huai En looked at the Emperor and comforted him. "The Fourth Prince is just like that. Your Majesty knew this beforehand, so why get angry with him?" After he finished speaking, he poured the Emperor a cup of calming tea. "Your Majesty, some things cannot be rushed. Prince Yan did not grow up in Chang'an City."
Hearing Huai En's words, the Emperor rubbed his temples wearily. "Huai En, even though the Fourth Prince didn't grow up in Chang'an, he's still my child. Why did such a perfectly healthy child turn out like this?"
"This servant thinks that the reason why His Highness Prince Yan is like this must be because he suffered too much since childhood. When Consort Li died, she was only ten years old. After she was lucky enough to survive, she asked to leave the palace, saying that she wanted to relax. In recent years, she has been traveling and enjoying herself."
Huai En looked at the Emperor and continued, "Your Majesty, a ten-year-old child is so young. If you had gone to look for him back then, he probably would have come back. How could he not resent it? How could he not resent it?"
Huai En's words made the emperor close his eyes.
Seeing this, Huai En opened the incense burner and stirred the remaining incense.
After Jun Qiyu sat in the carriage, his previous carefree demeanor vanished, replaced by a gloomy and murderous look. The cold-toned decorations made him appear like a demon from hell.
"Jiang Chen, how did things go?" Jun Qiyu's cold voice rang out. "What those people said is true."
“Those people were escorted from Lintong Town. According to our scouts, they seem to have always lived there.” Jiang Chen appeared in front of him. “But the only thing we can find out about their origins is that they are all related to Fang Ye.”
"Your Highness, are you truly prepared to get involved in this?" Jiang Chen glanced at Jun Qiyu with slight suspicion. "Before returning to Chang'an, didn't you say you didn't want to get involved..."
“She said she wanted to see me rule the world.” Jun Qiyu’s eyes softened as he spoke these words, as if all his tenderness belonged to the person he was talking about.
"She said she would help me ascend to the throne." After saying this, a smile spread across his lips. "Since it's what she wants, I will naturally take it for her." But as he said this, his voice suddenly turned cold.
"The Court of Judicial Review, the Prefectural Government of Jingzhao, and the Ministry of Justice conducted a joint trial. Didn't we investigate these three people's backgrounds before?" He glanced indifferently at Jiang Chen. "What did you find?"
“Apart from Lord Lu, we found nothing about anyone else.” Jiang Chen shook his head. “Since Lord Lu became the Prefect of Jingzhao, he has never formed cliques or factions. His straightforward personality in court is also not popular. In short, there is nothing wrong with him.”
Is everything alright?
Jun Qiyu recalled the scene of seeing Xie Sili in the prison last time; she didn't seem to be alright.
If that's the case, how did Xie Sili get to know an official in the court, especially someone like Lu Shiyuan?
Regaining his composure, Jun Qiyu continued, "Where are the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Minister of Justice?"
"Guan Lingsong, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Wei Lin, the Minister of Justice, both seem to be related to the late Crown Prince. But so many years have passed since the late Crown Prince's death, it's really hard to say what they've become now." Jiang Chen finished speaking and turned his gaze to Jun Qiyu.
"What does Your Highness think should be done?"
"Are they people from the former Crown Prince's faction?" Jun Qiyu twirled the jade thumb ring in his hand. "Are there any other people from the former Crown Prince's faction in the court now besides them?"
“After the late Crown Prince passed away, those who were once on good terms with him did not take sides. Now they are like friends, occasionally getting together,” Jiang Chen responded again.
“In that case, this matter should be fine.” After saying this, Jun Qiyu took out a thick stack of documents from a hidden compartment in the carriage. “Since he wants to eliminate the Fang and Zhao families, why not do something big to give them a fatal blow and solidify their crimes!” As he said these words, intense hatred flashed in his eyes.
"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Jiang Chen said and then disappeared from their sight.
The carriage's destination was Jingzhao Prefecture.
When he entered the Jingzhao Prefecture, he saw that the old, young, women and children who had previously beaten the grievance drum were sitting in the backyard. They were sitting there whispering to each other, as if they were talking about the day when their grievances would be redressed.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Lu Shiyuan, Guan Lingsong, and Wei Lin turned around and bowed to Jun Qiyu.
"No need." Jun Qiyu said calmly. "How did things go?" He glanced at the elderly, weak, women and children beside him and said in a low voice, "If they have nowhere to go, I can help them."
“They live in Lintong Town. Judge Cheng will send them back, and the truth will be revealed to them after the case is closed,” Lu Shiyuan replied earnestly to Jun Qiyu.
"I heard you have the case recorded. Bring it here for me to see." Jun Qiyu said, reaching out his hand to Wei Lin, who was standing to the side.
Without much thought, Wei Lin handed the booklet to Jun Qiyu and said, “Your Highness, the actions of the Fang and Zhao families are intolerable to Heaven and Earth, and we must punish them severely!”
Jun Qiyu flipped through the booklet in his hand. He had not investigated most of the cases that had been hidden for many years before. It seemed that the person behind these people must be a master.
Not only were they able to persuade them to report the crime, but they were also able to protect them over the years.
"Lord Lu, have you asked them who sent them to report the crime?" Jun Qiyu said, turning his gaze to Lu Shiyuan. "You are the first person to see these people, so you should know more than we do."
“They only said that a young master sent them to report the case.” Lu Shiyuan looked at Jun Qiyu and said seriously, “But they have no idea what the person looks like or where he comes from. In fact, they don’t even know if he is a man or a woman. They can only identify him by his voice.”
"What discovery has Your Highness made?" Lu Shiyuan put down what he was holding and turned his gaze to Jun Qiyu.
"I was just thinking, not only were we able to persuade them to report the case, but we also protected them so well. The person behind this must want to meet them. If the Fang and Zhao families are truly like this, wouldn't that be a great achievement?" Jun Qiyu smiled casually again. "Lord Lu, don't you think so?"
Just as Lu Shiyuan was about to speak, he heard a constable's voice from the other side, "Lord Lu, Lord Lu, something terrible has happened!"
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