Inside the palace, Ying Zheng sat upright at his desk, but unusually, he did not review the memorials. Instead, he stared blankly at a wooden box.
Wang Jian entered the hall, respectfully cupped his hands, and said, "This old minister greets Your Majesty!"
Hearing the loud voice, Ying Zheng came back to his senses and looked at Wang Jian. "No need for formalities."
Wang Jian stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "The matter Your Majesty ordered me to investigate has yielded results."
Ying Zheng's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at Wang Jian. "How is it?"
Wang Jian cupped his hands, his expression very relaxed, "Young Master Ye has shown no abnormalities."
Ying Zheng was taken aback. "No?"
He was fully prepared for Ying Ye's rebellion, but he did not expect Wang Jian's investigation to be like this.
If that's the case, he can only think in terms of Ying Ziyu being wrong. But he also knows how capable the little guy is. If he's right about so many things, but wrong about this one thing, Ying Zheng thinks that's unlikely.
After thinking for a moment, he looked at Wang Jian and said, "Tell me in detail."
Wang Jian cupped his hands and said, "This old minister had his trusted confidants investigate the places the young master has traveled to. They found out in each place when the young master went there, the people he met, and the things he did, and made detailed records."
"This old minister has carefully reviewed those records and thoroughly investigated the people involved, and there are no problems."
Hearing this explanation, Ying Zheng's gaze darkened slightly. "Are there all of these from the past few years?"
Wang Jian nodded slightly, "That's right. It's almost a complete record of the young master's route over the past few years. Everything he's done and everyone he's met can be found. No matter how I investigate, I can't find anything unusual, which is why I think the young master is fine."
Otherwise, given the gravity of the matter, even as a high-ranking senior official, he would naturally not dare to make a hasty conclusion.
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng frowned deeply, his expression quite strange as if he were pondering something.
Seeing Ying Zheng's expression, Wang Jian was quite puzzled. "Now that Your Majesty knows that the young master is innocent, shouldn't you be happy? Why do you still insist on suspecting the young master?"
In his view, Ying Zheng might have been misled by slander, which was why he insisted on thinking that Ying Ye was rebelling and refused to believe the facts before his eyes.
Ying Zheng looked at him and said, "The existence of such detailed records is itself suspicious, isn't it?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Jian frowned, as if he had realized something.
After a moment's thought, he looked at Ying Zheng with considerable shock, "Does Your Majesty mean that someone has forged this?"
Ying Zheng's gaze was deep. "Ye'er kept a low profile on this trip. He didn't reveal his prince status in order to study. He blended in with the crowd and was just an ordinary citizen. But you have so many records, which means that many people remember him, right?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Jian's expression became quite strange. "That's true. As long as it's a place you've traveled to, you can easily find out about what you experienced and the people you met there with a little inquiry. It seems..."
"There are indeed quite a few people who remember him, and according to reports, they don't have any special relationship with the young master."
If it were a life-saving grace like that of Lu Ming, and Lu Ming said he remembered Ying Ye, then Ying Zheng might be able to believe it.
But Ying Ye has been to so many places, it's impossible that every place was a life-saving grace, right?
This is strange.
Ying Zheng continued, "Moreover, he has been away for so many years, and some of the things he experienced must have happened years ago, but are there still detailed records?"
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng looked quite puzzled again. "There are also records of events from five years ago, and some of the narrators are elderly people. Logically, the details shouldn't be this clear, right?"
Upon closer reflection, he also felt that something was strange about it.
Even young people will inevitably forget a lot about things that happened five years ago, and may only have a vague impression, without knowing what happened at all.
As for the elderly, their memory is even weaker. Let alone five years, they may not be able to remember things that happened five months ago, and some may even forget things that happened five days ago.
But this statement was expressed very clearly, and now it seems really strange.
After pondering for a moment, Ying Zheng said again, "Making the abnormal normal, doesn't this seem like someone is doing it deliberately, trying to cover something up?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Jian was slightly startled and looked at Ying Zheng, saying, "Does Your Majesty mean that someone deliberately fabricated your deeds to cover up your actions?"
Ying Zheng looked at him, "If that's the case, then no one will suspect that Ye'er has done anything wrong, right?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Jian's expression also became serious. "If that's really the case, then it must be a big deal. To be able to do something like this, the person behind it must be quite powerful."
Wang Jian had complete faith in the abilities of his trusted confidants.
But if those people could completely deceive their confidants, then Wang Jian could easily imagine how powerful the person behind them must be.
Putting aside everything else, the methods used are certainly aboveboard.
Ying Zheng continued, "Have you investigated Ye'er's friend, Lu Ming?"
Wang Jian replied, "This old minister has investigated and found that he is just an ordinary child from a family that is not wealthy. His encounter with you, young master, was purely coincidental. It does not seem like he deliberately approached you for any purpose."
Ying Zheng's eyes darkened slightly. "No problem?"
He clearly remembered the little guy mentioning that Lu Ming was a descendant of General Lu of the Wei Kingdom.
If that's really the case, then that guy and the Great Qin have an irreconcilable feud, which is definitely not the "no problem" situation that Wang Jian described.
Wang Jian frowned. "Does Your Majesty think there's something wrong with that person?"
Having followed Ying Zheng for many years, he could easily understand Ying Zheng's thoughts.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, Ying Zheng's expression changed, and he looked at Wang Jian and asked, "Are you sure that person is Lu Ming?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Jian's expression changed, his eyes shifting between light and shadow. "This, this old minister cannot guarantee."
There aren't many ways to verify someone's identity these days, so impersonating someone isn't an incredibly difficult task.
Especially for those who drift away from home for many years and have no close friends or relatives, they can impersonate others without being detected.
And Lu Ming happens to be that kind of person.
Wang Jian cupped his hands and said, "This old minister will carefully investigate. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
Ying Zheng nodded, "Go, and get the results quickly!"
"Yes, sir!" Wang Jian bowed and withdrew.
No sooner had Wang Jian left than Li Si rushed into the hall, crying, "Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"
Seeing his flustered appearance, Ying Zheng's eyes darkened slightly, and he asked, "What's wrong that makes you look like this?"
Li Si has always been calm and composed, and he has always maintained the style befitting a prime minister, but at this moment he is so flustered, which is really not like his usual style.
Li Si cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the salt caravan was robbed this time, and all our salt was stolen."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng's expression changed slightly. "It was stolen?"
Li Si's expression was very solemn. "Salt is not only related to the Qin army and officials, but also to the people's problem of storing food for the winter. If there is not enough salt, the Qin will definitely face a big problem!"
Ying Zheng's eyes turned slightly cold. "Have you found out who did it?"
Li Si cupped his hands and said, “It is a well-trained army. It seems they came prepared. From the description, they seem somewhat like the old Wei Wuzu.”
Ying Zheng's eyes flickered slightly, "Wei?"
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