Li Xu's voice paused, and thinking of Qin Huaiyuan's usual behavior, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. If he had not seen Qin Huaiyuan's true face, he would have thought that Qin Huaiyuan was a rare honest official.
Qin Huaiyuan's usual incorruptible behavior was disguised so well that it was not just him, Young Marquis Gu, but everyone in the entire officialdom probably thought so.
He had been going to court for decades without ever riding in a carriage, always wearing tattered official uniforms, drinking coarse tea and eating edamame in street teahouses all day long, and was so poor that he didn't seem like a third-rank official.
Such a person, however, was so greedy that he took away 1.3 million taels of government silver for dredging silt.
"Listen to what he has to say." Seeing Gu Yun's ferocious face, Yu Qizhe spoke.
He had just observed that when Li Xiu spoke, he did not unconsciously purse his lips, blink faster, or turn his eyeballs to the upper right. These small movements showed that he was telling the truth.
Li Xiu licked his dry lips and laughed at himself, "It's no wonder that Young Marquis Gu doesn't believe it. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have thought that Qin Huaiyuan would embezzle government money."
"The 1.3 million taels of official silver all went into Qin Huaiyuan's pocket. Young Marquis Gu asked me if I embezzled the official silver in order to redeem Su Zhen from the Jiaofang Bureau, but that was not the case." Li Xu continued, "I sold my family's house and borrowed money from friends. I had already raised enough money to redeem Su Zhen, but the people in the Ministry of Rites kept shirking their responsibilities and refused to release Su Zhen. Later, someone found me and asked me to help them transport the official silver from the Ministry of Revenue from the national treasury to the Ministry of Works to help them release Su Zhen from the Jiaofang Bureau."
"I didn't agree at first, but they used some tricks in secret. If I didn't agree, they would force Su Zhen to receive customers..." A look of pain flashed across Li Xiu's face, and his inner struggle was evident.
After listening to Li Xu's words, Gu Yun had recovered from his initial shock. Although he still didn't quite believe Li Xu's words, he asked, "According to what you said, it was Qin Huaiyuan who instructed you to frame Xu Youzhi?"
Li Xiu nodded, "It was him. He was the one who threatened me that if I didn't agree, Su Zhen would have to take care of the guests."
"What happened to Zhou Fang's death?" Yu Qizhe asked at the right time.
Li Xiu said, "Zhou Fang must have been silenced by Qin Huaiyuan. I don't know the inside story, but Zhou Fang's death was not innocent. He was indeed involved in the corruption."
"What's the matter with the letter asking Lu Jin to kill Zhou Fang?" Yu Qizhe said.
"The letter was indeed written by me, but General Lu Qian was not aware of it. They wanted to frame me, and I don't know why they chose General Lu Qian. Maybe someone disliked him and wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of him." Li Xu guessed.
"Although you have said so much, it is just empty talk. Don't you have any evidence against Qin Huaiyuan?" Gu Yun's brows were full of annoyance. If what Li Xu said was true, it would make people feel cold when they think about it carefully.
Li Xiu hesitated for a moment, "Yes, Qin Huaiyuan is very careful in his actions, but I secretly kept a letter written by him."
He was originally afraid that Qin Huaiyuan would go back on his word and refuse to let Su Zhen leave the capital after he was imprisoned and used as a pawn, so he secretly hid a letter to threaten Qin Huaiyuan to let Su Zhen leave the capital if something happened to him.
"Where is the letter?" Before Gu Yun finished speaking, there was a flurry of footsteps and voices coming from outside the prison, and then the prison door was opened.
Wei Minzhong, the Minister of the Dali Temple, and Yang Xu, the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, walked in hurriedly, followed by the officers who had brought back Xu Youzhi's family.
Li Xiu hurriedly whispered, "It's with Zhen'er."
Just as Gu Yun was about to ask in detail, Wei Minzhong's voice came from behind him, "Young Marquis Gu, why are you here? Li Xu is a wanted criminal in a corruption case. Why are you contacting him at this time?"
Wei Minzhong had already heard the complaints from the temple chief and the prison warden outside. He ordered his men to put Xu Youzhi in the cell and walked quickly towards Gu Yun.
Gu Yun was about to tell what Li Xu had just confessed, but Yu Qizhe noticed it, raised his hand and grabbed Gu Yun's wrist, shaking his head at him.
Gu Yun stopped blurting out his words, raised his eyebrows and said impatiently, "I want to thoroughly investigate the Jiangbei dredging case. Although your Dali Temple is the presiding judge, it's not too much for me to come and see the progress of the case, right?"
Gu Yun did not wait for Wei Minzhong to speak, and continued, "I heard that Li Xiu had betrayed Xu Youzhi. Do you have any evidence in your hands? Why did you arrest a third-rank official in such a blatant manner?"
Wei Minzhong said in a mature and steady manner, "I have consulted the emperor, and only ordered the arrest after the emperor's decree. As for the evidence..."
He paused and continued, "Early this morning, the shopkeeper of a cloth shop brought the official silver of the Yongle Mint to the Dali Temple to report it. After investigation, it was confirmed that the official silver came from the third daughter of the Xu family. Just now, I led people to search Xu Youzhi's home and found a bag of Yongle official silver, as well as secret letters between Xu Youzhi and Li Xiu. The evidence is solid, and this case can be closed. Then the young marquis can rest assured."
The official silver allocated from the national treasury for the dredging of the northern area was the official silver newly minted by the Yongle Mint in the early spring and had not yet been circulated in the market.
Gu Yun had a complicated expression. It was so easy to find solid evidence for a major corruption case. The person behind the scenes was really well prepared. Fortunately, he came to see Li Xu tonight.
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