Chapter 88 Chapter 88 "What did I say? We...
At about the same time, the King of Qin was also waiting outside the Funing Hall in the imperial palace, asking to see his father.
He was extremely calm at the moment, so calm that he himself was a little surprised. According to the King of Qin's usual habit, while waiting to be summoned, he should have silently gone over in his mind what he was going to say when he met the emperor later. But at this moment, the only question echoing in his mind was the one from Zhou Congshan.
"What are you afraid of, Your Highness? Isn't the official your father?"
Yes, what was he afraid of? Even if the emperor had some bias in his heart, he still chose him to be the prefect of Kaifeng and promised him Congshan.
It's right to be cautious in what you say and do and to observe the boundaries between the monarch and his subjects, but you shouldn't forget that they are still close relatives, father and son. He has only been in charge of Kaifeng Prefecture for less than three months. If he had reported the case to the monarch earlier, the government might not have been so harsh, and he wouldn't have ended up in such a passive situation today.
"Your Highness, the emperor summons you." A eunuch hurried up to him and bowed, inviting the King of Qin into the palace for an audience.
The King of Qin calmed down, took the case file from his attendant, and stepped into the hall.
When the official Yuan Yu saw his son holding a pile of case files, he was somewhat surprised. He gestured to the eunuch to take them and asked, "Why are you bringing all this stuff to see me at this time?"
The King of Qin handed the case file to the eunuch, knelt down and saluted, saying, "My son is incompetent. I have a difficult and important case on my hands. I've spent a long time on it, not only have I failed to uncover the truth, but the murder suspect was also poisoned in the Kaifeng prison..."
He knelt there and briefly recounted the case of the Kaifeng jailer who poisoned a suspect. He concluded, "The suspect has repeatedly recanted his confession. According to the law, the case should be retried in another yamen. However..." The King of Qin paused briefly, then glanced carefully at his father, His Majesty, who had already taken the case file and was flipping through it. "In the murder case that Taoist Liu Hong confessed to, one of the victims was the imperial physician Yang Sheng, who committed suicide in the second year of the Longxing reign, leaving a suicide note."
"Imperial Physician?" Yuan Yu had long forgotten about this matter and looked up at his trusted eunuch Qu Liu who was serving beside him.
Qu Liu gritted his teeth and reminded, "Go back to the emperor. Yang Sheng was the one who diagnosed Crown Prince Zhaoyi that day..." Seeing the emperor's face darken, he couldn't help but lower his voice, "Imperial Physician."
"Hmph, so it was that incompetent and cowardly mediocre doctor..." Yuan Yu frowned, "Didn't he commit suicide? He even left a suicide note admitting his medical skills were inadequate. How is he connected to this murder case?"
The King of Qin opened his mouth to answer, but Yuan Yu raised his hand and said, "Stand up and talk. Why are you kneeling?"
"Yes." The King of Qin stood up and walked three steps in front of his father. He pointed to one of the case files and said, "That's Liu Hong's confession. He confessed that after Crown Prince Zhaoyi passed away in the second year of Longxing, he was ordered by his teacher Cao Zengrui to sneak into Yang Sheng's house. He took advantage of Yang Sheng being alone, knocked him unconscious, and then hanged him from the beam. He also forged a suicide note."
Yuan Yu's expression darkened even further. The King of Qin paused for a moment, then, seeing his father remained silent, continued, "After Liu Hong succeeded, he left the Yang family. On the way, he encountered Yang Sheng's apprentice, Mo Hongzhao. He paid no attention to it at the time, but last year, the two of them bumped into each other again. Mo Hongzhao, perhaps remembering what happened back then, became suspicious and followed Liu Hong, only to be discovered by him."
Liu Hong had learned martial arts and was a gangster, proficient in unconventional methods. Not only did he get rid of Mo Hongzhao, he also followed and investigated him. After learning that Mo Hongzhao was an apprentice of the imperial physician and had connections with Yang Sheng, he took the opportunity to push Mo Hongzhao into the river and drown him.
"When he killed Mo Hongzhao, it wasn't as easy as killing Yang Sheng. He was accidentally spotted by a bandit who was also hiding in the river. Later, they were both caught. The bandit learned that most of the gold and silver Liu Hong had exchanged for him to hide were fake, so he turned himself in and reported Liu Hong."
As the King of Qin spoke, the hall seemed to be under some kind of spell. The originally light and floating air suddenly became heavy and stagnant, as if it had substance, making it difficult for people to breathe and their heads and necks drooped.
"Where is his master? Has he been caught?" the official suddenly asked.
"Not yet." The King of Qin also felt the imposing aura emanating from his father, so he answered with a stiff upper lip. "According to Liu Hong's confession, after killing Yang Sheng that day, his master Cao Zengrui gave him money to leave the capital and head south to avoid danger for a while. After Liu Hong settled in Yangzhou, he exchanged letters with Cao Zengrui. The letter was received at a Taoist temple called Fengyang Temple. I sent someone to investigate, and the temple master said that Cao Zengrui had indeed stayed at Fengyang Temple when he first arrived in Bianjing. However, because Cao Zengrui did not follow the rules and often associated with people of unknown origin, disturbing the temple's peace, the temple master quickly asked him to move out."
Although Cao Zengrui had moved away, letters written to him were occasionally delivered to Fengyang Temple. The abbot was very dissatisfied and threatened Cao Zengrui when he went to pick up the letter, saying that he would not accept any more letters for him. Cao Zengrui sneered and said, "You will have to beg me for help in the future," and then left.
"After that, the abbot never saw Cao Zengrui again, nor did he hear from him again. The letter Liu Hong received didn't mention Cao Zengrui's whereabouts, only asking Liu Hong to wait patiently for news. However, Liu Hong waited in Yangzhou for a year without any news. He felt something was wrong, so he secretly went to Beijing to seek a master."
Yuan Yu was reading Liu Hong's confession while listening to the King of Qin's explanation. He became a little impatient and interrupted, "We've been in Beijing for over a year and still haven't found him. Can Cao Zengrui just grow wings and fly away? Send down to the sea to arrest him!"
"Yes." The King of Qin bowed and replied.
"Take the jailer to the Court of Judicial Review," Yuan Yu continued, "and Qu Liu summon You Yizhi to come before him."
A series of imperial edicts were issued from the Funing Palace. It was not until dark that the King of Qin and the chief judge of the Court of Justice withdrew together. At this time, the chief and deputy chief judges of the Court of Medical Officers were already standing in the corridor waiting to be summoned.
Unaware of the events unfolding in the palace, Ji Yanlang returned to his room from the front yard under the starlight. Fang Ying had already woken from her nap. She didn't rush to hear the outcome, but instead asked, "Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
"Have some cold noodles with some meat sauce."
Fang Ying asked Lichun to send someone to pass on the message. Ji Yanlang then said, "Get some water on the way so I can wash up first. I've sweated so much all day that my underwear is sticking to me."
Lichun went out to make arrangements, and Fang Ying took the opportunity to ask, "What did father say?"
"Father said that our family's foundation is still shallow, so we should strive for stability. We must not get even a little involved in the struggle for the throne." Ji Yanlang sighed softly and lowered his voice. "As for the person behind the leak, I'm sure the emperor will never tolerate him stirring up trouble."
"Is that all you said? Then why did you come back just now?"
Ji Yanlang said tiredly, "Father was afraid that after he left, my second and fifth brothers and I would lose sight of the situation and be tricked into getting involved in things we shouldn't be involved in, so he broke this whole thing down and told it to me again."
"How did you say it? Can you tell me?" Fang Ying was very curious.
Seeing her eyes shining brightly, full of thirst for knowledge, Ji Yanlang couldn't help but smile: "I've heard it so many times that my ears are callused. Do you want me to tell you again?"
Fang Ying rolled her eyes and said, "If you don't tell me, what if I get tricked by someone?"
"Who?" Ji Yanlang looked around. "Who could possibly deceive our independent-minded and intelligent Madam Fang?"
Fang Ying threw the fan, hitting him in the chest, and said angrily, "Forget it."
Ji Yanlang laughed heartily. Seeing Fang Ying turned away and ignored him, he picked up his fan and fanned her while coaxing her with a smile: "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but you're tired and hungry, and you still smell of sweat. I'll tell you after you've eaten and digested the food."
It seemed like it was really a long speech. Fang Ying didn't get angry with him anymore. She took the fan back and fanned him a few times, and also brought some water.
After bathing and eating noodles, Ji Yanlang stopped playing around with Fang Ying and briefly told her his father's views on the situation in Beijing.
"We only conquered Northern Zhao last year, and the situation is only just beginning to stabilize. The people in many places haven't yet fully embraced our dynasty, and wars are raging in the north. It's far from a time to rest easy."
"So the emperor won't allow the royal family to cause trouble on their own?" Fang Ying followed up with this question.
Ji Yanlang nodded approvingly. "Another thing. Before my dynasty, several dynasties in the Central Plains were once powerful, but they often failed before the third generation..." He cut off the conversation at the right time and continued, "If you look into the reasons, it is mostly because the successors were not well chosen."
Fang Ying smiled: "Not just the Central Plains, right?"
Ji Yanlang laughed heartily. "That's right. The lesson of the Yin Dynasty is not far away. The emperor will be extremely cautious in choosing a successor. Father said that the emperor chose the King of Qin not only because of the battle in Youzhou. As early as when we were fighting against Northern Han, the emperor asked father what he thought of the King of Qin's leadership."
"What did Father say?"
"Father felt that the King of Qin was a talented commander who could plan carefully before taking action. The emperor then said that Father was exaggerating and that the King of Qin was still young, asking Father for more guidance."
"Haven't you asked King Wei?"
Ji Yanlang laughed and said, "What did I say? Our Madam Fang is truly extremely intelligent!"
Fang Ying glanced at him and said, "Speak properly."
"I didn't ask the King of Wei." Ji Yanlang chuckled. "Father said that from what he saw, the King of Qin had some popularity among the generals who attacked Northern Zhao that day."
Only those who can lead troops and have great popularity can successfully take on this great cause. Fang Ying nodded: "That's why the emperor chose the King of Qin a long time ago. Even if someone is stirring up trouble now, the emperor will not easily change his mind."
"Of course. If the crown prince is changed so easily, everyone in the royal family will think they have a chance. If chaos breaks out, won't it shake the foundation of the country?"
"Yeah, the person hiding in the dark is probably looking forward to chaos."
Ji Yanlang yawned: "I think he was the one who started the chaos first."
Fang Ying hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What about the possibility that Crown Prince Zhaoyi was murdered? What did father say?"
"It has nothing to do with our family." Ji Yanlang yawned again, "Go to sleep, it's getting late."
Fang Ying stood up, put on her shoes, and walked into the inner room. She felt sorry for Zhou Congshan and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Do you think the government will investigate the truth?"
"Probably not. It's been two or three years, what could be found out? And if a serious investigation were launched, the entire royal family would undoubtedly be in turmoil. What the emperor wants is the same as what we want: stability."
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The author has something to say: I've been really unlucky recently. The next day after I finished my last update, I was taken to a centralized quarantine point as a secondary close contact...
I had my nose and throat poked every day, but fortunately, everything was fine in the end and I have been sent back home for home quarantine.
The epidemic has been recurring in many places recently. Everyone, please take precautions and wear masks. If you are unlucky enough to become a close contact or secondary close contact and be taken to a centralized quarantine point, I have a suggestion - bring more fruits and snacks... I didn't bring anything this time, and as a result, you can't buy anything at the quarantine point, nor can you order takeout. You are only given an apple or pear for lunch every day...
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2022-02-16 00:36:58 and 2022-02-28 00:16:04~
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: avahgao 22 bottles; black black beans 10 bottles;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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