Chapter 2071: Want a solution? Want the truth?
A figure that had not been seen for a long time, but was very familiar, walked out.
Ye Zheng looked at him and was stunned for a moment: "Commander Li?"
The person standing in front of him was Li Bushang.
His face was cold, and even in such hot weather, he didn't sweat a single drop. It was as if he was wearing an icy mask. When he saw Ye Zheng, he showed no expression.
She just nodded at him: "Master Ye."
“…”
Ye Zheng frowned slightly.
He didn't know much about Li Bushang, but there were already a lot of rumors inside and outside the palace about what happened on the way back to Peking from Nanjing. Although he believed that the imperial concubine had no feelings towards this young man, it was hard to say what she thought.
In addition, of the four commanders of the Northern Pacification Division, Zhu Feng now often uses those three and ignores him.
Ye Zheng somewhat understood the reason.
So I am a little confused, why is he here?
He glanced at Li Bushang and said with a half-smile, "Commander Li is here to see the emperor. Is there something important?"
“…”
Li Bushang didn't say anything.
In the imperial study, Zhu Feng's voice could be heard: "Ye Zheng is here?"
Ye Zheng immediately said, "Your Majesty, I beg to see you."
"Come in."
"yes."
After saying that, he didn't have time to say anything else to Li Bu Shang and hurried into the imperial study. After entering, he looked back and saw Li Bu Shang's back, which quickly disappeared outside the door.
Ye Zheng hesitated for a moment, and Zhu Feng's voice sounded again.
"Aren't you coming in yet?"
He hurried over and kowtowed to Zhu Feng, only to see Zhu Feng sitting behind a desk with a document at his side.
It looks like it was just delivered.
Sent by Li Bushang.
He sorted out the documents and placed them among the pile of documents beside him. Then he looked up at Ye Zheng and asked, "Any progress?"
Ye Zheng knelt on the ground and said, "I, your humble servant... am here to apologize to the Emperor."
Zhu Feng looked down at him: "No progress?"
Ye Zheng said, "I requested a directive from Huangshan to mobilize the six armies of the Forbidden City to search the city for Simuzhen, but this person... has disappeared without a trace, as if he had turned into smoke."
“…”
"Now, all the clues are on her. If we can't find her, there will be no progress in this case."
“…”
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am incompetent."
Zhu Feng glanced at him and waved his hand calmly: "Get up first."
“…”
"I've made this matter difficult for you. We were all in the northwest when it happened. If I had asked you to investigate after it happened, it would have been difficult to make any progress."
“…”
"But, besides finding someone, don't you have any other options?"
Ye Zheng stood up and did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Zhu Feng with a complicated expression, then said softly, "This humble official came here to ask for a favor from the Emperor."
"Oh? What do you want?"
"I want to know whether the emperor wants to resolve this matter or find out the truth."
“…”
Zhu Feng was originally reaching out to take the teacup next to him, but when he heard this, his hand paused slightly.
He still took the teacup and took a sip.
Then he said calmly: "Solving the problem and finding out the truth, aren't these two the same thing?"
Ye Zheng shook his head seriously and said, "No."
Zhu Feng glanced at him and said, "Then tell me, what's the difference?"
Ye Zheng said: "Let's talk about how to solve this problem first."
"Um."
"Recently, I ordered the six armies of the Forbidden City to search the city for Simuzhen's whereabouts. Although she hasn't been found yet, for some reason, the news leaked out."
"Oh? Everyone in the capital knows you're looking for her."
"They knew the authorities were looking for her."
“…”
"Everyone knows that she became a nun at Zhenjue Temple as a substitute for the Imperial Concubine. Regardless of the truth behind the meeting between Prince Wei and Miss Gu, she exists as an insider."
“…”
"Now, after what happened, she's gone."
“…”
"People are all looking at her with suspicion, and even now some new rumors are emerging among the people."
"New rumors? Tell me what they are."
Ye Zheng stepped forward and said carefully, "Some say that Si Muzhen and the Imperial Concubine already had a grudge against each other, and because she was forced to become a nun, she holds a grudge against the Gu family. This time, she reported the incident out of revenge."
Zhu Feng raised his eyebrows slightly.
He said: "Then tell me, the way to solve this problem is-"
Ye Zheng said, "Prince Wei and Miss Gu have been plagued by rumors, but from another perspective, rumors are not necessarily a bad thing. To resolve this matter, I believe that we should rely on these rumors."
Zhu Feng said, "You mean, take this opportunity to confirm this rumor."
“…”
"By the way, can you clear the matter between King Wei and that Gu Qiqing?"
"yes."
Ye Zheng said seriously, "After all, when they were found, they hadn't really done anything shameful. The rumors that had spread before were just a bunch of gossips that were exaggerated by busybodies."
“…”
"Now, if we can put all the blame on Simuzhen, saying that she invited Miss Gu to the Zhenjue Temple for a sisters' reunion, and that the Prince of Wei happened to be there that day to burn incense and pray for the Emperor; Simuzhen took the opportunity to bring the two together, and then—"
He didn't say anything else.
Needless to say, Zhu Feng naturally understood everything.
However, Zhu Feng did not speak immediately. Instead, he pondered for a moment and then said, "So, you just said that clarifying the truth is different from this matter?"
"yes."
"How is it different?"
Ye Zheng said, "Si Muzhen's disappearance proves that she is just a prominent figure. I believe there must be a mastermind behind this matter."
“…”
"As long as this matter remains unresolved, the people behind the scenes will not feel at ease, just like us."
“…”
"So, if we want to investigate further, we can't let rumors determine the facts so quickly. Because if we do that, some of the people behind the scenes won't move again, and then getting to the bottom of it will be even more difficult."
“…”
Zhu Feng didn't say anything, just took the teacup and took another sip.
"If you want to find out the truth, how do you plan to do it?"
Ye Zheng looked up at him and said, "I, your humble servant, can only request an imperial decree to seal off Zhenjue Temple and the nunnery, detain all the people inside, and thoroughly investigate how many people Si Muzhen has been interacting with these days."
“…”
"But this way, things will really get out of hand."
“…”
"And the common people will not so easily believe that the matter between the King of Wei and Miss Gu was framed by only Simuzhen."
“…”
After saying this, he looked at Zhu Feng and said, "So, I have come to ask the emperor for his opinion."
“…”
"Your Majesty, do you want to resolve the matter, or do you want the truth?"
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