“Father!” Chu Xuan opened his mouth to stop him, but the emperor had completely lost his patience. He waved his hand and interrupted Chu Xuan: “Don’t beg for mercy, Chu Xuan. You shouldn’t challenge my patience. Don’t force me to kill you!”
Chu Xuan's face turned grim upon hearing that. He clenched his hands tightly, and veins bulged on the sides of his neck. It was obvious that he didn't want to give up.
Lu Yanluo sighed, walked over to him, held his clenched hands, and comforted him, "It's okay." Then she leaned into Chu Xuan's arms as if no one was around. Others thought they were hugging each other, but Chu Xuan knew it was not the case. He only heard Lu Yanluo whispering quickly in his ear, "Don't worry for now, I'll be fine. Keep an eye on the other people. The breakthrough lies with them. I'll wait for you to pick me up."
Chu Xuan silently watched Lu Yanluo being taken away, and secretly swore in his heart that he would make the person behind the scenes pay the price.
Just a few days after Lu Yanluo was imprisoned in Tianlao, the sale of the drug Mu Si became more rampant in the capital, not only officials but even ordinary people suffered greatly from it.
Soon the news reached the ears of the emperor. This matter was not to be underestimated, so the emperor immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the matter.
Unexpectedly, this man was a greedy person. During the investigation, someone secretly sent 1,000 taels of gold to the mansion to shut him up.
On the second day, during the morning court session, the emperor asked about this matter. The officials secretly looked at the place where Chu Xuan used to stand, but there was no one there today. Chu Xuan was now in a hurry to investigate the death of Yan Shaobai and had no time to spare.
"Your Majesty, there is some light on this matter. Mu Si came from Beiliang, and I have found out from my investigation that the Yewang Mansion seems to have frequently purchased jade and jewelry from Beiliang. However, I have not found any substantial evidence, so I dare not jump to conclusions."
Dare not jump to conclusions? The emperor thought of Yan Shaobai, who died in an unclear manner. The secret guards found out that Yan Shaobai had sold Mu Si privately and died soon after, and the only person present was the princess of Yewang Mansion.
Why did Lu Yanluo want Shao Yan and Shao Bai? Was it because the two of them had a dispute over the uneven distribution of the spoils, so she killed them?
The more the emperor thought about it, the more possible it seemed to him. Chu Xuan and Lu Yanluo had been so arrogant for a long time. If it weren't for the fact that they had worked together to rescue the emperor and repelled the enemy in the northern border, which was indeed a great achievement, it would have been difficult to deal with them at this moment, and the emperor would have dealt with them long ago.
"The Night King has made great contributions in saving the emperor in the Northern Frontier. I believe that he is not a person who would harm the people for personal gain. My dear minister, you must find definite evidence and not tarnish the Night King's reputation out of thin air."
Although the words sounded nice, the court officials present were all foxes, and they could understand the meaning of the emperor's words. They were simply afraid of Chu Xuan's military achievements in the northern border and it was not easy to deal with him out of thin air. After some time, when the storm had passed, I am afraid that the emperor would never let Ye Wang and his family go.
After realizing the meaning of the emperor's words, those with ulterior motives became more and more unscrupulous and rampantly bought and sold banned drugs in the capital. Gradually, more and more people died from banned drugs.
Within half a month, provincial governments across the country began reporting the number of people who died from banned drugs, and people in the court finally realized the seriousness of the matter.
The Dali Temple Minister reported to the emperor overnight, saying bluntly that if the medicine was not removed, Tianji would be destroyed within half a year, and his words were full of worry.
The emperor sat at the head of the table, his face gloomy: "Investigate, make sure to investigate the source of the banned drugs. Anyone involved in this matter, no matter who they are, will be imprisoned first and then strictly interrogated." As he spoke, his eyes darkened and murderous intent raged: "It is better to kill someone by mistake than to let him go."
The Dali Temple Minister also felt the cruelty in the emperor's words, and couldn't help but get goose bumps all over his body. He trembled all over and replied, "Yes, I obey your order."
However, neither the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple nor the Emperor had expected that, as they had originally thought, it was just a case of selling banned drugs for profit and could be curbed by finding the source, but on the night of his return from the palace, a man in black sneaked into the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple's study without anyone noticing.
"Who are you?" Upon hearing the voice, the Dali Temple Chief Justice immediately stood up and stared at the man in black in front of him.
The man in black was silent for a while, then threw out a brocade box and said in a cold voice: "This is a gift from my master to you. My master asked me to tell you that you should not interfere in things that you should not interfere in. It is the right way to enjoy life in peace. Otherwise, if you are not careful, you will lose your life. Isn't it not worth it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man in black flashed out of the study. The Dali Temple Chief had no time to react and could only give up. He opened the brocade box on the table and found a box of gold, which was estimated to contain nearly a thousand taels.
The room was eerily quiet for a moment. The Dali Temple Minister sat down with the gold in his hands, his expression clearly showing hesitation.
The next morning, the Dali Temple Chief Justice appeared in the Dali Temple with dark circles under his eyes. He was often in a daze and no one knew what he was thinking about.
Night Palace.
"Did he accept it?" Chu Xuan asked Shen He who was standing below him with a cold face.
"The man left his things and left without staying. However, the Dali Temple Minister was absent-minded the whole day today. I'm afraid he is hesitating." Shen He replied.
"No problem." Chu Xuan said calmly: "I will go to meet him in person."
In the evening, the Dali Temple Chief Justice was off duty. He had just walked out of the gate of the Dali Temple when he saw a simple carriage parked on the side of the road. The curtain was raised, and inside, Chu Xuan was sitting upright, staring at him intently.
The Dali Temple Minister felt a pang in his heart, and he had a hunch that the Night King's sudden appearance here must be to see him, and that it should be related to the banned drug case.
Thinking about the box of gold that had been kept in the study until now, the Dali Temple Minister couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and walked closer.
"Your Majesty."
Inside the carriage, Chu Xuan said, "There are too many people here, please get in the carriage and talk."
As expected, the Dali Temple Minister got into the car and knelt in front of Chu Xuan. He asked, "Your Majesty, are you looking for me?"
Chu Xuan snorted coldly and said nothing. He silently picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for the Dali Temple Minister: "You have been busy all day, my lord, please moisten your mouth."
The Dali Temple Minister hurriedly took it and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. If you have anything to say, please speak up."
He already had an estimate in his mind.
Chu Xuan smiled meaningfully: "I heard that you received an unexpected surprise yesterday. What do you think?"
"Your Highness!" The Dali Temple Minister spoke hurriedly, and cold sweat broke out instantly.
"Why are you panicking, sir? I am only telling you the truth. But I have to say this: Your Majesty must conduct a thorough investigation into the drug ban case. This is a matter concerning the fate of the country and the people. If you ignore it out of selfishness, you will be a sinner for eternity. Have you thought it through?"
"Your Highness..." The Chief Justice of Dali Temple slowly lowered his head, feeling guilty. Did he want to become a sinner in history?
Chu Xuan continued, "You have children and grandchildren, and future generations. Do you want your future generations to also suffer from the harm of banned drugs?"
The Dali Temple Minister raised his head and looked at Chu Xuan, with a firm look in his eyes: "Your Highness, there is no need to say more. What do you need me to do? I will do my best."