Chapter 171 Karma and Reincarnation
He had just said that he had official business to report to Prince Yu, and then he said that Prince Yu was giving him advice.
Anyone who hears this will sense that something is wrong.
Marquis Cheng'en's face turned pale, and he opened his mouth to explain: "Your Majesty..."
Emperor Jing'an raised his hand, interrupting him. "Dozens of ships have sunk to the bottom of the river. I'm sure someone knows exactly where they are. Were they carrying grain or sandbags? Once the flood recedes, we can just send someone to the bottom of the river to pull up a few sacks, and the truth will be revealed."
Marquis Cheng'en looked at Emperor Jing'an in horror, his lips trembling a few times. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything. His heart was sinking.
Emperor Jing'an withdrew his gaze, already having the answer in his mind.
The disaster victims in Guanzhou were resettled, and an official happened to show up to transport the old grain from Qingzhou to Guanzhou.
Qingzhou suffered from drought for several consecutive years and had no harvest, so the province had to rely on selling official positions in exchange for food.
Last year, the entire Great Zhou was hit by natural disasters, and Qingzhou was hit even harder. There was a food shortage across the country.
At this time, Qingzhou said that there was a surplus of grain, which seemed strange no matter how you thought about it.
Now that the shipwreck has occurred and all the food is gone, the clues have already been revealed.
Later, the Qingzhou Censor reported that what was transported to Guanzhou was not grain, but sandbags, and the whole context of the incident became completely clear.
These corrupt officials wanted to embezzle Qingzhou's grain by using a trick of stealing and replacing it with something else.
Marquis Cheng'en was in charge of transporting grain, so how could he not know what was transported in the ship?
However, Marquis Cheng'en could not accomplish such a great task on his own.
Emperor Jing'an put his thoughts aside and ordered Eunuch Cao, "Go and summon Prince Yu to the palace."
Eunuch Cao took the order and left.
Marquis Cheng'en slowly calmed down, and a glimmer of hope arose in his heart.
As long as Prince Yu comes, he can be saved.
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A carriage slowly stopped in front of Prince Yu's Mansion, the curtain was lifted, and Ling Zhongshi came out of the carriage.
He was a portly man and not very agile, so he slowly got off the carriage with the help of two servants.
When Ling Zhongshi saw the plaque of Prince Yu's Mansion, he was frightened and wanted to back out, but the matter was of great importance, so he had to face his nephew in person.
He gritted his teeth and entered Prince Yu's Mansion, and under the guidance of the Chancellor, he came to the study in the front yard.
As soon as he entered, Ling Zhongshi complained with a sad face, "Jing'er, my shipping company has snatched the order from the largest shipping company in Qingzhou to transport government grain to Guanzhou."
"If we can accomplish this, our shipping company will surpass Gu's, and money will flow into our pockets like water."
"But then the sky suddenly broke, and it rained heavily every day. All the boats sank to the bottom of the river. Not only was the food gone, but the officers, soldiers, and sailors transporting the food were also drowned."
"If I were transporting grain for ordinary merchants, I wouldn't have to bother you. I can handle it myself. But now all we're transporting is government grain, and I'm afraid my head is about to fall off my neck."
"Jing'er, your uncle didn't mean to cause trouble for you. It was just bad luck and a natural disaster that caused such a big mess."
Ling Zhongshi wiped the tears from his face and said, "You have to help your uncle. If anything happens to your uncle, not only will your mother be heartbroken, but I'm also afraid that the emperor will alienate you and your mother because of this."
Prince Yu's hands tightened and tightened, and he could hardly restrain the urge to strangle Ling Zhongshi's neck and twist his head off.
"Jing'er..."
"Shut up!" Prince Yu looked at Ling Zhongshi with a sinister look. "If it happens again, you won't have to wait for your father to chop off your head. As uncle and nephew, I will personally send you off."
Ling Zhongshi looked at the terrifying aura emanating from Prince Yu and his face turned pale with fright.
He knew in his heart that Prince Yu was serious.
"Knock knock!" There was a knock on the door, and the imperial steward said from outside, "Your Highness, someone from the palace is here to ask you to come in."
-
When Prince Yu entered the palace, Emperor Jing'an and the cabinet ministers decided on the minister to be sent to Qingzhou to investigate the case, and asked the Grand Secretary to draft the edict.
When Marquis Cheng'en heard that Prince Yu was coming, he subconsciously looked towards the palace entrance.
"Go to the inner hall," Emperor Jing'an instructed.
Marquis Cheng'en was startled, and hurriedly got up and went to the inner hall of the imperial study.
Emperor Jing'an watched Marquis Cheng'en leave before signaling Eunuch Cao to invite Prince Yu in.
As Prince Yu saluted Emperor Jing'an, he glanced around the hall inconspicuously.
When he entered the palace, he heard that Emperor Jing'an had imprisoned Marquis Cheng'en and ordered people to go to Qingzhou to investigate the case.
Prince Yu asked, "Father, why did you summon me into the palace?"
Emperor Jing'an asked gently, "Are you happy in the Ministry of War lately?"
"I am fine, your son." Prince Yu said concisely.
"You've always been a worry-free experience for me." Emperor Jing'an looked at Prince Yu kindly, as if there was no distinction between ruler and subject, just a conversation between father and son. "Jing'er, dozens of large ships transporting grain from Qingzhou to Guanzhou have sunk. The Qingzhou Censor said the ships were filled with sandbags, not a single grain."
Having said that, Emperor Jing'an handed the secret letter to Prince Yu.
He continued, "There was grain on board, and Marquis Cheng'en failed to supervise it properly, committing a crime of negligence. If there wasn't grain on board, he was guilty of corruption and abuse of power, and he deserves to be beheaded. Regardless of the charges, he is guilty, and I have already imprisoned him."
Prince Yu looked at the letter in his hand and naturally knew what was going on. This was because he had ordered someone to present this secret letter to Emperor Jing'an, deliberately exposing the crimes of Marquis Cheng'en.
Before entering the palace, he learned from Ling Zhongshi that Hongyun Shipping Company had snatched the order from Gu Shipping Company and transported official grain to Guanzhou.
Based on this one sentence alone, he was able to conclude that Qingzhou's "food" was loaded onto the Hongyun Shipping Company's ship.
If this matter is not exposed, Ling Zhongshi will be charged with the crime.
Prince Yu had no choice but to give up Marquis Cheng'en.
He placed the letter back on the dragon table and asked, "Father, do you wish to discuss the Qingzhou matter with me?"
"I still have one unresolved matter," Emperor Jing'an said awkwardly. "Marquis Cheng'en rented a large ship from the Gu Shipping Company. The ship they provided was substandard, which led to the shipwreck. I must hold the Gu Shipping Company accountable, but the owner of the Gu Trading Company was instrumental in the Guanzhou incident. Jing'er, in your opinion, should I order the arrest of Gu Zongci?"
Prince Yu pondered, "Father, the ship was carrying sandbags. Someone deliberately damaged it to conceal their guilt, not the shipping company. You should hold the officials responsible. Only they have the opportunity to act."
When Marquis Cheng'en in the inner hall heard Prince Yu's words, it was like a blow to the head. He suddenly realized that Prince Yu was not going to cover him up, but was going to let him die.
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