Chapter 44: Trap
As the sun was setting, He Xuan fainted. He was thinking of going back to ask Wen Renyuan's army if they had any kind of drug that could make people talk.
Although Wen Renyuan was confused, he did not ask any further questions. He thought he was going to interrogate the prisoner, so he gave it to him.
The next day, when Prince Duan was having breakfast, Xiao Hui came with a pale face, "Your Highness, something bad has happened. A sixth-rank official of He Xuan committed suicide. Before his death, he accused Your Highness of being tortured into confessing, and wrote down Your Highness's behavior in blood. The people in the Ministry of Justice heard the news and asked the Dali Temple to release the person. He Xuan was carrying the corpse and crying, saying that Your Highness forced the sixth-rank official to death for merit."
"What." Prince Duan and Wen Renyuan both stood up.
Prince Duan said, "Quick, bring the troops with you. We can't let them cause trouble in front of the emperor."
Xiao Hui, "Your Highness, it's too late. His Majesty has already known about this matter. I just took advantage of the summons from Eunuch Chang Changji to come and tell you the news."
Just as he finished speaking, Chang Jichang arrived and said, "Your Highness Prince Xuanduan, please come to see me."
Prince Duan was sweating all over at this time, his mind was blank, he couldn't understand what was going on. He was clearly planning to arrest those who had embezzled money, so why did it change like this?
Wen Renyuan's face was pale. She approached him with a look of disappointment and whispered, "Be humble in front of His Majesty. I will go inform my father."
Prince Duan finally regained a bit of clarity of mind and followed Chang Jichang.
The Golden Palace was extremely depressing today. He Xuan, a doctor from the Ministry of Justice, was kneeling in the square at the main entrance of the palace. All the people from the Ministry of Justice had red eyes, and the personnel from the other six ministries were also trembling with fear.
The Emperor ordered Prince Duan to kneel down immediately, and summoned the Minister of Punishment and the Minister of Revenue to tell them the whole story.
Emperor Rong was also beginning to have doubts at this point. Although his son was not flexible, he did not dare to act rashly. He had originally asked him to look into state funds and collect debts just to see how he would deal with the Ministry of Justice and others, and to sort out the complicated connections among the people in the Ministry of Justice.
He had heard about the false reports made by the Ministry of Justice over the years, but he did not expect that his son would have brought up a wrongful case before the Ministry’s relationships and collusion with personnel had even been clarified.
After a moment of silence, the Emperor Rong showed no anger on his face and said calmly, "Investigate the past of the head of the Death Penalty Department and bury him with honor. The relevant personnel of the Ministry of Justice are not allowed to leave the imperial city from now on until the case is over. Prince Duan is detained and the court is dismissed."
All the officials respectfully agreed and filed out.
When the emperor returned to the palace, he summoned the Minister of Justice.
At this time, he heard that the former queen was kneeling outside and said, "Chang Jichang, go and tell the queen that this matter is not over yet, and the queen should not ask for mercy."
Chang Jichang: "Yes."
After reading the file, Emperor Rong said, "According to what you said, Prince Duan may have been deliberately guided by someone."
Huang Tijiang, the Minister of Justice, said, "Yes, according to my observation, His Highness Prince Duan originally only wanted to complete the collection of the debt by the Ministry of Rites and then report back. But he suddenly changed his mind and came directly to the Ministry of Justice to ask for someone. I have also checked that person, his name is Xiao He, and His Highness Prince Duan promoted him a few years ago. Now he works under Prince Duan."
After hearing this, Emperor Rong looked dignified, "You are also an old hand, let's not talk about Prince Duan for now. If Prince Rui handles this, what do you think he would do?"
Huang Tijiang, "Your Highness Prince Rui, stay calm. He will definitely find out the in-law relationship between the officials of the Ministry of Justice, and then go to the border to verify the relevant matters. He will not act rashly before the matter is clear."
Emperor Rong, "What if it's Prince Jing?"
Huang Tijiang, "His Royal Highness Prince Jing is very slick and worldly-wise. He will definitely find out all the officials in the Ministry of Justice, and then use coercion and bribery, or simply promise some minor officials to make them defect on the spot."
Emperor Rong spoke in a loud and steady voice, and it was hard to tell his emotions. "It's rare for you to speak the truth. Go down."
"yes."
Gossip always spreads faster than business. In less than half a day, Chu Sishui and Rong Zhuo heard the news that Prince Duan had been detained.
Chu Sishui was surprised, "Prince Duan doesn't look like the kind of person who would force his subjects to death."
Rong Zhuo raised his eyes, "I'm afraid he was tricked by someone else." Then he looked at Fei Jian, "Go and deliver the letter on the desk to the Minister of Justice. You don't have to say anything. Once he gets the letter, come back."
Feijian, "Yes."
Chu Sishui thought for a while, "I think Mr. Duan came to Xiaosheng Farm a few days ago just for this matter."
Rong Zhuo nodded, "From what Mr. Duan said, I could predict that Prince Duan would make a mistake, but I didn't expect that someone would die."
"My father has long heard about the people who embezzled money from the Ministry of Justice in previous years. He has not made any move because he wants to see if General Wenren Biao has the intention of rebellion. The temporary interrogation department of the Ministry of Justice set up at the border, the falsely reported materials, and the ordinary people dressed as criminals are indeed real, but the cost is not much. It was Wenren Biao who wanted to set up his own talents in the Ministry of Justice."
"The most important thing to investigate is that General Wen Renbiao bribed officials from the Ministry of Justice to fake a large number of applications to replace the Ministry of Justice's instruments and replaced the supplier with his own."
Chu Sishui finally understood, "It turns out that the reason why the Ministry of Justice borrowed so much money from the Ministry of Revenue is because the equipment supplier was replaced by Wen Renbiao's people. Wen Renbiao secretly raised the cost of the Ministry of Justice's equipment. The people who purchased the equipment in the Ministry of Justice had no choice but to borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue. And those middle-level officials who were bribed by General Wen Renbiao naturally turned a blind eye. Anyway, the money was borrowed by the Ministry of Justice, not by them personally, so the Minister of Justice would have to worry about it and pay it back himself."
"But isn't Wenren Biao the father-in-law of Prince Duan? Why didn't he explain the reason and let Prince Duan fall into the trap?"
Rong Zhuo said, "Wen Ren Biao probably thought that Prince Duan would not act rashly, and he might have reminded him of the in-law relationship. But Prince Duan might have been instigated by someone and fell into this trap."
Chu Sishui understood and said, "The person who set the trap must have known Prince Duan very well, and deliberately led him to investigate the officials in the Ministry of Justice who embezzled money. Now Prince Duan and the general Wen Renbiao who supported him will be severely punished. The person who set the trap killed two birds with one stone."
After saying this, he secretly clicked his tongue a few times.
Rong Zhuo stared sideways, "You seem to be very interested in these."
Chu Sishui smiled and said, "I'm not interested, but I want to know more to avoid being set up and implicated. But you just gave the findings to the Minister of Justice. Aren't you afraid that His Majesty will blame you for not being in the right position to govern?"
Rong Zhuo, "I just want to tell you the whole story as soon as possible. As for whether my father will be angry, I don't mind. I am a leisurely prince. I do what I want to do and don't do what I don't want to do. I am not afraid of anything."
Chu Sishui, "Aren't you afraid that the Minister of Justice will take away your credit?"
Rong Zhuo, "This king has such a narrow mind"
Chu Sishui laughed and hugged him, "It turns out that His Royal Highness Prince Rui is a true gentleman, who has devoted himself to the country until his death, and does not covet pleasure, fame, or wealth. He is truly a man who cares about the country and the people."
Rong Zhuo looked at her flattery helplessly and pinched her face lightly, "Flattery."
Chu Sishui buried her head in laughter again, then she straightened up and said, "Are you still going to investigate the person who set the trap?"
Rong Zhuo, "Officials in the Ministry of Justice always have to do things, and I can't stop others from wanting to make meritorious deeds. Moreover, an idle prince must act like an idle prince, and you, the idle princess, are worried."
So the worried Princess Idle decided to stop worrying and pushed the Idle Prince to watch the fish by the lake.
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