"Then why are you dressed like this again?" Zhan Yunpeng next to him couldn't help but ask.
Old Man Jin sighed, "Alas, my daughter died tragically. I went to Kaifeng Prefecture to beat the drum and complain, but I never expected Xu Bingzhe to bring people to investigate. When they came back, they said my daughter committed suicide."
"Suicide?" Zhao Huan was a little incredulous.
Old Man Jin nodded and said, "Xu Bingzhe is twisting the truth. How could my daughter commit suicide for no reason? Besides, the murder weapon left at the scene was not my daughter's. My daughter is usually afraid of seeing chickens being killed, so how could she carry a dagger with her? So the old man refused to accept it, and Xu Bingzhe accused me of causing trouble in the court. He beat me up and told me to get out of Bianjing. I refused, so they robbed me of my belongings and said that if I didn't leave Bianjing, I would be forced to beg."
"Youwei, chop him off. Chop off this Xu Bingzhe for me!" Zhao Huan almost overturned the table.
"Mr. Li, please calm down, please calm down." Cao Dongsheng tried to dissuade him hurriedly.
With the persuasion of Li Gang and others, Zhao Huan finally calmed down his anger. "Second Brother Jin, I will definitely make the decision for you. Execute the prefect of Kaifeng!"
Old Man Jin wiped his tears and said, "I know that you gentlemen have great powers, so I have been begging at the door of Fanlou for the past few days. I hope to see you again so that you can help me. Just now, I saw you come in for a drink, so I wanted to rush in to complain, but I was stopped by the bartender."
Old Man Jin glanced at Cao Dongsheng and said, "Thank goodness this gentleman went out and brought me in. Sir, I know you are not ordinary people. Please help me with the matter for my daughter who died unjustly."
"Mr. Long, what's going on?" Li Gang asked from the side.
Zhao Huan waved his hand and said, "Youwei, take Old Man Jin down first."
After Old Man Jin left, Zhao Huan told Li Gang what had happened a few days ago.
Li Gang sighed after hearing this: "Your Majesty, you have harmed these two people."
Zhao Huan was shocked: "What do you mean?"
Li Gang was quite helpless and did not answer. Instead, he asked: "How many people in the entire court can get along with me?"
Zhao Huan then remembered that whenever the pro-war faction raised some opinions, they were often opposed by the ministers. Li Gang was especially unsociable.
Zhao Huan understood a little: "You mean, Xu Bingzhe and his men are with Li Bangyan. They have long disliked you, and then I lent you a letter to Xu Bingzhe. He wants to use public power for personal gain and not give you any face."
Li Gang gave a wry smile and said, "That's not necessarily the case. As far as I know, this young master Li Bangyan is a man of many evil deeds, and he has committed many abductions of women. Every time, Li Bangyan has to clean up his mess."
Zhao Huan was shocked: "The emperor is in a clear and bright place. Why didn't the Kaifeng prefect Xu Bingzhe investigate this incident?"
"Haha, investigate? Where would you even start? By the time you get here, Li Bangyan will have already settled the matter with money. By then, the family will have accepted the money and voluntarily withdrawn the lawsuit. Where would you start suing again?"
Zhao Huan had never imagined that the officialdom was so shady: "There must be some chaste and virtuous women who are not tempted by wealth, right?"
Li Gang gave Zhao Huan another wry smile because of his naiveté. "Your Majesty, there are certainly chaste women, but their families may not be. Chastity is because you didn't pay enough. First, who would want to publicize such a thing? Second, this is the son of the prime minister. Where can you sue him? Third, even if you don't want anything but an explanation, Li Bangyan will always find a way to shut you up."
Zhao Huan took a deep breath and said, "Li Bangyan's power is so great. Li Gang, I want to deal with him!"
Li Gang was shocked: "Your Majesty, he is the current prime minister. Li Bangyan has many followers, and any move could affect the entire group. We must be extremely cautious when touching him. Besides, Li Bangyan is not the mastermind, and we have no solid evidence."
Zhao Huan threw his wine glass onto the table and said, "Let's start with Li Xiaoyi. I want to see how capable Li Bangyan is. Take Old Man Jin with you and go to Kaifeng Prefecture."
Old Man Jin knew that Zhao Huan and his men had extraordinary backgrounds, being either royal relatives or important officials of the imperial court. With their support, he immediately felt much bolder.
When the group arrived at Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhao Huan asked Zhan Yunpeng to make him a bamboo hat. This bamboo hat was originally used by people in the underworld to show off their power, and Zhao Huan looked quite out of place with his luxurious clothes wearing such a dark bamboo hat. However, in order to hide his true appearance, he had no choice but to do so.
When they arrived at the gate of Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhao Huan pulled the brim of his hat down hard. Old Man Jin picked up the drumstick and started beating the drum of grievance.
Xu Bingzhe was counting the silver sent by Li Bangyan in the inner room of the government office. His hands were cramped from counting the money. Suddenly, he heard the deafening sound of drums outside. He hurriedly put the silver away and couldn't help but get angry: "Who is beating the drums outside? Go and see!"
The yamen runners received the order and hurried to the gate. Upon reaching the gate, they saw the runners staring at each other. When Li Gang was guarding the capital, these runners had been forced to guard the city walls. The runners recognized Li Gang and did not dare to stop him. One of them hurried back to the palace to tell Xu Bingzhe.
Old Man Jin felt even more relieved when he saw that the yamen runners at the gate did not dare to stop him.
Li Gang walked in with Zhan Yunpeng and Zhao Huan in a swagger, and Old Man Jin followed behind tremblingly.
Zhan Yunpeng was worried about the emperor's safety, so he had already ordered Cao Dongsheng to return to the palace to mobilize troops.
Li Gang and others arrived at the government office, and Xu Bingzhe sat down in the lobby in a panic, wearing a long-winged hat tilted on his head.
A group of yamen runners stood on both sides holding French sticks: "Mighty~"
Xu Bingzhe smiled and asked knowingly, "Oh, isn't this Lord Li Gang? I wonder why Lord Li came to visit me?"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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