Chapter 112: The Prime Minister's Brother-in-Law

The moonlight was shining, casting a clear light on the courtyard, but his face, hidden by his messy hair, was still not clearly visible.

Ji Lingchuan frowned. This man had slumped shoulders, a broken leg, and a bent back that couldn't be straightened. He could only look up when looking at people.

This injury couldn't have been an accident. It was clearly caused by someone beating him to death.

He An: "Are you Pei Zhan?"

Upon hearing that, the man lifted up his hair and tilted his head back. His face was dirty, but his features could be vaguely seen. He An's eyes narrowed slightly.

Ji Lingchuan was immediately shocked and said, "Fuck, didn't you die of a serious illness? How did it become like this?"

The ancestors of the Pei family were all military generals, and the people of the first house were not good at martial arts, so Ji Lingchuan's father arranged a job for Pei Zhan to record weapons in the Ministry of War. The two had met each other occasionally before.

Now, a person who was seriously ill and had been dead for almost a year appeared before me. It would be a lie to say that I was not shocked at all.

"Ji Lingjun, Pei Zhan and my father have suffered a great injustice." Pei Zhan kowtowed to Ji Lingchuan with difficulty and was helped up by him.

**

Ruan Qinghuan stayed at home until midnight, and finally waited for He'an to come back. It was already past midnight, and seeing that she was still awake, He'an frowned and asked, "Madam, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Has the person been found?" Ruan Qinghuan had a bad feeling about the Pei family. No matter what, the Pei and Ruan families were related by marriage. Although they had separated, their relationship remained.

He An simply washed up and went to bed, holding her in his arms: "The person has been found, it is indeed Pei Zhan."

Ruan Qinghuan: “…”

A person who died of a serious illness suddenly came back to life. There must be something wrong with this abnormal situation. There must be an unknown secret. What worries Ruan Qinghuan the most is that this matter may involve King Chen.

It was a fact that the emperor wanted to protect him, and Pei Chong was King Chen's man, so any movement would be hard not to link it to their past conspiracy.

The issue of the private soldiers was finally resolved, but now there is the problem that Qizhou has too much food in stock and cannot consume it.

You know, last year there was a severe drought in the west, but reports from various places showed that their grain reserves were limited and they could not hand over much disaster relief grain. But this year, before the autumn harvest season has even arrived, Qizhou has excess grain reserves?

Private soldiers, food and fodder...it is hard to say that there is no connection between the two.

Seeing that she was silent, knowing that she was worried, He An explained: "The emperor is not aware of the surplus of grain in Qizhou, but if something happens to the governor of Suzhou, I am afraid that this matter will be exposed."

"The Emperor will hand this matter over to Jiang Jie, right?" The Emperor now values ​​Jiang Jie, but Ruan Qinghuan hopes that this matter will be handed over to the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple.

He'an said nothing. Although the emperor gave Prince Chen a chance out of consideration for the noble concubine, if it happens again and again... Under the imperial power, all feelings are not worth mentioning, so it is hard to say what the emperor will do.

**

In the Second Prince's mansion, only a few remaining court officials came to the secret room, among whom was Pei Chong. Now the rest were officials of lower positions in various departments. The only one who was saved was Qi Yuanchang, who did not come today.

Chen Wang Shanshan arrived late, playing with two round jade balls in her hands.

Several people stood up: "I have met His Royal Highness Prince Chen."

"I am now under house arrest. What are you doing here?"

Several people looked at each other in bewilderment at what they heard. What else could it be? Of course, it was a matter of saving one's life. One of the officials in the Ministry of Revenue said, "Your Highness, the governor of Suzhou committed suicide. I am worried that this will lead to the investigation of the Qizhou incident."

The two states are adjacent to each other, so this concern is not without reason.

Another official from the Ministry of Works looked pale. Ever since the disaster relief incident in Lucheng, the entire Ministry of Works had been under strict investigation from top to bottom. The reason he had saved his life was precisely because of his low-ranking official position, which prevented him from being involved in major events.

But recently, he found that the Dali Temple, which was about to close the case, suddenly proposed to review the accounts of the Ministry of Works, which frightened him.

Normally, the accounts are checked at the Ministry of Revenue, so how did they end up at the Ministry of Works?

He secretly held the private treasury in the hands of the Second Prince, and at this moment he felt like he was holding a hot potato. He was really afraid that if the secret was exposed, he would lose his life.

King Chen's indifferent expression faded away, his eyes were full of unwillingness, he looked at the three people in the secret room, and the jade ball in his hand stopped spinning.

These few of his former confidants are the only ones left who are of little use. He has carefully planned for many years, and he certainly cannot watch all his hard work go to waste.

"What's the point of you being afraid?" King Chen said contemptuously, "If you know how to be afraid, you have to find a way to protect yourself, right?"

After saying this, his gaze fell on Pei Chong's face, who had remained silent.

Pei Chong no longer had the ruthlessness he had earlier. What he was afraid of was the armory. When his eldest brother was here, he secretly used the token to replace a batch of fine iron spears. Now, half of the spears in the warehouse were defective.

Recently, news came from the border that there have been unusual movements in the South Barbarians, and the Emperor plans to send an additional 50,000 troops to shock them. This involves the distribution of arms, and if they happen to be given that batch of defective products... once the truth is revealed, the Pei family will certainly not be able to escape suspicion.

King Chen also got the news: "The small country of Nanman is not to be feared. The most important thing now is to prevent He'an from getting involved in the affairs of Suzhou."

Pei Chong felt a little relieved after hearing this: "Please let your Highness know clearly."

King Chen's eyes flashed with impatience: "Do you still need me to teach you these little things? No matter if something happens to the He family or the Ruan family, they can restrain He An."

**

The annual martial arts competition was about to begin. The location was set near the camp outside the capital, within a huge fence with a huge circular arena in the center.

The martial arts competition was divided into three rounds, and all participants were divided into groups of three. After three rounds, the winners were selected, and then they were divided into groups of three again, and so on, and the last three winners were selected and assigned to the Ministry of War.

The Emperor personally watched this competition. Now that the Nanman people are making unusual movements again, the Emperor has begun to pay more attention to military commanders. Brave military commanders are the most important weapons of the country.

The competition starts in the morning. After rounds of competition, the ones left are usually stronger, which is exciting to watch.

The ministers in the court sat on both sides of the emperor, seemingly watching the competition, but in fact they were secretly speculating that the emperor attached so much importance to this competition and stated that the three final winners would be assigned to the Ministry of War, which showed that he intended to adjust the system of the Ministry of War.

The first round of competition was coming to an end. When the last group came to the stage, He An's eyes narrowed when he saw a tall and handsome man. Who else could that be but Qing Zhou?

Ji Lingchuan also recognized him: "Isn't that the Prime Minister's brother-in-law?"

The voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and the emperor, who was not far away, also heard it and looked over: "Who? Who is He Qing's brother-in-law?"

He An stood up and said, "Your Majesty, it is the tallest one among them."

"Well, despite his young age, he does have some heroic spirit." The emperor nodded.

"Your Majesty, you are wrong. Qingzhou is probably young and hot-tempered, and he came here without his family's permission..."

"Hey? Mr. He, don't belittle yourself for him. I want to see for myself how capable he is."

He An: “…”

After sitting down, Ji Lingchuan asked in a low voice: "Such a big thing, you wouldn't be unaware of it in advance, right?"

He An frowned and glared at him, and Ji Lingchuan looked a little guilty.

It doesn't matter if he doesn't know about it, but I'm afraid his wife doesn't know about it either.

The competition has already begun. For the sake of fairness, He An, as the prime minister, is not convenient to meet with the contestants alone. He can only wait and see the situation.