Chapter 157: Do you want her to hold on to this?

In the prefect's main hall, Ji Lingchuan was drinking tea leisurely. This time, he put Prince Chen together and felt happy: "This He Hongzhi is very scheming. He might think that Prince Chen will be able to turn the tables if we leave Qizhou."

"We must find out the hiding places of all the grain reserves in Qizhou as soon as possible."

Ji Lingchuan: "Not only Qizhou, but Jiangnan must also be guarded, and heavily guarded. I just don't know how big a trump card this He Hongzhi has planned for Prince Chen. If he hadn't been of great help to Prince Chen, he wouldn't have been able to sit in the position of prefect."

"He is betting on the entire He family. The He family is a century-old family, and many of their ancestors have served as important officials in the court. However, the family branches later fell out, and internal strife continued, and their careers gradually declined."

Ji Lingchuan nodded. To be honest, He Hongzhi, a bastard, must have had some tricks to get to where he is today.

Just when he was about to remind He'an to secretly investigate Jiangnan, He Hongzhi arrived with his entourage.

At first Ji Lingchuan didn't care too much, until he saw the person who brought Ruan Xiaoyue over, his eyes moved slightly.

No wonder He'an seemed so confident along the way, as if he was determined to win the Jiangnan region. It seemed that he had made arrangements long ago.

"I have met the Prime Minister and General Ji before. You two have come from a long way, so I am sorry for not welcoming you in person. Please forgive me."

Ji Lingchuan: "It's fine that Lord He came to greet us from afar, but we waited for half a day before he came. Could he be doing something shameful?"

"General, you must be joking. I was just interrogating Mrs. Pei, aiming to find the whereabouts of the rebel Pei Chong as soon as possible." He paused and said, "Rumor has it that Pei Chong fled to the south. I am under a lot of pressure. I will do my best and will not take it lightly."

He An frowned and glanced at Ruan Xiaoyue: "Since you have come to Jiangnan, do you know the whereabouts of Pei Chong?"

“I don’t know.”

"I heard from Madam that you secretly stole two million taels of silver from the Ruan family. Is that true?"

Ruan Xiaoyue: “…”

"If that's the case, then it's not just a case of treason. If you hand over the silver, the matter can be resolved. If you don't, then you are providing money for the traitors, which is the same crime as treason."

Ruan Xiaoyue bit her lip, obviously a little scared.

He Hongzhi said, "Sir, I have already asked her about the whereabouts of the silver, but she is very stubborn and refuses to tell the truth."

He An asked again in a deep voice: "Are you going to tell it or not?"

Ruan Xiaoyue: “…”

"You can put life and death aside, but have you ever thought about the second branch of the Ruan family?" He An stood up and came to Ruan Xiaoyue: "Have you ever thought about your parents, brothers and sisters?"

Ruan Xiaoyue couldn't hold on any longer after hearing this and collapsed to the ground: "Brother-in-law, I'll tell you everything. The silver was taken away by Lord He."

"You are talking nonsense." He Hongzhi said angrily, "You are such a daring criminal woman, you dare to accuse me of something so recklessly. Your crime is extremely serious."

He An patted He Hongzhi on the shoulder and said, "Master He, please be patient. You should not listen to the one-sided words of a guilty woman. The truth will be revealed."

"Your Excellency is wise."

She had been clearly warned, but she was deceived by He An in just a few words. He Hongzhi was a little worried.

Ji Lingchuan, who was sitting at the top, finally guessed He An's intention when he saw this. The reason why he rushed to Jiangnan was not really just to transfer King Chen's food and guards, but to cut off his control over Jiangnan.

If this is to be done, the first thing to do is to get rid of the He family.

When he left Beijing, he thought this trip was a layout, but now it seems more like a closing in operation.

He Hongzhi did not expect Ruan Qinghuan to bite back. Besides being surprised, he was also worried that He An would become suspicious. "My Lord, please investigate. This criminal woman slandered me, saying that I knew the whereabouts of Pei Chong. This is pure nonsense. If I really knew his whereabouts, why would I let him go unpunished?"

Ruan Xiaoyue's mind was a little confused.

She deliberately let He Hongzhi discover her and take her to the yamen in order to spread the news about her affairs in Jiangnan.

Although all this was planned, the Prime Minister's appearance today was an accident.

Ruan Xiaoyue thought carefully before answering each of his questions, for fear of saying something wrong and causing trouble.

He An nodded and said, "Ruan Xiaoyue, you originally intended to provide the silver to the rebels, but now you say that Governor He stole the silver. Your excuse is really far-fetched."

Ruan Xiaoyue was distracted when she was suddenly bumped down by someone behind her and came to her senses.

Looking up, he saw the seal of the Ruan family's silver bill drawn on the man's palm.

How did he get this seal? What exactly is he trying to imply?

She had never taken any money from the Ruan family, and the matter about the banknotes was just nonsense. She didn't know how to make up the next lie.

Seeing her like this, He Hongzhi thought she was scared: "Miss Ruan, I understand that you want to find Pei Chong, but you can't slander a good person casually."

"As a prefect, it is my duty to arrest the rebels. Even if you have grievances, you should not go against the law. Moreover, you are the sister-in-law of the Prime Minister, so you should have a sense of justice."

Ruan Xiaoyue's heart was beating like a drum.

When she just said that the money was robbed by He Hongzhi, the Prime Minister did not say anything else. Could it be that he wanted her to stick to this point?

She couldn't help but look at He Hongzhi's followers again, and after a moment's hesitation, she said, "Sir, I dare not lie. The silver was indeed taken by the prefect. You will know it once you search."

"You, you, you... you are really stubborn. Although my family is not as well off as the Ruan family, I still have some wealth. How could I lose my morals because of my talent?"

At this point, Ruan Xiaoyue could only stick to this point: "Mr. Prime Minister, the banknotes of the Ruan family bank all have private seals and hidden patterns to record the date of deposit. You only need to find the banknotes and check them to find out."

"Oh?" He An was surprised: "The Ruan family has such means, and I didn't even know about it."

"If so, what do you think, Lord He?"

He Hongzhi: "Mr. Prime Minister, I am upright and have nothing to fear from my own shadow. However, if you were to search the government office and my residence based on the words of a guilty woman, it would damage the dignity of the government if it were to get out."

"Besides, a mere two million taels of silver is not something that our He family should be willing to spend in such an unpleasant way."

Ji Lingchuan: "Really? The He family is so rich, so Lord He doesn't have to be afraid. This is a good opportunity to investigate and clear Lord He's name."

He Hongzhi: "..."

He An looked embarrassed: "This matter is also very troublesome for me. Although she is the daughter of the second branch of the Ruan family, she is also surnamed Ruan after all, and it is difficult for the Prime Minister's Mansion to deny the relationship. Now that the person has been found, the money is missing. If the news is sent back to the capital, it will be difficult to explain this matter to the emperor."

"She immediately confessed that it was you who took the silver. I explained to the emperor without words. Sir He, do you think the emperor will believe it?"

Ho Hung-chi was speechless when asked.

But he could not let He'an search the house, because the silver was in his room in the backyard of the yamen, and he had not had time to send it out.

If it is true as Ruan Xiaoyue said, there is a time stamp on the banknote, then it will never match.

He An soothed him, "Don't worry, Master He. I believe in you, but this process cannot be avoided."

"Someone come here..."

"Wait." He Hongzhi said to stop him: "Sir, are you really going to ignore the friendship between you and your fellow soldiers just because of what a guilty woman said?"

"Since you and I serve in the same court, we should know what the crime is for obstructing the thorough investigation of the rebel party."

It was not until this moment that He Hongzhi finally realized that he had been tricked in this matter.