Chapter 138 Report to Yuan Qingyi
"Wang Shan? You mean, Eunuch Wang's adopted son? When did he become related to Zhao Duan?"
He Zheng was stunned for a moment, thinking back to this person.
After the Xuanmen coup, Eunuch Wang died in the chaos. After the new emperor ascended the throne, there was a major reshuffle in the court.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter, and the power network that Wang Zhen had painstakingly built during his lifetime collapsed in an instant.
Wang Shan, the adopted son, resigned on his own initiative because he had no one to rely on, and took over the "legacy" business left by his adoptive father.
There was no such person in the court of Dayu, but he was doing very well in the circle of powerful people.
The subordinate reported:
"After Zhao Duan rose to prominence last year, he was led by Qin Qu into the circle of the children of the powerful and influential in the capital.
On one occasion, he went to Wang's house to visit Wang Shan. According to Qin Qu's confession, Wang Shan held a banquet and invited Zhao Du'an to the table to eat and drink. In order to make friends with people with the surname Zhao, he deliberately prepared a beautiful girl.
After the banquet, Wang Shan personally took Zhao Duan to see the beautiful girl. Qin Qu had no chance to enter. He only knew that Zhao Duan came to look for him the next morning. When he left Wang's house, his face was pale and his steps were weak.
But after that, for some reason, I rarely interacted with Wang Shan."
"Oh?" He Zheng's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously touched his beard with his fingertips and said with a smile:
"That's normal. What friendship? Wang Shan is probably trying to get something on Zhao Duan. So, Zhao Duan must have slept with that beautiful girl."
He couldn't hide his excitement.
In this way, as long as he can get the evidence that Zhao Duan slept with a woman from Wang Shan, he can complete the task assigned by the Lord Chief Justice.
"Sir, are we going to capture Wang Shan now?" the subordinate asked.
He Zheng shook his head: "Not appropriate."
As Zhou Cheng's trusted subordinate, he knew to some extent that Zhou Cheng and Wang Shan had both worked under Eunuch Wang in the past and had a close relationship.
Although people forget about you once you're gone, it's better to report to Zhou Cheng first for safety's sake.
"Throw this Qin Qu into the Dali Temple prison and don't let the news leak out."
The green-robed civil servant was very proud:
"Let's go back and see the Lord Tingwei."
…
"Wang Shan?"
Dongcheng, the backyard of Xue family’s private school.
Upon hearing this name, Zhang Han and Haitang didn't react much, but Zhao Duan's pupils suddenly contracted.
In his mind, some dusty memories were triggered, and messy pictures, like randomly edited movie shots, churned in his mind.
This name... sounds familiar... Wait, I think I've seen him before, maybe even had a drink with him? Such a vague memory, it seems like it was not long after I came to power...
Zhao Duan pressed his thumb between his eyebrows, trying his best to obtain useful information from his messy and fragmented memories.
In a trance, he seemed to see "himself" and Wang Shan arm in arm, leaving the banquet hall drunkenly and walking along the corridor.
Finally stopping outside a bedroom, Wang Shan pushed open the door with a smile, and then... forgot.
"What’s wrong with you?"
With an oval face and a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye, the heroic Haitang looked at him suspiciously.
"Nothing, I just thought the name sounded familiar." Zhao Duan forced a smile to cover up his loss of composure.
"It's normal to sound familiar. Although this person has retired from officialdom for several years, he still has some fame in the Beijing playboy circle." Zhang Han hinted at something.
So, was it me who used to hang out with him when I was a playboy in the capital? A scoundrel like Qin Qu? No way… Zhao Duan was a little embarrassed.
I can only sigh that the world is really small.
Haitang asked a few more small questions, and Xue Xuan answered them all, but as she said, that was all she knew.
He ordered Xue Xuan to go out and wait. After the door was closed, "King of Scrolls" Zhang Han looked at his two colleagues:
What do you think? Is what she said true or false?
Haitang said:
"It may not be completely true, but it's probably true. Besides, she couldn't have fabricated such a complicated case.
I think this is an excellent opportunity to break through. As long as we can get more evidence, this case will be enough to bring Zhou Cheng to ruin."
After saying that, the two of them looked at Zhao Duan together, waiting for him, the "organizer", to speak.
Zhao Duan also agreed with their views and nodded slowly:
“It’s indeed a good breakthrough.”
Haitang was very excited and entered a state of reasoning:
"However, Xue Xuan's testimony alone is meaningless, and the relevant files have been lost. It will be extremely difficult to overturn the case. Perhaps we can start with Wang Shan."
Zhang Han shook his head, disagreeing:
"Wang Shan is the key figure in this case and is indeed our target. But looking at the entire case, even if Wang Shan reveals the truth, Zhou Cheng can still claim that he handled the case impartially and was deceived by false testimony."
Haitang rubbed her pointed jaw, her face falling.
"That makes sense. So, the only things that can truly identify him are those lost files, physical evidence, or the people who handled the case. But he must have erased those things long ago."
Zhang Han shook his head and said:
"Erasing it is not necessarily possible. Think about it, this case was no small matter back then. Many people were involved, and even the Three Departments and the Imperial Court were involved.
Even though Zhou Cheng is quite powerful, it is almost impossible for him to make all the insiders and evidence disappear without attracting the attention of the court.
Haitang was in high spirits and analyzed:
"That is to say, there must be evidence, but the problem is how to find it. Even if there is any remaining evidence, it is probably in the Censorate or the Ministry of Justice, and they won't show it to us easily.
Those involved in the case back then have now been promoted or demoted, and are scattered across various government offices, making it even more difficult to find them and question them."
The female inspector stood up and paced around the main room.
Anxiety appeared on her pretty face:
"Although we have the power to supervise all officials, if we want to order the cooperation of all the major government offices, including the three judicial departments, I'm afraid even the governor might not be able to do it. Moreover, that would certainly cause a huge disturbance, wouldn't it alert the enemy?"
Zhang Han also frowned and said nothing.
Deadlock!
Two detectives who are good at investigating cases found themselves in a dead end.
They seriously underestimated the difficulty of overturning a major case that happened thirteen years ago.
"Well, that is to say, as long as there is someone strong enough, who can move freely between the various government offices, retrieve the files, and can make many people involved in the case speak up, and can cover up the situation, then it will be fine, right?"
In an anxious atmosphere.
Zhao Duan, who was drinking tea leisurely, looking like a bystander, suddenly asked.
The two people who were immersed in discussing the case suddenly remembered him and turned to look at him.
Haitang said unhappily:
"You sound as if this is simple. In the entire imperial court, there are no more than a handful of people who can accomplish what you're describing. No, there are even fewer! Wait, you're not planning on reporting this to the Saint, are you?"
Zhang Han also thought of this possibility and tried to dissuade them. They had just found a clue, and it was inappropriate to alarm the empress and start a war.
What's more, in the empress's position, countless eyes are watching her every move, so it is difficult to hide her movements.
Zhao Duan smiled, spat out a mouthful of inferior tea leaves with a relaxed look, and stood up without bothering to explain.
"Don't worry, I'm talking about someone else. It's getting late, so come with me."
The two were confused and could only follow. When they walked out of the backyard, they caught a glimpse of Xue Xuan waiting quietly.
When they passed each other, Zhao Duan stopped in front of her and suddenly smiled brightly:
"We'll meet again."
Xue Xuan's heart trembled. She didn't dare to look at the infamous "Envoy Zhao" and lowered her head humbly.
"Miss, they've left." After a while, Uncle Fu came over and said in a low voice.
Xue Xuan then slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with sadness.
"Miss, these people are inquiring into what happened back then. Could it be that they want to overturn the verdict for the master?" Uncle Fu suddenly asked.
Overturn the verdict? Xue Xuan shook his head and said with a bitter smile:
"Do you think a despicable villain like Zhao Duan would go against a third-rank official for the sake of those worthless souls?
I guess they just happened to be investigating something related to this old case, and even if they knew the truth, they would pretend not to know.
Overturning the verdict... I used to dream about it, but I no longer have that dream."
Uncle Fu was speechless. Thinking of Zhao Duan's bad reputation, he shook his head and sighed, picked up the flower basket on the ground, and went out to buy paper flowers and candles.
As I walked out of the courtyard, the sound of children reading aloud could be heard again in the private school.
…
…
"Don't tell us that the helper you're looking for is Mr. Yuan."
One of the Three Judicial Departments, formerly known as the "Imperial Censorate" and later renamed the "Supervisory Office".
On the street, Haitang gripped the reins tightly, expressionless, looking at Mr. Zhao who was sitting in the carriage with a lazy posture.
"What else?"
Zhao Duan yawned and slowly got out of the car, looking as if it was a matter of course:
"Prime Minister Zhou judged this case while serving in the Censorate. Most of the relevant files, witnesses, and evidence, as well as the people who handled the case, are all in the Censorate. If the Censorate is willing to help, collecting the evidence from that time would surely be much easier than it is for us."
Haitang's expression was full of disbelief. She opened her mouth, speechless for a moment.
Even Zhang Han's expressionless face showed a strange expression, and he finally managed to utter only one sentence:
"That's Lord Yuan."
Yuan Li!
The leader of the Qingliu Party, whose influence covers half of the court, is a big figure who competes with Prime Minister Li Yanfu.
Haitang frowned and said:
"Are you going to use His Majesty's name to ask Lord Yuan to help you? Let me remind you, not everyone can be manipulated or threatened by you."
After a pause, her tone softened and she tried to persuade him:
"I've also heard that you once worked for Mr. Yuan, but..."
She wanted to say:
With our status, we are not worthy of asking to see them at all. The level difference between the two sides is too big and there is a huge gap.
Yes, in the case of Pei Kai, only a few people knew about the personal relationship between Zhao Duan and Yuan Li.
In the eyes of almost everyone, the only connection between Zhao Duan and Yuan Li was that they were in the same camp during the "Behead Pei" operation.
That's all.
As for "friendship"? What is that?
Haitang and Zhang Han couldn't even imagine that the person at the top of the list Zhao Duan was looking for was the Imperial Censor, a first-rank official!
Even the coachman, Xiao Wang, though he didn't know the specific situation, felt a little scared when he saw the gate of the Censorate.
"Sir, I'm afraid Lord Yuan won't see us..."
"..." Zhao Duan was repeatedly criticized by several people, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry:
"Mr. Yuan isn't a monster, so why are you doing this? Well, if you don't want to go, then wait at the door."
As he said this, he jumped off the carriage, patted his butt, left behind a few useless teammates, and walked straight to the middle of the two towering stone lions in the Censorate, revealed his identity, and immediately someone came in to report.
After a while, an official ran out and said something. Zhao Duan took a step and walked straight into the gate of the Censorate and disappeared from the sight of the three people.
(End of this chapter)
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