Chapter 293 Night Attack on the Princess
Sun Zhifu was an outlier in the officialdom, a man of unruly character. He sneered, spread his hands, and said:
"Do you really think you can get rich just by opening a silver mine? Anyway, none of that silver has ever come into our government's hands.
The government is struggling to pay salaries this year, and I can't afford to give anything to the Imperial Envoy. Could you please give me some to feed the Imperial Envoy?
The old censor frowned:
"Master Sun, please don't say such nonsense. I, the Censorate, don't have any money."
Gao Lian, who was at the top, had no choice but to interrupt:
"Okay, don't be so angry. I think this is probably a ploy by the imperial envoy.
As far as I know, when this King Zhao Yan entered the imperial court, he arrested a group of Beijing officials and spread the word to solicit bribes, but he was arrested by the officials who bribed him.
Besides, how could the Imperial Envoy be a corrupt traitor? In my opinion, we should hold our ground and let the Imperial Envoy investigate if he wants to.”
In a secret letter sent by Prime Minister Li Yanfu, this was mentioned:
If the Zhao thief asks for bribes, don't be fooled.
Prefect Sun and Ancha Liu looked at each other and nodded:
"Okay."
Gao Lian thought about it, and then said worriedly:
"Master Sun, you must send someone to keep a close eye on the silver mine. At this critical juncture, any suspicious individuals cannot be neglected. By the way, who is in charge there right now?"
"Taicang County Magistrate." Sun Xiaozhun said:
"Don't worry. I've already given you instructions."
As he spoke, the hot-tempered Sun Zhifu could not help but curse again:
"Damn Wang Chusheng! What a beast! He was corrupt and making money, and when his crime was exposed, he ran away, leaving the blame for me, the prefect who had only been in office for a year, to bear! Isn't it unfair for me?"
We have to be careful to serve this Imperial Envoy Zhao. What a bunch of bastards! "
I don't know who this sentence is scolding.
Governor Gao and Censor Liu looked at their noses and their hearts, pretending not to hear.
The three of them are now tied to the same rope and forced to share weal and woe.
…
…
There are many shops in Huai'an Palace, and naturally there are also some in Taicang City.
Xu Junling stayed in an inn in the palace.
But that very night, an uninvited guest came to the inn.
In room Jiazi.
Xu Junling looked at the black-robed man who climbed in through the window and said sarcastically, "When did Lord Zhao become a thief?"
The man in black robe jumped into the room through the window, closed the window with his backhand, lifted his hood, revealing a handsome face.
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "My Lady, your analogy is inappropriate. To raid a woman's bedroom at night is to be called a flower thief."
Shameless... Xu Junling spat. She was dressed neatly, sitting at the table, and put down the book in her hand, as if she had known he would come.
Before entering the city, Zhao Duan told her about the arrangement at the tea stall, asked her where she would stay after entering the city, agreed on a room, and said he would come over in the evening.
"Sir Zhao, please don't tell me that you came here so late at night just to investigate a case." Xu Junling couldn't hide his curiosity.
This man's actions have been full of strangeness since he entered the city.
Zhao Duan took off his black robe and walked to the table. He took a sip from the kettle, then picked up a piece of cake and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he pulled out a chair and sat down. He smiled and sighed, "As a dragon crossing the river, it's not easy to investigate a case in such a solid place. How can I do it without using some tricks?"
Xu Junling asked, "So? You ran away from the posthouse to avoid the eyes of the local officials? To make it easier for you to act?"
"Smart." Zhao Duan praised indifferently.
This is not difficult to guess.
Xu Junling asked curiously, "Why are you going to all this trouble? You seem very worried about Gao Lian and the others."
Zhao Duan put away his joking thoughts, his face became slightly more serious, and he smiled:
"My Lady, what do you think is my mission here?"
"Of course, it's to investigate the case of the Taicang County Magistrate suspected of corruption and stealing national silver." Xu Junling said lightly.
Zhao Duan stared at the dignified and elegant princess of the royal family, with her eyebrows and hair painted, and said with disappointment:
"My Lady, why do you have to say these polite words? With your intelligence, you should know that a mere county magistrate is not worth Your Majesty's fuss.
The Taicang Silver Mine case is primarily a warning to others. Your Majesty needs to deal with it with swift action, to show the local officials the court's resolve and ensure the smooth implementation of the new policies...
Oh, the new policy was passed in the capital, but it is still difficult to implement in the local areas."
"The second thing I care about is who is behind the Taicang County Magistrate. Who is protecting him from the wind and rain? Who is the mountain for him to lean on?"
Xu Junling looked normal, and said in a declarative tone:
"So, you suspected that the Taicang County Magistrate's backers were among the officials who welcomed you into the city. You didn't trust them, so you decided to conduct a secret investigation."
Zhao Duan snapped his fingers in appreciation and said:
"My princess understands me. This investigation is like playing chess. When you're in the middle of it, it's easy to be blinded by one thing and be led by the nose by these local officials.
After all, I am a dragon crossing the river. Even if I have those 200 cavalrymen, it is meaningless if I am blind."
Xu Junling said darkly, "Then you sent someone to spread the word and ask for a bribe, was it to test me?"
Hey, you are well-informed... Zhao Duan shook his head and said:
"That's not the case. No matter how stupid these people are, they wouldn't bribe me at this critical moment. I just threw a trick to confuse them for a while, so that they can't guess my intentions and delay a little."
Xu Junling nodded, reluctantly accepting the explanation. "Then you sneaked out, aren't you afraid they'll find out the imperial envoy is missing?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "Who said I'm missing? Do you know how to disguise yourself? I can just have my men disguise themselves as me and stay at the post station. I can delay them for a day or two."
Before he left, he gave the mask he had seized from the Thousand-Faced God to Chen Juan.
Now, Chen Juan disguised himself as him and played the role of a fake imperial envoy, attracting the attention of the whole city in the post house.
As a real imperial envoy, he can free up his hands to do something.
As for sending messages, it was also very simple. Before he left the capital, he took out a talisman from the treasury of the imperial court. It was similar to paper and could transmit messages within a certain range.
Xu Junling was greatly surprised and asked curiously, "Then may I ask, Lord Zhao, what is your current understanding of the case?"
Zhao Duan sighed:
"It's not optimistic. Haha, according to the local officials in the prefectural capital, a few days ago, before the order from the capital was passed on, Wang Chusheng, the Taicang County Magistrate who was suspected of corruption, had already disappeared."
(End of this chapter)
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