Everyone in the courtroom instinctively held their breath, waiting for the woman to continue.
“My husband said that for all these years he has been coerced into illegally mining iron ore for others and even being forced to learn how to smelt iron and make weapons!”
Everyone was shocked by these words. When the case was being investigated, King Xuan hadn't forgotten about the iron mine in Jianzhou, but he had sent people to investigate. Since the earthquake, the iron mine had been blocked by rocks, and there was no way down. Therefore, he hadn't thought that someone was still illegally mining iron ore down there.
Minister of Justice Ji Yutang was utterly incredulous. This was truly a major case, one that could make someone famous for generations! He glared resentfully at Hua Liufang sitting in the courtroom, a bitter feeling welling up inside him. Why wasn't he the one to solve such a massive case?!
With this initial lead, the subsequent investigation became a matter of following the clues.
Soon, the county magistrate in the Jianzhou iron mine area was dismissed, and then he implicated his superiors. This led to widespread repercussions, with almost the entire Ministry of War being dismissed and imprisoned. For a time, the prisons of the Ministry of Justice were overcrowded.
Meanwhile, the public's praise for Xie Liwei reached its peak.
Such a huge case, was it because it couldn't be investigated back then, or was it because someone higher up wouldn't allow it to be investigated? In any case, ultimately it was because those officials lacked the ability and courage!
The Xie family is truly reliable. Over the years, they have cultivated so many outstanding students for the Great Chen Dynasty. Now that the Xie family has returned to the imperial court, they have solved such a major case as soon as they came back. The Xie family is truly remarkable!
The Xie family's reputation among the people rose again, almost driving the Dowager Empress and other prominent families to their deaths.
The Empress Dowager couldn't understand why the Xie family, which had been suppressed to such an extent, could rise to prominence again in such a short time.
“I can confirm that the Emperor is most likely paralyzed now,” Wang Xuan said.
He knew the Emperor was poisoned. He had felt something was wrong when he saw the Emperor through the curtain last time. If the Emperor was really alright, why didn't he let him show his face? They said the Emperor was afraid of the wind, but where did the wind come from in the Qiankun Palace?
To put it bluntly, they're covering things up. There's definitely something they're hiding from them, something they can't let them know.
"The Emperor is paralyzed. Did Prince Xuan feel he couldn't control those monsters and demons in the court, so he pulled Xie Liwei to stand in front of him?" The Dowager Consort frowned in thought, but then felt that this idea was very reasonable. They had all seen what kind of person Prince Xuan was over the years.
He's certainly skilled at investigating cases, but he's utterly lacking in interpersonal skills. Making him emperor would probably be worse than killing him.
"Let's proceed as planned and deal with the Fifth Prince first."
Consort Shu has been working hard these past few days. She has no family background and is practically isolated in court. However, she has cultivated connections over the years. Many want to get on the Fifth Prince's side, and thus, many in court have been speaking up for him, hoping he will take charge of the government.
However, these memorials were not approved. Consort Shu knew that Xie Liwei was deliberately suppressing them. How could Song Yaozhu, now in power, possibly allow her son to ascend the throne?
But she believed that if she could kill her once, she could kill her a second time!
Therefore, on his way back home from duty that day, Xie Liwei was attacked. However, the situation was not serious; Fang Rao prevented him from being harmed and even captured several people alive. It turned out that they were assassins from a martial arts organization.
Xie Liwei found it amusing. With so few capable advisors, it was truly remarkable that Consort Shu had risen to this position. Wasn't she also able to kill his elder sister back then because of her seemingly weak and harmless appearance?
Xie Liwei sneered repeatedly, already having made up his mind.
The disappearance of the crossbows not only implicated officials throughout the Ministry of War but also the officialdom of Yanzhou. Meanwhile, the daughter of the Yanzhou magistrate, Qin, was being hunted down after presenting evidence against her father for embezzlement and bribery. She traveled all the way to Yunzhou to deliver the evidence to the imperial envoy, Shen Qingyu, before finally receiving medical treatment.
This incident caused quite a stir.
A daughter reporting her own father is utterly unbelievable in the great Chen Kingdom, where filial piety is highly valued. After all, a son should not speak ill of his father!
Qin Man's evidence was very effective. Shen Qingyu immediately led a team to purge the officialdom of Yanzhou. Under severe torture, many people were also brought to light, and it was discovered who the real culprit behind the case was.
However, before the evidence could even reach the capital, the Imperial Guards tasked with delivering it, along with the convicted officials, all died on the way. It was clearly an attempt to destroy the evidence, but they were powerless to do anything about it. After all, they lacked conclusive proof!
"That Yue Qinlang is like a dog that bites but doesn't bark." Xie Liwei rubbed his sore neck and sighed.
Upon hearing this name, Song Yaozhu pictured Yue Qinlang. He was now one of the most important ministers in the cabinet. When she was alive, he was the Minister of War and was later promoted to the cabinet, making him one of the most important ministers of the Great Chen Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, it was he who sold the weapons of the Great Chen to the Eastern Lin Kingdom.
"If he can destroy evidence, why can't we?" Song Yaozhu said coldly. To deal with extraordinary people, extraordinary methods must be used.
The following day, Cheng Cheng, the commander of the Imperial Guards, led two thousand Imperial Guards to surround the Yue family, ensuring that no one could escape.
Yue Qinlang suppressed his fear and welcomed the person in. Everyone in the mansion was trembling with fear, not knowing what had happened.
Although Yue Qinlang's heart was pounding, he showed no sign of panic. He was certain that he had done everything perfectly; those people were dead, and the evidence had been burned. Even if Shen Qingque had a backup of the confession, he could simply deny it to the death.
"Lord Yue, may I speak to you in private?"
Yue Qinlang looked at Chengcheng and thought that although this person was the emperor's man, he was not so arrogant as to disregard everything. Therefore, he led the man to the study.
But as soon as the door closed, a tremendous pressure came from behind. Yue Qinlang couldn't believe that Chengcheng dared to attack him without any evidence or conviction!
"You! You!" Yue Qinlang's face turned red from lack of oxygen, his eyes bulged out, and he finally stopped breathing.
Chengcheng took out the written confession from his pocket and pressed his fingerprint onto it.
Then they made the man look like he had hanged himself, and after a quarter of an hour, they announced to the outside: "Yue Qinlang confessed his crimes and has now committed suicide out of fear of punishment. His mansion has been searched, and all his family members have been imprisoned!"
The Yue family naturally did not believe that Yue Qinlang would confess, but they were no match for the Imperial Guards and were quickly arrested.
The powerful families naturally did not want to see this happen, as they believed that if one family was gone, the other would be in danger. Therefore, they submitted memorials one after another, saying that Chengcheng had used excessive force in law enforcement and that the cause of Yue Qinlang's death was unclear, and demanded a thorough investigation!
In an instant, voices of condemnation against Chengcheng arose both in the imperial court and among the common people.
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