Chapter 176 Thorough Investigation
Xue Han glanced at Fang Xiang and said loudly, "Your Majesty, the Imperial City Guard discovered Northern Qi spies a few days ago and secretly observed them entering the Prime Minister's residence—"
"What?!" The ministers were so shocked by these words that they exclaimed in surprise.
Fang Xiang was furious: "Nonsense!"
Xue Quan, who was standing not far from Emperor Jingping, suddenly changed his expression and said with a warning, "Xue Han, you must not act recklessly in front of His Majesty."
Xue Han ignored these voices and continued, "The Imperial City Guard arrested the spy. After interrogation, the Northern Qi spy said that he went to the Prime Minister's residence to deliver gifts to Prime Minister Fang, asking him to speak to His Majesty to transfer General Huang Lin away from the North and replace him with a mediocre general..."
Emperor Jingping's head was buzzing.
Did a spy from the Northern Qi Dynasty bribe Fang Xiang?
He stiffly turned his head to look at Fang Xiang.
Fang Xiang looked indignant, as if he had been wronged: "Your Majesty, please understand! As the Prime Minister of Great Xia, how could I possibly accept bribes from Northern Qi!"
All the ministers present, even Lü Zhongcheng who had just clashed with Fang Xiang, wore expressions of suspicion.
Fang Xiang is right. No matter how greedy he is, he can't accept bribes from Northern Qi. Isn't that just too absurd?
"Xue Han, do you know that accusing a high-ranking official requires evidence?" Emperor Jingping calmed down a bit after Fang Xiang's aggrieved explanation, and his first reaction was disbelief.
Xue Han cupped his hands in greeting, his tone calm: "There is a spy from Northern Qi as a witness."
Fang Xiang angrily said, "It's not uncommon to call a deer a horse under torture. Xue Han, I don't know where I offended you to make you target me like this?"
"I have no personal grudge against Prime Minister Fang, but it is my duty and I dare not neglect it." Xue Han looked at Emperor Jingping. "Your Majesty, in addition to witnesses, I also found a secret ledger and several letters between Prime Minister Fang and the Qi people in his study today."
Emperor Jingping's expression changed drastically, and he immediately said, "Bring it here!"
With a cold face, Xue Quan personally took the account books and letters that Xue Han had taken out and presented them to Emperor Jingping with trembling hands.
Emperor Jingping opened the account book and flipped through it page by page, his expression growing increasingly grim.
The council hall was eerily silent. Several ministers lowered their heads, glancing at Emperor Jingping and then at Chancellor Fang out of the corner of their eyes.
Fang Xiang's face was ashen as he stared intently at the account book in Emperor Jingping's hand, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Emperor Jingping finally finished reading the letter, then pulled out another one to read. Finally, he looked at Fang Xiang with icy eyes: "Fang Yuanzhi, Fang Qing, I regard you as my right arm, and this is how you repay me?"
Fang Xiangyou was still unwilling to give up: "Your Majesty, I am innocent! Witnesses can be coerced, and handwriting can be forged. It was Xue Han—"
Fang Xiang paused, then suddenly realized something: "It was Xue Han who learned that the Prime Minister's residence intended to take his beloved Miss Qiu as a concubine for my grandson, so he harbored resentment towards me and fabricated witnesses and evidence..."
Emperor Jingping shifted his gaze to Xue Han.
He knew that Qiu Liu was Xue Han's sweetheart, so how come the Prime Minister's mansion wanted to take her as a concubine?
Emperor Jingping still remembered how radiant the girl was during the autumn hunt, and found this story utterly unbelievable.
"Your Majesty, the account books and letters were found this morning when I led men to the Prime Minister's residence and searched a secret room in Prime Minister Fang's study. The rare treasures recorded in the account books must be in the Prime Minister's residence. I beg Your Majesty to issue an order to thoroughly investigate the Prime Minister's residence. If it is true, as Prime Minister Fang said, that I was settling a personal score, then Prime Minister Fang's innocence can be cleared."
"Your Majesty's grace has made me unworthy of the position of head of all officials, yet Xue Han forcibly entered the Prime Minister's residence without Your Majesty's knowledge. This is not only an insult to me, but also a disregard for Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Fang cried out in a trembling voice.
Compared to Fang Xiang's agitation, Xue Han remained calm: "It is the Imperial City Guard's duty to monitor all officials. If they do nothing after discovering that enemy spies have entered the Prime Minister's residence, that would be dereliction of duty. Prime Minister Fang, in order to prevent the Imperial City Guard from searching the Prime Minister's residence, implicated His Majesty while he himself was a suspect. Could it be that he has a guilty conscience?"
"you--"
"Enough!" Emperor Jingping said coldly. "There's no point in arguing like this. Let's go to the Prime Minister's residence and check if there are any treasures recorded in the accounts. The Censorate will be responsible for supervision."
Emperor Jingping was incompetent in governing, but he was proficient in all refined pursuits such as music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. How could he, as the emperor and his minister for so many years, not recognize Fang Xiang's handwriting? In his view, the possibility of these letters being forged was extremely low. However, Fang Xiang was, after all, an important minister of the court, and he could not easily draw a conclusion.
Emperor Jingping also harbored a very secret thought: the rare treasures recorded in the account book could prolong life, bring the dead back to life, and he too was tempted.
Xue Han bowed deeply: "Your humble servant obeys the decree!"
Lü Zhongcheng also stepped forward: "Your subject accepts the decree."
Fang Xiang staggered backward, his face ashen.
Back at the Prime Minister's residence, the old lady arranged wave after wave of people to deliver messages to Prime Minister Fang, but they were all blocked outside the capital.
Then, even more officials arrived.
"Fire! The Prime Minister's study is on fire!" Many people ran around shouting, carrying basins and buckets to put out the fire.
Xue Han glanced in the direction of Fang Xiang's study, not at all surprised by the sudden fire.
The secret room contained not only ledgers showing Fang Xiang's acceptance of bribes from the Qi people, but also other items.
Without this fire, countless people would have been unable to sleep at night.
Xue Han knew the principle of focusing on the big picture and letting go of the small details. Fang Xiang had been in this position for many years and was entangled with the interests of officials and nobles. If all the account books were to be made public, he would face resistance not only from Fang Xiang.
It should be noted that the current emperor is not a man of strong will. He seized the opportunity to search the Prime Minister's residence by taking the initiative. Once those who have interests with Prime Minister Fang realize what is happening, it will not be so easy.
It's better to burn it now, so those people won't unite and fight to the death to protect Fang Xiang. And with the secret accounts burned away, those who are in the same boat as Fang Xiang will just hope he shuts up.
Only the dead can truly shut up and keep a deadly secret.
Xue Han thought that with this fire, it might be easier to find the stolen goods.
"How dare you search the Prime Minister's residence!"
The first to rush back was Fang Xiang's second son, who blocked Xue Han with a fierce expression.
"The search is ordered by imperial decree; anyone who obstructs it will be considered to be disobeying the imperial order!"
At this point, Xue Han would no longer show any mercy. With a single glance, his men immediately dragged away those blocking his way.
Chaos and cries filled the air. As darkness fell, someone shouted, "Lord Xue, we've found it in this storeroom!"
Many people rushed over immediately, and were deeply moved by the sight of the warehouse full of rare treasures.
Any one of these items could cost countless lives!
As the treasures were presented to Emperor Jingping, he was furious: "Investigate thoroughly!"
Neither the national treasury nor his private treasury had this many good things, after all, there were also rare treasures unique to the Northern Qi!
Next, multiple government departments, including the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate, intervened to jointly try the case of Fang Xiang accepting bribes from the Northern Qi.
After a few days of calm, Emperor Jingping finally had the mind to ask Xue Han for details.
"How did you know there was a secret room in Fang Yuanzhi's study?"
Xue stood to the side, his expression blank, but his heart was far from calm.
The Emperor asked a good question; he also wanted to know how his adopted son had developed such great abilities.
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