Chapter 39 Chapter 39 "My Queen, I wish you a long life...
Not only was the Luozhou incident this time strange, but the ministers were also so anxious that they demanded that Shangguan Li be executed immediately. They insisted that the evidence was true and did not follow any interrogation procedures.
Shangguan Xu knew that this was clearly directed at her, Shangguan.
But her brother had already retired to the Secretariat for many years, so why should he be involved in the struggle of the previous dynasty?
Even her brother is his son-in-law!
However, Shangguan Xu couldn't put any energy into scolding him. She should have known Su Wang's character long ago. Now that something like this had happened, she should have calmed down and thought of a solution sooner.
Yet, Su Wang, in the court, incited the ministers to place her on a pedestal! He claimed that the law was unforgiving and that even relatives were spared. He also claimed that while the capsized cargo ship and collapsed bridge were man-made, their occurrence was also a sign from heaven. Now, so many people have suffered as a result of these disasters, and the court should express its gratitude—Your Majesty and the Queen Mother should chant sutras and pray for the people at Da'an Temple, asking for divine mercy.
This clearly meant to cut off her chance of defending her brother!
All the officials requested this, and Shangguan Xu had no choice but to approve it.
"Empress!"
In Da'an Temple, just when Shangguan Xu was at a loss and filled with anger, Qinghe suddenly came in from outside the meditation room and called her. She looked up and saw that there was a person next to Qinghe.
It’s A Zheng!
She was covered in wounds and blood, her head was hanging, and her arms were draped weakly on Qinghe's shoulders. She was able to stand only thanks to the little strength Qinghe lent her.
Shangguan Xu rushed over and supported A Zheng on her other side: "What happened? Did you call the imperial physician?"
Qing He nodded: "I called her before I was admitted to the hospital."
The two of them worked together to help Ah Zheng lie down on the couch in the room.
Then the imperial physician came in, and the palace maids in the entire courtyard came and went, changing several basins of water stained red with blood.
A Zheng was unconscious, and the room was filled with the smell of blood and wound medicine.
Shangguan Xu frowned and asked Qinghe beside him, "Did A Zheng say anything when you picked her up?"
Qing He pondered, "I only managed to get Ah Zheng through the Imperial Guards outside the temple. She was already unconscious at the time. When I left, she only said two words: 'Shipping Merchant.'"
Ship merchants...
Was it the ship merchant that Zheng had mentioned earlier? Was he also responsible for Zheng's injuries? Why had all these things suddenly piled up together?
Shangguan Xu: "Send someone to check the whereabouts of those ship merchants immediately!"
Inside the Xu Mansion, Xu Qing'an held his forehead with his hand, frowned and remained silent.
Chen Heng heard about what was happening in the court: "This Prime Minister Su is truly ruthless. He shows no mercy once he strikes. The Empress Dowager returned to the Da'an Temple, and he found a reason to execute a third-rank official on the spot. And that person was even his son-in-law..."
Xun Yang crossed his arms and reminded, "So what if he's a son-in-law? Haven't you heard about the incident in the second year of Xining when he forced Su Jia Silang to death? That was his blood nephew whom he raised since childhood."
Chen Heng smacked his lips: "No wonder, no wonder he..." Chen Heng glanced at Xu Qing'an who was sitting silently, and it was difficult for him to speak out, so he just said it in his heart. Could it be that he could have been so decisive in attacking the king of a country, leaving no room for him.
"But Shangguan Mingyue's fate is actually none of our business." Seeing Xu Qing'an distressed, Chen Heng found an excuse to comfort him, "After all, he is also on the Queen Mother's side, and we will eradicate the Queen Mother's faction sooner or later. Now we can be considered to be borrowing someone else's knife to do it in advance."
Mingyue is the courtesy name of Shangguan Li.
Xu Qing'an, who was sitting in his seat, finally spoke up. "He's different. Ever since I met him, he's been upright and honest. He's not one to go along with corrupt practices. This can be seen from the fact that when the Empress Dowager came to power, he resigned from his position as Vice Minister of Justice and retired to the Ministry of Secretariat."
"And as mentioned earlier, Su Wang is a man of few means, accustomed to using the blood of others to build his own reputation. We previously used the Jiangnan incident to undermine his reputation, and now we cannot allow him to rebuild his reputation by using Shangguan Mingyue."
Chen Heng thought that this statement did make sense, but who knew whether Su Wang's sudden attack on Shangguan Li this time was an attempt to repeat the incident in the second year of Xining.
Xu Qing'an: "The previous list needs to be used in advance."
Chen Heng was surprised: "Which list? The one you asked me to collect before?"
Although Shen Heng was not a member of the imperial court, because of his status as a merchant, he could do many things more conveniently than an official.
Long before Xu Qing'an came to Beijing, he had instructed him to conduct a detailed investigation of the local officials under Su Wang. Those who had committed illegal acts had their evidence collected and recorded in a list. Even the intelligence network, once laid out, is now being continuously updated. However, this list was also made by Shen Heng with great effort.
He couldn't help but get excited when he heard Xu Qing'an was going to use the list here: "You, you're using it right now! Isn't this a case of losing the big picture for the small? It's really not worth it."
Obtaining the list is an important part of attacking Su Wang's forces. If they use it now to save Shangguan Li, then the effect they originally wanted will be far less than what they wanted.
Xu Qing'an asked, "How can saving lives be considered a loss of the greater good?" He knew Chen Heng's thoughts and said comfortingly, "I'm not asking you to hand over the entire list. I'm just selecting a few cases that can be used to resolve this matter. The rest will continue to be handled according to the original plan."
Chen Heng was still unwilling: "We can't just give it away like this, we have to get something in return, right?" He pursed his lips and muttered, "Anyway, I'm a businessman. I can't maximize profits, but I have to gain some benefits from everything I do."
Xu Qing'an asked, "What benefits do you want?"
Chen Heng said, "I'm not from your court, so how would I know what benefits can be gained? I just think that nothing goes in vain, but..." He suddenly raised his eyebrows, as if remembering something, and whispered, "Since we are helping the Queen Mother's family, why not ask for it from her? Her power will be eliminated sooner or later anyway, so this way we can kill two birds with one stone, right?"
Xu Qing'an stared at it, his eyes thoughtful.
——
Later that night, a dark shadow passed through the courtyard of the Da'an Temple.
The light was on in Shangguan Xu's room, and she was writing something at her desk.
There were suddenly two knocks on the window.
Shangguan Xu turned his head and looked.
"My Lady."
The next moment, Shangguan Xu stared wide-eyed, turned around and blew out the candle.
The person outside the window couldn't help but smile and leaned out: "What is your Majesty doing? Why did you blow out the candles as soon as I arrived?"
Shangguan Xu hid what he had written, stood up, and walked towards him, saying, "I'm just worried that the light in the room might reveal Xu Qing's shadow outside."
"Really?" The person outside sneered.
"certainly……"
Before Shangguan Xu could finish her words, the person outside turned over and came in, standing in front of her. His eyes cast down on her, and Shangguan Xu subconsciously took a step back.
Xu Qing'an raised the corners of his lips slightly: "But if Your Majesty hadn't lit the lamp, I would have walked into the wrong room today."
A Zheng was seriously injured today. After the imperial physician treated her, he suggested that she should not be moved. Therefore, Shangguan Xu let A Zheng sleep in her original room, and she herself lived in the side room in the courtyard.
Seeing that she seemed to be making up another excuse in response, Xu Qing'an didn't want to listen and asked first, "Is your Majesty still worried about Lord Shangguan's matter?"
Sure enough, her expression became much lighter as soon as she said this.
Xu Qing'an took in all the changes in her expression in the dim light, and then unconsciously lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, almost inaudibly.
He said, "In what way does Your Majesty wish to intervene for Lord Shangguan?"
Shangguan Xu raised his eyes: "Of course, let him survive unharmed."
Xu Qing'an said, "But everything has to have a beginning. Where do you want to start?"
Shangguan Xu thought he had come to pawn this evening for this very reason, so he expressed his thoughts: "I know my brother well. He would never commit corruption. So as long as we investigate past events, we'll be able to find evidence to prove his innocence. But the difficulty now lies..."
"Time," Xu Qing'an continued, "Now many officials are demanding Lord Shangguan's immediate execution, and with the wind blowing in your direction, Your Majesty is worried that there won't be enough time to find evidence, or perhaps even none at all."
Shangguan Xu nodded and said "hmm" softly.
Xu Qing'an sighed at this moment: "It's easy, actually. Just find a way to delay it."
Shangguan Xu frowned: "What do you mean?"
Xu Qing'an curled his lips and looked out the window. "If the bridge in Luozhou collapsed, the officials responsible for supervising its construction would be executed. Should the same be done if bridges collapsed in other places? Let's not talk about whether they should all be executed immediately, but if there are too many people involved, wouldn't the interests of others be affected? For example, those officials in the court who are calling for immediate execution..."
Xu Qing'an turned around.
Shangguan Xu understood what he meant. Su Wang had many followers. Even if the officials close to him could be restrained by him, or he could help them deal with dirty deeds, he could never take care of all the officials far away from him. The method Xu Qing'an gave was to catch those under Su Wang who had the same experience as Shangguan Li and deal with them together. In this way, Su Wang would have to give in to protect them and investigate these matters thoroughly, thus giving him time to find evidence to clear Shangguan Li's name.
Although this method is good, the problem still lies in...
"Time," Shangguan Xu said, "It takes time to find and sort out those things, and the territory of Dajin is vast. Finding those things would take even longer than directly looking for exculpatory evidence. So, although this method is good, it is useless."
Xu Qing'an said nothing, just stared at her silently.
Shangguan Xu met his gaze, noticing the strangeness in his eyes. She suddenly raised her eyes and said excitedly, "Are you able to propose this method because you have a better way to implement it? Or do you have a case on your hands that can delay my brother's case?"
Hearing this, Xu Qing'an's eyes flickered slightly, a hint of a smile, but his tone remained calm, and he didn't answer her. "Your Majesty, let me tell you some good news first. My illness can be cured."
In an instant, the excitement on Shangguan Xu's face faded away, replaced by trepidation and an inexplicable sense of unease: "What do you mean by that?"
Xu Qing'an tilted his head, his expression intriguing. "What does your Majesty mean by asking this? Aren't you happy for me?"
Shangguan Xu took a deep breath, suppressed his uneasiness, and said, "The illness you mentioned is the congenital deficiency you mentioned before?"
Xu Qing'an: "Yes, that's it."
Shangguan Xu: "After so many years of recuperation, can it be cured now?"
Xu Qing'an's smile widened. "My family's miraculous doctor is truly amazing. He came back this time and developed a new prescription for me. I've taken a few doses and am feeling a turnaround. The miraculous doctor took my pulse and said that with a little more time, I'll be back to normal." He suppressed his excitement and whispered, "Your Majesty, I hope I live a hundred years."
Shangguan Xu's head buzzed.
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