Chapter 8 Chapter 8 He expressed his hatred calmly...
The sunlight is quiet, the tea fragrance is thick, and a hand covered with fine lines and calluses picks up the tea lid, gently turns it along the rim of the bowl, and skims off the top layer of tea foam in the bowl.
The excess tea dripped down the lid of the cup, the water flowed like a waterfall, and hot steam rose.
Put the tea lid under the lid, pick up the tea bowl together, tilt it slightly, and a thin stream of tea will be poured into the cup.
"Uncle! Uncle!"
Su Wang was sitting on the small couch beside the long window in the room. He had just picked up the teacup and hadn't even touched his lips when he heard an urgent shout from outside.
His movements were calm and steady, while the young man who had just been shouting outside strode in.
The young man stopped in front of him and said, "Uncle, something happened..."
After sipping his tea, Su Wang put the cup down, then raised his eyelids to look at the person in the room.
At the same time, the servant of the Su Mansion finally arrived. Seeing this, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Prime Minister, Lord Wu said he had something urgent to tell you, and I didn't have time to pass it on..."
Su Wulang, the son of Su Wang's second elder brother, has a single given name, Ran, and courtesy name, Xingzheng. He currently serves as the Chief Censor in the Censorate.
Su Wang glanced at the servant and said nothing. He just waved his hand and signaled him to leave.
When Su Ran saw that only he and Su Wang were left in the room, he said, "Uncle, Minister Liu was captured by that Censor Xu. He was acting on the Empress Dowager's orders, so he bypassed me."
Su Wang looked at him and raised his hand to invite him to sit down. "I've heard about what happened at the Censorate. Not only did the witness bring all the evidence, he also created quite a stir in the city. It's only a matter of time before Liu Chang is arrested."
Su Ran said, "My nephew just thought that since he is a minister after all, and he has done something for us before, maybe he can protect us."
Su Wang raised his eyes to look at him and said slowly: "How to protect it? Use your official reputation?"
"Let me ask you first. My Su family now has a seat in the imperial court, and all officials appear to respect us. What is the reason besides power?"
Su Ran replied in a low voice: "The Su family all adhere to the family motto - to be fair and just, and treat everyone equally, so they are loved by the people."
Su Wang continued, "The people are like water; it can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. This world encompasses millions of people, and no one person has the final say. Things are developing rapidly now, and Liu Chang's crimes have incurred immense public resentment. If you want to protect him, you have no choice but to use your power to suppress this matter. But what about your reputation? Think carefully; you're essentially trading your reputation for something else."
"Is a Liu Chang really worth it?"
Su Ran was silent.
Su Wang said nonchalantly, "Serving as the Minister of Works for four years was a great fortune for him. It's just that his ability doesn't match the position and he can't keep it. There's nothing to regret. The Queen Mother is probably trying to link this matter to the incident of last night's boat tour."
Su Wang's tone became more and more nonchalant: "If she wants an explanation, let her go."
Su Ran still asked anxiously, "So we're just going to do nothing? The Ministry of Works is currently selecting a new minister, so why don't you make any plans, uncle?"
Su Wang chuckled and said meaningfully, "There's nothing to plan. It doesn't matter which minister goes up."
——
In front of the dressing table in Lizheng Hall, Shangguan Xu was using the sunlight, holding a pen, and carefully drawing a flower on her forehead.
But the object of this description is not herself.
Shangguan Xu stopped writing and looked at his painting and the girl's face again and again, his eyes gentle and full of love.
She smiled and said, "A Zheng is really handsome with her hair tied up and beautiful with makeup."
Ah Zheng, who was sitting opposite her, felt shy because of her praise. She lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, smiled, and said, "Your Highness is making fun of me again."
Shangguan Xu lowered her head and smiled faintly. When she raised her eyes, she was still gentle and said, "I really mean what I said." As she spoke, her expression became more compassionate. "So, did you remember anything when you passed by Luozhou this time?"
Ah Zheng shook her head: "No."
Her voice was very soft, and one could sense her regret, but from her expression one could tell that she seemed to have become accustomed to this situation.
A Zheng and Qing He are different. Qing He has been with Shangguan Xu since she was a child in Shangguan's house, while A Zheng was rescued by Shangguan Li outside more than three years ago and then sent to Shangguan Xu.
At that time, the young emperor had just ascended the throne. The Yellow River in Luozhou was hit by a flood and broke its dike, leaving victims everywhere. It was at that time that Shangguan Li went to the disaster area to investigate the situation and rescued A Zheng, who was alone and had lost her memory.
At that time, A Zheng was extremely thin and covered with injuries. Shangguan Li asked her about her hometown. Apart from vaguely remembering that her nickname was A Zheng, she knew nothing else. She just seemed to have practiced martial arts, and her every move was influenced by the habits of a martial artist.
Shangguan Li took her with him, and after returning to Beijing, he sent her to Shangguan Xu. Thinking that she was good at martial arts, Shangguan Xu could take care of her and also keep an eye on her.
Over the past few years, Shangguan Xu has been helping A Zheng find her family and memories, and Luozhou is where Shangguan Li rescued A Zheng. Shangguan Xu thought that maybe A Zheng's home used to be there, so he paid more attention to Luozhou.
This time, A Zheng was ordered to escort someone to the capital and passed through Luozhou on the way, so Shangguan Xu asked about it.
After receiving the usual answer, Shangguan Xu remained silent for a moment, then said comfortingly, "Luozhou is vast, perhaps we didn't come to the right place."
Ah Zheng smiled back, "Your Majesty, don't worry about me. Some things are still about fate. Maybe when the time comes, we will naturally meet."
Although the words sounded light-hearted, Shangguan Xu knew that A Zheng just didn't want her to worry too much or have to worry too much about this matter.
When it comes to searching for memories and loved ones, unless there is any substantial progress or they are successfully found in the end, there will always be a sense of melancholy and loss whenever it is mentioned.
Ah Zheng then took the initiative to talk about other things: "This time when I was escorting someone to the capital, I discovered that there was more than one group of people following the witness on the road."
Shangguan Xu frowned and looked over.
Ah Zheng recalled, "Of course, one group was sent by Minister Liu to hunt down the witness, but there was another group that was more like us, secretly protecting the witness in the dark."
"Have you ever fought each other?" Shangguan Xu asked.
Ah Zheng shook her head: "No, I haven't even run into them in person. I only sensed their presence from other clues."
Shangguan Xu pondered, "Minister Liu has been doing a lot of evil in the local area, so it's not surprising that he has enemies. But to be able to send out such a group of people, he must have sufficient power behind him. Could it be that he has enemies in the court? But he is Su Wang's man."
Su Wang was the prime minister and one of the three highest officials in the government, with immense power over the entire world. How many people in the court dared to attack him?
Ah Zheng said, "Perhaps it's someone from the underworld? There are always those who are not afraid of the powerful, nor do they seek fame or fortune, but simply want to seek justice for injustice."
Shangguan Xu's eyes were filled with vigilance. "We still need to investigate. If you can detect them, they should be able to detect you as well. Whether they are friend or foe is still unknown."
——
In the Censorate Prison, Liu Chang was pushed into the cell.
At first, he spoke to Xu Qing'an in a friendly manner, saying that he was framed. However, when he saw that Xu Qing'an still wanted to send him to the Taiwan prison and even looked like he was going to interrogate him, he could no longer tolerate it and started cursing.
"I am a fourth-rank minister, and you are only an eighth-rank imperial censor. What rights do you have to arrest me?"
With a rustling sound, Liu Chang stumbled and was pushed onto the pile of dry grass in the cell.
He turned around half-crouching and saw Xu Qing'an slowly walking towards him and half-kneeling in front of him.
The young official was not annoyed by his verbal abuse. Instead, he was calm as usual with a faint smile at the corner of his eyes.
Xu Qing'an said softly, "Minister Liu is right. My position is indeed much lower than yours. But Minister Liu, you should know that officials in the court don't always follow their own ideas. They always have to listen to the opinions of those above them, right?"
As he spoke, he took out a token from his bosom and said, "This humble official is obeying the orders of the Empress Dowager."
When Liu Chang saw the token, his face became even more horrified, and he said hurriedly, "I, I want to see Prime Minister Su!"
"Hmm?" Xu Qing'an hummed in surprise. "I said I was following the orders of the Empress Dowager. You said you wanted to see Prime Minister Su. What do you mean?"
He took a breath, thought for a moment, and then said, "Do you think Prime Minister Su's words are more effective?"
Liu Chang was speechless and tried to defend himself for a long time but was interrupted again.
Xu Qing'an smiled and said, "You'd better save what you want to say for later. I'll remember it all for you anyway. Now that you're at the Censorate, I naturally have to fulfill my duties as a host, so please enjoy yourself first."
Liu Chang's case was reported under his real name, with solid evidence, and Xu Qing'an's quick handling of the matter. Therefore, by the time the censor who had gone to the local authorities to verify the facts returned to the capital, the entire case was essentially settled.
Liu Chang took advantage of his position to enclose large amounts of land in his hometown, and he also embezzled and accepted bribes, and abducted women. A careful investigation revealed that there were problems with the Ministry of Works' accounts in recent years, which is why rotten wood was used to build ships on Lantern Festival night.
In this way, two problems were solved one after another.
Xu Qing'an wrote the memorial and went to the palace to report to Shangguan Xu.
"He took advantage of his position to commit corruption and evil deeds in his hometown, so he also committed illegal acts in the Ministry of Works. What Xu Qing wrote in his memorial makes a lot of sense." Shangguan Xu commented after reading his memorial.
Although the boat tour incident was deliberately done by Shangguan Xu and Xu Qing'an separately, Liu Chang was not clean in the Ministry of Works and could easily fabricate a crime that could be linked to the boat leak.
However, having the connection is one thing, and having Liu Chang recognize it in person is another.
Shangguan Xu asked, "I heard that Xu Qing used severe torture in prison?"
Xu Qing'an smiled upon hearing this and said calmly, "The criminal was stubborn, so I used some of it, but it was indeed very effective. After a day or two, he admitted everything."
Shangguan Xu raised his eyebrows, his words unclear: "It seems that Mr. Xu has quite a bit of experience in interrogation."
Xu Qing'an bowed, "Your Majesty, I am truly grateful for your kindness. I simply wish to resolve the Lantern Festival incident as soon as possible, so that Your Majesty can have less worries."
"But I have something I would like to ask your Majesty for help with." As he said this, his brows slightly raised, and his expression showed a bit of pity.
Shangguan Xu was confused: "What?"
Xu Qing'an raised his eyes, his eyes filled with pity. "When I was investigating the case earlier, in order to close it quickly, I used the token of Your Majesty to gain an advantage. As a result, I bypassed the Lord Minister directly at many stages. Now that I think about it, I'm afraid he might find it inappropriate, so I'd like to ask Your Majesty to help mediate."
"And when I was interrogating the criminal, he kept bringing up Lord Su. I couldn't understand why, so I asked him privately. I learned that Lord Su had promoted the criminal. I don't know if this will cause Lord Su to misunderstand me. I am a lowly person, so I can't bear the consequences."
"Is that so?" The confusion between Shangguan Xu's brows slowly dissipated.
Now Xu Qing'an has done several things in succession on her orders, most of which are related to Su Wang. He is currently in the limelight and is the most eye-catching. These words were just to ask for her protection.
In such a situation, if you want to control your subordinates, you just need to say a few comforting words in a gentle voice, express your support, and let the subordinates rest assured that there is someone supporting them.
But this time, Shangguan Xu suddenly smiled, glanced to the side, and said nonchalantly as if he was distracted, "Then you underestimate Mr. Su. Mr. Su is as dedicated to his duties as a mountain. The situation you described would never happen."
"Really?" Xu Qing'an lowered his eyes, and the smile beneath his long eyelashes was tinged with frost.
He concealed his hatred with a calm tone: "In this case, I am relieved."
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