Chapter 709 Collaboration - The Winner
He knew that Gu Renjie must have received reminders and assistance from Yun Yichen, but the fact that Gu Renjie was willing to follow them was enough to show that he was willing to listen to good advice.
Lu Yuanbin and Lu Changqing fiercely competed to be the first to find out the results, but in the end, neither of them was able to truly figure things out.
On the fourth day, both Lu Yuanbin and Lu Changqing were stuck in place, unable to move forward any further.
Meanwhile, Gu Renjie, who had been inactive, finally made a move.
Instead of immediately checking the files of the people involved in his own case, Gu Renjie and his companion had someone first find out the contents of the files checked by the other two groups.
After comparing the three parties' testimonies, Gu Renjie discovered that the witnesses they needed were connected to the other two. Furthermore, many witness testimonies were strikingly similar.
With doubts in mind, Gu Renjie first investigated the different people involved. Because the initial focus and breakthrough point were different, those involved confessed about what happened back then as soon as someone came to them.
With a breakthrough, things became much easier for Gu Renjie.
Five days passed quickly.
On the last day, Lu Yuanbin's previously anxious heart immediately calmed down.
Knowing that Lu Changqing's side had made no progress either, Lu Yuanbin, who ultimately failed to uncover the truth, had no reaction to the fact that he could not answer to the emperor.
He thought that since the emperor was testing the two brothers, the results would definitely be selected from their group.
Therefore, throughout the entire process of undergoing the test, Lu Yuanbin never paid any attention to Gu Renjie and his group.
Little did he know that this group, which he didn't care about, was the one the emperor valued most.
"Tell me, everyone! How's your investigation going?"
The emperor, in a solemn tone, looked at the group of younger people below the stage.
The fourth prince, who outwardly held the most power among those present, was the first to step forward from the crowd.
"Your Majesty, I have failed to live up to your expectations. Although I have uncovered seven or eight parts of the truth of this matter, I have failed to find any key witnesses or physical evidence."
As the fourth prince spoke, he handed over a memorial he had written in advance. Upon seeing this, the eunuch quickly walked over, took the memorial, and returned to the emperor's side.
The emperor picked up the memorial that the eunuch had just handed him, looked at it, nodded, put it down, and then looked at Lu Yuanbin.
"How's the investigation going, Fifth Brother?"
The emperor's gaze fell upon him, and Lu Yuanbin immediately straightened up, mimicking Lu Changqing's manner, and gave his answer.
"Although the case has reached a bottleneck, I believe that the magistrate at the time was definitely framed."
Lu Yuanbin handed over the memorial, thinking that he had made some inferences and that the emperor would therefore praise him a few times.
To his surprise, the emperor not only did not react after hearing this, but also looked at him with disappointment.
He had already explained the situation when he handed the case file to the three men that day. If Lu Yuanbin had spoken completely at the time, or if his comprehension was sound, he wouldn't have said that the county magistrate was framed.
If the county magistrates hadn't all been framed, why would he have bothered to bring out these case files again for them to investigate as a test?
Lu Yuanbin thought that his extra words would earn him the emperor's favor, but in the end, his cleverness backfired and he instead incurred the emperor's displeasure.
The emperor ignored his dim-witted son and focused his hopeful gaze on Gu Renjie's face.
"How is Minister Gu? Have you found anything?"
The emperor had been sending the commander of the Imperial Guards to monitor the three of them. It was impossible for the commander of the Imperial Guards not to know if there was anything happening on Gu Renjie's side.
Gu Renjie calmly stepped out from the crowd.
"Your Majesty, after these few days of investigation, I have indeed found some things."
As Gu Renjie spoke, he handed over the evidence and testimony he had prepared in advance, and then slowly began to speak again.
"Back then, all three county magistrates involved in the cases were serving in Yuzhou. When I was puzzled, I investigated the backgrounds of these three magistrates and found that they were all recommended by a certain official who was then the prefect of Yuzhou."
"During their tenure, the superiors and subordinates maintained close relationships and engaged in some shady dealings behind the scenes. Moreover, according to witness testimonies, they gave the prefect very generous gifts every year."
"Logically speaking, given their relationship, the prefect should have been more discreet about their actions. However, none of them expected that the person they had always thought was their backer would one day turn against them. The trigger for this attack was that the prefect had an opportunity at the time. With just a little bit of political achievement, he could be transferred back to the capital to become a proper official in the capital."
"In order to achieve his political goals and return to the capital quickly, the prefect undoubtedly set his sights on his old friends. On the surface, he discussed with several people how to help him, but in reality, he secretly had someone expose the bad things he had done over the years."
"Public opinion can be terrifying. Even the whitest things can be made to look worse by trying to explain them, let alone things that are inherently black. They can only be made to look worse by trying to explain them. As a result, the three county magistrates were all imprisoned, which turned out to be a miscarriage of justice even though it was not originally a miscarriage of justice."
Gu Renjie's answer drew the attention of Lu Yuanbin and Lu Changqing. They had initially thought it was a miscarriage of justice, but they never expected that there were so many twists and turns involved.
Both had the same file and the same investigative abilities, yet Gu Renjie was able to uncover so much more.
Just as everyone was surprised, Gu Renjie calmly added, "In order to expedite this matter, many people who were involved back then became witnesses. Now that those people have been found again, I suggest that they be punished one by one."
Although these people were merely accomplices, they not only disregarded the law but also deserved due punishment.
Gu Renjie's face was serious, making it impossible to discern his true thoughts.
The emperor was very satisfied with her performance, and the worry that had been on his face because of Lu Yuanbin eased considerably.
As expected, this son did not disappoint him. It was truly remarkable that he was able to uncover so much information.
The emperor nodded in satisfaction, put down the gleaming pieces of evidence in his hand, and then waved his hand, ordering his men to do as Gu Renjie had instructed.
In response, Gu Renjie naturally needed to appear grateful, kneeling and bowing to the emperor as a way of thanking the emperor for the justice given on behalf of those who had been persecuted in the past.
As the ruler of a country, the emperor was naturally very satisfied with this attitude and wanted to personally help Gu Renjie up. However, considering Gu Renjie's awkward status, the emperor could only let the eunuch do it in his place.
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