Chapter 427 Produce Evidence
However, in reality, this really happened in my previous life.
But the person who was pushed out as the scapegoat was not her father, but the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was not so lucky. He stepped into a trap set for him by others and was eventually beheaded and his property was confiscated.
It was not until several years later that the prefect of Jiangcheng was finally arrested. The number of people involved in this matter shocked the court and the public, and the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue was only then rehabilitated.
In this life, the fate of the Lu family is completely opposite to that of the previous life. Lu Mingzhu is hated by Concubine Shu, she is hated by Liu Anyao, and her father is hated by Prime Minister Liu. If it were not for the secret conspiracy between Duke Anguo and Chu Jinyan in the court, her father would have been devoured by Prime Minister Liu without leaving a bone.
This inspection of the Pingjiang dam was simply a perfect plan to get rid of her father quietly.
Chu Jinyan looked at Lu Xiang in a daze. For some reason, when she was talking about this, he had the illusion that he couldn't grasp Lu Xiang. Subconsciously, he grabbed Lu Xiang's hand and held it tightly, as if he would find out that everything was a dream if he let go.
His intuition told him that it would not be that easy for Lu Xiang to know about this matter, but he would not get to the bottom of it.
As long as this girl truly belongs to me, that's enough.
"What's wrong?" Lu Xiang was surprised when he saw the uneasiness in Chu Jinyan's eyes.
"Find some sense of reality, otherwise I always feel like you are going to leave me." Chu Jinyan did not hide his inner uneasiness and looked at Lu Xiang with some grievance.
Lu Xiang was stunned, then burst out laughing.
The Eighth Prince, who has always been cold and noble, actually has such a childish side.
But it made her heart warm.
Lu Youping's corruption case caused a heated discussion in the capital. While Prime Minister Liu felt relieved, he couldn't help but wonder why Duke Anguo and others did not take any action. Did they give up on Lu Youping so easily?
Even if he didn't move, wouldn't the Queen love his daughter very much and ignore her?
If Lu Youping is convicted, he will be sentenced to death, and even if the Lu family is not guilty, they will be exiled.
The Qiao family is a relative of the Lu family, and they just produced a top scholar. If he is implicated by the Lu family, his career will be affected. Prime Minister Liu knows that Qiao Yuanan will not be used by him, so he kills him in the cradle before he can shine.
But he saw Qiao Yuanan reporting for duty at the Hanlin Academy every day with a bright and energetic look on his face.
These unusual circumstances made Liu Xiang become suspicious.
However, before he could figure out the reason, the Dali Temple Minister interrogated Lu Youping on the day he was caught off guard by the evidence Lu Youping submitted and the person he wanted to sue.
The Dali Temple Minister had a thousand horses galloping through his mind, and he glared at Lu Youping, wishing he could hang him up and beat him up.
If you had the evidence to prove your innocence, why didn't you submit it earlier? Why did you have to wait until today when he opened the trial?
Was it intentional?
Although he was angry, the Dali Temple Minister did not dare to make a decision on his own. He quickly took Lu Youping back to prison and hurried back to the palace.
There were three account books and several letters exchanged. The Dali Temple did not restrict the public from watching the trial, so on the day of the interrogation many people came to see the corrupt official Lu Youping being sentenced. Countless eyes saw Lu Youping produce the evidence, and even if the Dali Temple Minister wanted to destroy the evidence, it was too late.
Besides, the Dali Temple Chief Justice is not that kind of person.
Lord Wang ran all the way to the imperial study, and was in such a hurry that even his hat was crooked.
"Oh, Lord Wang, why are you in such a hurry?" The young eunuch outside the imperial study saw this and said with a smile.
Lord Wang took a few breaths and asked, "Please inform the eunuch that I have something important to report to the emperor."
"Master Wang, please wait a moment."
The young eunuch did not dare to delay and hurried into the hall to report.
Soon, he came out and bowed to Lord Wang, saying, "The emperor has summoned you, sir. Please come in."
Lord Wang nodded slightly to the young eunuch, straightened his clothes, and strode into the imperial study.
"Your humble servant pays respect to His Majesty. Long live the Emperor."
Lord Wang walked up to the dragon table of Emperor Chengde, saluted and shouted "Long live the Emperor".
Emperor Chengde was reviewing memorials. Hearing this, he asked without even looking up, "Shouldn't you be interrogating Lu Youping at this hour, my dear? Why are you here in the palace?"
Lu Youping committed a serious crime. Thinking that his trusted minister was actually corrupt and breaking the law, Emperor Chengde was so angry that he couldn't sleep well these days and kept paying close attention to the case.
"Your Majesty, I am here for this case. Lu Youping just cried out that he was innocent, and I thought he was struggling to death, but he suddenly produced evidence..." Lord Wang said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. This matter involved too many people: "Lu Youping wants to sue the Minister of Works, the two doctors of the Ministry of Works, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the prefect of Pingjiang..."
Lord Wang reported a series of names. After hearing them, Emperor Chengde put down his brush and looked at him in astonishment.
"These people formed a clique to engage in corruption and pervert the law. In addition to the relief money for the flood in Pingjiang and the embankment funds, the money taken from the court when the embankments were built in Jiangxi and Changzhou also went into their pockets. The Minister of Works alone embezzled more than one million taels. These are the account books submitted by Lu Youping and the correspondence with others."
With every word Lord Wang spoke, Emperor Chengde's expression grew darker.
The Minister of Works alone was so greedy, what about the rest of the people?
With so many people sharing the spoils, the total amount of embezzlement must be a huge sum.
Emperor Chengde was so angry that his hands were shaking.
When Hu Qian saw Lord Wang take out the account books and letters, he hurried forward to take them and handed them to Emperor Chengde for review.
There was silence in the imperial study, except for the sound of paper rubbing against each other as Emperor Chengde flipped through the account books.
Lord Wang knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe. This matter involved too many things, and these were the evidences found by Lu Youping.
Apart from these people, are there other more hidden backers behind them?
Suddenly, there was a "pop".
Emperor Chengde slammed the table in anger: "These beasts, they are supported by the court salary, yet they are so heartless."
Lord Wang was so frightened by Emperor Chengde's anger that he trembled violently and almost fell to the ground.
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Hu Qian handed over a cup of tea and soothed him.
Lord Wang silently gave Hu Qian a thumbs up.
At this time, only he, the chief steward of the imperial court, dared to speak.
Emperor Chengde took the cup unhappily and threw it on the table in annoyance: "What tea are you drinking, Wang Aiqing, bring Lu Youping to the palace. I will interrogate him personally. Pass on my order and summon all officials to the palace."
Lord Wang kowtowed and said, "I obey your order."
"I obey your command." Hu Qian also responded respectfully.
Then the two of them hurried out of the imperial study.
Lord Wang went to the Dali Temple to bring Lu Youping into the palace, while Hu Qian ordered the palace servants to invite all the lords into the palace one by one.
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