Xuanxia

Chapter 386 Old Case
It was naturally impossible for Li Jingzhe to talk to Fu Qingzhou in this "tea room".

However, this time Fu Qingzhou did not take the elevator. Instead, he followed Li Jingzhe down a long flight of stairs, went down to the second floor, and went to a special small room that was like a study.

This seems to be Li Jingzhe's "office".

However, this small room was extremely messy. The desk and the bookcases on both sides were all filled with various files, arranged in a very disorderly manner.

Li Jingzhe walked to the table and sat down. He looked at Fu Qingzhou and said in a deep voice, "Are you going to the capital this time to investigate the case of Tang Zhun, the former Minister of Rites?"

"Exactly."

Fu Qingzhou responded, "Master Ning promised me that he would give me the power to re-investigate the Tang Zhun case."

"Yes." Li Jingzhe said calmly: "Do you know what crime Tang Zhun committed back then?"

Fu Qingzhou shook his head.

"He is just an insignificant little figure in a big case."

Li Jingzhe said this and stretched out his hand to take a picture.

A file suddenly flew out from a messy bookcase nearby and fell steadily into his hands.

He did not hand the file to Fu Qingzhou, but unfolded it himself, took a quick glance at it, and then slowly said, "In the spring of the tenth year of Qianhao, the Hongjiang dredging project was finalized. My emperor led the civil and military officials to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, praying for good weather and peace in Dayan."

"However, five months later, Shen Rongsheng, the censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, submitted a memorial impeaching the Minister of Works and a group of officials for embezzling funds from the water conservancy project... The memorial also involved the sacrificial ceremony after the project was completed, which involved a wide range of people."

At this point, Li Jingzhe closed the file with a snap and looked up at Fu Qingzhou: "Tang Zhun, the Minister of Rites, is the official in charge of the accounting and procurement of the sacrificial ceremony. He is suspected of colluding with officials from the Ministry of Works to embezzle a large amount of national treasury funds and enrich himself."

After that, he added: "After investigation, the case was found to be correct. The emperor was furious and all officials, from top to bottom, a total of 86 people, were punished."

Fu Qingzhou's eyes narrowed slightly.

This... is such a big case?

Tang Jiao was still young when she left the capital, so she naturally didn't know much about these things. Fu Qingzhou didn't ask much for fear of touching the wound in her heart.

Although Li Jingzhe only said a few words lightly at this time, Fu Qingzhou was no fool and immediately understood how serious this case was!

Hongjiang is the largest river in Dayan.

The water conservancy project many years ago must have been extremely expensive and involved multiple prefectures. After it was completed, the emperor personally led civil and military officials in offering sacrifices, which shows the importance the court attached to this project.

Although Tang Zhun was only suspected of corruption in the sacrificial ceremony, this matter was linked to the water conservancy project corruption case after all, and it was impossible to discuss them separately.

Therefore, what could have been a crime punishable by dismissal from office and exile ended up with the destruction of one's entire family.

Thinking of this, Fu Qingzhou raised his eyes slightly and asked softly, "Master Li, was Mingjian Pavilion responsible for investigating this case?"

Hearing this, Li Jingzhe curled up the corner of his mouth into a slight smile, the meaning of which was unclear.

"You are quite perceptive."

He said calmly, "Mingjian Pavilion was indeed involved in this case - but at that time the case was too big and involved too many people to be solely responsible for by one department. Therefore, the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and Mingjian Pavilion were all involved in this case."

Fu Qingzhou took a deep breath.

This matter was much more complicated than he had imagined...

He originally thought that this was just Tang Zhun's case, but now it seems to be an old and huge case!

At that time, eighty-six officials were prosecuted for this case alone, and they were just officials!

The number of other people involved will only increase exponentially, and that’s not even mentioned.

Tang Jiao said that Tang Zhun was wrongly accused... If he was wrongly accused, then it was impossible that he was the only one wronged. If he was not wronged alone, then... this big case was to be reopened?
Thinking of this, Fu Qingzhou began to feel dizzy.

What is this? Are they going to shoot ten episodes of Detective Di Renjie?

“Why, are you scared?” Li Jingzhe sneered, “I’m not afraid to tell you that I was also involved in this case back then. There aren’t many suspicious points, the clues are clear, the logic is reasonable, and there is almost no misjudgment… Although I haven’t read Tang Zhun’s case file, it’s probably…”

Before he finished speaking, Fu Qingzhou interrupted him and said calmly: "There are not many doubts, but there are still doubts?"

Li Jingzhe narrowed his eyes.

The two looked at each other without saying anything. After a while, the commander of the secret envoy in Mingjian Pavilion slowly said, "Yes, but why should I tell you?"

Fu Qingzhou raised his eyebrows: "Master Ning..."

"Don't use Master Xiangjian to pressure me."

Li Jingzhe said calmly, "The Lord has given clear instructions to you and Tang Jiao to investigate the case, but he never said that I should waste manpower and resources in Mingjian Pavilion to accompany you to investigate this old case."

Fu Qingzhou frowned slightly: "Then, may I ask, Lord Ning, when will you return to the capital?"

"I don't know."

Li Jingzhe leaned back on the back of the armchair and said, "My Lord has taken the Second Miss out of the capital. No one knows their whereabouts, and I don't know either."

Fu Qingzhou's eyebrows jumped. Ning Baimei was not there. Was Ning Wushu also taken away?
What can we do if you don’t give us this clue?
But looking at Li Jingzhe's attitude, there was no hope of getting any clues from him.

"In that case, I know about it."

After thinking for a moment, Fu Qingzhou decided not to argue here any more. He bowed slightly and said, "Then may I ask, Lord Li, do you have any files for me? Or any relevant investigation evidence? Otherwise, how can I question the relevant personnel when I investigate the case?"

Hearing him ask this question, a hint of displeasure flashed across Li Jingzhe's eyes.

But he still reached under the table, then raised his hand and threw it.

Fu Qingzhou reached out to catch the object, then looked down...

"Mingjian Zhishi card!"

His eyes lit up.

This plaque was exactly the same as the one Hua Xiaolan had given him in the Ten Thousand Poisons Mountain. The jade plaque was dark black in color, with dragons and phoenixes carved on it. It was extremely gorgeous. It was light and thin, warm to the touch, and had four large characters "Ming Jian Zhi Shi" written on it.

"During this period of time, you will be my special envoy of Mingjian Pavilion."

Li Jingzhe pouted and said, "With this card, you can go anywhere in the world except the imperial palace. All civil and military officials below the third rank must treat you with courtesy and accept your inquiries."

Fu Qingzhou raised the corner of his mouth.

Obviously, this was left for him by Ning Baimei.

This Lord Ning is quite nice to me.

But just as he was about to bow and thank him, he heard Li Jingzhe's voice become deeper: "But remember, you can only use this sign to investigate the case of people related to Tang Zhun. If you dare to use it for other purposes, I will personally chop you into eighteen pieces, and even gods can't save you!"

Fu Qingzhou coughed lightly.

Don't mention it, he really wanted to use this sign to get away with it and clear his good brother Yue Heng's name... But it's okay, there are other ways to bully others without using the sign...

"Also, there is one more thing."

Li Jingzhe tapped his fingers on the table and said calmly, "You helped defeat the Northern Yi people's conspiracy in Luoyi and captured the Northern Yi prince Manar. The court has rewarded you. When the second lady returns, His Majesty will personally reward you. Please leave your address and wait for the imperial decree."

(End of this chapter)