Minglong

Chapter 143 The wall fell and everyone pushed it
Late at night, in Lizheng Hall.

The palace servants stood silently outside the door with their heads bowed, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Inside the brightly lit palace, a lively little sparrow sat on a round table, chirping away.

Emperor Qian, dressed in a bright yellow bathrobe, sat before a round table, with a broken teacup lying on the floor that hadn't been cleaned up yet.

The Empress then took a blanket and draped it over Emperor Qianlong's back.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Li Gongpu also made a mistake..."

"He's smarter than anyone else."

Emperor Qian had employed Li Gongpu for twenty years; how could he not know the abilities and character of this lackey under his command?

"He just felt that my time was coming to an end and was looking for his own way out."

"He's always been good at reading people. He can guess what I'm thinking without me having to say a word and he'll handle it accordingly. I didn't expect that he would guess that I thought I wouldn't survive this winter either... cough cough..."

The Empress sat down beside him, helping him catch his breath, her expression complex.
“Alas… Li Gongpu is a senior figure by His Majesty’s side. Even if he has been bewitched, he should be punished according to the law. But we should wait until Jing Huan takes over the reins and set an example for all the civil and military officials…”

"That was my original plan, and I only intended for him to die."

Emperor Qian looked at Zi Tingque:

"But you don't understand how good Li Gongpu is at pleasing people. I've even forgotten about this bird, but he remembers it perfectly. And when I get tired of something, he always manages to find a new favorite and arrange it perfectly."

"I am physically weak and sick. I suffered when I was a prince. When I first ascended the throne, I could not control the senior officials in the court. All the shackles made me know to restrain myself."

"But Jing Huan is different. He is only twenty years old. Over the years, I have cleaned up the court for him. Once he ascends the throne, he can take decisive action. If he has good ministers to assist him, he can become a wise ruler. If he is close to sycophants, he will become autocratic, arrogant, and licentious..."

The Empress sighed softly: "Then what does His Majesty mean?"

"I am not even dead yet, and Li Gongpu is already currying favor with the new emperor. If all the court officials follow suit, what kind of emperor am I? After Jinghuan ascends the throne, will they start secretly colluding with the vassal kings again?"

"Uh... Your Majesty is absolutely right."

Emperor Qian turned his gaze toward the doorway:

"Buddha'er, compile the memorials from court officials impeaching Li Gongpu for corruption, bribery, and abuse of power, and send them to the Dali Temple; also send the memorials regarding the Danyang Li family's burying of gamblers alive, smuggling of 'Dengxian San' (a type of sedative), and smuggling of salt, etc. Have the Chilin Guard confiscate their private property, severely punish the ringleaders, and exile the implicated relatives three thousand li away, as a warning to others. As for Li Gongpu, in consideration of his past hard work, let him end his own life."

Cao Fo'er felt that the Emperor still held onto some old feelings, and after thinking for a moment, she said:
"Li Gongpu bribed Zhou Ming'an and insisted on a severe sentence for Xie Wen. Although Hou Jiye insisted on a fair judgment, he ultimately harbored the intention to kill Xie Wen. Xie Jinhuan was also watching Li Gongpu for clues because of this. In my opinion, why not do him a favor?"

Emperor Qian was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly and looked at Zi Tingque again:

“Send this bird to the Crown Prince. When he was young, Jing Huan longed for it but could not have it because he was too young and not mature enough. I was afraid that he would become arrogant and spoiled if he became too favored. Now that he has come of age, he knows how to act properly. If we try to correct him too much, it will backfire.”

"Yes."

……
-
It was midnight, and the streets should have been deserted, but the streets outside Li Gongpu's residence were brightly lit.

Censors, students of the Imperial Academy, and ordinary people from all over the city flocked to the streets upon hearing the news, banging drums and gongs. Restaurants and taverns were packed to capacity, with wealthy customers readily paying for all the drinks. It was all for the sake of universal celebration!
Just an hour earlier, Hou Jiye, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Fan Li, the Crown Prince's tutor, and several other court officials, together with others, held a memorial service outside the palace gates, impeaching Li Gongpu for twenty major crimes, including bewitching the Crown Prince, accepting bribes, abusing his power for personal gain, wrongfully killing civilians, and causing havoc in the local community.

Emperor Qian was furious upon hearing the news and ordered the Red Scale Guards to search and confiscate the Li family's residence. Since Li Gongpu's ancestral home was in Danzhou, the Danzhou government also dispatched personnel to assist in the investigation.

The raid on Eunuch Li's house was a highly praised task. The garrison commander Cao Huai'an personally led three hundred red-robed plague gods to surround the huge Li mansion.

After Xie Jinhuan finished his work, he was planning to go find Da Bingtuozi, but somehow he was conscripted and became a representative of the Danzhou government, accompanying the Chilin Guard to confiscate his property.

Upon hearing this great news, Yang Dabiao, who was on his deathbed, was so shocked that he sat up abruptly and, with Xiao Wang and the others who were limping, changed into government uniforms and crawled over from the Imperial Pharmacy.

At this moment, many Crimson Guards were gathering personnel and taking inventory of property within the Li residence.

In the back courtyard, in the bare study.

Li Gongpu, dressed in an official robe, sat alone on a tea table. A three-foot-long white silk ribbon lay on a tray beside him. He seemed to have lost his soul, staring blankly ahead.

Xie Jinhuan stood at the doorway with two weapons hanging from his waist, surveying the familiar study:
"His Majesty is indeed sentimental. You have bribed officials to judge wrongful cases, causing more than ten families to be ruined and killed, yet he still gave you some face. Minister Li, please. If we delay any longer, the Red Scale Guard will not be able to explain itself to the outside world. We can only help Minister Li save face."

Li Gongpu's eyes flickered, and he came back to his senses, looking at Xie Jinhuan:
"Did you use illusion magic on me that day in the Linde Hall?"

Xie Jinhuan did not deny it: "Is Vice Minister Li going out to protest his innocence and say that I framed you?"

Li Gongpu knew that going out to shout was pointless. Given their reputations, if he described the scene in detail, he would only be seen as a mad dog biting people indiscriminately.

Secondly, even if someone guessed that Xie Jinhuan was setting a trap for him by buying the Purple Sky Sparrow to curry favor with the Crown Prince, it wasn't Xie Jinhuan who arranged it.

Now that he has run headlong into the emperor's wrath, everyone is turning against him. Who would bother to investigate Xie Jinhuan, a chivalrous man with the backing of the Prince of Dan and a promising future, for the sake of a well-known court jester like him?

Li Gongpu knew that if the emperor wanted him dead, he couldn't possibly live. Xie Jinhuan, on the other hand, was impeccably discreet and had no way to retaliate. After a long silence, he propped himself up on his knees, picked up the three-foot-long white silk ribbon, and...
"My mistake was that I wasn't ruthless enough three years ago and didn't eliminate the problem completely."

"That's about right. If you hadn't given Han Jingchuan advice, my father wouldn't have been dragged out to take the blame; if you hadn't been demoted to Ruizhou, the troop wouldn't have been attacked, the accompanying servants wouldn't have all died tragically, and my father's fate wouldn't be unknown. I survived entirely by luck. You only ended up like this, which is already a good outcome for you."

Li Gongpu draped a three-foot-long white silk ribbon over the roof beam and stepped onto a stool:
"In that case, I haven't suffered any retribution. Not only did I get a complete corpse, but I also prevented you from killing your enemy."

Xie Jinhuan was unfazed by this provocation:

"Speak your mind, there aren't many words left." "Heh~ It's His Majesty who wants to kill me now, not you. His Majesty even spared me some dignity, and I left quite peacefully. If I had fallen into the hands of the Crown Prince, I would have been beheaded and subjected to slow slicing. In a way, I should thank you..."

After tying the rope, Li Gongpu hung it around his neck, looked at Xie Jinhuan, and kicked the stool away.

clang--

The stool fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Li Gongpu swayed a few times, but still stared at Xie Jinhuan, trying his best to appear calm and composed, hoping to make Xie Jinhuan unhappy. After all, the more fearful and angry he was at this moment, the more relaxed his opponent would feel.

But Xie Jinhuan clearly didn't pay attention to that look. After thinking for a moment, he picked up an old calligraphy brush from his pocket:

"By the way, this pen is really quite mysterious. Did you have it blessed by a master when you passed the imperial examination and rose to prominence?"

"Hmph...steal...lotus..."

Li Gongpu had already given up struggling, but when he saw the calligraphy brush, his pupils dilated violently, and he suddenly became active again. He struggled to twist and grab the rope, trying to break free, letting out suppressed hissing sounds, and staring intently at the door, as if he wanted to call for help.

But this is obviously impossible.

Xie Jinhuan looked into Li Gongpu's eyes and said nothing more.

Li Gongpu struggled with his legs, his eyes filled with resentment as he tried to speak, but as time went by, his struggles grew weaker and weaker, and soon he fell silent.

After confirming that Xie Jinhuan was truly dead, he put away his old calligraphy brush and turned to walk towards the corridor outside the courtyard.

The two Red Scale Guard centurions who were waiting in the corridor went in to check and, after verifying his identity and confirming that he was dead, went out to call people in to tidy up the valuables in the study...

……

Outer residence.

All the people in the mansion were gathered in the courtyard and their identities were verified one by one. The servants and maids who were hired on a short-term basis were dismissed on the spot, while the slaves who were sold into servitude and family members were detained for trial.

Yang Dabiao stood in the courtyard, looking at the swarm of servants and the account books laid out before him, his eyes filled with shock:
"Li Gongpu is utterly insanely greedy! How much of the people's hard-earned money has he robbed?! The 'Thief Saint' has caused quite a stir in the city. I thought he had emptied the place, but it turns out he only took a tiny fraction..."

Linghu Qingmo had already been dissatisfied with the Li family's lawless and corrupt behavior in Danyang when he was still there. Now, standing to the side, recording the property information, he felt a surge of pride and satisfaction at eliminating the corrupt official.

"All the stolen goods must be handed over to the national treasury. If the 'Master Thief' takes them all, how will the court reward meritorious individuals like Xie Jinhuan..."

Princess Changning, who was supervising the inspection, was also somewhat shocked by Li Gongpu's astonishing wealth. After waiting for a moment, she approached Xie Jinhuan and asked:

"How about it?"

Xie Jinhuan didn't really feel anything. After all, Li Gongpu deserved his fate. The emperor seemed kind, giving him a chance to watch Li Gongpu die. But if the emperor didn't covet personal gain and dealt with this corrupt and bribe-taking courtier sooner, it would save many people from suffering.

The matter was over, and Xie Jinhuan did not linger on the dead.

"His Majesty just sent me to see Li Gongpu's respectable demeanor; it's none of our business. Should we head back home?"

Princess Changning also didn't want to stay here, so she led the group ahead and, after thinking for a moment, said:

"The Li family has been a scourge to the village for many years. Eliminating them is a service to the people. How could I, the princess, not reward them? How about I have Qingmo serve you while you wash up tonight..."

"Ok?"

Linghu Qingmo, who was walking beside him, was still admiring the magnificent buildings of the Li residence when he heard this and immediately turned around:

"Ling'er!"

Duoduo followed behind, smiling, and said, "How about I do it? I promise I won't take advantage of Young Master Xie, I'll just wash my face plain."

Wash your face...

Xie Jinhuan felt that Nai Duo was already being very accommodating by not letting him wash her face with Duo's help. Although he was very tempted, he thought about the matter of the big ice cube and that Wan Yi was definitely cooking and waiting at home. After thinking it over, he said:

"Hmm... I promised to visit Dr. Lin tonight, and it has indeed taken a while..."

?

Linghu Qingmo blinked, thinking of his sister who only knew how to sleep, and moved a few steps closer:

“What time is it? Dr. Lin is already asleep. You’ve been busy all day. Go back, wash up and get some rest. You can go over tomorrow morning.”

"Hehe..."

Xie Jinhuan smiled, said nothing more, and escorted the three patrons who hadn't been properly entertained to the carriage:

"Let me take you back to your residence first."

……

(End of this chapter)