My father ordered me to kill the emperor, but His Majesty bestowed a princess upon me instead.

Chapter 90 Grand Secretary Wang Enters the Palace

When Ah Liu woke me up, I thought I had just closed my eyes.

He stood by the bed, holding a basin of hot water, his face full of caution.

"Young master."

I opened my eyes.

The roof was shaking.

It might not be the roof shaking, but rather that I haven't yet emerged from my dream.

I sat up, my mind blank for a moment.

Then everything rushed back at once.

Qian Rong.

Ji Qing.

Wang Ge Lao.

The Golden Palace was overturned.

I rubbed my temples.

"What time?"

"The hour of Mao (5-7 AM) has just passed."

"How long did I sleep?"

"A little over two hours."

Ah Liu spoke as if he were announcing good news.

I think the most absurd thing in the world is that it's something to be happy about sleeping for two hours.

On the table were hot water, hot bread, and a bowl of refreshing soup.

The stimulating soup looked strangely familiar.

I glanced at it, and my stomach started to churn.

Ah Liu hurriedly said, "Physician Xu said that this bowl is tastier than the one in the palace."

"How much lighter?"

"The smaller ones smell about the same."

well.

A sense of loneliness settled in.

I washed my face, drank half a bowl of refreshing soup, and took two bites of the hot pancake.

Only when I swallowed the hot pancake did I feel like I was barely alive again.

Zhao Guanlan was already waiting for me in the main hall.

The certificate boxes are arranged in three rows.

The first piece of evidence from the Yongning case includes: old pages with official seals from the Ministry of Works, Yongfeng Bank documents, Lu Pharmacy's confession, half a receipt from the Imperial Treasury, and a fragment of a money approval document.

The second item is related to an old case: a rubbing of a missing page, a rubbing of a fragmented letter, a rubbing of the inscription on the "Lan Bugui" death registration plaque, and a rubbing of a broken corner of an old plaque with the character "Wei".

The third is the testimonies: the testimonies of Qian Rong, Ji Qing, Mrs. Qian, Feng Baoquan, Manager Lu, Qian Fu, Yao the Deaf, and others.

Lu Huaizhou's eyes were red as if they had been smoked.

He carefully stacked the petitions.

"Qian Rong was primarily responsible for one case, the Ministry of Works' treasury and silver offices were involved in one case, the Qian family concealed witnesses in one case, and the old accounting bureau was implicated in one case."

I looked at that stack of papers.

"Didn't Lord Lu sleep last night?"

Lu Huaizhou asked, "Are you asleep?"

I thought about it.

"He slept for two hours."

He paused for a moment.

"luxury."

Ah Liu whispered from the side, "Lord Lu, what you're saying makes it sound like sleeping is embezzlement."

Lu Huaizhou said seriously, "During the investigation, it did indeed seem similar."

Ah Liu dared not speak.

I checked each document in the box.

The seals are still on.

Qian Rong is still alive.

Ji Qing is still alive.

Lan Bugui did not show up.

Shen Lie has not yet arrived in the capital.

well.

At least we still have a chance to fight this Golden Palace today.

Gu Xingzhi arrived before I left.

He did not go inside, but stood outside the gate of the Censorate.

"His Majesty ordered me to escort the certificate box into the palace."

I look at him.

"Escort the document box, or escort me?"

"Certificate box".

"Where is your subject?"

"It's on your way."

well.

When the guards speak, they never lie.

I had someone carry the document box onto the car.

Qian Rong was also put into another car.

He changed into a clean official robe today.

There was no official seal.

The empty space around my waist was even more noticeable than yesterday.

When he got out of the car, he saw me and actually smiled.

"Did Lord Shen sleep well?"

"Thanks to Vice Minister Qian, I slept for two hours."

"Young people, if they don't get enough sleep, they're more likely to say the wrong thing."

"Minister Qian has slept too much, and he's said quite a few wrong things."

Qian Rong didn't say anything more.

He looked up and glanced in the direction of the palace.

That look in his eyes was very complicated.

It felt like fear, yet also like finally waiting for the knife to fall.

When the palace gates opened, court officials had already entered the palace one after another.

The atmosphere is off today.

When court officials meet me, some of them always glance at me out of the corner of their eyes, as if I were a stray dog that the emperor had just taken in.

Things are different today.

They watched openly.

Look at me, look at Qian Rong, look at the certificate box.

Someone whispered.

Some people avoided eye contact.

Some people looked as dark as if their rice jar had been ransacked.

I know that not all of these people are involved in the case.

But as long as someone sits in the court for a long time, no one likes others bringing up old grievances.

When old grievances are brought up, the ashes will settle on everyone.

In the Golden Hall, Emperor Xiao Jingheng was already on his throne.

Princess Zhaoning did not stand on the platform.

She was a princess, not a courtier.

But I knew she must be waiting for news somewhere in the palace.

Pei Shen was among the officials in the Secretariat.

His expression was gentle.

Today's meeting was just a regular morning assembly.

Zhao Guanlan stood on the train of the Censorate.

Lu Huaizhou was also there, his expression tense, as if he were ready to pull out a folding knife and hit someone at any moment.

The most eye-catching feature is the specially bestowed chair on the right side of the hall.

An elderly man was sitting in the chair.

He had white hair, a thin face, and delicate features. He was wearing traditional court attire.

He sat very steadily.

It's so stable that it's as if this golden palace didn't belong to the emperor, but rather that he personally measured its dimensions when he was young.

Wang Ge Lao.

Wang Huai.

Former ministers appointed by the late emperor.

An old man who had been retired for many years was so respected that none of the court officials dared to treat him as an old man.

When I entered the hall to pay my respects, Grand Secretary Wang's gaze fell upon me.

That gaze wasn't sharp.

It could even be described as peaceful.

But I felt like I was being weighed down by a very thick old book.

The book is filled with people's names.

The emperor spoke:

"Today's review of the Yongning River case."

The hall fell silent.

"Qian Rong".

Qian Rong stepped forward and knelt down.

"Your subject is here."

"Shen An".

I'm stepping forward.

"Your subject is here."

"After a 24-hour review, Qian Rong has handed over his seal and is temporarily detained in the Censorate. Today, the review will be conducted in court, and all evidence and confessions will be presented together."

Wei Zhi descended the steps and took the first certificate box.

Many people in the hall followed the movement of the certificate box.

Grand Secretary Wang suddenly coughed softly.

It's very light.

But it made many people subconsciously look at him.

The Emperor asked, "Does Minister Wang have something to say?"

Grand Secretary Wang slowly rose to his feet.

He's old, but he's still fast.

"This old minister is here today to hear the case by imperial decree and should not say more."

People who shouldn't talk much often end up talking a lot in the next sentence.

really.

Grand Secretary Wang said, "The Yongning River case was originally a case of corruption in the Ministry of Works and negligence in the treasury. Now I hear that Censor Shen has implicated the late Empress's old case, the military pay in the southwest, and even the late Emperor's former officials by using incomplete copies, confessions of the sick, and a list of the dead."

He glanced at me as he said this.

"It's a good thing that young people are sharp in investigating cases. But the authority of the government cannot be shaken by their sharpness."

The hall was eerily quiet.

This is Grand Secretary Wang.

He didn't scold me.

They did not speak out in defense of Qian Rong.

He simply said, "The authority of the court cannot be shaken by mere bravado."

In a single sentence, I was transformed from an investigating censor into a young man stirring up trouble in the court.

I bowed my head and said, "What Grand Secretary Wang says is true."

Many people looked at me.

They probably didn't expect me to admit it first.

I continued, "Therefore, I will not rely on my courage today, but only on my strategy."

Grand Secretary Wang looked at me.

"The accounts might be fake."

"People can falsify things, and accounts can be altered," I said. "Therefore, I will not present a single account today."

"What should I present?"

"Forming a chain."

Grand Secretary Wang narrowed his eyes slightly.

The emperor said calmly, "Present it."

Wei Zhi opened the first certificate box.

I picked up an old page of the Ministry of Works' treasury silver.

"The first step, signed by the Ministry of Works."

I said loudly:

"Supply materials for the Yongning River channel, 800 taels of silver from the treasury. Approved by Zhu Ting. Authorized by Qian Rong. Note: Transferred to Yongfeng Third Treasurer, temporarily stored in the Inner Warehouse Materials Room."

Some people in the hall had already heard about it.

But when it was read aloud again in the hall, it was still like a stone hitting a gold brick.

I looked at Qian Rong.

"Minister Qian, you acknowledged this red seal yesterday, do you still acknowledge it today?"

Qian Rong lowered his head.

"recognize."

Grand Secretary Wang remained unmoved.

I continued, "The second link involves the Yongfeng Three Treasuries. Eight hundred taels of silver were exchanged for sixteen bearer notes, which flowed into the Tao family's ironworks, Shunfeng Carriage and Horse Shop, Lu's Pharmacy, and Xiliu Lane Gambling House, respectively corresponding to the dispute over evidence, the transportation of carriages and horses, the use of poison to clear the mouth, and Liu Laoqi's gambling debts."

I retrieved the internal receipt.

"The third ring, the inner treasury half seal. Feng Baoquan confessed that the inner treasury had not received the materials or silver, and Ji Qing forced him to stamp the inner treasury's receipt seal with an old plaque with the character Wei. He deliberately stamped it off-center, tore off half a page, and hid it in the bell tower of Ci'en Temple."

Take the money again and record the missing page.

"Fourth ring, Qian Pi Fu Ji. Huai Lü Yi, do not destroy for now, keep it for self-protection. Guang Chu Men, withdraw quarterly. Three cabinets of silver, Qian Fu transfer. Lu Yao, clear the mouth. If things are urgent, push Fu, abandon Cheng."

When the last eight words were read, there was another low commotion in the hall.

Promote blessings, abandon acceptance.

These eight words are harsher than a hundred curses directed at Qian Rong.

I looked at Qian Rong.

"Minister Qian, Qian Fu is your accountant, and Qian Cheng is your nephew. Yesterday you confessed that the book was hidden by you, and the missing pages were torn out by you. Do you still confess today?"

Qian Rong closed his eyes.

"recognize."

With this single word, the surface of the Yongning case was already settled.

Grand Secretary Wang finally looked at Qian Rong.

His gaze remained calm.

But Qian Rong had sweat on his forehead.

I understand.

Qian Rong isn't afraid of me.

It was the old man's eyes.

Because that look is like saying: You broke the rules.

The emperor slowly said, "Remember."

Wei Zhi nodded, and the eunuch immediately took notes.