Denghuangtai

Late at night, at the Court of Justice.

study.

The Minister of Justice's face changed from pale to ashen, and he slumped back in his armchair, his mind preoccupied with the words Pei Qingyan had spoken during the day.

In the end, only the thought that "your entire clan's lives are still in danger" kept echoing in his mind.

Having served as an official for decades, how could he not understand the principles that Pei Qingyan understood?

However, in the turbulent world of officialdom, there are some things that he cannot avoid simply by understanding them.

He didn't want to be a pawn in someone else's game, but unfortunately, he came from a poor family and, without relying on others, he had no chance to rise above others.

Once you're caught in the situation, you're no longer in control of your own destiny.

He's willing to risk his life, but the entire clan needs a way out as soon as possible.

But where is the way out?

As the court official was pondering this, he suddenly heard a crisp "ding-dong" sound coming from the window.

He went to check, but there was no one outside the window.

When he frowned and turned around, he was shocked to find that someone who shouldn't have been in his residence had appeared out of nowhere on the armchair where he had been sitting.

"Pei Qingyan?!"

The Minister of Justice's expression darkened. He glanced out the window before slamming it shut and walking over.

"If you're going to go crazy, go die yourself! Don't drag me into this for no reason!"

Pei Qingyan naturally understood the deeper meaning behind the phrase "implicated".

She is now in a precarious situation; anyone who gets involved with her could potentially pay with their life for the imperial envoy.

The high-ranking officials in the court were too busy avoiding her to dare to approach her easily.

"What are you afraid of, my lord? I came here so late at night not to accompany your entire clan on the road to the underworld!"

"you……"

The Minister of Justice clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, pondering how likely he was to kill Pei Qingyan.

Pei Qingyan achieved fame at a young age, becoming a marquis and general despite being a woman. Even though she has been tortured and had her collarbone pierced, the fact that she quietly sneaked into his study was enough for him to know that she was not someone he could handle.

Feeling utterly powerless, the Minister of Justice spoke dejectedly.

"What exactly do you want? Are you trying to blackmail me into working for you by using the iron ore deal? You know I'm just a sword in someone else's hands, so you should understand that the person wielding that sword is not someone you can mess with!"

"We've already provoked them, so let's see if they can be brave enough to cut their losses and give up your sword, as well as the iron ore resources of Dongping and Wu'an! Oh, and Pingkang too..."

Pei Qingyan gave a half-smile, omitting what he was about to say.

The Imperial Censor was so shocked that his heart pounded like a drum; she actually knew about Pingkang...

Even when he gained favor with the powerful, he only vaguely knew that the powerful were plotting against Pingkang, and had no idea of ​​the inside story.

She actually knew?

His panic intensified, and the court official realized he needed to reassess the true weight of Pei Qingyan's threat.

After a long time, the Minister of Justice finally gave in.

His voice was hoarse as he asked, "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"The root cause of the imperial envoy's murder lies in the corruption of military funds. Since His Majesty has entrusted me with the power to investigate, I will naturally investigate to the end!"

"Corruption in military pay? Are you crazy? How many intermediaries does military pay go through before it reaches local military camps? How many people are involved? Since ancient times, keeping even 50% is considered excellent. You're stationed in the northern deserts, how could you not know these unspoken rules? The imperial envoy is dead, how many lives do you have to investigate?"

"Even if others risked their lives, they couldn't find out. You think you can get to the bottom of it in five days? Are you planning to turn the entire officialdom upside down?"

Even someone with the courage of a leopard wouldn't dare to do that!

"I'm the only one left in the Pei family. I have nothing to lose, so the worst that can happen is that I die."

The Minister of Justice turned pale and nearly fainted.

She's asking for her own death; let her go die. He hasn't lived enough yet!

Pei Qingyan couldn't help but laugh. This was nothing, and the Minister of Justice was already this scared. If this continued... wouldn't he be scared to death?

Picking up the pen on the table, Pei Qingyan wrote a string of characters with flowing strokes.

"Your Excellency, I will be interrogating prisoners in the Imperial Prison tomorrow at 9:00 AM. I hope you will not delay my investigation!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Qingyan moved slightly and disappeared in just a few breaths.

The court official looked at the still-wet ink. The characters were vigorous and powerful, like swimming dragons, their sharpness penetrating the paper as if they wanted to tear a hole in the sky.

"Grand Minister of Agriculture, Transport Commissioner, Prefect of Linhe Commandery..."

Following this is a list of names, all of whom were officials of varying ranks who handled the military pay for the northern regions.

The process of handling military pay was complicated. It required the Grand Minister of Agriculture to start by calculating the military registers, and after the emperor issued the edict, the Ministry of Personnel would register them in red ink. Two copies of the account book were sent to the Grand Minister of Agriculture and the Grand Marshal.

The steps are all interconnected and extremely meticulous.

Afterwards, the Grand Minister of Agriculture was in charge of the "Records of Income and Expenditure of Money and Grain" and was responsible for distributing the funds. Although the Grand Marshal did not handle the funds directly, he was still required to record them in the register. Every transaction along the way was marked with a seal.

The officials involved are almost exactly those that Pei Qingyan wrote about.

If they were all arrested and imprisoned in the imperial prison to await trial, it would surely cause a stir in the court and among the people.

He was wrong. Pei Qingyan wasn't crazy; she just wanted to fly to the heavens!

If he does not cooperate with Pei Qingyan, the nobleman's scheme will fail, and the lives of his entire clan will be in danger.

If her cooperation with Pei Qingyan succeeds, she will be exonerated and reinstated, retaining her merits and title. If it fails, he can simply push her out and claim that she coerced him into cooperating under the guise of investigating the case, thus providing a reason for her to escape punishment. With a little help from the powerful figure, he can easily escape his guilt.

Thinking about it this way, it's still more important to keep the important person's secret.

Taking a deep breath, the Minister of Justice got up and pushed open the door to the study.

"Guards! Come with me and arrest him!"

Tonight, I am destined to be sleepless.

The next day.

9:00 AM (巳时).

Pei Qingyan arrived at the entrance of the Zhao Prison alone on horseback. With the sound of hooves, the crisp sound of iron chains clashing could be faintly heard.

He dismounted and threw his riding whip at the jailer.