Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Chapter 579 Look at him! Know who it is!

"Plus, it was already late at night, and the gates of Chang'an City had long been closed. There is no record that the gates of Chang'an City were opened at that stage."

"Finally, there is His Majesty's order to seal off Chang'an City and conduct a strict investigation."

"Taking all the conditions together, we can be sure that the military pay never left Chang'an City from the beginning to the end. Do you agree with this, my Lords?"

Everyone thought about it and realized that indeed, there was no chance or time for the military pay to leave Chang'an City...

They nodded.

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Your Majesty was furious at that time, because the military pay represents the stability of the border. Once there is a problem on the border, the country will not be stable."

"So your majesty ordered people to search every house, even if it means digging three feet underground."

"And in order to prevent any accomplices, the search was conducted by the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate, with personnel randomly assigned. The troops of the three parties cooperated with each other, but also supervised each other."

"This way, we can ensure that there will be no situation where the military pay has been discovered but not reported."

"But even so, Chang'an was in chaos, and we really dug deep into the ground, but we still couldn't find any trace of the military pay."

Li Shimin sighed, "It's as if the military pay had grown wings and flew away. I was really furious at the time, but I couldn't find it and there was nothing I could do."

"Your Majesty, please be patient."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Of course the military pay will not grow wings and fly away."

"But the money has never been found. Have you ever thought about why?"

Fang Xuanling and others shook their heads subconsciously.

Shen Lian said: "It's so simple, have you really never thought about it?"

"If they didn't find it, could it be that the place where the money was hidden was not searched at all?"

"So, what places were not searched at that time?"

Brush it.

Everyone was stunned at first, and then their eyes widened suddenly.

Li Shimin raised his head instantly, looked directly at Shen Lian, and said, "What do you mean?!"

Whether it is Li Shimin or Fang Xuanling.

At this moment, everyone was suddenly shocked.

Their eyes widened and their pupils suddenly shrank.

It was obvious that they all understood what Shen Lian meant!

The military pay will not grow wings and fly away!

And there will definitely be no problems in the places that have been searched!
So, the problem lies in the places that have not been searched!
Li Shimin asked directly: "What places have not been searched?"

Bai Yanguan was the main person in charge at that time. When he heard Li Shimin's words, he bowed slightly to Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, except for the residences of the royal relatives and the imperial palace, everything has been searched."

"That is to say..."

Bai Yanguan looked at Li Shimin and said, "Only the residences of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu, His Royal Highness the Prince of Han, etc... members of the royal family, as well as the imperial palace, have not been searched."

Although Li Shimin had already expected this, his pupils still jumped when he heard Bai Yanguan's words.

What does this mean?
According to Shen Lian’s meaning, doesn’t it mean that... the person behind the scenes is a royal relative?
One of his sons or brothers?
This was really hard for Li Shimin to accept!

After all, those people were considered his closest relatives.

Why would they do this?
What is the reason?
This feeling is like being stabbed in the back by the person you trust the most.

That feeling is really uncomfortable!
Li Shimin couldn't help but look at Shen Lian and said, "Shen Lian, is it really... one of them?"

The other officials were too afraid to breathe at this moment.

Even Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji subconsciously became quiet.

They really didn't expect that Shen Lian would actually target the royal family!

They came here today to look after Officer Bai Yan's case.

Who knows, it will directly turn into a royal drama.

This melon is a bit too big.

They didn't dare to eat the big ones openly for fear of displeasing His Majesty.

Everyone's attention was focused on Shen Lian at this moment.

They knew that if there was anyone who dared to eat this big melon and could turn it over and over and eat it very carefully, no one would dare to blame him, and that was Shen Lian!
Shen Lian sat upright under the plaque that read "Upright and Open", dressed in a dark official robe, looking dignified and solemn.

He said, "Whether it is true or not, I think Your Majesty has already understood it in his heart."

"When solving a case, you should never be too subjective and assume that someone is definitely innocent or would never do such a thing!"

"Actually, there is one thing I don't understand. The entire city of Chang'an was turned upside down, so why were there only a few mansions left that were not searched?"

Bai Yanguan smiled bitterly and said, "After all, who would have thought... that something so obviously detrimental to the imperial court and the Tang Dynasty would be done by a member of the royal family? Isn't this just shooting oneself in the foot?"

The other officials also nodded.

Indeed, according to normal logic, which royal family member would be so stupid as to bring chaos to the Tang Dynasty?

What good will it do them if the Tang Dynasty is in chaos?
The more stable the Tang Dynasty is, the better off they will be.

Shen Lian said: "According to normal logic, they really shouldn't do this kind of thing."

"But, have you ever thought about ambition?"

"Ambition?"

Bai Yanguan's eyes widened slightly, and his whole expression was very surprised: "Could it be?"

A hint of coldness flashed across Li Shimin's eyes. He stared at Shen Lian and said, "You mean, someone wants to take my place?"

Bai Yanguan didn't dare to say all the words, but Li Shimin dared to say it!

After all, if a member of the royal family has ambitions, what else can they pursue besides the throne?
When the other officials heard Li Shimin's angry words, they subconsciously lowered their heads. They were terrified.

I really didn't expect that today's case would turn into a major case of treason!
Even the common people who were watching melons outside the government office felt dizzy.

Isn’t this Officer Bai Yan’s case?
How did it become a case of treason by a member of the royal family?
This melon is too big!

Facing Li Shimin's angry gaze, Shen Lian showed no fear. He looked at Li Shimin calmly and said, "If not, the royal family members are not short of money, so why would they take away the hundreds of thousands of strings of military pay?"

Li Shimin was silent.

In the entire courtroom, one could hear a pin drop.

The atmosphere was depressing and quiet.

It was like a stone pressing on their hearts.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Shimin seemed unable to hold back any longer and asked directly, "Who is it?"

"Who is so disloyal?"

"Who is so cold and heartless!"

Li Shimin's voice was filled with suppressed anger.

At this moment, the Tang emperor felt as if his heart was bleeding. He was angry and disappointed.

He could allow anyone else to be the thief behind the scenes.

But there is only one thing that cannot be tolerated, this thief is a member of the royal family!

What are the royals?
It's his family!
Being betrayed by family members, that feeling is so painful!
So, at this moment, even Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji did not dare to speak.

Even though they are extremely talented, they don't know what to say at this moment.

Shen Lian looked at the angry Li Shimin and said calmly: "Your Majesty, why are you angry?" Li Shimin was stunned.

Then Shen Lian said, "It was others who made the mistake. Your Majesty did your best to take good care of them. It was they who had their own ambitions. They have let Your Majesty down."

"So, Your Majesty, why should you let yourself get angry because of other people's mistakes?"

Li Shimin was a little stunned. He didn't expect Shen Lian to persuade him like this.

But let’s be honest, after Shen Lian said this, he really wasn’t that angry anymore.

At least my liver doesn’t hurt anymore.

He looked at Shen Lian and asked, "Who is it?"

This time when questioned, Li Shimin was much calmer.

Everyone looked at Shen Lian. They all wanted to know who had committed this unforgivable crime!
Who is this, being so disloyal?

Eat what’s in the bowl and then smash the pot!
Shen Lian said: "It's actually very easy to find out who it is."

He slowly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, gentlemen, next, I will take you to capture the criminal."

"So, we are not in Dali Temple anymore."

"Let's go find the person behind this!"

"Looking for the person behind the scenes?"

"not here?"

Everyone was startled.

Some of them didn't understand what Shen Lian meant.

Han Min couldn't help but say, "Sir Shen, if you know who the criminal is, why don't you just ask someone to summon him? Why go there in person?"

Everyone nodded.

They also felt that there was no need to go there in person.

Then they heard Shen Lian say: "The situation is different."

"If it's a normal case, you can just summon him directly."

"But you have to know that this case happened ten years ago. Ten years have passed, and all the witnesses who knew the inside story have been killed. Even if I can infer who the culprit is, the evidence is not sufficient."

"Therefore, if I want to catch the criminal, the only way now is to catch him red-handed."

"Caught him red-handed?"

Li Shimin's heart moved. He looked directly at Shen Lian and asked, "Could it be that... the criminal is staying with the military pay at this moment?"

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please come with me to take a look. If nothing unexpected happens..."

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes, his eyes flashed, and said: "If we go over now, maybe we can just see the person behind the scenes carrying the military pay."

Brush it!
Li Shimin's eyes flashed suddenly.

Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji and others were also shocked.

What does Shen Lian mean by this?
Could it be that the person behind the scenes had hidden the military pay before and is going to use it now?

"Somebody come!"

At this time, Shen Lian's voice suddenly sounded.

He looked around and said, "In order to prevent the person behind the scenes from hearing the news, all the adults present please stay within our sight. Including the servants you brought with you, please stay in the Dali Temple for the time being."

"at the same time……"

He looked at the people watching outside and said, "My fellow villagers, the man behind the scenes is extremely evil. In order to prevent the news from leaking out and letting him know and escape, we need your cooperation. Stay in the Dali Temple for now. Once we catch the man behind the scenes, we can let you go back."

The people were very kind to Shen Lian.

Shen Qingtian's name is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

So when the people heard that Shen Lian was here to capture the criminal, they didn't hesitate at all.

He took the initiative to enter the Dali Temple.

"Master Shen, just go and catch the criminal. We will help you keep an eye on him. Anyone who dares to sneak away is the criminal's accomplice!"

"That's right, Lord Shen, you can go ahead and don't worry about us!"

The people were extremely cooperative.

Seeing this, the officials knew they could not refuse, so they also gathered their people in the Dali Temple.

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Thank you all, gentlemen, and fellow villagers for your cooperation."

After saying this, he ordered the yamen runners to guard every exit of the Dali Temple to ensure that no one would leave their sight.

Then he looked at Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, we can set off now."

Li Shimin nodded and asked, "Where are we going?"

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes, smiled meaningfully, and said, "The Imperial Palace."

"Royal Palace!?"

When everyone heard Shen Lian's words, their eyes widened and they couldn't help but exclaim.

Even Fang Xuanling and even Zhang Sun Wuji, who were extremely cunning people, stopped suddenly and stared at Shen Lian completely subconsciously at this moment!

Li Shimin was even more confused.

He stared at Shen Lian and said, "Shen Lian, did I hear you correctly? You are talking about the Imperial Palace?"

Everyone looked at Shen Lian at this moment.

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Your Majesty is in his prime, with clear eyes and ears. How could you have heard it wrong?"

"Yes, what I am talking about is the Imperial Palace."

Shen Lian wants to take them to catch thieves and seize stolen goods.

They all thought that Shen Lian was going to take them to the residence of a member of the royal family.

After all, Shen Lian had already said that the person behind the scenes was a member of the royal family.

But now, Shen Lian told them that he was going to the palace!
There is no residence for royal family members in the palace!
Li Shimin's brothers had long been conferred the title of king by him. Some of them lived directly in their fiefdoms, while others lived in mansions in the city of Chang'an.

As for his sons, the older ones all had their own mansions.

The younger ones are only a few years old, and they weren’t even born ten years ago, so they naturally can’t be the person behind the scenes!

So, no matter how they thought about it, they couldn't understand why Shen Lian took them to the palace!

In order to catch the thief and seize the stolen goods, shouldn't we look for the place where the military pay is hidden?

So why go to the palace?

unless……

A guess subconsciously appeared in everyone's mind.

Fang Xuanling's eyes flashed, he couldn't help but look at Shen Lian and asked: "Sir Shen, could it be that... the military pay is hidden in the palace?"

This sentence was a question that everyone present could not believe, but was also doubtful.

So when Fang Xuanling said this, everyone, including Li Shimin, looked at Shen Lian.

But Shen Lian smiled and said, "The answer to the mystery will soon be revealed. We will know it when we go there."

He looked at Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, we must hurry up. If we are late, the person behind the scenes may have already moved all the military pay. By then, even if I know who it is, I will not have enough evidence to convict him."