Everything starts from Menghualu

Chapter 528: Probe and Countermeasures

He Jingzhong was somewhat confused after hearing this. After all, he had heard Prince Yu say before that Qiu Yuan was obviously one of their own. Why would he do this now?

Although he didn't understand what was going on, He Jingzhong knew that if he told Prince Yu about it, everything would be over, so he naturally wouldn't tell anyone.

At this time, Qiu Yuan had no intention of waiting for him, but was about to ask someone to take action. However, at this moment, Qi Min suddenly came over and stopped Qiu Yuan.

"Sir Qiu, He Jingzhong is a high-ranking official in the imperial court after all. If you torture him and something happens to him, I'm afraid it will be hard to explain to His Majesty." Qi Min advised.
"Sir, I know this is risky, but He Jingzhong is not willing to cooperate. What can I do?" Qiu Yuan said directly.
"Master Qiu, He Jingzhong and I are acquainted with each other. How about we stop here today and have a good chat with him, and then we can have a trial tomorrow?" Qi Min said directly
"Well, well, since you, the Minister, have said so, then we'll stop here today. Someone, come and take the prisoner away." After Qiu Yuan finished speaking, he stood up and left, looking very reluctant.

However, Qi Min acted as if he didn't see anything and followed everyone into the Ministry of Justice Prison. After returning to the cell, everyone was sent away, leaving only Qi Min and He Jingzhong.

"Master Qi, thank you for saving me. I am grateful." He Jingzhong bowed and said

"Hey, Brother He, there is no need to be like this. Brother He, today's incident was just a double act. We had discussed this in advance." Qi Min said
"Ah? Discussed it in advance? This, this, this? Then I didn't disrupt the plan, did I?" He Jingzhong said

"Haha, Brother He, your performance is just right, just right. Brother He, although Qiu Yuan really wants to help us, we can't show it too much on the surface."

Since His Majesty has handed your case over to him to preside over this case, it means that His Majesty has some doubts, so we still have to do what we should do.

"Brother He, it's time for some people to sell their wine. After all, compared to us, those people are nothing, don't you think?" Qi Min said directly
He Jingzhong's face suddenly changed after hearing this, and he immediately said, "But, but Lord Qi, those people are all important positions in various places. What if they are all sold?"

"Of course I know, Brother He, but this matter was originally the intention of His Majesty. Do you think they can escape now that His Majesty has taken action against you?" Qi Min said
"Well, then, Lord Qi, I know what to do." He Jingzhong nodded after hearing this.

After hearing this, Qi Min nodded, and after instructing the jailer, he left the prison and headed towards Qiu Yuan's public housing.

"Hmm? Lord Shangshu, you came back so soon? It seems that he agreed. What do you say, I will interrogate him tomorrow?" Qiu Yuan said directly
"Of course you can, Lord Qiu, I believe you are very clear about His Majesty's intentions in this case. Not only you, but Prince Yu is also very clear about it."

"Don't worry, His Royal Highness Prince Yu has already made instructions and will definitely not make things difficult for you." Qi Min said
"Thank you so much, Your Highness. Sir Qi, it's not convenient for me to see Your Highness right now, so please convey my gratitude to Your Highness." Qiu Yuan said directly.
After hearing this, Qi Min naturally agreed quickly and then left Qiu Yuan's study. After he left, a smile appeared on Qiu Yuan's face.

Things were very simple after that. When He Jingzhong was re-interrogated the next day, he was not as stubborn as he had been the day before and gave out a lot of useful people and clues.

Even though Qiu Yuan was mentally prepared, he was still shocked by what He Jingzhong said. It was because the new list basically contained important positions from all over the country.

All of these people have real power, and none of them have ever appeared in the Qingshui Yamen.

At this moment, he was a little hesitant, because these people were obviously Prince Yu's cronies in various places. If they were all handed over, Prince Yu would definitely be seriously injured.

But Prince Yu still had the list handed over to him. What did this mean? Was he testing him? But wasn't the cost too high?

While he was sitting in the public room without moving, Qi Min had already arrived at Prince Yu's Mansion.

"Your Highness, this is what happened. We have followed your instructions and have dealt with it. But Your Highness, isn't the price too high? After all, they are all..." Qi Min said
"Of course I know that they all hold important positions. I feel bad for every loss here, but now is not the time to think about these things."

"Even if He Jingzhong doesn't tell me about the people on this list, do you think Father can't find them out? You know the ability of the Xuan Jing Division. These people can't hide at all."

"In this case, why not make good use of the waste and put everything in front of Qiu Yuan to see what Qiu Yuan is thinking. At the same time, we can also know the determination of the emperor. Why not do it?" Prince Yu said
After hearing this, Qi Min stopped talking immediately. Yes, although it was a pity, this was the best solution at the moment.

"Your Highness, I understand. I will take care of everything when I return." Qi Min said
"Okay, remember, don't be anxious, don't rush Qiu Yuan. What I know is Qiu Yuan's true thoughts, not anything else." Prince Yu said in a deep voice.
Qi Min left, but Prince Yu's heart did not calm down. Instead, he said to himself, "The price of love this time is too high. I'm afraid it will be difficult next time."

At this time, in the imperial study of the palace, Emperor Liang was also looking at the news in his hands.

"Is the content above the same as what He Jingzhong told Qiu Yuan?" Emperor Liang asked
"Your Majesty, the information above should be consistent with what Lord Qiu has. If there are any omissions, it is because He Jingzhong did not explain everything." Xia Jiang bowed and said
"Well, not bad, not bad, you did a good job, all right, you can leave now." Emperor Liang waved his hand.
After hearing this, Xia Jiang naturally bowed and then walked out. After he left, Emperor Liang's expression did not improve at all.

At this time, Qiu Yuan, who was the focus of everything, had already left the Ministry of Justice and returned to his mansion.

"Husband, why do you look like that? Is it because things are not going well?" Nihuang asked
"Madam, on the contrary, things are going very smoothly. Take a look at this and you will understand why I am like this." After Qiu Yuan finished speaking, he handed over the list directly.

Nihuang looked at the list in her hand, her expression gradually became heavy, and she didn't put it down until a long time.

"My dear, this list is extremely important. I don't know what to do for the moment. My dear, what to do now depends on you." Nihuang said in a deep voice.
"Madam, I know this is a difficult decision. I am in a dilemma now. If I hand this thing over to His Majesty as it is, His Majesty will be safe."

"But Prince Yu may ask for it in the future, so it's really difficult now." Qiu Yuan said
"Husband, have you ever thought about sending half of it?" Nihuang suddenly said
"Madam, I have certainly thought about what you said, but it is very troublesome. Although His Majesty suddenly decided to attack He Jingzhong, he would not be unprepared if he wanted to do it." "I guess the Xuan Jing Division must have investigated everything clearly. I guess His Majesty is waiting for my report and then checking it with the list in his hand." Qiu Yuan said directly
"My husband, there is really nothing we can do about this. You can't go to Prince Yu's Mansion now, right? And I don't think you can delay for a few days." Nihuang said directly
"Yes, it can't be delayed for a few days. It can't be delayed for a few days. So, Madam, you take a rest first. I will go to the study tonight. If there is still no way tomorrow, then it can only be said that it is God's will." Qiu Yuan said
After hearing this, Nihuang wanted to say something, but she didn't say it in the end. So Qiu Yuan just got up and left. Looking at her husband's departing back, Nihuang's face was full of worry.

In this way, Qiu Yuan stayed in his study for a whole night, and did not push the door open until dawn, then he packed up and went to court.

Nothing special happened in today's morning court session, so the process was completed quickly. Only then did Qiu Yuan come out and say, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to make."

Emperor Liang was somewhat surprised when he heard this. After all, he was well aware of Qiu Yuan's current situation and he shouldn't have submitted a memorial so quickly. But since he wanted to say it now, he couldn't stop him.

"Your Majesty, I have found some clues about the He Jingzhong case you told me about the other day. I brought the relevant documents here today. I present them to Your Majesty for your perusal." Qiu Yuan said directly
After hearing this, Emperor Liang nodded directly, then asked Gao Zhan to bring the things over, and then began to look at them. At this time, the ministers in the court all looked like they were enjoying the show.

After all, those who can appear in the hall are no stupid people. They naturally understand that no matter how this case is handled, people will be offended, so they are very curious about Qiu Yuan's choice.

Emperor Liang, who had a normal expression at first, suddenly turned gloomy after reading the document. He looked sharply at Qiu Yuan who was bowing.

Qiu Yuan seemed to be unaware of it and just waited there obediently without any response. However, after seeing this look, the other ministers knew that His Majesty was angry.

So they all calmed down, fearing that they might get into trouble accidentally. However, to their surprise, His Majesty did not lose his temper but just nodded.

"My dear Minister Qiu, you have done an excellent job this time. I will reward you with a thousand acres of fertile land. I hope that you will live up to my expectations and be diligent and prudent in the future." Emperor Liang said directly
After hearing this, Qiu Yuan naturally bowed to express his gratitude, but the other ministers did not think that this was a good thing. After all, didn’t they see that Prince Yu’s face changed?

Although they were sure in their hearts that Qiu Yuan had completely offended Prince Yu, their faces showed no expression at all. After this incident, no one stood up.
So the morning court was dispersed, and after it was over, Qiu Yuan seemed not to notice the gazes around him and walked out of the palace on his own.

At this time, the Crown Prince and Prince Yu were called to the imperial study.

Looking at the serious expression of his father in front of him, although the prince did not show any reaction, he was very happy in his heart. After all, it was obvious that Xiao Jinghuan was going to be in trouble this time.

At this moment, Prince Yu indeed thought so. After all, judging from the reward his father had just given to Qiu Yuan, it must be that Qiu Yuan had submitted a list that satisfied his father, which was why he received the reward.

But their thoughts soon changed, because Emperor Liang threw out the list directly, and the prince was quick-eyed and quick-handed, he snatched it away and started to read it.

After seeing the names that were both familiar and unfamiliar, a smile appeared on the prince's lips, but soon he could no longer smile.

Because at this time, names that were particularly familiar to him began to appear on the list, and the owners of these names were naturally his subordinates. How could he be happy about this?
If it weren't for the wrong occasion, he would have wanted to curse directly. Prince Yu, who had been observing the prince, was now a little curious.

After all, the prince's behavior today was really strange. He should be happy, but why didn't he look happy? With such speculation.

He walked directly to the prince and whispered, "Your Highness, have you finished reading it?"

When the prince heard this, his face instantly turned ugly, but he still handed the list to Prince Yu. Prince Yu was not in a hurry, but walked back on his own.

After he reached his seat, he slowly opened it. Soon he knew why the prince was behaving so strangely. It turned out to be like this.

His performance was exactly opposite to that of the prince. The prince was happy at first and then angry, while he was angry at first and then happy. Naturally, their performance did not escape the eyes of Emperor Liang.

"You have all seen enough, now let's talk about what to do?" Emperor Liang said
After hearing this, neither of them spoke for a while. After looking at each other, they continued to remain silent.

"Why are you all silent? Tell me, how should we handle this case? How should we deal with these officials? These are all key positions."

"I'm going to ask you again, tell me how to deal with these people!" Emperor Liang asked
After hearing this, the two knew they could not escape this time, so Prince Yu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I think these officials should be severely punished to serve as a warning to others."

After hearing this, Emperor Liang did not say anything, but looked at the prince.

"Father, I think this case should not involve too many people. After all, there are hundreds of officials on this list. I think it should be handled with caution." The prince bowed and said
After listening to the words of his two sons, even though Emperor Liang had been prepared, he felt helpless for a moment. He should have supported the serious treatment but ended up letting the matter off the hook.

What should he have asked for? Instead, he asked for severe punishment. This was really strange. So even he didn't say anything for a while, because he didn't know what to say.

(End of this chapter)