Jiuxi

Chapter 609 Chapter 607 [Breaking the Ice]

"Sir, I really have a lot of grievances to express."

To be fair, Gao Huan was not the type of person like Ding Hui who was good at flattering others according to the situation, otherwise he would not have stayed in the Ministry of Justice and was unable to move up to the three higher ministries.

Among the six ministers of the current dynasty, the Minister of Personnel Zhong Cheng holds an extraordinary status. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be appointed as the prime minister by the Secretariat.

The Minister of Rites Xie Zhen is getting old and all he wants is to retire and live his old age.

The Minister of Revenue Jing Qingshan is a popular new official in the court. He is now mainly responsible for the implementation of the Jingjie Law, and his position is extremely stable.

As for the Minister of War Ding Hui, although the situation of the Ministry of War has always been awkward due to the existence of the Military Academy, Ding Hui is used to being able to get the best of both worlds. The Ningtan Ding family is much stronger than the Longlin Gao family in terms of foundation and strength, so he can still thrive in the court.

The rest are Gao Huan and Minister of Works Zhu Heng. Both of them are the type where it is harder than climbing to the sky to make further progress, but they will basically not retreat.

There are always a few such officials in any dynasty throughout history.

They have reached the pinnacle of their careers, and no matter how many ambitions they have, they will only be worn away by time.

Gao Huan was unwilling at first, but later he gradually accepted his fate and took care of the Ministry of Justice's government affairs day after day and year after year. He occasionally exchanged some interests with others and took care of his younger generations as much as possible, hoping that one or two heroes would emerge.

Don't cross the bottom line or go beyond the red line. You may make some small mistakes, but you will stand firm and be clear-headed on major issues.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will leave the court at some point in the future, of course, returning home with the emperor's reward, and finally leaving this world accompanied by his descendants.

But someone didn't let him have his wish.

Lu Chen also put away his scrutiny at this moment, and said gently: "Shangshu Gao, please sit down and talk."

Gao Huan bowed and thanked him, then fell silent again.

Lu Chen was not in a hurry. He could see that the Minister of Justice did have some unspeakable secrets, but he should not have been involved in this major assassination case, otherwise Lu Chen alone would not have been able to "rescue" him.

In the silence, Gao Huan's emotions were surging.

In fact, he had already witnessed Lu Chen's skills and abilities two years ago, which was the Hou Yu case that shook the officialdom in the capital.

It was just that the Weaving Bureau provided a lot of clues and evidence that time, so Lu Chen did not need to be questioned too much. He just showed some decisiveness and ruthlessness, which caused a turmoil in the court and the country.

In this major assassination case, Gao Huan deeply realized the other party's meticulous and careful mind.

If Lu Chen continues the investigation according to his method, the secrets of the two assassins will be revealed, and their connection with Ning Bugui will definitely be discovered.

By that time, Gao Huan and even the Longlin Gao family would have no choice but to wait for death.

Of course, Gao Huan could also imagine that Ning Bugui would disappear in the vast crowd again, or that he would not reveal the role played by the Gao family in this matter before he died. The problem was that he did not dare to bet on this.

If he takes the initiative to find Lu Chen to make some kind of deal now, he can still maintain a certain sense of propriety. If he continues to conceal it, and the other party finds out the truth about the matter, the Gao family will have no chance of survival.

Thinking of this, Gao Huan said with shame: "Please forgive me, sir. My cousin was threatened and intimidated by the mastermind behind the scenes. Although he did not participate in this assassination case, he did act negligently. Please forgive me, sir!"

"Your cousin?"

Lu Chen's heart moved slightly, and then he suddenly realized: "The leader of Longlin Gao family, Gao Que?"

At this point, Gao Huan had no choice but to tell the truth: "It was him. It turns out that the Duke also knew his name."

"I've heard of it occasionally."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Sir Gao, what is the ins and outs of this matter?"

Gao Huan sorted out his thoughts and replied, "Seventeen years ago, a strange story was circulated among the prominent families in Jiangnan. A bastard of the Ning family in Changle actually broke out and publicly left the Ning family. This person was called Ning Bugui, the son of Ning Yuande, the previous head of the Ning family. His mother was originally a humble maid in the Ning family's ancestral home. Ning Bugui's real name was Ning Shu. He showed an excellent talent for martial arts since he was a child, but he was arrogant and unruly, so he suffered a lot in the Ning family. He broke out when he was seventeen years old, and the Ning family did not stop him. They allowed him to travel around Jiangnan, and he made a career for himself."

Lu Chen didn't expect this story to be like this, so he stood up and poured him some tea. Gao Huan thanked him quickly and continued, "Ning Bugui thrived in the wild, but he gradually disappeared ten years ago, and no one knows what he is doing. Last year, there was a rebellion in the capital, and the Ning family in Changle was confiscated and punished because of Ning Yuanfu. The Duke should know this in detail. Ning Bugui's mother has been living in the Ning family's ancestral home, but because she was Ning Yuande's concubine, she was not spared. Ning Bugui returned from the north at the beginning of the year, and he fell into madness when he learned about this."

At this point, Lu Chen was able to figure out the whole story and said slowly, "So Ning Bugui used the connections he made back then to predict that His Majesty would show up at the funeral in the mountain mausoleum and let those two craftsmen assassinate him? It seems that he didn't need to rely on the power of your Longlin Gao family, so why did he involve your Gao family?"

Gao Huan hesitated to speak.

Lu Chen suddenly realized, frowned slightly and said, "He knows that the possibility of the assassination being successful is extremely low, and the two assassins cannot withstand close scrutiny, so he wants you to do something to make this case a solid one as soon as possible, and then report the result to the emperor, so as to pin the blame on the unlucky Li Zongjian. The previous emperor passed away not long ago, and the status of Empress Dowager Xu is still respected, and she will definitely save Li Zongjian's life. In this way, the royal family will fight against each other, and the court will be turbulent. If a few more major events happen, the unity that Da Qi has finally formed will fall apart."

Gao Huan sighed, "Your Excellency is right. It is true. According to common sense, such a major case must be tried by the three judicial departments. As the Minister of Justice, I must be in charge of the trial. This is why Ning Bugui targeted the Gao family. However, he certainly could not have imagined that His Majesty would bypass the three judicial departments and let you investigate the case, causing the situation to develop completely contrary to his expectations. Your Excellency will definitely find something strange about the two assassins. As long as the crime cannot be pinned on Lieutenant Fengguo, Ning Bugui's plan will fail."

"Although this person is a commoner, he is quite scheming. He actually tried to change the situation in the court with his meager power."

Lu Chen sighed softly, Ning Bugui dared to break out of the door at the age of seventeen, and was safe and sound afterwards. Now he has such courage again, it is not an exaggeration to call him a hero.

Gao Huan couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. The Gao family had suffered an unexpected disaster this time. Gao Que had lived a life of luxury all his life, but in the end he became a stepping stone for Ning Bugui.

Lu Chen turned his eyes slightly, looking at the uneasy expression of the Minister of Justice, and said lightly: "So, Ning Bugui has evidence of Longlin Gao's illegal crimes in his hands?"

Gao Huan knew that this matter could not be concealed from the other party, otherwise Gao Que was not a soft persimmon that could be bullied by anyone, so how could he be dragged into this by Ning Bugui?
He sighed and said, "These are all old stories. If no one paid attention, it wouldn't be a big deal. But the timing of his attack was quite cruel."

Lu Chen thought about it for a moment, then understood and said, "Because the implementation of the Jingjie Law is blocked?"

Gao Huan nodded and said, "Yes."

The Jingjie Method has been promoted from the initial pilot to Jiangzhou and Hezhou. The next step will be to gradually extend it to other parts of Jiangnan.

Once this law is fully implemented, it will have a profound impact on the Jiangnan clans, almost cutting off their roots. Although one or two generations of these clans can still enjoy wealth and glory, they will no longer have the possibility of continuing for thousands of years.

This is why it was still difficult to implement the Jingjie Law even after the late emperor exterminated the four powerful families of Guo, Wang, Ning and Le and seized all military and political power.

After all, the imperial court couldn't just kill all the gentry and nobles in the Jiangnan region.

If they really did that, before the Jing army in the north could cross the river and head south, the Great Qi would fall into civil strife and then overthrow.

The court always has to have a legitimate reason to act, so that the people of the world can be convinced. If the Gao family of Longlin came forward at this time, the emperor and the two prime ministers would probably not mind using the Gao family as an example to scare the monkeys, so as to further promote the smooth implementation of the Jingjie Law.

After understanding the cause and effect, Lu Chen had a plan in mind. He said calmly, "Sir Shangshu, although the Gao family is somewhat innocent, they are not completely innocent. You should understand this."

Gao Huan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and stood up again and said, "I understand, and I still ask for your help. As long as the Gao family can avoid this sudden disaster, I will definitely follow your lead and serve you wholeheartedly in the future!"

This kind of thing is common in the officialdom. To put it bluntly, no one can stay out of it, even the left prime minister Li Daoyan has to be humble.

Gao Huan naturally didn't know that this was the first time Lu Chen directly intervened in the court, but he acted too calmly, so the Minister of Justice didn't notice anything strange.

For Lu Chen, it is actually not that easy for him to cultivate confidants. People like the two prime ministers, Zhong Cheng, and Han Zhongjie naturally have no chance. At most, they can interact with him on an equal footing.

People with too low status will find it difficult to provide assistance, and the Minister of Justice in front of him is actually the most suitable candidate.

So he stood up and said, "Since Gao Shangshu trusts me, I will take responsibility for this matter. As for future matters, I never believe in verbal promises. Talking big is far inferior to doing something real. I just hope that after today's conversation, you and I will not regret it in the future."

Gao Huan felt relieved, lowered his head and brows, and said respectfully: "I will follow your instructions, sir. I will keep them in mind."

He knew very well that his fate and that of the Longlin Gao family was in the hands of this young man. With his meticulous mind and tough methods, even if he made just one wrong step, he would most likely face a catastrophic disaster.

After more than half an hour, after discussing the follow-up details, Gao Huan walked out of the mansion and took a look at the neatly-dressed and murderous-looking soldiers on the long street. His originally uneasy mood suddenly calmed down.

"Maybe... this isn't such a bad thing."

Gao Huan smiled slightly, and his steps gradually became steady and calm.

(End of this chapter)