Qin Ye's death caused a tremor throughout Kyoto. The Inspectorate, the Kyoto Prefecture, and even the Ministry of Punishment, all the people they could send out were looking for the murderer.
Even the nine gates of Kyoto have been closed, no one is allowed in or out.
The Yuan-Meng mission was asked to stay in the embassy and wait for the summons from Emperor Qing.
Some people in the imperial court began to jump up and down. In addition to writing to Emperor Qing to arrest the murderer, the most important thing was to keep an eye on the Privy Council position that was vacated after Qin Ye's death.
The official power of Qing State was distributed in five places.
The first is the Secret Service Agency, a secret service agency, led by Chen Pingping.
The second is the official system of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which is controlled by the censor.
Third, the six ministries of the Central Committee and other civil service groups are basically controlled by Prime Minister Lin.
The fourth is the financial power of the inner treasury, which is temporarily controlled by the eldest princess Li Yunrui. After Fan Xian and Lin Waner get married, the inner treasury will be handed over to Fan Xian.
The fifth is the military force. The Privy Council is the highest organ, and Qin Ye is the highest chief of the Privy Council.
These five major forces are intertwined and check and balance each other. Emperor Qing sits high on the throne and strategizes.
Now that Qin Ye has died, the position of the highest official of the Privy Council is vacant. Many people are eyeing that position, among which the crown prince Li Chengqian and the second prince Li Chengze are the most active.
The prince Li Chengqian was born from the empress and the legitimate son of Emperor Qing. He was appointed as the crown prince early on. However, because Emperor Qing was suspicious by nature, Li Chengqian chose to hide his power and bide his time. He was not active in government affairs and his performance was mediocre. However, he always held the righteousness of the crown prince.
No one dares to underestimate his reputation.
On the contrary, the second prince Li Chengze was smart and alert since childhood and was deeply loved by Emperor Qing. He was named king at a young age and won the support of many ministers.
It is hardly a secret that the crown prince and the second prince are competing for the throne. Both parties are determined to win the Privy Council, and they order their subordinates to constantly submit letters to fight for the position vacated after Qin Ye's death.
Emperor Qing's desk was filled with memorials every day, but he just ignored them and did not say who would take over the Privy Council.
However, after Qin Ye's death, Emperor Qing met Ye Chong, and many people speculated that Emperor Qing wanted Ye Chong to take charge of the Privy Council.
Ye Chong's Ye family is also an ancient family in the Qing Dynasty and has considerable influence in the military. Especially the grand master Ye Liuyun was born in the Ye family. Ye Zhong is still Ye Liuyun's nephew and has a cultivation level of ninth grade.
The Ye family is a staunch royalist and has never participated in the fight for the heir apparent. However, Ye Chong's daughter Ye Ling'er and the eldest princess Li Yunrui's daughter Lin Wan'er are close friends.
The second prince may have taken a fancy to the energy of the Ye family and directly wrote to Emperor Qing, asking to marry Ye Ling'er.
After Prince Li Chengqian learned about it, he immediately made a memorial requesting Ye Ling'er for Guo Baokun, the son of Guo Youzhi, the Minister of Rites.
For a time, Ye Ling'er of the Ye family was very popular in Kyoto.
On the other side, Fan Xian was released within a few days after being taken to the prison of the forensic institute.
Chen Pingping made a random excuse and connected the deaths of Lin Gong and Qin Ye, thinking that they were the work of the same killer. When Qin Ye died, Fan Xian was still imprisoned in the prison. Naturally, it was impossible for him to commit the crime, so he was cleared.
suspicion.
Although Prime Minister Lin was reluctant, he could not find conclusive evidence. The cooperation between the Inspection Institute and the Kyoto Prefecture had proven that Lin Gong had been dead for more than an hour when Fan Xian arrived at the scene in the suburbs of Beijing.
Fan Jian took this evidence and put a little pressure on Emperor Qing, and Fan Xian was released.
As soon as Fan Xian came out of the prison, he immediately showed concern for Teng Zijing, who was also arrested.
As a result, when he found the person, Teng Zijing had already been beaten by Zhuge, the head of the Division 1 of the Inspection Institute. He was beaten with bruises all over his body, not a single piece of flesh on his body, and the bones in both legs were broken. It was very miserable.
Seeing the shocking wounds on Teng Zijing's body, Fan Xian was furious, but Zhu Ge was confident.
"Sir Tisi, I'm sorry. According to the normal procedure, the person was put into the prison of the forensic institute and was to be tortured. My men did take a harsher approach, and the subordinates have already punished him severely." Zhu Ge sneered.
Fan Xian said angrily: "People are about to be beaten to death by you, and you just want to give in."
Zhu Ge said indifferently: "Master Tisi has been unjustly dismissed from the position. This is the rule. Even if you complain to His Majesty, I have done nothing wrong."
Fan Xian gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do about Zhuge. After coming to Kyoto for a while, he realized how deep the water in Qingguo's officialdom was.
"I won't just let this matter go." Fan Xian said harshly, and then asked people to take Teng Zijing to the hospital to find the best doctor for treatment.
Teng Zijing's wife and children also received a sum of money from Fan Xian as compensation.
After finishing everything, Fan Xian went home, met with his family, and then ran to "Wang's Cloth Shop" to meet Wang Gang.
"Brother Gang, did you kill Lin Gong and Qin Ye?" Fan Xian said straight to the point.
"Why do you doubt me?" Wang Gang said puzzledly: "I am just a small cloth shop owner, but I am not that capable of assassinating high-ranking officials and the son of Prime Minister Lin."
Fan Xian said: "I have been in prison these days and have thought a lot. Ruoruo and Fan Siche were rescued by a mysterious man and returned home. You are the only one in Kyoto who has this ability."
Wang Gang shook his head and said: "You can eat randomly, but you can't talk nonsense. If others hear it, my nine lives will not be enough."
"Besides you, who else would save Ruoruo and Fan Siche without even leaving a name afterward?" Fan Xian asked.
Wang Gang smiled and said: "There are so many wonderful heroes in the world. Maybe some hero saw an injustice on the road and drew his sword to help. Anyway, the death of Lin Gong and Qin Ye had nothing to do with me!"
Fan Xian looked at Wang Gang suspiciously, but Wang Gang had always been very calm and could not see any flaws.
"Brother Gang, I want to ask you for a favor!" Fan Xian suddenly said.
"What are you busy with?" Wang Gang asked.
"I want to kill Zhu Ge, the head of the Bureau of Investigation and Inspection." Fan Xian said viciously.
Wang Gang raised his eyebrows and said, "For your guard Teng Zijing?"
Fan Xian sighed and said, "I saw Teng Zijing with a doctor. The doctor said that although he has recovered from his injuries, he will be disabled for life and will not be able to do heavy work in the future. I must help him avenge this."
Wang Gang asked: "Have you thought about it? If you are hosted by the Assassination Investigation Agency for a bodyguard, Fan Jian will not be able to protect you if this is exposed."
"Teng Zijing is not only my bodyguard, but also my brother." Fan Xian said seriously.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Wang Gang shook his head and smiled, but said nothing.
"Have you told Fan Jian about your decision?" Wang Gang asked back: "He agreed that you would be a bodyguard and put the entire Fan family in danger."
"That's why I can't use people from the Fan family." Fan Xian said, "Brother Gang, can you help me?"
"I won't help." Wang Gang said without hesitation: "I will only help you assassinate the director of the forensic institute unless I am crazy."
Fan Xian said anxiously: "Brother Gang, people say that we are brothers who fight tigers. Can you bear to see me in danger?"
"Of course I can bear it." Wang Gang calmly took a sip of tea.
Fan Xian was choked and speechless.
He begged for a long time, but Wang Gang never agreed, so Fan Xian could only go home disappointed.
After Wang Gang saw Fan Xian off, he went directly to the backyard of Bufang. He still had a guest to greet.
This guest is also related to Fan Xian, and is none other than the Crown Prince of Qing, Li Chengqian.
"Boss Wang, your cloth shop business is doing well! Please let me wait."
"Your Highness, don't blame me." Wang Gang said politely: "Master Xiao Fan also wants to take care of my business, but I really can't refuse."
Li Chengqian asked in surprise: "Are you familiar with Fan Xian?"
Wang Gang shook his head and said: "I've only met him twice, so I'm not very familiar with him. Lord Xiao Fan is not as generous as His Highness the Crown Prince."
Li Chengqian pushed a small box in front of Wang Gang and said: "This is the final payment, you order it."
Wang Gang opened the box and found that it was full of banknotes, each worth one thousand taels.
"I can trust His Highness the Crown Prince." Wang Gang closed the box and said with a smile.
"Auntie's introduction is indeed correct. You Dark River Killers are indeed powerful and can actually kill Qin Ye. I have indeed found the wrong person." Li Chengqian said with satisfaction.
Wang Gang smiled and said: "If His Highness the Crown Prince wants to kill someone next time, don't forget about our underground river."
Li Chengqian squinted his eyes, took a deep look at Wang Gang, and said: "The Dark River Killer Organization has become famous in recent years. Many eighth- and ninth-grade masters have fallen into your hands. No wonder my aunt recommended you to me."
Wang Gangdui smiled and said: "As long as you can afford it, Dark River can solve any trouble for you."
Li Chengqian said uncertainly: "If I ask you to assassinate the emperor, can you do it?"
"Of course." Wang Gang said without hesitation: "As long as His Highness can afford the money, the four great masters will also kill him."
Li Chengqian rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth: "How much does it cost to kill Fan Xian?"
Wang Gang wondered: "This is a bit difficult to handle! After all, Fan Xian is an old friend of mine and a regular customer. If he dies, Underwater will suffer a lot of losses, so we have to increase the money."
"How much more?" Li Chengqian asked.
"Ten million taels of silver." Wang Gang smiled.
Li Chengqian was stunned and puzzled: "It only costs one million taels to kill Qin Ye, but Fan Xian is ten times more expensive than Qin Ye?"
Wang Gang chuckled and said: "There is no way. Behind Fan Xian is the Sinan Hou Mansion, and he is also the director of the Inspection Institute and Chen Pingping's person. Killing him is too risky. Even if it doesn't cost ten million taels, it's not easy to deal with the underground river!"
"
Li Chengqian's face was gloomy and uncertain, and he could not make up his mind.
He had ten million taels, but to pay such a high price to kill Fan Xian was really not worth the gain.
"What if we kill the second prince? How much will it cost?" Li Chengqian gritted his teeth and asked.
"Your Highness is putting me in a very difficult position!" Wang Gang said distressedly.
"Could it be that Li Chengze has also patronized you?" Li Chengqian's expression changed as he thought of something.