Zhu Gaosui was really scared. He knew how ruthless his father was. It would not be possible to kill him, but it was very possible to destroy him or imprison him until death.
"Father, my son really has no intention of rebelliousness!"
Zhu Gaosui pointed to the sky and swore: "If I have any disobedience, I will let my whole family die without leaving a single person behind."
"Presumptuous!" Zhu Di was furious.
"Third brother, what nonsense are you talking about?" Xiaopang also looked unhappy.
Li Qing wanted to laugh, but he held it back.
Zhu Gaosui came back to his senses and quickly changed his words: "I mean, my whole family, you don't count."
Zhu Zhanji sneered: "It seems that my third uncle doesn't regard us as a family!"
"I..." Zhu Gaosui was filled with grief and anger, and his intestines turned green with regret: What the hell is this? Are you celebrating my birthday, or are you choosing a death day for yourself?
Damn it, if I had known that the second child wouldn’t come, I wouldn’t come either!
"Nephew, you can't cheat your third uncle. Your third uncle loves you the most." Zhu Gaosui said in a flirtatious manner.
Zhu Zhanji doesn't want to do this, so don't turn your head and ignore others.
Zhu Gaosui really cried now: "Father, brother, I was wronged, you believe me, believe me!"
"Okay." Zhu Di's face was full of anger and disgust, but there was also a hint of relaxation. "Look at your runny nose and tears. You don't look like a vassal king at all."
Indeed, it is impossible for the third child to rebel.
"Get up, I don't care about your ability," Zhu Di scolded.
"My father is very aware of everything, my father is so wise...!" Zhu Gaosui felt like he was reborn. He kowtowed several times and got up from the ground, his face full of joy.
In this short period of time, he seemed to have walked through the gates of hell several times.
Zhu Di looked at Li Qing and waved the letter in his hand, "You are responsible for handling this case. I will give you three days."
I shouldn't have followed, curiosity killed the cat... Li Qing had no choice but to accept the order.
Picking up the letter and unfolding it, the content is quite simple. In one sentence: King Zhao colluded with the commander of Lieutenant Chang Shan, the commander of the Yulin Guard, and the eunuchs in the palace to poison Zhu Di and rise to power himself.
Li Qing sneered. If it were the King of Han, it might have some credibility, but King Zhao... this joke is a bit cold.
The handwriting was mixed and horizontal, written either with the foot or with the left hand. It was difficult to find someone through the handwriting. Li Qing had a headache, so he raised his head and asked:
"Your Majesty, what should we do after we find out the culprit?"
"Ling Chi!" Zhu Di said with a cold tone, "The men of the three tribes guard the border, and the women infiltrate the Jiaofang Division."
"I understand." Li Qing handed over his hand, "I will leave first."
…
Three days was not enough time, so Li Qing had to analyze it step by step.
Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui entered the capital the day before yesterday. Before that, Jian Yi from the Ministry of Personnel, Yang Shiqi from the Cabinet, Yang Mian from the Ministry of Rites and others were still in prison, and were guarded by Jinyi guards, so they had no time to collude and commit crimes.
Chang Shanwei, Yulinwei, eunuchs... Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief: These are obviously coming for the generals and eunuchs.
This frame-up method is not clever, even a little naive, but it is very effective.
According to normal logic, as an emperor, no matter how absurd and unruly a matter as big as rebellion is, he will investigate it in detail.
Once strict investigation is carried out, a crisis of trust will inevitably arise.
Just when Zhu Di was about to go on a personal expedition, it could be said that he had extremely good control over the current situation.
Are you checking or not?
If you check, there's a high probability that you won't be able to send troops. If you don't check, you'll always have a thorn in your heart.
Especially the trick of 'eunuch poisoning' is extremely damaging. If you don't check it, you won't be able to eat. Who knows if the eunuch who tested the poison has prepared the antidote in advance.
"Damn it..." Li Qing cursed, "It's so dirty!"
It was precisely because Zhu Di realized this that he was riding a tiger and couldn't get off, so he asked the question to Li Qing.
The point is, Li Qing also has a headache.
Because there is no evidence to pinpoint the person behind the scenes.
When the court handles cases, especially for officials, one cannot make assumptions out of thin air. There must be sufficient evidence, otherwise it will be difficult to convince the public.
Li Qing frowned and said, "We can only investigate from the source first."
So, Li Qing went to the Ministry of Rites and found the doctor.
…
"What do you call it?"
"Xiaguan Wang Zhong."
"Mr. Wang." Li Qing nodded and asked, "The emperor ordered me to investigate this matter thoroughly. Who else has read this letter besides you?"
His eyes revealed danger: "Have you ever spread such ridiculous things?"
"I've never been a lower official..." Wang Zhong said bravely.
Unknowingly, he had fallen into Li Qing's language trap.
Li Qing wrote down his confession, "mark it."
"This... the whistleblower is also guilty?" Wang Zhong became emotional, "The lower officials are dedicated to serving the country, and the world can learn from their sincere heart..."
"This is just an investigation, not a trial of guilt." Li Qing said with a smile, "Otherwise, I would have asked you to go to Zhao Prison to talk."
"Uh... okay." Wang Zhong signed the sign reluctantly.
Li Qing put away his confession and looked threatening: "Please keep the letter confidential. If it leaks from you, the consequences... you know."
"I understand, I understand." Wang Zhong smiled apologetically.
"That's good, Mr. Wang needs to take good care of himself!" Li Qing patted his shoulder, showed a meaningful smile, and turned to leave.
Watching Li Qing go away, Wang Zhong sat down on the chair, trembling uncontrollably, with regret on his face: He shouldn't have entered this muddy water.
However, it was too late to say anything now, the matter was a foregone conclusion, and he could only pray that Li Qing could not find any substantive evidence.
As the person who submitted the anonymous letter, Wang Zhong is very suspicious, and he knows this very well.
Li Qing naturally knew it, but without evidence, he couldn't take him.
That’s why I used words, expressions and other details to give Wang Zhong the feeling of ‘I know you are the one who is in charge’.
After leaving the Ministry of Rites, Li Qing went home. He did not go to the Yulin Guards, nor did he look for the Dongchang eunuch mentioned in the letter.
There is no need. Zhu Di's control over the army is even better than that of Zhu Yuanzhang at the same time. As for the eunuchs... Dongchang is at its peak, how can they harm Zhu Di.
The civil servants just wanted to thoroughly investigate the generals and eunuchs, so as to dissolve the close relationship between Zhu Di and the two forces. Li Qingmen was clear.
…
It was night, as dark as ink.
Li Qing was wearing a dark robe, and Zhu Zhanji was wearing black clothes and trousers. The two of them were hiding in an alley thirty meters away from Wang Zhong's house.
"Uncle Qing, we are acting like thieves." Zhu Zhanji said in a breathy voice.
"Stop talking nonsense." Li Qing hummed, "The emperor gave me three days, what can I do? I can only come up with this last resort."
"Then do you think Wang Zhong will reveal his secret?" Zhu Zhanji asked, "What if he loses his composure?"
Li Qing said helplessly, "Then I have nothing else to do, let's try my luck."
Zhu Zhanji was speechless, holding back his temper and waiting.
A quarter of an hour passed, two quarters of an hour passed...
At this time, Zhu Zhanji couldn't bear it anymore and said, "Let's withdraw. Wang Zhong has withstood the pressure. There is no need for us to defend here."
"Wait a minute." Li Qing said, "I scared him quite a lot during the day, and he probably won't be able to bear it."
Zhu Zhanji nodded helplessly.
It was a long wait again, until at the end of the hour, when Zhu Zhanji was about to fall asleep, the door creaked open.
The sound is not loud, but in the quiet night here, it is particularly harsh.
Zhu Zhanji perked up and was about to stick his head out to take a look when he was pulled back by Li Qing, "Don't act blindly."
Li Qing stuck his head out to take a look.
A dark figure stuck his head out and glanced left and right. He was tens of meters away, but the other party didn't notice him. In a blink of an eye, the figure was gone.
"Uncle Qing, let's catch up quickly." Zhu Zhanji was not sleepy at all and said anxiously: "This fool is just trying to make ends meet. He won't be able to keep up in a while."
"Don't worry, we can't run away from him." Li Qing smiled, "Where do you think he is going?"
Zhu Zhanji shook his head: "How did I know that? These civil servants all have a good reputation. They all seem to be good people until the secret affair is discovered."
Li Qing laughed dumbly: "That's right."
Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, there were really few treacherous ministers in the civil service group, and only one Yan Song was relatively famous. In the Ming Dynasty, there were so many ministers, ministers, and cabinet ministers, but only a few of them were labeled as treacherous ministers.
This is very unreasonable!
On the contrary, the eunuchs were almost all traitors and few were good ones.
Oh, the officials in the Ming Dynasty were all good officials!
Li Qing secretly mobilized his energy and improved his hearing. When the footsteps were completely gone, he pulled Zhu Zhanji out and asked, "How about we bet something?"
"What to bet on?"
"Bet on who he sees," Li Qing said with a smile, "How about a bet of one hundred taels of gold?"
"Sure," Zhu Zhanji said, "I bet he is going to see the Minister of Rites."
Li Qing nodded: "Then I bet he is not meeting the Minister of Rites."