The first assistant, Xia Yunqing, strode into the palace, bowed his hands respectfully, and said with great energy: "My lord, Xia Yunqing, bows to the emperor, and bows to His Highness King Yi!"
Yu Fengjin smiled and raised his hand in return. Emperor Yu only said "hmm" and didn't even look at him.
Xia Yunqing ignored him. He raised his brows and said eloquently: "Your Majesty, the case of Marquis Pingyang has caused a stir in the city. Now it is not only in the palace, but also among the people. If we can't give the people and courtiers a chance,
Please tell me, I’m afraid this matter will be difficult to end in the end!”
Emperor Yu still did not raise his eyes, but asked coldly: "Do the people and ministers want a result, or is Xia Shoufu eager for a result?"
Xia Yunqing replied neither humble nor arrogantly: "Your Majesty, thinking about so many innocent people dying in vain, I can't sleep or eat well! I must seek justice for the people!"
Emperor Yu finally raised his eyelids, glanced at him, and said in a deep voice: "Those evil slaves have all confessed their crimes and been beheaded in public. I have already explained this matter to everyone. It seems that you are not satisfied yet?"
Xia Yunqing raised his eyebrows and said sternly: "Your Majesty, when this matter has reached this stage, do you think that executing a few evil slaves can calm the matter? I know that Marquis Pingyang is a relative of the state, but the more he is a relative of the state, the more guilty he is.
The catastrophic disaster will make the people angrier. If this matter is settled hastily, it will be difficult to appease the public! I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"
Emperor Yu's expression changed slightly, and he said coldly: "Then what do you think Aiqing can do to calm down this farce?"
Xia Yunqing cupped his fists and raised his hands, and said loudly and forcefully: "The common people and courtiers hope that Your Majesty will arrest Pingyang Hou and his son as soon as possible and punish them according to law, so as to express the anger of the people!"
Emperor Yu calmly listened to his appeal and asked displeasedly: "Xia Aiqing, you keep saying that Liu Bingwen is messy, unreasonable, and confusing right and wrong. Are you not the same?"
Xia Yunqing frowned and asked in confusion: "What do you mean by your Majesty's words? I'm sorry for my stupidity!"
Emperor Yu glanced at him slyly and said with a proud smile: "Xia Shoufu, you have always been fair and selfless. However, you seem to be a little anxious about this matter. You have been urging me to deal with this matter, but I have always ignored it, because
You now have no conclusive evidence to prove that this incident was done by Pingyang Hou and his son. Those evil slaves have already confessed to these crimes. If you want to reverse the case at this time, you must provide more favorable evidence. Otherwise, I can only follow
The current evidence has been dealt with impartially!"
Xia Yunqing was startled and immediately became excited: "Your Majesty, those evil slaves are all members of Marquis Pingyang. It's not just a matter of Marquis Pingyang's words to make them confess their sins! Could it be that Your Majesty couldn't think of such a simple truth?"
Emperor Yu's face darkened, and he said coldly: "I said that if you want to deal with Marquis Pingyang, you must provide conclusive evidence! Otherwise, this is the only way I can handle it!"
Xia Yunqing rolled his eyes and immediately raised his hands and said: "In that case, please grant me the duty of interrogation. I am willing to stay up day and night to find out the facts of this matter and bring justice to the world!"
Emperor Yu smiled slightly, waved his hand and said: "I will not punish a relative of the state easily, let alone let a relative of the state be dragged to the Yamen for trial. This case can be investigated, but it can only be investigated in secret, but... this investigation
But it cannot be Xia Aiqing."
Xia Yunqing raised his eyebrows and asked hurriedly: "May I ask your Majesty, why can't you be a minister?"
Emperor Yu curled his lips and said with some meaning: "Because I know that if you investigate the case, no matter what the truth is, Pingyang Hou and his son will definitely die! Just like Liu Bingwen is asked to investigate the case, he will definitely find ways to make it happen.
Pingyang Hou and his son are not guilty. Both of you are too deeply involved in this case, and I cannot believe the results of your trial. Therefore, neither you nor Liu Bingwen can interfere in the investigation of this case!"
Xia Yunqing immediately understood and asked in a deep voice: "Could it be that His Majesty wants Wang Su to investigate the case?"
Emperor Yu did not speak. He pondered for a moment, then caught a glimpse of Yu Fengjin sitting on the embroidered pier, and suddenly smiled:
"This case involves the royal family and requires secret verification, so it will definitely encounter many obstacles. I'm afraid the ministers in the court are inappropriate. King Yi, why don't you try the case. You are a member of the royal family, and Marquis Pingyang does not
What kind of interest relationship is the most appropriate for you to review?"
Yu Fengjin was startled, and quickly stood up in fear, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, my brother is not very talented and has little knowledge of government affairs. I am afraid that he will not be able to take on this important task! This case is of great importance, and I hope that your Majesty will choose another wise person!"
"
"The emperor has said something, how can he take it back so easily!" Emperor Yu's tone became stiff, and his expression became more severe: "If you let the courtiers interrogate a royal family member? Wouldn't it make the royal family lose face! It is most appropriate for you to do this!
"
Xia Yunqing also immediately bowed his head and said: "I also think that it is most appropriate for His Highness King Yi to hear this case!"
Yu Fengjin glanced sideways at Xia Yunqing, and had no choice but to follow suit and said: "Since Your Majesty trusts me, I will do my best to find out about this matter! I will never disappoint Your Majesty's entrustment!"
After thinking about this, Emperor Yu looked at Xia Yunqing with an unreadable expression and asked: "Is Xia Aiqing satisfied with the result of this decision?"
Xia Yunqing bowed and saluted, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty is wise!"
Emperor Yu immediately sighed, waved his hands to the two of them, and said slightly tiredly: "I'm a little tired, you all should step aside..."
Xia Yunqing and Yu Fengjin hurriedly raised their hands together and slowly bowed and exited the palace. The two of them walked together until outside Xuande Gate. Xia Yunqing suddenly stopped, turned around and cupped his hands to Yu Fengjin: "Your Highness, please stay!
I have something to say!"
Yu Fengjin smiled slightly, raised his hand and said, "Xia Shoufu, you don't have to be polite. If you have anything to say, just say it."
"Okay!" Xia Yunqing was not polite and said straight to the point: "I know that Queen Mother Xiaokang has a nurturing kindness for Your Highness. I dare to ask Your Highness, if you come to hear this case, will you deliberately cover up Pingyang Hou and his son because of your old relationship?
But you don’t care about the life and death of the people?”
After being stunned for a moment, Yu Fengjin looked at him and asked gently: "Since Xia Shoufu can't trust me, why did he agree to the emperor's proposal just now?"
Xia Yunqing's eyes wavered a little, and he pondered for a long time without speaking.
Yu Fengjin chuckled softly and had no choice but to reveal his thoughts: "Xia Shoufu can't trust me, and he is afraid that I will bend the law for personal gain. But Xia Shoufu has to choose me, because other people in the court let you
I can’t believe it, but is this true?”
Xia Yunqing sighed helplessly, twisted his beard and said: "Your Highness is right, I do have such worries! Therefore, I hope that Your Highness will think more about the people who died innocently and tragically, and find out the truth as soon as possible to get justice for them!"
"
Yu Fengjin's eyes dimmed and he muttered: "Since this is the emperor's assignment, I will do my best to do it well. However, the chief assistant also understands the intricacies of this matter. Since someone wants to cover up the fact
, the evidence must have been destroyed long ago. Therefore, there is no guarantee that I can find out the truth that the Chief Assistant wants. I hope that when I do, the Chief Assistant will not accuse me of deliberately bending the law for personal gain!"
After hearing what he said, Xia Yunqing had no choice but to cup her hand and said helplessly: "What your Highness said is quite reasonable! I made a mistake, please don't take it to heart!"
Yu Fengjin cupped her hands to him and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, I know that although Xia Shoufu is impatient, he is fair. Don't worry, I will definitely give everyone an explanation for this case! Farewell!"
After Xia Yunqing's sedan chair walked away, Yan Rong got down from the carriage, looked him up and down, and asked with concern: "Brother, are you okay? The emperor didn't do anything to you, right? Fangfang came to me like crazy.
, he said that someone from the Royal Guards Department had brought you into the palace, so I hurriedly chased you. But I couldn’t get in without the emperor’s call, so I could only wait here for you!”
Yu Fengjin felt warm in her heart, patted him on the shoulder, and said warmly: "Don't worry, don't you think I'm fine? The emperor is just worried about my condition and wants to see me!"
When Yan Rong heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "That's good, that's good! Then let's go back quickly!"
After helping Yu Fengjin get into the carriage, Yan Rongfei got on his horse and turned around to rush back to Prince Yi's Mansion.
However, Yu Fengjin opened the small window in front of the carriage and ordered: "Don't go back home. Go to Xiaoxiang Villa immediately!"
"What's wrong?" Yan Rong asked while controlling the reins.
"Today in the palace, I met Zhang Heng and Liu Rong. They threatened me to hand over the witness. It seems that he already knows that the witness is in our hands! We must take precautions before they take action!"
Yan Rong frowned and asked doubtfully: "Zhang Heng's methods are really powerful. He found us so quickly! But where were we exposed?"
Yu Fengjin glared and said coldly: "Oh, have you forgotten? Besides us, there are some people who also know about this!"
Yan Rong pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Could it be that the caravan leaked the secret?"
Yu Fengjin had a sullen face and said in a cold voice: "There is no one else but them. However, let's not alarm others yet. When we have evidence, I will ask them for an explanation!"
When the two of them were rushing to the Xiaoxiang annex, Zhang Heng and Liu Rong took the lead and led their golden armored guards to block the door of the annex and surround them.
Bei Xiaobei, who was in charge of reception outside the door, saw the unkind visitor and immediately went up to greet him and said with a smile: "Master Zhang is bringing the brothers to have a drink today? I will show you the way!"
Zhang Heng raised his hand and slapped him across the face, and cursed angrily: "Get out of here! Why are you drinking? I'm here to do business today!"
As he spoke, he waved to the people behind him and said sternly: "Go in and search every room for me! Don't miss any corner!"
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of golden-armored guards behind him rushed into the door aggressively. There was a loud and noisy sound inside the door.
Many drinkers and singers were so frightened that they turned around and ran out the door, but were stopped by the golden-armored guards guarding the door. They refused to let anyone go.
The drinkers were disinterested and began to curse at these uninvited guests one by one. Zhang Heng and Liu Rong kicked them hard with their golden armored guards, and the yelling stopped immediately. Everyone did not dare to do it again and could only shrink back.
In the corner, he watched with fear as the Golden Armored Guards were like locusts crossing the border, searching for someone while plundering the Xiaoxiang Villa.
A servant secretly went to inform Hua Fangyi, who belatedly came down from upstairs. As soon as she saw the battle in front of her, she immediately understood the purpose of Zhang Heng's trip.
"Hey, Mr. Zhang is so impressive, he shouldn't be here to drink and listen to music, right?" Hua Fangyi walked up to him gracefully and smiled at him, speaking softly and in a charming manner.
Zhang Heng looked at her with a smile and said maliciously: "I'm sorry, boss lady! Someone reported that you are harboring a fugitive here, and I was ordered to come and arrest them. You have to be more tolerant of any disturbance!" This chapter has been completed!