"Okay! Then I'll say it!" Qin Mubai said, "Although the emperor is wise and powerful and a wise king through the ages, he also has the mentality of an ordinary person. For example, he also wants to be a good father, so he especially hopes that his children can Health, happiness, and harmony with each other. Do you agree with me on this point?"
"That's right." Li Ke nodded, "Since I was very young, I have always felt that although my father has many things to do, he always takes time to spend time with his family. We have many brothers and sisters, but he likes them all. And more than that. He once taught us that we should respect each other, love each other and live in harmony. Therefore, when he saw the prince and the king of Wei fighting for the throne, he was very angry and helpless. This is why, I don't. The reason why I dare to report this matter so easily would make my father think that I am also interested in attacking the prince and coveting the East Palace. That would violate his taboo!"
"Your Highness is indeed wise! It seems that what I said to you is not in vain." Qin Mubai said, "Forgive me for saying something that is disrespectful to the world. Ever since the Xuanwu Gate incident, there has been a shadow in His Majesty's heart. . He is afraid that his sons will fight each other endlessly and eventually cause a murder. He is also afraid that one day he will be forced to give up his throne and be detained in the harem like Emperor Gaozu... Your Highness, these words are enough to make me beheaded. Yes. But tell the truth, what I said...right?"
Li Ke took a long breath and nodded heavily: "I don't deny that what you said is probably right. When we were young, if there were disputes and fights between our brothers, our father would always reprimand us very severely. He It’s what he resents and even hates the most!”
"So, you must not report the Jiangzhou case to the emperor personally!" Qin Mubai said categorically, "On the surface, you are loyal to your duties and selfless, but in fact, you will leave a very important mark in the emperor's mind. A bad impression. In the emperor's mind, there is no crime more serious than his sons attacking each other and killing each other! In contrast, although the Jiangzhou case can also be described as "shattering", to you, King Wu, It’s actually a small thing.”
"Well said. But, am I really going to tolerate these corrupt officials in Jiangzhou, let these wronged souls get their blood, and let the wealth of the Tang Dynasty flow endlessly into their pockets?" Li Ke Somewhat angry.
"Of course not. Your Highness, do you think that I, Mr. Qin, have no sense of justice and am no better than a pig or a dog? I wish I could cut off the heads of these beasts with my own hands!" Qin Mubai said with a smile. "Your Highness, there is no need to be impatient. You may not have to report this matter personally in order for the Emperor to know about it."
"What?" Li Ke was suddenly startled, then his eyes flashed with wisdom, and he suddenly smiled knowingly, "Mu Bai, you are a very smart man!"
"It seems that Your Highness understands." Qin Mubai chuckled.
"Of course, you and I have a tacit understanding!" Li Ke laughed heartily, "In a few days, Quan Wanji will come back from Jiangzhou. At that time, you and he will investigate the case thoroughly, and I will Don't ask him in front of me. Then, I will hide it from the emperor. With Quan Wanji's character, he will definitely report it to the emperor without me asking!"
"Your Highness is wise." Qin Mubai nodded and smiled, "In this way, you will be guilty of 'covering and conniving' on the surface. The emperor may punish you, but he will definitely appreciate you in his heart. At that time, the emperor will think that you are guilty. He doesn't want to betray the prince out of brotherly love, or he doesn't dare to report it because he's afraid of getting into trouble. No matter what, it's better than competing with each other. In fact, he has the same heart. Ming Jing, since I have long thought that the Jiangzhou case may be related to the prince, I may have sent you here intentionally to investigate you. Your Highness, you must pass this step carefully!"
"Mu Bai, you are really my wise man!" Li Ke grabbed Qin Mubai's hand with excitement and smiled gratefully, "The one who knows me is Mu Bai! The one who helps me is Mu Bai! I have Mu Bai , nothing to worry about!”
"Your Highness is too ridiculous. In fact, I have done nothing. As an outsider, I cannot participate too much in the affairs of the royal family, not to mention that I am still a close minister of His Majesty." Qin Mubai said, "I never want to let Jiang go. There are many corrupt officials in the state. At the same time, I don’t want His Highness to cause trouble because of doing something wrong, so I ask Your Highness not to take it to heart.”
Li Ke let go of Qin Mubai's hand and smiled knowingly: "I understand your difficulties. It is taboo for a minister to interfere in the affairs of the royal family. But you are not. You are helping your friends out of trouble. A gentleman seeks good luck and avoids bad luck. It’s human nature. You did nothing wrong.”
Qin Mubai smiled knowingly at him: "If His Highness hadn't been wise and magnanimous, I wouldn't have dared to tell you so much. As you said, I'm helping my friend. That's all."
A few days later, Quan Wanji returned from Jiangzhou with a batch of grain, grass, bedding and other disaster relief materials.
Li Ke was still in charge of the overall situation, leading state and county officials and military officers and soldiers to be busy in disaster relief and settling the victims. Qin Mubai secretly found Quan Wanji, took him to the Yuanjishan County Government Office, and took him to the morgue.
"Why did General Qin suddenly call his subordinate to this place?" Quan Wanji frowned and covered his nose. There were several corpses placed in the morgue. Although they had been processed by the workers, there was still a smell of corpses due to the hot weather.
"This is the former magistrate of Jishan County, Zhu Chengwen." Qin Mubai opened a shroud and said, "I won't beat around the bush and tell you straight. I suspect he was murdered!"
"What?!"
Qin Mubai briefly examined the body and told Quan Wanji about his doubts. Quan Wanji suddenly nodded: "It's really suspicious!"
Then Qin Mubai told Quan Wanji all the doubts he had discovered, but he never mentioned the emperor's secret order.
"General Qin, are you saying that someone is taking advantage of this flood to make money from the national calamity?" Quan Wanji said in shock.
"That's right." Qin Mubai said, "Mr. Jiu Wenquan is proficient in government administration and has been in charge of all financial matters in Prince Wu's Mansion, right?"
"Yes. I have always been in charge of all the income and expenditure of Prince Wu's Mansion. Although I am not proficient in financial accounting, I still know a thing or two about it," Quan Wanji said.
"Excellent. That's why I invited sir here." Qin Mubai took Quan Wanji to the morgue and came to a secret room. He took out a pile of account books that had been soaked by the flood and said, "This is I found some account books from the Jishan County government office, and I suspect there is something wrong with them. But I don’t understand financial accounting, so I would like to ask my husband to help me check if there is anything wrong with it.”
"Okay! I'm happy to help! If someone really takes the opportunity to embezzle money and bend the law to enrich the country, I, Quan Wanji, will never be at odds with him!" Quan Wanji shouted a few times with an angry look on his face, and immediately sat down to look through the account book. .
"Then it's Mr. Lao." Qin Mubai thanked him, but secretly smiled in his heart: There must be no problem with these accounts. If those corrupt officials were not idiots, they would have destroyed all this type of evidence when they killed Zhu Chengwen. The reason why I asked you, Quan Wanji, to come and help with the accounting... was just an excuse to get you involved in this case!
I'm sorry, Mr. Quan Wanji, who is a righteous man, I have told you a white lie and set up a trap that is harmless to you. Please forgive me! You will definitely be fine if you report it to the emperor, and the emperor will reward you for being upright and honest without fear of the powerful. But that’s not possible for Li Ke and I, so we have to trouble you to “work harder” for those who can do it!…
Quan Wanji is really meticulous and conscientious in his work. He sat in the room blankly without even taking a sip of tea. He concentrated on studying the account book for more than an hour. He blinked blankly and said to Qin Mubai: "General Qin, there is nothing wrong with this account book!"
"Really? That's really weird!" Qin Mubai rolled his eyes, "Am I too sensitive and made a wrong judgment?"
"No. Although there is no doubt in this account book, it is very likely that Zhu Chengwen's death was due to homicide! The murder of a county magistrate is already a big case, and we must continue to pursue it!" Quan Wan Ji said sternly, "Moreover, since someone wants to kill Zhu Chengwen, the murderer must have some kind of ulterior secret that he knows. Since he killed the person and silenced him, it is very likely that the secret will be leaked. The account books and other items were transferred as soon as possible. Therefore, General Qin’s suspicion is not wrong, but the real evidence may have been lost now!”
"Mr. Quan is really shrewd, but I am stupid." Qin Mubai nodded as if he had realized something, and then asked confusedly, "Now that the clues have been cut off, and the gentleman said he wanted to investigate, where should we go?" Check it out?"
"This... Although Zhu Chengwen was killed, there are always other insiders." Quan Wanji said, "Therefore, we can start from the death of Zhu Chengwen and follow the clues to find out the murderer behind the scenes!"
"Other insiders... must they be Zhu Chengwen's confidants or relatives?" Qin Mubai rubbed his chin and muttered, "But Zhu Chengwen is from the south. He went north to serve as an official alone, without any family members. After arriving, He hasn't taken a concubine and had children. He hasn't been here long, and he usually doesn't have any other hobbies. He just spends his time at home studying some poems and poems, and he probably doesn't have many friends around him. How about closeness?”
"He lives in the county government office, so he must be taken care of by servants, maids, and government officials." Quan Wanji followed Qin Mubai's train of thought and guessed.
Qin Mubai secretly smiled in his heart: Okay, just say it now, keep working hard, Quan Wanji!
"Zhu Chengwen is also the magistrate of the county after all. An official knows his priorities. He probably won't talk to any maids or servants about some private and important things, right?" Qin Mubai said, "Then he can only, Talk to his most trusted friend or closest colleague."
"Yes, colleague!" Quan Wanji suddenly slapped the table, "The first time I saw Jishan County Lieutenant Liao Lirong, I felt suspicious! As soon as the county magistrate died, he immediately got together with the governor. Obviously, they had a good relationship before. They are relatively close. Moreover, the county captain and the chief minister have always been the closest assistants to the county magistrate. The chief minister is Guanwen, and the county lieutenant is Liwu. Among them, apart from the county magistrate, there is only one county captain, Liao Lirong, who is the closest to the county magistrate Zhu Chengwen! "
"Mr. Quan is really smart, and he has a thorough understanding of the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty. I admire him!" Qin Mubai bowed his hands and said, "After hearing what Mr. Quan said, I also remembered one thing, which further proves that Liao Lirong is suspicious. ! His hometown is dozens of miles away from here, so he usually lives in the county government office like Zhu Chengwen! After going back and forth, the two of them are superiors and live together, and they are likely to become good friends who talk about everything!
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's investigate Liao Lirong immediately. Starting from him, we must clean up all the filth on the ground in Jiangzhou!" Quan Wanji frowned and shouted indignantly.