It was obvious that he didn't want to get into trouble. Although he might have a crush on Wei An, it was just a crush and he was unwilling to admit it.
This is very consistent with Shen Chen's usual behavior.
Emperor Longqing couldn't help laughing at his funny appearance. He waved his hand to send him away, then called him thoughtfully: "By the way, Achen, how is your brother doing recently?"
Shen Chen exclaimed: "What brother?"
When Emperor Longqing glared at him, he said reluctantly, "You mean Chu Jingxing? I haven't contacted him since Awu moved in with me. But I heard that he sent someone to look for me a few days ago, but I wasn't there. I went to Baoding."
Emperor Longqing thought for a moment, "So you have no contact with your father either?"
"My father did write me a letter." Shen Chen waved his hand: "It's meaningless. My father wrote to scold me, saying that I led Awu astray and forbade me to take Awu to Fujian. Needless to say, I knew it was Chu Jingxing who informed on me, so I didn't reply. It's not like I wanted to tie Awu up and go with him. Awu wanted to go with me on his own..."
Emperor Longqing said he understood and waved his hand to let him go first.
Immediately afterwards, he summoned Young Master Lin.
Young Master Lin was much less of a worry than Shen Chen. Emperor Longqing didn't need to beat around the bush when talking to him. He asked him directly, "I remember that I asked you to investigate other cases. I asked you to hand over Zhao Er's case to the Ministry of Justice. Why did you suddenly go to Baoding Prefecture?"
Lin Sanshao did not hesitate for a moment and answered Emperor Longqing's question directly: "I received a letter."
As he spoke, he took out the letter from his bosom and handed it to Emperor Longqing: "The letter says that if I rush to Baoding, I can perform a great deed..."
He glanced at Emperor Longqing and said softly, "The letter was placed on the table in the Pacification Office. No ordinary person would have the ability to do this. I was curious about what it was about, so I went to Baoding. Who knew that when I arrived in Baoding, I found out that Pingxi Hou and Shouning County Princess were also there."
He briefly recounted what happened in Baoding Prefecture, and then said, "I guess someone must have known about this and asked me to rush over. I just don't know what this person's purpose is."
What he said about the events in Baoding Prefecture was exactly the same as what Wei An and Shen Chen had said, without any concealment or addition or subtraction. It was obvious that he felt there was nothing to hide.
Emperor Longqing laughed and said, "Do you know what kind of memorial I received from Dong Siyuan?"
Young Master Lin followed Emperor Longqing and shook his head calmly: "I don't know."
This is his usual temperament.
When Emperor Longqing met Wei An, Shen Chen and Young Master Lin one after another, he knew that the three of them had really fallen into someone else's trap, so he sneered and said, "You will know after you take a look."
Young Master Lin picked up the memorial that Emperor Longqing had thrown on the ground. His expression remained unchanged after a glance. He just calmly closed the memorial and said, "This is directed at me."
He thought for a moment and said, "It's probably due to my family affairs."
Everyone knows what kind of person his stepmother is.
Because he was going to marry a prostitute, Lady Qinghe was so happy that she almost lost her teeth. She couldn't wait to run to Old Madam Wei's house to ask her to propose marriage for her, which made everyone in the capital laugh at her.
The wife of the Earl of Qinghe did not wish good things for the Third Young Master Lin. She disliked him very much and often did small things behind his back. This was a common occurrence.
Now that this has happened, the first person Young Master Lin suspects is her, and he has his reasons for that.
This time, Emperor Longqing laughed and shook his head: "I'm afraid it's not that simple this time."
He glanced at Lin Sanshao and said sarcastically, "She was able to deliver the letter to the Zhenfusi Yamen and accurately deliver it to you. She was also able to predict that you would go to Baoding and calculate the timing to know the whereabouts of Shen Chen and Wei An. This is not something that ordinary people can do. Your stepmother doesn't have this ability. Even if it was her, she was being used by others."
Young Master Lin quickly reacted: "Although I have offended many people while serving in the Jinyiwei, I have never been manipulated in such a way... If someone really deliberately lured me there and then used me to make trouble, then..."
He said bluntly: "I'm afraid it's not for me that they're going through so much trouble. Is it for Pingxi Hou or Zheng Wang? They just want to get rid of me."
Emperor Longqing hummed and immediately ordered: "I'm afraid he wants to stir up trouble and make me more vulnerable. You will investigate this matter yourself. The person who submitted the memorial on behalf of Dong Siyuan is Li Liqing from the Ministry of Justice. Go and investigate this person."
Young Master Lin accepted the order and soon brought the follow-up of the matter: "Your Majesty, Li Liqing was a classmate of Dong Siyuan, but he had never had any personal relationship with Dong Siyuan. But it is worth mentioning that he had a very good relationship with the Minister of War on Dong Siyuan's list, and this Minister of War also committed suicide in prison recently."
Emperor Longqing knew about this.
He also knew that this assistant minister of the Ministry of War was Xia Song's favorite student.
He nodded, realized everything, and ordered Young Master Lin to keep the matter secret. That night, he urgently summoned Xia Song to the palace.
When Prime Minister Xia Song entered the palace, he was left alone for the whole night for some reason. The next day, Emperor Longqing threw a memorial in front of him and asked him in front of all the ministers in the cabinet: "In your eyes, who is more important, me or Prince Jin?"
The Prince of Jin is now plotting treason!
Emperor Longqing compared him with Xia Song. Everyone in the cabinet was shocked. They all looked at Xia Song in surprise and said nothing.
Although Xia Song was capable and had been the Prime Minister for a long time, no one minded anyone who could climb higher than him.
When there is an opportunity, no one will miss it.
Emperor Longqing sneered as he watched Xia Song pick up the memorial, and asked him softly, "I wonder how much land you have bought in Bozhou? Has all the land in Bozhou been returned to your family?"
The fact that Xia Song's son occupied the land was already an open secret, but it was kept secret from Emperor Longqing.
It was still unknown whether the secret had been kept from Emperor Longqing, or whether Emperor Longqing had turned a blind eye and pretended not to know, but now it was laid bare so nakedly in front of everyone.
Everyone knew that Xia Song's career as Prime Minister had reached the end of his rope.
Xia Song himself had already realized something. He understood something the moment he took the memorial. When he opened it and saw that it was Dong Siyuan's secret memorial, he sighed, took off his hat, knelt down and apologized.
He really shouldn't have taken this risk.
I helped Chu Jingxing this time, but I lost my entire future.
Dong Siyuan was labeled as an accomplice of Prince Jin, which meant that the Xiao family was also doomed to die.
Chu Jingxing used him to turn the tide, but now he has been outmaneuvered... ... Shen Chen is one step ahead, young people are really formidable... ...