The East Palace was full of gloom and gloom.
He Yin looked at Yan Che who was sitting behind the desk and couldn't see his eyes clearly, gritted his teeth and said, "His Royal Highness, there is no other way at this point, Mr. Zhang... It is impossible to pick it clean, we can only pick it up." Pick up the rest!"
After a pause, He Yin continued to speak with difficulty, "The subordinates have already sent someone to investigate. Mr. Zhang's hands are indeed not clean. Over the years, Shuoxi's military rations have been transported from the borders of Dingzhou and Liangzhou. Mr. Zhang is in charge of it." The garrison on the Northwest Road sees that the Shuoxi Army’s ration supplies are so good every year, and they must have... "
Yan Che suddenly turned his head to look at He Yin, and in an instant, He Yin was speechless.
Yan Che's eyes were full of clouded fury, He Yin was swept over by Yan Che, and he felt as if a cold knife was flying in front of his eyes, how dare he say a word? ! He Yin also knew what kind of temperament his master had, and Yan Chi must be angry right now.
When the water is clear, there will be no fish. Yan Che doesn't understand the truth in the officialdom. This was the case with the corruption case of the Southern Salt Transport last year, but he never thought that Zhang Qide's hands were not clean. Those who came out of the army are now greedy for the supplies of the Shuoxi army!
The ration supply of the Shuoxi Army is indeed the best in the entire Zhou Dynasty, that is because the Shuoxi Army has encountered the most battles, and the annual military consumption and casualties are also the largest. How could he have the face to covet the things of the Shuoxi army? !
When the military ration case broke out, Yan Che wrote to Zhang Qide, but at that time Zhang Qide kept it a secret, and he even believed in this former general of his grandfather. After Zhang Qide returned to Beijing, he recommended him several times. For the time being, he has not won the emperor's approval, but in Yan Che's heart, Zhang Qide is the first candidate to be in charge of the Shuoxi Army. He is still waiting for Zhang Qide to become the generalissimo of a hundred thousand troops, but Zhang Qide himself is the first to fall!
Corruption! Corruption again! First came the salt transport, and then the army. These people relied on their family nobility and their official qualifications, and they increasingly forgot why they joined the officialdom in the first place.
And Yan Chi knew better that Zhang Qide was imprisoned, and soon he and the household department he was in charge of would also be involved.
Thinking of the queen who was still grounded, Yan Che was disturbed. He didn't panic when the queen was grounded, but God seemed to be joking with him, and such an incident happened. If it was the mother queen, what would she do at this time? Woolen cloth? !
"I want a detailed list immediately to see who has been greedy and how much they have been greedy. Officials above the fifth rank of the household department will be guaranteed, and others who can't take care of them will be released. Tell Yang Han to enter the palace as soon as possible." Come-"
Thinking of Yang Han, Yan Che frowned again.
He is in charge of the household department and the official department, but the household secretary is a very mediocre person, and he can't find any mistakes in his line of sight, but he is definitely not a vigorous person, Yan Che narrowed his eyes, "Forget it, no It's called Yang Han, I remember there was a member of the household department called Cheng Yu, right? Call him in!"
Yu Wenxian is not here, so is Yang Han. Although the emperor gave him two of the six departments, in fact only the official department is firmly controlled by him. However, the appointment and removal of officials is not up to the official department. Real power, but in the end he is still restrained. On the surface, as the crown prince, he is in charge of the second department, but only Yan Che himself knows that at least half of his power in the household department is emptied.
When he wanted to do something, he didn't move, but now that something happened, it was all his responsibility.
Yan Che narrowed his eyes slightly, "Yan Qi knows that this matter is only going to be tricky, so let the people under him be more efficient."
He Yin responded, and just turned around to go out, when he saw Qin Shu outside, He Yin nodded to Qin Shu, and walked away quickly.
Tang Fu came in and reported, "Your Highness, Zhongyong is here."
Yan Che immediately solemnly said, "Let him in—"
Qin Shu entered the side hall, bowed first before raising his head, "Your Highness, I just got the news, Mr. Zhang really..."
Today is not the morning sun, so it is indeed a bit late for Qin Shu to know the news.
Yan Che frowned, nodded, "Yes, already in prison."
Qin Shu took a deep breath, "Then what should we do now... The west is investigating the case right now... Lin Xugui and Yu Wenxian are right? These two people should know that Mr. Zhang is from the Beifu army, and also from yours. They …”
Speaking of this, Qin Shu couldn't help but stop talking. Although Lin Xugui and Yu Wenxian were only ministers, they were reused by the emperor, and this time they went to the northwest as imperial envoys. How dare an individual dare to blatantly dismount someone from the prince's lineage.
As an official in the court, naturally one can't just focus on the present, Yan Che is the crown prince, but Yu Wenxian and Lin Xugui are not afraid of how they will deal with themselves after Yan Che ascends the throne.
Qin Shu didn't dare to think deeply, but when he thought deeply, he felt a chill down his spine.
"Now is not the time to talk about this. They are in the northwest, the sky is high and the road is far away, and they will not stop. They are still the same as last year. Immediately go and see how many people on our side will be implicated." After a pause, Yan Che said, "Go and keep an eye on Yang Han."
"Yang Han?" Qin Shu was slightly surprised, Yang Han is the secretary of the household department...
Yan Che nodded, "Yang Han's mind is not with me, I need to know now whether his mind is with Father Emperor or Yan Qi's."
Qin Shu instantly understood what Yan Che meant, and immediately responded, but then asked again, "The empress..."
As soon as the queen was mentioned, Yan Che's heart sank. For so long, Yan Qi did not find any new evidence, but the father did not intend to release the queen mother. This was simply pampering Yan Qi, and now Zhang Qide's incident had to make Yan Che speculate in a worse direction.
Both Yu Wenxian and Lin Xugui's papers were sent to the capital privately and handed directly to the father. How did the father get wind of it? Could it be that Zhang Qide was related to the military ration corruption case many days ago, and then...
A thin layer of sweat broke out from Yan Che's palm. If so, what exactly is the father planning
"I don't care about the mother's side for the time being. Let's press this case first. The matter of the salt transportation in the south last year has already made the father very angry. This time, no matter what, I can't involve this palace. And you, you must not get along with it." Corruption has nothing to do with it."
Qin Shu's face became solemn, and he quickly turned around and backed out after responding.
When the room was quiet, Yan Che's tense back immediately relaxed, and he slowly fell limp, leaning completely against the back of the chair behind him.
Things are getting more and more wrong. Ever since the corpse was discovered in the backyard of Prince Jin's Mansion, it seems that an invisible big hand pushed the Kunning Palace and the East Palace to the edge of the cliff. On the edge of a cliff.
"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager sent someone to send a message that you and the Crown Princess should go to Shoukang Palace for dinner at night."
Tang Fu came in and spoke in a soft voice. Yan Chi sat up straight when he heard the words, "Okay, remember to remind me when the time comes."
The queen mother must have known about Zhang Qide, why did she call them over
Yan Che's heart was heavy. After sitting for a while, he suddenly got up and left the East Palace. He went straight towards the Jingning Palace. He hadn't visited Yan Zhen in the past few days. When something happened today, he knew that he would not be able to see the queen. Subconsciously thought of Yan Zhen, as expected, blood kinship is the most important thing.
Jingning Palace is already a little crowded. Seeing that October is approaching, Yan Zhen's wedding is approaching day by day. Jingning Palace is much more lively. The ladies in the palace are preparing the dowry for Yan Zhen Because she was going to get married, she brought much more things than other noble girls to marry, and in order to make up for Yan Zhen and to make Yan Zhen go smoothly in the future, the queen prepared the dowry list, which was the longest among the princesses who married far away in the past. Yes, but all the excitement has nothing to do with Yan Zhen.
"His Royal Highness is coming! Princess, His Highness is coming—"
Yan Che walked in quickly from the outside and saw Yan Zhen in the Nuan Pavilion of Jingning Palace.
Hearing her coming, Yan Zhen didn't have any joy on her face, she just let out a faint "huh", "Brother—"
Yan Che walked up to Yan Zhen and saw that Yan Zhen was reading a book of travel notes, and the pages she was reading were about the folk customs of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Yan Che sat beside Yan Zhen, "Zhen'er, how are you getting ready?"
Yan Zhen twitched the corners of her lips, "Brother saw it, he's busy anyway."
Yan Che sighed, "Zhen'er, maybe... the Queen Mother is for your own good..."
Yan Che didn't speak, his eyes were still on the page of the book, Yan Che looked at her and shook his head like this, "Do you know how the mother is doing?"
"I know, I was grounded by my father..."
Suddenly, thinking of something, Yan Zhen smiled and said, "I heard that he is the one guarding her."
Yan Che naturally knew who this "he" was, and Yan Zhen had a sarcastic smile on her face, clearly mocking the queen.
Yan Che raised his hand to cover the travel book, "Zhen'er, something happened to Zhang Qide."
Seeing Yan Zhen stunned for a moment, Yan Che remembered that Yan Zhen didn't know who Zhang Qide was at all, he sighed, "Zhang Qide is the Jiedu Envoy of Dingxi Road, a disciple of my grandfather, and someone I rely on very much, but now suddenly It was found out that Shuoxi's military rations corruption case was related to him—"
Yan Zhen looked at Yan Che, "So what? Can't the confinement of the queen mother be relieved?"
Yan Che frowned, and looked at Yan Zhen with dissatisfaction, "Zhen'er, do you really hate your mother?"
Yan Zhen lowered her eyes, Yan Che glanced outside and said in a low voice, "Zhang Qide's imprisoning is no longer a matter of whether the mother's confinement can solve the problem. If this matter involves the East Palace, my mother and I may not be able to protect—"
Yan Zhen raised her head abruptly, and there was a little turmoil on her face, "But... my brother is the prince..."
Yan Che smiled wryly, "So what about the prince." Yan Che looked at several boxes and cages arranged in the room. There seemed to be a lot of jewels in the boxes, and the light could be seen faintly from under the half-covered lid. Yan Che said, "You know Is it? I suddenly feel that it is an excellent arrangement for you to marry to the Northern Wei Dynasty."
No matter how stupid Yan Zhen was, she knew what Yan Che meant. She panicked, but she didn't know what she could do at this moment.
…
…
Coming out of the Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment, Yan Chi boarded the carriage back home.
The driver was another dark guard, and Bai Feng followed Yan Chi into the carriage.
The carriage was rattling along the royal road, and Bai Feng's low voice was firmly blocked in the carriage, "Most of Shuoxi's zhezi are sent from the south of Liangzhou to the north of Jianzhou to the capital, Liangzhou and Dingzhou The papers I received were from Dingzhou, heading south to Yuzhou. Our people have already arrived in Jianzhou, and all the papers from Shuoxi have been blocked. To be on the safe side, Yu Qi picked two irrelevant ones and sent them to the capital. It will be here in four or five days."
After a pause, Bai Feng continued, "General Chu has occupied all the battalion headquarters in Baishigou and Bailang Mountain. The news has not yet reached the main camp. Lin Xugui wants to regroup the 100,000 troops in the shortest possible time. , I'm a little bit overwhelmed now."
Yan Chi listened expressionlessly, and asked after a while, "How is the latest supply to Shuoxi?"
Bai Feng immediately said, "The ones in the direction of Dingzhou have already set off, and the ones in the direction of Yuzhou and Jianzhou are still raising funds. It is estimated that the fundraising will not be completed until the beginning of October. The Weicang over there does not have much grain storage. The ones in Shuoxi After the case came out, the people below didn't dare to pretend to be good, and the progress was slower than usual."
There was a sneer on the corner of Yan Chi's lips. After being in a high position for a long time, the six senses would become dull, and something had to happen to wake up these people.
"Don't worry about the case in Dingzhou. Now that Zhang Qide is pulled out, the investigation will become bigger and bigger. Yan Qi will not let this opportunity go, let them fight."
Bai Feng nodded, "Yes, Yu Qi and Mr. Qi must have thought of it, but I really didn't expect that at this juncture, Zhang Qi was pulled off the horse, and if we continue to investigate, pull out the radish and bring out the mud, most of the prince's blood will be damaged. "
There was a dark glint in Yan Che's eyes, "Maybe it's more than that."
Bai Feng looked at Yan Che suspiciously, but Yan Che did not continue. He leaned against the wall of the car, his body straight, like a sharp sword hidden in the dim light, and fell silent for a moment. Yan Chi Then he said, "Have you found out about Fu's child?"
Bai Feng immediately frowned and said, "I found out that the child was sent to the deep mountains of Luozhou at the beginning, and it was said that someone picked it up later. When our people went there, the old man in that village had already died. Twenty years ago Few people remember what happened before, and the following clues will be cut off again, and the news will be sent back tomorrow at the earliest."
"Come to the capital." Yan Chi said suddenly, calmly, "The safest place is the most dangerous place, check more people related to the Fu family in the past few years, it is best to be able to enter and leave the palace if conditions permit Yes, as long as they are of the same age, no matter if they are young masters or young servants, they will be investigated, and the inner government will not let them go."
Bai Feng nodded knowingly, "By the way, the subordinates have been guarding the house where Dali Temple Qing Lord Li went to for many days. The house is currently empty, but the subordinates went to check the owner of the house. The owner's name is Wei Qin, a businessman, originally a southerner, who came to the capital to open some shops, and then went back to the south. He hasn't been back for seven or eight years, but his subordinates found a very interesting thing-"
Yan Chi looked at Bai Feng, and Bai Feng said, "He is the former owner of the Yanmo Painting Gallery."