In less than two days, there was indeed news from the court.
The matter of the Minister of Rites embezzling money from the Emperor's Qianqiu Banquet was already a hot topic. Two days ago, the Ministry of Justice suddenly found a clue and found the whereabouts of the stolen money. It turned out to be a mansion purchased by an official of the court.
The Emperor immediately ordered people to search the mansion and bring it to justice.
The Ministry of Justice immediately sent officers and soldiers. Because the operation was sudden, it went smoothly. Not only did they find an astonishing amount of gold, silver, and antiques in the mansion, they also found a brothel girl who was raised there.
For some reason, when the Emperor found out about this, he did not care about how much money was hidden in the mansion. Instead, he was very interested in the girl. He immediately sent people to investigate the owner of the mansion and the girl's background.
Unexpectedly, the officials of the Ministry of Justice found out that the mansion was under the girl's name. The girl was actually redeemed by Chen Ti from the Ministry of Rites.
Chen Ti was the first official to find the clue and report Ji You's embezzlement.
No one in the Imperial Court had expected this outcome.
For some reason, the Emperor was very dissatisfied with this result. He threw a tantrum at the officials of the Ministry of Justice and then ordered Chen Ti to be severely punished.
Redeeming the brothel girl was not a crime and could not really convict Chen Ti. However, it could prove that the mansion and the money in the mansion belonged to Chen Ti.
In these years, there were few officials in the Southern Jing court who were clean. This amount of stolen money was nothing to them. However, the laws of the Jing court clearly stated that once an official was caught, he would naturally be punished according to the law.
In less than a few days, Chen Ti was convicted. The officials in the court were very jittery for a period of time because of this.
— —
The peach blossoms in the Pang mansion bloomed at the right time and the garden was bustling with activity.
However, in the Pang Shao courtyard, there was a clean and elegant patch of green.
It was the Green Sepal Plum that was a tribute from She County in Huizhou. Because the previous Emperor liked it, it had been sent to the imperial harem for decades.
Due to the difference in water and soil, transportation was difficult, so no more than a hundred plants could be sent to the palace every year. This year, there were only a few trees planted outside the Houzhu's palace, but in Pang Shao's courtyard, there was an entire courtyard filled with trees.
Tea was boiling on the stove in front of Pang Shao. An official sat respectfully below him, while another trembled and knelt before him, not daring to raise his head.
He was the official from the Ministry of Justice who went to investigate the case in Jiang Suizhou.
Pang Shao lifted the lid of the teapot and slowly looked inside. Amidst the steam, he slowly asked, "What did Prince Jing tell you at the time?"
The official trembled as he cried, "Great Minister, please enlighten me! This lowly one followed the instructions of the higher-ups and interrogated His Highness Prince Jing. All of His Highness Prince Jing's confessions have been recorded. This lowly one is absolutely not lying! "
Pang Shao smiled.
"Then, what about the house?" he asked.
The official hurriedly said, "It was the concubine of Prince Jing's residence who told me!"
Pang Shao paused and put the lid back on the teapot.
"Did he tell you?" Pang Shao had a strange expression on his face.
The official shook his head and said, "No! This lowly one overheard it … The concubine was complaining to her maid that His Highness Prince Jing had a mistress outside and even bought a house for her in Changle Lane … This lowly one thought that this was an important matter, so I had no choice but to tell His Majesty, so …! "
He was so scared that his voice trembled, but he heard Pang Shao's nonchalant smile.
"Why are you so nervous, Lord Zhang? I was just asking, "he said.
The official trembled and couldn't say anything.
Pang Shao smiled faintly and said, "Alright, my tea is almost ready, so I won't keep Lord Zhang any longer. Please go back."
The official awkwardly got up from the ground.
He was about to bow and express his gratitude when Pang Shao spoke again, "However, Lord Zhang."
The official hurriedly replied, "Minister of the Treasury?"
Pang Shao picked up the teapot from the small clay stove. The flames in the stove flickered and glowed red.
"If people do something wrong, they have to pay the price." Pang Shao didn't look up. He slowly poured the tea as he spoke.
"If you don't pay the price yourself, you can't blame others for taking double the price."
After he finished speaking, he put down the teapot and looked up at the official with a faint smile.
The official was stunned for a moment, then he repeatedly bowed and said, "Thank you, Minister of the Treasury. Thank you, Minister of the Treasury!"
Pang Shao picked up the teacup with one hand and lazily waved it with the other.
The official retreated.
Pang Shao blew on the hot tea and took a sip. He smiled faintly and praised, "Jiangnan's Longjing tea is indeed clearer than Ye City's."
As he spoke, he picked up the teapot and said to the official beside him, "Do you want to try it too?"
The official was the one in charge of checking the stolen goods in Chen Ti's residence.
He didn't dare to let Pang Shao pour tea for him. He hurriedly took the teapot with both hands and helped Pang Shao extinguish the stove.
"Minister of the Treasury, are you going to let him go just like that?" the official asked.
Pang Shao nodded.
"So what if I don't let him go? It's not his fault. "Pang Shao smiled faintly. His expression was gentle and benevolent.
However, the official beside him knew what Pang Shao meant.
Some of the people in the Pang Party had offended Pang Shao before. Pang Shao had something on them, but he kept them alive and made them his henchmen. These people had no choice but to work harder for Pang Shao and give Pang Shao double the benefits.
To Pang Shao, keeping him alive was more profitable than killing him.
The official laughed and followed Pang Shao's words, praising, "The Minister of the Interior has always been generous and wise."
Pang Shao smiled faintly but didn't say anything.
The official continued to ask, "Then … Then what about Lord Chen?"
Pang Shao looked at him.
The official said indignantly, "King Jing must hate Lord Chen, so he used such a dirty trick! Minister of the Treasury, we can't let King Jing have his way, right? "
However, Pang Shao shook his head and sighed. He looked up at the cloud-like green plum blossoms outside the window.
"His Majesty has already issued an imperial edict. How dare I disobey?"
He sighed lightly, as if he had just seen a dead bird fly past in front of him, playing it down.
"It's just a pity for that child, Chen Ti."
The official beside him quickly shut his mouth and didn't dare to say anything else.
Who was the one who had the final say in the imperial court? Even with his eyes closed, he knew that it wasn't His Majesty, but Minister Pang.
There was no imperial edict that Minister Pang couldn't change. There were only imperial edicts that Minister Pang didn't want to change.
This official was here because of Chen Ti's case. He tried to sound Chen Ti out and roughly understood the situation.
Pang Shao had never taken Chen Ti seriously. He only treated him like a dog that could be ordered around. Chen Ti had acted on his own initiative twice to curry favor with His Majesty. He had already violated Pang Shao's taboo and was found to have hidden such a large amount of gold and silver that Pang Shao didn't know about. Even if His Majesty didn't do anything, Minister Pang wouldn't let him live.
The official sighed in his heart.
Or was Chen Ti blinded by greed and didn't know how to live properly?
Who in the imperial court didn't have to rely on His Majesty to make a living? What good would come of scheming behind His Majesty's back?
Thus, the official figured out what he should do.
Naturally, he had to trample on Chen Ti before he died in exchange for Pang Shao's happiness. Then, he would think of a way to steal twenty to thirty percent of the gold and silver antiques and send them to Minister Pang's residence.
The official started to plan in his heart.
Pang Shao, who was beside him, suddenly sighed with emotion.
"I just didn't expect that this defeated dog in a cage was still thinking about how to bite someone."
The official didn't understand.
Pang Shao didn't intend to explain to him. He lowered his eyes and sipped on his tea, hiding the fierce look in his eyes.
"Very interesting."
— —
Although Jiang Suizhou wasn't by Pang Shao's side, he knew how much Pang Shao hated him.
Although Chen Ti wasn't a high-ranking official, who in the imperial court didn't know that he was Pang Shao's distant relative and one of Pang Shao's men? Even if Pang Shao didn't care about him, he had his own plans. However, if he dealt with Chen Ti, it would be a public slap to Pang Shao's face.
It was a cold knife that didn't hurt or itch. It was an extremely humiliating blow.
However, this didn't stop Jiang Suizhou from feeling happy.
He didn't like Chen Ti for a long time. This time, he saved Ji You and got rid of Chen Ti. To him, this was killing two birds with one stone.
As for how Pang Shao would bear a grudge against him …
Anyway, even if he didn't do anything, Pang Shao wouldn't let him go. He might as well fight with him and make him suffer.
Ever since he received the news, Jiang Suizhou was in an extremely good mood. He had just sat down in front of Huo Wujiu's bed when Huo Wujiu noticed him.
"How are you today?" Jiang Suizhou asked.
Huo Wujiu's expression was still unpleasant, but his expression was relaxed. The veins on the back of his hand were clearly visible, but he still had some energy left to look at Jiang Suizhou a few more times.
Jiang Suizhou noticed that he was sizing him up. He looked at Huo Wujiu with sparkling eyes, waiting for him to speak.
After all, in this entire world, there weren't many people who could talk to him, and even fewer people who could share his joy.
However, Huo Wujiu was one of them.
However, Huo Wujiu paused, retracted his gaze, and said calmly, "I'm fine."
He didn't say anything else.
Jiang Suizhou felt as if his breath was stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down. It was very uncomfortable.
He was momentarily stunned.
Why didn't he ask? Why didn't Huo Wujiu ask?!
However, he didn't know that Huo Wujiu, who had glanced at him, secretly curled his lips into a smile.
This Prince Jing couldn't wait to write "I have good news to tell you" on his face. He was just waiting for him to ask, but it made him want to tease him instead.
Huo Wujiu's expression was calm, as if he didn't notice Jiang Suizhou's strange situation at all.
Jiang Suizhou took the book from Meng Qianshan, but turned it over and over. He seemed to want to say something, but he didn't open the book.
His bright black eyes repeatedly glanced at Huo Wujiu.
She actually made his teasing heart soften.
He paused for a moment, then asked, "What's wrong?"
Sure enough, that pair of eyes immediately lit up.
Huo Wujiu felt as if that pair of legs, which were so painful that he wanted to kill someone, were now far away from him.
Prince Jing's expression was reserved. He forced himself to be calm, but he couldn't hide the flaunting expression on his face. He looked like a cat trying to please its prey.
"I saved Ji You," he said.
Huo Wujiu nodded. "It's a good thing."
Jiang Suizhou continued, "Chen Ti was beheaded."
Huo Wujiu grunted. He thought for a moment and connected the two events together. "Diverting the disaster?"
Jiang Suizhou nodded.
He just stared at Huo Wujiu, as if he was waiting for someone to praise him. Huo Wujiu paused for a moment, but he still couldn't help but praise, "It's a brilliant plan."
Jiang Suizhou repeated, "It's Chen Ti."
Huo Wujiu was confused. "What's wrong with him?"
He saw Prince Jing looking at him with a matter-of-fact expression. He blurted out, "Chen Ti, have you forgotten? The one who gave you the invitation to the Flower-Admiring Banquet, the one who wanted to humiliate you. "
As he spoke, Jiang Suizhou smiled faintly. "This Prince has led the trouble to him."
Huo Wujiu was stunned for a moment.
He realized that Prince Jing was so happy to tell him this, not because he saved the life of the Minister of Rites, but because …
He wanted to tell him that he had avenged him.
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