"You're laughing at His Highness for forcing a confession out of him!" Han Yunxi said with a grin.
Official Yu didn't just control the amount of grain sent to South Ning Prefecture! There were two other disaster areas as well.
The difference between the amount on the books and the amount Long Fei Ye had personally investigated was the most direct evidence of corruption.
Things had already gotten to this point. With Long Feiye's personality, how could he have the patience to waste time investigating? Since he'd captured Official Yu, he'd naturally force the truth out of his mouth!
'Forcing a confession out of him' wasn't a good phrase, but Long Fei Ye didn't get angry. Instead, he asked, "Do you have any good methods?"
Han Yunxi was amused. "Your Highness, you've found the right person!"
Han Yunxi had plenty of poisons in her hands that could make people wish they were dead!
When the attendants on the side heard the couple's conversation, they suddenly felt like they were colluding with each other.
Mm, His Highness Duke of Qin and Qin Wangfei aren't good people. It's best not to offend them!
For the next few days, Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi stayed at the senior provincial official's estate, keeping an eye on the distribution of grain while slowly tormenting Official Yu.
During these days, the other two disaster areas began to send grain as well.
News of South Ning Prefecture's governor being hung at the city gates spread to the other two prefectures as well. The loyal officials applauded and cheered, while the corrupt officials trembled with fear. They came up with all sorts of excuses to spit out the grain they'd eaten, afraid that they'd end up worse than Nanguo Mingde if they didn't do it in time.
According to estimates, His Highness Duke of Qin's grain, combined with the grain the corrupt officials spat out, was enough to keep the disaster areas safe for a month and a half.
Long Fei Ye had no plans to visit the other two prefectures, nor did he have time to spare for the minor officials. His eyes were fixed on the man at the very top.
Within a few days, news of the grain distribution had spread all over the country. The rumors of His Highness Duke of Qin's corruption were dispelled on their own.
The more popular the rumors were, the more sensational the praises and praises were. The Duke of Qin's disaster relief had become Tianning Country's number one event. News of it had even spread outside the country! His Highness Duke of Qin's reputation was already resounding, and this time, it caused another stir.
The disaster relief wasn't over yet, but His Highness Duke of Qin had already won the hearts of the people!
The imperial uncle was the first to receive the news. He slumped in front of his desk, unable to move for a long time.
If the Imperial Uncle still couldn't figure out where the Long Fei Ye had gotten so much food at this point, then he might as well not be the Imperial Uncle anymore.
Scam!
This was simply a trap. It had been a trap since the charity auction began!
Not only was he cheated of his money, but he was also cheated of his food!
This blow was just too great. The price he had to pay for coming to his senses was just too painful.
The Imperial Uncle sat in a daze for a long time before he suddenly came to his senses and shouted, "Someone, go get Qian Rong for Old Man, quick!"
Since Long Fei Ye was able to buy grain from the black market, it meant that he knew that the Lin Clan's grain store was under the Imperial Uncle's control.
The Imperial Uncle's residence had never had direct contact with the Lin Clan's grain store. Even a secret letter had to be passed through several hands.
Back then, the Imperial Uncle was in a hurry to cash in on the black market, so he left everything to Qian Rong and had him handle the negotiations.
Later on, Qian Rong even brought the two sellers to the warehouse to transport the grain!
Now that he thought about it, the Imperial Uncle finally understood and regretted it. Unfortunately, it was already too late!
If the Long Fei Ye found any clues from Qian Rong and traced them back to the Imperial Uncle's residence, then everything would be over!
"Reporting to Master, Qian Rong isn't in the residence," an attendant quickly reported.
"Then where did he go?" the Imperial Uncle cried out in alarm.
"This subordinate doesn't know. I heard from my subordinates that they haven't seen him in several days," the attendant replied truthfully.
The Imperial Uncle's face paled. "Find him! Immediately find Old Man! "
The next night, the guards who'd gone out to search for Qian Rong returned with confirmed news. Qian Rong had gone missing! There was no news of him, not even from his hometown.
The Imperial Uncle was completely flustered.
He immediately ordered the Imperial Uncle to sever all ties with the Lin Clan's grain store and secretly destroyed all the mouths of the Lin Clan's grain store.
"Someone, go to the Yu Estate and bring Yu Guangfu's wife and children here! Quickly! "the Imperial Uncle hurriedly ordered.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The Yu Clan had already fallen under the Long Fei Ye's control as soon as he left the capital.
How could the honorable Duke of Qin fight a battle he wasn't confident in winning?
The Imperial Uncle was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, but his nephew, the Crown Prince, whom he fully supported, was laughing at him behind his back.
It had to be said that this was a kind of irony.
Before Long Tianmo received the news, he said to Mu Qingwu, "Young General, it's fortunate that the betrothal gifts were all used for disaster relief. Otherwise, once the Imperial Uncle's residence fell, the general's residence wouldn't be able to escape the curses of public opinion!"
A complicated look flitted through Mu Qingwu's eyes, but he didn't reply.
He'd chosen to side with the Crown Prince precisely because he wanted to use this opportunity to infiltrate the Imperial Uncle's residence and uncover the dark secrets of corruption. However, as he grew closer and closer to Long Tianmo, he discovered that the Crown Prince was more resentful than anyone else about the Imperial Uncle's corruption.
The Imperial Uncle was also wary of the Crown Prince, so he didn't let him know much about the disaster relief.
"Young General, I'm sure the Great General will be much more relieved now," Long Tianmo asked.
His marriage to Mu Liuyue had been arranged by Mu Qingwu. The Great General had always been neutral and didn't have a good impression of the Imperial Uncle's residence. He'd originally been vehemently opposed to this marriage, but he'd only reluctantly agreed because he couldn't persuade Mu Liuyue otherwise.
Now that the Imperial Uncle's residence was about to fall, perhaps the Great General would no longer have any misgivings and wholeheartedly support his son-in-law?
Mu Qingwu hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke. "Your Highness Crown Prince, the Imperial Uncle's residence has deep roots. Rome wasn't built in a single day!"
Hearing this, Long Tianmo rejoiced. He'd been beating around the bush time and time again, but Mu Qingwu had finally given him a direct answer!
He knew that the Great General's residence wouldn't be interested in such a meager betrothal gift. How could his position be affected by the marriage of his daughter who had been abolished?
Old General Mu probably already knew which side the Great General's residence would support.
"I'm just worried that Imperial Father and Imperial Grandmother won't be easy to talk to, so I'll have to ask Old General Mu to make a trip to the palace," Long Tianmo said in a low voice.
The Imperial Uncle's residence truly had a special status. Even if His Highness Duke of Qin managed to find concrete evidence, the Great General's imperial father would be the one to convict him in the end.
Actually, Imperial Father had long known about the Imperial Uncle's corruption, but he'd always turned a blind eye to it. After all, a single move against the Imperial Uncle's estate would affect the rest as well. Right now, the power balance in the imperial court was still balanced, so Imperial Father wouldn't make any rash moves against either side.
But if General Mu could make a personal trip to the palace and express his determination to support the Eastern Palace, then everything would be different.
With the support of the General's estate, the Eastern Palace would gain a firm foothold in the imperial court. As for the Imperial Uncle's estate, Imperial Father could seize the chance to get rid of them!
Mu Qingwu thought that he'd taken a risk this time. Although he hadn't been able to find any evidence of the Imperial Uncle's corruption, he could at least help out in this matter. Seeing the sincere look in the crown prince's eyes, he secretly rejoiced that he'd chosen the right path.
"Your Highness, this soldier will go back immediately and convince father. The empress dowager's still …"
Before Mu Qingwu could finish, Long Tianmo patted his chest and promised, "Empress Dowager, leave it to this crown prince. You can set your mind at ease!"
Emperor Tianhui had received the news even before the Imperial Uncle's estate.
He'd shut himself in his study and refused to see anyone.
"Your Majesty, His Highness Crown Prince's already been waiting by the door for a long time," Eunuch Luo reported in a low voice.
"Didn't I say Zhen wouldn't see anyone?"
Emperor Tianhui clenched his fists and slammed them against the secret missive on the table, his brows furrowed in irritation.
"His Highness says he has something very important to discuss. He has to see Your Majesty," Eunuch Luo ventured to report.
"Pass down orders. Zhen's body is unwell, so court will be adjourned for three days. However, if there are any urgent memorials to send to the Heart Nurturing Pavilion, the crown prince will take care of everything else!"
Emperor Tianhui waved his hand impatiently before rising to his feet and heading for the Heart Nurturing Pavilion.
The disaster areas hadn't even ended yet, but the Duke of Qin had already won the hearts of the people. How could he be content with that?
With such a huge commotion in the disaster areas, it was only a matter of time before something happened to the Imperial Uncle's estate. Over the past few days, both the crown prince and the civil and military officials in court had been writing memorials to either defend the Imperial Uncle's estate or kick him while he was down.
Even an emperor like him had his moments of difficulty making decisions!
The Imperial Uncle's estate had many friends and powerful supporters in court. Emperor Tianhui had a love-hate relationship with them. He wanted to get rid of them quickly, but also make full use of them.
Unfortunately, it wasn't time yet. The Duke of Qin was truly abominable. He'd only been in the disaster areas for less than ten days, but he'd already caused so much trouble for Emperor Tianhui!
Of course, that wasn't Emperor Tianhui's biggest headache. Right now, he was thinking of a way to strike back at the Duke of Qin. After all, the disaster areas weren't over yet. If he let the Duke of Qin get away so easily, then the people would only know him as Tianning's Duke of Qin in the future, but not Emperor Tianhui!
Eunuch Luo had followed him closely, so he could more or less guess at Emperor Tianhui's thoughts. "Your Majesty, it's still early winter. True winter hasn't arrived yet."
If they wanted new crops, they'd have to wait until spring at the latest and harvest them in the summer. There was still a long way to go before the disaster areas.
Eunuch Luo had hit the nail on the head, but Emperor Tianhui was too distracted to listen. He glared at Eunuch Luo and snapped, "Get lost!"
Frightened, Eunuch Luo quickly backed away, but Long Tianmo blocked his way as soon as he reached the door to the imperial study.
"Eunuch Luo, is Imperial Father really ill?" Long Tianmo asked doubtfully.
"Your Highness Crown Prince, His Majesty's body isn't well. You should go back," Eunuch Luo coaxed.
"Did he summon Imperial Physician Gu?" Long Tianmo asked next. Only an imperial physician could speak with his imperial father at a time like this.
"Your Highness, His Majesty hasn't summoned an imperial physician yet, but it definitely can't be Imperial Physician Gu. He took sick leave a month ago and went back to his hometown. He won't be back so soon," Eunuch Luo replied honestly.
"He took such a long leave …"
Long Tianmo was doubtful, but didn't think much of it. After all, he was just an imperial physician.
Currently, Han Yunxi was far away in South Ning Prefecture, treating Long Fei Ye's wounds. The two of them happened to mention Gu Beiyue.
"I heard that Gu Beiyue took sick leave and went back to his hometown?" Long Fei Ye rarely brought up the name in front of Han Yunxi.
"Really? Who did Your Highness hear that from? " Han Yunxi grew doubtful. They'd been out for over a month now, so why was this fellow still asking about Gu Beiyue's whereabouts?
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