There is a god in the sky

Chapter 344 Revenge 13

The memorial impeaching Minister Tong was not something hastily fabricated; it clearly listed all the money he had handled during his years in office.

Minister Tong did not rush to read the contents, but instead looked at the signature first, only to find that it was an anonymous memorial.

The fact that something like this could bypass him and reach the Emperor suggests either that the recipient held a high position of power or that the document was written by the Emperor himself.

Minister Tong's first suspicion fell on the Imperial City Guard.

Because only the spies of the Imperial City Guard could have investigated his background so thoroughly.

"Your Majesty, I have served as Minister of Revenue for many years. I dare not say that I have devoted myself to the cause, but I have done my best to do so with a clear conscience. When the national treasury was empty and unable to pay military expenses, I used my own personal funds to subsidize the national treasury."

Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly. The national treasury has been strained for years, and every expenditure has been transparent. I am willing to open the Ministry of Revenue's archives for the court to examine. What is written in this memorial is entirely fabricated.

The emperor's expression was somewhat intriguing.

"Of course I trust you, Imperial Uncle. In order to give the court officials an explanation, let the Ministry of Justice conduct a simple investigation."

The Minister of Justice was a man of the Crown Prince, and Tong Xiuqing readily agreed without the slightest displeasure.

Tong Shanzhang stood upright, seemingly unconcerned about this important matter concerning the Tong family.

People thought that this person didn't even care about the death of his own grandson, so he probably didn't care much about his relatives either. He really was detached from worldly affairs.

"Doesn't Master Tong have something to say?" the emperor asked politely.

"Your Majesty, I am not an official of the court and dare not interfere in politics. Moreover, Your Majesty has handled the matter very well, and I have no objection."

"Over the years, Master has cultivated countless talents for our Great Xi. Take these pillars of the court, for example, many of them are from Yishan Academy, right?"

The emperor glanced around, pointed to a few officials, and said, "Let me see which officials here were selected from Yishan Academy."

A group of more than twenty people stepped forward, almost all of them between the ages of twenty and forty, and their official ranks ranged from the fifth to the third grade.

It should be noted that most of the ministers of the third rank or above in the imperial court were over forty years old, and were truly veteran officials.

These officials in their twenties and thirties are the middle-aged and younger generation of the court, and are the most likely to become prime ministers.

Yishan Academy has been continuously supplying talent to the imperial court over the years, and those standing here are only a small part of them.

Many officials may still be struggling in positions below the fifth rank, and many others are serving as officials in other regions.

Shen Lan roughly understood why the emperor wanted to take action against the Tong family.

By simply presenting the data, one can determine how many officials came from Yishan Academy, and these officials, who considered themselves disciples of Headmaster Tong, naturally leaned towards the Crown Prince.

No emperor could tolerate his courtiers forming factions, especially when that faction became powerful enough to threaten his position.

"Excellent! Truly excellent! Yishan Academy is a place of outstanding people and abundant resources, and I am very pleased."

Xiao Ji suddenly spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, I have received a secret letter. I originally did not want to deal with it, but since Headmaster Tong is here, I thought it would be better to let Headmaster Tong know about this matter."

The emperor asked curiously, "What letter?"

Xiao Ji took out a thick letter and handed it to Eunuch Wu. "This was received by me before the New Year. I did not see who sent it."

Minister Zhao sneered: "Who would believe that? Could it be that Chief Censor Xiao himself wrote the letter to slander Headmaster Tong?"

"I am just a junior official, and there are many things I do not understand. Therefore, after reading this letter, I do not know whether it is true or false."

"You kept a letter from so long ago until now, wasn't that deliberately aimed at the Tong family?"

"Indeed, why didn't you bring it out earlier or later? Of all times, you had to kick someone when they're down. Young Master Xiao, you're quite the schemer!"

"Today's scheme against the Tong family was actually orchestrated by the Xiao family. I really don't know how the Tong family offended the Xiao family."

"I think Shen Lan was arranged by him. He fabricated a non-existent prescription and used a small town that had long been destroyed by the plague to frame the Tong family. He considered every aspect. Who would believe that it wasn't a scheme he set up in advance?"

The civil officials took turns trying to turn the case into a frame-up by the Xiao family.

Shen Lan lowered her head and did not defend herself.

Go ahead and say it, the more the better, the more people who say it the better.

Let the Emperor see just how powerful the Tong family is, and how many supporters the Crown Prince's faction has.

Liu Engui initially took the blame upon himself, but seeing the situation turn against him, he immediately recanted his confession.

"Your Majesty, I have been wronged. I was forced by Xiao Ji to confess to these things. They were all fabricated by Xiao Ji!"

The emperor waved his hand, "Guards, take Liu Engui away and make him tell the truth, no matter what means you use."

Liu Engui was terrified. "Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

"Ha! Your orders change in an instant! I don't believe a word you say. Drag him away!"

The imperial guards dragged the person out of the main hall, and someone slipped a crumpled piece of paper into Shen Lan's hand as they passed by.

Shen Lan caught a glimpse of Li Ye's face out of the corner of her eye and discreetly tucked the crumpled paper into her sleeve.

Liu Engui's recantation is not important.

Now that the case has been investigated to this point, the injustice in Guli Town is a foregone conclusion; the only difference is who the mastermind behind it all is.

Liu Engui is doomed, but whether he can implicate the Tong family depends on the evidence he produces.

The emperor was still reading Xiao Ji's letter. His face was ashen, and he took a long time to look at each page. If you looked closely, you could see that his hands were trembling slightly.

Tong Xiuqing felt somewhat uneasy.

The more the emperor acts this way, the more treasonous the contents of the letter must be.

Is the Tong family truly clean? That's impossible.

Many things that happened to the Tong family could be considered capital offenses, but it's unclear which specific matter Xiao Ji uncovered.

He glanced at his father and found that he was not nervous or uneasy at all. In terms of composure, he could never match his father's in his entire life.

The emperor laughed.

His laughter grew louder and louder.

"Xiao Qing, come with me." The emperor led Xiao Ji to a side hall.

He gripped the letter tightly in his hand and nodded to Xiao Ji, "Xiao Qing, you really know how to give me a difficult problem."

"I don't dare."

"Hmm, I understand. Do you dare to take on this case and investigate it?"

"I will obey His Majesty's orders even at the cost of my life!"

"Good! You're very good! But I can't harm you. There's no need to investigate this case; I'll pretend I never saw it."

The emperor threw the letter into the brazier, watching the flames leap up and the paper burn to ashes bit by bit, a violent glint in his eyes.

"Remember, this is a secret between you and me. Does anyone else know about it?"

"No, I couldn't believe it was true. Actually, I investigated it privately."

"What did they find out?"

"I privately invited Magistrate Qian of Tongzhou to the capital to inquire about his passing the imperial examination back then. I can basically confirm that what is said in this letter is true."

"Money... what was it again?"

"Qian Tai".

"Oh, it's him. I remember him, the second son of the Qian family. He later became an official?"

"Yes, the magistrate of Tongzhou County has been in this position for seven or eight years."

"It seems he has reformed. What year was he a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)?"

"It was probably the fifth year of the Hongyuan era."

"More than ten years have passed without me even realizing it. Haha, I still don't know which year he started his scheme. He's truly cunning and shrewd. I actually thought that such a person was detached from worldly desires and only sought refuge from the world!"

The emperor walked up to Xiao Ji, placed his hand on his shoulder, and said, "Xiao Ji, I will kill him today. How do you think the court officials will react?"

Xiao Ji replied sincerely, "Your Majesty lacks sufficient evidence to convince anyone."

"Hmph, do I need evidence to kill someone?"

"His Majesty is a benevolent ruler; he will not indiscriminately kill innocent people, nor will he kill people haphazardly."

The emperor smiled. "Alright, I will send people to investigate this case. Today, take Shen Lan back and protect her. I will give her an explanation tomorrow!"