0p0 Chapter 113 Confusing right and wrong
Chapter 113 Confusing right and wrong
"Chen Shi'an? How could I not know him? He's a great official. Over the years, Qingzhou has escaped poverty and begun to prosper thanks to this honest and upright official. He himself lives a simple life, but I heard that most of his monthly salary goes to help the poor. He's truly a rare good official. His reputation has spread from Qingzhou to the capital, and he's the right person to provide disaster relief this time."
"Someone wants to kill him."
"How to say?"
Yuan Xu looked at Helan Xuenuo with a probing look. The question he wanted to ask was embodied in these words. Helan Xuenuo understood what he wanted to ask. She said calmly, "In a few days, he will return to the capital to report on his work for disaster relief. He will be staying in the capital's post station, and someone is trying to assassinate him. As for how I found out, I don't know how to tell you. Anyway... someone will assassinate him that day. If no one rescues him, he will die. But I don't know who the killer is. Perhaps he affected someone's interests, forcing them to kill him. It's a pity for the court to lose such a good official, and it would be a great misfortune for the people to lose him."
"So, you want me to save him?"
Helan Xuenuo nodded vigorously.
Yuan Xu fell into deep thought. Who wanted to kill Chen Shian? Suddenly, something popped up in his mind. "I think I know who wants to kill him."
"Who?"
"A while ago, the imperial court sent Chen Shi'an to Beijing to raise funds for disaster relief. Raising funds for disaster relief must start with the ministers of the imperial court. He offended many officials because of this, including the Empress's party and the Second Prince's party. The one who assassinated him was no less than one of these two factions.
When he went to Beijing to meet the emperor, he reported for the position of magistrate of Qingzhou. The magistrate's surname was Yuan, but I don't remember his name. His official position was lower than that of the prefect, but Chen Shi'an could do nothing to him because he was the second prince's man.
For years, this County Magistrate Yuan had been embezzling wealth with a ruthless vengeance. It's said that when his mansion was raided, the secret room beneath his mansion and even his bed were filled with silver and treasure. His Majesty was worried about the depletion of the treasury, and since there were pigs ready to be slaughtered, he was naturally pleased to use the confiscated silver and treasure for disaster relief. Chen Shi'an had made a contribution, and His Majesty admired him greatly.
But that day, I saw the Second Prince's face turn ashen. Who in the court didn't know that County Magistrate Yuan was under his control? Qingzhou had been impoverished for years, and the people had been living in poverty because of the County Magistrate's corruption. Since Chen Shi'an became the prefect, he was not afraid of the Second Prince's power and dared to make drastic changes to the situation in Qingzhou.
However, he was unable to fight against County Magistrate Yuan in some aspects. He had reported County Magistrate Yuan's crimes of embezzling money to higher authorities many times, but they were never resolved. This time, he seized the opportunity to overthrow County Magistrate Yuan. The important thing was that he had the evidence in hand, so he could overthrow him in one fell swoop.
The Queen instigated His Majesty to investigate the person behind the incident, but in the end, all clues were cut short, many people died, and the case was left unresolved. The Second Prince was severely injured, and the tool he had personally raised to make money was confiscated. How could he swallow this? He has always been ruthless.
"Then why wait until he returns to Beijing to report on his work before taking action? Why not wait until he's on his way to provide disaster relief so that no one can see him?"
Yuan Xu glanced at her and said, "Because of Prince Ding'an, Chen Shi'an was recommended by Prince Ding'an. Prince Ding'an sent elite troops to escort him on the disaster relief mission. If the Second Prince takes action now, he won't be completely confident. Disaster relief is a major matter for the court, but it's also a tough job, and not many people are willing to do it. If it were a good thing, the Second Prince and the Queen's party would have already scrambled to get it. It would be better to wait until he finishes this tough job and returns. The elite troops will definitely return to the palace. When they are relaxed, we can send someone to assassinate him in the post station. Wouldn't that be a much easier solution?"
Helan Xuenuo shuddered, and even more admired Yuan Xu. Yuan Xu should never be underestimated. Who among the officials in the court was truly confused? She still had some doubts, "Are you sure it's the Second Prince and not someone else?"
Yuan Xu raised his lips to smile, "If you want to know who it is, that's easy." He waved his hand, and Helan Xu Nuo leaned over. Yuan Xu lowered his head and told her the whole plan in her ear, and a smile appeared on both of their brows.
Fireworks bloomed in the sky.
Helan Xuenuo looked up and saw Yuan Xu's face close to hers. In that instant, fireworks bloomed in Helan Xuenuo's eyes. Both Yuan Xu and she blushed and were flustered for a moment.
The maids and servants in front of them were secretly delighted when they saw this scene, and quietly moved away, leaving only the two of them in this place.
Yuan Xu lowered his head, a faint blush on one side of his face. He lowered his voice a little, "Prince Ding'an will be getting married in a few days. The court officials will go to congratulate him. Uncle Helan and Aunt Helan will definitely go too. What about you? You probably won't go, right?"
Helan Xuenuo curled her lips and smiled, answering unexpectedly, "I'm going. Prince Ding'an and Princess Mengnan are getting married, and the palace has specially sent people out to host this wedding banquet. It's such a big happy event, I must go and join in the fun."
The fireworks display also ended, and there was a moment of silence, with only countless sky lanterns floating in the sky.
Yuan Xu looked down at Helan Xuenuo, whose eyelashes fluttered beneath her eyelids. A smile played on her lips. Her bright yellow dress accentuated her fair skin, and against the bright moon, it looked like a yellow flower blooming brilliantly beneath it. He remained silent. Helan Xuenuo smiled at him, and he suddenly felt at peace. As the night deepened, he said, "I should go home."
"I send you."
"Don't send me off. Go back and rest early."
"it is good."
Yuan Xu walked out of the courtyard under the moonlight. Helan Xuenuo watched him leave. Thinking of Gu Shicheng's wedding banquet in a few days, she really wanted to see what his expression would be like then. And what about Qi Didi's?
There was a hint of anticipation.
When Huang Jiuyuan returned to the prime minister's residence, he saw his father sitting at the table with a sullen face, and his third concubine Qiao also had a face full of anger.
He shifted his gaze to look at Huang Weiming, who was sitting on the side with a bruised face and nose, looking as if he had suffered a great injustice.
The other two rows of tables were occupied by other concubines and children. Second concubine Yuan and Huang Yuantu sat at the end. Her position should have been higher than that of third concubine Qiao, but Qiao relied on the prime minister's favor and acted arrogantly in the mansion. Even when the power of housekeeper was in Yuan's hands, everyone was still afraid of her, and the prime minister also indulged her. In the prime minister's mansion, she was like the mistress of the house.
The old lady of the Xiangfu would always go through the motions and then return to her house. She would often set up a table in her yard, waiting for her to spend the August Festival with Huang Jiuyuan and Huang Xieer before going back to rest.
Seeing Huang Jiuyuan enter, Qiao said in a stern voice, "The August Festival is over. The master wants to celebrate with the eldest son. Everyone, please leave first."
Everyone left in a rustling manner.
At this time, the only people left in the hall were the Prime Minister, Third Aunt Qiao, Huang Weiming and Huang Jiuyuan.
The Prime Minister shouted sternly, "Kneel down."
Huang Jiuyuan glared at Huang Weiming, guessing that he must have exaggerated and falsely accused him. Huang Jiuyuan straightened his back a little, but did not kneel down. He sneered, "Father, I shouldn't be the one kneeling."
The Prime Minister twitched, his face turning even darker. He pointed at Huang Jiuyuan and shouted, "Now you don't even care about me, your father? No wonder, you teamed up with outsiders to bully your second brother, and your second brother always protected you, but you are such an ungrateful person! Recently, I finally managed to talk to the Minister of Rites about your marriage with his daughter, but you? You're hanging out with that warrior's daughter? Do you know that when it comes to court disputes, you shouldn't mingle with military officers? Your second brother tried to persuade him, but you? You teamed up with outsiders to beat him up?"
Huang Jiuyuan expected Huang Weiming to be good at confusing right and wrong, so he wasn't surprised at all. He smiled and said, "Father, do you know who beat him? It wasn't just one person who beat him."
"You...rebellious son, you don't know how to admit your mistakes and yet you dare to provoke me!" The Prime Minister pointed in the direction of the study and said to Qiao, "Go and get the family law."