Group pet Xiaopangbao: I have four big daddies

Chapter 1349: Redress
Scattered clues, evidence provided by the ancient city of Yubao, and data collected by Qianjia over the years corroborated each other, gradually piecing together the whole picture.

When the Dongzhao envoy learned that Beili was thoroughly investigating the wrongful cases of thousands of families and that the blame was subtly pointing at Dongzhao, he panicked.

At this moment, the Dongzhao envoy became stammering and, when questioned by the Beili officials, denied that the events of that year had anything to do with him, putting on an act of knowing nothing.

Unbeknownst to them, one of the officials in the Dongzhao delegation was none other than Mu Li, the eldest grandson of the Mu family, who had claimed to have corresponded with the Qian family years ago.

Mu Li knew some of his family history. He was of mediocre talent and came to Beili with the envoy delegation only to gain some experience.

Now that the wrongful convictions of thousands of families have been thoroughly investigated, he has instantly become the target of public criticism.

Mu Li had grown up in a sheltered environment and had never encountered such an important matter before, let alone faced questioning from officials of the three kingdoms.

What terrified him even more was that the Xiyan side had also taken action, sending people to secretly monitor his every move.

When the officials of Beili brought Muli before the envoys of the three kingdoms for questioning, he immediately lost his composure.

Faced with the officials' sharp questioning and the cold gazes of those around him, Mu Li's psychological defenses collapsed instantly. Before he could be questioned for long, he confessed everything.

"No... The person who corresponded with my grandfather back then was not Qian Fu..." Mu Li's voice trembled, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat. "It was... it was the Left Grand Secretary who was in charge of civil officials in the court back then. My grandfather once saved him by chance, and the two were very close. At that time, the Left Grand Secretary had many scholars under his tutelage, many of whom were skilled in calligraphy and could easily forge other people's handwriting. Those so-called letters of 'Qian's family colluding with the enemy' were all forged by the Left Grand Secretary using Qian Fu's handwriting."

Mu Li's confession immediately pointed the finger at the former Grand Secretary Zuo, but the Grand Secretary Zuo had already resigned and died two years earlier.

Following this lead, the group quickly found an official who was still serving in the Northern Li court—Chen Rong'an.

Chen Rong'an was once a favorite student of the Left Grand Secretary, and was particularly skilled at imitating other people's handwriting. Now he works as an editor in the Hanlin Academy.

In fact, Chen Rong'an had already panicked when Bei Li began to thoroughly investigate the Qian family's wrongful conviction. He was restless and uneasy all day long. He was afraid that the truth of what happened back then would be exposed and he would end up with his head separated from his body.

But he never expected things to progress so quickly; in just two days, the investigators found him.

When the envoy from Nanyuan dragged Chen Rong'an out of the Hanlin Academy, he was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost wet his pants on the spot.

When brought before the envoys of the three kingdoms and Prince Sang Qi of Beili, Chen Rong'an was deathly pale. Before anyone could question him further, he took the initiative to tell them everything that had happened back then.

“It was Grand Secretary Zuo who ordered me to do it.” Chen Rong’an knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, his voice hoarse: “Back then, Grand Secretary Zuo was wary of Lord Qianfu’s respect from Wen’er, so he orchestrated this miscarriage of justice. Those letters accusing him of treason were all written by me, imitating Lord Qianfu’s handwriting. And some important files of the Qian family were also secretly replaced by his men… I was just following orders, please spare my life, gentlemen!”

Chen Rong'an's confession completely confirmed the crimes committed by the Left Grand Secretary back then and cleared the Qian family of their grievances.

After the news spread, Emperor Beili immediately ordered the construction of a high platform on Zhuque Avenue, the most bustling street in the capital, to reveal the truth about the thousands of wrongful cases to the public in front of all the people of the city.

On that day, Zhuque Street was packed with people, who flocked there to witness the justice that had been delayed for more than a decade.

As the officials read out the crimes of Zuo Ge Lao and others one by one and displayed the evidence they had collected, the people below the stage were filled with righteous indignation. They condemned the despicable acts of Zuo Ge Lao and others and felt sorry for the plight of Qian Jia.

"So the Sen family was wronged!"

"The Left Grand Secretary is utterly depraved! How could he do such a vile thing!" "Thankfully, the truth has come out, otherwise the Qian family's injustice would have been buried forever!"

After more than a decade of injustice, thousands of families have finally been exonerated and their grievances redressed.

Emperor Beili was already aware of these matters, but he did not expect things to progress so quickly, and the truth would be revealed in just a few days.

This incident also alerted the Northern Li Emperor; the combined power of these individuals was truly terrifying and could not be underestimated.
After the truth was revealed, Emperor Beili pretended to be heartbroken and, in front of his ministers, ordered the entire Mu family to be executed, with nine generations of relatives, as a warning to others.

After dealing with these people, Emperor Beili began to plan how to win over Qian Fu.

Qian Fu was once a pillar of Bei Li. If he could return to the Bei Li court, he would surely contribute to Bei Li's development.

Emperor Beili immediately sent someone to the Qian family to invite Qian Fu to return to the court and offered him a high-ranking position and generous salary.

Qian Fu answered the call and came. He was dressed in plain clothes, his hair was already a little gray, and his expression was calm. He had no trace of the spiritedness of his youth, but had gained a sense of composure after experiencing vicissitudes.

"Qianfu, I was wrong to trust a villain back then, which caused you and the Qian family to suffer such a great injustice." Emperor Beili said with a face full of guilt. "Now that the injustice has been redressed, I hope that you can return to the court and assist me in governing Beili. I will definitely entrust you with important responsibilities."

Upon hearing this, Qian Fu slowly shook his head, his tone calm and unwavering: "Your Majesty is too kind. I am old and my health is not what it used to be. I am truly incapable of shouldering great responsibilities and can no longer serve in the court. Over the years, the Qian family has long been accustomed to a life of leisure and only wishes to live a peaceful life. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request."

Emperor Beili wanted to persuade him further, but Qianfu had already bowed and thanked him.

Emperor Beili's face instantly darkened.

He hadn't expected such a lack of respect. After the court session, Emperor Beili returned to his study in a rage.

As soon as he stepped into the imperial study, Emperor Beili picked up the teacup on the table and smashed it on the ground.

With a "bang," the teacup shattered, and tea spilled all over the floor.

Immediately afterwards, he picked up the inkstone, pen holder, and other items on the table and smashed them on the ground one by one, leaving the imperial study in a complete mess.

The guards and eunuchs outside the palace were so frightened by the commotion inside that they trembled and knelt on the ground, not daring to even breathe.

His Majesty is truly enraged; no one dares to go in and risk offending him.

Inside the imperial study, Emperor Beili stood rooted to the spot, his chest heaving violently, his eyes filled with rage and resentment.

He was both angry at Qianfu's lack of appreciation and annoyed that he hadn't been able to take this opportunity to win Qianfu over. He was also worried that Qianfu might harbor resentment towards Beili because of the injustice he suffered back then, and that he might unite with the Qian family to become enemies with Beili in the future.

The Prince of Changyang's Mansion.

Ye Qianning has been staying at the Changyang Prince's Mansion for the past few days. The Qian family's case has been suppressed by the Northern Li Emperor for many years. He would never have reopened the case unless he was forced to do so.

It is a great joy that the grievances of thousands of families have been redressed.