Jiuxi

Chapter 682 [Natural Law]

Lu Chen quickly came back to his senses, and after calming down, he said, "I didn't scare you, did I?"

"It doesn't matter."

Wang Chulong shook her head slightly and said with concern: "Husband, what is the mystery behind this?"

"This matter still has to start with Qin Zheng."

Lu Chen walked over to Wang Chulong and sat down, frowning and saying, "As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers, let alone a government office like the Sutra Weaving Department. Li Zongben must have wanted to remove Qin Zheng. At first I just thought he was too eager and had to make a scene at the funeral of the late emperor. Later I thought he wanted to suppress both Empress Dowager Xu and Li Zongjian at the same time, so I didn't think too deeply about it. Now recalling the details, I find that Qin Zheng's reaction is a bit abnormal."

"What's unusual?"

"He didn't struggle at all. At that time, Li Zongben ordered me to investigate the case thoroughly. In fact, given the friendship between Qin Zheng and me, he could have asked me for help in private, but he did nothing. Instead, it was Prime Minister Xue who asked me to try not to involve Qin Zheng."

Wang Chulong thought about it and said, "It is possible that Qin Tiju knew that resistance was meaningless. After all, he is different from other ministers in the court. He has always been a lone minister and completely relies on the trust of the emperor. Since the current emperor no longer trusts him, it seems that he can only accept this outcome calmly."

"He can think so, but based on my understanding of Qin Zheng, he shouldn't have no reaction." Lu Chen picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said slowly: "If this matter ended here, it would be fine, but you just said that Qin Zheng left the capital immediately after resigning, and the old prime minister specially invited him to Jinlin..."

This was the question that puzzled Wang Chulong, and he quickly asked, "What's wrong with Prime Minister Li's actions?"

"The old prime minister would never do anything without a purpose."

Lu Chen's eyes were slightly cold, and he said in a deep voice: "As far as I know, he and Qin Zheng have no personal relationship in the past ten years. On the contrary, because of the special status of the Textile Bureau, the old prime minister is quite wary of this government office, and the two of them are at most nodding acquaintances in the court. Now that the old prime minister has resigned and retired, how could he be so concerned about Qin Zheng's every move, and even know when he will leave Beijing? This means that the old prime minister has been sending people to keep an eye on him."

Wang Chulong couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Lu Chen continued, "You just said that the old prime minister's personal attendant loudly invited Qin Zheng in public, which is enough to prove that this person did it on purpose, and wanted to use this method to tell the court and the people in the palace. This person must have done it at the instruction of the old prime minister, so why did he do this? From all the signs, there is only one reason, Qin Zheng is in danger, and the old prime minister is protecting him."

Wang Chulong looked solemn.

Who is Qin Zheng?

Sixteen years ago, Heluo fell and the empire was on the verge of collapse. The reason why the late emperor was able to continue his reign in Jiangnan was entirely due to the support of three loyal ministers, namely Li Daoyan, Han Lingfu and Qin Zheng.

In the process from the late emperor sitting firmly on the throne to gaining real power, Qin Zheng played the greatest role and could be regarded as the late emperor's most respected and trusted arm.

This man had been in charge of the Weaving Bureau for fifteen years, and no one knew how much secret power he possessed. Even if he was implicated in the assassination case, Li Zongben could only wait patiently for him to resign voluntarily.

How could such a person need protection?
Even Li Daoyan came out in person?
What kind of terrifying opponent would require these two important officials of the previous emperor to join forces?

The answer is self-evident.

Wang Chulong murmured, "The emperor not only wants to remove Qin Tiju, but also wants his life, so Prime Minister Li expressed his attitude in that way. But... why? Qin Tiju has already handed over the power of the Weaving Bureau, and will only be a state marquis in name only. Even if he still has influence within the Weaving Bureau, even if he still has power in the dark, the emperor can take his time to deal with him."

Lu Chen held her slightly cold hand, his eyes obscure and unclear: "Yes, what is the reason that forced Li Zongben to kill Qin Zheng?"

Wang Chulong held Lu Chen's hand and said nervously, "Husband, maybe there is some unknown secret here."

As smart as she is, she naturally began to think from that extremely terrifying angle.

Lu Chen said slowly: "Li Zongben set up a plan to force Qin Zheng to resign. This is just a struggle in the officialdom, which is still understandable. But he wanted to kill Qin Zheng, which means that Qin Zheng may have a secret that threatens his throne, or he is worried that Qin Zheng will notice some details. What is the secret that can make the Emperor of Da Qi so worried? It's really hard to guess the answer... Hehe."

Wang Chulong looked at the coldness between his brows that was like a thousand-year-old ice, and for a moment she didn't know how to comfort him.

"I talked to my father and Uncle Xiao before. The reason why Li Zongben wanted to drive me to the border and force Qin Zheng to resign was probably because he was afraid that we would find out the role he and Han Zhongjie played in the rebellion in the capital. If we knew that he killed the eldest prince, it would obviously be a huge threat to him."

Lu Chen smiled coldly and said in a cold voice: "Now it seems that the emperor has done more than just this."

"He really dares to do that?"

Wang Chulong’s pretty face turned slightly pale.

After all, she was the daughter of a prominent family who had received a traditional education. The concepts of Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, Parents and Teachers were deeply rooted in her bones. At this moment, she felt terrified just by thinking about it.

When Lu Chen told her that the Emperor of Great Qi had killed her elder brother, she was already finding it hard to believe. However, that was not enough. Judging from Lu Chen's words, Li Zongben had done something even more outrageous.

What else could it be except patricide and regicide?
"I don't have any evidence." Lu Chen looked blank and said slowly, "But if he didn't do it, why did he kill Qin Zheng?"

"But...but..."

Wang Chulong hesitated to speak. She wanted to say that accusing the current emperor of regicide was no small matter, and logical reasoning alone was not enough, because Li Zongben could have found a reason to say that he wanted to kill Qin Zheng, not to mention that he had not done anything yet. It was just Li Daoyan who came forward to invite Qin Zheng to live in the Li family's ancestral home.

If Lu Chen made the matter clear, he would definitely be regarded by the world as a traitor who was plotting rebellion.

But she was also afraid that Lu Chen would get stuck in a rut because of this.

Lu Chen obviously understood her feelings, and said in a slow tone: "Chu Long, maybe you don't believe it, but I am not a loyal minister of Da Qi. I am where I am today because, on the one hand, the situation has developed to this point naturally, and on the other hand, I don't want to see the people of Jiangbei being ravaged by the Jinglian people."

Wang Chulong shook her head and said, "You are my husband and my lifelong support. How can I not trust you? No matter when or where, I will stand by your side and share life and death with you."

Lu Chen's face showed a hint of warmth, and he nodded, "I understand. Apart from those two reasons, the greatest influence on me is the late emperor's trust. Without his teaching and support, I would not have come this far. If he really died a violent death, how could I sit back and do nothing? This matter is of great importance, I will not act rashly, but I will not give up the investigation."

At this point, his eyes became firm, and he said solemnly: "I want to find out the cause of the late emperor's death and find evidence of those who murdered him."

Wang Chulong felt a little relieved. What she feared most was that Lu Chen would make an irreversible decision in anger, so she asked softly, "How do we check?"

Lu Chen pondered for a moment, and said slowly: "I remember that the late emperor's condition began to deteriorate around the time of the eldest prince's death, so we must first investigate the rebellion in the capital. You write a secret letter to Gao Huan, the Minister of Justice, and ask Tan Zheng and others to cooperate with him to subdue Ning Bugui. This person is familiar with the secrets of the four clans, and should be able to dig out some details to see what role Han Zhongjie played in the rebellion. In this way, we can determine whether Li Zongben killed the eldest prince."

Wang Chulong nodded and said, "Okay."

Lu Chen continued, "In fact, I have always been curious about the late emperor's illness, because before the eldest prince died, the late emperor did not have any obvious symptoms. I later asked the old prime minister, and he said that the late emperor's illness was caused by internal organs. Even the Imperial Hospital could not find out the details, and could only attribute it to long-term overwork. To be honest, I have heard of similar cases, but there cannot be any problem here. Send a message to Tan Zheng and Qu Zhong, and focus on investigating these two people."

"who?"

"The late emperor's most trusted eunuch, Lü Shizhou, should be guarding the imperial mausoleum now. The other one is Gui Qiuliang, the director of the Imperial Hospital. He has been responsible for treating the late emperor, so if there is anything strange, it will not escape his eyes. In addition, Gui Qiuliang is the senior brother of the old doctor Xue, who is now in Guangling. You can also write to father and ask him to learn about the director of the Imperial Hospital from the side."

Wang Chulong agreed to all of them.

After a brief silence, she looked into Lu Chen's eyes and asked with difficulty: "Husband, if the final result is found out and the truth is as you speculated, what are you going to do?"

As his wife, no matter what decision Lu Chen made, she would only follow him through thick and thin.

However, Lu Chen was responsible for not only his and her fate, but also the fate of hundreds of people in the Lu family, more than 100,000 border soldiers, and even the safety of the entire Jiangbei land.

The enemy he might face is not his rival in officialdom, but the supreme emperor of Da Qi, who rules over hundreds of millions of people and has hundreds of thousands of skilled generals and armored soldiers.

Not to mention that Jing State is eyeing Dingzhou covetously to the north.

Once Lu Chen loses the support of the Jiangnan court, how can he deal with the tigers and wolves in the north?

No matter how brave the border soldiers are, they cannot fight on an empty stomach.

Even though Wang Chulong was beautiful, intelligent and wise, she felt a strong sense of powerlessness at this moment.

But Lu Chen was not depressed. He held Wang Chulong's cold hand tightly and said resolutely: "Killing someone means paying with your life, that's all."

"But he is..."

"I know he is the emperor today, so what?"

Lu Chen lowered his eyes and said slowly: "Li Zongjian is still alive. At worst, there is Prince Yanning who will inherit the throne. Someone will eventually become the emperor of Da Qi."

"Perhaps the late emperor would not want me to do this."

"But I cannot tolerate a traitor who killed his father and brother enjoying the throne, and I will not fight for such a person."

"If he really did it, he must die."

"If I don't do this, I won't be at peace."

(End of this chapter)