Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 822 The shocking truth
Liu He then acted as if he had suddenly realized something: "Oh, so that's how it is. But if that's the case, then why did Feng Luan die? Grand Minister of Agriculture, how do you explain this?"

Feng Fang knelt on the ground, looking dejected: "This old minister...this old minister doesn't know..."

"The Minister of Agriculture doesn't know, but this humble official knows."

A voice was heard outside the hall. Everyone turned around and saw that it was Wang Chen, the former Luoyang magistrate who had just been appointed as the governor of Bohai.

According to court rules, the Luoyang magistrate is the chief official of the capital area. During grand court meetings, he can kneel outside the main hall to listen to government affairs. Unless there are special circumstances, the prefects of other places do not need to rush to participate in the court meetings.

Although Wang Chen was appointed as the governor of Bohai, he did not take up the post. Liu He ordered him to hand over the Luoyang affairs within ten days before leaving for Bohai. Therefore, he is still the governor of Luoyang and naturally knelt outside the palace.

A barely perceptible smile appeared on Liu He's lips, and he waved to the outside of the palace: "Since Luoyang Ling has something to say, then please come into the palace."

Wang Chen walked into the hall, knelt in the middle of the hall, and kowtowed.

"What do you want to tell me, my dear?"

Wang Chen held the tablet in his hand and bowed his head. "Your Majesty, I am the magistrate of Luoyang, and this case is under my jurisdiction. However, I, the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Justice, and I went to see Your Majesty that day to present this case. After returning to the government office, I was faced with many files and testimonies, but I was confused. Therefore, over the past few days, I have asked many questions and pondered many times, trying to find the truth and live up to Your Majesty's grace."

Liu He was a little surprised: "Oh? My dear, what progress have you made? Please report it as soon as possible."

Wang Chen bowed again and said, "I have long had my doubts about Zuo Fengyi's question and Mr. Hua Tuo's answer, so I have been asking around. However, after many days, although I have a lot of clues, I have no conclusion and no evidence. Therefore, I am worried and hesitant. Fortunately, God blesses the Han Dynasty and your majesty's divine protection. Yesterday, I got a clue. From then on, everything became clear, so I came to report to your majesty."

"Oh? What clue is it?" Liu He asked.

"Yesterday, as usual, I was patrolling the city. I came to the entrance of a gambling house in the southwest corner of the city and suddenly saw a group of people fighting. So I took people forward and questioned them carefully. I found out that it was a gambler who owed a huge gambling debt that was difficult to repay. He came to gamble again. He was drunk beforehand and caused trouble in the gambling house, so he was beaten by the guards of the gambling house."

Grand Herald Guo Fang's expression suddenly changed and he quickly interrupted Wang Chen.

"Your Majesty, the Luoyang magistrate has disturbed the emperor's hearing by calling him a street gambler, which is a crime of treason. I beg Your Majesty to arrest him and punish him so as to rectify the government."

"Why is the Grand Herald so anxious? The Luoyang Commander hasn't even finished speaking, and Your Majesty hasn't shown any impatience. Why did you suddenly come out to interrupt? Is there something fishy going on?"

Meng Jianyu said this sarcastically, making Guo Fang's face look even uglier.

"Old minister..."

"Alright, everyone, please step back and let Luoyang Ling finish speaking before we make a decision."

As soon as Liu He spoke, Guo Fang had no choice but to retreat.

Wang Chen then continued, "I took the gambler and the gambling house manager back to the government office for questioning. I didn't expect that the gambler's identity was not ordinary. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, I asked him a big secret."

For a moment, the curiosity of everyone in the hall was piqued by him. Except for a few people like Feng Fang and Cao Ling, everyone else stretched their necks, stared at Wang Chen intently, and pricked up their ears to listen to the developments behind them.

"That gambler was not someone else, but a servant in charge of purchasing wine, food and sundries for the kitchen in the Grand Minister of Agriculture's mansion. He was already slightly tipsy at the time, and I used threats and inducements to get him to reveal the truth soon."

"It turns out that a few days ago, the Minister of Agriculture hosted a banquet for the Minister of Rites, the Minister of Imperial Households and other officials in the mansion. This banquet was not held in the main hall, but in a side hall in the backyard. Halfway through the banquet, the mansion ran out of fine wine. This fellow was afraid that the mansion's steward would find out and punish him, so he hurried out of the mansion to buy some wine and then personally delivered it to the side hall."

"But when he walked to the door of the side hall, he saw that the door was closed and there was no one around. Only the mottled shadows of people were reflected by the firelight inside the hall. He thought again and again, and when he was wondering whether to continue knocking on the door to enter, he heard someone talking inside the hall."

"He knew the rules of the wealthy and prestigious families and did not dare to pry into the privacy of his master. However, the few words he just heard made him feel like he was struck by lightning. He was extremely horrified. Driven by suspicion and curiosity, he involuntarily hid aside and eavesdropped on the conversation of the ministers inside."

"After listening to the whole thing, he was even more horrified and shocked. It turned out that the matter these ministers were discussing was the death of Master Feng Luan and how to make General Wang Han be executed." Liu He raised his eyebrows: "What's so strange about this? The Minister of Agriculture had just experienced the pain of losing his grandson, and it was reasonable for him to discuss revenge with others."

Wang Chen shook his head and said, "No, the strange thing about this matter is that the banquet was held more than 20 days ago."

When this statement came out, everyone was lost.

"More than 20 days ago? The case hadn't happened yet at that time?"

"How is this going?"

All the ministers started talking about it, and Feng Fang was already pale, completely collapsed on the table in front of him. The other ministers also had pale faces.

Liu He frowned: "What does this mean? Could it be that the Minister of Agriculture has the ability to predict the future?"

Wang Chen replied, "I was also very confused, so I continued to interrogate him. After he confessed, I finally knew the whole story. It turned out that the Grand Minister of Agriculture and others had planned to create this case and use Feng Luan's death to force General Wang Han to death. Feng Luan was extremely irritable and arrogant by nature. He did whatever he wanted and disregarded the law. The Grand Minister of Agriculture specially summoned him from his hometown in Jingzhou to Luoyang and asked him to go to Lianshan Restaurant to drink and have fun, which led to the subsequent accidents."

"At the same time, the ministers also said that if Feng Luan was killed by the general, it would be the best. But if he survived and was rescued back to the palace, the Minister of Agriculture must be ruthless and kill him and put the blame on the general. This will ensure that all plans can proceed as usual."

These words were even more shocking than what he had just said, and all the ministers were horrified.

Zhao Rong bit his lip, straightened his expression, and shouted, "Nonsense, fabrication! As we all know, General Wang Han has not left his house for several months since he had a child. How could we know that he would go out to drink at Lianshan Restaurant on that day? Even if he went to the restaurant, how could we know that Master Feng Luan would have a conflict with him? What the Luoyang Order said is completely nonsense. What is your intention in slandering the important officials of the court?"

"Is it really unpredictable?"

Wang Yun suddenly spoke, and when they saw him come out, Zhao Rong and others immediately showed a look of despair.

Wang Yun sneered, "A few days ago, I was deceived by you and intervened in this matter. I vaguely remember that day, you, the Guanglu Doctor, said that General Wang Han was just unlucky. You have planted spies outside the residences of many generals in Luoyang City. Whenever you see someone going out to Lianshan Restaurant, you will let Feng Fang go. And the waiter in the restaurant who was beaten by him was actually bribed by you early on, so that he volunteered to serve Feng Luan, and then deliberately poured wine on him."

"With Feng Luan's personality, how could he tolerate such a thing? Naturally, he flew into a rage and ordered his men to beat the generals. The servant would then run out of the door. No matter which floor the generals were drinking on, the servant would run to them to ask for help. The generals in the army were all full of passion, so how could they tolerate such a thing? Naturally, a conflict broke out between the two sides. After that, everything happened just as the Luoyang Order said."

After he finished speaking, Wang Yun knelt down in front of Liu He and said, "I am an old minister who is incompetent and foolish. I did such a stupid thing and almost harmed the generals of the court. Your Majesty, please punish me."

Liu He gave him a false helping hand: "Situ was also deceived, and now he can come forward to correct it. What crime has he committed? Please stand up quickly."

Then, he looked at Feng Fang and the others with a stern gaze and murderous intent: "What else do you have to say?"

Feng Fang had completely collapsed to the ground. Du Ji, Guo Fang and others, as well as dozens of ministers behind them, also had despair on their faces. A few people, such as Zhao Rong and Cao Ling, still refused to plead guilty.

"This is all a conspiracy between Wang Situ and his gang to frame me. How could the Grand Minister of Agriculture kill his own grandson?"

Liu He smiled coldly: "Oh, really? Since you are so confident of your innocence, I cannot wrongly convict you. Where is the court judge?"

"I'm here!" Zhong Yao stood up.

"How should we deal with these people?"

"Your Majesty, according to the laws of our dynasty, deliberately framing a general of the imperial court and using this to coerce the emperor for personal gain is a serious crime, comparable to treason. All suspects involved in the case should be thrown into the Heavenly Prison and sentenced according to the law after a trial."

"In that case, what are you waiting for? Where are the Royal Guards? Take down all these traitors!"

(End of this chapter)