The prince is more stable

Chapter 299: Showing your noble hand
There is no clean official. I don’t deny that there are honest officials in the world, but they are really rare.

In fact, the vast majority of officials have stains, either corruption, dereliction of duty, or even murder.

Just in terms of corruption, more than 90% of officials are involved, the only difference is whether it is a big or small corruption.

The court's judicial system is quite rigorous. How could they not know about so many corrupt officials?

Of course they knew about it, but under the premise of stabilizing the political situation, they could turn a blind eye to some things. Unless it was because of other things and the higher-ups decided to take action, they would investigate you fiercely, and "corruption" was the easiest reason to do so.

Therefore, Zhao Xiaoqian didn't care how high the other party's official position was. He gave an order to the Imperial City Bureau, and the Imperial City Bureau immediately took vigorous action to investigate the illegal activities of Huang Lu and the other two.

For the Imperial City Administration, this was too easy to do. Apart from anything else, Huang Lu and the other two had been clean-handed since they took office, never once touching a penny of stolen silver.
Basically unlikely.

It is easy to check people, but the hard part is to make up your mind to check them.

Last night, Zhao Xiaoqian and Su Shi had a drink together and finally made up their minds.

Yes, he wanted to protect Su Shi, no matter what means he had to use.

In order to protect Su Shi, Zhao Xiaoqian didn't care about offending Zhang Dun again.

Zhao Xiaoqian had heard the news from today's court meeting. Huang Lu and the other two joined forces with other officials to submit a petition impeaching Su Shi, with great momentum.

If Zhao Xiaoqian wanted to save Su Shi, he had to start with Huang Lu and the other two. He had to defeat the three leaders first, and then the rest of the court officials would not dare to say a word.

You can't just follow three criminals and shout nonsense, how shameless of you!

Scouts from the Imperial City Office were sent out in all directions, while Zhao Xiaoqian straightened his clothes and walked out of the office.

It's just past noon now. As the top leader, isn't it reasonable for him to leave work at noon?
After getting on the carriage outside the gate, Zhao Xiaoqian was about to return to the palace. After hesitating for a moment, he immediately ordered to go to the gate of Yanfu Palace.

The carriage soon arrived outside the palace gate and stopped quietly at the edge of the empty square. Zhao Xiaoqian did not get off the carriage, but just sat in it and waited quietly.

After a long time, the palace gate opened and countless court officials walked out of the palace, like a group of screwdrivers who had just finished work, and rushed to the canteen.

The leader of the crowd was naturally Zhang Dun.

Zhang Dun walked slowly, with hundreds of court officials following behind him, but no one dared to overtake him. No matter how anxious they were to get off work, they would not commit such a taboo in officialdom.

It was not until they left the palace that the ministers said goodbye to Zhang Dun one by one and then dispersed like birds and beasts.

After bidding farewell to his ministers, the fake smile on Zhang Dun's face faded. He turned around and was about to get on his own carriage, but he saw the curtain of a familiar carriage not far away lifted, revealing Zhao Xiaoqian's smiling face.

Zhang Dun was stunned, his eyes showing deep thought.

Zhao Xiaoqian jumped off the carriage and bowed to Zhang Dun first.

"Mr. Zhang has a hard time running the government."

Zhang Dun smiled and said, "Since you have some free time today, are you planning to go to the palace to see the emperor? The court has just been dismissed, and the emperor must be about to have his meal. If you hurry up, you might even be able to catch a seat at the emperor's banquet."

Zhao Xiaoqian opened his eyes wide: "Did I hear correctly? Mr. Zhang is actually joking? The sky is falling..."

Zhang Dun laughed heartily and said, "What you said, Lord? I wasn't born to be a coffin, so why can't I take jokes?"

Since reaching an agreement with Zhao Xiaoqian not to provoke each other, the relationship between Zhang Dun and Zhao Xiaoqian has eased a lot. Perhaps it was because Zhang Dun gradually became familiar with Zhao Xiaoqian's character and knew that he was not a person who fought for power and profit, so he began to like Zhao Xiaoqian more and more.

Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile, "Mr. Zhang, you misunderstood. I am waiting here for you today. I don't plan to go to the palace to see you."

Zhang Dun let out an "oh" in surprise, and his pair of seemingly cloudy eyes kept looking at him.

"If you have anything to say, please speak frankly," Zhang Dun said politely.

Zhao Xiaoqian said, "That's right. The palace has been spending a lot lately, and the treasury is empty. I wanted to go out for a meal but I don't have the money to pay the bill. For some reason, I suddenly thought of Zhang Xianggong." "The prime minister of the dynasty should have plenty of money, and he is also very generous. I would like to have a meal with you, and I am sure Zhang Xianggong would be embarrassed to refuse. As the saying goes, 'A gentleman can be deceived by his own methods,' so I came to find him."

After saying this, Zhao Xiaoqian looked at Zhang Dun with an innocent and expectant expression.

Zhang Dun was stunned for a long time before he finally digested what Zhao Xiaoqian said, and he couldn't help but become more stunned.

This guy actually took advantage of such a big injustice so bluntly, can't you be more tactful?
It has been many years since anyone dared to criticize him so harshly in person. Zhang Dun is a little confused and mentally uncomfortable.

After a long while, Zhao Xiaoqian cautiously urged, "Mr. Zhang, please say something. If you are short of money, I will find someone else to kill..."

Zhang Dun laughed heartily. "Great! You, young man from the Prince of Chu's Mansion, are truly courageous. You can kill the Prime Minister at will. Just for your courage and boldness, I deserve to treat you to a meal."

"Let's go. You decide the place. I can afford any restaurant or tavern in Bianjing City."

"Since Mr. Zhang is treating us, of course we should eat the most expensive food. Otherwise, it would be unworthy of Mr. Zhang's status."

Although it was the most expensive, Zhao Xiaoqian did not spend any money after all and found a medium-sized restaurant in Bianjing City.

The store arranged an elegant room, and Chen Shou and others were waiting outside, leaving only Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhang Dun in the room.

He asked the restaurant to serve a few dishes and a pot of rice wine, and Zhao Xiaoqian raised the cup to toast Zhang Dun.

Zhang Dun drank it all in one gulp, then picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. He did not comment on the taste of the food and wine, and was probably not very satisfied.

Zhao Xiaoqian ate the food with big mouthfuls, not wasting the opportunity of being treated by others at all.

Anyway, he planned to fill his stomach first, otherwise he would lose the mood to eat after a while, which would be too unfair to his stomach.

After filling half his stomach, Zhao Xiaoqian finally sat up straight and wiped his greasy mouth.

"Excuse me, haha, excuse me. I was born in poverty and I'm afraid of being hungry, so it's inevitable that my eating manners are a little ugly. Please don't blame me, Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Dun's old face twitched slightly.

What the hell is this "coming from a poor background"? Do you want to listen to what you are saying?
"The wine has been drunk, the food has been tasted, and I have to wait for a while to go to the government hall to handle state affairs. Let's not waste any time. If you have anything to say, just speak frankly." Zhang Dun said lightly.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled awkwardly: "Nothing else, mainly reminiscing about the past with Mr. Zhang..."

Zhang Dun: “…………”

Putting aside our relationship, the last time we met was just a few days ago. How can we reminisce about the past?
"Let me be frank... Everything else is negotiable, but if you're here today for Su Shi, I advise you to hold your tongue, lest we part ways on bad terms."

Zhao Xiaoqian was surprised and asked, "Mr. Zhang knows everything?"

Zhang Dun said calmly, "The day after Su Shi returned to the capital, he visited you at the Prince of Chu's mansion. Over the past few days, Su Shi and you have toured all over Bianjing. You two must have a close relationship. How could I not know what happened right under my nose?"

"Haha, these are just interactions between intellectuals. Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, I still love you the most."

Zhang Dun snorted coldly: "Are you planning to plead for Su Shi today?"

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked. "Mr. Zhang, could you please show some mercy? I owe you a favor. If you need anything in the future, just let me know."

Zhang Dun said coldly, "No, I summoned Su Shi back to the capital precisely to use him to purge the old clique from the court. This is a matter of great importance to the court. If I let Su Shi go, all my future plans will be wasted."

"It doesn't matter who you change as the excuse. Just do your thing. I promise not to interfere. I just hope you can let Su Shi go."

Zhang Dun's tone suddenly became stiff, and he said coldly, "No! I also want to say that I hope the Duke of the County will not interfere. How about I owe you a favor?"

The atmosphere in the Accord inexplicably became stiff and cold.

(End of this chapter)