Return to the Tang Dynasty to be a villain

Chapter 39 Wu Sansi's Advice
Did Qin Yi bribe Lai Junchen? He did have that idea.

But this is because the glass packaging has not yet been produced, and Qin Yi does not intend to reveal these products that are ahead of their time for the time being.

That was why Qin Yi promised Lai Junchen at the Yishiyuan that he would send a big gift to Lai Junchen within five days.

However, Qin Yi's main purpose of giving those things to Lai Junchen was not really to bribe him.

As for why? The answer will only be revealed when these things are placed in front of Lai Junchen.

But Wei Yuanzhong doesn't think so.

Lai Junchen was a notoriously greedy person.

If he doesn't take advantage of others, can he really recommend talented people to the court?

Even if Wei Yuanzhong was beaten to death, he would never believe that such a thing could happen.

At this moment, Wei Yuanzhong felt that he had finally caught Lai Junchen's handle, and looked at him triumphantly.

"Sir, who is this Qin Yi? What is his background? Has he ever been an official in the Ministry of Personnel?"

Wei Yuanzhong asked three questions in a row, and he thought that every question hit the sore spot of Lai Junchen.

However, Lai Junchen remained calm and composed.

He turned around and saluted Wu Zhao again, then turned around and looked at Wei Yuanzhong.

"Qin Yi is the grandson of the Duke of Ji and the eldest son of Qin Huaidao, the Duke of Licheng County and the General of the Thousand Oxen Guards."

"He has no official title, nor has he yet been appointed to an official position, however."

Having said this, Lai Junchen kept the topic in suspense, pretending to be a little flustered and hesitant to speak.

"But what?"

Wei Yuanzhong noticed that Lai Junchen had a strange expression and thought that he was at a loss for words, so he became even more arrogant.

"Even if this person named Qin Yi is the descendant of a nobleman, he can be protected by the government."

"But now, after being appointed as an official by the Ministry of Personnel, there are countless people waiting for the opportunity to be promoted."

"He's just a young man. What virtue or ability does he have to be directly selected as a seventh-rank official?"

"Sir, I'm afraid you've received a lot of favors from others. That's why you're so worried about the succession of a county magistrate?"

After this impassioned speech, Wei Yuanzhong turned around and bowed to Wu Zhao.

"Your Majesty, I request Your Majesty's approval to order the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Censorate to conduct a thorough investigation of Lai Junchen, the Minister of the Imperial Court."

"I dare to conclude that there must be a conspiracy between him and Qin Yi to sell official positions and titles, and to privately grant official positions to others."

It seemed that Wei Yuanzhong even escalated the matter to the point of a joint trial by three courts.

Wu Zetian did not express her opinion directly, but instead glanced at everyone first.

As the leader of the Wu kings, Wu Sansi often clashed with Zhang Jianzhi, Wei Yuanzhong and others.

Under normal circumstances, he should have jumped out to refute Wei Yuanzhong by now.

But in recent times, Lai Junchen has been like a madman, impeaching Wu Zetian for plotting against him.

Seeing that both sides were people who were at odds with him, Wu Sansi was naturally happy to watch them attack each other and enjoy the pleasure of sitting on the mountain and watching the fight between tigers.

As for the Minister of Luantai, Zong Chuke, he was originally a lackey of Wu Sansi. Seeing that His Royal Highness Prince Liang remained calm, he naturally acted as if it was none of his business.

Only Zhang Jianzhi's expression began to become restless as Wei Yuanzhong's words became more intense.

Wu Zhao sat high up there, naturally watching the performance of the people below.

There were only a handful of people in Ganlu Hall at this time, but they still formed cliques and divided into several factions.

From the time when the two saints came to power to the present day, Wu Zhao has been in power for more than twenty years.

As an experienced emperor, she naturally understood the essence of the art of controlling her subordinates, which was to never allow the court officials to become corrupt and collude with her.

Otherwise, they would unite to deceive his eyes and ears, and even the emperor would lose control of the court.

On the contrary, the more these court officials confronted each other, the more the emperor could manipulate them.

Therefore, Wu Zhao's current situation has long been accustomed to it.

However, the only thing that made her feel a little strange was that Di Renjie, who was usually a member of the Zhang Jianzhi and Wei Yuanzhong party, behaved a little abnormally today.

At this time, Di Renjie seemed to be oblivious to the situation in front of him. He even closed his eyes slightly, put his hands in his sleeves, and stood aside as if he was dozing.

Lai Junchen was still unhurried at this moment. He first bowed to Wu Zhao, and then spoke confidently.

"Lord Wei's accusations against me just now are all groundless and baseless."

"The reason I strongly recommend Qin Yi to be the Director of the Recruiting and Censoring Department of the Imperial Court is entirely out of a public-spirited desire to select talented people for the sake of the country."

"A public-spirited person? To promote talents for the country?"

Lai Junchen's shameless words finally made Zhang Jianzhi, who had originally not planned to take action himself, unable to hold back. He sneered and walked up to Wu Zetian.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask the Court Director, how can Qin Yi, a young man, be considered a virtuous man?"

When Wu Zetian saw that Wei Yuanzhong's side, even their leader Zhang Jianzhi had stood up, she couldn't help but take it seriously.

Moreover, Lai Junchen was indeed evasive when arguing with him just now, and was unwilling to tell the key point of the matter.

In addition, Wu Zhao was not completely unaware of Lai Junchen's greed. At this time, she also believed that this young man named Qin Yi might have bribed Lai Junchen to get his recommendation.

Wu Zhao's face darkened noticeably, and a fierce light flashed in her eyes, causing everyone present to feel a chill in their hearts.

"Come on, tell me, what's going on?"

Wu Zhao had a strong aura, otherwise it would have been impossible for a woman to dominate the court for decades.

In her opinion, Lai Junchen's recommendation of Qin Yi to be the head of the Recruiting and Censoring Office must have been a mismatch in virtue.

Under normal circumstances, if Wu Zetian spoke like this, the person being questioned would be terrified and could only apologize to her tremblingly. But Lai Junchen had already prepared his speech thoroughly and was naturally calm.

"Your Majesty, the reason I recommend Qin Yi is because, although he is young, he possesses immense talent."

"Not only that, Lord Wei just mentioned the rules and regulations of the court."

"This Qin Yi has made great contributions to the state. I believe that clear distinctions between rewards and punishments can best demonstrate the strict rules and regulations of the state."

"Therefore, today I have the audacity to recommend this talented person to Your Majesty for the position of Chief of the Recruiting and Censoring Department."

"Have you made any contribution to the country?" Zhang Jianzhi sneered.

"I don't believe that a young man like him can accomplish anything for the country."

Lai Junchen was naturally delighted to see that Zhang Jianzhi and Wei Yuanzhong had finally fallen into his trap.

When he recommended Qin Yi today, he had the intention of killing two birds with one stone.

The reason why Lai Junchen was evasive and unwilling to tell the whole story about Qin Yi was to set a trap for those two old men.

Let them jump out and attack me regardless of everything, and finally prove that I am clean in the matter of Qin Yi, but they lose Wu Zhao's trust because of their careless words.

Lai Junchen, having gotten what he wanted, stopped talking nonsense and reported to Wu Zhao in detail about Qin Yi's guidance of Wei Xian behind the scenes and the recent cracking of the serial murder case that shocked Chang'an.

"Oh?" Wu Zhao became interested after hearing what Lai Junchen said.

This case was inherently strange and bizarre. Even experienced officials such as Li Yuanhong, the judicial lieutenant of Wannian County, and Wei Chang, the bad guy, were almost misled. The process was naturally full of twists and turns.

Lai Junchen was also very eloquent, and he could make even those unfounded stories sound very real.

So when he talked about this case, coupled with his interpretation, it came alive and was as fascinating as a legendary novel.

After Lai Junchen told Qin Yi that Wei Xian led people to secretly ambush near Su Honghui, and finally forced the Khitan assassin to commit suicide, the astonishment in the hearts of the people present took a long time to subside.

"So, this guy is a genius at solving crimes?"

When Wu Zhao came to her senses from her recollection, she, who hadn't praised anyone for a long time, actually showed a hint of approval.

"Then placing him in the Imperial Household Department would be a good way to make the best use of his talents."

Seeing that Wu Zhao was about to agree to this matter, Wu Sansi, who had been standing silently by the side, suddenly stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable!"

Wu Sansi's father, Wu Yuanqing, was Wu Zhao's half-brother.

Their father, Wu Shigui, was originally just a timber merchant.

After Emperor Gaozu started his rebellion, he spent all his family wealth to support Li Yuan, and therefore became the Minister of Works after the founding of the Li Tang Dynasty.

Wu Yuanqing followed Wu Shigui to manage business since he was a child, and naturally he was influenced by the spirit of a businessman.

Growing up in such an environment, Wu Sansi naturally learned the businessman's ability to be profit-driven and avoid harm.

Therefore, ever since he was named King of Liang by Wu Zetian and was made a key figure in the imperial court, he naturally gave instructions to the Holy Emperor and never went against Wu Zetian's will.

Therefore, when he suddenly spoke out to stop Wu Zhao this time, everyone in the Ganlu Palace, including the Holy Emperor sitting high on the throne, showed a look of surprise on their faces.

However, Wu Sansi was also helpless, so he already knew Qin Yi's identity at this time.

That day, after the two brothers Wu Chonglie returned from Chongrenfang in disgrace, Lai Junchen reported them the next day for leading troops without military orders and allowing them to commit crimes in the market.

Wu Chongxun and Wu Chonglie were both punished by Wu Zhao with house arrest for three months, and Wu Jizhi was even stripped of his position as General of the Right Guard.

At this time, Wu Sansi finally remembered that Qin Yi was the culprit who had angered Wu Chonglie and others because he had teased his own daughter that day.

Also, because Lai Junchen happened to arrive at the gate of Qin's mansion at the right time, Wu Sansi thought about it over and over again and even speculated that this was a conspiracy planned in advance by Lai Junchen and Qin Yi.

Wu Zhao was interrupted by Wu Sansi. She looked at him with an uneasy look on her face, and there was a hint of coldness in her voice.

"Prince Liang, what do you want to report to me?"

At this moment, Wu Sansi really wanted to tell His Majesty the Holy Emperor that Qin Yi, this little thief, was a lecher. He had molested your niece's granddaughter, so he must not be entrusted with an important task.

But can Wu Sansi tell about this?

the answer is negative.

After all, Qin Yi was first hit on the head by Wu Chonglie's men that day, and his body was carried back to the Qin Mansion. However, his three sons still led their troops to commit murder.

The Holy Emperor had finally put this matter behind him. If he brought it up again, it would probably displease His Majesty again.

But if it were so easy for Qin Yi to become a seventh-rank official in a department, Wu Sansi would indeed feel a little unwilling.

Wu Sansi's mind was working rapidly, and suddenly, an idea came to him.

"Your Majesty, I just heard what Lai Yuanzheng said. Qin Yi is indeed a master at reasoning and solving cases."

“However, the Recruiting Office is a place where outstanding literary works from all over the world are collected.”

"I am just worried that the boy named Qin Yi is not talented enough to handle the task of recruiting counselors."

"I think that since Qin Yi is good at reasoning and solving cases, it would be better to let him go to the Justice Department and serve as an assistant to Wei Zhushi."

"As for the position of Chief of the Censorate, I think we should find someone like Chief He Zhizhang to live up to the trust placed in us by the court."

Wu Sansi's words were polite and restrained.

His worries were not without reason.

Not only did the other people in Ganlu Palace nod slightly, but even Wu Zhao's face showed approval.

At this moment, Di Renjie, who had been silent like a clay sculpture, suddenly took a step forward.

"Your Majesty, I believe that what His Royal Highness Prince Liang said is completely absurd."

(End of this chapter)