Catherine and the Black Emperor

Chapter 121 121. Put into jail

"The restaurant you recommended is really good; it's much tastier than those fancy restaurants," Sergei said sincerely.

Panin couldn't help but smile.

"You asked me to meet Elias in the park not so that he could help mediate the conflict between William and you, but so that Elias would see Matthias meeting with you."

Sergei did not deny it: "Count, you know perfectly well that our relationship with William is irreconcilable. You agreed to go without a second thought when I asked you to, wasn't it because you wanted to see my true purpose?"

"If I won't believe it, then do you think Elias will believe that you genuinely want to resolve the conflict with William?"

"I'm new here and still a young man. It's best if Elias believes me, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't. As you said, the key is that he saw me meet with Matthias."

"This won't sever Elias's ties with Matthias either; it's not that simple."

Panin's smile faltered slightly as he finished speaking, realizing Sergei's true intentions.

"Let me tell you, Elias is extremely suspicious. He saw you two meet, and unless Matthias brings it up himself, he'll definitely have doubts. Once he has doubts, you'll have other ways to deal with Matthias, right?"

Sergei extended his hand: "That's why I say it's so pleasant to work with you, Count."

Panin couldn't help but curse, "You bastard, you're perfect as a schemer! What are you planning to do to Matthias? What did you just say to him?"

"He mentioned that he had accepted bribes."

Panin shook his head and said, "It's just bribery. If the amount isn't an astonishing figure, it won't affect him."

"It's not just about accepting bribes. We're just using this to test his attitude. If we have something more serious to use, we'll either not use it, or we'll make sure he can't recover!" Sergei said confidently.

Panin began to re-examine Sergei.

"I'm leaving. I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles with you. You secret agents are everywhere!" Panin got up and left.

Sergei smiled slightly.

The more Panin valued him, the more correct he was. While Panin's diplomatic skills were certainly not weak, the secret committee's methods were more direct and effective in dealing with certain diehards.

Just two days later, while still asleep, Congressman Matthias was in deep trouble.

The guards stormed into Matthias's bedroom and arrested the still-sleeping senator.

According to the guards in private, the congresswoman's wife was bare-skinned at the time, her shoulders white and smooth, extremely alluring.

Inside the cell, Matthias, dressed in prison clothes, gripped the iron bars and roared at the outside.

"I'm a member of parliament! How dare you treat me like this!"

No one responded.

Matthias was furious. He sat down and tried to analyze the situation calmly, but his mind was completely blank at that moment.

"Impossible! Elias would never abandon me, and the King and Queen wouldn't reduce the power of the Hattresses. This is cutting off our own arm! Damn it, where did things go wrong!"

Meanwhile, Elias emerged from the king's office, where William was waiting for him.

"What's going on? Why were they suddenly arrested?"

"That idiot, who knows what he did? His Majesty the King has ordered me to go to the prison to question him personally!" Elias was extremely annoyed.

"No matter what mistakes he made, we must protect him!" William said.

Elias's eyes darkened: "That depends on the seriousness of his matter. You don't know, he met with that new Russian ambassador!"

"Meeting him doesn't mean he would collude with Saltykov."

"But he never told me that!"

William was at a loss for words.

According to his attitude, no matter what Matthias did, as long as he was still on their side, they had to save people, otherwise it would be more difficult for them to deal with Sergei, Hedwig and others, or even the more troublesome Top Hat Faction.

"Matthias shouldn't betray us; we have enough evidence against him!" That was the only way he could help Elias analyze the situation.

Soon, Elias arrived at the prison.

Upon seeing Elias, Matthias was immediately overjoyed.

"You've finally arrived! Quickly, go find His Majesty the King! There must be some misunderstanding! Saltykov is behind this!"

Elias remained unmoved, merely observing him indifferently.

"Then shouldn't you explain clearly what Saltykov is up to?"

"Elias, are you crazy? What's the point of asking these questions now? No matter what he did, you have to get me out of here. Aren't we on the same side?"

"Since you're on the same side, why didn't you tell me you'd met Saltykov?"

Matthias immediately understood why the other party had this attitude.

"Just because of that? He threatened me to surrender to him, and I refused!"

"Then you should have told me too."

Matthias said with a stern face, "We are both members of parliament, and our relationship is equal. Even if you are hailed as the leader of the cap faction, you should know that I have also given you my full support. Why should I have to report everything to you!"

"In that case, you can wait to report to the interrogator or the torturer." Elias turned and left.

"Hey! Don't go, Elias! I'm telling you!" Matthias panicked.

Elias stopped in his tracks.

He didn't really intend to abandon the other person; he just wanted to make the other person realize their situation and bow their head before him. He was the leader of the hat faction, and they were never equals!

Matthias could only grit his teeth and say, "I did collect some money. When registering the land, I charged several landowners 2 each to reduce the amount of land they registered."

He was in charge of the agricultural affairs department, and during land registration, he accepted bribes from the landowners.

He didn't lie, and he didn't even understate the amount, because His Majesty the King certainly knew the exact amount.

"That's all?" Elias asked incredulously.

"That's all! Saltykov used these to threaten me! You can ask His Majesty the King if you don't believe me; he must have reported this to His Majesty!"

Seeing Matthias's unusually determined expression, Elias said, "I will ask. If you're still hiding something from me, I won't care about you anymore. You can fend for yourself!"

He didn't actually believe that the king would imprison a member of parliament for a bribe of £2.

If it were a member of the top hat faction, perhaps the other party would do this even under pressure from Speaker Joachim and French Ambassador Jones, since it could weaken the opponent's power.

However, the cap faction currently supports the King and Queen.

After they came out, Elias explained the situation to William.

"We must get Matthias out!" William's tone left no room for argument.

Elias nodded as well.

2 isn't a huge sum, but it's not a small sum either. However, compared to the position of a councilor, it's far too little. The person must be saved!

Elias made a decisive decision.

"I'll go find His Majesty the King right away!"

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