met free Chapter 211 Evidence of crime
Chapter 211 Evidence of crime
Upon seeing the emperor, everyone immediately knelt down in unison.
"See Your Majesty!"
Song Yunming lay prostrate on the ground, cold sweat beading on his back, his heart filled with unease. Could it really be that Song Jinglan had come to make trouble for him?
He quickly dismissed the thought that had crossed his mind. Song Jinglan had only been back in the capital for three to five days; how could she possibly have prepared enough evidence to accuse him in such a short time?
What happened next confirmed his suspicions.
The emperor, his steps unsteady and weak, was helped to the dragon throne. He slightly raised his hand, and the eunuch Liu immediately called out loudly, "Rise—"
Before anyone else could speak, Song Jinglan flicked his sleeve, leaned forward slightly, cupped his hands to the emperor, and said, word by word, "Your Majesty, I have an important matter to report."
The emperor coughed repeatedly, and after a moment he slowly said, "Granted."
Upon seeing this scene, everyone's gaze immediately turned to Song Jinglan. Li Daocong immediately understood that it seemed the carefree days of the Prince of Ning were finally coming to an end.
"Over the past two years, I have been conducting undercover investigations in Jiangnan for a long time and have destroyed a bandit den. This gang of thieves robbed merchant ships along the river and even dared to plunder official ships carrying tribute."
Song Jinglan continued, "I am truly curious as to why these petty Jiangnan bandits are so audacious. After wiping out this gang of thieves, we even found many letters between them and the Second Prince in their hideout."
Upon hearing this, Song Yunming was startled and instinctively retorted, "It's clearly these thieves making baseless accusations! Letters can be forged; these thieves might just be making baseless accusations!"
After saying this, Song Yunming immediately looked at the emperor and knelt down heavily before him, "I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and clear my name! I have always been respectful and cautious, how could I possibly have done such a thing..."
The emperor responded to Song Yunming with a sudden slam of his hand on the table. Seeing the emperor's fury, all the officials lowered their heads, fearing that they might inadvertently offend the emperor.
The old emperor's face was unreadable, his gaze fixed on Song Jinglan. "Continue," he said.
After receiving the emperor's permission, Song Jinglan said calmly and slowly, "Just as the Second Prince said, a few letters are not enough to determine that these bandits were instigated by the Second Prince. However, this matter is of great importance. Following the clues, I found that the prefects of various prefectures were connected with these river bandits."
"After all, if an official ship gets into trouble in the territory under the jurisdiction of these officials, they are undoubtedly responsible. However, for so many years, not a single person has reported it. Upon careful investigation, I discovered that not only did these thieves distribute the loot to these officials, but a large portion of the stolen goods were also sent to the capital."
He paused slightly at this point, then added, "The residence of Zhou Mengbin in the capital."
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped, especially Song Yunming, whose face turned pale, because the Zhou Mengbin that Song Jinglan mentioned was the name of his maternal grandfather.
Ignoring the astonishment of the crowd, Song Jinglan gestured for Yueying to bow and enter the court, presenting several thick stacks of account books. Upon seeing this, Eunuch Liu hurriedly stepped forward, picked up the account books, and placed them on the emperor's desk, but the emperor had no interest in examining them.
"Some of these ledgers contain the money that the bandits offered to Zhou Mengbin, while the other part is evidence of Zhou Mengbin's crimes of conspiring with the Second Prince and Consort Chun to buy and sell official positions."
Song Jinglan's expression remained calm and composed, as if he were stating something completely unrelated to him. "The list of those who purchased official positions from Zhou Mengbin is also attached to the ledger. Please check it, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, many officials in the court shrank back and knelt down on the ground with a thud, clearly having confessed without being asked.
Hearing this commotion, Song Yunming's heart pounded even harder. He cursed these people for being so cowardly, but he was also waiting anxiously for the emperor's reaction.
The emperor's face had already turned ashen upon hearing this. He turned his gaze to Song Yunming and said sternly, "Second Prince, is what Prince Jing said true?!"
Even knowing that Song Jinglan's report to the Emperor must have been based on solid evidence, Song Yunming still refused to confess and brazenly replied, "Your subject knows nothing about the above matters!"
"Know nothing?"
Seeing that he still dared to deny the overwhelming evidence, Song Jinglan was somewhat impressed by his stubbornness.
"Zhou Mengbin holds no official position. Without the help of Consort Chun and the Second Prince, how could he have helped others obtain official posts?"
At this point, Song Jinglan changed the subject again, "If the Second Prince is truly innocent, why would he send assassins to my residence in an attempt to destroy evidence?!"
Destroy evidence? Destroy what evidence?
Song Yunming was slightly taken aback, and then another person was brought forward. This person was none other than the assassin that Song Yunming had sent to the Prince Jing's mansion yesterday in an attempt to capture Jiang Yuyue.
As soon as the man was brought to the hall, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed deeply to the emperor. He then hurriedly said, "Yesterday, it was the Second Prince who sent me to Prince Jing's residence..."
At this point, the assassin swallowed hard, then continued, "Go to the mansion and destroy the evidence of the Zhou family accepting bribes..."
Upon hearing this, Song Yunming wanted to immediately burst into a tirade of curses. He had clearly sent people to capture Jiang Yuyue, not to destroy some damn evidence! He had no idea that Song Jinglan was so swift in his actions!
"Is the Imperial Uncle addicted to smearing others?!"
Song Yunming had unspeakable bitterness in his heart, and said through gritted teeth, "Uncle, what evidence do you have to prove that this person is my subordinate? Moreover, this person is covered in wounds, and it is possible that you tortured him into confessing!"
Song Jinglan glanced at him. "I am away from the capital for most of the year. I have only been back for a few days and more than a dozen assassins have already infiltrated the Jingwang Mansion. However, there is no treasure in the Jingwang Mansion, only the evidence of crimes collected in recent days. If these people are not after the evidence, then why are they here?"
"Furthermore, I was also attending the full moon banquet of Princess Huajin's son that day. The assassin broke in when I was not at the manor. If these two things are not related, it would be a strange thing in the world."
This question left Song Yunming speechless, but he still gritted his teeth and refused to admit it.
"It would be one thing if it were just about buying and selling official positions for money."
Song Jinglan chuckled, then abruptly changed the subject, "Your Majesty, I have another matter to report. It concerns the case of the Jiang family, the richest family in Jiangnan, who were brutally murdered last year. I won't go into the details, but I have brought a witness here. Please ask her to come and plead her case to Your Majesty in person."
The emperor nodded in acquiescence, and Eunuch Liu immediately announced loudly, "Summon—"
Jixiang and Jiang Yuyue had been waiting in the side hall for a long time. Just now, they heard the commotion in the court. Jiang Yuyue was also surprised.