All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

Page 179

"I have already dispatched the Shadow Guards to secretly investigate these channels and routes, and the matter of smuggling within the Imperial Treasury is indeed true!"

"The millions of taels of silver smuggled into Northern Qi every year all went into the pockets of Li Yunrui and Li Chengze!"

"As for what they did with the money, that requires further investigation."

Upon hearing Li Chang'an's words, the Second Prince could no longer remain kneeling and immediately took two steps back and knelt down.

"Your Majesty! Your son is innocent!"

The prince's eyes darted around wildly. Although he was laughing hysterically inside, he showed no outward emotion.

He secretly observed Emperor Qing's expressionless face, then decisively stood up.

"Your Majesty! Based on my understanding of my second brother, there is absolutely no way he would do such a thing!"

"This...this...there must be some misunderstanding!"

Li Chengze's lips twitched violently. He knew very well that he could never admit to this, no matter what.

Smuggling with enemy countries and embezzling funds from the imperial treasury are both serious crimes!

Moreover, where did all this money go? This can't stand up to scrutiny!

We absolutely cannot back down now, hoping that His Majesty will consider the Princess's feelings and not escalate the conflict.

"Your Majesty, your son and the Princess have never done anything to betray the Qing Kingdom."

"The intelligence data from the Embroidered Uniform Guard might be intended to incite internal strife in Daqing!"

"I hope your Majesty will understand clearly!"

Emperor Qing stared coldly at Li Chengze, and after a long while, he turned to Li Chang'an and asked, "Are there any witnesses or physical evidence?"

Li Chang'an was well aware of the current situation. If he claimed to have witnesses and physical evidence, then he would have to hand over the witnesses and physical evidence.

Once witnesses and physical evidence are handed over, the initiative is no longer in one's own hands.

Emperor Qing could even decide whether to pursue the matter further based on his own will.

Li Chang'an knew that Emperor Qing would never investigate.

Therefore, witnesses and physical evidence cannot be handed over.

Li Chang'an has his own methods to maximize the role of witnesses and physical evidence.

What Li Chang'an needs to do now is to strike at the heart of the matter, cut the Gordian knot, and squeeze Li Chengze out.

The little alpaca has been completely manipulated and controlled by Li Yunrui; the best course of action is to get out of there as soon as possible.

“Your Majesty, without Your Majesty’s explicit order, I only sent people to investigate, but did not collect any evidence.”

Upon hearing this, Li Chengze's wildly beating heart finally began to calm down.

The lack of empirical evidence is actually a good thing; there's still time!

But who has the key witnesses who disappeared from Shijia Town?

If it was Prince Yong who arrested him, why is it now said that there is no concrete evidence?

Prince Yong publicly accused the eldest princess and himself of smuggling with an enemy country, but failed to provide any concrete evidence. What exactly did he mean by this?

Could it be that the intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard must be submitted to His Majesty, so he reminded himself in advance to take precautions?

However, if it's a well-intentioned reminder, why not say it privately earlier?

The Crown Prince also realized this, and Prince Yong was probably reminding Li Chengze to destroy the evidence as soon as possible!

The eldest prince, the third prince, and Fan Xian all wore expressions of mere spectators, completely bewildered by the situation.

Emperor Qing solemnly said, "Prince Yong has done very well. Whether for the public good or for personal reasons, for the country or for his family, the smuggling of goods from the Imperial Treasury will not be tolerated!"

"Prince Yong, formally transfer the intelligence on the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the Supervisory Council, and request Director Chen to immediately conduct a thorough investigation into this matter!"

Li Chengze swallowed nervously, but also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It takes time for the Shadow Guards to hand over intelligence to the Surveillance Bureau, and he and Li Yunrui still have time!

His Majesty's words may seem harsh, but they are merely for show; how could he possibly punish him and his aunt?

After Emperor Qing finished speaking, he turned to Li Chang'an and asked, "Prince Yong, is there anything else you wish to say?"

Li Chang'an decided to get this matter done first, one thing at a time, and not to try to do too much at once.

"Your Majesty, not at the moment."

Emperor Qing said with satisfaction, "Very good! His Highness Prince Yong has put aside his own family for the greater good, and I am very pleased!"

"Don't be nervous, everyone. Since the second son is confident that he hasn't done anything wrong, let's continue eating."

Emperor Qing's face showed no emotion, and he finished the meal chatting and laughing.

After Emperor Qing left, Li Chengze rushed to Li Chang'an and asked, "Uncle Yong, what exactly is this plan?"

Li Chang'an patted Li Chengze on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Child, I'm saving you."

This statement confused Li Chengze even more, but it also convinced the Crown Prince that Li Chang'an was helping Li Chengze.

The queen's bedroom.

Because the empress was afraid of the dark, the place was brightly lit.

Li Chengqian took off his shoes and walked around exaggeratedly on the wooden floor, jumping and skipping.

The empress suddenly changed her expression and took out several portraits of maids from behind her and threw them on the ground.

"what are these?"

"Did you paint these pictures?!"

"Should I ask you again, who exactly are these faceless portraits depicting?"

Upon seeing these paintings, Li Chengqian immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

"Your subject! I'm just painting for amusement..."

The Empress had clearly guessed most of it, and she said angrily, "You are the Crown Prince!"

"For the sake of your position as heir apparent, I have abandoned my revenge against Fan Xian! I agree to let you befriend Fan Xian!"

"But look at what you've been doing!"

Although Li Chengqian was afraid, he knew very well that the person in front of him was his mother, who would always stand by him.

He stood up and burned all the portraits in his hands.

When the Empress saw that the Crown Prince had burned the portrait, she thought that he would know what he was doing, so she stopped pursuing the matter of the portrait.

“Prince Yong has reported Li Chengze. This is a good opportunity. We cannot let Li Chengze destroy the evidence first.”

Li Chengqian said with a gloomy face, "It doesn't matter if it's destroyed. Just slaughter the town and then burn it down. That would be the cleanest solution."

The Empress asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why is that?"

Li Chengqian bluntly stated, "In this world, besides a madman, who would do such a cruel and heinous thing?"

"The second son is in cahoots with his aunt. Everyone knows how crazy his aunt is!"

“Once this happens, everyone will think that it was Aunt who did it, and that she was covering up for the second son!”

The Empress sighed and then said, "Just like the incident with Wan'er who drugged him, Li Yunrui is left speechless. Who told her to do so many bad things in the past!"

Li Chengqian chuckled, "It was that incident that inspired this brilliant idea."

The Empress gave her son a deep look, "You truly are the one who resembles His Majesty the most!"

In the eyes of the Empress and the Crown Prince, the matter of Lin Wan'er administering aphrodisiacs was likely framed by His Majesty against Li Yunrui.

Guangxin Palace.

Li Yunrui's eyebrows furrowed as he listened to the female official talk about the family banquet.

"To dare to openly touch the throne, and even sit next to His Majesty! How incredibly arrogant!"

"Has Li Chang'an taken the wrong medicine these past six months? He's become increasingly arrogant, doing things that so many people want to do but dare not!"

"Truly worthy of being my brother!"

At this moment, another female official entered the palace and reported the latest news about Li Chengze.

"Your Highness, the Second Prince has sent word that all the stockpiled goods and personnel in Shijia Town have been evacuated."

“The smuggling trade with Northern Qi has been suspended for a period of time, and all personnel have been dispersed and hidden.”

"However, the people and accounts that disappeared before are extremely dangerous. Once exposed, they will lead to utter ruin!"

After listening, Li Yunrui clicked her tongue and sighed, "I wonder whose work this is. Even I can't guess."

"Chen Pingping? The Crown Prince? Or... Li Chang'an?"

The next day, at Baoyue Tower.

Several burly guards knocked urgently on the door of the innkeeper's room.

However, it was the gentle and frail second manager, Sang Wen, who opened the door, not the strong and shrewish first manager, Yuan Meng.

At this time, the head manager, Yuan Meng, had been secretly arrested by the Luo Wang organization and was giving a statement in preparation for impeaching Li Chengze.

"Master Sang, something terrible has happened! Baoyue Tower is surrounded by the Shadow Guards!"