bookrandom Chapter 372: Bad News Comes One After Another
Chapter 372: Bad News Comes One After Another
Zao Wou-Ki is dead!
Died in the Ministry of Justice prison.
At this moment, the emperor canceled the celebration banquet and ordered a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue.
Everything happened so suddenly, so unexpectedly, and so unbelievable.
Even Chu Ning couldn't help but frown and put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands.
Looking at Liu Shouren who looked anxious, and Ran Ming who looked confused, Chu Ning made a prompt decision:
"Master Liu, please sit down and talk slowly. Ran Ming, you should immediately send someone to inquire about the circumstances of Zhao Wuji's death. Also, send someone to invite the Minister of Justice Ling Haoran to come and tell him that the king has something important to discuss with him."
"Yes!" Ran Ming responded and immediately went down to make arrangements.
At this time, Shen Wanying took the initiative to stand up and said, "Your Highness, Mulan must be tired after traveling all the way back. I will take her downstairs to rest first."
Feng Mulan was about to refuse, but Shen Wanying reached out to stop him.
Since it is a political matter, it is not easy for the two women to get involved. If Chu Ning needs anything, he will naturally look for them.
"Okay, take Princess Feng downstairs to rest first." Chu Ning nodded in agreement.
Although Feng Mulan really wanted to stay and see if she could help in any way, since Shen Wanying had asked, she had nothing to say and could only follow Shen Wanying and leave.
After the two girls left, Chu Ning's face darkened. He looked at Liu Shouren and asked, "Tell me, when did the emperor want to conduct a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue?"
"Two things!"
Liu Shouren's face was full of nervousness. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "The first thing is about this summer's grain tax. Your Majesty wants the Ministry of Revenue to submit a detailed list and send people to various places to check the government warehouses."
This made Chu Ning frown, with a hint of doubt on his face: "This should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Revenue. It is normal for the emperor to investigate."
But Liu Shouren smiled bitterly: "If that were all, I wouldn't be so nervous."
"Oh?"
Chu Ning narrowed his eyes: "So, this is the second thing that worries you?"
"That's right," Liu Shouren sighed, "Your Majesty didn't know where he got the news from, but he knew that the Ministry of Revenue was registering the refugees from various states who were heading to Bingzhou.
For this reason, His Majesty summoned me to Yingwu Palace and gave me a severe lecture, and asked me to give an explanation. "
Regarding household registration?
This matter is so confidential and only very few people know about it. How could my father know about it and start an investigation at this time?
Could it be that the Emperor is trying to balance the forces and doesn't want any one side to become too powerful, so he's deliberately looking for trouble?
The grain in the granary was checked and found to be consistent with the account record, which was nothing serious. However, if the issue of unauthorized household registration was also investigated, the situation would be different.
This is clearly an intentional attempt to cause trouble for the Ministry of Revenue.
Just as the victory news came from the front line and the people of the Chu Palace were rewarded, the next thing they did was to investigate other people in the Chu Palace.
This carrot and stick policy is really powerful!
Thinking of this, Chu Ning took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
The situation is unclear now. It is not clear whether this was done by the emperor himself or someone was instigating it behind the scenes. We cannot act rashly.
Besides, even if you want to take action, you have to find an opponent.
But now we don’t even know our opponent, we can’t just become the enemy of the emperor, right?
"Master Liu, do you think that this is the intention of the emperor to suppress the Ministry of Revenue, or is there someone else behind this?"
Chu Ning had no idea, so he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down before asking.
"This……"
Liu Shouren hesitated for a moment and said cautiously: "It's hard to say. Your Majesty always likes to balance the forces of all parties. After the great victory on the front line this time, His Majesty may be worried that your Highness will dominate the market, so he took action against the Ministry of Revenue.
But it is not ruled out that some people are worried that you, the King of Chu, are developing too fast. The great victory on the front line has allowed the other side to see the strength and potential of Bingzhou, so they secretly encouraged Your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue. "
It can be seen that even Liu Shouren, who has been in the officialdom for a long time, cannot make a conclusion.
The sudden change was beyond everyone's expectations and disrupted their plans.
Chu Ning frowned and stood up, pacing back and forth on the spot, pondering for a moment before making up his mind: "How about this, you go check first to see whether the order of the emperor was his own idea or someone else instigated it behind the scenes.
As for the investigation of the granary by the emperor, you should do your best to cooperate. As for the issue of the refugee registration, I will personally go to the palace to explain it to the emperor."
The refugees were won after a military order was issued. Isn’t it reasonable to register these people?
Although I don’t know how this matter was leaked, it shouldn’t be a big problem.
After all, there was a great victory on the front line, so even the emperor couldn't disobey the military order, right?
At this moment, Liu Shouren breathed a sigh of relief: "It would be best if Your Highness could help. I will make arrangements right away. Goodbye."
Chu Ning looked at Liu Shouren's departing back, a thoughtful look on his face.
Things happened tonight were very strange. Not only did something happen in the Ministry of Revenue, but something also happened in the Ministry of Justice. This was too much of a coincidence.
It seems that these two things cannot be linked together, but they happened at the same time and involved the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice.
These two yamen will need to contribute in the upcoming imperial examinations.
But if we say that these two things are connected, one is the death of the prince of Zhao State, and the other is the country's own investigation of the Ministry of Revenue. What is the connection between them?
Chu Ning rubbed his temple, knowing that he had met his match.
This time, the opponent's attack came quickly and urgently, and should not be underestimated.
The Ministry of Revenue was so obviously targeted that it could not be the emperor's deliberate suppression. There must be other calculations involved.
Half an hour passed while Chu Ning was lost in thought, until he came to his senses when he heard footsteps outside the hall.
Ling Haoran, the Minister of Justice, wearing a red official uniform, entered the hall with an anxious look on his face.
"See His Royal Highness the King of Chu!"
"Master Ling, there is no need to be so polite!"
Chu Ning regained his normal look and gestured, "Lord Ling, please sit down and talk. I want to know how Zhao Wuji died."
Ling Haoran's stern face showed a hint of helplessness: "This matter is really strange. The man was originally detained in there, but after the jailer's inspection in the afternoon, he was found lying on the ground.
The coroner has examined the body and found no external injuries. The cause of death is beyond description."
No external injuries?
Chu Ning frowned: "There are no external injuries. Could it be possible that he was poisoned?"
Ling Haoran's face changed drastically: "Your Highness, Prince Chu, you can't say that. Zhao Wuji was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice. How could he have died of poisoning?"
Chu Ning shook his head: "It's hard to say, before everything is clarified, all speculations may come true.
Since there are no external injuries, I suggest that you ask the coroner to perform an autopsy to see if there are any residual toxins in the body."
But these words made Ling Haoran embarrassed.
"Your Highness, if it were anyone else, I would have asked the coroner to perform an autopsy, but Zhao Wuji is the third prince of the Zhao Kingdom!"
Ling Haoran was embarrassed: "Dissecting this man's body would be tantamount to humiliating the State of Zhao. This would completely infuriate the State of Zhao and cause it to fight to the death with my dynasty."
In a word, Zao Wou-Ki's identity was too special to be dissected.
Chu Ning was about to persuade him when a shrill voice came from outside the hall: "Where is Princess Mingyue? His Majesty has ordered that Zhao Wuji is dead. Please go to the palace to discuss this matter."
As soon as these words were spoken, Chu Ning's face changed, and he flashed and ran out of the hall.
Looking at the eunuch chief eunuch Zhao Ming who came to deliver the imperial edict, Chu Ning asked in a deep voice: "Chief eunuch Zhao, the emperor invited Miss Feng to the palace. Does he think that Zhao Wuji's death was related to her?"
Zhao Ming said indifferently, "Your Highness, I am only responsible for delivering orders. I dare not guess what the emperor's will is.
It is getting late, please ask Your Highness the King of Chu to let Princess Mingyue follow me back to the palace."
Chu Ning's face looked a little ugly.
First it was the Ministry of Revenue, then Feng Mulan.
This time the opponent is coming with great force!