Late at night, on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, a fleet of four or five large ships and several small boats was slowly sailing on the water.
This fleet was the fleet responsible for escorting Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing back to Beijing.
Counting from the moment they left Hangzhou, they had been sailing along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal day and night for four or five days.
After another day or two of sailing, the fleet will reach South Zhili.
Although they knew that returning to Beijing like this would not end well, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing still held on to the last bit of luck and embarked on the road back to Beijing.
While they were still in Hangzhou, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing unified their voices.
They first confirmed the fact that Ma Ningyuan committed suicide out of fear of crime, and placed most of the responsibility on the jailers responsible for guarding Ma Ningyuan.
As for the purchase of raw silk from the people, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing finally decided to tell the truth after repeated discussions.
After all, no one expected that Zhao Zhenji had the right to kill first and report later, given by His Majesty. If those in the court did not agree with this statement, they would have no choice but to die.
After all, everyone is a grasshopper on a rope now. If this happens, no one can escape!
At this moment, Yan Maoqing was drinking wine alone in the cabin, with several dishes of side dishes placed on the table.
"Xu Jie, this shameless person, just wants to give me this little benefit and wants to risk my life. Bah!"
"If I had known things would turn out like this, I might as well not have taken a trip into this muddy water!"
After Yan Maoqing finished complaining, he raised his head and drank all the wine in the glass.
After drinking a few glasses of wine, Yan Maoqing suddenly felt that everything in the cabin had become unreal, his whole body was spinning, and his limbs became weak.
Yan Maoqing has been in the officialdom for a long time. After experiencing the initial panic, he quickly realized: "No... it's not good. There is something wrong with this wine. Someone has drugged it in it. Could it be that someone wants to silence him!"
When Yan Maoqing thought of this, his pupils suddenly shrank, and then, an indescribable fear surrounded him.
"No, we have to make some noise quickly and let the guards outside notice it. Otherwise, I, Yan Maoqing, will die here inexplicably today!"
Yan Maoqing could feel that his consciousness was gradually becoming blurred.
Then, relying on his will to survive, he used the last bit of strength in his body and relied on inertia to knock over the wine bottle on the table.
For some reason, the jug fell from the table and did not break. Instead, it made a dull sound, and the wine inside spilled onto the floor.
After doing this, Yan Maoqing was no longer able to fight against the drowsy sleepiness. He just lay down on the table and lost consciousness.
Not long after that, there was only a "squeak" sound, and the cabin door was pushed open quietly.
Then, several people with their faces covered came in. Judging from their clothes, they should be the guards on the ship.
After leading people into the cabin, their eyes were attracted to Yan Maoqing, who was lying unconscious on the table.
Seeing this, the leader waved his hand and commanded in a deep voice: "Do it!"
After the words fell, the remaining people stepped forward cautiously. While trying not to make any noise, they helped Yan Maoqing up from the table and brought him to the deck.
Since it was already late at night, there was no one on the deck, and no one could be seen even on the nearby ships.
Afterwards, only a few people were seen carefully bringing Yan Maoqing, who had fallen into a coma, to the edge of the deck.
Then with a gentle push, there was a 'plop' sound, and the unconscious Yan Maoqing fell into the dark water.
"Go back and clean up the traces of the scene!"
"Yes, sir!"
…
One night passed in the blink of an eye, and the next day, the sun peeked out from the clouds. It was foreseeable that today would be a good day.
When Yan Maoqing's personal bodyguard carefully opened the cabin door as usual and went in to check on Yan Maoqing's situation, he suddenly discovered that Yan Maoqing was not in the cabin.
"No, at this time, the adults should still be sleeping, right?"
Thinking of this, Yan Maoqing's personal guard suddenly had an extremely bad premonition in his heart.
Then, I saw him take a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and comforted himself by saying: "My lord has been in a bad mood recently. He must have been wandering somewhere, so let's go and look for it on the boat!"
After Yan Maoqing's personal bodyguard finished speaking, he began to search for traces of Yan Maoqing on the ship.
However, when this personal guard carefully searched all the places where Yan Maoqing might be, he still found no trace of Yan Maoqing.
A creepy feeling filled his body and mind: "No, something happened!"
Soon, the news of Yan Maoqing's disappearance spread, and everyone became panicked and joined the search for Yan Maoqing.
After all, Yan Maoqing's current identity is not just as simple as Zuo Fudu Censor.
Yan Maoqing was one of several ministers who rushed to Zhejiang to investigate Ma Ningyuan's case in accordance with His Majesty's order. Even if it is described as an imperial envoy, it is not an exaggeration at all!
But such a living person inexplicably disappeared on his way back to the capital.
When Wang Ting learned the news about Yan Maoqing's disappearance from his subordinates, he felt trembling all over and breaking out in cold sweat.
Endless fear surrounded him, and he could not escape at all.
After calming down, Wang Ting's first reaction was that someone had silenced Yan Maoqing, but who did it, Wang Ting was at a loss.
"Who is so bold as to dare to attack Yan Maoqing? No matter what Yan Maoqing says, he is also the left deputy censor of the capital!"
"In addition, to be able to silence a court official so secretly, this person's power in the court must be unimaginable!"
"This time it's Yan Maoqing. Will it be my turn next time?"
Wang Ting couldn't help but shudder when he thought of this. Then, Wang Ting reacted, ordered the ship to dock, and ordered people to report the news of Yan Maoqing's disappearance to the court through the inn at an accelerated speed of 800 miles.
Not only that, Wang Ting also sent a small boat to search for Yan Maoqing's body along the river where he came from.
At the same time, Wang Ting also strengthened his own vigilance. The meals delivered to the cabin every day were subject to layer-by-layer inspection by the guards. Without his permission, no one was allowed to approach his cabin.
Now that Yan Maoqing has disappeared, the fleet can no longer proceed along the canal in the direction of the capital as planned.
After that, Wang Ting revealed his identity as the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue, asked for help from the local government, and mobilized the people who relied on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to make a living to join the search for Yan Maoqing.
In addition, the investigation into Yan Maoqing's disappearance has been launched intensively. The guards responsible for guarding Yan Maoqing have been ruthlessly interrogated. Despite this, not much has been gained.
Hard work paid off, and after several days of searching, Yan Maoqing's body was finally found.
After an autopsy, Yan Maoqing's cause of death was found to be due to drowning.
After receiving the autopsy report issued by the widow, Wang Ting immediately ordered people to inform the court of the news that Yan Maoqing had drowned.
…
On the other side, in the capital, Yan's study room.
It was getting late, and the orange dim light emitted by the candlelight in the room clearly illuminated Yan Song's figure. At this moment, Yan Song was browsing the books in his hand with great concentration.
Not long after, there was a slight knock on the door. Then, without waiting for Yan Song to respond, there was only a "squeak", and the door of the room was pushed open, and the person who came was Yan Shifan.
Seeing Yan Shifan's arrival, Yan Song put the books in his hands aside, raised his eyebrows, and asked: "How is it? How are things going?"
When Yan Shifan heard this, he immediately leaned down and said respectfully: "To my father, everything goes well. He, Yan Maoqing, has become a confused and drowned ghost!"
After Yan Song heard the news from Yan Shifan, he obviously relaxed, and a hint of darkness flashed in his eyes.
Then, he looked in the direction of Yan Shifan, nodded slightly, and then gave instructions.
"Well, remember not to take it lightly next, you must deal with it from beginning to end, do you understand?"
"Yes, father, the child understands!"
When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, he immediately lowered his head and responded without thinking.
After that, Yan Song lowered his eyes, looked at the ground casually, and then ordered: "Tell them that they can start taking action!"
When Yan Shifan heard this, he immediately leaned down and responded in a deep voice: "Yes, father, I will send someone to inform them of the news immediately!"
Then, hesitation appeared on Yan Shifan's face, and he mustered up the courage to speak cautiously.
"Father...Father, it seems that the imperial court's triennial plan is about to come up, and Hu Zongxian is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Do you think you should find an opportunity to invite him to the house..."
Before Yan Shifan finished speaking, Yan Song waved his hand to stop him from continuing.
"Okay, don't talk about this anymore, I have my own sense of discretion!"
After hearing Yan Song's words, Yan Shifan didn't seem to give up. He gritted his teeth and said bravely: "But...but, father, our people..."
When Yan Song heard this, he immediately looked at Yan Shifan with a look that hated iron but not steel, and scolded him.
"You short-sighted idiot, this is the imperial court's big plan every three years. In the past, you were also responsible for the Ministry of Civil Affairs, so you could still do something about it, but now, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs is Hu Zongxian!"
"Hu Zongxian has just been appointed Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and it coincides with the imperial court's triennial plan. It is the time when performance is needed. If you ask him to help at this time, isn't it equivalent to harming him?"
When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment and then continued.
"Besides, before this, Hu Zongxian had already let the news out. This assessment will mainly be based on the official's performance during his term of office, his revealed talent, character, age, and competency."
"Not only did he thank guests behind closed doors, but even those officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs who were qualified to participate in the judging also chose to thank guests behind closed doors and not interact with others."
"Only by treating everyone equally can he, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, be able to continue his work for a long time. As long as Hu Zongxian is still the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, no one will dare to take risks and attack us easily. Do you understand?"
After listening to Yan Song's analysis, Yan Shifan's face flashed with a look of hindsight. He lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "Yes, father, the child understands!"
Hearing this, Yan Song looked Yan Shifan up and down, waved his hand, and then said: "Okay, it's getting late. You should go down and rest early!"
"Yes, father, please leave now!"
After Yan Shifan finished speaking, he bowed to Yan Song and left immediately.
After Yan Shifan left, an inaudible sigh came from the study, and this sigh came from Yan Song.
At this moment, Yan Song's face was full of worry, because he found that Yan Shifan was still much the same as before. He only cared about immediate interests and could not see the long-term things. He was the smartest person but had no idea about the big picture. .
"Well, if Hu Zongxian was my Yan Song's son, I wouldn't have to worry so much!"
…
The night passed in the blink of an eye, and early in the morning, when the officials of the Inspectorate came to the duty room as usual, they found that many impeachment notices had suddenly appeared.
And these impeachment memorials were sent, without exception, to impeach Yan Maoqing.
Although the impeachment against Yan Maoqing has not stopped since he was sent to Zhejiang by the imperial court to investigate Ma Ningyuan's case, this is the first time such intensive impeachment has been carried out like today!
Afterwards, an official from the Supervisory Council opened one of the impeachment memorials and began to browse its contents.
The content of the impeachment memorial made him even more worried. The impeachment memorial put all the 13.7 million taels of silver that the Ministry of Works had lost last year on his head, Yan Maoqing.
It was mentioned that it was because Yan Maoqing had wantonly embezzled and filled his own pockets during this process that he had caused such a serious deficit.
In addition, crimes such as embezzling money to build dams, passing off inferior goods, bullying subordinates and flattering superiors, etc., have all been placed on Yan Maoqing's head. Even some old cases are also related to Yan Maoqing.
It seems that all the bad things in the court are caused by Yan Maoqing alone.
These officials of the Supervisory Council knew that the matter was not simple, so they chose to report it step by step. In a short time, these memorials to impeach Yan Maoqing were sent to the hands of Youdu Yushi Hairui.
In the room, Hai Rui looked at the impeachment memorials sent by his subordinates and piled on the desk with a look of suspicion on his face.
Hai Rui has roughly browsed through the contents. In his opinion, only a small part of these impeachments against Yan Maoqing are true and credible.
As for all the 13.7 million taels of silver lost by the Ministry of Industry last year being attributed to Yan Maoqing, this is completely nonsense in Hai Rui's opinion!
You know, the Minister of Industry is Yan Shifan. How could he, Yan Maoqing, have the courage to go against Yan Shifan?
Not to mention the money from the Ministry of Industry and Finance, even if Yan Maoqing really has the courage, when the time comes, Yan Shifan will be able to take care of him without the need for His Majesty to take action.
"It seems that Yan Maoqing is being used as a scapegoat!"
After Hai Rui finished sighing, he picked up the teacup on the side and took a sip.
But what Hai Rui couldn't understand was why those in the court were so impatient to take action?
If calculated based on time, Yan Maoqing should still be on his way back to the capital now.
Afterwards, Hai Rui took out a few letters from the impeachment memorials on the desk. After confirming the contents, he called his subordinates and gave instructions: "Send these few impeachment memorials to His Majesty!"
Ever since Ma Ningyuan's last case, Hai Rui had made up his mind to send someone to inform His Majesty of any news from the Inspectorate in the future.
Afterwards, the subordinate official summoned by Hai Rui solemnly took the impeachment memorial and said in a deep voice: "Yes, sir!"
After the subordinate official left, Hai Rui looked away, called his subordinates, pointed to the memorials piled up on the desk, and ordered: "Follow the procedure!"
"As you command, my lord!"
…
On the other side, the Forbidden City, the Cabinet.
The situation in the cabinet is not much different from before.
At this moment, everyone was sitting in their respective positions, processing the memorials sent by subordinate officials in an orderly manner.
When the memorial was almost finished, everyone stopped and started chatting with each other.
As we chatted, the topic inevitably came to the court's triennial plans.
Then, Gao Gong looked in the direction of Hu Zongxian, smiled and joked: "Mr. Hu Ge, I heard that in recent times, the people who come to visit have almost broken the threshold of your home?"
Hearing this, Hu Zongxian's face was full of helplessness. He picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup of hot tea. Then he responded: "Oh, yes, I don't even have time to relax after I go back every day! "
"Even if we say thank you behind closed doors, we can't stop those who come to visit us!"
Zhang Juzheng, who was standing aside, heard this. After thinking about it for a moment, he immediately comforted him by saying, "This is normal. After all, the imperial court's triennial big plan is about to involve the promotion and retention of foreign officials. Those who have the connections will do it." , we must try our best to pass this assessment!"
Then, as if Zhang Juzheng suddenly remembered something, he looked in the direction of Hu Zongxian and continued to add: "Mr. Hu Ge, you might as well learn from the practices of Hai Rui, the censor of Youdu, and keep a few vicious dogs at home!"
“In this way, there should be far fewer people coming to visit us!”
After Hu Zongxian heard Zhang Juzheng's proposal, a look of interest appeared on his face. While he was still thinking about the feasibility of it, there was a rush of footsteps outside the cabinet.
Not long after, a subordinate official walked in quickly. After entering the cabinet, the subordinate official subconsciously looked in the direction of Yan Song and Xu Jie, leaned down, and reported in a deep voice.
"Mr. Geng Ge, here is the 800-mile express sent by Wang Ting, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue!"
"What, eight hundred miles urgent!"
When everyone heard this, their faces were full of shock that could not be concealed. After all, the Eight Hundred Miles Emergency could only be used when encountering major situations.
"What happened? Could it be that something was exposed?"
At this moment, countless conjectures flashed through Xu Jie's mind, but he rejected them one by one.
At this moment, Yan Song's voice sounded from the side, bringing Xu Jie back to reality: "Well, bring it over!"
Later, Yan Song took the envelope from the subordinate official's hand, opened it, and read the contents.
After Yan Song finished browsing the above content, his face was full of disbelief, as if he had lost all his strength, and he fell back weakly on the chair, muttering to himself: "It's over, something big happened!"
Xu Jie on the side saw this situation, a look of urgency flashed on his face, looked in the direction of Yan Song, and asked: "Mr. Yan Ge, what happened?"
"Here, see for yourself, Yan Maoqing is missing!"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he handed the letter in his hand to Xu Jie.
"What, Yan Maoqing is missing!"
After Xu Jie learned the news from Yan Song, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his face was full of shock that could not be concealed.
Then, Xu Jie took the letter from Yan Song's hand and read out the contents.
"When the fleet was about to sail to South Zhili, Yan Maoqing disappeared on the ship. It was initially suspected that he accidentally fell into the water while drunk. We are currently working with the local officials to search for Yan Maoqing's whereabouts along the river..."
After Xu Jie read roughly what was written on the letter paper, the entire cabinet fell into a dead silence.
After all, Yan Maoqing's identity is not simple. As the Zuo Deputy Capital Censor and a dignified third-rank official, he was ordered to rush to Zhejiang to investigate Ma Ningyuan's case, but on his way back to Beijing, he mysteriously disappeared!
And according to the description in the letter, Yan Maoqing is probably in danger!
"Could it be that Yan Maoqing found out something and was silenced on his way back to Beijing?"
Xu Jie thought so, an inexplicable look flashed in his eyes, and then he glanced at Yan Song calmly, trying to get some clues from his face.
In Xu Jie's view, the only person in the government and the public who could silence a dignified third-rank official of the imperial court without anyone noticing was Yan Song!
Yan Song noticed Xu Jie's eyes on him, and he knew that Xu Jie would secretly doubt him.
But suspicion is suspicion. As long as there is not enough evidence, no one can say that it was Yan Song who killed Yan Maoqing!
Afterwards, Yan Song calmed down, looked around, faced everyone, and asked: "Everyone, what should I do next when this happened?"
As soon as Yan Song finished speaking, Xu Jie on the side responded without thinking: "This matter is of great importance. We should report it to the Holy Master immediately!"
"Well, what Mr. Xu Ge said makes sense. I have to inform His Majesty about this as soon as possible!"
"Well, you're right, let's set off without further ado!"
Xu Jie's proposal quickly received unanimous approval from others present.
Afterwards, after everyone reached a consensus, they headed in the direction of Qianqing Palace. (End of chapter)
