Ye Yongjia immediately replied without thinking: "Of course! Since we have this thing as evidence, how long do we have to wait? You and I will go to the palace immediately to face the saint and put Chen Dang to death!"
Seeing that the two of them were in high spirits, Ms. Cui felt a little worried, so she took a step forward, raised her eyes and asked, "What if... what if the Tiger Brand is real?"
"Really? Then..." Ye Yongjia was halfway through his words when his eyes suddenly widened and he realized something was wrong. He slowly sat down again and nodded slightly, "Yes... if the people from Guo Xiang deliberately gave a If the Tiger Card is real, then once we present it to the Emperor, we will be suspected. It is possible that they set up such a trap."
Cui Yi frowned and said: "But this is not conclusive. The opportunity is fleeting. Wouldn't it be a pity if we lose it due to hesitation? What's more, the Tiger Head Card is related to military power and is extremely important. If it was really stolen, the palace would have already spread the news. There’s got to be an uproar.”
"This is not certain," Ye Yongjia shook his head, "Without the Tiger Brand, the court will probably not publicize it, but will conduct a secret investigation."
"So what do you want to do, sir?"
"Stand still for the time being," Ye Yongjia said. "First, wait and see the situation, and second, continue to search for evidence. When everything is ready, we can then implement the plan and we will be sure of victory."
"Okay," Cui Yi lowered his head dejectedly, "What should we do with Lan Yuan? Do we still trust him?"
Ye Yongjia said: "Of course, but be careful. Send a few more people to keep an eye on him."
In the silent night, the palace gate of Ouchi suddenly made a dull sound. As soon as the two door panels opened, a dazzling fire suddenly emerged from the corridor. Seeing a group of forbidden soldiers, they all rushed to the strong horses they were riding. , poured into the barracks.
"What happened?" Shi Xiushen came from the hall and put on his helmet.
A deputy general cupped his fists and reported: "I lost a tiger head card. I don't know how many days have passed."
Shi Xiushen's heart was shaken, and he wandered around frantically, clicking his tongue incessantly. Everyone thought he was thinking about how to retrieve the tiger tag, so they didn't bother him.
In fact, Shi Xiu Shen's intention was not here, but in the cloudy and treacherous court hall. Although as a soldier, he was not clear about the situation of the party struggle, he also noticed the strangeness of this matter. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was a heavy burden on him, as if his single thought would determine the future of Chen Ye and the two parties.
"Follow me and report to the emperor first." Shi Xiushen obviously figured out the result and immediately told the generals.
"Has the news of the theft spread?" The emperor asked calmly after listening to Shi Xiu Shen's statement.
"Weichen keeps secrets very strictly."
"Well, I will only discuss it with you two today," the emperor's eyes turned to Chen Tongpao, who had just been summoned, "Chen Qing, who do you think stole it?"
Chen Tongpao kowtowed cautiously: "I dare not speak ill of my colleagues. I only know that the Tiger Brand is related to the use of troops. It is often sent to the Ministry of War for the deployment of troops and generals. I am afraid that the Ministry of War is the most suspicious."
"I have the same idea as you," the emperor said, "I will send you to supervise the Ministry of War. If you see any unusual movement there, you must report it, do you understand?"
Chen Tongpao responded and said: "I accept the order!" Then he bowed and retreated in accordance with the emperor's order.
Shi Xiushen also planned to leave, and when he walked to the door, he was stopped by a voice: "Wait a minute, I will tell you a few more words."
Shi Xiushen had no choice but to turn around and kneel down: "Please give the emperor a decree."
"Tongpao Chen has gathered a lot of people to follow him. It's hard to say whether he has selfish motives or not." The emperor gently rubbed his sleeves, "I only use him because I see that he is not in harmony with Ye Yongjia, so he will be able to work hard."
Shi Xiushen understood the emperor's intention and said, "I might as well order someone to follow him, but... His Majesty needs to write a handwritten edict."
The emperor smiled happily: "Your idea is good. I will put it into practice tomorrow. Also, you must remember: During this period, he is not allowed to have any contact with people from Hunan."
"I will remember this."
"Everything has been arranged," the emperor lay down lazily and let out a long breath, "I want to see who is the rebellious minister beside me!"
The door to the court room was knocked open by Lan Yuan again, and it was Cui Yi who opened the door again. The officer took off his ankles and closed the door. He just asked, "Why doesn't Mr. Ye see me?"
"Master Ye is not in good health. All the affairs of the Criminal Department are left to me for no other reason. If you have anything to say to me, just say it to him." Cui Yi said as he sat back in front of the case table.
"I thought hard... and came up with another name."
"Who?" Cui Yi was so excited that he accidentally knocked over the pen holder and quickly bent over to pick it up.
"Cun Zhao."
Cui Yi was startled: "He? Is he also related to the Tiger Brand?"
"I heard that he had several interactions with Chang Zhenren in those years, but I didn't witness it with my own eyes, so I didn't have a deep impression." Lan Yuan answered respectfully.
"Okay, you add these words to your confession, and I'll go and interrogate Cunzhao to see if I can pry his mouth open!"
"Wait a minute!" Lan Yuan suddenly grabbed Cui Yi's arm, "Mr. Cui, don't get too excited, you might mess up things. People from Guoxiang are watching here now, and outsiders will be suspicious if they create a big battle. If you don't get too excited, others will be suspicious. Cun Zhao has been imprisoned twice and knows that he will definitely die, but he may not be willing to recruit him."
"Also..." Cui Yi thought of the conversation between him and Ye Yongjia the day before yesterday, and he didn't know how many pairs of eyes were staring at this.
Lan Yuan continued: "I have a plan that can induce him to confess and make sure it is foolproof. You first write a note saying that if you can perform meritorious service, you will be released from prison; then send two confidants to pretend to be from Dali Temple. Sir, summon Cun Zhao to the study and let me meet him. By then, I will have my own words to deceive him. If you are really worried, you can have people eavesdrop outside the door. I will never hide it."
Cui Yi was overjoyed when he heard this. He tore a piece of paper from the pile of waste paper next to him and wrote it exactly as he ordered.
Just when Cui Yi was about to hand it over to him, the latter curled his lips and said with a wry smile: "It's not that the villain is troublesome, it's because he is full of tricks. If it's just that, it's not enough to convince him. Could you please cover it with another one?" Big seal, otherwise... the villain will not be able to use his tricks."
Cui Yi was dubious and looked at him for a while. Seeing that his eyes were firm and not strange at all, he believed it and took out the large seal of the Ministry of Punishment and stamped it deeply.
For the sake of safety, Cui Yi specifically went to ask Ye Yongjia. Ye Yongjia had no doubts and only gave him a few instructions to be on guard and allowed him to go. Cui Yi was then willing to let go and free Lan Yuan from the shackles and shackles. , ordered someone to change him into a suitable cloth, and asked him to sit in the study to have tea and wait as a courtesy.
"It's time to escort the criminal Cun Zhao."
Lan Yuan took a nap for a while, and when he heard the voice, he raised his eyelids, yawned, and a smile gradually appeared on his face: "Okay, I'm sorry to bother you, please go down."
