"I gave it away once before. Didn't I make dumplings today? So I gave some to the Seventh Prince."
Meng Yue coughed softly again as she spoke: "I wrapped it myself. The gift is light on the gift but the affection is heavy on the matter."
Before Shen Hua could speak again, he frowned, pointed at Shen Hua's red eyes and nose and asked, "What's going on? Where's Brother Xu?"
"He was taken away by people from the Ministry of Accounts, saying that he had made false accounts and was greedy for the money from the money department." Li Qiao explained briefly, then pointed to the gate of the seventh prince's mansion and asked: "Since the seventh prince is here, how about we Go in and ask to see the Seventh Prince."
"Is this happening? It must be a misunderstanding! How could Brother Xu be so interested in the money from Fanyinchu!"
After Meng Yue was stunned, she couldn't help but stamp her feet, ridiculous!
"Hurry, hurry, the seventh prince is about to enter the palace for the dinner." He turned around and walked quickly up the steps in front of the seventh prince's mansion.
The guards in front of the Seventh Prince's Mansion had heard the conversation between the three of them, and one of them had already entered the Mansion to report to the Seventh Prince.
Soon, Li Qiao, Chen Hua and Meng Yue met the seventh prince.
The seventh prince was dressed neatly and was about to enter the palace to attend the family banquet of the Sheng family. After hearing this, he told the three of them not to panic. There was still some time before the family banquet and he could go to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Today is New Year's Eve. It stands to reason that except for some yamen that cannot take a holiday, such as the street patrol envoys and the Imperial Guards who are responsible for the security of Shengjing, the remaining departments and ministries have already had a holiday.
But officials from the Ministry of Revenue are actually checking the accounts today?
What accounts should be checked on New Year’s Eve?
If you work hard like this, there will be monsters when things go wrong.
The seventh prince took Li Qiao and Meng Yue to the Ministry of Household Affairs - Shen Hua was a family member and could not enter the inner city under normal circumstances, so he could only wait at the gate of the inner city.
The three of them arrived at the household department, but there was no one there, only two guards on duty.
The seventh prince called the two officers over to inquire. It turned out that before the three of them arrived, Zhang, the head of the Household Affairs Office, Zhu Yuanwailang, the boss of the Fan Bank Department, and two other junior officials from the Fan Bank Department had already arrived. Xu Ying was handed over to the Ministry of Justice.
Xu Ying is a seventh-rank official. Although he is a sesame official in the realm of Shengjing, he is indeed the seventh-rank official appointed by Sheng Hong. Now even if the people of the Ministry of Revenue find out that he has made false accounts, they have no right to use it. Lynching.
The people from the Ministry of Husbandry could only take the evidence and hand Xu Ying over to the Ministry of Punishments, who would temporarily imprison her until she could be tried again a few years later.
Li Qiao frowned after hearing what the officer said.
Xu Ying would definitely not plead guilty to the charge of falsifying accounts, but even so, the few junior officials in the Ministry of Revenue actually sent him to the Ministry of Punishment?
This is too anxious!
The Seventh Prince also had a serious look on his face: "Even if Xu Ying is admitted to the Criminal Department, he will only be detained. Don't worry, you two, he will not suffer any physical pain."
"Let's go to the Criminal Department quickly. Forget it, I'll go first on horseback. You guys can follow."
After saying these words, the seventh prince turned and left.
Ordinary people do not have the right to ride carriages or ride horses in the inner city. The people from the Hubu Department must have escorted Shen Ying on foot. If he could run faster on horseback, he might be able to stop Xu Ying before she entered the Punishment Department.
He naturally believed in Xu Ying. Being able to become close friends with Li Qiao and Meng Yue meant that Xu Ying's character was absolutely fine.
Since he is a responsible person, it is best not to join the Ministry of Punishment. As a scholar, he should not be frightened by the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
The Seventh Prince mounted his horse and rushed to the Criminal Department, while Li Qiao Mengyue followed closely behind at a trot.
The Xingbu Yamen is in the inner city, but far away from the palace. The Xingbu has a large prison. If the criminals inside escape, it may threaten the safety of many nobles in the palace. Therefore, the Xingbu is far from a popular department like the Household Department. Not a small distance.
But they are all in the inner city. If you walk faster, you can get there in about two-quarters of an hour.
When Li Qiao and Meng Yue arrived at the entrance of the criminal department, the seventh prince was nowhere to be seen, and of course, Xu Ying was nowhere to be seen.
Meng Yue worked here, and he led Li Qiao, a familiar person, to the prison of the Criminal Department.
Meng Yue is the head of the Prison Department of the Ministry of Punishment. She is responsible for inspecting prisoners in the Ministry of Punishment and managing a group of jailers. Before today, Meng Yue never expected that Xu Ying would appear in the prison where he patrolled daily. .
The Seventh Prince arrived a little late, and the people from the Household Department had completed the handover procedures with the people from the Criminal Department, and Xu Ying was already in the prison.
However, because Xu Ying is an official, he does not have to suffer the physical pain before the trial.
When Meng Yue and Li Qiao came to his cell door, he was talking to the seventh prince.
On New Year's Eve, the three friends actually met in a place like this. Xu Ying looked at Li Qiao and Meng Yue, first smiled helplessly, and then sighed: "Brother Meng, Brother Li, please comfort me later." Paint it soon, brother, I’ll be fine.”
"Okay." Li Qiao nodded lightly; "I will take Brother Hua home later and let him stay at my house for the next few days."
The eldest brother of the Shen family has gone home. If Xu Ying cannot go home, then only Xiaoqiu and several servants will accompany Shen Hua during the New Year.
But the Xu family is in the capital.
The Xu family regards Xu Ying as their lifeblood. Now that Xu Ying is in prison, the Xu family will definitely go crazy against Shen Hua.
Therefore, he had to take Shen Hua back to his home.
"Thank you, Brother Li." Xu Ying bowed her hands towards Li Qiao.
Li Qiao forced a smile: "It should be."
If it hadn't been for him, Xu Ying wouldn't have been in jail on New Year's Eve.
"I just asked Xu Ying. He said that he was interrogated by Zhu Yuanwailang from the Ministry of Accounts just now. They took out the account books and said that Xu Ying relied on false accounting. In just three months, A total of one thousand three hundred and sixty-seven taels of silver were spent."
"Xu Ying did not admit it. But the person named Zhu is Xu Ying Shangfeng, and he produced evidence. The Ministry of Punishments can only follow the procedures."
"The Ministry of Punishment is currently on holiday, and he will not officially go to court until after the Lantern Festival after the New Year. Before that, Xu Ying will have to stay in the jail of the Ministry of Punishment."
The seventh prince frowned as he spoke, looked at Li Qiao and said, "I know you are very anxious, but today is New Year's Eve, and my father and grandfather are waiting for us to enter the palace for the family banquet. At this festive moment, I don’t recommend using this matter to affect their mood.”
"According to my father's habit, after the third day of the Lunar New Year, he will start to deal with government affairs. Please wait for a few days, and I will mention this matter to my father on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year."
"Before the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Ying can only stay here. But don't worry, the Criminal Department is my territory, and I will not let Xu Ying be wronged."
After hearing this, Li Qiao bowed deeply to the Seventh Prince: "I'll trouble you."
Xu Ying and Meng Yue also quickly thanked the seventh prince.
The seventh prince waved his hand: "This is what I should do. The Criminal Department is responsible for this case. As the head of the Criminal Department, I should clear Xu Ying's innocence."
All princes who serve in the six ministries are called principals, regardless of which department they manage, and do not occupy the original official position in the court.
"Okay, I'm leaving first. I have to enter the palace. Meng Yue, you stay here with Xu Ying. Li Qiao, go and bring Mr. Xu Ying over. He can visit the prison once a day."
After the seventh prince said that, he walked towards the door.
Meng Yue should be.
Li Qiao quickly followed.
Xu Ying thanked the seventh prince again.
Li Qiao followed the seventh prince to the gate of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. The seventh prince explained a few words to the guards on duty in the prison, and then took Li Qiao to the gate of the Ministry of Punishment.
The two quickly left the Criminal Department.
The seventh prince handed the horse to his personal guard. He was about to speak to Li Qiao, but Li Qiao said first: "Seventh prince, can you take a step to speak?"
Hearing this, the Seventh Prince pointed to the dividing wall between the inner city and the outer city not far from the gate of the Punishment Department: "Go there."
Standing under the corner, the Seventh Prince spoke first this time: "Do you think this is the work of Fifth Brother?"
"The official has indeed made this guess. One thousand, three hundred and sixty-seven taels, this little money is so ridiculous. With Brother Xu's family background, how can he value this little money?"
Li Qiao admitted directly.
Although the Xu family could only be considered a small fortune when they arrived in Shengjing, one thousand three hundred and sixty-seven taels!
Isn't this insulting?
Only a fool would believe that Xu Ying would appreciate this little money!
Seeing how straightforward he was, the Seventh Prince couldn't help but look in the direction of the prison of the Ministry of Justice: "There are indeed many doubts about this case. Xu Ying said that he saw the evidence and said that the account book was fake. It was not the account book written by him. But the trouble is, the handwriting is his."
"Then what's the possibility of returning Brother Xu's innocence?" Li Qiao couldn't help but ask, "Brother Xu's family definitely doesn't have that 1,367 taels of silver!"
"According to the evidence, Xu Ying didn't take away 1,300 taels of silver in one go. He took it piecemeal, dozens of taels at a time. In this case, it's like going to Xu's house to find dirty silver. , it will definitely not be found.”
"So, what can convict Xu Ying is the account book with the same handwriting as Xu Ying but not written by Xu Ying."
The seventh prince did not answer directly, but just explained the current situation.
"Then if Brother Xu is really convicted, the consequences will be as written in the Dasheng law: a fine of ten times the crime, loss of office, removal of honor, and three years in prison?"
"Yes." The seventh prince nodded heavily: "One thousand, three hundred taels, this number is too small to be confiscated. But if you lose your official position and fame, you will have to go to jail for three years, which means your life is over."
However, seeing Li Qiao's face becoming heavy as he nodded, he immediately said, "I will try my best to clear Xu Ying's name."
"Thank you, Seventh Prince." Li Qiao thanked him, pursed his lower lip, and asked: "As for the canal, when will the Holy One determine the specific route map? The official wants Weiqing County to appear on the Grand Canal."
As soon as he said this, the seventh prince looked him up and down, and then said with a serious face: "It's not yet certain that fifth brother did this."
"If it is true that Fifth Brother did not do this, then you have offended Fifth Brother for nothing."
"You have elder brothers and sisters who are very kind to you, younger ones below, and a husband in the middle. You must not act impulsively."
"I'm not impulsive. I feel that if the fifth prince really did this, he will arrange all the details perfectly so that you can't find any loopholes."
Li Qiao said with a wry smile: "You are the head of the Criminal Department. He knows that the case must be tried by you. If he is not 100% sure that Brother Xu can be convicted, why would he choose to take action now?"
"In that case, it's better to stimulate him. If so, there might be some flaws."
After all, the fifth prince has always been simple and crude in his actions, and is not as scheming as the third prince.
As soon as these words came out, the Seventh Prince raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Makes sense.
When he entered the Criminal Department just now, he didn't meet a few people named Zhu. According to the normal route, he would definitely meet these people.
These people took a detour to avoid him.
Deliberately avoiding him, this alone is enough to show that there is something wrong in these people's minds.
But it was still too reckless.
"I understand. You go home and celebrate the New Year well. I will test Fifth Brother during the family dinner tonight."
"Remember, you can't act rashly. Fifth brother is different from the British Duke. If you have a conflict with the British Duke, both of you are outsiders to my father."
"But if you have a conflict with Fifth Brother, you will be the only outsider in front of Father. Do you understand?"
"Thank you, Seventh Prince, for the heads up. I won't take the initiative to do anything before you inform me."
Li Qiao hurriedly made another bow and thanked him from the bottom of his heart.
He understood this, so even though he knew that the fifth prince wanted to take away the opportunity in Weiqing County, he did not get involved.
