Xiao Yan said in a deep voice: "Empress Lu said that this blood book fell into the hands of Yue Hongchang, the former left servant of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He wanted to use this thing to threaten the Lu family's rise to glory. Obviously he knew what the Lu family had done, and even had some suspicions about it. He might also be involved, otherwise the matter would not be hidden from Prince Li."
Qian Baokun was not a fool either. He thought for a moment and said, "I remember that a few years before Prince Ru committed rebellion, Yue Hongchang's house was confiscated for corruption."
It was after Emperor An ascended the throne that he joined the household department. Regarding "predecessors" such as Yue Hongchang, I only occasionally heard people mention it. Now that I think about it, this so-called corruption is probably not just because of greed for money; He had something in his hands that he shouldn't have, and he had ambitions that he shouldn't have.
Xiao Yan said: "Nearly one million yuan for disaster relief, and hundreds of thousands of stones of disaster food. No matter who falls into the hands, they can't swallow it quietly."
Qian Baokun narrowed his eyes slightly: "If so much food flows into the market, the food price will definitely fluctuate, and the disaster silver will also be lost. Unless it can be kept in his hands, millions of silver coins will suddenly increase in the market, no matter where it is used. The prices are so high..."
In charge of the Household Department, Qian Baokun naturally understood how the Household Department adjusted prices in various places and stabilized the grain prices in granaries. He had a plan in his mind in an instant and looked at Xiao Yan seriously: "I will check the Household Department in those years. The food accounts and the fluctuation of food prices in various places are left to me."
Xiao Yan nodded: "I will have people secretly visit the Rongjiang area to see if they can find anyone who knows anything about it, as well as the people who did the autopsies for the officers and soldiers after the shipwreck. If we can find out where the money for the disaster relief food went and find witnesses, we can Together with this blood letter and the letters from the He family, it is enough to convict the Lu family."
"Be careful." Qian Baokun said with deep eyes: "This matter concerns your majesty. If the Lu family is guilty, your majesty may also be stained. If you are not absolutely sure, you must not alert the snake or tell the matter again. anyone."
The more people involved, the greater the risk of exposure.
As for the Lu family, they either don't move, or they have to be killed with one blow.
Xiao Yan nodded: "I know."
Qian Baokun discussed with Xiao Yan for a long time, and after listing all the details, he hurriedly left with a heavy heart. After he left, Canglang and Jinyun came in.
Xiao Yan ordered towards Jinyun: "Send two secret guards to protect Qian Baokun, and leave a few people from the Qian family to protect his wife and children."
Jinyun nodded in agreement.
"Supervisor, do you want to tell Cao Dejiang and the others about this matter?" Jinyun asked.
Xiao Yan hesitated: "No need."
Qian Baokun was dragged into this muddy water by him early in the morning and had a grudge against the Lu family. Moreover, Qian Baokun was passionate and hated evil, so he could more or less control his temperament. He dared not turn against him if he could stand it, but Cao Dejiang was different.
Although the Qingliu faction is hostile to the aristocratic family, they also have their own thoughts, and there are many ambitious and greedy people among them. What they do for their future may not be any cleaner than the aristocratic family. Although Cao Dejiang did not find out anything dirty, But he was also thoughtful.
Xiao Yan was not sure that he could pull the person onto his ship and ensure that he would not swing around when the situation became dangerous. Rather than taking risks, it would be better not to touch him. When they matured, those from the Qingliu faction would naturally be able to help them. There was no need to Deliberately win over.
Xiao Yan raised his eyes: "Where is Wengran?"
Cang Lang said: "On his way back home, he was intercepted and killed by Lu family killers. He was rescued by our people and sent to a safe place."
"Have you cleaned up the beginning and the end?"
"Don't worry, Lord Governor, our people disguised themselves as gangsters blocking the road, and also found the corpses of nearby bandits to pretend to be members of the He family. No one will notice."
Xiao Yan relaxed after hearing the words, and said after a while: "Send people to the Southland to check the survivors left behind, especially in the Rongjiang area, as well as those who were exiled by the Yue family after Yue Hongchang was executed, to see if there are any Those in the know, be careful and don’t alert outsiders.”
"Don't worry, Governor, I'll go there myself." Jinyun paused after finishing speaking: "Master, since we need to investigate the past, do we need to deal with the eyes in the mansion?"
Xiao Yan knew who he was talking about, and after pondering for a moment, he said: "Don't move him for now, keeping him is still useful."
He had to let Emperor An know that he would regard thunder, rain and dew as a favor.
He is still the most useful knife in his hand, the owl dog he can control without fear of backlash, and his most loyal slave.
…
It rained intermittently in Beijing for several days, either pouring or drizzling. The ground was wet and dry, then dry and wet again. When the rain stopped completely on this day, it was also the height of summer and the weather was hot. It's as if a walk under the sun can transform a person into a sun.
Tang Ning hadn't seen Xiao Yan for several days. Although the neighbor would send sweet cakes from time to time, and people around Xiao Yan would tell her that he was busy these days, Tang Ning was still a little absent-minded.
"Tang Ning..."
"Tang Ning!"
"ah?"
Tang Ning came to her senses in a trance and saw Rong Yue looking at her worriedly: "What's wrong with you these past two days? You're always absent-minded?" She often gets distracted while talking. Like just now, they were still discussing. The little girl on the back foot didn't know what to think about the banquet held in the mansion the day after tomorrow.
She reached out and touched her niece's forehead: "Are you feeling unwell? Do you want to invite Mrs. Qin to come and take a look?"
Tang Ning noticed her aunt's worried look and shook her head quickly: "I'm fine, I just got distracted by my thoughts."
Seeing that Rong Yue was still looking at her, she pulled down the hand covering her forehead and said to her: "I was just thinking about the academy. Yesterday, someone from the Beijing Construction Department came over and said that the academy would be closed in a few days. It can be completed."
"So fast?" Rong Yue was surprised.
This is a full calculation, it's less than two months, right?
Tang Ning said softly: "Brother is the one who asked people to keep an eye on the progress and tell them to do this sooner rather than later. Otherwise, if the Lu family's 'donation' of the book collection becomes too popular, it will be detrimental to me."
Rong Yue's face softened when he heard this: "Brother of yours is always looking out for you. During this period of time when Lu Chongyuan returned to the court, there was a lot of commotion outside about him and the Lu family. I heard that Lu Zhao's case will be finalized directly. , His Majesty seems to be distant from him..."
No one was around her at court, but Marquis Wenxin and the others were. Every time Mrs. Marquis Wenxin came over, she would always bring some news from the court, which made Rong Yue a little worried.
"Xiao Yan is in a bad situation in the court. He hasn't been here in the past few days. I don't know what's going on."
Tang Ning pursed her lips, she was also worried.
"Girl, Governor Xiao is here." Hua Wu hurried in.
The two people in the waterside pavilion did not expect that Cao Cao would arrive. They looked up and saw the figure they had seen over there. Tang Ning stood up with joy in her eyes, held up her skirt and walked out to the edge of the waterside pavilion.
"Brother!"
