"I didn't think about it carefully at the time. I just thought she was discovered by me because she was in a panic with the Xue family. But now that I think about it, she was probably using herself as bait to lure away the pursuers in order to protect someone."
Xi Weifang looked up at Xiao Yan:
"I heard that the relationship between the Xue family and the He family is average, but Concubine Xue has great admiration for the prince and the crown princess. Although she is called concubine, she and the prince are not actually husband and wife. She was framed and her innocence was only a dead end. , it was the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess who saved her life and kept her in the East Palace."
"Although she is called the side concubine, she is actually a female official of the East Palace. She is mainly responsible for the prince and his wife, and she also treats the emperor's eldest grandson as her own. It is impossible for her to be so desperate to save her and not hesitate to cover up the traces of her illness with her life. The son of the He family."
Xi Weifang stopped talking, but the meaning of his words was enough for people to understand what he said.
Xiao Yan stared at him for a moment, then smiled.
"Although I don't understand what Xi Shangshu is talking about, your loving heart towards the descendants of the Xi family is quite touching."
He turned around and walked back to Xi Weifang, and said to him: "I can save the life of your great-great-grandson, let him renounce his family name, disappear in the capital, and go to a stable place as an ordinary person." I want to live on earth and live the life of ordinary people, but I also want you to do something for me."
Xi Weifang: "Master Xiao, please give me your instructions."
Xiao Yan took out two things from his sleeves and handed them to Xi Weifang.
Although Xi Weifang was a little puzzled, he still reached out and took it, opened it and looked at it. After seeing clearly what was written inside, he looked up suddenly.
"This is……"
"The governor got it by accident."
Xiao Yan said: "Before Rongjiang was burned, my father was ordered by the late prince to guard Rongjiang and guard the people suffering from the epidemic. He once sent a letter to the capital saying that there was something wrong with the sinking of the official ship, and he also reported the investigated evidence. The attached letter was sent to Beijing, but it was intercepted on the way."
"As for the other letter, it was a blood letter left by Tao Zian, the magistrate of Rongjiang County, before his death. He buried it in a hidden place of the Rongjiang County government office. It was later found by Yue Hongchang, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs who went to investigate. Yue Hongchang wanted to take advantage of this matter. He threatened the Lu family and silenced him after being discovered by Lu Chongyuan."
Xi Weifang pinched the thing in his hand and frowned: "Do you want me to make this public?"
Xiao Yan nodded: "No one is more suitable than you."
He "conspired" with the Lu family and knew the inside story. It was normal for him to try his best to intercept news from the Southland because he was not clean. Moreover, he knew that the Lu family had killed Yue Hongchang and it was understandable that he had left a blood letter to prevent it.
If anyone else takes this thing out, they will most likely be suspected of forgery, but Xi Weifang is different. If he takes it out, no one will suspect it.
Xi Weifang pursed his lips tightly: "If I take this out, the reputation of the Xi family will be completely ruined, and it will be difficult for me to live in peace even if I die."
Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "Although you will be in disgrace for thousands of years, you can exchange for the blood of your Xi family to be preserved. Anyway, you will die. It's a good deal, isn't it?"
Xi Weifang smiled bitterly: "It is true that Governor Xiao does not engage in loss-making business."
He knew that he was bound to die. Considering the crimes that Xiao Yan had found out and the ruthlessness shown by Liang Guangyi when he sent someone to see him, no one in the Xi family could escape. It would be better to do what Xiao Yan said. It is indeed a good deal to exchange the notoriety after death for the preservation of the Xi family bloodline.
"Okay, I agree to this, but before the three ministers go to court, I want to see my great-great-grandson Zhou Quan." Xi Weifang said in a deep voice.
Xiao Yan said: "Tomorrow, the young man of your house will die of a sudden illness in the back house. The governor will order someone to send him out of the capital safely."
Xi Weifang looked at him: "Can I trust Governor Xiao?"
Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows: "What do you think?"
Xi Weifang was silent for a moment, with a sad expression on his face: "Now I have no choice but to trust you. I only hope that Governor Xiao can live up to the noble righteousness of the late prince."
Xiao Yan sneered: "You don't need to use the former prince to provoke this governor. He was considerate in everything and a brilliant man, but he died miserably in the end. Although this governor is not as upright as him, he can still keep his promises. Since I promised you, I won’t break your promise.”
He straightened his sleeves and said to his side:
"Let someone bring some food in, and also change some clothes for Xi Shangshu. Let him spend the night carefully thinking about his words to the Criminal Division, and then send him to He Cheng tomorrow."
Jinyun nodded: "Yes, Lord Governor."
Xi Weifang watched Xiao Yan leave with the things in his hands, his face full of bitterness.
Liang Guangyi also wanted him to test Xiao Yan's identity, but even if he fell to this point, Xiao Yan was always cautious when talking to him.
It was obvious that he had shown weakness and took the initiative to bring up the pursuit of Concubine Xue, and even hinted several times that Xiao Yan was related to Prince Ru, but he did not admit even a single sentence.
He called He Wenzhuo his father, and Crown Prince Lu as his first prince, and he didn't feel the slightest bit angry or angry about what happened in the East Palace back then.
In such a city, no matter if Xiao Yan is the son of the He family or if he is really the one from the East Palace, Liang Guangyi will lose.
…
The Xi family was raided as early as the day of the palace banquet, the men were imprisoned, and the female family members were escorted to the mansion. A child who was less than a hundred days old suddenly died of illness in the back house. Except for his mother who cried hoarsely, a group of female family members gave birth to a fear of death. Apart from fear, he never alarmed anyone.
On August 19, Xi Weifang, Minister of the Ministry of War, was handed over to the Ministry of Punishment and confessed everything he had done in collusion with the Lu family twenty years ago.
On August 21st, the Ministry of Punishment held a meeting, and the three divisions held a joint trial, with the prince observing.
The bloody letter left by Tao Zian, the magistrate of Rongjiang County, and the final letter sent back to Beijing by He Wenzhuo that year were presented by Xi Weifang in court. They directly proved that the Lu family sent people to destroy official ships, embezzled disaster relief food funds, and colluded with southern officials and bandits. , burned the city and massacred the people of Rongjiang, and the piles and piles were indistinguishable.
Although Xi Weifang did not testify against Emperor An, he did mention that Emperor An, the prince, was with Lu Chongyuan during the disaster relief. After the disaster relief, Emperor An benefited, the reputation of the violent prince was damaged, and the He family gained a bad name.
He did not say that Emperor An colluded with the Lu family, but Emperor An had been questioned in the court and in the world. There were even rumors that the Lu family was originally ordered by Emperor An, and that Nandi acted for Emperor An's benefit. However, they were dismissed because of no conclusive evidence. Cheng and others forced it down, but Emperor An lost all the people's support after this battle.
The prince was furious and ordered a strict trial of the case in the name of the crown prince. All court officials involved in the disaster relief were imprisoned. He also sent the minister of Dali Temple as the censor, accompanied by the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, and led troops to go south to thoroughly investigate Shezhou, Langzhou and Raozhou. Local officialdom.
In the next few days, people in Beijing were in panic.
Xi Weifang confessed too many things, and countless people in the court were implicated. People were imprisoned every day, and the blood at Caishikou was never stained.
The people among the people praised the prince for his decisive killing, but the courtiers of the aristocratic family were in panic all day long. The prince's extermination also made many people in the court feel uneasy.
When Liang Guangyi asked Cao Dejiang to find Xiao Yan, he looked much older.
When he saw Xiao Yan, he spoke directly.
"Why did Governor Xiao make the prince stop?"
