Duan Shaolan patiently listened to Qin Ling finish telling the ins and outs of the matter, and after listening, Duan Shaolan thought about it one by one in his heart, and pulled Qin Ling to ask clearly about some details.

On the second day, the complaint was handed over in the cowhide bag of the pennant guard to report the news.

A few days later, Duan Shaolan, who was on duty outside, received a summons from the imperial front, and Emperor Chu ordered him to meet him.

Emperor Chu had already read the complaint, and all the circumstances were not repeated by Duan Shaolan.

"Are the three county officials who wrote the pleadings still in office now?" The signatures of the complaint are Qin Ling and the county of Songchen County and Wannian County, which have been exterminated.

"Back to Your Majesty, the county officials and their families in Songchen County and Wannian County have been wiped out a month ago, and the prefect of Jiangnan Prefecture will combine the two cases of extermination, and close the case on the grounds of robbery and murder by mountain bandits. Cheng Qin Ling, a county in Huaishu County, witnessed the killer killing people, so he had to disguise himself as a beggar and leave Jiangnan in order to preserve the evidence. Qin Ling and Chen's father Duan Chengwen were born in the same imperial examination, and the two were old friends, so after Qin Ling begged all the way to the imperial capital, he found my father and handed over the complaint to the minister's father and son. ”

Emperor Chu pondered for a moment before he looked at Duan Shaolan standing in front of the emperor again. Duan Shaolan's eyes were clear and his expression was open, and he still coped properly even in the face of Emperor Chu.

Duan Chengwen once had concerns, and Emperor Chu also had them in his heart. The relationship between the prefect of Jiangnan Mansion and the Yongchang Bofu Mansion and the second prince is not a secret.

Stealing official salt is a big crime that will lose your head, and if you dig deeper, you are only afraid of implicating the family. It stands to reason that the prefect of Jiangnan Mansion City would not have the courage to collude with the county orders of the three counties alone to do this, and even Emperor Chu couldn't help but think that the person behind him would be the second prince Xiao Jin.

"Where is Qin Lingren now?" Emperor Chu's face was a little ugly, thinking that if Xiao Jin was really involved in such a case, this case had to be investigated, but it should not make too much trouble. It is best to be under his control throughout the whole process, so that this case is not suitable for the hands of Dali Temple, and it is only most appropriate to hand it over to the people of Jinqiwei to investigate.

"Qin Ling came to the imperial capital all the way pretending to be a beggar, and his body was weak and he also suffered some external injuries, and it was inconvenient for the minister's father to take people back to the Zhenguo Mansion for settlement. He could only be sent to his mother's house on Lizheng Street to settle down, and two reliable attendants were instructed to take care of him. Duan Shaolan replied. After these days of rest, his body is almost better, and most of the external injuries on his body have healed. Your Majesty, do you want to take some time to meet him? ”

Emperor Chu didn't speak immediately, he looked down at the complaint placed in front of his case, most of it was stained red with blood, and he could still faintly smell a bloody breath from above. His fingers were curled on the desk, tapping lightly, as if he were thinking about something.

Duan Shaolan saw that Emperor Chu didn't speak, so he didn't continue to speak, but just stood quietly with his hands down.

"That's it, I'm still going to have something to do today." Emperor Chu Huo Ran looked at Duan Shaolan. "Tomorrow, you and your father will take Qin Ling into the palace to reply, now that the case is unknown, it should be inconvenient for Qin Ling to show up in front of people, and tomorrow I will send Wu Chuan to greet you at the palace gate."

"Yes, the minister obeys."

In the evening, after dinner, Duan Chengwen and Duan Shaolan went to the study to talk again.

"Do you have any business to discuss with Brother Lan recently?" Lord Duansu waited until before going to bed, and Duan Chengwen hurriedly returned to the bedroom of the husband and wife. "In the past few days, you either don't have dinner in the house, or the two of you go to the study to talk mysteriously after eating."

Duan Chengwen smiled, the maids stepped forward to serve him to change clothes and wash, and Duan Chengwen walked to the bed and sat down.

"Nothing serious. It's just a case that Jinqiwei wants to investigate recently, involving several officials, and Brother Lan asked me something in private. Duan Chengwen took off his shoes and went to bed. Don't worry. ”

"It's okay if it's nothing." Lord Duansu said with a smile. "Yesterday, I went back to King Xian's Mansion to talk to my mother and sister-in-law, and I listened to my sister-in-law say that Princess Zhaoyue's Princess Mansion has also been selected, and the Ministry of Industry has built Princess Zhaoyue's Mansion. Presumably, after waiting for the eldest princess to get married, it will be His Majesty's turn to marry Princess Zhaoyue. ”

"yes." Duan Chengwen turned sideways and thoughtfully lifted the quilt of the Duansu County Lord. "In the past, Brother Lan's marriage couldn't be decided, and you were always worried about him. Fortunately, he has the blue eyes of His Majesty and Princess Zhaoyue, and he is about to have a great future, you should rest assured, right? ”

"Yes, in the past, I was always worried that the wife I chose for him was not good enough, which would delay Brother Lan's future days. Now that Princess Zhaoyue has settled on Brother Lan, I couldn't be more relieved. Princess Zhaoyue has a good background, a good temperament, a good appearance, and even a good relationship with our sister Chu, this marriage couldn't be better. "Lord Duansu really regards Duan Shaolan and Sister Chu as his own children, and Duan Shaolan can still be Princess Zhaoyue, and she is also very comforted in her heart." However, Princess Zhaoyue is only fifteen years old, and His Majesty loves her so much, I am afraid that in the future, I will give marriage, and I will keep Princess Zhaoyue in the boudoir for a few more years, I don't know when I will be able to hold my grandson. ”

"Children and grandchildren have their own children and grandchildren, you are weak, don't read these all day long." Duan Chengwen held the hand of the Duansu County Lord, only to feel warm to the touch. "It's not cold yet, why are your hands so cold?"

"It's okay, I always feel very tired these days, I can't eat or sleep well, and my hands and feet will inevitably get cold."

"Are you feeling unwell?" When Duan Chengwen heard that his wife was unwell, he quickly straightened up and looked at his wife's face by the candlelight next to the bed. "Did you ask Dr. Shi to come and take a look for you?"

"Not yet." Lord Duansu comforted her husband and said gently. "I hurt my body after I fell that child, and my body has been repeating like this all these years, and I am really impatient to drink so many bitter pills bowl after bowl."

"No, tomorrow I will order someone to ask Dr. Shi to come and show you." Duan Chengwen knew that Duansu County Lord, she just didn't want him to worry about her. "Our husband and wife are going to be together for a lifetime, you have to take care of your body and accompany me to grow old."

"yes, I see." After listening to her husband's words, Lord Duansu couldn't help but burst into tears, so she had to nod.

"Alright, let's sleep."

Early in the morning of the second day, Duan Shaolan waited for Duan Chengwen to go to Lizheng Street together, and picked up Qin Ling to go to the palace together.

Wu Chuan had already waited at the palace gate to arrange everything, and the carriage that the Duan family's father and son and Qin Ling were riding did not search the car, and directly entered the palace city.

"Two Lord Duan, please wait outside first, Your Majesty has instructed you to meet this Qin County Cheng alone." The carriage drove directly to the front of Lingyun Palace, and Wu Chuan ordered someone to support Qin Ling, who got out of the car last, and turned to Duan Chengwen and Duan Shaolan and said. "The slave has already instructed people to prepare tea in the side hall, and the two Lord Duan please go to the side hall and sit for a while."

Duan Chengwen and Duan Shaolan, father and son, glanced at each other, turned around and followed the attendant who came to lead the way in the direction of the side hall.

The father and son drank cup after cup of tea in the side hall, and after sitting and waiting for about half an hour, Wu Chuan went and returned.

"Your Majesty summons, two Lord Duan, please go with the minions." Wu Chuan, as the most useful person around Emperor Chu, naturally knew that Duan Shaolan was the future princess of Zhaoyue, so he had a particularly better attitude towards the Duan family's father and son.

Qin Ling, who had just finished talking to Emperor Chu, was still kneeling on the ground when the Duan family's father and son entered the hall.

"Wu Chuan, help Qin County Cheng to get up." Emperor Chu's face was a little obscure at this time, and after seeing Wu Chuan leading the Duan family father and son in, he pointed at Wu Chuan and said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In fact, Qin Ling was not reluctant to get up, on the one hand, he finally had to see Tianyan tell the whole thing, and on the other hand, he was still weak, and he wanted to tell the whole thing, in the end, he was a little out of strength.

"Wu Chuan, give a seat to both Qin County Cheng and the Duan family," Emperor Chu was also a little tired.

Wu Chuan greeted, and the little chamberlain who was immediately serving in front of the hall brought three stools, Wu Chuan helped Qin Ling to sit down, and Xie Guoen, the father and son of the Duan family, also sat down.

"Duan Chengwen, has the ministry not received the news that Songchen County and Wannian County have died?" Emperor Chu looked cold.

"Back to Your Majesty, yes," Duan Chengwen heard Emperor Chu's question, and immediately subconsciously stood up and replied. "Although the county is only eight grades, he is still a court official. If they are dead or missing, they need to be reported to the Ministry of Officials, who will chase them for vacancies, and then recount people to fill the vacancies. However, on the one hand, the prefect of Jiangnan Fucheng hastily closed the case of the county Cheng extermination of Songchen County and Wannian County, and on the other hand, it covered up the death of two county officials and the unknown whereabouts of one county prince. ”

"Duan Chengwen, you are the secretary of the ministry, and you are also the son of the Zhenguo Mansion." Emperor Chu took a deep breath and asked again. "You should be clear about the origin of the prefect of Jiangnan Mansion and the connection between Concubine Liao on the Second Prince's Mansion. The second prince is the adopted son of the queen, and the queen is your sister-in-law, have you ever considered these things? ”

"The minister is a minister, and the prefect of Jiangnan Mansion is a local official, and his background is naturally well known." Duan Chengwen leaned down and bowed. "But the matter is a big case, and the minister cannot turn a blind eye to this matter selfishly. The salt reserves in the south of the Yangtze River are the largest in the territory of the Jokhang, and it is related to the imperial court, and the ministers can only make this matter clear. ”

"That's it, it's hard for you." Emperor Chu waved his hand. "You sit down, although this case must be investigated, but it can't be investigated in a big way, I think about it, this case will be handed over to the Jinqiwei to investigate. Duan Shaolan, as a banner guard, I ordered you to take a team of five people, and set off to Jiangnan Fucheng, Songchen County, Wannian County, Huaishu County and other places to secretly investigate the case five days later. There is no need to report the facts of this case to your superiors, just report directly to me. ”