Late at night, on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, a fleet of four or five large boats, as well as a few small boats, was slowly moving on the water.

This fleet was the one responsible for escorting Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing back to Beijing.

From the moment they left Hangzhou, they had been sailing along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal for four or five days without stopping.

After another day or two of sailing, this fleet will reach Nanzhili.

Although they knew that returning to Beijing like this would not end well, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing still held on to the last bit of luck and embarked on the journey back to Beijing.

When they were still in Hangzhou, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing unified their voices.

They first confirmed the fact that Ma Ningyuan committed suicide in fear of crime, and put most of the responsibility on the jailers who were responsible for guarding Ma Ningyuan.

As for the purchase of raw silk from the people, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing finally decided to tell the truth after repeated discussions.

After all, no one expected that Zhao Zhenji had the right to cut first and then play in his hands, and if those people in the court did not agree with this statement, they could only choose to break the net.

After all, now everyone is a grasshopper on a rope, and if this incident happens, no one can escape!

At this moment, in the cabin, Yan Maoqing was drinking sullen wine alone, and there were a few side dishes on the table.

"Xu Jie, this shameless thing, just gave this little benefit, I want the official to take his life, I'm sorry!"

"I knew this would turn out like this, I might as well not wade into this troubled water!"

After Yan Maoqing finished complaining, he raised his head and drank the wine in the cup.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Yan Maoqing suddenly felt that the things in the cabin had become unreal, the whole person was spinning, and his limbs had become weak.

Yan Maoqing has been in the sea for a long time, and after experiencing the initial panic, he quickly reacted: "No...... It's not good, there is something wrong with this wine, someone has drugged it inside, is it possible, someone wants to kill it! ”

Yan Maoqing thought of this, his pupils suddenly contracted, and then, an indescribable fear surrounded him.

"No, I have to make some movement quickly and let the guards outside notice it, otherwise, I, Yan Maoqing, will die here today for no apparent reason!"

Yan Maoqing could feel that his consciousness was gradually becoming blurred.

Subsequently, I saw that with the will to survive, he used the last bit of strength in his body, relying on inertia, to knock down the wine jug on the table.

For some reason, the flask fell from the table and did not break, but made a dull sound, and the wine inside also spilled to the ground.

After doing this, Yan Maoqing was no longer powerless to fight the drowsy sleepiness, and the whole person just lay down on the table, unconscious.

Shortly after that, only a 'squeak' was heard, and the door to the cabin was silently pushed open.

Then, several people with masked faces came in, judging by their dress, they should be the ship's guards.

After leading people into the cabin, the eyes of these people were attracted by Yan Maoqing, who was lying unconscious on the table.

Seeing this, the man in the lead waved his hand and commanded in a deep voice: "Do it!" ”

When the words fell, I saw the remaining few people cautiously step forward, and on the premise of trying not to make any movement, they helped Yan Maoqing up from the table and brought him to the deck.

Since it was late at night, the deck was empty, and no one could be seen even on the neighboring ships.

Then, I saw a few people carefully take Yan Maoqing, who had fallen into a coma, to the edge of the deck.

Then with a slight push, only to hear a 'plop', the unconscious Yan Maoqing fell into the pitch-black water.

"Go back and clean up the traces of the scene!"

"Yes, sir!"

……

The night passed in the blink of an eye, and the next day, the sun peeked out of the clouds, and it was predictable that it would be a good day today.

When Yan Maoqing's personal guard, as usual, carefully pushed open the door of the cabin and went in to investigate Yan Maoqing's situation, they suddenly found that Yan Maoqing was not in the cabin.

"No, at this time, adults should still be sleeping, right?"

Thinking of this, Yan Maoqing's personal guard suddenly had an extremely bad premonition in his heart.

Then, I saw him take a deep breath, try to calm himself down, and comfort himself like this: "My lord has been in a bad mood recently, I should be wandering somewhere, let's go to the boat to find out!" ”

After Yan Maoqing's personal guard finished speaking, he began to search for Yan Maoqing's traces on the boat.

However, when this personal guard carefully searched the places where Yan Maoqing might be, he still did not find any trace of Yan Maoqing.

A creepy feeling filled his body and mind: "It's not good, something happened!" ”

Soon, the news of Yan Maoqing's disappearance spread, and everyone became panicked and joined the search for Yan Maoqing.

After all, Yan Maoqing's identity at the moment is not just as simple as the left deputy capital Yushi.

Yan Maoqing was one of the several ministers who rushed to Zhejiang to investigate Ma Ningyuan's case at the behest of His Majesty, even if it is described as a minister, it is not an exaggeration!

But it was such a living person, but on the way back to the capital, he disappeared without a trace for some reason.

When Wang Ting learned the news of Yan Maoqing's disappearance from his subordinates, he only felt trembling and cold sweat.

Endless fear surrounded him layer by layer, and he could not escape a single bit.

After calming down, Wang Ting's first reaction was that someone killed Yan Maoqing, but Wang Ting was confused about who did it.

"Who is so bold and dares to attack Yan Maoqing, no matter what he Yan Maoqing says, he is also the left deputy capital imperial history!"

"In addition, to be able to kill a court official so unknowingly, this person's power in the court must be unimaginable!"

"This time it's Yan Maoqing, will it be the official's turn next time?"

Wang Ting couldn't help but shudder when he thought of this, and then, seeing Wang Ting's reaction, he ordered the ship to dock, and ordered someone to report the news of Yan Maoqing's disappearance to the imperial court at an expedited speed of 800 miles.

Not only that, the royal court also sent small boats to search for Yan Maoqing's body along the river where he came.

At the same time, the royal court also strengthened its own vigilance, and the food brought to the cabin every day had to be checked by the guards, and no one was allowed to approach his cabin without his permission.

Now that Yan Maoqing is missing, with such a matter, the fleet will naturally no longer be able to follow the plan previously formulated, along the canal, in the direction where the capital is located.

After this, Wang Ting revealed his identity as the right attendant of the household, asked for help from the local government, and mobilized the people who relied on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to make a living, and joined the search for Yan Maoqing.

In addition, the investigation of Yan Maoqing's disappearance has also been carried out intensively, and the guards responsible for guarding Yan Maoqing have been ruthlessly interrogated, but despite this, there is not much to gain.

The hard work paid off, and after several days of searching, Yan Maoqing's body was finally successfully found.

After a post-mortem examination, the cause of Yan Maoqing's death was found to be due to drowning.

After getting the autopsy report issued by the court, Wang Ting immediately ordered people to inform the court of the news that Yan Maoqing had drowned.

……

On the other side, the capital, Yanfu study.

It was getting late, and the orange shimmer emitted by the candle in the room clearly illuminated Yan Song's figure, and at this moment, Yan Song was extremely focused on browsing the books in his hand.

After a while, I heard a slight knock on the door, and then, without waiting for Yan Song to respond, I only heard a 'squeak', and the door of the room was pushed open, and the person who came was Yan Shifan.

Seeing Yan Shifan coming, Yan Song put aside the books in his hand, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "How is it, how are things going?" ”

When Yan Shifan heard this, he immediately leaned down and said respectfully: "Back to my father's words, everything is going well, he Yan Maoqing has become a drowning ghost!" ”

After Yan Song learned the news from Yan Shifan's mouth, the whole person was obviously relaxed, and a trace of imperceptible gloom flashed in his eyes.

Then, I saw him look in the direction where Yan Shifan was, bowed slightly, and followed closely with the admonition.

"Well, don't take it lightly, you must take care of everything from beginning to end, understand?"

"Yes, father, the child understands!"

When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, he immediately lowered his head and replied without thinking.

After that, I saw Yan Song lowering his eyes, looking at the ground casually, and then ordered: "Tell them, you can start doing!" ”

When Yan Shifan heard this, he immediately leaned down and responded in a deep voice: "Yes, father, the child will send someone to inform them of the news immediately!" ”

Then, I saw a look of hesitation on Yan Shifan's face, plucked up his courage, and spoke cautiously.

"Father...... Father, this is about to go to the triennial plan of the imperial court, and Hu Zongxian is the secretary of the ministry, do you think you should find an opportunity to invite him to the mansion......"

Before Yan Shifan's words were finished, he saw Yan Song wave his hand and stop him from continuing.

"Okay, don't talk about this anymore, I have my own measure!"

When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, he didn't seem to give up, gritted his teeth, and said stubbornly: "But ...... But, Father, our people ......"

When Yan Song heard this, he immediately looked at Yan Shifan with a look of hatred for iron and steel, and reprimanded.

"You short-sighted idiot, this is a triennial plan of the imperial court, in the past, you were also on an errand in the ministry, and you could still do some tricks, but now, the secretary of the ministry is Hu Zongxian!"

"Hu Zongxian has just taken office as the secretary of the ministry, and it coincides with the triennial plan of the imperial court, and it is the time when it is necessary to perform, isn't it tantamount to harming him if you ask him to help at this time?"

Yan Song paused for a moment when he said this, and then continued.

"Moreover, before this, Hu Zongxian had already let out the wind, and this assessment was mainly based on the performance of officials when they performed their duties, and the talents, conduct, age, and competence of the officials as the evaluation criteria."

"Not only did he himself close his doors, but even those officials who were qualified to participate in the judgment also chose to close their doors and not socialize with others."

"Only by treating everyone equally, can he, the secretary of the ministry, be able to do it for a long time, as long as Hu Zongxian is still the secretary of the ministry for one day, no one dares to take the risk and easily attack us, understand?"

After listening to Yan Song's analysis, I saw a look of self-realization on Yan Shifan's face, lowered his head, and responded in a deep voice: "Yes, father, the child understands!" ”

When Yan Song heard this, after looking Yan Shifan up and down, he waved his hand, and then said, "Okay, it's not too early, you go down and rest early!" ”

"Yes, father, the child will leave!"

After Yan Shifan finished speaking, after bowing to Yan Song, he immediately walked away.

After Yan Shifan left, from the study, there was an undetectable sigh, and this sigh came from Yan Song.

At this moment, Yan Song's face was full of worry, because he found that Yan Shifan was still not much different from the past, only caring about the immediate interests and not seeing the long-term things.

"Alas, if Hu Zongxian is my Yan Song's son, I don't need to worry so much!"

……

The night passed in the blink of an eye, and early in the morning, when the officials of the Inspectorate came to the duty room as usual, they found that many impeachment notes suddenly appeared.

And these impeachment notes that were sent, without exception, were all impeached against Yan Maoqing.

Although the impeachment against Yan Maoqing has not stopped since Yan Maoqing was sent to Zhejiang by the imperial court to investigate Ma Ningyuan's case, it is the first time that such an intensive impeachment has been carried out today!

Subsequently, I saw an official of the Inspectorate open one of the impeachment notes and began to browse the contents of it.

And the content of the impeachment note made him feel dead, and the impeachment note counted the 13.7 million taels of silver that the Ministry of Industry had lost last year on his head Yan Maoqing.

It is mentioned that it is because Yan Maoqing wantonly embezzled and filled his own pockets in the process that he caused such a serious deficit.

In addition, charges such as silver similar to embezzlement of ink to build dikes, shoddy goods, and bullying and flattery have all been placed on Yan Maoqing's head, and even some old cases are also related to Yan Maoqing.

It seems that all the bad things in the DPRK and China were done by Yan Maoqing alone.

These officials of the Inspectorate knew that things were not simple, so they chose to report them layer by layer, and after a while, these impeachment notes against Yan Maoqing were sent to the hands of Shi Hairui, the right capital.

In the room, Hai Rui looked at the impeachment notes sent by his subordinates and piled up on the bookcase, and his face was full of suspicion.

Hai Rui has gone through the contents roughly, and in his opinion, only a small part of these impeachments against Yan Maoqing are real and credible.

As for counting the 13.7 million taels of silver that was shortfall on the Ministry of Industry last year to Yan Maoqing's head, in Hai Rui's view, this matter is completely nonsense!

You must know that the secretary of the Ministry of Industry is Yan Shifan, where did he Yan Maoqing get the courage to go against Yan Shifan?

Not to mention the silver from the Ministry of Ink Industry, even if he Yan Maoqing really has the guts, when the time comes, without His Majesty's action, Yan Shifan will be able to take care of him with a slight movement of his fingers.

"It seems that this Yan Maoqing is being used as a scapegoat!"

After Hai Rui finished sighing, he picked up the teacup on the side and took a sip.

But what Hai Rui couldn't understand was why those people in the DPRK and China were so impatient to do it?

If you calculate according to time, Yan Maoqing should still be on his way back to the capital now.

Subsequently, I saw Hai Rui take out a few letters from the impeachment notes on the bookcase, and after confirming the contents of them, he summoned the officials and instructed: "Send these letters of impeachment to Your Majesty!" ”

Since Ma Ningyuan's case last time, Hai Rui has made up his mind that if there is any news from the Inspectorate in the future, he must send someone to inform His Majesty first.

Subsequently, I saw that the official who was summoned by Hai Rui took the impeachment note quite solemnly, and replied in a deep voice: "Yes, my lord!" ”

After the official left, he saw Hai Rui retract his gaze, and called his subordinates, pointed to the notes piled up on the bookcase, and ordered: "Go through the process!" ”

"Yes, my lord!"

……

On the other side, the Forbidden City, the Cabinet.

The situation in the cabinet is not much different from the past.

At this moment, everyone was sitting in their respective positions, methodically dealing with the notes sent by the officials.

When the music was almost done, everyone stopped, and you and I started gossiping.

chatting and chatting, the topic inevitably came to the triennial plan of the imperial court.

Then, I saw Gao Gong looking in the direction where Hu Zongxian was, and joked with a smile: "Elder Hu Ge, I heard that recently, the people who came to visit the door are about to break the threshold of your house?" ”

When Hu Zongxian heard this, his face was full of helplessness, and after picking up the teapot on the table and pouring himself a cup of hot tea, he responded: "Alas, yes, after going back every day, I don't even have time to live in peace!" ”

"Even if it's a closed door, it can't stop those who come to visit!"

Zhang Juzheng on the side heard this, and after thinking for a while, he followed up with words of consolation: "This is also normal, after all, the triennial plan of the imperial court is coming, and it is related to the promotion and retention of foreign officials. ”

Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, Zhang Juzheng looked in the direction where Hu Zongxian was, and continued to add: "Elder Hu Ge, you might as well learn from the practice of the right capital Yu Shi Hairui and raise a few vicious dogs at home!" ”

"In this way, there should be a lot fewer people who come to visit!"

After Hu Zongxian heard Zhang Juzheng's proposal, a look of interest appeared on his face, and just as he was still thinking about the feasibility of it, there was a rush of footsteps from outside the cabinet.

After a while, I saw a Xu official walking in quickly, and after entering the cabinet, the Xu official subconsciously looked in the direction where Yan Song and Xu Jie were, leaned down, and reported in a deep voice.

"Old Yuge, this is an eight-hundred-mile rush sent by the right servant of the household department!"

"What, eight hundred miles in an emergency!"

When everyone heard this, their faces were full of shock that they couldn't hide, after all, the eight-hundred-mile rush can only be used when encountering a major situation.

"What the hell is going on, could it be that the matter has been revealed?"

At this moment, in Xu Jie's mind, countless conjectures flashed, but they were all vetoed by him one by one.

At this moment, I only heard Yan Song's voice sounding on the side, pulling Xu Jie back to reality: "Well, take it!" ”

Then, I saw Yan Song take the envelope from the hand of the official, open it, and browse the contents on it.

After Yan Song finished reading the above content, his face was full of disbelief, as if he had lost the strength of his whole body, and he sat back in the chair weakly, muttering to himself: "It's over, something is wrong!" ”

Seeing this, Xu Jie, who was on the side, flashed a trace of eagerness on his face, looked in the direction where Yan Song was, and asked, "Elder Yan Ge, what happened?" ”

"Oh, take a look for yourself, Yan Maoqing is missing!"

After Yan Song finished speaking, he handed the letter paper in his hand to Xu Jie.

"What, Yan Maoqing is missing!"

After Xu Jie learned the news from Yan Song's mouth, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his face was full of shock.

Then, I saw Xu Jie take the letter from Yan Song's hand and read out the contents on it.

"When the fleet was about to sail to Nanzhili, Yan Maoqing disappeared on the ship, and it was initially suspected that he accidentally fell into the water after being drunk, and he is now working with the local government to search for Yan Maoqing's whereabouts along the river......"

After Xu Jie roughly read the contents written on the letterhead, the entire cabinet fell into a dead silence.

After all, Yan Maoqing's identity is not simple, as the left deputy capital of the imperial history, a dignified third-grade important member, he was ordered to rush to Zhejiang to investigate Ma Ningyuan's case, but on the way back to Beijing, he disappeared mysteriously!

And according to the description in the letter, Yan Maoqing is probably more than lucky!

"Could it be that Yan Maoqing found out something, and then on the way back to Beijing, someone killed him?"

Thinking like this, a trace of inexplicable look flashed in his eyes, and then, he glanced at Yan Song on the side quietly, wanting to see something on his face.

In Xu Jie's opinion, the only person who can kill a dignified third-grade member of the court without knowing it is Yan Song!

Yan Song noticed Xu Jie's gaze falling on him, and he knew that Xu Jie would definitely secretly doubt himself.

But suspicion is suspicion, as long as there is not enough evidence, no one can say that it was he Yan Song who killed Yan Maoqing!

Then, I saw Yan Song gather his mind, and after looking around, he faced everyone and asked, "Everyone, now that this is happening, what should I do next?" ”

As soon as Yan Song's words fell, Xu Jie, who was on the side, responded without thinking: "This matter is very important, we should report it to the Holy Lord immediately!" ”

"Well, Elder Xu Ge has a point, I have to wait to inform Your Majesty of this matter as soon as possible!"

"Well, that's right, without further ado, let's go!"

Xu Jie's proposal was quickly unanimously approved by others on the scene.

Subsequently, after everyone reached an agreement, they marched in the direction where the Qianqing Palace was located. (End of chapter)