Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

At this moment, I saw Jiajing put aside the impeachment note sent by Hai Rui in his hand, a look of interest appeared on his face, he chuckled, and said to himself.

"Hmph, last year's deficit in the Ministry of Industry can actually be counted on his head Yan Maoqing, which is really an eye-opener for me!"

When Lu Fang, who was on the side, heard Jiajing's words, his face was full of panic, and he immediately stepped forward and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, do you need a slave ......or maid?"

When Jiajing heard this, after looking Lu Fang up and down, he waved his hand, and then said, "No need, I want to see what tricks he Yan Song can play in front of me!" ”

When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, he immediately lowered his head and replied respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty!" ”

You must know that in recent years, Yan Maoqing's corruption and bribery have long been known to the whole dynasty, and if it were not for Yan Song, the head of the cabinet, he would have died I don't know how many times.

When Lu Fang thought of this, he suddenly recalled what Jiajing had said to him not long ago.

"Yan Maoqing is just a dog raised by Yan Song, and now this dog is not only disobedient, but also wants to bite the owner, Yan Song, the master, naturally wants to kill him and eat meat!"

"From the moment Yan Song recommended Yan Maoqing and rushed to Zhejiang to investigate the case, he didn't plan to let him return to the capital alive!"

"Could it be that things will really be as His Majesty said?"

At this moment, thoughts flew in Lu Fang's mind, and countless conjectures flashed through his mind.

Just as Lu Fang's thoughts were flying, he saw the guide eunuch enter the Qianqing Palace with hurried steps.

After the guide eunuch entered the Qianqing Palace, he leaned down and bowed to Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair at the moment, and saluted: "Your Majesty, Yan Ge Lao asked to see them outside the Qianqing Palace, saying that they have something important to report!" ”

After Jiajing learned the news from the mouth of the guide eunuch, he was not surprised by this, but waved his hand and commanded: "Well, I know, let them in!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After the guide eunuch responded, he did not stop in the Qianqing Palace for the slightest, and immediately left.

After guiding the eunuch to leave, Lu Fang, who was waiting beside Jiajing, had an inexplicable look on his face, and he had a hunch that what Yan Song was going to report to His Majesty next must be related to Yan Maoqing!

After guiding the eunuch to leave, after a short time, I saw the cabinet and his party step into the Qianqing Palace.

"Ministers knock to see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

After entering the Qianqing Palace, under the leadership of Yan Song, the first assistant of the cabinet, everyone knelt on the ground and said in unison.

When Jiajing heard this, he bowed his head slightly to everyone, and after looking around, he saw Jiajing retract his gaze and commanded: "Well, get up!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After receiving Jiajing's answer, everyone got up from the ground one after another.

Then, I saw Jiajing looking in the direction where Yan Song was, and asked, "Elder Yan Ge, the cabinet has come over with such fanfare, is there anything to report to me?" ”

As soon as Jiajing's words fell, Yan Song took out the envelope from his sleeve, held it high above his head, and reported in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, this is an eight-hundred-mile rush sent by Wang Ting, the right attendant of the household department, and it is mentioned that the fleet escorting Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing back to Beijing is about to arrive in Nanzhili, and the left deputy capital Yan Maoqing is missing on the ship!"

"The initial suspicion is that he accidentally fell into the water after being drunk, and right now, Wang Ting, the right attendant of the household department, is working with the local government along the river to search for Yan Maoqing's whereabouts!"

When Yan Song's words fell, a trace of horror flashed on Lu Fang's face, although he was very calm on his face, he had already set off an uproar in his heart.

"Unexpectedly, things are exactly the same as Your Majesty expected, Yan Ge Lao really didn't plan to let Yan Maoqing return to the capital alive!"

Jiajing, who was sitting on the dragon chair, heard this, and a little shock appeared on his face at the right time, only to see him glance over Yan Song's body, and said confirmationly: "What are you talking about, Yan Maoqing is missing!" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, it's true!"

After Yan Song noticed Jiajing's gaze falling on him, he forcibly suppressed the panic in his heart and made a report.

Seeing this situation, Lu Fang, who was waiting on the side, did not wait for Jiajing's instructions, and immediately stepped forward to take the envelope from Yan Song's hand and handed it to Jiajing.

"Your Majesty!"

"Hmm."

Then, I saw Jiajing take the envelope from Lu Fang's hand, open it, and begin to browse the contents on it.

The content of the letter was not much different from what Yan Song said, and soon, Jiajing finished reading all the contents on it.

After that, I saw Jiajing put the letter aside, glanced at Yan Song and the others, and asked.

"This matter is not trivial, according to your Aiqing, how should it be handled?"

As soon as Jiajing's words fell, I saw Yan Song stand up, lean down, and say categorically: "Your Majesty, Yan Maoqing, as the left deputy capital of the imperial history, and a dignified member of the third rank of the imperial court, disappeared so inexplicably on the way back to Beijing?" ”

"Weichen thinks that he should immediately send someone to investigate this case, he must see people alive and corpses when he dies!"

Lu Fang, who was waiting beside Jiajing, couldn't help but smack his tongue secretly when he saw Yan Song's righteous words: "Hey, I can actually say these words without changing my face and heartbeat, Yan Ge is really vicious!" ”

When Xu Jie, who was on the side, heard Yan Song's words, a strange look appeared on his face, and he said secretly: "Hmph, I think this matter has nothing to do with you Yan Song, you are in such a hurry to stand up, most likely because you want to destroy the evidence!" ”

Then, I saw Xu Jie come back to his senses, look in the direction where Jiajing was, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Weichen also thinks that someone should be sent to investigate this case immediately, maybe there is another hidden story behind the case of Yan Maoqing's disappearance!" ”

When Jiajing heard Xu Jie's words, a look of curiosity appeared on his face, and he followed up and asked, "Oh, Elder Xu Ge, what do you ......mean?"

Facing Jiajing's gaze, Xu Jie organized the language in his mind before he stood up and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, before this, Yan Maoqing was ordered by Your Majesty to rush to Zhejiang to investigate the case of Ma Ningyuan, the prefect of Hangzhou!" ”

"But on the way back to Beijing, Yan Maoqing disappeared inexplicably, so Weichen has reason to wonder if it was Yan Maoqing who found out something, and then the news was accidentally leaked, and then he was killed by the people behind the scenes!"

After listening to Xu Jie's conjecture, Jiajing pondered for a moment, then looked in the direction where Yan Song was, and asked unhurriedly.

"Well, Elder Yan Ge, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, Wei Chen feels that the situation that Xu Ge Lao Fang just said is not impossible, Wei Chen proposes, or send someone to investigate this case as soon as possible!"

As soon as Jiajing's words fell, I saw Yan Song lower his head and answer without thinking.

After Yan Song, Hu Zongxian, Yan Shifan, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and others also expressed their attitudes one after another.

Without exception, they all asked Jiajing to strictly investigate the case.

Hearing this, Jiajing pondered for a moment, then glanced over Yan Songxujie's body, and commanded.

"Well, in that case, then your cabinet will be responsible for this case!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

……

There is no impermeable wall in the world, and the disappearance of Yan Maoqing on the way back to Beijing soon spread throughout the government and the opposition.

As soon as this news came out, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty all felt that everyone was in danger, after all, no matter what Yan Maoqing said, he was also the left deputy capital of the imperial history, and he was a member of the three grades of the imperial court!

This time it's Yan Maoqing, and next time it's hard to guarantee that it won't be their turn.

As for Yan Maoqing's disappearance, the government and the opposition have different opinions.

Some people say that Yan Maoqing absconded in fear of crime, others say that Yan Maoqing found out something terrible, so he was killed, and some people say that this is just a simple accident.

In short, in the next few days, the case of Yan Maoqing's disappearance became more and more discussed in the DPRK and China.

After this, the imperial court received news from Nan Zhili, saying that Yan Maoqing's body had been found by the local government, and after an autopsy, Yan Maoqing's death was determined to be drowning.

Along with this news, there was also the self-statement of the right servant of the household, Wang Ting, as well as many confessions.

In those confessions, it was clearly mentioned that after Yan Maoqing got on the boat, he liked to drink alone in his room.

On the night of the crime, because there were no eyewitnesses present, no valuable evidence was found from Yan Maoqing's cabin afterwards.

Therefore, at the moment, it can only be guessed that Yan Maoqing came to the deck alone after being drunk, and then accidentally fell into the water.

At best, it was just an accident, and if the crime was really to be punished, those guards who were responsible for guarding Yan Maoqing would be to blame.

On the cabinet side, after the self-statement of Wang Ting, the right attendant of the household department, and many confessions were all announced, the discussion of the case between the government and the opposition weakened slightly.

Despite this, there are still many people who are suspicious of this case, thinking that Yan Maoqing found out something and was then silenced.

Beijing, Yanfu.

On the same day, after the next duty, Yan Song, Yan Shifan and his son took a sedan chair and returned to Yan's mansion directly.

After the sedan chair stopped, I saw Yan Shifan get off the sedan chair first, carefully supported Yan Song, and got down from the sedan chair.

After glancing at Yan Shifan, Yan Song commanded, "Come with me!" ”

For Yan Song's orders, Yan Shifan naturally did not dare to disobey him at all, and then, I saw him supporting Yan Song and walking towards Yan's study.

After entering the study of Yan Mansion, I saw Yan Song stretch out his hand and point to the empty seat on the side, and then said, "Sit down!" ”

"Yes, Father!"

When Yan Shifan heard this, he didn't excuse himself, and sat down on the vacant seat on the side, and the whole person sat upright, not daring to relax at all.

Then, I saw Yan Song glance over Yan Shifan's body, and asked, "Yan Shifan, have you dealt with everything from beginning to end?" ”

Yan Shifan saw Yan Song mention this matter to him, and immediately responded confidently: "Back to my father's words, everything has been dealt with, even if we investigate, we can't find our heads!" ”

When Yan Song heard this, he nodded imperceptibly, and then, he saw him withdraw his gaze from Yan Shifan's body, and said slowly: "Yan Shifan, what do you think of those remarks that are currently circulating in the capital?" ”

Yan Shifan obviously didn't expect Yan Song to ask himself this question, and after being stunned for a moment, he cautiously confirmed to Yan Song: "Father, is it possible, are you referring to rumors similar to Yan Maoqing being killed?" ”

Hearing this, Yan Song nodded, and turned to speak: "Well, exactly, I want to hear your opinion!" ”

When Yan Song's words fell, I saw Yan Shifan respond categorically: "Father, the child feels that these rumors must be inseparable from Xu Jie, and he has always suspected that it was our hand!" ”

When Yan Shifan said this, his face was full of bitterness, and he immediately continued: "Your Majesty has handed over this case to the cabinet to be responsible!" ”

"And he, Xu Jie, has asked you more than once to send someone to investigate as soon as possible, and the child proposed to let Zhang Runde, the waiter of the Criminal Department, go to Nanzhili to investigate the case, but Xu Jie vetoed it!"

"But then again, if the people who are sent to investigate this case are not under our control, if they really find out something, things will be in trouble!"

Yan Song heard Yan Shifan's words, and after pondering for a while, he spoke unhurriedly.

"Sometimes, if you want to do something, you don't necessarily need our people to do it, we can recommend those officials who have a request from us to go to Nanzhili to investigate the case!"

"When the time comes, we don't have to do anything, and the rights and wrongs of this case will be judged!"

When Yan Shifan heard Yan Song's words, a happy and sincere expression suddenly appeared on his face, and he saw him looking in the direction where Yan Song was, and responded excitedly: "Thank you father for mentioning it, the child understands!" ”

Yan Song saw that Yan Shifan understood what he meant, and his face couldn't help but flash a hint of relief, and then, he nodded, withdrew his gaze from Yan Shifan's body, and continued to add.

"Actually, Your Majesty doesn't care about the truth of this case at all, Your Majesty only cares about how much silver can be copied from Yan Maoqing's home when the time comes!"

"Father, what do you mean by that?"

Yan Shifan, who was on the side, heard Yan Song's words, his face was full of puzzled expressions, and he saw that he subconsciously looked in the direction where Yan Song was, and asked.

Facing Yan Shifan's puzzled gaze, Yan Song thought for a moment before he explained: "If Your Majesty wants to know something, he will send Jinyiwei or someone from Dongchang to investigate!" ”

"And in the case of Yan Maoqing's disappearance, Your Majesty didn't even think about it, so he handed it over to the cabinet."

When Yan Song said this, he paused for a moment and continued: "Therefore, this time the imperial court sent someone to investigate the case of Yan Maoqing's disappearance, not to find out the truth, but to use this investigation to stop the mouth of the full court!" ”

"Besides, in recent years, Yan Maoqing has been secretly under the banner of your father and me, and he is very greedy for ink, and now, if something happens to him, His Majesty can also take this opportunity to raid his home, which will be regarded as filling the treasury!"

After listening to Yan Song's explanation, Yan Shifan seemed to have an understanding, and his eyes flashed with an inexplicable light, and then, he saw him look in the direction where Yan Song was, and said to confirm: "So father, you will remind the children to let them clean their hands and feet when they raid the house?" ”

"Well, exactly!"

When Yan Song heard this, he replied imperceptibly, then picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

Then, I saw Yan Song put the teacup in his hand back in place, looked in the direction where Yan Shifan was, and instructed quite solemnly: "Yan Shifan, you remember for me that Your Majesty is a person who protects calves, and he will protect some calves, and some will not!" ”

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, father, the child understands!"

When Yan Shifan heard this, he immediately leaned down and responded very respectfully.

After this, I saw Yan Song retract his gaze and get up to take down a book from the bookshelf on the side.

"Okay, that's it, let's go down!"

"Yes, father, the child will leave!"

When the words fell, I saw Yan Shifan arch his hand to Yan Song, and immediately said goodbye and left.

……

On the other side, Yuwangfu.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the room was extremely solemn, and no one spoke.

Then, after seeing Zhu Zaikun look around, he took the lead in speaking, breaking the calm: "It seems that the development of things is not much different from what Xu Ge Lao expected before, Yan Maoqing has really encountered an accident!" ”

When Zhu Zaikun's words fell, Xu Jie, who was on the side, pondered for a long time, faced everyone and said categorically: "I still think that Yan Maoqing should have found out something, and then Yan Song and them sent someone to kill him!" ”

"You know, Ma Ningyuan's case involves a lot, how can it be that he is only involved from beginning to end?"

"And after this Ma Ningyuan wrote his confession, he committed suicide inexplicably that night!"

Gao Gong on the side stood up after listening to Xu Jie's thoughts, frowned, and put forward his own thoughts: "Didn't Lord Wang confirm that Ma Ningyuan's confession is all true?" ”

"Since Ma Ningyuan committed suicide in fear of crime, then Ma Ningyuan's case will not implicate more people, so there is no need to kill Yan Maoqing on the way back to Beijing."

Perhaps Yan Maoqing's drowning death was just an accident, and the testimony of those guards can also prove that Yan Maoqing likes to drink alone in the cabin after getting on the boat! ”

"In this way, the incident of accidentally falling into the water after being drunk can also be explained!"

After listening to Gao Gong's conjecture, Xu Jie also fell into deep thought.

After a long time, I saw him come back to his senses, looked in the direction where Gao Gong was, and continued: "But in the past few days, Yan Shifan has wanted to let Zhang Runde, the servant of the Criminal Department, go to Nanzhili to investigate this case more than once!" ”

"If there is nothing strange behind this, why would he, Yan Shifan, be so keen to send his own people over?"

After Xu Jie put forward this conjecture, everyone fell into deep thought again.

Zhang Juzheng, who was on the side, chose to watch coldly and had no intention of joining in.

Zhang Juzheng knew very well in his heart that the mission of Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing's trip was not just to investigate Ma Ningyuan's case.

On this trip, they also had the idea of buying raw silk in the hands of the people at a low price.

Since there is no news from Zhejiang that the raw silk in the hands of the people has been purchased at a low price, it can be considered that the raw silk in the hands of the people has been preserved for the time being.

And the raw silk in the hands of the people was saved, which means that Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing have not completed the set task.

Zhang Juzheng knew that many people in the DPRK were involved in this case, and these people were far from being able to deal with it now.

Therefore, in Zhang Juzheng's heart, such an idea suddenly emerged: "Could it be because Yan Maoqing and Wang Ting failed to buy enough raw silk from the people at a low price, and then were angered by those people in the court, and then they were killed on the way back to the capital!" ”

In Zhang Juzheng's opinion, in addition to Yan Song, Xu Jie's suspicion is not small!

After all, the person who can unknowingly wipe out a dignified third-grade member of the imperial court, except for Yan Song, only Xu Jie has this strength.

Just as Zhang Juzheng's thoughts were flying, he only heard Xu Jie's voice sound: "What do you think?" ”

When Zhang Juzheng heard this, he suddenly came back to his senses, and he found that Xu Jie's gaze fell on him at some point.

Then, after Zhang Juzheng organized the language in his mind, he spoke: "Well, I think Xu Ge's old Fangcai's words are very reasonable, there should be something strange behind this, otherwise, Yan Shifan would not be so enthusiastic about wanting to send his own people over!" ”

Seeing that his idea was recognized, Xu Jie's also had confidence, and then, I saw him sweep his gaze away from everyone present, and muttered to himself: "Well, it seems that after coming down, you have to check this aspect!" ”

After that, Gao Gong on the side seemed to suddenly remember something, and after looking around, he spoke.

"In other words, His Royal Highness King Jing has returned to the capital from the fiefdom for a while, and now, the concubine Niangniang has successfully given birth, why is His Royal Highness King Jing still staying in King Jing's Mansion now?"

Zhu Zaikun, who was on the side, frowned slightly when he heard this, and responded without thinking: "Hmph, when my father asked him to go to the fiefdom to become a feudal domain, he tried his best to drag it out in the capital for several years before leaving!" ”

"Right now, I finally have the opportunity to return to the capital, as long as my father doesn't say anything to let him leave, then he can be cheeky and stay in King Jing's Mansion all the time!"

Zhang Juzheng, who was on the side, heard Zhu Zaikun's words, and after thinking for a while, he gave his thoughts: "Your Royal Highness King Yu, you don't have to worry, in my opinion, Your Majesty should plan to let King Jing participate in the ceremony of canonizing the queen before letting him leave the capital!" ”

When Zhang Juzheng said this, he paused and continued.

"Right now, the concubine Niangniang has just given birth, and it is the time when she needs to recuperate, after the concubine Niangniang's body recovers, Your Majesty will hold a ceremony to canonize the queen in the Fengtian Palace, and His Royal Highness King Jing, as the son of His Majesty, should naturally witness this moment!"

After listening to Zhang Juzheng's explanation, most of the uneasiness in Zhu Zaikun's heart dissipated.

Then, I saw him get up from the seat, arch his hand to Zhang Juzheng, and said in a deep voice: "Thank you Zhang Ge for solving your doubts!" (End of chapter)