Chapter 449

Xiao Yin's face changed slightly, he raised his hand and pointed at himself: "Because of me?"

"Yes, because of you, Prince Rui," Gu Kang said with a bitter smile curling at the corner of his mouth, "Brother-in-law, you are such a smart person—could you still not see it, or do you already know and just let me guess on purpose?"

"Back then, tens of thousands of the Azure Dragon Army of Qi Sha Gu died miserably there; even you, brother-in-law, almost burned to death in the valley, and only a few survived."

"In that situation, who wanted you, brother-in-law, to die? Brother-in-law, you surely know the answer in your heart."

Xiao Yin frowned deeply, his eyes flickered slightly, and the brat in front of him was getting more and more out of line.

Gu Kang gave a light laugh: "So if my Ministry of Justice brings up the Qi Sha Gu case, how should the emperor investigate?"

"No matter how you investigate, it will eventually point to the emperor's head."

As soon as Gu Kang said that, everyone sucked in a breath.

Gu Kang had actually already guessed who the true mastermind behind the Qi Sha Gu case was.

But that person is someone none of them dare to speak of, unless the dynasty changes.

At this moment, Gu Kang coldly looked at Xiao Yin and said: "Prince Rui, since you already had reservations, you must understand that the Qi Sha Gu case involves not the aristocracy but imperial authority."

"Ordinary nobles seizing peasants' land—such cases are already grave crimes; mainly, through this land‑clearance case, the country will carry out a nationwide re‑survey of land."

"Then land annexation will be prevented, letting the common folk have clothing, food, and fields to till, eliminating the amount of land occupied by great clans, and giving the state finances a guarantee."

"Thus the risk of land clearance is minimal, while the benefit to the imperial household is enormous—after all, the downfall of the Duan family has recently filled the treasury considerably."

"The Duan family's land‑clearance case is a model where the court, the people, and everyone benefits, but the Qi Sha Gu case is different."

Gu Kang shifted his words, looking at his brother‑in‑law, and said slowly: "The Qi Sha Gu case involves imperial authority; unless Your Highness Prince Rui can overturn the world and make yourself emperor, the case will never see the light of day."

After Gu Kang finished speaking, even Xiao Yin fell into deep thought; he understood what Gu Kang said, but he had been lying in wait for many years.

Seven years have passed, his children have been born, and all told it's almost eight years.

How many eight‑year spans can a person's youth afford to wait?

He has waited too long for this day, hoping only to find a suitable opportunity to make the case public and inform the world.

"Now, if we want to make the case known to the world, only the Ministry of Justice can do that."

But now Gu Kang has flatly refused him; I don't know what this brat, holding such a high office, is really after.

Is it just for the love of office? But he doesn't seem like that; if he were just playing at being an official, that would be pure sickness.

Gu Kang knows this; if he doesn't give Prince Rui an explanation, these two troublesome people will likely end up living off him, eating his food and drinking his drink.

He sighed and looked at Xiao Yin: "Prince Rui, you need not force me to do this any further."

"My original purpose in passing the imperial examinations was for land clearance; I am not trying to overthrow the Southern Qi regime, so I ask Your Highness to reconsider and to understand."

"What is urgent now is to conduct a thorough nationwide land survey, so as to guarantee the state's long‑term peace and stability."

Gu Kang's words are indeed reasonable and well‑founded; this time Xiao Yin probably has only one option left—to kill Gu Kang outright and replace him with a new Minister of Justice.

Yet saying that makes him feel reluctant to act, and Gu Jiu Ling is also annoyed by her brother to the point of vexation.

However, they are all smart people, and the clever have long seen that trying to submit the Qi Sha Gu case this time is absolutely impossible.

Gu Kang looked at his brother‑in‑law and sister; their expressions eased a little, his tone no longer strictly official, even carrying a hint of personal flaw.

"Sister, brother‑in‑law, don't be angry; listen to me explain in detail. If you want to reform Southern Qi, you cannot investigate up to the emperor himself!"

Xiao Yin clenched his fist and slammed it onto the yang‑wood table without a sound; he actually knew he had lost this round miserably.

He suddenly realized that this brat Gu Kang before him could also bring him such a predicament, and he couldn't help laughing: "Gu Kang, today there's no one else—if not Miss Ruoxi, whom you once loved to death."

Ruoxi's face turned slightly pale; truly, it's a case of touching the wrong pot.

As soon as those words left his mouth, Gu Kang's cheeks rarely flushed a little; his usual cold, indifferent expression finally showed a trace of fire, breaking the normal problem..

Xiao Yin coldly snorted: "We're not outsiders; give me a clear answer—why help reason over kin, or whom you serve and who directs you? Who is that person behind the scenes?"

Xiao Yin said slowly: "Gu Kang, the people behind you are not simple."

". Brother‑in‑law, regarding reason and sentiment, I cannot tell you this; as for who stands behind me, brother‑in‑law, you need not investigate, for checking would be pointless."

"We people only seek one thing: to contend with every difficult problem and give the world a benevolent government."

Gu Jiu Ling was being dragged around by those two, and at this point she also understood roughly that Gu Kang didn't want to touch the Yellow Springs, while Xiao Ying was indeed strong; Manager Jiang asked his younger brother to bring him down, and these two people had a serious divergence in politics, after which they probably couldn't work together anymore.

Gu Jiu Ling sighed a little; after great effort, using the ploy of suffering flesh via Miss Ruoxi, she had trained her younger brother to this extent, never expecting to end up with such an outcome.

He slowly rose, looked and pressed down, feeling somewhat restless, wanting to delete the person, Xiao Ying.. -

"Your Highness, please allow me to say a few more words."

"What Gu Kang does does have his reasoning. Sons grow beyond their mothers' control, and besides, he is only my younger brother. Who will you follow in the future? Who is your behind‑the‑scenes patron? Who is your master you serve? Sister Zhang seemingly has no right to interfere with Sister Zhang; I merely want to tell you that a scholar must have the bearing and backbone of a scholar, only then can he uphold the myriad blessings of the common folk."

"When Xiao Ying failed to enter the qi gate but was firmly seized by Gu Qiu Lin, his little hand in his heart pulled and hooked his fingers. Both hands were hidden in their sleeves, silenced, and he could not speak at once. I only glanced at his breath; truly it was a bargain—this customer offended both the Duan family and him, yet he still lives to this day, doing quite well. -"

"Xiao Ying then looked toward the enthusiastic one: '. Good, since you're not preparing to send the Qi Sha Gu case up, then this witness has taken our shop away.'"