Chapter 330: Surging (1)

This game of Go had been deployed for too long, and it was too large. One wrong move, and the whole game would be lost. Lou Xiyan couldn't help but worry. The fall of the Yang family was the first step. He had guessed that in recent years, Yan Hongtian would definitely take action against the Xin family, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon...

"This subordinate Dan Yulan pays respects to the Emperor. May the Emperor live for ten thousand years."

Dan Yulan's arrival broke the heavy atmosphere in the room.

"Rise."

Dan Yulan had just risen when Yan Hongtian's slightly cold voice asked in a low tone, "The case of the stolen military grain—Minister Dan seems to have not closed the case yet."

"There have been many cases recently, and I haven't been able to handle it in time. This subordinate has already begun to re-investigate this case." Dan Yulan replied while secretly observing the two by the table. The game was only half-finished, yet the Emperor and the Prime Minister no longer held pieces. Were they no longer interested in the game, or...

Before he could speculate on the strange atmosphere between the Emperor and the Prime Minister, Yan Hongtian's steady voice sounded again: "I give you three months. This case must be investigated thoroughly."

The four words "investigated thoroughly" were spoken with weight. The Emperor's meaning was to dig deep? Thinking of something, Dan Yulan asked again, "Can this case be investigated in secret?"

Yan Hongtian's mouth curled slightly. "As you wish."

Investigate in secret! Dig deep! Dan Yulan understood the Emperor's meaning and bowed. "This subordinate takes his leave."

After Dan Yulan left, Lou Xiyan, who had already put down his pieces, picked up a white piece again and placed it gently without needing to think, much more relaxed than before. "I was wondering, are the pirates along the coast really so formidable that you needed to specifically ask General Su to lead the suppression? So it was a strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountain."

Yan Hongtian looked at the piece Lou Xiyan had just placed. It wasn't in the center of the board fighting the black pieces, but it firmly blocked the black pieces' retreat, which made the Emperor very pleased. He also picked up a black piece lightly and strangled all the white pieces in the center, his move ruthless, and his words were equally airtight. "The pirates are indeed formidable. They not only rob cargo ships at sea but also go ashore to burn, kill, and loot. Their actions are strange, and there might truly be something fishy here. Only with General Su taking the lead can I be at ease."

"Is that so?" Lou Xiyan arched his brows slightly and let out a light "Oh," sighing as if he understood. "Then it was my mistake; it should be a strategy of killing two birds with one stone."

Yan Hongtian was stunned, then laughed. Those who know me, Lou Xiyan. The outcome of this game was undecided, but Yan Hongtian pushed the board aside and picked up the hot tea Xiao Yu had replaced earlier, sighing, "Su Ling is brave and good at fighting, upright and resolute, but unfortunately, he is arrogant and proud, and there are some things he would definitely disdain to do, nor is he easily driven. Su Ren would be a good candidate."

Lou Xiyan still held a piece in his hand. Clearly, Yan Hongtian no longer had the interest to continue the game. Holding the piece in his palm, Lou Xiyan remained calm. "It seems you have already deployed everything. It was I who worried too much."

"This court should change. Otherwise, they will all forget whose world Qiongyue truly is." The Yang family had already been removed; the Xin family could not be left alone!

It was noon, but the wind suddenly picked up. This year should be a cold winter.

Ministry of Justice Mansion

The celebration was over, and the tricky cases had been handled. Lv Jin and Cheng Hang had also rested for quite a few days. If there were no major cases in the capital, they should go to various provinces and counties to inspect cases. The two went to the Ministry of Justice Mansion early in the morning, ready to talk to Minister Dan about this. Who knew that upon arrival, they learned the Minister had been summoned into the palace by the Emperor. At this moment, the two were sitting bored on the rosewood chairs in the study, waiting for Dan Yulan to return.

Cheng Hang picked up the tea that had been refilled twice and drank it in one gulp, asking with a mix of irritation and anticipation, "Tell me, why did the Emperor summon the Minister into the palace? Could there be some major case?"

Lv Jin was much more elegant than him. He sipped the hot tea and replied flatly, "We'll know when the Minister returns." All reported cases were reviewed by the Ministry of Justice before being presented. He didn't remember any major cases recently.

Nonsense! Cheng Hang rolled his eyes at Lv Jin. Lv Jin ignored him and continued drinking hot tea. The two waited for over half an hour. Cheng Hang paced back and forth in the study, and just as his patience was about to run out, Dan Yulan finally returned.

Winter had been here for many days, and the cold wind was already strong. In the Ministry of Justice Mansion, several century-old trees were being blown by the fierce wind, their branches and leaves trembling. Dan Yulan's expression was slightly heavy. He walked slowly in such a cold wind, not knowing what he was thinking. The wind blew his official robes with a flapping sound, but he remained unmoved. After finally walking back to the study slowly, he ignored the two who had been waiting inside. He walked straight to the desk and sat in the chair, remaining silent for a long time.

The two looked at each other. The Minister was acting strangely! Cheng Hang gave Lv Jin a look, and Lv Jin called out softly, "Minister?"

Not until Lv Jin spoke did Dan Yulan seem to be startled back to his senses. He stared at the two for a good while before saying in a low voice, "Find all the case files regarding Lin Bokang's theft and replacement of military grain, and study them carefully."

The military grain case? When the two returned to the capital, this case had already been shelved, so neither of them understood it. However, seeing the Minister so cautious, the two didn't dare to be careless. "Yes."

The two searched for a good while, and Lv Jin finally found a thin case file from over half a year ago. After flipping through it, a trace of doubt flashed across Lv Jin's face, but he didn't say much and handed the file to Cheng Hang. Cheng Hang looked at the file, which seemed to be only a few pages, and muttered, "The Emperor summoned the Minister into the palace this time just for the military grain case?" He had thought it was some major case.

Dan Yulan took out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and while looking down and writing something, he replied, "Three months. The case must be closed."

A time limit was set? This was not common. Cheng Hang flipped through the file, his brows furrowing tightly. He wondered, "This case isn't a major one. Lin Bokang is dead, the stolen military grain has all been found, Li Ming has confessed to killing Lin Bokang, and he also testified that Lin Bokang stole and replaced the military grain, intending to sell it to southern merchants for profit. At the time, the Ministry of Justice Vice Minister Wu Zhigang, who was the chief judge of the case, also intercepted the military grain from the southern merchant fleet. Isn't this case already closed?"

"Look at it carefully again." Dan Yulan didn't raise his head, but his voice sounded heavy.

Having been by Dan Yulan's side for many years, they rarely saw him so troubled. Even for the "Heart-Plucking Case" that had enraged the Emperor, they hadn't seen the Minister so worried. Could there be a hidden story behind this military grain case? The two held those few sheets of paper and read them seriously.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the two could almost recite the file by heart before slowly putting it down. Cheng Hang supported his chin and analyzed, "Li Ming had been a steward in the Lin family for many years. Even if he had some deep hatred for Lin Bokang, knowing he had already been sentenced to beheading, why would he risk killing Lin Bokang in the Ministry of Justice? It doesn't make sense."

Lv Jin nodded. The fragmented information in his mind couldn't be connected, but he also saw some clues. "It's unlikely that Li Ming could have killed Lin Bokang in the Ministry of Justice by himself. A month ago, there was even a prisoner brawl in the Ministry of Justice prison, and the one most severely injured was Li Ming, who was being held alone."

Dan Yulan had just finished writing what was in his hand. Hearing Lv Jin's words, he was shocked. "Li Ming is dead?"

"Minister, rest assured. Li Ming is a key figure in this case. During the brawl last time, this subordinate felt something was wrong, so the person has already been sent to the prison in the Ministry of Justice Mansion, under special guard." At the time, he just felt there was something fishy, and his intuition told him this person must be a key figure. Today, it seemed he had done the right thing.

"Good." Dan Yulan breathed a sigh of relief. The prison in the Ministry of Justice Mansion was a place for temporarily detaining suspects for re-trial, and the yamen runners inside were all trusted aides who had followed him for many years; naturally, it was incomparable to the Ministry of Justice prison. Li Ming was being held there, so he was very relieved. Seeing that both of them had read the case file thoroughly, Dan Yulan stood up and said, "Lin Bokang was just one of the large grain merchants in the capital. If it weren't for the strong recommendation of Minister Yang of the Ministry of Personnel, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to take on this big business. Every year, the imperial court allocates half of the grain from the national treasury for military grain, and the other half is purchased from the people. There is already quite a bit of profit in that. For such a good job to fall into his hands, is he really so stupid that the first time he does business with the court, he steals and replaces military grain, passing off inferior goods as superior? This is a capital offense."

Tapping his fingers on the thin file, Cheng Hang perked up. "Now that you put it that way, there really is a hidden story behind this case." The more complex the case, the more he liked it; it was challenging.

Cheng Hang's eyes were full of excitement. Lv Jin shook his head helplessly and looked down at the name of the coroner who performed the autopsy at the time—Wang Bingsheng? It seemed like a small coroner from Yingtian Prefecture. Lv Jin pulled out the autopsy document and handed it to Dan Yulan, asking, "Lin Bokang's body is still in the Ministry of Justice's righteous villa. Does the Minister want to perform another autopsy?"

"No need. Lin Bokang's body was autopsied by Lady Lou, and I was present that day. No need for another."

As soon as Lv Jin heard that Zhuo Qing had performed the autopsy, he felt happy and asked urgently, "Should we invite Lady Lou over?" Lady Lou's autopsy methods were brilliant; every time he listened to her explain, he could gain something.

Dan Yulan pondered for a moment and finally sighed. "Things are not like before; she is already the Prime Minister's wife. Let's not trouble her if we don't have to."

Cheng Hang also leaned forward and asked, "Then... what about Miss Qing?" Lv Jin was convinced by the Prime Minister's wife, but by comparison, he admired Miss Qing Mo's alertness and sharpness in investigating cases, her unique and incisive questioning, and her beautiful martial arts skills—it was truly impressive! And she hadn't officially become the General's wife yet, so there was no need to avoid so much suspicion.

Dan Yulan shook his head immediately this time and smiled bitterly. "The Ao Tian case almost cost her her life, and General Su still doesn't give me a good look to this day."

The two Miss Qing's temperaments were eccentric to begin with, and their husbands were not easy to deal with. No wonder the Minister didn't want to provoke them unless absolutely necessary. Cheng Hang supported the corner of the table with one hand and rested the other on Lv Jin's shoulder, pouting and laughing. "Forget it, forget it. Let's investigate it ourselves. Before they were around, we still solved cases just the same!"

Dan Yulan sighed secretly. If the Qing sisters were men and could serve as officials, there would definitely be fewer unjust cases in the world. It was a pity... Gathering his thoughts, Dan Yulan coughed lightly and said, "Cheng Hang, go investigate Li Ming's life, how his family is doing, and who he usually associates with. Lv Jin, you go investigate the background of that southern merchant fleet, and also..." Dan Yulan picked up the letter he had just written and handed it to Lv Jin. "Present this to Commander Su and ask him to help count the military grain inventory over the years."

Count the military grain inventory? Could it be...

"Yes." Both were men of action. After hearing Dan Yulan's instructions, they acted immediately. Just as the two reached the door, they heard Dan Yulan's voice from behind: "You two must remember, the military grain case must be investigated in secret."

Lv Jin's heart skipped a beat. It seemed this case was deeply implicated.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 331 =====