in2ebook Chapter 161 Account Book
Chapter 161 Account Book
But when she was halfway through flipping the page, she happened to see the official from the Ministry of Justice who had just angrily scolded Lu Zhao. He could see clearly his upturned eyes and thought that he was dissatisfied with her just like Lu Zhao, so he glared at him fiercely.
Yuan Qing: "..."
She really didn't mean it, bro!
Seeing that they had been spending half a day here and still hadn't come up with a specific set of rules, those who were in charge of important tasks were getting a little restless.
They exchanged glances.
Dali Temple Judge: Is it necessary to continue this discussion?
Minister of Justice: Don’t look at me. His Majesty only asked us to watch the prisoner, but didn’t ask us to investigate the case.
Chief Censor: Why do all these troubles come at once? I will retire and return home in a few days.
The Dali Temple Minister knew that he could not deny the matter, so he could only cheer up and look at Lu Zhao. Lu Zhao was his life-saving straw now, and he was probably the one who knew the most about the case.
Receiving the look of help, Lu Zhao moved his body and said lazily: "Don't look at me, I don't know either. Even if I know, I dare not say it, otherwise someone will put a hat on my head. I have old people and no children yet. I still have a long life to live. I don't want to be forced to die young."
The official who was mentioned froze in his expression.
The Minister of Justice came out to smooth things over, "Master Lu, please don't mind it. You know that at this time, it is more important to investigate the case, otherwise none of us can escape."
There is some truth to this statement.
Lu Zhao stopped insisting.
"Let me ask you a question first: How did this case happen? Where did it happen? What is the root cause? Who are the people involved? We must sort out all these before we can continue the investigation."
The Minister of Justice has had the most contact in the past few days, so he knows more details than others.
He looked around and found that no one was willing to step forward, so he had to speak himself.
"After His Majesty fell ill, the imperial doctors in the palace found out that the tea His Majesty often drank was problematic, so they carefully checked the tea that flowed into the palace. As a result, they found that the tobacco tea produced in abundance in Jiangzhou contained trace amounts of poison, which caused His Majesty to faint due to long-term intake. Since the largest tobacco and tea seller is controlled by the Lou family in Jiangzhou, we sent people to Jiangzhou to investigate. Through the Lou family's account books, we found that the problematic account came from Yuzhou."
Speaking of Yuzhou, he suddenly looked at Yuan Qing.
If he remembered correctly, this newcomer Gong Bin had just come to Beijing from Yuzhou.
I just don’t know if he is related to this case. If so, then even Lu Zhao will be in trouble.
Before he could ask, Lu Zhao brought up the matter first, "Didn't you just come from Yuzhou? Tell the gentlemen about the situation in Yuzhou."
Yuan Qing stood up from behind Lu Zhao, flipping through the book and saying, "When I went there, I arrived in Yuzhou almost at the same time as your Majesty's imperial edict. After Prince An received the imperial edict, he and Empress Dowager Qing met with Yuzhou Governor He at Gao's house."
Suddenly someone asked, "Is he called He Guangcheng?"
Yuan Qing thought for a while while holding the pen, "It seems to be called this name. I was waiting outside with my sister at that time, and I didn't see the nobles, so I only know a little about some things. I only know that after explaining the matter, the Queen Mother Qing returned to Jiangzhou. That night I received a letter from Lord Lu and set off from Yuzhou to Yuanjing."
Such a coincidence?
Concubine Qing had just returned and something happened to the Lou family in Jiangzhou?
All those present were old foxes who had made their way through the officialdom. They smelled something unusual between these few words.
Speaking of the Lou family, everyone still has some concerns.
After all, the Lou family's wealth is considered one of the richest in the south, and who wouldn't want to get a piece of the pie?
What's more, the Lou family is married to the Yao family, the criminals of the past. There are countless ways to bring them down. They can't help but think that maybe the Lou family is innocent this time and is just framed.
Yuan Qing lowered his brows, and in his mind he had already figured out the plans of his father and Wen Chengyu.
Marrying into the Yao family is another point at which they can attack the Lou family.
The Lou family had an engagement with the Yao family back then.
However, it was not stated who would fulfill the marriage contract.
Many years later, although the two families still had contacts, the Yao family, which had become one of the aristocratic families, looked down on the declining Lou family.
Lou Jiazi has been familiar with the books of sages since childhood, and has a scholar's pride in his bones.
The Yao family treated him more and more coldly, and he didn't want to get close to them and make others dislike him, so he took the token of love from that year and went to the Yao family to cancel the engagement.
He entered through a small door in the evening, avoiding everyone's sight, and met the domineering head of the Yao family.
The poor boy took the initiative to propose to cancel the engagement. The head of the Yao family was embarrassed and felt deeply humiliated by him.
Even if the engagement needs to be cancelled, it shouldn't be him who brings it up.
The head of the Yao family temporarily avoided the request of the Lou family member on the pretext of entertaining distinguished guests, and generously allowed him to stay in the side courtyard for a while.
That night, several people in charge of the Yao family gathered together to discuss countermeasures.
Finally, they decided to start with Lou Jiazi, ruin his reputation, and make him stay away from Yuanjing City from now on, so that he would no longer be able to threaten the Yao family with old events.
The girls in the backyard happened to hear about the verbal engagement.
With curiosity and contempt in their hearts, they went to the side courtyard to look at the impoverished Lou family.
The sisters felt disgusted after just one look and turned away.
A girl in plain clothes and a simple hairpin was left standing behind the stone, staring at him blankly.
Then, the commoner girl went to offer advice to her eldest brother, saying that the Yao family could not leave people with the impression that they treated the son of an old friend harshly, and she was willing to marry the son of the Lou family to preserve the reputation of the Yao family.
After all, she is just an insignificant concubine's daughter. She is too old to be given away, and if she stays in the mansion, there will be one more person to support her. It is better to do as she says and kill two birds with one stone.
After much consideration, the head of the Yao family gave her a gold-plated hairpin as a dowry.
After a simple wedding, Lou Jiazi and his wife said goodbye to the head of the Yao family and walked through the small door again.
The Lou family all knew about this matter tacitly.
Although many years have passed since the Yao family incident, there is no guarantee that others will not use this incident to bring up old issues.
The account books brought from the Lou family were still in the hands of the Ministry of Justice. They didn't say anything, and no one could continue the conversation.
Although harmony was maintained on the surface, there was some unhappiness secretly, which directly affected the Dali Temple's investigation of the case.
Lu Zhao simply went to the palace, took the emperor's order, and asked for the account books from the Ministry of Justice.
Lu Zhao first asked Yuan Qing to look at the account book.
Yuan Qing walked to the table, sorted out the pile of account books, and casually opened the one in the middle to read.
Most of what he remembered happened were things that happened more than ten years ago. At that time, the Lou family did not have as much wealth as it does today, and the account books were simpler, but he remembered every entry clearly, without any ambiguity.