Chapter 1 Investigation

Jiang Chen motioned for the palace servants to close the hall doors. His eyes gleamed with a sharp light as he inquired, "Has there been any progress in the investigation?"

Feng Jin nodded, his expression solemn, and knelt on the ground.

Although he had made a great contribution, he did not presume on it. He knew very well that his most powerful card was the Emperor's trust.

"Your Majesty, after a secret investigation, this old servant has found a common point among the families of those convicted officials. They all initially stayed in the Jiaofang Division (imperial entertainment and training quarter) under the Ministry of Rites!"

"The Jiaofang Division?"

Jiang Chen pondered, asking, "Since they entered the Jiaofang Division, they should be imprisoned for life. How did they enter the palace?"

Feng Jin hesitated, ashamed. "Your Majesty, this servant has not found out."

"The person who forged their identities and household registrations was extremely careful, leaving no clues... But after comparison, this servant found a suspicious point!"

"After these family members of convicted officials were sent to the Jiaofang Division, they were all trained by a woman!"

Hearing this, Jiang Chen's eyes flashed, and he stood up abruptly. "Who is it? What is her background?"

Feng Jin said in a deep voice, "Meng Huaishu!"

"This woman was the top courtesan in the Jiaofang Division several years ago. Because of her beauty and talent, she had dealings with many dignitaries. Until a few years ago, a mysterious person helped her to clear the relationship, redeemed her, and since then she disappeared."

"This old servant sent his men to investigate for a few days and found that the person who redeemed Meng Huaishu was Zhang Kang, the current Censor-in-chief!"

"Back then, he was not yet the Censor-in-chief, but only a minor official. By chance, he had an intersection with Meng Huaishu, and the two began to entangle."

"Later, in order to climb to a high position, Zhang Kang tried his best to marry a noble lady, and since then his official career has been smooth and he rose rapidly. After that, he redeemed Meng Huaishu and placed her by his side."

After listening, Jiang Chen's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he sneered, "Heh, in this way, my Censor-in-chief is a rare affectionate man! Good, I will fulfill them and send these two to the underworld to be a pair of lovebirds!"

"Someone, draft an edict, Censor-in-chief Zhang Kang, harboring evil intentions..."

"Your Majesty, please wait!"

Feng Jin scrambled to his feet and ran to him, dissuading him:

"Your Majesty, we do not have enough evidence on hand. If we act at this time, we will inevitably startle the snake and let the real big fish go. Please think twice!"

Hearing this, Jiang Chen's face instantly darkened.

He was not a fool. So many coincidences clearly showed that these assassinating family members of convicted officials were related to Zhang Kang, and Zhang Kang was a puppet of Mei Wenshi. Following the clues, the mastermind behind the scenes was clear at a glance!

What was hateful was that the information they had could not move Mei Wenshi at all!

This old fox!

Jiang Chen suppressed his anger, waved away the approaching eunuch, and sat back at the table.

Seeing this, Feng Jin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Majesty, Zhang Kang deserves to die, but he is more useful to us alive!"

"Now that we have found out his relationship with Meng Huaishu, following this line, we will surely be able to catch Mei Wenshi's weakness. Wouldn't it be better to take down this group of treacherous villains together at that time?"

Jiang Chen's face was ugly, and he did not say a word.

He naturally understood the reasoning, but he could not swallow this breath!

After a long time, he took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Okay, I will listen to you and not touch him for now."

"You continue to investigate this matter, and I will arrange for the dark guards to assist you. Be sure to find evidence of Zhang Kang and Mei Wenshi's crimes!"

Feng Jin nodded to accept the order, and then a hesitant look appeared on his face, and he hesitated: "Your Majesty, this old servant has something, I don't know if I should mention it..."

Jiang Chen softened his expression and comforted him: "Although you call yourself a servant, you and I have been together for many years and have a deep friendship. You can speak frankly. "

After speaking, he walked out from behind the table, personally helped Feng Jin up, and was very respectful.

Feng Jin was surging with emotion, his nose twitched, and he almost burst into tears.

For so many years, His Majesty had never valued him so much!

He hurriedly got up, his voice trembling, and he couldn't put his words together: "This, this old servant thanks Your Majesty!"

Jiang Chen smiled and comforted him.

Feng Jin was the chief eunuch of the inner palace. He had watched him grow up since he was a child, and had a deep friendship. Moreover, he was loyal to Great Wei and the royal family. This respect was what he deserved.

Feng Jin calmed down and glanced at Jiang Chen hesitantly, whispering, "Your Majesty, do you still remember the former Grand Commandant, Xu Da, the old General Xu?"

Jiang Chen hesitated for a moment, recalling who this Xu Da was.

After a while, he said lightly, "I remember. This Xu Da seems to have been beheaded and his family exterminated by me for colluding with the enemy and betraying the country."

Feng Jin was silent, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he was a little afraid to speak.

But thinking of the madness of the Mei family, he still gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, in fact, there are other, other secrets about the old General Xu, which may even be related to the downfall of the Mei family. The importance is still above the assassination case."

"Oh?"

Jiang Chen's spirit was shaken and he became interested.

"There have been too many miscellaneous matters these days, and I can't remember many things from the past. You can help me recall them and speak frankly. Even if there is anything offensive, I will forgive you!"

Hearing this, Feng Jin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his expression complicated, and he slowly narrated the past events.

Jiang Chen listened attentively, and the more he listened, the uglier his face became.

It turned out that this former Grand Commandant, Xu Da, the old General Xu, was a minister of two dynasties, loyal and upright, and had a straightforward personality. After the original owner ascended the throne, because of his昏聩behavior and neglect of government affairs, he was often scolded by this old General Xu, and the relationship between the monarch and his ministers gradually became estranged.

And Mei Wenshi took this opportunity to send Mei Ruoying into the harem. With the trust of the original owner, and his daughter's pillow talk, he expanded his power and promoted his confidants, and for a time he was unparalleled in the limelight. Seeing the treacherous ministers gain power, old General Xu was heartbroken, and launched a struggle with Mei Wenshi's party.

At that time, although there were often conflicts in the court, the loyal ministers still had the upper hand.

However, the good times did not last long. Later, an accident caused the Xu family to be beheaded, and since then Mei Wenshi dominated the family and occupied the court.

And the culprit of this accident was Jiang Chen!

At the end of the year, the original owner hosted a grand banquet for the ministers.

All the officials brought their families with them. Xu Da, as the Grand Commandant, also brought his only daughter to participate in this grand event.

At the end of the banquet, that bastard, the original owner, was drunk and, for some reason, saw that Xu Da's daughter was outstanding in appearance and intelligent and lovely, so he had evil intentions and tied her only daughter into the bedroom and insulted her all night.

After waking up the next day, because of his past discord with Xu Da, he sent someone to send Xu Da's dying only daughter home, without any compensation, nor was he willing to give her a title.

Xu Da was high-ranking and powerful, and loved his daughter, so how could he bear this humiliation? He publicly attacked the original owner in the Golden Luan Hall, scolding this bastard, and even threatened to rebel!

Because of this matter, he was dismissed and his family was confiscated.

Then, in order to protect his reputation, the original owner hypocritically pardoned Xu Da's only daughter, brought her into the palace, gave her a title at will, and then threw her into the Changmen Palace (palace for disgraced consorts) and imprisoned her.

So far, the whole incident ended, and all the members of the Grand Commandant's mansion except Xu's were beheaded.

Over the years, this incident has become a taboo, and no one dares to mention it again, but those who know the truth feel disheartened by the emperor's actions, and since then they have turned to Mei Wenshi.

After listening, Jiang Chen was completely silent...