Zhao Ji's casual remark sent a chill down Nie Shan's spine.
Although he didn't understand why Zhao Ji insisted on doing this, Zhao Ji's intention was clear: he didn't want the case to proceed any further.
Since there was no evidence, it would be considered a false accusation.
Furthermore, Xu Changhao had beaten the Dengwen Drum, and the initial deterrent punishment was still recorded.
If it was proven to be a false accusation, the deterrent punishment would be doubled.
Even without Nie Shan's intervention, a single session of such punishment would likely be fatal for Xu Changhao, given his physical condition.
"Yes!"
Nie Shan took a deep breath and immediately responded.
"Minister Nie, you are indeed my pillar of support!"
Zhao Ji nodded in satisfaction, but Nie Shan felt an urge to resign and retire immediately.
Damn it, this was too terrifying, not to play like this!
On one side was the Crown Prince, and on the other was Prince Yun, and it was also decided who would be the next Prime Minister.
If even one of them decided to retaliate, his position would be a dead end!
Who among those who came to the forefront was easy to deal with?
Whether it was Wang Fu or Bai Shizhong, they might not have the ability to govern the country, but to get rid of him, it would be a matter of minutes!
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I am unworthy!"
"Alright, Minister Nie, you may go and attend to your own matters. I have my own understanding!"
Zhao Ji issued a polite dismissal, and Nie Shan could only leave dejectedly.
If this were in the past, let alone for him, for any official, being favored by the emperor would have been a tremendous piece of good news.
But at this moment, he couldn't be happy at all.
After he returned to Kaifeng Prefecture, both the Crown Prince and the Censorate were still waiting for him.
"Minister Nie, what did His Majesty say?"
As soon as Nie Shan entered, Censor Mei Jitong quickly asked.
Nie Shan's mouth twitched. How could he possibly say that the Emperor had directly burned the evidence...
But looking at the Crown Prince's questioning gaze, he knew in his heart that this matter would eventually come to light.
"You should see for yourselves!"
Nie Shan said as he reopened the box.
Seeing the empty box, both the Crown Prince and Censor Mei Jitong were stunned.
"Minister Nie, you can't be joking with me, can you? How could they use this thing as evidence? Moreover, that person admitted it in court."
Mei Jitong's face immediately turned grim.
Nie Shan felt a bitter smile. This was exactly what he feared. These people from the Censorate were all hot-headed.
If he insisted on pursuing this, he would be the one to take the blame in the end.
"I also want to know what's going on. Don't forget, I went with Grand Marshal Gao all the way!"
After hearing his words, Crown Prince Zhao Huan immediately seemed to understand something. He glanced at Nie Shan thoughtfully and then lowered his head again.
"But this..."
With the most important evidence gone, how could the case proceed?
Mei Jitong didn't know what to say for a moment.
He had thought he could uncover some shocking secret this time, but unexpectedly, before the secret was revealed, even the door was gone!
"Alright, there's no 'this' or 'that'. We've all been played by that damned Xu Changhao, and in broad daylight at that!"
With the matter reaching this point, Nie Shan could only brace himself and see it through to the end.
"In that case, we will re-examine the case in three days! If he still cannot produce any solid evidence, then it is a false accusation!"
Zhao Huan casually dropped his words and slowly walked out.
Seeing that the Crown Prince had left, Mei Jitong could only cup his hands at Nie Shan and leave angrily.
Although his face was full of unwillingness, he ultimately did not pursue it further, which made Nie Shan give a wry smile.
Would such a blunt person let him off so easily?
Nie Shan felt a pang of discomfort, as if he had eaten a fly.
This was like mud falling into his crotch; it wasn't feces, but it looked like it!
This matter took less than half an hour, and everyone who needed to know already knew.
Although Bai Shizhong was in a state of panic, Wang Fu was not much better off!
What was clear before had now become confusing.
He couldn't even explain why this was happening now.
The human heart is unpredictable!
————————————————————————————————————————————
"Sir, what does the Emperor mean? Why did he make the thing disappear?"
Outside the city of Bianliang, the coachman looked at Mr. Yuan with a puzzled expression.
"Isn't it obvious? Our Emperor doesn't want people to bring up what happened back then. After all, if he opens this door today, everyone will feel threatened in the future!"
"But that was rebellion!"
"It's been more than ten years. What rebellion or not? Besides, those people merely wrote a few letters to Zhang Huaishu. These people studied diligently for more than ten years, and then spent many years in the officialdom. They finally achieved their reputation and status today. You think they would rebel with a demonic monk who died more than ten years ago? If it were you, would you do it?"
Yuan Xingchi said dismissively.
"But, but..."
Being refuted like this, the coachman was also stunned.
"Alright, there's no 'but'. For the next few days, you can have a good rest. You can think about what delicious food and fun things there are in Bianliang. Young man, life is short, enjoy it while you can!"
Yuan Xingchi said, stretching his arms long.
"Really?"
"Of course, it's true. Haven't we still got quite a bit of money left from Prime Minister Wang?"
Yuan Xingchi smiled and said casually.
"But..."
"Enough, stop with the 'buts'. Do you think I care about this little money? Look at how popular the shops outside Donghua Gate are now!"
Yuan Xingchi said, unable to help but marvel.
A small shop was even more popular than all of the Zhe family's businesses before.
It was estimated that even Han Mo himself didn't expect that a shop outside Donghua Gate could bring the Zhe family more than a thousand guan in pure profit daily!