The rural doctor bought a husband who was very treacherous

Chapter 236 Overturning Sun Bowen's Case

Emperor Jing had a bad look on his face, full of a cold and murderous expression.

"I have already given you a rough list of people who have falsified taxes in Jiangnan, as well as the amount of taxes withheld in Jiangnan in recent years. As for the specific amount, we need to compare the account books in Jiangnan with those recorded in the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing before we can determine it." Qi Lingheng stood up and bowed to report.

"Well, I just looked at the account book. I didn't expect that the amount you counted alone has exceeded the total amount of silver in the national treasury. These dogs are really bold and presumptuous."

"This time, we noticed something unusual about Jiangnan's tax withholding, thanks to a former chief accountant in the Ministry of Revenue. He had noticed some discrepancies in Jiangnan's tax before, but his influence was not strong at the time, and there were some account books that he could not see, so there was no substantial evidence. Later, he was framed, his house was confiscated, and he was exiled. His two children were sold..."

Sun Yueyun's father was convicted by an imperial decree of Emperor Jing. If such a person wants to overturn the verdict, Emperor Jing must issue another decree.

So Su Tang told Emperor Jing about Sun Yueyun's father.

"Sun Bowen, the chief clerk of the Ministry of Revenue." Emperor Jing said with a frown.

He had an impression of the case at that time. Jiangnan had just suffered a flood that year, and the tax revenue in Jiangnan was almost zero. The court had to allocate funds from the national treasury to Jiangnan for flood control.

But there were rumors at that time that the flood in Jiangnan was not as serious as rumored, and it was just some small floods in a few places. The national treasury was already insufficient that year, and after paying the money for flood control in Jiangnan, all funds were tight.

Later, someone discovered that there was a problem with the Ministry of Revenue's account books. It turned out that a chief clerk had made mistakes in the accounts for several years in a row. Emperor Jing was furious and demoted that person, confiscated his entire family property and exiled them.

However, he never imagined that the man had only found problems with Jiangnan’s tax affairs that year, and was afraid that he would investigate further and find more problems, so he charged him with dereliction of duty.

Emperor Jing fumbled with the ring in his hand and said, "Fuquanhai."

"I'm here." Eunuch Fu responded and walked into the imperial study.

"Hurry up and draft an edict. I want to announce to the world that the case involving Sun Bowen, the former chief clerk of the Ministry of Revenue, was the result of a malicious frame-up by a treacherous villain. I hereby declare this!

I will never allow such unjust, false and wrong cases to happen. I will investigate this case thoroughly and clear your name.

If anyone dares to continue to frame loyal people, I will punish them severely! "

"Yes, I'll prepare it right away." Eunuch Fu responded and went to the desk beside him to help Emperor Jing prepare.

Soon, the imperial edict to overturn Sun Bowen's case was written out, along with another decree regarding the Jiangnan tax withholding case.

The decree clearly stated that the King of Qi should investigate the case, and also pardoned him for the right to execute first and report later.

Qi Lingheng took the two imperial edicts and immediately knelt down to receive the orders.

"Father, there is one more thing Tang'er wants to tell you." Su Tang said to Emperor Jing, whose expression had eased a little.

"What's the matter?"

"During this trip to Jiangnan, Tang'er discovered a secret. This matter was too important, so Tang'er did not write a letter to inform the emperor in advance."

Emperor Jing frowned and waited for Su Tang to continue.

This was a matter even more serious than the tax withholding in Jiangnan. Even Eunuch Fu, who was still in the palace, could not help but frown when he heard about it.

"We discovered several iron ore caves in Nanshan outside Yangzhou City. Those mines have been mined continuously for more than ten years. The reason why they have not been discovered by outsiders is that the entrances to those mines are all built inside Taoist temples.

Tang Er also heard that there were many Taoist temples and Buddhist temples there, so she wanted to go and see them, and that’s when she discovered it.”

"Moreover, the Taoist temples built outside those mines also have underground workshops for casting weapons and armor."

Who dares to mine iron ore and forge weapons privately? This is obviously a sign of rebellion.

Eunuch Fu felt sweat on his back.

After a long while, in the silent imperial study, Emperor Jing spoke again.

"I will send someone to investigate this matter. Do you know where those weapons were sent to in the end?"

"We haven't found out about this yet. When we discovered that someone was mining illegally, we realized that this was not a simple matter. So, we have almost finished investigating the tax case in Jiangnan, so we hurried back to Beijing."

"By the way, on the way back, someone kept ambushing us crazily. I guess it's related to the person who forged weapons privately."

In the end, Emperor Jing let Su Tang and the others leave.

Someone was planning a rebellion, so he didn't plan to let Qi Lingheng investigate the matter. After all, he didn't particularly trust Qi Lingheng.

After leaving the imperial study, Su Tang and the others unexpectedly met Concubine Li at the door of the imperial study in the palace.

Qi Lingheng was a man from outside. After seeing Concubine Li, he bowed and stood aside without saying anything.

Of course, Concubine Li was not here to look for Qi Lingheng. Sitting on the sedan chair, Concubine Li looked at Su Tang and said with a smile, "It is said that the princess went to Jiangnan for fun a few days ago. When the princess has time, come to my palace and tell me about the interesting things in Jiangnan. I haven't been back to Jiangnan for a long time."

Li Fei's mother's family was a noble family in Jiangnan, so after Li Fei entered the palace and became favored, her brother was naturally appointed as the Governor of Suzhou.

There is nothing wrong with Concubine Li saying this to Su Tang at this time.

Su Tang smiled and replied, "Yes, the scenery in Jiangnan is indeed beautiful. Everyone talks about the misty rain in Jiangnan. The rainy scenery there is also unique."

"Well, Princess, you are here from His Majesty. Is His Majesty in the imperial study now?" Concubine Li asked with a smile.

"I did see the emperor just now, but I don't know where he is now."

"Well, then I won't delay the princess and Prince Qi from leaving the palace." Concubine Li glanced at Qi Lingheng who was standing silently aside.

"Tang'er, take your leave." Su Tang and Qi Lingheng bowed to Concubine Li together, then turned around and left.

Concubine Li looked back at the backs of Qi Lingheng and Su Tang as they left, her eyes narrowed, and her fists on her knees clenched tightly.

Concubine Li patted the sedan chair under her and said, "Let's go to the imperial study."

The sedan chair moved slowly in the palace again, and Concubine Li soon arrived outside the imperial study.

"Oh, Concubine Li is here." Outside the imperial study, a short eunuch with delicate features came towards Concubine Li with a broad smile on his face. That flattering smile seemed to be about to overflow.

Concubine Li was dressed in a gorgeous palace dress, her skirt swaying gently in the wind, and she wore a dazzling pearl and jade headdress on her head. She looked elegant and graceful.

She walked slowly to the eunuch, smiled slightly, and said softly: "I specially cooked some pigeon soup today, thinking of sending it to your majesty to nourish his body."

As she spoke, she slightly raised the exquisite food box in her hand and gestured to the eunuch to see it.

"Well, His Majesty has just rested." The eunuch replied, leaning forward.

Concubine Li put down the food box in her hand, her face full of regret, and then handed the food box to the eunuch, "Then please leave the food box in the imperial study. If His Majesty wakes up later and the soup is not cold, please ask His Majesty if he still wants to drink it."

"Okay." The eunuch took it with a smile.

When Concubine Li handed the eunuch the food box, she also gave him a small purse.

The young eunuch took the food box and the small purse with a smile. He shook the purse subconsciously. Although the movement was insignificant, Concubine Li saw it.

Concubine Li smiled with satisfaction and turned to leave.

The young eunuch bowed again to Concubine Li's departing figure and said, "Farewell, Concubine Li."

It was not until Concubine Li and her group left the imperial study far away that the eunuch's smiling face immediately fell, and Eunuch Fu behind him also walked out of the imperial study.

"Godfather." The young eunuch spread out his palm and did not hide the silver given by Concubine Li.

"Well." Eunuch Fu glanced at the food box and silver in the young eunuch's hand, "Keep the silver yourself, and find a place to dump the food in the food box. Don't let anyone see it. Be smart."

"Yes." The eunuch responded, turned around and left with the food box.

Eunuch Fu glanced at the dazzling sunlight hanging in the sky and turned back to the imperial study.

For several days, the atmosphere in the palace was extremely strange.

Ever since Su Tang and Qi Lingheng returned to Kyoto, Emperor Jing had not summoned or favored any of his concubines for several days.

Even the most favored Concubine Li, who found various excuses to go to Emperor Jing's study several times, was not summoned by Emperor Jing. She even did not see Eunuch Fu, who usually followed Emperor Jing.

"Bang!" Concubine Li broke another tea bowl in her own palace. The little palace maid kneeling in front of her took a few trembling steps on her knees and lowered her head to pick up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Perhaps His Majesty has been busy dealing with the affairs of the previous dynasty these days. His Majesty has not even seen the concubines in the harem." The old nanny standing beside Concubine Li advised.

"How can those vulgar women compare with me? Besides, His Majesty has given me temporary control of the harem, and I went to His Majesty to discuss some harem affairs."

"Yes, yes, your Highness shoulders the heavy responsibility of the harem, which is beyond the reach of the other concubines. But His Majesty has not summoned you, so you must not be angry these days. You must also take good care of yourself these days. When His Majesty is almost done with the affairs of the previous court, he will be the first one to see you when he is free. Your Highness must also take good care of yourself. By then, you will be better than other concubines in handling harem affairs and in appearance and demeanor."

"Yes, then I'll go to sleep for a while." After hearing what the nanny said, Concubine Li was still anxious, but she remembered that she had not slept well in recent days and her face was inevitably haggard. If Emperor Jingdi finished his work of the previous dynasty today and summoned her, it would not be appropriate to see her haggard face.

Thinking of this, Concubine Li stood up and was supported by the old nanny beside her to walk to the inner hall, "Madam, you are the one who can comfort me."

"I am the dowry nanny of the Majesty, so I must think more about the Majesty..."

These few days, after Su Tang came out of the imperial study, she returned to Dahe Village.

Nowadays, Su Tang’s identity has been speculated by many villagers.

It was really because the last time Su Tang came back to pick up Zhao Youtian's family, the scene was too big.

Although Zhao Youtian's family returned to Dahe Village not long after they left, someone in the village heard about it and found out that Zhao Youtian's family was taken to Kyoto.

Kyoto!!

That's where the emperor lives. County officials probably never have the chance to visit.

This news caused a sensation in Dahe Village and even the entire county where Dahe Village is located.

Later, it was said that the county officials came to the Zhao family in person, but no one knew what they talked about.

The villagers of Dahe Village only saw the two large carts of things brought by the county magistrate, but they returned with empty carts.

Some villagers wanted to go to the valley to find out the news, but they were suppressed by the village chief who already knew the news.

Today, many people in the village began to be dissatisfied with the village chief, blaming him for stopping them from maintaining relations with the Zhao family.

"Heh! What were you doing before? When the Su family was in trouble, you all bullied their daughters!!"

Zhao Youtian's family has already resumed their surname Zhao, but has not yet informed the villagers.

During the day, the village chief arranged for his children and grandchildren to watch the road leading to the valley from the village when they had nothing to do, and prohibited the villagers from going to the valley to harass the Su family.

In fact, he also regretted why he didn't let his children and grandchildren marry Su Tang.

Thinking of Su Tang's current status, the village chief secretly slapped his thigh so many times that he didn't know how many times he had done so.

Alas, his family is not destined to be rich!

Zhao Youtian was grateful for what the village chief had done. Whenever there was something delicious in the valley, he would send some to the village chief's family. After all, the chief would spare some people every day to help them stop the idle people in the village.

Of course, the Su family is not afraid of those idle people now. It is said that those people in the valley are all from the former Qi family army.

On this day, Su Tang's carriage came to Dahe Village again, and the idle people gathered at the entrance of the village immediately notified the villagers.

"Oh, there's another carriage in the village. I guess it's going to the Su family."

"It must be the Su family. Look around this village, which family has such a wealthy relative?" a villager echoed.

"I just don't know which master has come again."

When Su Tang came back this time, she didn't bring too many cars with her. Those who came back with her were all people who knew the secret of her space, so most of the things were placed in the space.

However, Su Tang and her group still brought some guards with them. After all, when they were returning to Beijing from Jiangnan, people ambushed them along the way. She didn't dare to be careless, so she brought some people with martial arts skills with her so that they could sense the breath of the killers in advance.

Fortunately, when they came back this time, no one ambushed them.

"Hey, where are you going?" A villager bravely stepped forward and stopped Su Tang's carriage and asked.

Outside the carriage, Qi Feng sat on a tall horse and frowned at the villagers who were blocking the carriage's way.

"Step aside!!"

"This is Dahe Village. When outsiders come to the village, we always have to ask questions." A lazy man rubbed his chest with his hands. The weather was hot at this time, and many villagers wore sleeveless vests with a cloth towel around their necks to wipe sweat.

"Miss Su is in the car, please get out of the way." The warhorse under Qi Feng took two steps forward, scaring the village man so much that he took a few steps back.

"Hehe, you said it was that girl Su Tang? We have to see it to know if it's true." Although the man took a few steps back, he still replied stubbornly.

"You don't know whether to live or die!" Qi Feng raised the whip in his hand and was about to swing at the man.