Chapter 1254: Investigate to the End (4)

Frowning, Mu Yangling said, “Qin Fang was indeed a treacherous official and no one can deny that. However, he was not the only one who made Great Zhou what it was. Even without Qin Fang, with descendants like Gaozong and Emperor Jingyan around, Great Zhou would’ve landed in such a state one day. You have to know that Qin Fang only took over the power after the Imperial Court went south and obtained Emperor Jingyan’s favor.”

“He’s not the reason why Great Zhou lost half of the northern territory.”

“But General Yuan had already taken back half of the land. It was because of his slander and his advice to make Great Zhou bow down in front of Great Jin, that caused Great Zhou to return the recovered territory. In addition, Great Zhou even gave up two extra cities, agreed to pay an annual tribute and signed humiliating clauses such as admitting subservience to Great Jin. It’s his fault that the commoners and soldiers of our northern border had to suffer and live in chaos!” Qi Haoran was furious. Even now, he still remembered the grief and indignation he felt when he heard the news. Although he was still young at that time and hadn’t understood the meaning of his country, this didn’t stop him from hating someone called Qin Fang from now on.

This was also one of Qin Fang’s main crimes.

Mu Yangling said calmly, “I know that Qin Fang was a wicked person. Considering my family was in Xingzhou Prefecture then, I hated him as much as everyone else. But I do know that even though Qin Fang was the one who suggested the idea, the one who ultimately made the decision was Emperor Jingyan. Qin Fang was a treacherous prime minister, as well as an extremely wicked person. As a general and a prime minister, he didn’t do his duty. But what about Emperor Jingyan? Has he fulfilled his duty as the Emperor to protect the country and the people? What about the generals in the court? Where were the other generals apart from General Yuan? What about the imperial censors? It is the imperial censors’ duty to supervise the officials, and the prime minister is also among those they should supervise. In the entire Jingyan Dynasty, how many imperial censors impeached Qin Fang consistently? Which of the six ministries did right by the people of Great Zhou?”

Qi Haoran opened his mouth before shutting it.

“Now, everyone in the world only attributes the destruction of the Great Zhou to Qin Fang. Although he was indeed a treacherous official, I still don’t agree.”

“Then what do you want?”

“What can I do?” Mu Yangling shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m just telling you what I think. Anyway, the person being slandered isn’t myself or the people I care about. There’s no need for me to go against the commoners for him.”

“No, you should go against them.” Qi Haoran said thoughtfully, “Tell the people about your thoughts on Qin Fang.”

Mu Yangling was horrified. “Are you trying to get me thrown rotten eggs whenever I go out?”

Qi Haoran looked at his wife with bright eyes. “You must have a way to speak up for him and prevent yourself from being thrown rotten eggs. Ah Ling, please help me. The people are agitated and Big Brother is urging me to do something about it. However, I really can’t catch those people for now.”

“If not now, then when?”

Qi Haoran said confidently, “In one to three months, I’ll definitely find them. But looking at the situation outside, I’m afraid something will happen shortly!” So hurry up and help your husband!

Although Qi Haoran did not say the last sentence, he looked at Mu Yangling with his big eyes without blinking. Mu Yangling could feel the heat even when she turned around and was instantly speechless.

Qi Haoran’s eyes became even more pitiful. He even went forward and hugged her in an attempt to use his charm to make her agree.

Mu Yangling shivered and pushed him away, not touched at all. She said helplessly, “Alright, I’ll help you, but let me say this first. No matter what I do to help you, you’re not allowed to settle scores with me later.”

“What are you planning to do?”

Mu Yangling glared at him. “What else can I do? Speak up for Qin Fang according to your wishes, of course. But can you really catch their accomplices? Didn’t you say that they refused to confess anything?”

“Although they didn’t confess, I found some clues from their words. It’s impossible for so many men to hide without leaving any traces. For example, didn’t Eldest Master Qin and the dozen or so students discover their traces? Since they used the monsters’ story as a cover to kill many people, could they have done something similar in other places? Although it takes a longer time to investigate one by one, it’s still a solution.” Qi Haoran said with a sigh, “Unfortunately, they didn’t confess. If they had spoken, I would have been able to arrest them immediately.”

Mu Yangling was silent for a moment before asking, “Are they really that loyal to Qin Fang?”

Qi Haoran nodded helplessly. “They feel that just because Qin Fang raised them, they should do anything for him, including avenging him.”

Mu Yangling sneered. “Really? Then I want to see how loyal they are to Qin Fang!”

Qi Haoran felt that their loyalty was as deep as the sea because the Court of Judicial Review had used all the punishments they could use on them. They had even boiled water in front of them and scalded one person. Still, the others had their eyes closed and did not speak.

Perhaps the sacrificial soldiers groomed by the royal family could not compare to them in terms of loyalty.

However, Mu Yangling felt that although these people were Qin Fang’s adopted sons, they were actually Qin Fang’s sacrificial soldiers!

Mu Yangling did not deal with the public opinion immediately. Instead, she brought a few guards to the prison to pick up the prisoners.

Lord Bai from the Court of Judicial Review looked at Queen Consort Rong helplessly and said firmly, “Your Highness, these are criminals. Vicious criminals. You really can’t take them away.”

Mu Yangling took the note that Qi Haoran had given her and said, “King Rong has agreed.”

The corners of Lord Bai’s mouth twitched. No wonder King Rong didn’t come to the Court of Judicial Review today. It turned out that he had run away. He resolutely refused again. “Even if King Rong agrees, you can’t take them away.”

“What if the Emperor agrees?”

Lord Bai felt that the Emperor wouldn’t mess around like King Rong, so he nodded and said with a smile, “If Your Highness can get His Majesty’s imperial edict, I will naturally let you have them.”

Hence, Mu Yangling casually called for a guard and handed him the letter that she had already written. “Hurry up and enter the palace to seek an audience with His Majesty.”

Under Lord Bai’s dumbfounded gaze, Mu Yangling sat in the hall and drank while waiting.

Lord Bai felt that the Emperor had two ways to reject her. One was to reject her directly, which would free him from the situation quickly. However, if the Emperor happened to use the second method, which was to delay, he would be in trouble. If the guards didn’t come back, would he have to stay here and accompany Queen Consort Rong for the entire day?

He still had a lot of work to do, so Lord Bai decided to wait for 20 minutes. If by then the guard still hadn’t returned, he would find an excuse to go out and let Queen Consort Rong wait by herself.

The Court of Judicial Review was not far from the palace, and the guards rode fast, so they quickly arrived at the palace gate.

Knowing that Queen Consort Rong had something to deliver to the Emperor, the palace servants, who were afraid of King Rong, did not dare to be negligent. After taking the letter, they jogged to the door of the Imperial Study. No one dared to stop them along the way.

In no time, the letter was handed to Eunuch Wan.

As the Emperor’s personal eunuch, Eunuch Wan knew that the relationship between the Emperor and his sister-in-law, Queen Consort Rong, was very unusual. In his opinion, the Emperor didn’t also regard her as his sister-in-law, but also as his younger sister. Therefore, the two of them communicated via letter from time to time. Sometimes, Queen Consort Rong dared to say things that even King Rong did not dare to say in front of the Emperor.

Aware that the Emperor valued Queen Consort Rong very much, Eunuch Wan did not dare to be negligent when he received the letter. Ignoring the fact that the Emperor was still discussing national matters with the ministers, he directly carried the letter and carefully sent it in.

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