After Xiao Yan went to the Queen's palace, Qian Baokun felt uneasy. The Lu family's affairs were making a lot of noise, and Queen Lu came to Xiao Yan at this time. He always felt that she had bad intentions.
After waiting for more than half an hour, he finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xiao Yan coming back safe and sound.
"Are you okay?"
Qian Baokun went to meet him and was about to ask the queen what she wanted to do with him when he saw Xiao Yan's face was uglier than ever before. Although he didn't say anything, the strong and extremely violent aura surrounding him made people feel frightened. He hesitated for a moment: "What's wrong? What happened?"
Xiao Yan waved his hand and asked Jinyun and the others to retreat, leaving Qian Baokun alone.
After the two of them returned to the long table and sat down, he reached into his sleeve and handed him the things he had obtained from the Queen's palace.
"What is this?" Qian Baokun took it in surprise.
"The Queen gave it to me."
Qian Baokun's eyes showed a more strange look. He lowered his head and looked through the book. When he had read half of the blood letter, his hands began to tremble.
When he saw the following sentence "Lu Chongyuan ordered people to seal the city with kerosene, put drugs in the well, expelled more than 9,000 civilians from the city, and burned the city down", his face was already filled with anger.
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes and said indifferently, "The Fourth Prince was arrested a few days ago. He Wengran, the doctor who treated him at the Imperial Medical Bureau, bribed someone to tamper with the medicine. The Fourth Prince's face was ruined, and he will be lame after his injury heals. A few days ago, people died in the Queen's palace, and even the Queen was almost poisoned, but she had people suppress it."
"The Lu family did it?" Qian Baokun was incredulous: "Are the Lu family crazy?"
"I'm not crazy. I'm afraid that the Fourth Prince forced Guan to death that day and stepped on the bottom line of the Lu family."
Xiao Yan gave Qian Baokun the letter left by the He family. After seeing him open it and read it, he said, "I have always wondered why His Majesty is so abnormal about the Lu family. Now that I have read this, I know that he and the Lu family are birds of a feather."
Qian Baokun looked at the handwriting left by He Wenzhuo, the third master of the He family, on the letter, which talked about the shipwreck of the disaster relief ship in the south twenty years ago, and how the officers and soldiers who were escorting the disaster relief silver had died before they fell into the water. He suspected that the disaster relief silver and grain had been tampered with. Qian Baokun couldn't help but tremble in his palms.
Xiao Yan saw the change in his expression and said, "I originally thought that it was just the noble family seeking personal gain and the Lu family was dishonest, so I rashly dragged Uncle Qian into this. But now this matter is not just about the Lu family. If I continue to investigate, I may encounter danger."
"I am a lonely man with nothing to worry about, but Uncle Qian is different. You have a wife, children, and the Qian family behind you. If you get involved, you may be killed and your family will be harmed."
Xiao Yan reached out and took the things from Qian Baokun's hand, and said to him: "Uncle Qian, just pretend you never knew about this matter, and don't have any contact with me in the future. Whether it is the grain tax or the Lu family's affairs, Uncle Qian, please don't interfere. I will investigate it alone, and I will bear all the consequences..."
"What are you talking about?!"
Qian Baokun was originally a little hesitant in his heart. This matter could be big or small. Once it was investigated and uncovered, it would be a shocking case. He was a little hesitant whether to continue following it. But when Xiao Yan directly excluded him and took the responsibility of everything on him without hesitation, the hesitation in his heart instantly disappeared.
Xiao Yan was just a young man in his twenties. As a powerful eunuch, he held great power and had a comfortable bed. He could have ignored everything and lived a carefree life.
But he was determined, so how could he have the face to back down?
Qian Baokun made up his mind instantly. When he looked up, his eyes were full of determination. "I have a wife, children and relatives, but I know how to behave. Nearly ten thousand people died in vain in Rongjiang, and countless people died in the South. If I turn a blind eye, how can I have the face to stay in the court?!"
When he entered the court, he was determined to speak for the people and work for world peace. However, he has been in a daze over the years and has somewhat forgotten his original aspirations.
Qian Baokun said in a deep voice: "I originally thought that His Majesty was only trying to balance power in the court, fearing that the noble families would turn against each other and the world would be in turmoil, so he had to retreat. I didn't expect that he and those people were already birds of a feather. This case must be investigated, even if it has been twenty years, it must be investigated thoroughly."
It is the Lu family's sin, and the Lu family must take responsibility for it.
It was Emperor An's sin, and he had to admit it.
So many lives cannot be lost in vain, and those wronged souls must be vindicated before they can enter paradise.
Xiao Yan frowned: "But..."
"Nothing to worry about."
Qian Baokun interrupted Xiao Yan abruptly: "It will take time to investigate this case. If it is really impossible, I can send my wife and children to Lingnan. As for my clan, the Qian family is not in the capital, so it will not be easy even if someone wants to touch them."
The Qian family is different from other aristocratic families. They have been entrenched in Lingnan for hundreds of years. It is not an exaggeration to call them "local tyrants". The Qian family has never fought for power, and they are the only one in the court in Beijing. But this does not mean that they have no confidence. If the Lu family dares to cross the border to attack the Qian family, they will definitely be defeated.
As for His Majesty, it would not be easy to touch the Qian family unless he sent troops to attack. But if he talked about sending troops, Emperor An had to give a reason.
Qian Baokun said to Xiao Yan, "I know your character, and this case involves many people. If we can't kill him in one blow, we won't do it easily."
Seeing Xiao Yan's hesitation, he said, "You said you are alone and have nothing to worry about, but what about the Princess of Yiyang County?"
Xiao Yan pursed his lips.
Qian Baokun turned around and patted him on the shoulder: "Since you call me uncle, I can't let you see the joke. If I back down now, what will I become?"
Xiao Yan's face was moved: "No matter what happens in the future, I will do my best to protect my uncle and the Qian family."
Qian Baokun smiled and said, "I feel relieved when you say this."
Xiao Yan was not a hypocritical person. Seeing that Qian Baokun had made up his mind, he did not say anything more. After he carefully put away the two things, he said to Qian Baokun:
"Queen Lu gave these to me because she wanted to use me to eliminate the Lu family. She hates the Lu family so much that she will naturally lean towards us, but there is no guarantee that she will regret it later, so we have to find a way to make her see the benefits and be reluctant to let go..."
"I understand." Qian Baokun said, "The Fourth Prince is in a bad situation recently. I will find a way to get someone to help him in the court. Don't interfere in this matter, lest the Lu family suspect the relationship between the Queen and her son and you, and let Lu Chongyuan be on guard in advance."
Xiao Yan nodded: "Excuse me, Uncle Qian, there is one more thing. Since Uncle Qian is in the Ministry of Revenue, can you find a way to check the account books of the Ministry of Revenue from 20 years ago?"
Qian Baokun frowned: "Do you want to check the relief grain money from that year?"
Xiao Yan hummed, "Back then, the imperial court allocated more than 900,000 taels of silver for disaster relief, plus the grain from the same business, both the amount needed to purchase grain and the disaster relief money was not a small amount. Since He Wenzhuo said that the escorting officers and soldiers had died before the ship sank that day, I'm afraid someone tampered with the money and grain before they left Beijing."