Chapter 83: Lin Xiang silences people and the court meeting begins

Fan Xian had never attended court in his two lifetimes.

Now, he suddenly heard that he had to go to court to meet Emperor Qing. It was impossible for him not to be nervous.

Fan Jian patted his shoulder, told him to relax, and then walked towards Eunuch Hou.

"Lord Fan." Eunuch Hou bowed.

Although Fan Jian is only the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry is now under his control, and he also has a special relationship with Emperor Qing. Even Emperor Qing's personal tiger guards are under the command of Fan Jian.

Facing such a person, Eunuch Hou did not dare to be arrogant and had to be very polite.

"May I ask, Eunuch Hou, what is the reason for this emergency court meeting?" Fan Jian asked.

Eunuch Hou replied, "Master Fan, it's about the assassination on Niulan Street. There's already a result. Master Fan was summoned as the person involved."

Normally, when eunuchs were delivering messages to the emperor, no matter what the message was, they would not leak it on their own initiative.

Even if someone gave him money, he would only dare to reveal a small amount at most.

And what Eunuch Hou said at this time almost made the matter clear.

The reason for this is, firstly, because Fan Jian's identity is not ordinary, and secondly, this is also the intention of Emperor Qing.

As a personal eunuch, Eunuch Hou often represents a special attitude. Fan Jian came up to ask directly because he understood Emperor Qing.

"Are there results?! How is this possible?! I haven't even started investigating yet, who is the mastermind?!" Fan Xian asked hurriedly, his tone somewhat excited.

He had just been discussing this with Fan Jian, and suddenly heard about this. How could he not be excited?

"Mr. Fan, I don't know about this." Eunuch Hou said with a smile.

Not to mention that you don’t know, even if you know you can’t tell it.

If eunuchs discuss state affairs without permission, isn't that like going to the toilet with a lantern - seeking death?

"Thank you, Eunuch Hou, for the message. We will set off now." Fan Jian said with a bow.

"Then the old slave will go back."

Soon, as Eunuch Hou walked away, Fan Jian said to Fan Xian, "His Majesty said there is a result in the assassination case. It is likely that the Inspection Institute has found something."

"Holding an emergency court meeting at this time means that the things found out have a significant impact. This is your first time attending court, so remember to speak less later."

"I'm going to change into court clothes, and you should also change into something decent. On the way to the palace later, I'll tell you about the rules of the court."

"Yes!" Fan Xian replied with a bow.

He now has many doubts in his mind, but these doubts can only be answered in the court.

Prime Minister's Mansion.

Lin Gong had just returned from the Royal Villa. He had a quarrel with Lin Wan'er and they ended up parting on bad terms.

From Lin Gong's point of view, as an older brother, he naturally has to protect his sister's happiness.

But Fan Xian is a dissolute and frivolous person, and is not a good match for him.

In addition, if Fan Xian marries his sister, there will be a conflict of interest between them, so it is naturally better to kill him.

Killing Fan Xian would not only be good for his sister, but also for the Lin family.

But from Lin Wan'er's point of view, her brother didn't understand her at all, and wanted to kill her fiancé, and didn't take her opinion seriously at all.

Given these two completely different standpoints, the two naturally started arguing after a few words and parted on bad terms.

Lin Gong had just returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion and had not had time to say a few words to his father when the messenger from the palace arrived.

The most important thing is that after the message was passed on, Prime Minister Lin Ruofu went to question the eunuch, but the other party did not say a word and refused to accept the benefits given.

After the man left, Lin Ruofu's face darkened.

He had his own information channels and knew why the emergency meeting was held.

But the problem is His Majesty’s attitude!

The person who came to inform him to go to court was Eunuch Liu. Although he was not as good as Eunuch Hou, he was also one of the eunuchs around His Majesty.

At this time, not even a word was revealed to him, which means that His Majesty may have grasped the key evidence, which is enough to convict Lin Gong!

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ruofu turned to Lin Gong and asked, "How many people know about your affairs?!"

"Dad, you already know everything you need to know." Lin Gong said helplessly.

There were spies of various important figures in the royal villa, and the noise from his quarrel with Lin Wan'er was quite loud, although no important information was transmitted.

But the Crown Prince and the Second Prince are not fools. They have their own information channels based on the situation, so they can naturally figure it out.

"Where is the evidence? Is there any evidence left?!" Lin Ruofu asked again.

If only Si Lili was used as a witness, it would not be a big deal at all and would not pose any threat to Lin Gong.

But if there is any paper evidence or other key evidence, that would be bad.

"I have personally burned all the letters I received, and all the servants who handled them have been killed." Lin Gong said with certainty.

He was not as shrewd as Lin Ruofu, but he thought he was doing a good job.

"But I don't know about the letter from the Princess."

"You don't have to worry about the eldest princess." Lin Ruofu knew Li Yunrui's methods and would never be caught.

Then he asked, "What about the retainers who worked there before?"

"Ah? They want to silence us too?" Lin Gong was stunned.

"Of course!" Lin Ruofu said in a deep voice.

"But if we kill them all, it might have a bad impact!" Lin Gong said hesitantly.

When he captured Cheng Jushu outside the city, he mobilized more than ten retainers, all of whom were loyal retainers who had followed him for more than three years.

The most important thing is that these people all have families, and their families are in his hands.

Logically speaking, these people were extremely loyal and would never betray him, so he was a little confused at this moment.

"Gong'er, you have to know that sometimes you have to be ruthless. Otherwise, if the secret is leaked, you're done for!"

"Our Lin family is finished!" Lin Ruofu said earnestly.

"The child knows!"

When Lin Gong heard the word "Lin family", it was as if a key word was triggered, and his eyes instantly became firm.

In fact, he is very similar to Yan Bingyun. Both received strict education from their father and have a belief in their hearts.

He did it for the Lin family, while Yan Bingyun did it for the Qing Kingdom.

"Okay, go change your clothes and get ready for court."

Watching Lin Gong enter the house, Lin Ruofu waved his hand to call the counselor Yuan Hongdao who had been waiting not far away, and ordered him to silence those guests.

"Yes!" Yuan Hongdao took the order and went to do the work.

After Lin Gong changed his clothes, Lin Ruofu and Lin Gong walked towards the palace together.

Outside the Meridian Gate.

At this time, there were many carriages parked here, all of which were court officials who came to attend the emergency court meeting.

These people would dismount outside the Meridian Gate, because riding horses or carriages was not allowed inside the gate, so they could only walk.

Some officials who knew each other would walk together towards the palace. At this time, not far from the city gate, Wang Qinian was constantly scanning the court officials walking towards the Meridian Gate.

Soon, he found Fan Xian.

"Sir! Something's wrong, sir!" Wang Qinian came close to Fan Xian, looking anxious.

"Why are you here?!" Fan Xian frowned slightly and looked back at Fan Jian.

"Go ahead." Fan Jian waved his hand.

So Fan Xian and Wang Qinian ran to the side.

"Didn't I ask you to look after Si Lili? Why are you here?!" Fan Xian asked hurriedly after leaving the crowd.

"For some reason, the people from the Inspection Office found me and took Si Lili away. I mentioned my master's identity as a supervisor, but it didn't work."

"I was afraid that I couldn't tell the adults about this news, so I escaped and went to the Fan Mansion!"

"I went to the Fan Mansion to see Miss Ruoruo. I heard that you had come to the palace, so I hurriedly took a shortcut and came here. That's how I met you, sir."

Wang Qinian looked breathless.

"How could the Inspection Bureau find out?! This shouldn't be possible. We have shaken off all the tails, and the place was carefully selected. How is this possible?!"

Fan Xian frowned, deep in thought.

In TV dramas, the Inspection Bureau often knows everything and is omnipotent, just like a cheat code, they can find out whatever they want to know.

In fact, most of the time it’s because of internal traitors!
If you are really careful enough, like Qin Feng, it is quite difficult to be exposed.

Of course, Qin Feng could only guarantee that he would not be exposed in a short period of time. After all, this was Kyoto, the headquarters of the Inspection Institute. Over time, abnormalities would always be discovered.

"Sir, maybe it was just bad luck that we were discovered by the inspection team of the Inspection Institute, or maybe we were not careful enough when we were on the road, or maybe it was Si Lili's fault?" Wang Qinian analyzed tentatively.

In fact, all of this was done by the traitor Wang Qinian.

He not only told Chen Pingping about Si Lili's affairs, but also told her the location.

The so-called coincidence was nothing more than the inevitability of his actions.

However, this was not Wang Qinian's subjective intention, but the dean's order.

"It's no use saying this now. Si Lili was arrested by the Inspection Bureau at this time, and His Majesty has called an emergency court meeting because of the assassination in Kyoto. Si Lili should be taken to the palace as a witness!"

Fan Xian thought for a moment and said, "Old Wang, go to the Inspection Institute now and take a look. If Si Lili is there, try your best to ensure her safety. If not, go back to the Fan Mansion and wait for me!"

"Yes, sir!" After receiving the order, Wang Qinian left quickly.

Fan Xian also returned to Fan Jian and walked towards the palace with him.

On the way, Fan Xian kept asking who the people around him were. With Fan Jian's introduction, he also got to know many officials.

The emergency court meeting was held in the Imperial Study, which was not a large place, and the only suitable place for the meeting was a circular hall in the middle.

Calling it his hall is an exaggeration, because the area of ​​this place is not even as large as the yard Qin Feng rented.

The hall is surrounded by two curved bookshelves, and there is a corridor between the walls. The whole hall looks like the upper part of a cut-off gourd, with another gourd of the same shape but larger on the outside.

Because the place was small, only the important people were qualified to sit, and the rest of the court officials had to stand.

Some were standing in the corridor behind the bookshelves and could only see the situation through the gaps between the bookshelves.

Fan Xian did not hold an official position, he was just a director of the Inspection Institute, so naturally he was standing at this time.

And his clothes were quite special, which attracted a lot of attention as soon as he came in.

The Crown Prince, the Second Prince, Prime Minister Lin, and Lin Gong were all staring at him. In order to keep a low profile, Fan Xian had to hide behind the bookshelf and secretly observed everyone in the hall.

He had heard from Fan Jian that the legendary director of the Inspection Institute, Chen Pingping, was a person in a wheelchair, but no one present was in a wheelchair, so it seemed that the other person was not there.

While he was observing everyone, someone nearby spoke to him.

"This colleague looks unfamiliar. Why isn't he wearing court attire?"

"I hold no official position. I came here because Your Majesty summoned me." Fan Xian replied.

"Oh?" Hearing this, the man became obviously curious.

He cupped his hands and said, "I am Xin Qiwu, and I am the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple. I wonder who you are, young master?"

"It turns out to be Lord Xin. I am Fan Xian." Fan Xian also bowed.

Hearing this name, Xin Qiwu was excited, "So you are Fan Xian!"

Then he bowed and said, "Please forgive me, Master Fan. I have long admired your talent and I am a little excited."

Fan Xian smiled awkwardly, "Lord Xin, you are too kind. I am not a talented person at all."

Xin Qiwu wanted to say something when someone in the imperial study sang.

"Silence! His Majesty has arrived!"

The court officials who were originally sitting stood up and bowed towards the inside. Even Fan Xian, who was standing behind the bookshelf, bowed as well.

Fan Xian was stunned for a moment when he saw this, but thinking of Fan Jian's teachings, he reacted quickly and followed suit.

"This place is different from the main hall. You don't have to be so formal."

As he spoke, Emperor Qing, dressed in a white cotton robe, walked out from behind.

When he sat down, he waved to everyone, "Everyone sit down. Relax."

Seeing this, all the court officials sat down.

Only then did Fan Xian have time to look up and forward to observe Emperor Qing's face.

However, there was a layer of cotton gauze between the court officials and Emperor Qing, making it difficult to see clearly.

As he watched, Fan Xian was startled. He felt that Emperor Qing seemed to have glanced at him specifically just now.

You know, he was behind the bookshelf, looking at Emperor Qing through the gap between the grids, how could he be discovered?
Or is it an illusion?
In any case, because of this reason, Fan Xian no longer dared to look at her recklessly, but lowered his head.

At this time, Emperor Qing spoke.

"It's not a big deal to suddenly summon you to court this time."

At this point, Emperor Qing's voice suddenly became angry, "It's in Kyoto! Under the feet of the emperor! There are spies from Northern Qi sneaking in and assassinating others!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone who had just sat down stood up again and bowed to express their fear.

The next second, a figure quickly walked to the center of the hall, clasped his hands and said, "I failed to guard strictly and allowed the Northern Qi spy to sneak into Kyoto. Your Majesty, please punish me!"

The person who spoke was none other than Ye Ling'er's father, Ye Chong, the garrison commander of Kyoto.

There was no other way, all matters concerning the defense of Kyoto were under his command.

He is the person primarily responsible for this incident and must ask for punishment, or else he will lose his job.

"You do deserve to be punished! But we will discuss your fault later!"

Emperor Qing changed the subject, his previous anger disappeared without a trace, and he waved his hand.

Eunuch Hou on the side took a small step forward and said to everyone:

"The Inspection Institute just handed over a report saying that someone in Qing State was secretly communicating with Northern Qi's spies, and it also included evidence!"

This sentence was like a huge rock thrown into the lake, and the whole imperial study was suddenly filled with discussions.

In the crowd, Lin Xiang stood still with his face as normal, while Lin Gong's face turned pale.

(End of this chapter)