Chapter 84 Confrontation in the Court
"quiet!"

As Eunuch Hou shouted, everyone suddenly quieted down and waited for what to come next.

Emperor Qing started the scene with anger, and the older officials all knew that this was not real anger, but a way to set the tone for the incident.

Otherwise, if he was really angry, Emperor Qing would have started killing people long ago.

Now that all the polite words have been said, it’s time to get down to business.

Sure enough, soon Emperor Qing said: "Let the Inspection Institute talk about the matter."

After saying this, he half-closed his eyes, as if he was about to sleep.

But precisely because of this, everyone present felt like they were sitting on pins and needles, like a thorn in their back, and like a fishbone stuck in their throat!

Because when Emperor Qing narrows his eyes, you can't even tell where his eyes are looking. For a moment, everyone seems to be being observed by Emperor Qing. It would be strange if they weren't nervous. It gives people tremendous psychological pressure.

At this time, Yan Ruohai, the director of the Inspection Institute, stood in the middle of the hall, immediately attracting everyone's attention.

He bowed to Emperor Qing, and then said calmly: "Your Majesty, I want to report Lin Gong, the second son of the Prime Minister's Mansion. He colluded with Northern Qi's secret agents and assassinated the Kyoto talent Fan Xian in Kyoto. The evidence includes letters and witnesses!"

Hearing this, everyone present was shocked and turned their eyes to Lin Gong.

At this moment, Emperor Qing had not spoken yet and no one dared to speak.

But that gaze, as sharp as a sword, made Lin Gong's heart feel cold.

He pretended to be calm, walked quickly to the center of the hall, clasped his hands and said, "I am innocent, this is a frame-up by someone who is causing chaos in the country, I hope Your Majesty will investigate!"

"Prime Minister Lin, what do you think?" After a moment of silence, Emperor Qing's slow words were heard.

Lin Ruofu, who was sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, stood up, came to the side of Yan Ruohai, and bowed to Emperor Qing.

"Your Majesty, although my son is naughty, he still cares about the Kingdom of Qing. Although I have neglected to discipline him in recent days, he would not do such a thing. I hope Your Majesty will understand!"

In Lin Ruofu's opinion, although this matter happened suddenly, all the evidence on his side has been collected and there should be no omissions.

The only omission was that he knew about this matter rather late, and the summons from His Majesty was rather sudden.

Otherwise, if he handled it personally, the Inspection Institute would definitely not find out anything.

"Oh? Of course I believe what Minister Lin said. Mr. Yan, do you have anything to say?" Emperor Qing's tone was flat, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

"Your Majesty, please present the physical and witness evidence!" Yan Ruohai said without any further ado.

Coupled with his serious look, he really gives people a feeling of being confident.

"can."

Seeing this, Eunuch Hou sang, "Provide physical and human evidence!"

Hearing this, everyone present had different thoughts. Lin Gong tried his best to remain calm, but a layer of fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

Lin Ruofu frowned slightly as he realized something was wrong.

Even though the matter was raised by the Inspection Institute, he knew that it must have been done by Emperor Qing.

Imperial power, after all, is nothing more than that, but Emperor Qing always does things with a purpose. Today, Lin Ruofu feels that his son has become this target!
Behind the bookshelf.

Fan Xian was looking at the expressions of the officials in the court and found them very interesting.

Then he turned around and looked outside the imperial study. He heard footsteps from there. It seemed that physical and witness evidence were being brought in by the imperial guards.

Through the wooden carved screen, Fan Xian could see that the witness was a woman with familiar clothes. It was Si Lili!
Gradually, the imperial guards walked around the screen and appeared in the hall.

Eh? Why don't the first two guards have anything in their hands?

Fan Xian was just wondering when the two imperial guards came towards him.

"Eh?"

While Fan Xian was puzzled, the two imperial guards carried him, one on each side, and came to the center of the hall.

"Bring the witness, Fan Xian." After bowing and saying this, the two imperial guards left.

Fan Xian: “???”

It turns out that he is also a witness. He can explain why the emperor asked him to go to court. It turns out that he was waiting for him here.

"Bring the physical evidence."

"Bring the witness officer here."

Yan Ruohai took the physical evidence from the imperial guards, which were two letters, and Si Lili was also brought to Fan Xian.

However, compared to the free Fan Xian, Si Lili was tied up, and there was always a guard standing behind her to prevent her from causing trouble.

The two looked at each other. Si Lili's eyes were full of resentment, as if she was questioning Fan Xian, what about the promise to keep her safe?
Fan Xian's eyes were full of innocence. He was really wronged. Who knew that even though he was so careful, he could still be found by the Inspection Institute.

He always felt that something was wrong. If he knew who was behind this, he would definitely give him a good beating.

At the same time, at Fan Mansion.

In Fan Xian's yard, Wang Qinian was grabbing the cakes on the table and stuffing them into his arms, his face full of joy.

This is the best spring flower cake, and his daughter loves it.

While the adults are not around, catch more and take them back, hehehe.

But as he was grabbing, he suddenly sneezed and felt a little panicked.

But soon, he put it out of his mind and happily ate a piece of spring flower cake.

"This spring flower cake is indeed as delicious as its reputation says."

Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.

The atmosphere in the hall was a little depressing at this time, and there was a feeling that a storm was about to come.

At this time, Yan Ruohai said, "Your Majesty, in the Niulan Street assassination case, the victim was Fan Xian, the chief inspector of the Inspection Bureau, and the witness was Si Lili, the secret agent of Northern Qi. The secret letter about Lin Gong in my hand is physical evidence!"

After saying this, he looked around and continued.

"I'm sure everyone has heard about what happened on Niulan Street. Cheng Jushu, the secret agent from Northern Qi, and two assassins from Dongyi City worked together to assassinate Fan Xian."

"Fortunately, Fan Xian is a skilled martial artist and he was able to kill all the assassins, thus enhancing the reputation of Daqing."

"Afterwards, Fan Tisi unraveled the assassination case and discovered the Northern Qi spy Si Lili, and arrested him."

"During the interrogation, he also found an important clue, which is that the mastermind behind the assassination was Lin Gong!"

After hearing these words, Fan Xian felt a little strange. Was Yan Ruohai trying to show off his achievements?
But then again, how did Yan Ruohai know these things?
Could it be that Wang Qinian said that?

At this moment, Fan Xian didn't think too much about it. He just thought that Wang Qinian said it out of helplessness and never thought that this guy was a traitor.

After saying this, Yan Ruohai glanced at Fan Xian.

The latter understood what Yan Ruohai meant and stepped forward and bowed.

"Your Majesty, Miss Si Lili is indeed a spy from Northern Qi. Through my interrogation, I found that the mastermind behind her is none other than Lin Gong." As he spoke, he took out a token from his bosom. "This is the secret order to mobilize Northern Qi's spy. I found it at the place where I fought with Cheng Jushu!"

Although he didn't know what Yan Ruohai's purpose was in taking all the credit for himself, Fan Xian was not a fool and could only go along with what he said.

"Humph!"

Lin Ruofu snorted coldly and said, "How can we trust the testimony of the Northern Qi spy? I think he just said these horrifying words deliberately to save his life!"

This matter was too big, it was treason and treason. Lin Ruofu was afraid that his son could not withstand the pressure, so he took the lead himself.

He was very particular about his words, only targeting Si Lili and ignoring everyone else.

After all, Fan Xian's current identity is the director of the Inspection Institute. If it is said that Fan Xian and Si Lili are in collusion, it will be a huge mess!
If he were to let word of the collusion between the people of the Inspection Institute and the Northern Qi spies get out, he would probably not be able to withstand the consequences even though he was in his position as prime minister.

"Every word my daughter said is true, not false!" Si Lili said gritting her teeth.

She just wanted to survive. Now it was a critical moment and she could only follow the Inspection Institute to the end.

If she dares to stop, not only will Minister Lin want to silence her, but the Inspection Office will also want her dead, so she has no choice!
"Don't be impatient, Minister Lin."

Yan Ruohai said: "The first letter in my hand is a letter written by Master Ling to the Jinyiwei of Northern Qi. After comparing the handwriting, it is indeed written by Master Ling."

As he spoke, he opened the letter, turned it around, and displayed the contents of the letter to everyone.

Fan Xian also glanced curiously, but the speed was too fast and he was left with nothing.

At this moment, Lin Gong frowned when he saw this scene.

This letter was indeed written by him, but he personally asked someone to deliver it to the border of Qing State, and then Shen Zhong, the commander of the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division of Northern Qi, sent someone to receive it.

The messenger had been killed by him after he came back to report that the mission was completed. His appearance here at this time could only mean that something went wrong in Qi State!
"It's just a letter. It doesn't mean anything. There are many people who can read my son's handwriting!" Lin Ruofu said nonchalantly.

Yan Ruohai ignored him and continued to take out the second letter, unfolding it while speaking.

"This second letter is a reply from the Northern Qi Jinyiwei, which states Si Lili's identity as a secret agent and the whereabouts of Cheng Jushu!"

Just like before, Yan Ruohai turned the letter around.

How is this possible? !
Lin Gong widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief!

Because he burned the letter himself, and it appeared here at this time, it must be a forgery!
But how could he say this? ! He could only insist that it was slander!

"This is even more ridiculous. How can the secret letter from Northern Qi be used as evidence?!" Lin Ruofu was shocked, but still looked disdainful on the surface.

"But coincidentally, when these two letters are put together and viewed, they actually match up perfectly! I wonder what Minister Lin has to say about this?"

"To forge, of course we have to forge a pair." Lin Ruofu said casually.

These evidences are all real evidence!
If Lin Gong was not the prime minister's son, he would have been arrested long ago.

And now, Lin Ruofu wants to protect his son, so naturally he has to insist that it is fake.

In fact, before Lin Ruofu stood up, many of his disciples wanted to speak up for him.

But Lin Ruofu knew that this time, ostensibly to deal with Lin Gong, was actually a trap set for him.

If his disciples jumped out at this time, it would be of no benefit at all, so he had to be the only one to take the lead.

If it holds up, everyone will be happy, but if it doesn't, then the disciples can still be saved.

"Minister Lin means that our Inspection Office fabricated evidence to frame you, Master?"

"I didn't say that."

Lin Ruofu explained: "What I mean is that someone forged these things, and the Inspection Bureau must not be deceived, otherwise if the truth comes out, it will damage the reputation of the Inspection Bureau."

Yan Ruohai said: "There is no need to bother Prime Minister Lin about this. We have our own set of criteria for judging the authenticity of evidence."

After hearing this, everyone thought that the two were going to seek judicial judgment.

After all, on one side is the Inspection Institute, and on the other side is Minister Lin. The two sides are diametrically opposed to each other, and there is no result in arguing over the authenticity of the evidence.

Under normal circumstances, this would require a holy judgement.

However, at this time, there was a slight discussion in the crowd. It turned out that someone came to the door of the imperial study.

This person was quite special. He was sitting in a wheelchair and was pushed forward by the imperial guards.

When he came into the hall, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Fan Xian's eyes narrowed as well. Although he had never seen this man before, he had heard of his name a long time ago.

Director of the Inspection Institute, Chen Pingping!
He actually came!
Therefore, because of Chen Pingping's arrival, everyone present fell silent.

Lin Ruofu's face changed. He knew that today's matter was settled.

The arrival of the old fox Chen Pingping was like closing the lid on his coffin. There must be new evidence, and it was the kind that he couldn't handle.

"Chen Pingping, didn't you go back to your hometown? Why? Are you back to Beijing today?" Emperor Qing did not seem to have expected Chen Pingping to return to Beijing today.

"Your Majesty, I returned to Beijing today. I heard that an emergency court meeting was called, so I came here specially." Chen Pingping bowed.

"Then you don't know what happened yet?"

"Your Majesty, I do know a little about this matter."

"Oh?" Emperor Qing looked eager to try, "Tell me about it."

The director of the Inspection Institute can be said to be the most terrifying person in Qing Kingdom besides Emperor Qing.

After all, the reputation of the Inspection Institute is really too great.

At this time, the conversation between Chen Pingping and Emperor Qing instantly attracted everyone's attention.

At this time, Chen Pingping spoke up, "Just now, when I was on my way to the palace, a spy I sent out four years ago came to see me."

"He told me that the second son of the Prime Minister's Mansion went to the outskirts of Kyoto a few days ago to capture Cheng Jushu and secretly sent him to the capital!"

Hearing this, everyone in the hall had different expressions.

This is evidence provided by a spy from the Inspection Bureau. It must be true!
Because even if it is not true, it is true. It represents the face of Emperor Qing and cannot be questioned!

So after hearing this, Lin Gong immediately knew his own ending, and Lin Ruofu's face also became gloomy.

Chen Pingping continued, "The two letters in the hands of Director Yan were brought by the spy. By the way, his alias is Lu Yongfei. He joined the Prime Minister's Mansion as a retainer four years ago. He has personally participated in all these things, which is enough to prove the truth of the matter!"

The retainers of the Prime Minister's Mansion are at least of the seventh rank, and there are also many of the eighth rank, who are well-known in Kyoto.

As for this Lu Yongfei, everyone will naturally know his name as long as they look it up.

Not to mention that after Chen Pingping finished speaking, he clapped his hands.

The next second, a middle-aged man in the uniform of the Inspection Bureau walked in from behind the screen at the door and quickly came into the hall.

When Lin Gong saw him, his eyes were full of shock.

This person was one of his followers who followed him to capture Cheng Jushu. Wasn't he silenced? Why is he here? !
Lin Ruofu was also surprised. Did Yuan Hongdao make a mistake?
(End of this chapter)