OBS Chapter 1450 Knowing It Was Consort Dun Who Did It
Chapter 1450 Knowing It Was Consort Dun Who Did It
"Investigate every inch of the matter for me, verify every single item."
"If there is anything unclear or non-compliant, no matter who is involved, it must be reported truthfully without error!"
Bingzhou was the fiefdom of the Prince of Jin, and its tax revenue and personnel appointments were closely related to his interests. It was also an important way for him to secretly build his power and acquire wealth.
The tax investigation, seemingly targeting local government affairs, was actually a direct attack on the heart of the matter, aiming to sever the most important source of revenue and foundation for the Prince of Jin!
The Minister of Revenue, who appeared to be a god of wealth but was actually incredibly shrewd, had long harbored suspicions about the accounts of Bingzhou. However, he had previously refrained from investigating further due to the power of the Prince of Jin.
Now that he has received the emperor's decree, he will surely put in his utmost effort to complete this task perfectly.
Li Changde's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately obeyed the order: "This servant obeys the decree!"
This move can be described as cutting off the enemy's supply line.
Can the accounts of Bingzhou withstand scrutiny? Probably not.
The Prince of Jin has been operating there for many years; how could his hands be clean?
If a problem is discovered, the consequences range from a reduction in salary and rank to...
Li Changde dared not think any further.
"besides……"
Nangong Xuanyu walked to the imperial desk and tapped the surface with his fingers: "How is the evidence collection going regarding those officials who have close ties with the Prince of Jin, whom I asked you to have people keep an eye on?"
Li Changde respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, some of them accepted bribes, some acted out of favoritism, and some secretly passed on information... The evidence is basically complete."
The emperor nodded in satisfaction: "The time has come."
"Tell the Censorate that the memorial impeaching Prince Jin should be submitted by now."
This is the second step: trimming the wings.
They eliminated all of Prince Jin's influence, both overt and covert, in the court, leaving him completely isolated.
Li Changde replied, "Yes!"
"in addition……"
A cold glint flashed in Nangong Xuanyu's eyes: "The Prince's mansion is small in scale, so it probably doesn't need that many guards."
"By imperial decree, the guards of the Prince of Jin's residence shall be reduced by 80%, with only the necessary ceremonial guards remaining. The required funds shall be allocated by the Imperial Household Department, as a small token of my appreciation as his elder brother for his housewarming."
Removing the guards is a blatant way of weakening the Prince of Jin's ability to protect himself.
It's called compassion, but in reality it's a surrender.
Li Changde understood that His Majesty was trying to drive Prince Jin to his doom.
He couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, a man as proud and ambitious as the Prince of Jin, if pushed to the limit, might do something desperate..."
"What I fear most is that he won't jump."
Nangong Xuanyu sneered, his tone filled with an air of absolute confidence: "If he continues to cower and endure, I'll have to put in some effort. But if he dares to step forward... then he's courting death!"
This gave the emperor a perfectly legitimate reason to completely eliminate this hidden danger.
His intention was to force the Prince of Jin into a corner, so that the other party would hand over the last piece of leverage to him.
Li Changde suddenly realized: "This servant understands!"
The lights in the Hall of Mental Cultivation shone brightly for several nights in a row until dawn.
Nangong Xuanyu buried himself in the mountain of memorials and secret reports, writing imperial comments in vermilion ink, strategizing and planning.
The series of measures taken against the Prince of Jin are like an invisible net, gradually tightening...
The emperor was so busy that he didn't visit the inner palace for many days.
Under Shen Zhinian's management, everything in the harem was in perfect order.
The one who felt the most uneasy was Consort Dun.
How could she not be afraid?
The scheme at Quhe Garden that day was orchestrated by her.
Taking advantage of Bingqiao's ambition and with the help of the imperial physician Li Shu, they intended to ruin the reputation of Yongshou Palace.
Consort Khatun never expected things to get out of control like this. Prince Jin was demoted from a prince to a county prince, and his prestige plummeted!
What she feared even more was that the Prince of Jin would trace it back to her...
It wasn't until news arrived that Prince Jin was preoccupied with his own troubles that Consort Dun's anxious heart finally eased a little.
……
Yongshou Palace.
Xiao Zhouzi calmly replied, "...Your Majesty, I have investigated the two palace maids who were carrying flowerpots at the entrance to the artificial hill. They are indeed the ones responsible for cleaning Quhe Garden. On the day they were carrying flowerpots, there was nothing wrong with them on the surface."
He paused briefly before continuing, "But I paid close attention and investigated further and found that one of them had suddenly become much wealthier these past few days and had asked a familiar eunuch to bring back the most fashionable rouge from outside the palace."
"Following this lead, I discovered that they seemed to have had several contacts with a second-class palace maid from Yikun Palace."
"But the other party acted cautiously and did not leave any real evidence."
Xiao Mingzi then added, "Your Majesty, this servant also learned that on the day of the lotus appreciation banquet, a eunuch on duty nearby vaguely saw that Consort Dun seemed to linger near the pavilion for a while, but no one paid any special attention at the time."
"Now that I think about it, perhaps... perhaps it was at that time that Consort Dun saw Bingqiao talking to Prince Jin, and that's when she suddenly decided to set up this scheme."
Although there is no conclusive evidence, several clues combined all vaguely point to the person in Yikun Palace.
After hearing this, Shen Zhinian's eyes showed little surprise, only a hint of sarcasm.
Her intuition told her that this matter was inextricably linked to Consort Dun.
Since Shen Zhinian took charge of the six palaces, how could she not know about Consort Dun's open and covert provocations and resentment?
Unexpectedly, the other party dared to use such a treacherous trick to target Prince Jin, almost dragging Yongshou Palace into the mess as well.
Han Dan, who was standing to the side, was already so angry that her eyebrows were raised in anger. She couldn't help but say indignantly, "Consort Dun has gone too far. She actually used such despicable means!"
"Your Majesty, what should we do now? We can't just let her get away with it!"
Shen Zhinian picked up the teacup beside her and took a small sip.
She naturally had to retaliate.
The most direct way is to "inadvertently" reveal the results of the investigation to the Prince of Jin.
Given Prince Jin's temperament, if he knew that Consort Dun was responsible for his plight, he would certainly not let her off the hook!
However, Shen Zhinian had concerns in her heart.
The previous dynasty's movements were subtle, and the emperor's suppression of the Prince of Jin was as swift and severe as thunder and rain.
With the Prince of Jin now in dire straits, it remains to be seen whether he has the capacity to attend to the private affairs of the harem.
Sending the clues rashly might alert the enemy if he lacks the ability to investigate.
And... what if Prince Jin, following the lead of Consort Dun, actually finds conclusive evidence proving that he was framed and drugged with aphrodisiacs that day? Wouldn't that indirectly clear his name of being disgraced by drunkenness?
This went against the emperor's intention to completely suppress Prince Jin, and backfired, contradicting Shen Zhinian's original intention.
Considering all this, a cold glint flashed in Shen Zhinian's eyes, and she had a better candidate in mind.
“Prince Jin is currently preoccupied with his own problems, so there’s no need to bother him for now.”
She put down her teacup and said slowly, "I think there is someone else who might be more suitable to know about this matter."