Tianliangyuan

Chapter 259 Impartiality

Xu Zhaozhao presented the memorial written by the county magistrate, and then kept her head down, waiting for the emperor to ask her questions.

The magistrate's memorial was rather long. In addition to listing the Zhou family's evil deeds, it also specifically mentioned the Zhao family's disregard for human life.

Emperor Yong'an's face was cold: "Anle, is there any evidence to support what's written here?"

"Your Majesty, the evidence was originally complete, but because the county magistrate, along with the county assistant and the county constable, encountered repeated obstruction when investigating the case last year, two witnesses were assassinated, but their confessions before their deaths are still available. In addition, there are other physical evidence and witness testimonies."

Xu Zhaozhao presented a large stack of testimonies that she had prepared earlier.

This contains both complaints and witness testimonies.

"That's unreasonable!"

The servants of Emperor Yong'an, who were originally in the residence of Prince Cha'an, dared to resell imperial gifts—this is a capital offense!

Unexpectedly, Xu Zhaozhao has provided so much more evidence.

"Did you just come back from Lantian County?"

"Your Majesty, I originally planned to take advantage of my brother's leave of absence to visit Lantian County together. I also wanted to ask Lord Fu and my brother for their help in figuring out how to properly settle the remnants of the soldiers and refugees that you and Lord Cui had assigned there. I originally only intended to make a brief contact with the local magistrate, but I never expected that Fang Youwei, the magistrate of Lantian County, would turn out to be my cousin Chen Cong's uncle."

After Xu Zhaozhao finished speaking, she slightly raised her eyes. The emperor's face remained expressionless, but he was certain that he would not take his anger out on her, so he continued to reply.

"Magistrate Fang first found Chen Cong, and then came with him to ask me to make a decision. After asking in detail, I learned that last year, the magistrate and the county lieutenant of Lantian County were assassinated one after another while investigating these cases. Fortunately, the county lieutenant reacted in time, and the magistrate had to postpone the case and did not pronounce the verdict directly. Otherwise, his family would not be safe."

After discussing the matter, the three officials, including Fang Youwei, felt that since the young lady had gone to Lantian County, it was an opportunity. They originally intended to entrust the case to Lord Fu, but unfortunately, Lord Fu was not in charge of criminal justice and came from a poor family with limited influence. They were also afraid of harming Lord Fu, so they dared to ask the young lady for help.

After obtaining these documents, I did not rush to report them to Your Majesty. I wanted to verify the facts first to prevent being exploited again. Therefore, when my brother and the others returned to the capital, I stayed in Lantian County. At the same time, I had my subordinates Yan Shu and Li Sheng send people to help inquire. Only after confirming that these evil deeds were true did I dare to come to the palace to report.”

Xu Zhaozhao spoke calmly and logically, with well-founded arguments.

Although Emperor Yong'an's anger had not subsided, he still greatly admired the woman who acted so methodically.

"You did well."

"This humble woman dares not claim credit. This is a matter of great importance to the court. If my father were not in the capital, I would not have dared to presume to come to the palace to present this to Your Majesty. I am merely passing on the message and have no intention of interfering in local affairs."

Emperor Yong'an nodded: "You don't need to be too modest, nor do you need to be afraid. Lantian County is your fiefdom, and the local magistrate has no way to get help. A second-rank county magistrate like you is naturally the highest-ranking official they can reach. It's normal for them to come to you for help."

Emperor Yong'an suddenly changed the subject: "You said that the three of them had been assassinated?"

"That's right, especially the assassination of the county magistrate and the county lieutenant, which many people in Lantian County know about. It was an assassination that took place directly in the street. However, the county magistrate and the county lieutenant had limited abilities and were unable to track down the real culprit."

Limited capabilities?

Emperor Yong'an understood that this meant their background was insufficient, which was why they were bullied!

"You may leave now."

"Yes, I will retire."

Xu Zhaozhao had barely left the palace when the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was summoned back in.

"Take a look. You don't need to worry about Zhou Dalang's matter for now; let Zhao Changqing investigate it. But I didn't expect the Zhao family to be so audacious! Mining jade is a way to make money, and I naturally won't blame them. But they dared to completely disregard the people's livelihood, forcibly taking laborers to the mountains to risk their lives. After the laborers died, they only gave two hundred coins as compensation. It's simply outrageous!"

"Your Majesty, shall I thoroughly investigate this case?"

"Of course! Not only that. Furthermore, the magistrate, assistant magistrate, and lieutenant of Lantian County were openly assassinated in their own territory. What does this say about the dignity of our imperial court!"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review understood; no wonder the Emperor was so furious.

If it were him, he would be angry too.

These people are incredibly audacious.

Well, those who were originally waiting to see the Prince An's mansion make a fool of itself should now shrink back and let others laugh at them.

The Zhao family's jade mine?

Haha, what a coincidence! Isn't that the family of Princess Zhong?

Half an hour later, Zhao Changqing entered the palace to pay his respects and recorded everything Zhou Dalang had said.

"Go to Lantian County immediately and investigate the Zhou family's heinous crimes, such as seizing farmland and shops, murder, and arson!"

Upon seeing these petitions and testimonies, Zhao Changqing immediately understood that they were submitted by local officials of Lantian County.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will go immediately."

After presenting the items, Xu Zhaozhao returned to her Ziyuan Garden with great ease.

Regarding the Zhou family matter, His Majesty will inevitably suspect whether Xu Zhaozhao is biased towards the Prince Zhong's Mansion.

But now that she has also reported on the Zhao family's jade mine, the emperor's suspicions have been completely dispelled.

Moreover, everything she reported was true.

As for whether the Zhao family would hate her, Xu Zhaozhao, because of this, she didn't care at all.

It's normal for conflicts to arise when people who weren't originally on the same boat.

Moreover, she always felt that the Emperor clearly intended to suppress the Zhao family, so the Lantian County jade mine case was just the stone she presented to His Majesty, a test of the waters.

Prince An was the legitimate son, and Prince Zhong was the eldest son.

Xu Zhaozhao felt that the emperor would not appoint a son born out of wedlock as the crown prince.

The established customs and etiquette of Daxing also did not allow it.

Don't assume that the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the imperial family are just for show.

They all placed great importance on the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children.

As for the Empress's youngest son...

Xu Zhaozhao narrowed her eyes slightly. There was no rush. There was still plenty of time, and Emperor Yong'an's health didn't seem like it would lead to an early death.

Xu Zhaozhao's move this time directly struck at both princes, and it was impartial.

None of these problems were the prince's fault, but they were all inextricably linked to him.

It was no secret that Xu Zhaozhao rushed to the palace to see the emperor as soon as she returned to Lantian.

Therefore, after the Zhao family's jade mine and the Zhou family's bullying and other evil deeds were exposed, many people focused their attention on Xu Zhaozhao.

Without a doubt, everyone guessed that these things were sent up by Xu Zhaozhao.

But so what?

Xu Zhaozhao was only asked to do so by someone else. How could a woman like her possibly get involved in such criminal matters?

Zhao Yue was so angry that she knocked over the tea tray on the table, her face contorted with rage.

"Xu Zhaozhao, why aren't you staying in the capital? Why are you meddling in other people's business!"