Chapter 583 Not Clean
Early the next morning, Zhang Luan followed the group of court officials entering the palace.

Xu Qiong, who was standing at the back, even took a few quick steps to catch up and find out about Li Zisheng’s situation.

“I heard that Minister Li was summoned by the Royal Guards for questioning yesterday, and he still hadn’t returned home until last night?” Xu Qiong asked, “I wonder if you know the details?”

Zhang Luan waved his hand and said, “Some things are inconvenient to talk about right now. I am trying my best to plan. Don’t worry, this matter will not be involved in any escalation.”

“Oh, I see.”

Xu Qiong is also knowledgeable and interesting.

The reason why Xu Qiong asked was because he was also promoted by Li Zisheng.

Regardless of his abilities, there will always be people who think that Xu Qiong is a member of Li’s party. But in fact, Li Zisheng seemed to be casual about forming a party and never asked Xu Qiong to do anything for him.

……

……

Before Zhang Luan reached the Fengtian Hall where the court meetings were held, he was blocked by people coming towards him.

“Eunuch Tan?”

Zhang Luan looked at Tan Ji who was walking towards him and felt a little strange.

Qin Ji lowered his head and leaned forward, saying softly, “Father-in-law, can we talk for a moment?”

Zhang Luan said in embarrassment: “But… I still have to go to court.”

“You don’t have to go.”

Qin Ji said, “The case concerning Li Zisheng will not be brought to the court meeting.”

“Oh, then please lead the way.”

Zhang Luan then left the ministerial team and followed Tan Ji away amid the puzzled gazes of the ministers.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

Someone asked in the crowd.

But no one can explain why.

Xie Qian laughed and joked: “If that Li Yintai was called away like this, we all know what happened, but if it was this Minister Zhang… that’s another story!”

Everyone seemed to not understand for a moment, but some people still understood the meaning.

If Li Zisheng was called away on his way to the palace, he would most likely be sent directly to prison and interrogated on the spot.

But what if the target is Zhang Luan…

Basically, the emperor had some private matters to tell Zhang Luan, so he didn’t need to attend court…

Eat carrots and worry less.

Why bother with other people’s business?

……

……

Zhang Luan followed Tan Ji towards the direction of the former East Palace.

Qin Ji said: “Your Majesty said that the case of Li Zisheng may involve an old story about the change of crown prince during the reign of the previous emperor, which is not suitable for publicity, so it will not be brought up at the court meeting. The topic of Li Zisheng will not be made public to the court until you officially close the case.”

Zhang Luan nodded to show his understanding: “Oh, I see.”

“You… know?”

Qin Ji was slightly startled and looked very surprised.

I just told you and you said you knew it?

Zhang Luan was a down-to-earth man, and he explained immediately, “I raised this with Your Majesty in person during dinner at Kunning Palace yesterday… Speaking of which, the issue of changing the crown prince is related to the late emperor’s attitude towards Your Majesty, so it’s better not to let too many people know about it. Especially since it involves Li Zisheng, who knows a lot of the inner palace secrets… Eunuch Tan, you should understand the reason, right?”

“Alas, I really didn’t think it through before, but after your Majesty and you pointed it out, how could I not know? How can Liang Fang and Li Zisheng make the decision on such a big matter as changing the crown prince?”

Qin Ji was also feeling emotional in his heart. Zhang Luan was very thoughtful and took all aspects into consideration. No wonder he was so highly regarded by the emperor.

Zhang Luan sighed, “Yes, so we have to keep a low profile on many things… There is really no need to dig into some old facts, so as not to affect your Majesty’s reputation. What do you think?”

“Yeah.”

Qin Ji said admiringly, “Mr. Zhang, you are a thoughtful person. I am foolish and need your advice on many things.”

Zhang Luan thought to himself, I may be even more stupid than you, but who can blame me for having a good son? Just a few words of advice from him behind my back can benefit me a lot.

“Then today…”

Zhang Luan means that you have to listen to me, right?

Tan Ji introduced: “The situation is like this. In order to avoid the matter being too publicized, His Majesty will specially appoint the Minister of Justice Du Ming and the Minister of Dali Temple Feng Guan to work with us to go to the Northern Pacification Office to inquire about the case. In order to avoid publicity, only the commander of the Jinyiwei Zhu Ji is allowed to listen in.”

Zhang Luan was surprised and said, “This is quite a big deal… He is the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Supreme Court. Is this a serious case?”

“No.”

Qin Ji shook his head and said, “Your Majesty wants to know what happened in the first place, and hopes to use your connections to get Li Zisheng to tell you the truth.

“Your Majesty only wants to know the truth, not to convict Li Zisheng.”

Zhang Luan asked suspiciously, “Did His Majesty tell you this in person?”

“Yes.”

Tan Ji nodded.

Zhang Luan sighed, “After this incident, even if Minister Li is still in the imperial court, I’m afraid he won’t have the face to stay in the court for long. The Yellow River project should be put on the agenda as soon as possible, and he should be allowed to supervise it personally. This is also… his last effort for the court.”

Qin Ji said: “It seems that you have thought it through clearly, so we won’t say anything else.”

Zhang Luan asked again: “You and I know that this trip is not to convict Li Zisheng, but to find out what happened in the past. Then… do Du Ming and Feng Guan know?”

Qin Ji shook his head and said, “This…we can’t say it.”

“hehe.”

Zhang Luan said helplessly, “That is to say, if the two of them insist on convicting Li Zisheng, you and I will have to argue with them, right?”

“This one……”

As a good guy, Qin Ji fully demonstrated his ability to shirk responsibility and be irresponsible at this time, “You are the chief officer of the case, everything is up to you… You can communicate with them two on your own.” Zhang Luan was very unhappy when he heard this.

I thought to myself, my son told me clearly that the main target of that group of people was not Li Zisheng, but me.

Let me communicate with them and ask them not to make things difficult for Li Zisheng?

I doubt they will listen to me!
They are eager to tie me and Li Zisheng together, convict us together, and announce it to the world!
Zhang Luan looked back in the direction of Fengtian Hall and said with emotion, “Today is the first day that the new Minister of Personnel attends court. I wanted to go and congratulate him in person, but who knew… Alas!”

“There will be a chance in the future.”

Qin Ji secretly broke out in a cold sweat.

I thought, why are you still going to congratulate others?

You are a notorious relative, it’s good that people don’t treat you as an enemy.

Don’t make yourself look bad!
……

……

Zhaohui Jinggongfang in the north of the capital city.

Jinyiwei, Northern Pacification Office.

Before Zhang Luan and others arrived, Zhu Ji had already arrived ahead of them. He was still listening to Mou Bin’s account of what happened last night.

“…We worked hard to create a good situation. We sent people to secretly monitor Li Zisheng and found that his emotions were already wavering. Who would have thought that when Zhang Guozhang came, all his hesitation and helplessness were almost swept away. Our efforts to set up the situation will only be in vain. Now I am afraid that he will just hold on to the end.”

Mou Bin was quite helpless.

The Jinyiwei had a detailed set of procedures for trying cases.

For those who cannot be easily tortured, they have various means of coercion.

They wanted to isolate Li Zisheng, put him in a dark and unfamiliar environment, surrounded by hostile prisoners, so that his inner defenses would collapse…

The plan was being implemented well, but who would have thought that Zhang Luan would come out and cause trouble.

Zhu Ji asked, “You said before that Zhang Guozhang came with his second son?”

“Yes.”

Mou Bin nodded and said, “He asked his children to go over and talk to Li Zisheng, while he himself just called Li Zisheng’s name from a distance to inform others that this old friend had arrived.

“But this kid is quite smart. He didn’t explain the details of the case, but only said that the case was being handled by Zhang Guozhang. I think this sentence alone is enough to reassure Li Zisheng.”

Zhu Ji was also somewhat helpless, and smiled bitterly, “Zhang Guozhang is not an ordinary person to have the status he has today, and he has already thought of various evasion measures. If he revealed the case to Li Zisheng in advance, no one might pursue it now, but after a few years… if someone brings this up, it will probably greatly affect his reputation.”

Mou Bin echoed: “Zhang Guozhang is indeed well prepared.”

Zhu Ji sighed, “Someone is using the previous emperor’s change of crown prince to punish Minister Li. It’s clear that they are targeting Zhang Guozhang. Will Zhang Guozhang choose to avoid suspicion like most people? With his easy-going personality, he should have done so, but in reality… who would sit still and wait for death? I’m afraid the person who set up this conspiracy has greatly underestimated Zhang Guozhang’s sensitivity to politics.”

“Then… Commander Zhu, what should we do now?”

Mou Bin asked for instructions.

Zhu Ji said, “I received news early in the morning that the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Supreme Court will accompany Zhang Guozhang here today. Perhaps the palace will also send an eunuch to assist. When the court brings him to trial, we will know what exactly is going on behind the scenes with Minister Li.”

Mou Bin disagreed: “No matter how big the event is, I’m afraid that with Zhang Guozhang sitting in the position of chief judge, Li Zisheng will not tell the truth.”

“That’s none of your business.”

Zhu Ji said, “When the person arrives, you don’t need to participate in the whole process from reception to interrogation. The most you can do is to follow orders and invite the person over from the cell.

“Remember to say ‘please’. Don’t panic. After all, Li Zisheng is still the Minister of State, and his position has not been stripped by the court… He has controlled the court for many years, and his influence among the civil and military officials is very great. With the help of Zhang Guozhang, a popular figure in front of His Majesty, it will not be difficult for him to take revenge on you and me.”

“Yes.”

Although Mou Bin seemed very unwilling, he quickly bowed and accepted the order.

……

……

Soon, Zhang Luan and Qin Ji arrived at the Northern Pacification Office first.

Zhu Ji went out to greet him personally.

“Commander Zhu? I was just talking about you.”

Zhang Luan looked around and asked with a smile, “By the way, is my son here today? I mean, my disappointing eldest son… He works for you, so he didn’t cause you any trouble, did he?”

“No, no, Captain Zhang is very diligent and knows the rules. Sometimes I benefit a lot from him.” Zhu Ji quickly saluted and replied.

Zhang Luan was stunned.

I thought, are you sure you are talking about the same person as me?
I’m talking about my unruly eldest son!
With his character, how can you benefit from him?

Look at how polite you are saying this, do you believe it yourself?
Qin Ji looked back at Zhang Yanling who was following behind him and said with a smile: “The two uncles of the Zhang family are both outstanding people. Their future is limitless.”

Zhang Yanling bowed and said, “Eunuch Tan, you are too kind. I am here to learn and expand my knowledge and experience.”

“Yes, I invited the young prince here.”

Qin Ji smiled and introduced the situation to Zhu Ji, “The Second Young Master is well-informed, has a strong memory, and has a lot of strategies in mind. He is deeply appreciated by His Majesty and the Queen. I asked him to take notes and treat it as a learning experience. Commander Zhu, is that okay?”

Zhu Ji thought, Zhang Luan’s youngest son was clearly brought here by himself, but you, Qin Jifei, said that you were the one who invited him?

He even brought the emperor and empress along?
I don’t care who he came with. One more or one less won’t make much difference.

“Eunuch Qin, please make the decision.” Zhu Jiqiang said with a smile.

“It’s not me who makes the decision… This time when you talk to Li Zisheng, it’s Minister Zhang who is in charge of asking questions on behalf of Your Majesty. I’m only responsible for taking the recorded content back and reporting it to Your Majesty. If there are some things that are not clear, Minister Zhang may have to come to Your Majesty in person to explain them in detail.” Tan Ji said, “Everything is decided by Minister Zhang.”

“Yes!”

Zhu Ji bowed and saluted, then said: “The person was only temporarily arranged to stay in the Beizhenfusi Yamen last night. As long as the case is thoroughly investigated, everything can be sorted out.”

Zhang Luan nodded and waved his hand: “I hope we won’t cause any more trouble in the future. After all, the Liang Fang case is over, and no one wants to cause any more trouble. Commander Zhu, you are a smart man. We all want to live in peace, right?”

This is a bit of a warning.

No matter in the past or now, you, Zhu Ji, cannot stay out of trouble. People like Liang Fang, Li Zisheng, Deng Changen and Wan An all have dealings with you.

No one has a clean ass, so don’t pretend to be a good person here.

If you make me angry, I will even poke a hole in the sky, no matter who you are!

(End of this chapter)