kingnovel Chapter 177 What do you want to settle?
Chapter 177 What do you want to settle?
Chapter 177 What do you want to settle?
In the inner study of the Eastern Palace, the prince was running around in a panic.
He read Chang Jing's handwriting over and over again, and was shocked and bewildered at first, and then became unbelievable.
He really couldn't understand how Chang Jing could be so bold as to commit such a serious crime!
But he knew what kind of impact it would have on him if the matter was exposed.
Because that imperial farm was indeed his.
When he was still a minor, he heard others talk about the scenery of Jiangnan. The young man was full of longing for the unknown, so he mentioned it several times in front of the emperor.
Upon seeing this, the emperor immediately removed a small farm in Jiangnan from the imperial register and privately granted it to him. Because of this, neither the official records, the inner court archives, nor the other princes knew that he had such a private property.
But people are always like this. Once they get what they have been dreaming about, they will feel that it is nothing special.
He had only been to that village.
Because the journey was long and the climate and food made him feel uncomfortable, he just left it there.
It was not until Chang Jing went to Jiangnan to take up the post of the Commissioner of Promotion and Demotion that he casually handed Zhuangzi over to the other party. To him, this was just a trivial matter, so even the Crown Princess did not know about it.
Unexpectedly, this small farm with a small area and little prospects expanded seven or eight times in just a few years under Chang Jing's leadership.
He naturally knew that Chang Jing had resorted to trickery and annexed the surrounding villages to achieve such a scale.
But Chang Jing repeatedly assured that he was acting very carefully and no one knew that it was his and the prince's property. Even if someone wanted to report it, they could only go to the government office under the jurisdiction of Jiangnan Road to file a complaint and could not get out of his hands.
Seeing that the other party was so confident and had great potential, he turned a blind eye and let him go.
He even thought that Chang Jing was a talented person at one point!
It was not until the flood in Jiangnan that he realized that Chang Jing's layout in Jiangnan was not stable.
Therefore, he sent Mu Rong and Cao Yang to Jiangnan to investigate the case, hoping to pacify the situation there as soon as possible.
But who would have thought that it was Mu Rong who discovered the imperial farm and the activities inside it.
Human trafficking! Chang Jing didn't even tell him the truth about this matter.
It turns out that the high profits of Huangzhuang in recent years were earned from this deadly business!
When he saw Chang Jing's handwriting, he was so scared that his legs went weak.
I really want to throw all the money I've received from the farmhouse over the years into Chang Jing's face. Human trafficking, how dare he! ! ! !
The second brother had just been taken down, and he hadn't been proud for a few days before he had to clean up such a big mess for Chang Jing!
What's more, although the second son was imprisoned, he was not sentenced to death. There were many people in the court who were wavering. If this news was known by someone with ulterior motives, it would definitely be used to great effect!
If that happens, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to keep my position as the crown prince!
Even though my father favors me, it doesn't mean he can tolerate his son selling his own people...
Chang Jing is his man. If he says he doesn't know, no one will believe him.
Tai Zi had smashed everything that could be smashed in the inner study, but he still couldn't get rid of the hatred in his heart!
only……
What should we do now?
Chang Jing sent this news, clearly asking me to clean up the mess for him!
Rong Ge'er! He wanted to send someone to the farm to invite Mu Rong to come and discuss.
But before he reached the door, he stopped.
I think Mu Rong already knows all the secrets of the imperial farm, its legal and illegal activities. He brought Chunwang, the manager, back to the capital, but he has not exposed himself until now, which means... he is on his side.
That being the case...
"Go and find Cao Yang for me." The prince calmed himself down and gave the order.
Cao Yang made great contributions in using the Jiangnan incident to eliminate the second prince.
The prince has promoted him to the position of Secretary of the Eastern Palace.
A promotion in official rank means that one needs to stay in Beijing on duty during the New Year holidays.
In addition, he was single, so his residence in the capital was not far from the Eastern Palace, so he arrived there quickly.
The prince didn't waste any words and directly handed Chang Jing's letter to Cao Yang.
When Cao Yang saw that the letter came from Jiangnan, he thought that Lord Chang had already arranged for the people to survive the winter.
But he didn't expect that the content of the letter would make him more and more frightened and disgusted the more he read it.
He closed the letter and felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart.
He knew very well what it meant when the prince told him such a secret matter.
He has been serving in the Eastern Palace since he started his official career, and he should have done his best to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
But...now this matter has far exceeded his understanding.
Are we really going to let him come up with a solution to the current crisis?
Sure enough, the prince sat behind the desk and looked at him: "Do you have a solution to this problem?"
"Master Chang, this is a capital crime." He said word by word, "There is no solution."
The prince was slightly startled. "How could that be? You know, Chang Jing's death alone wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm related to him by marriage, so this matter will definitely implicate me. No matter what, I want you to find a way to resolve this matter."
He used the word "settle" without hesitation.
Cao Yang laughed angrily, "Does Your Highness think this matter can be settled? There are hundreds of villagers in Yujia Village. How can Your Highness deal with them? The maid rescued by the Marquis had her tongue completely broken and was covered in wounds. How do you plan to deal with her? Moreover, there is Chun Wang who was brought to the capital by Weiyuan Marquis... Lord Chang used the imperial farm to commit such a heinous crime. Who can settle it? Who dares to settle it?"
"That's enough!" the prince scolded. "I called you here to ask you to come up with a solution, not to listen to your nonsense." Seeing the prince's angry expression, Cao Yang sneered: "If you want to fulfill your wish, I'm afraid the sky will have to change color and all those who know about it will be silenced."
"Nonsense! Zhuangzi and Yujia Village are both guarded by people from the Jiangnan Camp. Silencing them wouldn't be easy. If Mu Rong hadn't intervened, how would the people from the Jiangnan Camp have gotten involved? They also captured Chunwang and brought him back to the capital. Who knows what they're up to!"
Seeing that the prince was still resenting Marquis Weiyuan, Cao Yang felt that he was completely clueless!
He thought of the days he spent with Mu Rong in Jiangnan. Although the time was not long, he could feel that he was a man full of righteousness.
He looked at the prince coldly, "Marquis Weiyuan and Princess Ping'an have always had a good relationship. Chunwang actually set his sights on the Princess and wanted to sell her to Fanwai. It's only natural that the Marquis would capture him to vent his anger on the Princess."
The prince had initially been annoyed by Cao Yang's unreasonableness, but as soon as he finished speaking, his eyes lit up: "Right! Right! Why didn't I think of that?" The problem that had previously been puzzling him was suddenly solved.
Rong Ge'er regarded the daughter of the sixth-rank official as his own eye, and was determined not to let Chunwang go, so he arrested her and detained her.
But in the final analysis, he was still on his side, so he handled the matter calmly.
In that case...there's nothing to worry about Brother Rong!
His expression kept changing from anxious to happy, and Cao Yang didn't know that these thoughts flashed through his mind for a moment.