"Your Majesty, are you certain this Minister Lin has returned to assist this subordinate, rather than specifically to dismantle my department?"
Once again entrusted with a significant responsibility, Feng Qingchen furiously tore the so-called leave request to shreds, his entire being agitated to the point of monstrous distortion.
"Eliminated two important officials in just one afternoon? If he were to stroll around the capital, wouldn't he render all six ministries obsolete? After all, those good-for-nothings are incompetent at work but endlessly bring concubines into their households and father children one after another. Even the dragon's nine offspring are all different! If those troublesome brats of theirs line up to seek trouble, wouldn't this subordinate have to shoulder the entire burden of the court?"
In contrast to Feng Qingchen's agitation, the new Emperor across from him calmly took a sip of tea from the cup before him and said, "It won't come to that. At least not for the Ministry of Personnel, which you manage, or the Ministry of Justice, managed by my senior brother. And as far as I know, Zhang Ziliang, the commander of the Imperial Guard, is also not yet married."
...
"Your Majesty! Will this subordinate need to prioritize unmarried individuals when selecting talent in the future? Also, is your cousin perhaps foolish? If the old King of Zhennan were to know that his grandson used the title he toiled half his life to earn as a prop for a staged accident, wouldn't he directly heave open his coffin and crawl back from underground?"
"Minister of Works Zhu Heng and Vice Minister of Revenue Wang Shixing are both on good terms with Shangguan Hong. Although they are only temporarily on leave, at this juncture, it is extremely beneficial to us."
However, Feng Qingchen, who had gone mad, was deaf to the new Emperor's explanation and muttered to himself, "No, no, no! It is this subordinate who was narrow-minded. If I consider it from a different perspective, if my own son were to carelessly offend that dim-witted King of Zhennan, wouldn't this subordinate also be able to take leave?"
With his perspective broadened, Feng Qingchen immediately fell into a dilemma: where would he find a son? His gaze fell upon the person opposite him, and as if guessing his thoughts, the new Emperor spoke softly, "You can try."
"Hmph, try and you'll die!" Feng Qingchen said this, but his body honestly picked up his brush and buried his head once more in the piles of memorial documents that filled his desk. While resignedly reviewing them, he mumbled softly, "Forget it. Given Minister Lin's current connections and leverage, even if he tore a hole in the sky, the heavens wouldn't dare to even fart about it."
The new Emperor, as the Son of Heaven: ...
Meanwhile.
Lin Qingge, feeling that she had gone out without checking the almanac and that everything was going wrong, did not continue to wander outside. She instructed Lian Cheng Yi to load the two large boxes, brimming with documents, onto the carriage. She, along with Leng Ning Yue, led Lin Zimo back to the Lin Manor at a leisurely pace.
Upon returning to the Lin Manor, Lin Qingge found Hua Jinrong, who had been absent for a long time, sitting by the stone table in the courtyard, leisurely playing chess with Murong Bai. Seeing Lin Qingge, Hua Jinrong immediately threw all the chess pieces in his hand onto the table, then swept them away, destroying the already doomed game. Murong Bai, seemingly accustomed to this, curled his lips and coolly uttered two words, "Such manners!"
However, Hua Jinrong fanned himself as he approached Lin Qingge and showered her with flattery, "Tsk tsk, as expected of you, sir. After a brief stroll outside, you've managed to get Zhu Heng, the Minister of Works and Shangguan Prime Minister's right-hand man, and Wang Shixing, the Vice Minister of Revenue, to take leave. I imagine Prime Minister Shangguan has already received the news and hates you to the bone now~"
"Uh..." Lin Qingge, who had absolutely no intention of targeting anyone and was merely stumbling upon these events by chance, weakly辩解ed, "Master Hua, if I were to say that everything I've done was unintentional, do you think Prime Minister Shangguan would believe me?"
"Sir, what do you think~"
"Alright, then we can only meet force with force and counter problems as they arise."
"By the way, sir, this subordinate took the time to visit the yamen today and found the case file concerning Fan Liu. However, the file only contains a few brief lines stating that Fan Liu murdered the couple for their money and also notes that Fan Liu escaped after confessing. The student sent people to the couple's residence according to the address in the file, and under the guise of a reason, inquired with the neighbors. Because murder cases are not common in areas you haven't passed through, many people still remember the incident even after so many years. According to those people's recollections, Fan Liu was usually honest and capable, not someone who would commit murder for wealth. Moreover, the couple, whose husband had a limp, stayed at home for extended periods and occasionally had to buy medicinal soups to drink. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say their home was as bare as a whitewashed wall. Therefore, even if Fan Liu genuinely wanted to steal money, he wouldn't have gone to their house. Furthermore, according to the woman who lived next door to the couple, on the morning of the couple's murder, she also saw a carriage come to pick up the midwife and jokingly commented to her that she was going to a wealthy family to enjoy a good life and to remember to help them, their poor neighbors, after she became prosperous. The midwife smiled and replied 'I won't,' but when she returned in the evening, her expression was solemn and dazed, and she didn't even notice the neighbor woman greeting her. Subsequently, the tragedy occurred that very night."
"Did that neighbor woman record any characteristics of the carriage, or the coachman's attire?"
"Reporting to sir, the people sent by this student also inquired about this, but due to the long passage of time, the woman does not remember. The only certainty is that the coachman's attire was better than that of ordinary people, and he should have been a retainer from a wealthy family. However, wealthy families are not lacking in the capital, so trying to identify which household's retainer it was would be like searching for a needle in a haystack~"
Lin Qingge, upon hearing this, habitually rubbed her chin. "If the lead on the coachman is a dead end, we can change our angle. Since that woman was a midwife, she must have gone to someone's manor to deliver a baby for a woman, and moreover, to a prominent wealthy family. In the capital, whether commoners or children of wealthy families, they are registered with the household administration from birth. Wealthy families, in particular, value seniority, and even children who died in infancy are usually registered. Thus, as long as we find all the infants born on that day and then screen them by family background, we should be able to narrow down the scope to a certain extent."
"Your wisdom, sir, truly makes this student admire you wholeheartedly~" Hua Jinrong cupped his hands in a bow and fanned himself, saying, "However, the capital has a large population. If we were to investigate house by house, it's hard to say how long it would take. Currently, An Yi to An Wu are staying at the manor as guards at your command, leaving this subordinate with not many usable people. I wonder if you could lend a few helpers to this subordinate? Preferably those who are known and trusted, and whom I don't have to pay myself~"
At the same time.
On the official road outside the capital.
A man and a woman galloped past at high speed. The woman, while flourishing her horsewhip, berated the man beside her, "My mother was right, men are unreliable, pigs can climb trees! If I hadn't believed your nonsense, I would have already beaten that scoundrel Shangguan Hong until he was spitting teeth!"