Prime Minister.

Chapter 19019 [The Grand Secretary]

Gu Heng's fate was sealed, but this matter was far from over.

The senior officials in the palace were fully aware of this.

Earlier at the Grand Assembly, Xue Huai pointed out that Gu Heng did this because there were serious problems with the Ministry of Works' Water Conservancy Department, which was directly related to the worsening floods in the south this summer. He decided to take the risk in order to cover up his crimes.

However, this possibility is very small.

The reason why Gu Heng wanted to cover it up is that he should have tried to keep a low profile, cooperate with others to smooth over the problems in the accounts, and shift the responsibility for the flood to natural disasters and the local officials' poor flood control, instead of taking the initiative to make a big fuss.

His impeachment of Xue Mingzhang means that this matter cannot be taken lightly. It concerns the emperor's face, and the court will definitely investigate it with all its might. At that time, how could the problems of the Ministry of Works and Water Conservancy Department be hidden?
Therefore, Gu Heng must have had another reason.

However, now that Xue Huai has dealt with Gu Heng, the person behind the scenes will definitely be more cautious and dare not easily reveal any clues.

The emperor remained noncommittal at the time, and did not even press Gu Heng for answers, because there was no point in dwelling on Gu Heng.

In his view, this matter would most likely fall on Xue Minglun.

Some people wanted to deal with this Minister of Works who was favored by the emperor. However, it would be too hasty to take action against him directly, as the chances of success were low. Therefore, they took a roundabout approach, first having Gu Heng attract the attention of the court and the public, and then turning the fire on the Ministry of Works.

From bottom to top, from point to surface, once all the dirty deeds of the Ministry of Works hidden in the sunlight are exposed, Xue Minglun will be like a clay bodhisattva crossing the river, barely able to save himself.

Xue Minglun also understood the danger involved, so he did not hesitate at all and immediately offered his help to Xue Huai.

As long as he cuts off Gu Heng's connection, he will have enough room to maneuver.

Hearing the Emperor's deep question, Xue Minglun was quite troubled. In fact, he wanted to know more than the Emperor who was behind this, since the target was him. However, he had been carefully investigating within the Ministry of Works for the past few days, especially Gu Heng's interpersonal relationships, but still found nothing.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, I truly did not know."

Xue Minglun looked ashamed, then hesitated and said, "However... I heard Xue Huai say in the palace that he was falsely accused of stealing files by a servant in the Hanlin Academy. This is very likely the work of someone who set up the scheme behind the scenes. If Xue Huai fails to clear his name, then Gu Heng's framing will most likely succeed. These two things are obviously related, but I don't know the details."

Lin Miao, a Hanlin scholar, was displeased, knowing that Xue Minglun would drag him into this.

Seeing the emperor looking over, Lin Miao had no choice but to recount what had happened at the Hanlin Academy that day.

Previously, Xue Huai had only mentioned it briefly, and the important officials were unaware of the details, so they did not draw too many conclusions. Now, upon hearing Lin Miao's complete account, some of them couldn't help but frown slightly.

Xue Minglun glanced at Lin Miao gratefully and said, "Now it seems that the person behind this is truly wicked! In order to disrupt the Ministry of Works, he not only forced Gu Heng to commit such a heinous crime of deceiving the emperor, but also tried to kill Xue Huai! Fortunately, Dean Lin noticed something amiss, which prevented the other party from succeeding."

"Minister Xue is too kind."

Lin Miao appeared respectful but actually kept his distance, saying, "This matter is largely thanks to Xue Huai's quick thinking; I merely tried my best to remain impartial."

As a Hanlin Academician, although his current rank is not as high as that of the six ministers, his future prospects are not necessarily inferior to those of Xue Minglun, so he certainly does not want to get involved in this mess.

In the years to come, he only needs to cultivate his reputation and preside over another imperial examination, just like the Hanlin Academician Shen Wang back then. Then he can wait for the opportunity to move up in position.

There was clearly a huge pitfall ahead, and he would have to be out of his mind to choose to stand on the same boat as Xue Minglun.

Xue Minglun didn't care and then reported to the emperor: "Your Majesty, Liu Pingshun was obviously instructed by someone to frame Xue Huai. However, I think the lecturer Chen Quan is a bit strange. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have acted so hastily before the dust settled. At that time, his words and actions were clearly fueling the fire and intentionally targeting Xue Huai."

A high-ranking official standing nearby sneered inwardly.

He was Wei Zheng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, who, along with Xue Minglun, was known as the right-hand man of Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi.

The position of Minister of Justice is currently vacant, and officials are discussing it privately, believing that it is only a matter of time before Wei Zheng takes office.

However, Wei Zheng was one of the suspects Xue Minglun suspected was behind the scenes.

Although the two were both key members of the Ning Party, they actually had a long-standing grudge.

This dates back to more than 20 years ago, when Xue Minglun and Wei Zheng had a fierce conflict over an incident. Since then, they have disliked each other. In particular, when the position of Minister of Works became vacant six years ago, both of them hoped to be promoted by Ning Hengzhi. In the end, Xue Minglun got there first, and Wei Zheng was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

If Ning Hengzhi hadn't recommended Wei Zheng as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and promised to help him take charge of the Ministry of Justice in the future, Wei Zheng definitely wouldn't have swallowed that insult.

There's a common misconception that forming cliques automatically creates a monolithic entity. In reality, the opposite is true. Wherever there are people, there will be conflict, and even the powerful Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi couldn't prevent it. After all, there are only so many high-ranking positions; one person can only fill one spot. For every person who rises to the top, someone else remains stagnant, or even falls from grace.

Of course, this was also because Xue Minglun and Wei Zheng were capable and experienced, so Ning Hengzhi chose to appease them. Ordinary officials would not dare to be presumptuous in front of the Grand Secretary.

Over the past few years, with Ning Hengzhi's mediation, the two have barely maintained a facade of peace, but their rivalry behind the scenes has never stopped.

Now that someone intends to spread the fire to the Ministry of Works, how could Xue Minglun ignore his old rival, Wei Zheng? Not to mention that he is very clear about the relationship between Wei Zheng and Chen Quan.

Upon hearing Xue Minglun's veiled accusations, Wei Zheng immediately spoke up: "Your Majesty, the day before yesterday, Headmaster Lin brought the servant Liu Pingshun to the Ministry of Justice, and I immediately ordered him to be interrogated. According to Liu Pingshun's confession, about half a month ago, mysterious people kidnapped his two grandsons and used them to coerce him into not reporting the crime to the authorities, and also to frame Xue Huai according to their plan. I have already sent people to investigate this matter and find out the identities of those mysterious people as soon as possible."

The emperor's deep gaze fell on Wei Zheng's face.

He was well aware that Ning Hengzhi's right and left arms were not on good terms, which was exactly what he wanted to see. If everyone around Ning Hengzhi was united, how could he allow a Ning faction to exist in the court?
However, he did not want these important officials to escalate the conflict to the point of life and death, or even to the point of disregarding the dignity of the court.

Ultimately, the face of the imperial court is the face of the emperor.

Stared at so coldly by the emperor, Wei Zheng felt a chill run down his spine, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. He couldn't very well abruptly explain his relationship with Chen Quan; that would be like trying to hide something obvious.
Just then, an old voice said, "Minister Wei, I seem to remember that you were quite close to that Chen Shijiang?"

Wei Zheng's heart skipped a beat, but he calmly said, "Lord Ouyang, I am certainly acquainted with Chen Quan, who served in the same court. But where does this talk of closeness come from?"

He silently cursed the old bastard.

The person who suddenly intervened at this moment was none other than Ouyang Hui, the Second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

He was four years older than Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi. Although the age difference seemed small, it was like an insurmountable chasm in the officialdom. Moreover, Ning Hengzhi was in good health and would probably live another twenty years without becoming senile, which made him even more desperate.

Ouyang Hui was neither greedy for money nor lustful; his only passion in life was the official career. However, Ning Hengzhi, who was younger and more outstanding than him, stood in his way. Perhaps he would never have the chance to experience the feeling of being the chief minister until he died. How could he be content with that?

So even though he knew that the emperor had placed him in this position to put Ning Hengzhi in a low position, but had not given him much real power, Ouyang Hui was still happy to accept it.

As for the current case, Ouyang Hui has been observing it from the sidelines for several days. Although he still hasn't figured out who the mastermind is, he certainly won't miss the opportunity to cause trouble for Ning Hengzhi's two capable henchmen.

However, he understood the emperor's thoughts well. It was fine for him to stir up trouble, but getting too deeply involved would be a loss. So he smiled apologetically at Wei Zheng and said, "Perhaps I misheard. Please don't take it to heart, Vice Minister Wei."

Wei Zheng said, feeling aggrieved, "This humble official dares not."

On the other side, Xue Minglun said calmly, "Previously, Dean Lin interrogated Liu Pingshun for a long time but failed to get him to talk. However, Vice Minister Wei made him confess in the blink of an eye. Vice Minister, you really have good skills."

His intention was to suggest that there was more to the story, that Liu Pingshun's reactions were unusual, and that he did not intend to implicate Lin Miao.

Fortunately, Lin Miao was good at maintaining his composure, and he only cursed inwardly.

Wei Zheng sneered, "Your Excellency is too kind. This is all thanks to my subordinates. How could I dare to take credit?"

Xue Minglun's face turned cold. No matter what, Gu Heng was his subordinate, but now he had made such a big mess. What face did he have left?

Seeing the two locked in a fierce battle, the emperor behind his desk gave a sneer without any expression.

Xue Minglun and Wei Zheng quickly lowered their heads.

The emperor suppressed his agitation and turned to look at the middle-aged civil official who had remained silent, asking, "What is the Grand Secretary's view on this matter?"

The middle-aged civil official was tall and slender with a square face. His eyebrows were sparse and lightly painted, his cheekbones were slightly prominent but not rugged, his nose was straight like a hanging gall bladder, and he had a neatly trimmed short beard on his chin. His whole demeanor was gentle and composed yet dignified.

He was Ning Hengzhi, the Grand Secretary of the current government, whose courtesy name was Yuanzhuo, and he was fifty-six years old at the time.

Meeting the Emperor's gaze, Ning Hengzhi spoke calmly and steadily, like a still lake: "Your Majesty, the identity of the person behind the scenes is very secretive. I believe his purpose is to incite conflict in the court. Now that Xue Huai has broken the deadlock with force, the other party will surely remain hidden. Therefore, there is no need to waste too much energy on him. You can order the Jing'an Division to investigate carefully along the two lines of Gu Heng and Liu Pingshun."

He paused, his expression sincere: "At present, the court should focus on the people's livelihood in Jiangnan. Relief for disaster victims and restoration of agriculture are the top priorities. Finding out the truth about the river works is secondary, and holding relevant officials accountable is the third priority."

The Emperor nodded slightly, his eyes finally softening: "Very well, then let's follow the Grand Secretary's advice and have the Cabinet draft a proposal as soon as possible."

Ning Hengzhi bowed respectfully and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

(End of this chapter)