The prince loves me like his life, but I force him to rebel

Li Qinglai suddenly felt that something was wrong, but he still tried to make excuses.

"It is unfair, Your Majesty. This purse was indeed embroidered by my concubine, but the money in it was not carried by me. Everyone knows that my concubine is fierce, and I don't have much money on me. Someone is trying to frame me!"

Everyone in the hall was talking about it. At Bai Mo's signal, Xu Kaichi, the Junior Secretary of the Censorate, stood up.

"Your Majesty, since this purse was obtained by Chief Shu's men through improper means, it is possible that someone else could have put money in it through improper means to frame you..."

Everyone has long been aware of the fact that the imperial guards collected protection fees from merchants in the capital.

There were even folk songs in the capital satirizing such behavior, saying that in Dasheng, two silver taxes had to be paid, one to the emperor and one to the imperial guards.

It is well known that the Bai family is behind the Imperial Guards.

Now that Xu Kaichi had come out and was the first to speak for Li Qing, many civil and military officials standing in the Bai family's team also spoke out to express their agreement.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Who can guarantee that this is not a frame-up?"

"If this can be used as evidence of a crime, then won't everyone be in danger in the courtroom from now on?"

"General Li has been in the capital for many years and has never suffered such humiliation..."

"Your Majesty, you can't let this go!"

Before the emperor even opened his mouth, these people seemed to have already determined that Li Qinglai was "wronged".

Facing the accusations from everyone in the hall, Shu Huaiyuan was neither shocked nor afraid, and calmly asked the eunuch to bring two more basins of hot water.

"Since General Li keeps saying that he is innocent, and the money stained with Suhua oil was all framed by me, I will give you a chance to prove yourself."

Shu Huaiyuan stepped forward, grabbed Li Qinglai's wrist, and inserted his entire right hand straight into the water.

Li Qinglai immediately understood Shu Huaiyuan's intention and struggled desperately. The two guards beside Shu Huaiyuan immediately went forward to suppress him.

Soon, just like the basin of water soaking the copper coins, tiny oil droplets floated on the surface of the water.

A layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Qinglai's forehead. He knew that he had no way to deny it this time.

He looked at Bai Mo again.

Bai Mo still had no expression on his face.

When white vinegar is added to the basin, the water turns light red.

“Has anyone ever eaten fried dough cakes in the morning?”

Shu Huaiyuan pulled up a guard who had raised his hand and dipped his hand into the water as well.

Tiny oil droplets also appeared in the basin, but after the white vinegar was added, the color of the water in the basin did not change at all.

Shu Huaiyuan remained calm and easily eliminated the last possibility of Li Qinglai's quibbling.

"Yesterday, General Li was on leave, and you went to Jiya Pavilion to look for a girl. You got drunk and did not return home all night, and spent all the money you had. This morning, these three people came to hand in the protection fee they had collected. You asked them to send the bulk of the money to your house, and then put some small silver coins into your purse, bought a sesame cake at a roadside stall, and ate it while rushing to the palace..."

Shu Huaiyuan spoke in a relaxed tone, as if he was telling an irrelevant story.

Li Qinglai's expression became more and more ugly.

"Shu Huaiyuan, you actually sent someone to follow me!"

Shu Huaiyuan chuckled and said, "General Li, what you mean is that what I said is true?"

Li Qinglai turned to face the emperor and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Your Majesty, I have devoted my whole heart and soul to guarding the capital for more than ten years. These are all slanders and defamations against me. I beg Your Majesty to see clearly!"

The emperor remained silent.

"It is because you have been in the capital for more than ten years that you have the courage to plunder so much of the people's wealth."

Shu Huaiyuan looked at everyone in the hall and continued speaking in a calm but touching tone.

"Before going to court, I have sent someone to tell Madam Zun your "message". You have committed a minor offense and someone will come to your house to search it later. I asked her to hide all the valuables. I believe that Madam Zun has helped us sort out the most valuable things in the Li Mansion."

"Shu Huaiyuan, you...you..."

Li Qinglai was so angry that he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

"The imperial guards have surrounded the Li Mansion. Anyone who is interested can come with me to count the property of the Li Mansion."

Everyone in the hall was silent.

It was the Emperor who spoke at this moment.

"Go ahead, I want to go and open my eyes."

----

"Didn't the master tell me what it was?"

"I am just a messenger, I don't know the details."

Mrs. Li received the message and did not suspect anything. She quickly arranged for a carriage to meet her at the back door and loaded all the gold, silver and valuables in the house into it.

Many exquisite antiques were too large to fit into a carriage and had to be quietly hidden in the grain pile in the stable in the backyard.

After a busy period, I finally put all the valuables away.

She took off her expensive jewelry, walked to the backyard, put it in the carriage, and turned around to find that the people guarding the carriage were not her confidants.

"Where's Xiuju?"

"Ma'am, I'm here."

A small voice sounded from the side.

Madam Li turned around and saw that her personal maid was tied up and there were guards guarding her.

She suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Who are you? How dare you kidnap the general's family?"

"I am here to arrest the criminal under the order of the chief of the imperial guards."

"Ridiculous! My master is the commander of the imperial guards. A mere captain of the imperial guards with swords is at most equal to my master. What qualifications does he have to come to my house and act wildly? Even if my master is wrong, it is not his turn to intervene."

Madam Li was so emotional that she started fighting with the guards on the spot.

All the servants in the yard came out upon hearing the noise, and the guards nearby also rushed forward.

The servants and guards stood facing each other, and a fight seemed inevitable.

"stop!"

Shu Huaiyuan arrived first on horseback, holding the emperor's handwritten edict in his hand.

"The Emperor has issued a written order to search the Li Mansion. No one is allowed to stop it."

Mrs. Li's body went limp, as if all her energy and spirit had been drained away in an instant, and she collapsed to the ground.

She knew better than anyone how her husband had amassed such wealth over the years. Now that the emperor had been alarmed and issued an imperial decree, there would be no room for maneuver in the matter. And the cart full of gold and silver was the best evidence of her husband's plundering of the people's wealth over the years.

Only then did she come to her senses. The servant who had come to tip her off was not sent by Li Qinglai at all. She was obviously tricked by Shu Huaiyuan.

It was the first time in all those years that the ministers of the court accompanied the emperor to watch the property of the criminals being confiscated in Da Sheng.

Shu Huaiyuan became famous in this battle.

The emperor asked him to be in charge of some of the capital's public security affairs, which was bound to dilute Li Qinglai's sphere of influence. In the court, Li Qinglai would inevitably be the first to make trouble.

Shu Huaiyuan secretly planned and arranged in advance, causing Li Qinglai, the first to stand out, to suffer a devastating disaster.

Now, if the ministers in the court want to follow Li Qing's example and stand out, they must first consider whether they are iron-headed enough and whether they have cleaned their butts well enough.

After Li Qinglai was dealt with, no one dared to question the emperor's expansion of the authority of the imperial guards.

After Li Qinglai was detained, Shu Huaiyuan was ordered to take over the imperial guards. Although his official rank did not rise, his authority was much greater than before.

No one in the court dared to say anything like "Shu Huaiyuan is young and cannot handle the heavy responsibility" anymore.

After all, Li Qinglai is a lesson for us.