The Moon is Full in the Traveling House

"What's going on?" A gleam of light flashed in Xie Tianlin's eyes, and his voice was low and powerful, with a sense of majesty and oppression.

"I don't know the specific details, as the news has only just been announced. I only heard that the emperor was furious when he learned about this, and has ordered a thorough investigation of the matter!" Eunuch Ma said tremblingly.

Xie Tianlin frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. He thought to himself, "This matter is of great importance and must be handled with caution. Let's wait and see. If my cousin comes later, let him wait for me in the study. Also, have someone secretly find out what's going on in the imperial concubine's palace."

"Yes." Eunuch Ma obeyed the order and retreated.

The cousin mentioned by Xie Tianlin is naturally Yang Chenxuan, the eldest grandson of the left prime minister. This man is handsome, elegant, talented, and resourceful. At the age of nineteen, he won the first place in the imperial examination and became one of the youngest and most promising officials of the dynasty. He was known as the first son of the capital. Yang Chenxuan worked in the Hanlin Academy for half a year, but later resigned and left, claiming to travel around to gain knowledge. However, in fact, he spent a full four years traveling all over the beautiful rivers and mountains of the motherland and the surrounding countries, and drew a new and more complete and accurate map. If the war breaks out again, the role of this map cannot be underestimated. The map that he carried with him during his southern tour was also made by Master Chenxuan, and its accuracy was much higher than before.

Yang Chenxuan's whereabouts were usually erratic and difficult to predict. However, since the illegal salt incident was of great importance and had now caused a stir in the city, everyone knew about it. Therefore, if Yang Chenxuan was in the capital at this moment, he would definitely come to the East Palace on his own initiative.

At this time, in the Ministry of Justice, the Minister of Justice Zhong Jinnian sat at the head, and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice Tang Zimo sat below him. The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was absent because he was imprisoned for being involved in the smuggling of salt. "Sir Tang, what do you think of Minister Tong's suicide out of fear of punishment?"

"I have many doubts." Tang Zimo lived up to his name, speaking concisely and to the point.

"Oh?"

"If he really committed suicide out of fear of punishment, why did he choose to do it after being imprisoned? Moreover, the Shangshu Mansion searched the property and did not find the three young masters and the third young master's wife. It is said that the third young master's wife is about to give birth. If it was not arranged in advance, how could it be such a coincidence?"

"Do you suspect homicide?" Zhong Jinnian's eyes were sharp.

"I dare not judge, I have the coroner to perform the autopsy as evidence."

"Your Majesty only gave us three days, and now more than half of the day has passed. The principal offender died just after being imprisoned and before he could be interrogated. This is really a bit difficult." Zhong Jinnian frowned and said worriedly. He knew that this matter was of great importance. If he could not handle it properly, he would have a hard time explaining it to His Majesty. However, just as he was thinking about how to solve this thorny problem, a yamen runner hurried over to report: "Master Zhong, the left prime minister and the Supreme Court Minister Yan are here. Please go and start the trial together."

Hearing the news, Zhong Jinnian's heart tightened. He did not dare to delay for a moment and immediately stood up and hurried to the hall of the Ministry of Justice with Tang Zimo beside him.

After entering the hall, Zhong Jinnian saw that the Left Prime Minister and Lord Yan were already seated. He immediately bowed and said apologetically, "Left Prime Minister, Lord Yan, I hope you can forgive me for being late."

Seeing this, the Left Prime Minister nodded slightly and said in a steady tone: "Lord Zhong, there is no need to be so polite. Business is more important. Let's start the trial as soon as possible." After that, he signaled with his eyes that Zhong Jinnian should sit in the main seat.

Zhong Jinnian was a little hesitant. He declined, "Lord Zuo Xiang, this is not right. You should be the main person. I dare not be so arrogant..."

"Lord Zhong, there is no need to be so formal. Lord Zhong and Lord Yan are the experts in judging cases. I am not talented, but I am trusted by Your Majesty. I will just be a spectator..." After saying this, he walked to a chair at the side of the hall and sat down without waiting for anyone to respond.

After everyone was seated, a yamen runner stepped forward and handed the autopsy results to Zhong Jinnian. After a careful inspection, Zhong Jinnian confirmed that Minister Tong had committed suicide. Then, he immediately ordered, "Come here! Bring up the rest of the people in Minister Tong's house!"

However, surprisingly, the three sons of Minister Tong did not appear in the hall. Those who were brought up were all the old, weak, women and children. For a while, the hall was filled with crying and wailing. No matter what questions were asked, the Tong family just cried and shouted loudly: "I don't know anything!" Faced with this situation, everyone had no choice but to let the yamen runners take them away first.

Next, the other relevant persons mentioned in the account book were brought to the hall one by one. Among them, Yu Bingkun, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Zhang Feng, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, were also on the list! At this moment, everyone felt a chill in their hearts. Thinking back to the local officials on the list who had not yet been arrested... They knew that this incident might cause a great turmoil in the court, and these termites hiding in the dark would eventually be exposed...

After the interrogation, some people refused to admit their crimes at first, but the account books held by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were extremely detailed, and Zhong Jinnian was even more skilled in interrogation. His methods of indirect attack, coercion and inducement were perfect, and it didn't take long for some people to confess. However, these people almost unanimously claimed that everything was done by Minister Tong. Now that Minister Tong is dead, there is no evidence. Zhong Jinnian and others knew that there must be something fishy, ​​but they could only give up for the time being. After discussion, they decided to detain the prisoners first and interrogate them one by one later.

As night fell and the lights came on, the Zuo Xiang's residence was brightly lit. Yang Lin was sitting in his study, thinking hard, trying to come up with a good strategy to deal with the smuggled salt case. Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard a slight sound of footsteps outside the door, followed by the servant's report: "Lord Zuo Xiang, the eldest son is back and has come to see you." Hearing this, Yang Lin's face suddenly showed joy, and he hurriedly said: "Hurry up and let him in!"

Yang Lin had two sons and one daughter in his life. The eldest son, Yang Zhenting, loved writing since childhood, but he resolutely joined the army ten years ago and died in the battlefield, leaving only a precious grandson, Yang Chenxuan. The second daughter was the former queen Yang Min..., who died of illness last spring. The youngest son, Yang Zhenhan, was smart, diligent, studious, well-read, and talented since childhood. He was the top scholar in the imperial examination that year. However, he did not choose to enter the officialdom, but resolutely resigned from his official position and joined the first academy of Dashun State, Jingdu Academy, as the dean, and devoted himself to teaching and educating people.

"Grandfather, your grandson is back." Yang Chenxuan stepped into the mansion and bowed respectfully when he saw Yang Lin.

Yang Lin smiled slightly, his eyes full of kindness, and said: "Chenxuan, you're back just in time. Come, take a look at these files." As he said that, he handed a pile of files to Yang Chenxuan.

Yang Chenxuan took the file and read it carefully. Although on the surface, he did not hold any official position, but as the left prime minister of the dynasty, Yang Lin naturally knew that his grandson had actually been secretly working for the royal family and handling various confidential affairs. Even the fact that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was able to obtain the important account book so smoothly this time was also due to Yang Chenxuan's contribution. Because of this, Yang Lin knew his grandson's ability and loyalty very well, so he never avoided him when handling government affairs.