After the cannon fodder father and daughter married into the family, the whole family regretted it

Then Fang Yin solemnly instructed that starting today, family members should leave the mansion as little as possible, and if they do leave, they should bring helpers with them, and the entire mansion should be on alert.

With the assassins' hideouts destroyed twice, Fang Yin estimated that the mastermind behind the assassins would soon be exposed.

The closer they get to the final moment, the more insane they'll go, won't they?

Who knows if those people have other people working for them?

In short, there is a high probability that those people will go crazy during this period, and when people go crazy, they are capable of doing anything.

Fang Nanzhi knew this was directed at her, and nodded obediently.

But she also said, "Second Uncle, I think the Yun family should send more people."

They kept a close eye on Chen's troops.

She recounted Yao Xin's reminder from earlier that day.

That's a strange statement. Are the Chen clan's followers not loyal to the Chen clan's patriarch, or to whom?

Could it be that someone else in the clan has sidelined my uncle in terms of the vassal state?

That's impossible. The living members of the Chen clan have never been seen to receive any care from their retainers, yet they found Yun Congsheng without a word.

Fang Yin frowned: "I told Bai Wu to put aside everything else and keep a close eye on things."

Actually, he had a bad feeling about it, based on the simplest logic.

If the Chen family's retainers never pledged allegiance to Chen Zijun, then perhaps they weren't Chen family's retainers at all.

But he didn't say it.

For the next two days, Fang Nanzhi did not leave the mansion. Old Master Zhou and Mr. Deng assigned her homework and had it delivered to her.

She's living a pretty fulfilling life.

Oh, and I also received a message inviting her to go hiking and enjoy the snow.

It was written by Cui Shicheng, Xie Lang, and a few others.

Fang Nanzhi really wanted to go about ten days from now, but she didn't know if she would be available then.

She's more worried about the case right now.

The Ministry of Justice and the Jingzhao Prefecture interrogated the suspects day and night, but they did not release any information to the outside world.

The people of the capital had no idea what major event had occurred, and privately assumed that those who were arrested and brought into the capital after the city gates were sealed that day were bandits.

The people are now living in peace and contentment.

Qin Yan, however, noticed something different when he went to the Imperial Academy every day: many of his classmates or senior students had actually taken leave.

There were about a dozen people, all from prominent families.

But no one knows why, because the Master forbade any discussion.

Fang Tongshen, working in the small government office, felt that his colleagues had been working very diligently these past two days, even though it was almost the end of the year and the New Year was just around the corner.

Many officials in the Ministry of Agriculture were complacent and took the time to slack off.

But these past two days everyone has been very diligent, starting their shifts early and leaving late. Even the greenhouse vegetables that Fang Tong was in charge of had two officials helping him with the work.

By the way, the greenhouse vegetables were a success.

The first batch has already been harvested and sent to the palace.

However, Fang Tong was not thinking about this to add a new dish to the palace; he wanted to use it on the common people.

Even though the nobles in the palace couldn't eat fresh vegetables in winter, they could still eat meat and eggs.

Ordinary people could only eat pickled vegetables.

However, promoting it is not so easy. Fang Tong has only taken the first step. He needs to plan it out himself first, and then write a report.

The memorial had to be approved by one's superior first, and then one had to go to the Ministry of Revenue to withdraw the money.

He has been writing plans these past two days.

Ahem, back to the main topic. When it comes to the progress of the case, Fang Yin is the one in the family who knows the most.

He attends the morning court session every day.

It's quite a lively scene. The previous morning court session, I saw seven or eight officials kneeling at the entrance of the main hall from afar.

When I checked yesterday, there were more than a dozen people.

The adults, who were used to being pampered, knelt in the snow and ice, their bodies covered with a thin layer of snow, and were reluctant to leave.

Why is he always kneeling? Won't the emperor conduct further investigation? Or is he waiting for something?

We're waiting for Prince Qingmin and Prince Ning to arrive in the capital.

The imperial envoy's entourage rode at breakneck speed, braving the wind and snow to make their way. Fortunately, the hailstorm only hit the capital and did not affect the roads, otherwise they would have suffered even more.

Qingmin rode a black horse, his gray hat had turned white, and the scarf he was wearing was covered in ice crystals from his constant breathing.

The cold wind blew down your neck and into your body, freezing you to the bone.

"My lord, we are only ten miles from the city gate. We are exhausted and the horses are worn out. Would you like to take a rest?"

A guard rode up to them to ask for instructions.

Qingmin reined in his horse, glanced at the sky, and saw that it was already completely dark. Even if they reached the city gate at this hour, they wouldn't be able to get in.

His eyes flickered slightly: "How is Prince Ning? Is his body still able to hold on?"

The guards immediately ran to the back of the carriage to check.

What could Prince Ning do? He was seriously injured and unconscious, unable to make any decisions or speak. The accompanying physician kept saying the same thing: "His condition is still under control."

It means you won't die.

Upon hearing this, Qingmin ordered them to continue their journey and rest at the city gate.

At least there's a city gate to block the wind from one side, but resting there would truly be a draft from all sides.

The group started moving again.

They stopped only when they reached the gates of the capital.

They set up camp to rest. Qingmin sat by the fire, warming his hands. On the fire was a small medicine pot, brewed for Prince Ning.

Qing Min raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "I'm hungry."

The guards immediately put the medicine pot aside and gave the adults some roasted meat to eat first.

There was also a servant boy guarding the medicine pot; he was a confidant of Prince Ning.

He tried to hold back, but couldn't help himself, and his tone became questioning.

"Your Excellency traveled back to the capital from Jinzhou Prefecture at breakneck speed, taking only four days. Our Prince was already seriously injured, and the bumpy journey has only exacerbated his condition. Now Your Excellency is forbidding our Prince from taking any medicine. If something goes wrong, can Your Excellency bear the responsibility?"

The servant's eyes blazed with anger. He had served the prince for many years, and the prince was always fawned over and respected wherever he went.

It was only in these past few days, with the prince in a coma, that the villains were able to gain power.

Qingmin was too lazy to argue with a servant, so he pretended to be puzzled.

"When did I say that medicine was forbidden?"

“That’s right, the doctors were all invited by our lord. It cost a lot of money to have them escort the prince all the way to the capital.” The guard chimed in, “As for brewing the medicine, are you out of your mind? Just go and brew it over the fire over there.”

Do we really have to fight with the adults for it?

The servant's face flushed red; he wanted to curse back, but he was under someone else's roof.

Unlike when they left, now the entire team is truly led by Qing Min; he is the real commander.

The servant boy, clutching the medicine pot, walked away dejectedly.

The guard even let out a cold snort.

Qingmin didn't care. He was in a great mood. Even though he was tired from traveling for days, the thought of Prince Ning being half-dead made him happy, and he even ate better than usual.

Because he was the one who caused Prince Ning's serious injury.

Not only did he do it, but he also secretly shifted the blame to... the emperor.

Well, this story needs to be told from the beginning.

Before leaving the capital, the Crown Prince instructed him that in addition to thoroughly investigating the salt smuggling case, he should also assassinate Prince Ning, but he must not actually kill him.

After arriving at the two prefectures, Qingmin allowed Prince Ning to sideline him and led his men to investigate the case.

He then led his men to inspect every nook and cranny.

Prince Ning's plan was to first annex the Third Princess's private salt operations in the two mansions, then infiltrate them and directly seek leverage against other major private salt gangs.

The main goal was to obtain leverage over whether the Ying or Jin families were involved.

Only then can we sit down to negotiate. As for what follows, we will have the two clans give up some manpower so that Prince Ning can use it to gain merit, and then the three parties will cooperate secretly.

Alternatively, if Prince Ning directly gave the court a handle against him, then the initiative would be in Prince Ning's hands.

The plan was good, and progress was relatively smooth; they actually found something to hold against Ying.

The legitimate son of the Ying family secretly ate meat and drank wine with salt merchants.

It can only be said that when a family grows large, it is bound to produce spendthrift sons, and this Third Young Master Ying is just such a case.

He lacks ambition and is fond of beautiful women and entertainment.

A few days ago, he went to a gambling den and lost a lot of money. His family punished him by limiting his monthly allowance.

Young Master Ying was short of money, but he still had his eye on the newly crowned courtesan from the Beauty Pavilion.

He would go drinking with the head of the salt merchants, actually to extort some money from them.

The salt merchants made their fortunes by relying on the Ying family, so how could they dare to offend Young Master Ying? This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened, and they were really prepared to offer him money as "tribute."

At that moment, the two were captured by Fang Jin and his men.

The head of the salt merchants was a tough guy. At first, he didn't say anything, but pretended to be stupid and got along well with Young Master Ying, drinking and having drinks together.

But Ying San had never suffered any physical pain; before the whip even touched him, he told everything he knew.

Ying San, being a spoiled brat, was not a core member of the clan and knew little about the matter; his information was mostly peripheral.

This information is enough for Prince Ning to follow up and investigate further.

Even the head of the salt merchants, seeing that Ying San had spoken, no longer resisted.

Thus, the evidence of Ying's profits from smuggled salt over the years was obtained, and the source of the smuggled salt was also found.

There are two salt mines. One is known to the imperial court and is officially under its control, but it can't deliver much salt every year, claiming that the output is insufficient.

In reality, it was controlled by the Jin and Ying families.

There was another place that was concealed and that two companies were mining it privately.

In other words, the two prefectures did not lack salt at all. It was the Jin and Ying families who, together with local officials, controlled the salt mines, which led to the rampant illegal salt trade in the two prefectures, making it so expensive for ordinary people to buy even a single grain of salt.

Prince Ning approached the Ying family, and Ying Tianwei was truly alarmed.

He had no choice but to seek refuge with Prince Ning, while concealing the fact that his own side had been compromised, hoping to help Prince Ning bring down the Jin family.

The Jin family had no idea that the salt mine had been discovered. If they had known, Jin Ke would probably have settled accounts with that old man Ying Tianwei first.

But why didn't Prince Ning take the salt mine location and go directly to the Jin family?

It's because he wanted to use it as a trump card.

The Jin family is different from the Ying family. The direct descendants of the Ying family are involved in the salt smuggling scandal, and Ying Tianwei is also in his hometown.

As for the Jin family, it is said that the responsibility for the private salt business has always been managed by members of the clan who are more than three degrees of kinship.

Jin Ke is an official in the capital. If he is threatened, there is a high probability that he will abandon his pawn to save his king.

By then, Prince Ning and Lady Jin will have become mortal enemies, and he won't have been able to eliminate her yet.

Therefore, Prince Ning allowed Ying Tianwei to come up with ideas and cause trouble.

It's unclear how things are progressing in the capital. To buy him time, Prince Ning wants to delay the case.

That's when Qingmin made his move.

He discovered the salt smugglers, money laundering banks, and salt mining teams that the Jin family supported.

How did he find out? It was those desperate, impoverished salt smugglers who told him after he arrested them and they were redeeming themselves through good deeds.

It should be noted that the small-scale salt smugglers were actually local farmers.

We were really forced into this situation. We couldn't afford salt at home, so we were too weak to farm.

If we don't farm, people will starve to death.

In order to make a living, there are always clever people who will take risks.

Prince Ning looked down on them, but Qing Min felt that even rats have their own ways, and the people's keen senses should not be underestimated.

Sure enough, we reaped great rewards.

Qing Min took immediate action, simultaneously surrounding both the Jin and Ying residences.

Well, Prince Ning didn't tell him about Ying's crimes, but Qing Min had already planted people around him.

From the very beginning, some minor officials in the imperial envoy's entourage were flattering Prince Ning, showing no respect for him, the heir apparent of a county prince.

His men are there.

Qing Min not only arrested people, but also made them write notices detailing the origins and course of the rampant smuggling of salt.

Since the common people were illiterate, he even had people go from street to street with gongs and drums to spread the word.

Now, even if Prince Ning wanted to cover up Ying Tianwei's wrath, he couldn't.

Prince Ning was furious and on his way to confront Qing Min, he was attacked for the third time.

Yes, this is the third time. There was one incident on the way after we left the capital, but I was quickly apprehended by the guards.

Prince Ning didn't take it seriously.

Upon arriving in Jinzhou Prefecture, he attempted to assassinate Prince Ning twice, but Qingmin saved him.

Prince Ning has ordered an investigation into the assassin's identity, but there has been no progress yet.

The third time, Prince Ning was stabbed in the chest and fell into a coma. If it weren't for the capable doctors from both palaces being summoned by Qing Min to treat him day and night, he really wouldn't have survived.

All three assassination attempts were actually orchestrated by Qing Min.

His design process also left some interesting clues, all of which point to His Majesty. I wonder if Prince Ning will be able to discover them?

It might work.

To be honest, he really wouldn't have dared to "frame" the emperor if the crown prince hadn't given the order.

According to his wishes, he could find a scapegoat; he could just pick someone who didn't get along with Prince Ning.

But the Crown Prince insisted on choosing His Majesty.

Qingmin had no choice, but he sincerely hoped that one such mission would be enough.

He never wants to go through that again.

If this gets brought up again, he'll be accused of framing His Majesty, and he fears his entire family will lose their heads.

As for why the Crown Prince insisted on slandering the Emperor, he didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

They were afraid it might be some extraordinary answer, such as the crown prince being eager to ascend the throne.

Cough cough cough! Qingmin quickly shook his head, stopping the dangerous thoughts from his mind.

"Sir, should we send some food to the last car?"

The guards will provide timely reminders.

Finally, in the car, there was only one person, tightly bound and gagged, and that was Fang Jin.

Once this kid arrived in Jinzhou Prefecture, he stopped hiding his identity and started using his position as Prince Ning's advisor to handle various matters.

The Prince of Ning's smooth sailing in both palaces was all thanks to Fang Jin.

The news of Fang Jin's betrayal of the Third Princess hadn't spread, and he had even stolen the Third Princess's token, so how could he easily take over the Third Princess's power?

Qingmin had considered letting Fang Jin die in Jinzhou Prefecture, which would also rid the Fang family of a scourge.

But later he wrote a letter to the Crown Prince, who ordered that the man be brought back to the capital.

Actually, bringing him back to the capital would be fine. Fang Jin betrayed the Third Princess, and Prince Ning's scheme failed, so he has no time to deal with him.

Those waiting for Fang Jin will not have a good ending.

"You won't starve if you skip a meal," Qingmin said indifferently.

He knew that Fang Tong and his daughter had always suffered from hunger and cold in the Fang family before.

Let Fang Jin experience this feeling too.

The snow stopped in the latter half of the night, and the sky cleared up early in the morning.

Qingmin's entourage was naturally the first to enter the city, heading straight for the palace.

Halfway through the morning court session, the officials were discussing the snow disaster near the capital, which had caused houses to collapse, and the hailstorm that had killed people a few days ago.

The Jingzhao Prefecture wanted to distribute disaster relief grain, but after much haggling with the Ministry of Revenue, they finally settled on a certain amount.

Then a palace attendant rushed in.

"Your Majesty, Lord Qing has returned. The case of smuggled salt in Jinzhou and Quanzhou has been solved."