Shipin Dalizheng

Emperor Xuanning pointed at the radiant head before him, extremely astonished, "My dear, have you become so devoted to Buddhism that you've become a monk?"

Rong Tang's nose felt sore, and he could no longer control the grievance in his heart. He hugged the dragon's leg and howled, "Your Majesty..."

He Daban hurried to support him and asked what happened. Li Dequan knelt down and said with tears in his eyes, "Your Majesty, it's hard to explain in words. It's cold. Let's go back to the palace and explain in detail."

The emperor and his ministers returned to the city. Emperor Xuanning took off his own cloak and put it on Rong Tang. He pulled up the hood with his own hands, and he could hardly suppress the strange smile on the corner of his mouth.

The journey was slow, with thousands of imperial guards leading the way and protecting the imperial sedan chair. On the left and right were officials, followed by the Rong family's new army, and behind them came the coffin of the Southern Emperor and a group of imperial prisoners, with Sima Zhi leading the charge.

Zheng Jiu and his party did not go into the city with them. He had already parted ways with the army a hundred miles away. They were heroes who had won the southern expedition, while he came to visit relatives and could not show off.

The streets had already been cleared, and the onlookers, including the officials' families, were all in the restaurants and shops on both sides. People on the lower floors were leaning against their feet, and those on the upper floors were also sticking their heads out.

It was such an honor to be welcomed personally by His Majesty. When the procession reached Qianmen Street, Steward Tao and the other servants of the Marquis' Mansion cheered excitedly, "Our Lord has returned. His Majesty has personally welcomed him..."

It has been many years since the Jian'an Earl's Mansion has been so glorious.

After the lively gathering, the civil and military officials were dismissed, and Emperor Xuanning summoned Rong Tang to the imperial study alone. Unable to contain his questions any longer, he asked, "Tell me, this bald head... this bald head... how did this hair disappear?"

Rong Tang wanted to lie down on the ground and complain again, but the ground was cold and he couldn't get down. He could only stand and feel wronged. Li Dequan spoke up for him at the right time, "Your Majesty, this is a bit strange. The Earl of Jian'an didn't do anything else but provide shelter for the refugees who were short of food and clothing and couldn't go into the mountains to hunt. So on and so forth."

Li Dequan did not see with his own eyes how the soldiers killed the animals. He only knew that they had a good harvest every time. It seemed that they had caught all the animals in that area, but he didn't know how they did it.

Emperor Xuan Ning was stunned when he heard this. "Are you saying that excessive hunting has harmed Tianhe?"

Rong Tang said in a sad tone, "That's probably the case."

"Oh! It's okay!"

Emperor Xuan Ning didn't know how to comfort him for a moment. He said that one's body and hair are given by one's parents and should not be damaged, but this kid was also unlucky.

Rong Tang said aggrievedly, "At that time, I only thought that the people of Jiangnan were also the people of Daiyue. Killing a few beasts is better than starving the people to death. Woo woo woo..."

Emperor Xuanning was moved. He was an emperor, and if there was any way, he would not want to starve the people to death. This was also a failure of his administration.

"My dear, you did a great job. Don't worry about the small amount of hair. There are the best wigmakers in the capital. They can definitely make you a few beautiful ones to wear in rotation."

After he finished speaking, the corners of his mouth curled up.

Seeing that Emperor Xuanning was about to lose control of his smile, He Daban coughed dryly. Emperor Xuanning straightened his face and said, "Marquis Jian'an, do you admit your guilt?"

Rong Tang hadn't moved yet when Li Dequan fell to the ground, "Your Majesty, spare my life."

Rong Tang secretly pulled him, what a fool, nothing happened yet and he begged for mercy first.

He Daban glanced at the ground, turned around, took a large mat and spread it on the ground, and Rong Tang lay down on it, "Your Majesty, I am innocent."

He Daban ordered, "Bring it up."

Two guards carried in a large box and placed it next to Rong Tang.

Emperor Xuanning pointed his finger and said, "Look at this for yourself. These are all memorials implicating you. From south of the Yangtze River, north of the Yangtze River, they are all thrown at you like snowflakes. They are enough to bury you."

Li Dequan was trembling all over. Rong Tang couldn't bear to watch. He stretched his body and reached out to take a few letters to read.

The above records the threats, intimidation, theft, and robbery of property and food that Rong Tang used during the march. His methods were so despicable that they are outrageous.

"Do you recognize these?"

Rong Tang lowered his head and said, "It's unfair. I didn't do it. I'm an honest man."

"You're still honest!"

Emperor Xuanning slammed the imperial desk and said, "They've brought the evidence, let's see how you can argue."

A stack of papers was thrown down, and it turned out to be IOUs signed by Rong Tang.

He said, "Your Majesty, since I have written the IOU, it is a loan. How can it be considered robbery? Who would return the IOU after robbing property?"

Emperor Xuan Ning paused. This made perfect sense...

Rong Tang picked up all the IOUs, gathered them into a big handful, and threw them into the charcoal brazier. The fire immediately ignited and burned vigorously.

Emperor Xuanning was shocked, He Daban was paralyzed, Li Dequan was trembling, and Rong Tang was grinning.

Emperor Xuanning picked up a paperweight and threw it at him, "How dare you laugh? How dare you burn evidence in front of me..."

Rong Tang took the paperweight and put it in his arms. "What evidence?"

"IOU."

Rong Tang clapped his hands. "Oh my God, who would be so foolish as to hand over the IOU to the debtor? Your Majesty, when I borrowed the grain, I said I was borrowing it on your behalf. When the harvest is good next year, I will return the IOU to the court to redeem it. Now that the IOU has arrived in Your Majesty's hands, I thought I had already repaid it. Hey, Your Majesty, I have already repaid it, right?"

Emperor Xuanning glared at him and said, "What the hell is this? What can he use to pay back?"

However, it is really hateful that these people framed Rong Tang without any evidence.

"He Daban, burn all the memorials implicating Jian Anbo. If there are any more accusations, make them produce evidence. Without evidence, it's slander and they will all be arrested. Also, for those who have IOUs, the court will recognize them, but when they are repaid depends on the harvest. For those without IOUs, I can do nothing about it."

Li Dequan, who was lying on the side, just breathed a sigh of relief when Emperor Xuanning leaned forward again and said, "I can protect you from these small fry, but you have to deal with the other two families yourself."

Rong Tang blinked, "Who is it?"

"Cui family, Wang family."

Rong Tang's mind raced. The Cui family had taken action many times, so what was going on with the Wang family?

Seeing his bewilderment, He Daban reminded him, "Half a month ago, a county magistrate from a distant branch of the Wang family in Jiangnan sent someone to complain, saying that you had robbed him of his entire fortune, worth hundreds of thousands of taels..."

Li Dequan's calm state became bad again, and his guilty look was unbearable to look at.

Rong Tang chuckled, "You're blackmailing me, Eunuch Li, don't you remember this county magistrate? He was robbed on the road, and we saved his entire family's lives. Now he's trying to blackmail us."

Li Dequan trembled and said, "Your Majesty, as I remember, he was a poor county magistrate with five wives and concubines and eight illegitimate children. I have returned them all to him. If you don't believe me, here is the receipt."

He rummaged through the large bag he was carrying and found the receipt from County Magistrate Wang, which had his signature clearly on it.

Emperor Xuanning hissed and touched his beard with his hand.

"Your Majesty, consider this: the people of his county have all fled famine, leaving them utterly destitute. He must be an honest official, and would certainly not exploit the people. How could he have obtained such a stash of hundreds of thousands of yuan?"

He Daban nodded, "That makes sense."

Turning to Emperor Xuanning, he said, "Prime Minister Wang helped submit this petition. Why don't you ask him to inquire again to see if there was a mistake or a misunderstanding about the Earl of Jian'an? A poor county magistrate has a fortune of over 100,000 yuan. How much must he have embezzled and extorted to accumulate this wealth?"

Emperor Xuanning said, "That makes sense. Go ask."

Rong Tang lay down for a while, then simply sat up cross-legged. "As for the Cui family, perhaps Your Majesty can send someone to invite the Cui family to confront them. I have reasons and evidence for taking the Cui family's food. If he wants to accuse me of stealing it, please provide evidence."

Emperor Xuanning squinted at him, "Are you really not afraid?"

Rong Tang patted his chest and said, "A true man is born between heaven and earth, and he has no shame or fear."

Emperor Xuanning smiled, "Then explain to me how the Second Prince of the Southern Dynasty disappeared!"