Bring your aunt to eat big meat, the scumbag father's family is furious

Li Zanran felt his throat was dry and he couldn't even swallow his saliva. He tried desperately to organize his words in his mind.

He glared at Mu Xinghe and kowtowed to the emperor, "Yes, it's like this. Because there are too many foreign guest countries, and Xiufeng Country is on the last page, I have been busy reviewing the booklet for days and have been dazzled. Therefore, I made an oversight. This was definitely not intentional. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

"But I've asked the relevant officials. Xiufeng, as a major country, is the one that can least afford to make any mistakes. In previous years, it was always placed at the front, but why is it placed on the last page this year?" Mu Xinghe refused to give in, staring directly at Li Zanran. "Master Zhao and Master Bai fell ill one after another, and I was temporarily transferred from the Ministry of Personnel to the Honglu Temple to fill in. It was Master Li who recommended me. Master Li and I have no family, but Master Li was willing to give me this benefit. And yet, there are major errors in the booklet. All these things, is it just a coincidence?"

Mu Xinghe asked the key questions in every sentence. Li Zanran was sweating profusely, soaking his hair and forehead and cheeks.

He raised his sleeve to wipe his face, his mind a mess, because these questions were difficult to answer.

"There is no regulation on which country must be placed in which position. The order will change when the book is re-edited and bound every year. This is normal."

Li Zanran suddenly sneered, as if he had regained some of his dignity. "Grand Officer Mu, I recommended you to Lord Gu because I heard you were steady and prudent, and because you valued talent. I never thought you would be so ungrateful and think I had ulterior motives and wanted to harm you."

Mu Xinghe avoided the emotional appeal and responded calmly, "Even if the binding order has changed, a country as important as Xiufeng should not be placed last. This has never happened in previous years. Putting it last would be fine, but Xuanhuo has become Heihuo. If it is really arranged like this, what kind of situation will it be now? Lord Li, can you imagine it?"

"When the time comes, will you push the blame onto Lord Gu and me?"

If the mission is successful, he and Lord Gu will be safe, and they can turn the tables.

If something goes wrong today, Lord Gu won't be able to escape, and neither will he. Li Zanran will take the opportunity to disrupt the situation and find a way to get out.

Lord Gu suddenly remembered something and his expression changed.

"I remember that before Lord Bai and Lord Zhao fell ill, the three of you discussed the etiquette and procedures for welcoming guests, as well as a private gathering. The two Lords haven't fully recovered yet, but it has something to do with you."

Under normal circumstances, such a question would seem abrupt and might even seem like an attempt to smear someone.

But in this situation, it was very appropriate, like throwing a stone at a broken window.

Li Zanran is already full of suspicion and cannot be cleared. Speculating on the cause and effect, it is probably not normal for Lord Zhao and Lord Bai to suddenly fall ill.

Maybe it was a premeditated plan from the very beginning.

The emperor listened to the arguments below, and his stern face calmed down at some point. After all, it was just dealing with the guilt of a small official. Every year, several large families would be destroyed for various reasons, and he had long been indifferent.

"You go back first. Li Zanran will be imprisoned by the Dali Temple. This case will be tried jointly by the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate. We must thoroughly investigate who is behind this."

Soon the imperial guards broke into the hall and captured Li Zanran.

When Li Zanran saw this situation, he was so scared that he collapsed like mud, shouting that he was innocent and urgently expressing his loyalty.

The emperor frowned, and his mouth was stuffed, his body was tied up tightly, and his official hat and outer robe were stripped off.

"Mu Xinghe, you did a good job on this matter." The emperor spoke slowly, but in a tone of approval.

"If Li Zanran's crime is proven true, you have prevented a serious consequence and performed a great service."

Mu Xinghe said: "It is my humble duty to help the emperor solve his problems."

"very good."

After leaving the hall and going outside the palace, he looked back and saw Lord Gu, who had been silent the whole time, finally speaking.

"Xinghe, you found something wrong, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"It's not that I don't want you to make achievements, but what if you can't handle it and fall into Li Zanran's hands? How can I protect you and explain to Lord Lu?"

Mu Xinghe bowed and saluted.

"I didn't intend to hide it from Lord Gu, nor was I trying to gain merit. Xinghe was just temporarily filling in at the Honglu Temple. Lord Li has been with Lord Gu for many years. If we were to start an argument in front of Lord Gu, Xinghe wouldn't be very confident. Instead, he's afraid that Li Zanran would muddy the waters."

"There may be someone more powerful behind Li Zanran's actions. This requires the Emperor's attention and the involvement of the three courts to investigate thoroughly. Xinghe has fallen short in some areas, and I beg Lord Gu to forgive him."

Lord Gu thought about it and agreed. He trusted Li Zanran very much. This was a mentality accumulated over many years. If he had asked him to make the decision, the situation would probably not be like this. After all, everyone has selfish motives. It was just a mistake on a page of paper. Maybe Li Zanran would cry, beg for mercy, and say that he didn't mean it, and the matter would be over.

Thinking about this case again, something felt amiss from the beginning to the end. He sighed, "Li Zanran has worked under me for many years. He sometimes likes to slack off and take shortcuts. I knew this, but I didn't expect him to be so audacious."

He patted Mu Xinghe on the shoulder and said, "Xinghe, you are so patient, careful, and prudent. You have a bright future ahead of you."

The next day, Pei Shijiu tied up the informant that Li Zanran had contacted, and handed them over to the Sansi together with the letter written to the northern Qinu Kingdom.

The Dali Temple Minister brought the note and went to the palace to meet the emperor.

When the emperor saw the name Mu Tai, he was silent for a while and waved his hand to let the Dali Temple Minister leave.

Today, the fact that the eldest prince went to serve the Kingdom of Qinu could no longer be concealed.

The emperor knew that no matter how much he regretted it, it would be of no use. He would have to continue to face harassment from the eldest prince, and behind him was the enemy country, the Qinu Kingdom.

Under the harsh questioning of the three officials, the truth quickly emerged: Li Zanran had been bribed by Mu Tai, hoping to exploit the foreign guest's presence to cause Mu Xinghe to misbehave, thereby blaming the Qiao family. He also wanted to replace Master Gu, a position he had long coveted, nearing fifty. He also revealed a further purpose: to create an enemy between the Bai and Zhao families and the Qiao family, thus causing unrest within the family.

All this happened just as Qiao Jian'er had deduced. The Zhao brothers and sisters should be very clear that they were wrong. Now, she was waiting to see the attitude of the Zhao family.