This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Seeing Cheng Jun nod, Hu Yanhe exclaimed in surprise:

"We don't have any!"

Cheng Jun said calmly, "The evidence against Cui Caiqi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, for attempting to assassinate the Imperial Censor is conclusive."

"During interrogation, he provided a list."

"The people on the list were all involved in the assassination attempt on the imperial censor."

Cheng Jun pointed to the three salt merchants in front of him and said, "The three of you are on the list."

"As the Imperial Censor, I am the eyes and ears of the Emperor. Your attempt to assassinate the Emperor's eyes and ears is nothing short of rebellion!"

"Your residence is now completely surrounded by officials from the Dali Temple who are investigating your case."

After Cheng Jun finished speaking, he pointed outside, then pointed to Hu Chu and Xu Sheng, and said with a kind expression:

"Since all three of you are here, I don't need to make two extra trips. Before I take you away, is there anything you want to say?"

Hu Yanhe struggled for a moment, but found he couldn't break free at all. He stiffened his neck and roared, "Injustice!"

Cheng Jun frowned and said, "These two words cannot be considered an explanation."

Hu Chu said from the side, "We just sell salt!"

Bu Gandang suddenly said, "Back in the day, Fan Kuai was a dog butcher!"

"You salt merchants are far superior to Fan Kuai!"

Upon hearing this, the three salt merchants were speechless.

Cheng Jun gave Bu Gandang an approving look, then addressed the three salt merchants:

"Look how much people hate you."

Bu Gandang chimed in, "Imperial Censor Cheng is right. Those three are indeed hateful. There is no one in Chang'an who doesn't hate them!"

Cheng Jun hummed in agreement, said no more, and waved his hand, saying, "Take them back to Dali Temple."

"promise!"

Bu Gandang responded and waved his hand. The judges from the Dali Temple inside immediately dragged the three salt merchants outside.

Upon hearing that they were to be taken to the Dali Temple, the three salt merchants panicked completely and began to shout.

"Injustice! Injustice!"

"The assassination attempt on the censor was done by Cui Caiqi; it has nothing to do with us!"

Cheng Jun stood with his hands behind his back, listening to their shouts, and said calmly, "Once we get there, it will be up to you."

.............

In the afternoon.

The Imperial City, the Ministry of War.

Inside the ministry hall, Li Jing, wearing a black gauze hat and a purple official robe, sat behind a desk, holding a pen and working on official business.

Just then, there was a knock on the hall door.

Li Jing looked up and saw that it was his own steward. Without changing his expression, he asked, "What is it?"

The steward of the Li family solemnly said, "Young Master, someone has come to the manor looking for you, saying that there is something urgent."

Li Jing asked, "Who is it?"

The butler said, "It's Patriarch Li..."

Li Yi… The name flashed through Li Jing's mind, his brows furrowed slightly, and he asked:

"What happened?"

The steward of the Li family shook his head and said, "He was unwilling to say, he only said that I should tell the master to go back quickly."

Li Jing hummed in agreement, "Understood."

After saying this, he put down his pen, stood up, and left the Ministry of War with his steward.

Soon, the two rode their horses back to the Li residence in Pingkang Ward.

From afar, Li Jing saw an elderly man pacing anxiously back and forth at the gate of the mansion.

The other party was Li Yi, the head of the Li family in Longxi.

At this moment, Li Yi also saw Li Jing, his expression brightened with joy, and he quickly went to greet him, calling out:

"Pharmacist, you're finally back!"

Li Jing did not respond. Instead, he stopped his horse at the gate of the mansion, dismounted, tossed the reins to the steward, and then said:

"Go in and talk."

Li Yi hurriedly followed him into the main room, and before even sitting down, he said urgently:

"Pharmacist, you have to help me!"

Li Jing sat down, pointed to the cushion below, and asked while gesturing for him to sit down:

"What happened?"

Li Yi sat cross-legged opposite him, looking worried, and said, "Changsun Wuji is now carrying a list and leading people from the Ministry of Justice to arrest people all over Chang'an!"

Li Jing stared at him and said, "Let him do what he wants, what's it to you?"

Li Yi shouted, "He's arresting people from the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families!"

As he spoke, he patted his chest and said excitedly, "I am from the Li family of Longxi, and I am on the list too!"

Li Jing asked, "Do you mean that Changsun Wuji only arrests people from the five surnames and seven noble families?"

Li Yi subconsciously replied, "Yes."

Li Jing said slowly, "You are from the Li family of Longxi, so he arrested you."

"I am also from the Li family of Longxi. Is he going to arrest me too?"

"..."

These words silenced Li Yi instantly.

Seeing this, Li Jing narrowed his eyes and said:

"At this critical juncture, you're still hiding things from me. Do you want me to help you, or do you want to harm me?"

"If you want my help, tell the truth."

Li Yi's expression shifted between light and dark for a few seconds before he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll talk!"

"However, I must ask you first: are you aware that this morning, the Vice Minister of Revenue, Cui Caiqi, went to the West Market Office with Cheng Jun to inspect salt?"

Li Jing hummed in agreement, "I know."

He was in the imperial court at the time; how could he not know about this?

Li Yi continued, "As far as I know, the salt that Cheng Jun put in the West Market Office should have been mineral salt, but when Cui Caiqi went to check, the mineral salt had turned into refined salt!"

"We've all been tricked by Cheng Jun!"

"At the time, many people were watching at the West Market Office. For some reason, the onlookers suddenly started hoarding salt!"

Li Yi gritted his teeth and said, "All that salt was stolen. Cui Caiqi was worried about being implicated, so he agreed to give the Cui family's salt to Cheng Jun as compensation..."

Li Jing tapped on the table, reminding him, "Get to the point!"

Li Yi paused for a moment, then said, "Cui Caiqi attempted to assassinate the censor but failed and was imprisoned."

"..."

Li Jing raised an eyebrow. "Tell me more about it."

Li Yi immediately told him the whole story.

Li Jing listened carefully, and after he finished speaking, he asked, "So, in other words, Cui Caiqi made a list while he was in prison, and you are on that list. Now Changsun Wuji is arresting people one by one according to the list."

Li Yi smiled wryly and said, "Yes."

"You're the only one who can help me now!"

Li Jing interlaced his ten fingers on the table, looked at the other person, and sighed:

"I helped you several days ago."

"I've told you at least three times not to get involved in this mess of salt prices, but you insisted on doing it anyway."

"Things have come to this, how can I, an old man, help you?"

Li Yi said anxiously, "If you don't help me, my whole family is doomed!"

Li Jing said calmly, "It's not a matter of whether I help you or not. Now you only have one way out. If you trust me, then turn yourself in!"

Upon hearing the words "surrender," Li Yi jumped to his feet and shouted, "I won't surrender!"

Li Jing said in a deep voice, "You're already on the list of people who wanted to assassinate the Imperial Censor. Do you think you can escape?"

Li Yi exclaimed excitedly, "But I knew nothing about this! I didn't participate in anything! Why would I confess? I'm innocent!"

Li Jing's expression turned serious, and he said:

"Whether it's Cheng Jun, Changsun Wuji, or even His Majesty, they probably all know you're innocent. So, besides turning yourself in, what else do you think you can do?"