allonlinenovel Chapter 206 Seeds of Doubt
Chapter 206 Seeds of Doubt
Within a few days, a rumor spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital that the Shen family had done something outrageous that had angered a vengeful ghost.
Overnight, the entire Shen family died suddenly, right under the emperor's nose. Their deaths were extremely gruesome, as if they had been scared to death by something terrifying. In particular, the young masters of the Shen family were first castrated and then beheaded.
When the servants of the Shen family discovered that everyone was dead, they were all stunned. What was even more chilling was that several coffins suddenly appeared in the hall, and these coffins were placed upright with their lids wide open, facing the main entrance.
This bizarre scene convinced everyone that the Shen family must have suffered some kind of revenge from something evil.
After all, these powerful families all have some dirty secrets behind their backs. Perhaps it was those who had been persecuted in the past who came to seek revenge. All sorts of fantastical rumors spread rapidly, and the people believed them more and more as they talked. In the end, they all felt that the Shen family had indeed been retaliated against, and that those who do many evil deeds will surely perish.
Xue Huaiyu also heard about the Shen family's affairs and immediately sent people to investigate. Anyway, Xue Huaiyu didn't believe in ghosts and gods. How could the Shen family's young master have offended Zheng Luoqi and then his whole family died a violent death soon after?
Xue Huaiyu felt that the Prime Minister's Mansion was definitely involved in this matter. He thought that Zheng Luoqi was most likely responsible, but he had no evidence.
So we still need to send someone to investigate this matter, but who to send is still a problem. Ye Churan is gone, and there are very few trustworthy and capable people around him.
Xue Huaiyu originally intended to have the Imperial Guard handle the matter, but the Imperial Guard Commander Zhang was a member of the Prime Minister's Office. If anything related to the Prime Minister's Office was discovered, Zhang Zhiyuan would definitely protect him. After thinking it over, Xue Huaiyu decided that it was feasible to have Chen Tongyu investigate the matter.
Let Chen Tongyu investigate this matter, and let Zhang Zhiyuan assist him. Zhang Zhiyuan shouldn't be able to cause any trouble under Chen Tongyu's watchful eye.
Chen Tongyu did not refuse the task and accepted it directly. His goal was clear: to bring down the Prime Minister's Mansion. Even if he did not kill them in one blow, he could slowly eliminate the Prime Minister's Mansion's supporters.
Anyone with eyes can see that this matter is inextricably linked to the Prime Minister's residence, but there is simply no evidence.
Meanwhile, Zheng Luoqi was also busy. Consort Jiang sent a letter from the palace, telling Zheng Luoqi that Pei Wenxuan had met Chen Xianlin before her accident.
Just as Zheng Luoqi had expected, he had long suspected that Chen Xianlin was behind Jingyu's incident, and now it seemed that his guess had been confirmed.
Zheng Luoqi slowly wrote the two characters "Ji Family" on the paper, a cold smile curling at the corner of her lips: Since your Ji family has taken sides, don't blame me for making an example of you...
Zheng Luoqi first called Boyu over to ask him about the progress of Yu Yifei's matter.
"How's things going with Yu Yifei?" Zheng Luoqi asked.
"Reporting to you, sir, a few days ago, after Young Master Yu obtained the list of the Ji family's properties, he immediately began to take action. Now, the Ji family's properties in the capital have been suppressed to the point of gradual decline! If nothing unexpected happens, they should be able to take them over in three months!" Boyu replied.
Upon hearing this news, a hint of admiration flashed in Zheng Luoqi's eyes. He hadn't expected Yu Yifei to achieve such remarkable results so quickly, which showed that he not only had the ability but also the drive to take action.
"You can take it down in three months? Yu Yifei is indeed capable!" Zheng Luoqi said.
Zheng Luoqi asked, "What about the people who falsified the accounts? Have they been found?"
Boyu replied respectfully, "Reporting to my lord, it has been found. My lord, what do you want to...?" He asked tentatively.
Zheng Luoqi's lips curled slightly, a calculating glint in his eyes, and he said calmly, "Send the people to Yu Yifei and tell him that after annexing the Ji family's assets, make up false accounts for the original assets of the Ji family! I have a great use for them!"
Upon hearing this, Boyu immediately understood Zheng Luoqi's meaning, nodded in response, and said, "Understood!" He then bowed and withdrew.
.............
Inside the palace on the other side, Xue Huaiyu carefully examined the items that Chen Tongyu had handed over.
Chen Tongyu had been in charge of investigating the Shen family's case these past few days, and he thought he could find some clues related to the Prime Minister's Mansion, but unexpectedly he discovered clues related to the Yu Lin family.
After careful consideration, Chen Tongyu felt that although the Lin family and the Chen family were both members of the imperial power faction, there could only be one center of power.
Now that there is an opportunity to weaken the Lin family's power, why not seize it? After all, it is much better to have power in your own hands than to share it with others.
Instead of alerting the enemy, Chen Tongyu chose to report to Xue Huaiyu first. Given Xue Huaiyu's suspicious nature, he would immediately suspect whether the Lin family was responsible. Even if the Lin family was not responsible, the seed of suspicion would be planted.
Xue Huaiyu cannot actually take action against the Lin family now, since the Lin family is still useful to him.
But the thorn in his heart would always remain. If the Prime Minister's Mansion were eliminated in the future, how would the power be distributed? That would still be a problem. Now that the thorn had been planted, wouldn't the Emperor be even more biased towards the Chen family if something happened between the two families in the future? That was what Chen Tongyu thought.
As Chen Tongyu had expected, Xue Huaiyu did not allow Chen Tongyu to attack the Lin family. However, the Shen family's case still needed to be resolved, didn't it? But if the Lin family really did it, it would be like having leverage over them, allowing for better control over the Lin family, wouldn't it? And wouldn't they be able to avoid becoming the next Prime Minister's Mansion?
After much deliberation, Xue Huaiyu decided to suppress the matter for now. As for the case, as long as he didn't ask about it, it didn't matter if the case continued to drag on.
Moreover, Xue Huaiyu originally intended to use this case to give the Prime Minister's Mansion a warning, but things did not develop as he had planned. Since he failed to find any evidence against the Prime Minister's Mansion, there was little point in continuing the investigation.
Xue Huaiyu turned and gave Chen Tongyu a meaningful look, then smiled and said, "Then, my dear minister, I'll leave this matter to you!"
"Your humble servant obeys the decree!" Chen Tongyu said with a fawning smile.
……
Three months later
As Yu Yifei gradually eroded the Ji family's assets, the Ji family members realized something was wrong and knew who was targeting them, but they did not want to sit idly by and wait for their doom.
Upon learning the news, Madam Ji immediately summoned the entire family to discuss countermeasures. Everyone looked troubled, the atmosphere was heavy, and some even burst into tears.
Besides Ji Xueshi's salary, the Ji family also needed other businesses to support the living expenses of the whole family and the servants in the mansion, which alone had no less than a hundred people.
As time went by, the household expenses decreased, not to the point of having to cut back on food and clothing, but life was not as good as before. This infuriated Master Ji, who slammed his fist on the table and cursed the Prime Minister's mansion and Yu Yifei for being treacherous and cunning.
Meanwhile, Yu Yifei sat in his study, looking smugly at the account books in his hands. He had successfully swallowed up most of the Ji family's assets, and now he only needed to make one more effort to completely drive the Ji family into a corner.