C22 Hiding the Emperor's Bar

In the Imperial study.

Yu Longtang comforted him respectfully, "Royal Father, don't be angry. The dragon body is more important. When his son saw Imperial Concubine go home to visit her family, he saw that the five of them were injured and returned to the entrance of the Escort Office. One of them was seriously injured and fell to the ground. The cause is still unknown!"

The Emperor sat on the table with his eyes closed. His right hand was tightly holding his eyebrows and the unhappiness on his face was unquestionable.

"Reporting to the Emperor! Eldest Prince Zi requests an audience." Eunuch Gao stood at the door and lowered his head to report.

"Announce!" The Emperor's tone was filled with anger.

"Yes!"

Yu Longzi came in and saw the expressions of Yu Longtang and the Emperor. He thought that it was not good. He was actually tricked by Yu Longtang!

"Do you know your crime?" The Emperor stared at Yu Longzi with a serious expression.

"Royal Father!" Yu Longzi knelt down and frowned, "This son does not know what crime he committed!"

"You are still stubborn?" When the Emperor saw him like this, he got up angrily, "You know that the imperial tribute was robbed, but you do not repay it! What do you say?"

"Royal Father? This son was wrongly accused!" Yu Longzi raised his head with an innocent and submissive expression, "This son only found out about this matter today, so I came to the Palace to report to Royal Father!"

"Royal Father, big brother has been unhappy these few days in Japan. It is understandable that he is careless now!" On the surface, Yu Longtang was speaking on Yu Longzi's behalf, but in reality, he was mocking him for being dissatisfied with the Empress, so he did not report it.

Yu Longzi gave him a fierce look. Now was not the time for combat power. He then apologized, "Royal Father, I did not mean to do that! I did know about it today! When I entered the Palace, I saw the Minister of Ministry of Revenue kneeling down, step by step. Now, I think I am at the entrance of Zhengyang Palace!"

"Huh." The Emperor laughed disdainfully, but the anger on his face did not subside. He stared at the kneeling Yu Longzi and spoke discontentedly, "Eunuch Gao, bring that arrogant Zhong Songfeng in!"

"Yes!"

Before he entered, he heard a sobbing voice, "Emperor, this old official is guilty! Emperor!"

The official of Ministry of Revenue was an old man in his fifties, with white hair and goatee. Although his eyes were small, he was very smart. He knelt and entered. Emperor, this old official knows his crime! The imperial tribute was robbed five miles away from Jia Ling Pass! The escorting Escort Head was seriously injured and the whereabouts of the imperial tribute are unknown! The Emperor begged this old official to spare this lowly official's life. The Emperor is magnanimous!"

" Royal Father! This son... "Yu Longzi had just opened his mouth when he was interrupted.

" Long Tang, speak! " The Emperor squinted his eyes at Yu Longzi and asked Yu Longtang gently.

"Royal Father, this son thinks that I should give Lord Zhong a chance. After all, the imperial tribute was taken away from everyone's expectations, and Lord Zhong has been loyal to Royal Father and the Imperial Court for many years. Although the imperial tribute is valuable, it is not enough to match the loyalty of an old official! " Yu Longtang said with deep affection, "Why don't you let Lord Zhong recover the imperial tribute and make up for his mistakes? Also, arrest those bandits and bring them to justice! Bring them to justice to show the world!"

"Alright! If that is the case, Zhen will send Ministry of Justice to assist you! If there is no clue within five days! Then you don't need to be an old official!" The Emperor shouted angrily.

Zhong Songfeng's heart trembled and he thanked the Emperor in a deep voice, "Thank the Emperor for his grace! This old official will definitely do his best!"

"All of you withdraw! Zhen is tired!" The Emperor turns around and leaves the Imperial Reading Room!

"Big Brother, Second Brother has helped you a lot! How can Big Brother thank me?" Yu Longtang looked at Yu Longzi and sneered.

Yu Longzi glanced at him with disdain, but did not reply. He angrily walked out of the door. The Minister of Ministry of Revenue carefully followed behind him.

On the first day, he sent someone to catch the bandits, but there was no progress.

On the second day, the people sent by the Minister of Ministry of Revenue returned in a sorry state, but they failed to catch the bandits. Instead, they were killed and forced to retreat. At the second hour, a man quietly entered from the back door of the Ministry of Justice's palace. Along with him were a few large black boxes. The Attendant of the Ministry of Justice, Wei Kang, was in the study room, talking under the light of the night. The person who came was the butler of the Ministry of Revenue's Shang Shu Residence.

"Lord Wei, I apologize for disturbing you in the middle of the night. This is the intention of my Minister. I hope you will accept it!" The butler bowed with an official smile on his face.

Wei Kang looked at the boxes of gold, silver, and jewelry. His eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed. He pretended not to care and asked with a confused expression, "Official Zhong, what is the meaning of this?"

" Oh! Lord Wei also knew that our Minister failed to capture the bandits yesterday, but that was only to investigate the situation. He would definitely take down those bandits tomorrow! My Lord thought that there was no need for Lord Wei to take action against these people. After my Lord takes down the bandits, we will hand them over to Lord Wei to deal with. What do you think?" The butler's tone was sincere.

Wei Kang narrowed his eyes as he thought that those bandits would definitely be taken away tomorrow. Zhong Songfeng must have wanted to capture him and retrieve the imperial tribute in order to make up for his mistakes. Furthermore, even though Minister of Justice had accepted the case, he had never taken any action. Zhong Song must have known that I am not Second Prince's person, so he told me not to cause trouble for him. He might as well take the money and become famous instead of contributing. This was also what Minister of Justice meant.

Wei Kang thought about it clearly and pretended to be dissatisfied. "Take back such a heavy gift. I, Wei Kang, can't afford it! Lord Zhong, just let me handle it!"

"Accept! Accept! What is Lord Wei saying? It's just a small meaning. Lord Wei, take it!" When the butler saw Wei Kang's intention, he hurriedly said, "Lord Wei, please rest early. I won't disturb you any longer!"

"Forget it. Someone come and send the butler out!" Wei Kang's tone could not hide the joy in his heart. After giving a few instructions, he looked at the treasure and laughed.

On the third day, the soldiers defeated the bandits, but the bandit leader escaped. Naturally, the soldiers chased after him relentlessly.

In front of the sandalwood table, Yu Longzi leaned against the chair and pondered. It wasn't that he hadn't thought about whether it was Yu Longchen and Yu Longtang who robbed the imperial tribute, but he actually couldn't find any clues. At this point, the two of them didn't make any moves either. Could it be that Yu Longtang really saw the injured Escort Head on the way back to the prefecture?

As he thought of this, he felt uneasy. He personally sent someone to catch the bandits just in case.

On the fourth day, he took the chief of the bandits and Zhong Song tortured him, but he couldn't pry open his mouth. He ordered his men not to kill him and to interrogate him about the whereabouts of the imperial tribute.

On the fifth day, there was no progress.

On the sixth day, at dawn, Zhong Song did not sleep for a few nights. He looked a lot more haggard. His face became sallow. "Sir, he confessed!" The butler hurriedly came to report. Zhong Song's eyes were anxious as he quickly ran into the prison. He saw that the bandit leader's entire body was covered in blood and flesh, and the amount of air he released was much less.

The bandit leader said the name of the place word by word, and Zhong Song Zhong felt that it was somewhat familiar. He did not have time to think about it carefully. Now, finding the imperial tribute was more important than anything else. At this moment, he only felt that he had grasped onto a life-saving straw.

Zhong Song brought his men and hurriedly rushed to that location. This was a valley, and it was piled up in a pile. He found the hidden cellar. If he did not know the exact location, he really would not be able to find it.

Zhong Song saw a lot of imperial tribute piled up in the cellar, revealing the first smile he had on his face in the past few days. Before he could bring out all the imperial tribute, Yu Longtang brought his men and arrived in front of him, holding a dark yellow scroll in his hand.

Yu Longtang raised the Imperial Decree with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice, "Ministry of Revenue Minister Zhong Song, listen to the Imperial Decree!"

Zhong Song felt uneasy and his right eyelid twitched. He knelt down.

"I, Zhong Song, accept the Imperial Decree of the Emperor! I, Zhong Song, have betrayed my kindness. I have secretly kept the imperial tribute and imprisoned him in the Imperial Prison. No mistakes must be made!" Yu Longtang finished reading and said sternly, "Capture Zhong Song!"

When everyone received the order, Zhong Song Yun and the others were all taken down. Zhong Song Yu's heart became anxious, and his vision turned black as he fainted! By the time he woke up, he was already in an extremely dirty prison.

In the Imperial Reading Room.

Wei Kang was shaking like a sieve. In front of him were a few boxes. Yu Longtang and the prime minister stood on the left and right side, looking at him coldly. Yu Longzi knelt on the ground and pleaded for mercy. He was anxious in his heart, and even when he spoke, he panicked. "Royal Father, Master Zhong must have been wronged. I hope Royal Father can investigate clearly!"

The Emperor threw the teacup in front of Yu Longzi with disappointment in his eyes. He roared angrily, "Unjustly? Bribing the assistant minister of Ministry of Justice unjustly? Or buying the imperial tribute from the bandits unjustly? Escort Head said that the pathfinder was Zhong Songcheng's trusted aide! After that, there were civilians kneeling in front of Lord Mayor's door to complain, saying that Zhong Songcheng did not bribe them to block the way of the Escort Agency. After the matter was settled, he wanted to kill them to silence them! Money, which letter did not come from him? Take a look at the contents of these letters! See how Zhen wronged him!?"

" Royal Father! Lord Zhong has been an official for many years, how could he do something like digging his own grave!? If he really robbed the imperial tribute, how could he be stupid enough to put it in his own fields!?"

"Do you know what he brought with him today? This is the memorial for him to resign from his official post and return to his hometown! That batch of imperial tribute is his salary of thirty years! In his own farm, the so-called most dangerous place is the safest place! It is only because he has been an official for a long time that he is so bold!" The more the Emperor speaks, the angrier he becomes. He looks at Yu Longzi and says discontentedly, "If you plead again, Zhen will treat you as an accomplice!"

Yu Longzi muddle-headed out of the Imperial Palace. In his heart, he did not know where the problem was. Yu Longtang passed by him. He did not reveal a trace of emotion. Yu Longzi thought for a moment and immediately understood!