Chapter 185 The Coming of Rainstorm

Chapter 185

In the sultry afternoon, the Qianqing Palace is also as hot as a stove.

The eunuchs took the huge ice stored in winter out of the cellar and placed a large copper basin to make the outside of Zhengde's bedroom cool. The four maids were sweating and fanning behind Zhengde. Zhengde did not want to move. They sat in a chair and looked at the pile of twists and turns on the desk in a daze.

Liu Jin, Zhang Yong and others stood and stood with their heads down. The cicadas outside the hall were hoarse and disturbed. Zhengde finally couldn't help it. He reached out and pushed the memorial on the case aside and got up and said, "Xiao Jinzi, Xiao Yongzi, accompany me out to get some air. The hall is too stuffy and the back garden should be cooler."

Liu Jin hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the sun is hot outside, and there is no living wind, and it will be hotter when you go out. Besides, Song Qianhu will come to see the driver in a moment, saying that there is an important report."

Zhengde said, "I'm afraid Song Nan hasn't seen me for more than ten days. What is he busy with?"

Liu Jin whispered, "As far as the maidservant knows, Song Qianhu has been investigating a big case recently, and his whereabouts are extremely secretive. The maidservant sent someone to go to him into the palace to accompany the emperor, but he didn't see anyone else."

Zhengde said with surprise and envy, "Investigate the big case? I'm a little envious of him. I run freely every day. I'm not like me. I'm locked in this palace every day. I used to sneak out of the palace, but now I can't go anywhere. I feel a little like the leopard you brought, and I have nowhere to use my strength every day.

Liu Jin smiled and said, "You are the emperor. Naturally, the ministers will do such things to investigate the case. You just need to move your mouth, and the subordinates will be as appropriate."

Zhengde sighed and said, "I don't want this appropriate post. What case did Song Nan investigate?"

Liu Jin whispered, "Your Majesty, how many doservants and maidservants ask about the case, but it is said that it is a shocking case. Song Qianhu is also very cautious. I'm afraid that coming to see the driver today is to report this case to the emperor. The emperor will know when Song Nan comes to ask."

Zhengde sat down, wiped his sweat, picked up the cold herbal tea and took a few sips. He took a memorial book and threw it aside for a few times, holding his cheeks.

Dark clouds surged up in the corner of the sky, quickly covering the sky like splashing ink. Just now, the sun was still shining like fire, and in a blink of an eye, dark clouds were all over the sky. This is a common scene in summer afternoon, and the rainstorm will pour down in the blink of an eye.

The street vendors closed the stalls in a panic, and pedestrians hurried on their way. A cool wind blew, and the streets were filled with dust leaves. A moment after the first bean-sized raindrop fell, there was a roar of thunder. In an instant, the whole capital was shrouded in heavy rain, and the streets were full of chickens and dogs jumping, which could not be avoided. The surname became a drowned chicken in an instant.

Liu Jin hurriedly urged the eunuch maid to close the doors and windows. The store suddenly darkened and the heat dissipated, and there was a slight chill.

Zhengde got up and was about to ask Song Nan why he had not yet arrived, he heard the miscellaneous footsteps at the gate of the hall. It seemed that many people were entering the hall. The low voice of Qiu Ju, who was waiting at the door, sounded outside: "Zhengnanfang Jinyiwei Qianhu, Song Nan, the great general in front of the hall, begged for a meeting."

Zhengde was refreshed and shouted, "Let him in."

"See you, Song Nan!" Qiu Ju shouted, the bamboo curtain was raised, and the soaked Song Nan's red armor came in fully armed, leaving pieces of water stains on the ground, but he looked excited.

"You're finally here. I'm bored." Zhengde smiled and stopped Song Nan, who was about to salute, and said, "Don't. If you kneel down, my carpet will be ruined."

Song Nan smiled and said, "I'm sorry for my rudeness. The heavy rain came, and I became a drowned rat."

Zhengde smiled and said, "You are fully armed and flustered. Liu Jin, go and get a basin of water to let Song Qianhu wipe it."

Liu Jin looked a little embarrassed. She actually wanted to serve Song Nan. She was really unhappy. Song Nan waved her hand and said, "How dare you work, Grandpa Liu? Give me a towel, and I'll wipe my face."

The maid quickly found a dry towel. Song Nan wiped it and dried the rain on her face. Zhengde looked at Song Nan clean it up with a smile, and then said, "You haven't seen anyone in the past ten days. I sent someone to look for you. What did you do? I got a leopard, which is so funny. I want to ask you to have a look, but I can't find you. I'm a busy person.

Song Nan said, "I forgive you. I haven't been idle for more than ten days. I went to catch mice for the emperor."

"Catch mice?" Zhengde was surprised.

Song Nan nodded, turned around and shouted, "Mr. Xu, come and see me."

Xu Zhi, who covered his face, hurriedly came in from the outside, and his whole body was like a drowned chicken. As soon as he entered the door, he fell to the ground and kowtowed repeatedly and shouted, "Your Majesty, forgive me. I deserve to die, and I will die."

Zhengde was shocked and didn't recognize Xu Zhi's appearance. Song Nan reached out and pulled off the black scarf covering Xu Zhi's hat and face. Zhengde was shocked and said, "Xu Zhi? Why are you? What happened?"

Xu Zhi did not dare to answer. He kowtowed desperately, and his forehead gradually became blue and swollen. Zhengde turned to Song Nan and said, "What's going on?"

Song Nan said, "I have identified a major case of embezzling the treasury bank of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There are 13 prisons involved in the case, involving as much as 3 million treasury bank. Xu Zhi, the imperial supervisor, is one of the main criminals."

Zhengde took a deep breath and said in shock, "Where does this... start?"

Song Nan reported the truth to Zhengde and attached the family property list rewritten by Wang Yue and others after Xu Zhi's explanation. The more Zhengde listened, the more his face became. After reading the list, his face was already green.

"Wang Yue Fanheng is so bold that he regards the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a cash cow. How much money is there in the warehouse now?"

Song Nan said, "According to Xu Zhi's explanation, the silver deposit is less than 200,000 taels, which is barely enough to be used in the palace."

Liu Jin interrupted and said, "No wonder Wang Yue has been dragging the maidservant to repair the 500,000 taels of silver in the leopard room. It turns out that the warehouse has long been empty, and all of them have fallen into their pockets. These dogs dare to be so rampant under the emperor's eyes. Does this still pay attention to the emperor?"

Zhengde was furious, stretched out his foot to kick Xu Zhi and scolded, "What are these rebellious slaves still doing? Why don't you drag it out and cut it?"

Xu Zhi was so scared that he hugged his head and cried. He looked at Song Nan's eyes full of pleading.

Song Nan said, "Your Majesty, Xu Zhi can't be killed."

Zhengde said angrily, "Why can't you kill? Are you still begging for him?

Song Nan said, "Your Majesty, Xu Zhi is an important witness. It is true that Wang Yue Fanheng and others have devoured the treasury and silver, but what they have done is extremely secret. Not only is there no trace in the accounts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also the property such as land, houses, shops, etc. fall under the name of others. Without evidence, they will definitely deny it or deny it. Emperor, don't forget. Wang Yue and Fanheng and others are the people who hold the power of the inner court after the emperor ascended the throne. There must be many people in the inner court and the outer court. If there is no conclusive evidence, someone will exoneate him, and then they will be passive.

Zhengde said angrily, "Passive? Do they still dare to rebel? The world is my, and what I said is not count.

Song Nan waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty, despite this, don't forget that you have just ascended the throne for three months, and the emperor's coffin has not yet been buried. At this time, if you can't come up with strong evidence, you will deal with Wang Yue and Fan Heng. There will be some noisy guys gossip about how the emperor did to the old minister; the cabinet and the six civil servants. , the fathers can't explain it. We can't offend a large group of ministers in order to run Wang Yue and Fan Heng, can we?

Zhengde frowned and said, "Can they be free?"

Song Nan said, "Of course not. On the contrary, we should deter the ministers through this matter and let the ministers know the emperor's wisdom and martial arts. Xu Zhi can't be killed. He is the best witness. He knows everything clearly, and his repentant attitude is also relatively sincere, embezzled 400,000 taels of silver. I also handed it over. The reason why I came late is to transport his money to the palace. Xihuamen has a service on duty. I didn't enter the palace until the servants were replaced, but I didn't want to scare the snakes.

Zhengde said, "Where is the silver?"

Song Nan pointed out, and Zhang Yong quickly lifted the bamboo curtain. In the corridor outside, more than a dozen large cars were lined up. The rain cloth on it had been lifted, and the building was full of large wooden boxes, which must be full of silver.

Zhengde quickly walked out and saw Song Nan split a wooden box with a knife. There was a sound, and a lot of silver fell to the ground along the side of the car, full of silver.

Zhengde smacked his tongue and thought for a moment, "Then according to what you mean, how should we arrange it?"

Song Nan said, "I have assigned people to monitor all the people involved. Tomorrow morning, the emperor will be in court to hear the case. I will start to seize the relevant people early tomorrow morning. At that time, the human evidence will be presented in front of the ministers one by one, and Fan Heng and Wang Yue will be taken down in court, which not only prevents people from begging for mercy, but also shows the emperor's prestige. Yan Shengjuan asked the ministers to see how the emperor made a decisive victory.

Zhengde said happily, "Good idea, you can figure it out, so that I will also raise my eyebrows in front of cabinet scholars and six officials."

Song Nan smiled and said, "That's what I mean. This is a good opportunity for the emperor to establish authority. Forgive me for being bold. For this plan, I am also over-juven. This was a small case involving a real estate of Wang Yue. The more I investigated, the more suspicious I felt, so I followed it secretly. I didn't expect to dig out such a surprise. I didn't expect the big case. In the Hall of Tomorrow, someone will say that this small family should not be involved in this case.

Liu Jin said, "It's better for the emperor to give Song Nan an identity, saying that the emperor specially allowed Song Nan to investigate the case, so that they can't slander Song Nan based on this point."

Zhengde said, "Then I will give you a special purpose."

Song Nan said, "No, the decree is to go through the ceremonial supervisor, isn't it shocking the snake?"

Zhengde thought for a moment, stretched out his hand to pull down the jade pendant around his waist and handed it over and said, "My jade pendant is a token. I said that I didn't want to scare the snake, so I could only give an order based on the jade pendant."

Song Nan stretched out her hand and said, "Thank you, emperor. In addition, since Xu Zhi handed over the stolen goods and was willing to testify, he also asked the emperor to give it a lighter when he fell. This is also my condition for me to agree to him.

Zhengde said, "Well, if he is lucky, I will save him a dog's life."