Chapter 445: Calling a Deer a Horse (Part 1)
"Please make a prompt decision and quickly find out the truth. We must not destroy the seeds of the country and the foundation of our Great Zhou due to a moment of negligence."
It is true that the young are to be feared!
Looking at Sun Shaozong's passionate expression, Lord Xu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
At first glance, these words seemed to be just following Liu Luanwei's intention, but in fact they blocked the opportunity for Lord Xu to shift the blame to Emperor Guangde.
Although the greatest reliance for completing this conspiracy of calling a horse a zebra is the deterrence of imperial power - but if the imperial power is used directly to promote this conspiracy, the situation will definitely fail, and it may even lead to a complete failure!
This is because Emperor Guangde and the retired emperor are now restraining each other, and because of the natural anomaly, they are at a disadvantage in terms of momentum and cannot cover the sky with one hand.
If this "pregnancy test" was presided over by Emperor Guangde, the "anti-emperor faction" would most likely take risks again and try their best to expose this scam that was personally carried out by the emperor.
By then, Emperor Guangde's prestige would inevitably plummet. Not to mention that he would have no control over the future imperial lineage, even the throne might be shaky. How could he deter those who exposed the scam?
On the contrary, if the officials below found out the "truth" and reported it to Emperor Guangde and the retired emperor, even if someone risked the world's condemnation and successfully exposed the scam, Emperor Guangde was merely "deceived" by the scoundrels. Perhaps his reputation would be reduced, but his throne would not be endangered.
And when Emperor Guangde has time, he will definitely take revenge on these people!
Apart from the Niu family and Prince Beijing, who have the support of the emperor, who else can withstand this wrath?
Naturally, not many people would be willing to participate in such a business that loses money but gains publicity.
By then, how much trouble can be caused by just a few powerful families?
Therefore, this conspiracy of calling a horse a zebra must rely on the deterrence of imperial power, but it is not suitable to be led and promoted by imperial power - at least before it is confirmed that Li is pregnant, it cannot be related to Emperor Guangde.
However, in this way, the person who was pushed to the forefront would be Lord Xu, who was in charge of the case!
No wonder he couldn't help but sigh "young people are to be feared" when he looked at Sun Shaozong's passionate expression.
But deep down, Lord Xu didn't mind taking some risks. After all, with his current power and reputation, even if the conspiracy was exposed in the end, he would only end up losing his job - he was going to take the blame anyway, so why not give it a try?
So Lord Xu sighed in his heart, but a solemn look rose on his face. He slowly stood up from the armchair and ordered loudly: "Minister Xu."
"I am here."
"You must immediately mobilize the forces to isolate the inside and outside. Without my order, no word can be transmitted outside!"
"I will definitely live up to your trust!"
"Sun Zhizhong."
"I will follow your orders, Lord."
"Go and bring Li here quickly. Don't make any mistakes!"
"I obey your orders!"
Sun Shaozong bowed neatly, turned around and left the living room .
When he got outside, looking at the stars in the sky, he couldn't help but take a deep breath - although the start was going smoothly, the most important thing to complete this big lie was the next "pregnancy test" process.
Once the imperial doctors concluded that Li was not pregnant, this so-called conspiracy naturally came to an end.
However, in this highlight, the most troublesome people may not be those imperial doctors, but the Right Censor-in-Chief Zhao Rongheng, who has not yet appeared, and the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple Liu Fang.
The former was the person who recommended Wei Ruolan. He had always been on good terms with Prince Beijing and was also the leader of the second-rank censors. Even if he faced Lord Xu, he was not without the strength to fight against him.
Although the latter's official position is only fourth rank, he is the current head of Liguo Mansion. As one of the eight nobles, he and Niu Jizong have always been inseparable and dependent on each other!
These two people are the nobles who are attached to the retired emperor. They deliberately interfered with the task force in order to avoid any foul play in the case.
Therefore, if we want to find out the "truth", we may still have a tough battle to fight.
But then again, if they could overcome the obstruction of these two people and conclude with their witness that 'Li is pregnant', it would not be so easy for some people to make trouble again.
Stop talking nonsense.
However, Sun Shaozong called Yang Licai and a dozen Dragon Guards from the front yard to escort Li back from the secret room. As expected, they saw that the living room was already crowded.
Xu Furen sat alone in the middle, with Zhao Rongheng in a purple robe and jade belt on his left, Liu Fang with a sullen face on his right, and then Xu Liang and Qin Ming, the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau - although Liu Fang's official rank was only fourth rank, his honor was higher than Xu Liang.
In addition to these five people, there were more than ten blue and green minor officials standing on both sides, all of them standing in silence with their hands hanging down.
Sun Shaozong strode into the hall and reported, "Your Excellency, the offender, Li, has been brought here."
Xu Furen nodded and pointed to the empty seat at the end. He was about to invite Sun Shaozong to take a seat, but he heard someone in the hall shout, "Wait a minute, Lord!"
The person who spoke was none other than Liu Fang, the Junior Official of the Dali Temple. He stood up, looked at Sun Shaozong critically, raised his chin, and asked with a hint of contempt, "Are you Sun Shaozong, the Governor of Shuntian Prefecture?"
According to common sense, when a subordinate is asked a question by his superior, he should respectfully introduce himself - but Sun Shaozong knew that he would have to fight with him today, so how could he be willing to show weakness?
He immediately raised his hand and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Yes, and no."
Liu Fang was stunned when she heard this, and frowned, "What do you mean by that?"
"If Lord Liu asks about the official business of Shuntian Prefecture, I will naturally answer in my capacity as the governor of Shuntian Prefecture. But if you ask about this case, I am the captain of the Dragon Guards who is assisting in the investigation under the order of the emperor."
“What difference does it make!”
Hearing that he just wanted to emphasize this point, Liu Fang immediately sneered, and then asked sternly: "Someone has testified that after you came to the Prince's Mansion, you visited Li twice and had private conversations with her - I ask you, is this true?!"
Since Liu Fang asked in person, he must have already received the correct information.
However, Sun Shaozong still shook his head firmly.
"how?"
Liu Fang sneered, "Are you still trying to quibble? Someone, call in Su Ning, the steward of the Prince's Mansion!"
Following his call, a stout palace steward immediately appeared outside, stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "My Lords, I saw with my own eyes that Lord Sun, led by Prime Minister Liu, entered the secret room twice, and each time he was alone with that lowly maid Li!"
"Hahaha……"
Liu Fang laughed a few times with smugness, looked at Sun Shaozong with contempt and asked, "Sun Zhizhong, what else do you have to say now? You are so secretive, is there any hidden conspiracy?!"
It's no wonder that Liu Fang was so proud. He had originally thought of a lot of rhetoric to force Sun Shaozong to reveal his true colors, but who knew that in the end it would be so easy and effortless.
"I naturally have nothing to say."
However, Sun Shaozong remained calm and even raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a contemptuous smile. He then raised his finger and pointed at the steward Su, shouting, "Yang Licai, what are you waiting for?! Hurry and capture this man for me!"
When these words came out, not only was Liu Fang stunned, but even Yang Licai was stunned for a moment - how could Captain Sun turn against him so easily in front of so many high-ranking officials? !
"Bold Sun Shaozong!"
Liu Fang then shouted angrily, "How dare you speak so rudely in front of the elder and Minister Zhao? Are you planning a rebellion?!"
"I'm afraid it's you, Lord Liu, who is making such rude remarks?"
Sun Shaozong sneered: "The Dragon Guards are directly under the command of His Majesty, and I am investigating the case under the order of His Majesty. According to the law, I only need to be responsible to His Majesty. Don't say that you, Lord Liu, are only the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple. Even if you are promoted to a high-ranking official in the Ministry, you should not ask about my behavior at random!"
"That's why I'm shaking my head. I'm not denying it, but I'm saying that I can't and shouldn't reveal anything!"
“And this person!”
As he spoke, he pointed at the steward Su and said, "He has no official position, but he dares to spy on the inner guards who are investigating the case. It is obvious that he has ulterior motives. I ordered people to arrest him and torture him. What's wrong with that?!"
At this time, Yang Licai finally realized what was going on. He hurriedly led his men forward to hold the fat man down, and then dragged him out like an animal.
"Master Liu, Master Liu, save me, Master Liu, save me! Liu...save..."
Not until the pig-slaughtering voice gradually faded away did Liu Fang finally come to her senses. She pointed at Sun Shaozong with gritted teeth, muttering "you you you" but unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
The situation remained deadlocked for a long time, and finally Zhao Rongheng came out to smooth things over. He then sat back with a grim face.
This guy really tried his best, trying to gain the upper hand in the subsequent pregnancy test - this idea was not wrong, but unfortunately he picked the wrong opponent and overestimated his own abilities, so he ended up in disgrace.
