Chapter 65

"Attack the city! Seize the magistrate of Lantian County! Now, even the commander of a hundred cavalry has been killed by a crossbow!" After a long silence, Qin Shubao's furious roar finally echoed from inside the room: "What does this scoundrel want to do? Huh? What does he really want to do?"

Accompanying this roar were the sounds of things being smashed inside the room, as well as Qin Shubao's angry curses at Qin Ming.

"Sister, should we go call Mother?" Qin Haidao, hearing the sounds of Qin Ming being beaten inside, looked at Qin Yuyan with concern.

"It's fine, Father wouldn't really beat Uncle Qin Ming!" Qin Yuyan blinked her eyes and looked at Qin Haidao, pretending not to hear the sounds of Qin Ming being beaten, and said unconvincingly.

"Okay!" Qin Haidao looked at Qin Yuyan suspiciously, thought for a moment, and then nodded, saying.

The storm in the room lasted for a while and finally subsided. Qin Ming was driven out by Qin Shubao. When he came out, he was seen rubbing his buttocks, clearly having been kicked several times by Qin Shubao.

"Uncle Qin Ming, are you okay?" As soon as Qin Haidao saw Qin Ming come out with a pained expression, rubbing his buttocks, he immediately whispered in concern.

"Shh!" Qin Ming, hearing Qin Haidao's voice, immediately put his index finger to his lips, signaling Qin Haidao to be quiet. Then, with lingering fear, he ran over and said to the two Qin siblings, "I'm fine. The head of the family is very angry now. You two shouldn't stay here!"

As he spoke, Qin Ming led the two Qin siblings far away from the hall, hiding in the flower house.

Qin Shubao in the hall, panting heavily, sat on the floor, still angry. He couldn't quite understand why this scoundrel had caused such a big mess in just one day.

Attacking the city was one thing! After all, there were refugees outside the city, and it was understandable in such a situation! But killing a commander of a hundred cavalry, and then seizing the magistrate of Lantian County, overstepping his bounds to investigate the magistrate—was this boy out of his mind?

Thinking about this, Qin Shubao suddenly had a flash of insight. Based on his understanding of Zhao Chen, Zhao Chen was definitely not the type to act rashly without thinking. There must be another reason.

Thinking back to the events from leaving Chang'an, arriving in Lantian, ordering the attack on the city, and then killing the commander of a hundred cavalry, followed by seizing the magistrate of Lantian, these actions seemed forced. However, with the boy's intelligence, these issues could have been resolved with more gentle means.

Why did this boy choose such an extreme method?

It was as if he did it on purpose! Thinking about this, Qin Shubao's eyes suddenly widened. Yes, this boy did it on purpose. From leaving Chang'an, this boy had been harboring a grudge, and once in Lantian, he started to act accordingly, deliberately escalating the situation!

"This scoundrel is venting to His Majesty!" Qin Shubao, sitting there, suddenly burst out laughing after understanding the key point.

Indeed! Since this boy came to the Tang Dynasty, he had always been working for the Tang Dynasty, finding gold mines, contributing steel-making techniques, and these two things alone had brought countless benefits to the Tang Dynasty. However, His Majesty had not given this boy any rewards, not even verbally!

This time, being publicly ridiculed by Wei Hui in front of the entire court and sent to Lantian, the accumulated resentment in his heart suddenly erupted, almost without any restraint!

"Fine! If you want to use such matters to curry favor with His Majesty, I'll give you a push, what's the harm!" Qin Shubao, understanding Zhao Chen's true intentions, suddenly chuckled, patted the box on the floor, and muttered to himself.

"Those with memorials, present them; those without, retire!"

The next morning, in the Daming Hall of the Taiji Palace, after all the memorials had been presented, the eunuch by Emperor Li Er's side announced the end of the court session. Qin Shubao, who had been kneeling in his position, suddenly held a box and walked out.

"Your humble servant, General of the Left Wuwei, Qin Qiong, has a memorial to present!"

Emperor Li Er, sitting on the throne, saw Qin Shubao step out of line and immediately frowned. With the troops already home and nothing happening at the Left Wuwei camp, he couldn't understand why Qin Shubao would stand up now.

Suddenly, a thought flashed in Li Er's mind, reminding him of what Wei Hui had told him about Zhao Chen's misdeeds in Lantian the day before. His eyes narrowed immediately.

He thought, that boy arrived in Lantian the day before, and as soon as he got there, he led people to attack the city. Not only did he attack the city, but he also brazenly killed my commander of a hundred cavalry. I had planned to suppress this matter temporarily, but are you trying to turn yourself in?

"Minister Qin, what is your memorial?" Li Er, squinting his eyes, looked at Qin Shubao below and asked calmly.

"Your Majesty!" Qin Shubao bowed with the box and said loudly, "Your humble servant is presenting a memorial on behalf of the judge of the Academy of Natural Philosophy, Deputy Magistrate of Lantian, Zhao Chen!"

Deputy Magistrate? Li Er, hearing that Qin Shubao was presenting a memorial on behalf of the Deputy Magistrate of Lantian, Zhao Chen, immediately frowned. He didn't remember appointing Zhao Chen as a deputy magistrate.

"What does the Deputy Magistrate of Lantian have to present? Bring it up!" Since Qin Shubao said Zhao Chen was the Deputy Magistrate of Lantian, Li Er didn't plan to expose him in court. After all, this was the first time Qin Shubao had tried to bluff, unlike Cheng Yaojin, who often acted rashly. Li Er, being magnanimous, decided to let it go.

At this moment, few people in the court knew what had happened in Lantian. Even Cheng Yaojin, who usually got along well with Qin Shubao, looked at him in confusion, not understanding what was going on.

The eunuch by Li Er's side smiled and took the box from Qin Shubao, respectfully placing it on the imperial desk in front of Li Er.

Li Er glanced at Qin Shubao and saw that he was standing there like a statue, eyes fixed on his nose, nose fixed on his heart, after handing the box to the eunuch. A sense of unease suddenly arose in Li Er's heart. It seemed that something had happened after Wei Hui left.

The eunuch quietly retreated after placing the box down. Li Er, frowning, opened the box and saw a neatly folded memorial on top.

Unfolding the memorial, Li Er first praised the beautiful handwriting. This was definitely not Zhao Chen's handwriting; he recognized Zhao Chen's messy brush strokes, which were only legible when written with a steel pen.

After praising the handwriting, Li Er began to read the content of the memorial. As he read, his face gradually turned pale, and by the end, he let out a heavy cold snort.

The ministers below, who had not taken the memorial seriously, suddenly heard the cold snort from the throne and immediately became tense, their eyes suspiciously fixed on Qin Shubao, who stood there like a statue. They couldn't guess what had happened in Lantian.

Cheng Yaojin, sitting there, desperately tried to catch Qin Shubao's eye, hoping for a hint so he could support him later. However, Qin Shubao, as if turned to stone, ignored Cheng Yaojin's gestures.

"Is this how my ministers behave?" Li Er, having finished reading the memorial and glanced through a stack of evidence in the box, slammed the memorial on the imperial desk, his voice filled with anger.

"Bring these down and let the ministers see how this magistrate of Lantian has governed for me!" Li Er, with a pale face, instructed the eunuch to distribute the evidence in the box to the ministers below.

The eunuch bowed to the furious Li Er and carefully carried the box to the ministers, starting with the prime ministers and moving down the line.

The hall buzzed with whispers. The ministers who received the evidence turned pale as they read the crimes of Zhao Yuankai. Those who hadn't received it stretched their necks to ask their colleagues, causing a commotion in the Taiji Palace.

"Minister Du, what do you think?" As the hall buzzed, Li Er's gaze suddenly turned to the censor-in-chief, Du Yan, and he asked coldly.

Du Yan, as the censor-in-chief, was responsible for investigating officials. The misconduct of the magistrate of Lantian, Zhao Yuankai, was a failure on his part. However, Du Yan had only been appointed to this position after Li Er's formal ascension to the throne.

"This is my failure!" Hearing Li Er's cold voice, Du Yan trembled as he stood up, holding his court tablet, and walked to the center of the hall. "As the censor-in-chief, I failed to detect the magistrate of Lantian's heinous crimes. I have failed Your Majesty and beg for your forgiveness!"

Li Er, hearing this, suddenly sucked in a breath as if in pain, suppressing the urge to scold. He then snorted and turned his gaze to the prime ministers.

The one who understood Li Er's thoughts best was Changsun Wujie, who had been with Li Er the longest. With just a glance from Li Er, Changsun Wujie immediately stood up, holding his court tablet, and walked to the center of the hall, speaking loudly.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the magistrate of Lantian, Zhao Yuankai, has not only failed to govern the county but has also broken the law and committed numerous crimes. He should be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for strict punishment!"

"I disagree!" As soon as Changsun Wujie finished speaking, an old minister stepped out, holding his court tablet and opposing, "This is just one-sided testimony from the judge of the Academy of Natural Philosophy. Moreover, I heard that this boy, upon arriving in Lantian the day before, boldly led people to attack the city. I wonder who is backing this boy!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall was like a calm sea suddenly hit by a massive wave.

Attack the city? That's serious! Could this boy be planning a rebellion?