Chapter 1122: Evil cannot prevail over justice!

Licheng, in a private room of Ruixiang Inn

The Ministry of Justice was secretly investigating the person in charge of the Qilu corruption case. Chen Tao, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, thought of his colleague Ye Zheng, a deputy director of the Ministry of Justice, and asked in a deep voice:
“Now that things have come to this, what do you think, Brother Ye?”

Feeling Chen Tao's heavy tone, Ye Zheng realized that this colleague, who was so high-spirited some time ago and wanted to investigate the Qilu corruption case thoroughly and investigate all the officials involved in the case, has now begun to back down!
More than half a month ago, Li Jian, the Minister of Justice, summoned Ye Zheng, him and three other officials from the Ministry of Justice together. Li Jian briefed the five of them on the Qilu corruption case and said that the five of them would be sent to Qilu to investigate this widespread corruption case.

Although they were investigating a case, in order to avoid alerting the suspect, Li Jian asked the five of them to secretly go to Qilu to investigate, and not to reveal their identities unless necessary!
In order to keep this matter secret, Li Jian will announce to the public that the five of them will go to Liaoyang on business to cover up their tracks and ensure that they are not discovered.

After receiving the order from Li Jian, Chen Tao, Ye Zheng and others were both nervous and excited. Among the five of them, Chen Tao had the highest official position, being a Langzhong in the Ministry of Justice, Ye Zheng was a Yuanwailang, and the remaining three were all in charge.

The five people were previously in charge of the trial of cases and other work, and had never done such things as secret investigations, so Li Jian’s order now was like a first for the five of them, so they were inevitably a little nervous!
However, after listening to the implicit meaning of Li Jian's words, the five people also realized that the secret investigation into the Qilu corruption case was actually instructed by the Marshal himself...

This also means that the Marshal is paying attention to this matter, so if they can accomplish this matter beautifully, then they might be able to enter the Marshal's field of vision and gain his appreciation!

All five of them were in their early thirties, in their prime with ideals and ambitions. So faced with such an opportunity, the five of them were full of confidence and soon arrived in Qilu!

Based on the clues provided by Li Jian, their group of five came directly to Licheng, wanting to find an official of the Qilu Provincial Administration named Sun Gou!

Because of their ideals and ambitions, the five people arrived in Licheng after a long journey. They did not find a place to rest but wanted to find the official named Sun Gou to get more information about the corruption case from him. However, what the five people did not expect was that Sun Gou had been arrested and imprisoned in the Licheng Ancha Prison for corruption the day before they arrived in Licheng.

In response to this, one of the five people proposed an idea to reveal his identity and go directly to the Censorate to interrogate Sun Gou. However, Chen Tao remembered Li Jian's instructions and did not agree to this idea. Instead, he wanted to contact Sun Gou through other channels and get information from him.

But a few days later, when Chen Tao's idea had just made some progress, news came from the Licheng Ancha Prison that Sun Gou had committed suicide by hitting his head against the wall in the prison...

Although it was the first time for Chen Tao, Ye Zheng and others to conduct such a secret investigation, they were all young talents in the Ministry of Justice and were very capable. Therefore, they did not naively believe that Sun Gou really died of suicide!

Compared to the theory that he committed suicide by banging his head against the wall, they would rather believe that someone may have noticed that the higher-ups had sent people to investigate them, so they wanted to kill them to silence them and cover up the news!

It is even possible that someone has been targeting them. After realizing this possibility, Chen Tao, Ye Zheng and others felt very solemn!
Although we don’t know who the other party is yet, judging from the way he dealt with Sun Gou, there is no doubt that he is a ruthless and murderous character!
Sun Gou, an official of the eighth rank in the Qilu Provincial Administration, was committed suicide so easily and openly!
Judging from the other party’s methods, it was Sun Gou who committed suicide by banging his head against the wall today, but maybe they will be the next ones to do so!
Although Sun Gou's death made Chen Tao, Ye Zheng and others realize the danger of the case, it did not dampen their enthusiasm!
After all, they were hoping to come into the Marshal's sight through this case, gain his appreciation and reach the pinnacle of power. Now that they are shrinking back after encountering some setbacks, wouldn't that be laughable?
Although they still have the fighting spirit and determination to investigate the case, Sun Gou's death has put the case into a dead end...
Fortunately, with the unremitting efforts of Chen Tao, Ye Zheng and others, they found a new entry point for the investigation, which made some progress. Just when a few people were ready to work hard, they found that something was wrong!

At this time, Chen Tao, who was in the private room, asked Ye Zheng a question. Seeing Ye Zheng lowered his head and said nothing, he continued:

"I've been thinking a lot these days. I think given the Marshal's style of doing things, he wouldn't hand over such a big case to our Criminal Department for investigation, especially since this is the first time our Criminal Department has conducted such a secret investigation!"

Hearing Chen Tao say this, Ye Zheng's expression changed and he raised his head and said to Chen Tao:

"Brother Chen, are you saying that not only is our Ministry of Justice investigating this matter, but the Coordination Office is also investigating it?"

Facing Ye Zheng's inquiring gaze, Chen Tao nodded seriously. Seeing this, Ye Zheng thought carefully and felt that what Chen Tao said made a lot of sense.

Thinking of this, Ye Zheng couldn't help but asked Chen Tao directly:

"Brother Chen, please stop hiding it. Tell me what you are thinking now."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tao lowered his head and remained silent for a while. After a moment, he slowly said eight words.

"Don't seek to be meritorious, but seek to avoid mistakes!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zheng immediately stood up and said with great dissatisfaction:
"So we're just going to let them go unpunished and exploit the people?" "Brother Chen, don't forget why we came to Qilu in the first place, and don't forget the mission that the Marshal has given me!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Tao's square face suddenly showed a bitter smile and said:
“But if we continue investigating, even if we get to the bottom of the matter, I’m afraid the result may be disadvantageous to us in the end…”

After saying that, Chen Tao looked at Ye Zheng and seemed to be hesitant to talk. Although he was Ye Zheng's boss, he would never put on airs in front of Ye Zheng on weekdays. The reason was the "Ye" in Ye Zheng's name!
Although the Marshal never directly stated that he wanted to usurp the throne, it was an open secret in the Yijing court that Ye Mingsheng wanted to be the emperor!
There is even a saying among the people that everyone knows Ye Mingsheng's intention!
Under such circumstances, the Ye clan has already replaced the Jiang clan and become the de facto royal family of the current Yijing court!
Although the final truth of Qi Lu's case has not yet been uncovered, the current findings are enough to shock Chen Tao and terrify him!
Although Chen Tao wanted to gain the Marshal's appreciation, he wanted to save his own life more, so he wanted to stop the investigation while he was ahead to avoid hitting a wall next time!
Chen Tao felt that he and Ye Zheng were different. After all, Ye Zheng's surname was Ye and he had the protection of the four words "royal relative". The other party would not dare to kill Ye Zheng easily!

But Chen Tao’s surname is Chen, not Ye, and he doesn’t want to be “forced to commit suicide” like Sun Gou, or be stabbed to death on the street by two petty thieves that day!

Feeling Chen Tao's fear, Ye Zheng also frowned. He was also well aware that the water in Qilu was deep and muddy, and there was a high probability that some big shots were involved. However, he did not expect to scare Chen Tao like this, which made him a little disappointed in Chen Tao.

Since he has taken over this task from Minister Li, Ye Zheng will get to the bottom of the matter even if he has to turn the world upside down. He believes that God will never prevail over evil...

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Yijing, snowy night

A carriage slowly drove out of Xiaoxiang Cottage. Looking at Mingqiu, who was pale in his arms, Cui Zibo's eyes were full of pity.
Ever since he first met Mingqiu in Xiaoxiang Cottage, he had developed a little pity for this talented but ill-fated woman. However, Mingqiu was Hu Ming's concubine, which made Cui Zibo feel a little regretful. Reason also made him cut off his feelings.

But in the days that followed, Hu Ming invited him to Xiaoxiang Cottage many times. Although Cui Zibo didn't want to have too close contact with Hu Ming, when he thought of Mingqiu's sad expression, he was led by some unknown force to come to Xiaoxiang Cottage.

Mingqiu also accompanied him and Hu Ming to sing songs many times. However, seeing Hu Ming molesting and bossing Mingqiu around after getting drunk, Cui Zibo felt inexplicably distressed.

Seeing Mingqiu trembling like a deer, Cui Zibo wanted to stop Hu Ming several times, but in the end he did not act!
After all, Mingqiu is Hu Ming's concubine, Hu Ming's woman. What would it matter if Cui Zibo intervened?

Even if Cui Zibo rashly intervenes, Hu Ming is likely to overthink things, which will make things worse. Hu Ming may even destroy the flower in a fit of rage. Cui Zibo has seen this kind of thing before...
As the old saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. In order not to think about Mingqiu, Cui Zibo deliberately restrained himself from going to Xiaoxiang Cottage. It was okay when he was busy at work in the Ministry of Justice during the day, but once it was late at night, Cui Zibo's mind would inevitably emerge with Mingqiu's sad face!

Although Cui Zibo knew rationally that he should not care about Mingqiu's affairs, as Mingqiu was Hu Ming's concubine and Hu Ming's woman, his longing for her washed over Cui Zibo's rationality over and over again like a tide, torturing his heart!

Finally, five days ago, Cui Zibo chose to listen to the voice of his heart amidst the pain and struggle, and he came to this Xiaoxiang cottage again!
Perhaps it was because he saw Cui Zibo coming to his Xiaoxiang cottage again after many days, Hu Ming was very happy and drank a lot of wine after Ming Qiu performed the song. He soon got drunk and went back to his room to rest!

This also gave Cui Zibo an opportunity to be alone with Mingqiu. Under the influence of alcohol, Cui Zibo expressed his love and pity for Mingqiu.

At first Mingqiu seemed a little scared facing Cui Zibo's emotions, but when she felt Cui Zibo's feelings, she was moved by him, and the two hugged each other and felt each other···················
Although he wanted to further discuss life and ideals with Mingqiu, as well as where people come from and where they go, this was after all in Hu Ming's home, and Cui Zibo was ultimately not brave enough to do so. Therefore, after promising Mingqiu that he would rescue her from Hu Ming's clutches, Cui Zibo, who had the desire but not the courage, could only leave in disappointment.

In the past few days, Cui Zibo has been thinking about how to bring this up to Hu Ming. He knows that although Mingqiu is Hu Ming's favorite concubine, Hu Ming has always wanted to squeeze into the core circle of the Yijing court, so he asks his father Cui Shao for help, thinking that his father can help him!
Therefore, as long as I ask Hu Ming, Hu Ming will most likely agree to it with reluctance, but the problem is that the debt of favor is the hardest to repay in this world!
Hu Ming would definitely let him persuade his father, but the problem was that his father had always had an ambiguous attitude towards Hu Ming, and his influence on his father was minimal!

Even if my father knew that I had asked Hu Ming for a concubine, he would definitely be very angry. He might even write a letter to the Marshal, asking him to remove me from my position as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and send me back to my hometown in Liaoyang!

So Cui Zi Bo was in a dilemma. On the one hand, Ming Qiu was eagerly expecting him, and on the other hand, there was the angry and disappointed face of his father Cui Shao!

Just when Cui Zibo didn't know how to make a decision, Hu Ming found him and accused him of being disloyal. As the saying goes, a friend's wife should not be bullied. He, Hu Ming, treated you as a friend, but he didn't expect that you would secretly get together with his concubine and steal his girl. This is really insulting!

Seeing that his affair with Ming Qiu was exposed, Cui Zibo knew he was in the wrong and apologized to Hu Ming. He also took the opportunity to ask Hu Ming to help him and Ming Qiu get together!

Hu Ming was also furious about this, and immediately said that Cui Zibo had gone too far and that he would execute Ming Qiu, the unfaithful bitch, when he returned!
Seeing that Mingqiu's life was in danger, Cui Zibo became a little anxious. He did not care about his father Cui Shao's anger and made some promises to Hu Ming. Only in this way did he get this beautiful bride away from Hu Ming!

Although he still doesn’t know how to face the possible storm from his father, but now looking at Mingqiu nestled in his arms, Cui Zibo feels unprecedented satisfaction in his heart····················

(End of this chapter)