Chapter 317 The man behind the scenes
Dead...dead...
Under the moonlight, Zhao Duan's mind was buzzing, and his thinking was stagnant for a moment, and then he realized what happened:
"Wang Chusheng? Dead? What's going on?"
Chen Hong's face turned pale and she stared at him. Her aura weakened for no reason, and she said as if she had done something wrong:
"That is, about half an hour ago, I suddenly received news that he was in prison and died suddenly. It was the jailer who noticed that he was motionless and stepped forward to check."
Zhao Duan took a step forward and said in a deep voice: "That's not what I'm asking! How could a person die?"
His first thought was that the person had been silenced.
At this sensitive juncture, the key witness died suddenly, and he had no choice but to speculate like this.
Chen Hong obviously knew what he was concerned about and hurriedly explained:
"We have been keeping a close eye on him. He is kept in a separate area in the prison, and those who have access to him are strictly screened to prevent accidents."
But something happened... Zhao Duan stared at him without saying a word, waiting for what was to come.
Chen Hong said: "Wu Zuo has been examined urgently, and it was said that he died suddenly due to the onset of illness, so he died silently, but during the examination, it was found that he had a needle hole in his body.
We suspect that he may not have been killed in the cell, but that he may have been poisoned by some kind of delayed-onset poison during the past few days when he went out to be arraigned in court. The plots he encountered along the way were...
But this is just speculation and has not been confirmed. "
Cases are tried in court, and arraignments go back and forth. There are many people with mixed eyes... and there are not many people who have the opportunity to take action...
Zhao Duan took a deep breath to calm down.
He closed his eyes and opened them again. He had calmed down: "What is the situation now?"
Chen Hong quickly said: "Right now, the adults in the Sanfa Department are all alarmed. Mr. Yuan and the others have already entered the palace overnight. They have privately told me to come and let you know."
Zhao Duan laughed angrily:
"What's the use of informing me? I'm not the chief prosecutor of the case! I brought the person back all the way, but he died completely!"
Chen Hong pursed her lips and explained:
"After all, you are the imperial envoy who arrested people. Now that Wang Chu is alive and dead, the conviction of the entire case will have twists and turns. Mr. Yuan is worried that tomorrow, the news about his suicide in fear of crime may spread..."
"Okay, let me think about it!" Zhao Duan waved his hand, put his fingers on his forehead, and paced in front of his courtyard, his brain running rapidly.
The bad premonition finally came true.
Reminiscent of the meeting between the two in the afternoon, Chen Hong was still saying that with Wang Chusheng's presence, the situation was all right, but only a few hours later, she felt cold.
Zhao Duan couldn't hide his anxiety, and more importantly, he was still in disbelief.
"Is Li Yanfu crazy? Dare you use this method in the capital?"
Zhao Duan didn't understand. This was very different from what he knew about the Prime Minister's behavior.
At least in his confrontations with Li Dang in the past few months, this old man who has been in officialdom for many years has shown more of the word "forbearance".
Even if he takes action, it is within the "rules of the game" in the officialdom. Such a brutal method of directly overturning the table is really unimaginable.
Perhaps, this is also the key factor why the Sanfa Department has strengthened protection, but still made omissions:
No one thought that someone would dare to risk his life to silence him!
"Okay, I understand." Zhao Duan took a deep breath and said.
He realized that the person who was most anxious about this matter at the moment was not him, who had resigned as imperial envoy. Even if he could not be convicted, it seemed that he could not be blamed.
Therefore, I can completely stay out of it.
"Have a good rest, my lord. I'll take my leave first." Chen Hong was just ordered to inform him, and then he said goodbye and left. This sudden change meant that he still had a lot of things to deal with.
…
The same night, Prime Minister's Mansion.
When the news of Wang Chusheng's death came out, Li Yanfu got the news immediately.
At this moment, the lights in the study room of the Prime Minister's Mansion were brightly lit, and several figures in the room were reflected on the window paper.
"Crack!"
A blue and white porcelain cup was violently thrown out. With a whine, it rubbed the ear of a middle-aged man standing in the study, hit the closed door, and broke into two pieces.
The water splashed from the cup wetted the man's luxurious clothes.
This middle-aged man with a handsome face, a dignified appearance, and a very elegant look just silently took out his handkerchief and wiped his shoulders and neck.
He calmly looked at the sullen old man behind the long table in the study and said softly:
"Li Xiangxi is angry, and his anger is very harmful to his health. If your body is broken by anger, I can't bear the responsibility. When you go home, the old lady at home will curse you."
Li Yanfu threw out the cup and still stood under a large vertical splash-ink painting.
The ink-colored angry dragon in the painting is like a Dharma image, hanging behind the old man wearing red uniform, with messy beard and hair splayed out in anger.
"It's so angry that it hurts your body? Why did your Shen family care about my skeleton? I'm afraid not. I hope I die soon!"
Li Yanfu stared at the other party with a serious look.
The powerful prime minister of a country is angry, even though he is an ordinary person, but it still makes the room seem to be shrouded in dark clouds over the sea.
The aura of the superior was like an angry sea, so heavy that the middle-aged man in the room and the "Xiaoge Lao" who was cautiously standing in the corner to reduce his presence did not dare to breathe. The two of them are like ships on an angry sea, in danger of capsizing at any time.
"Father..." Finally, Li Yinglong plucked up the courage to calm down the atmosphere, "Brother Shen is also anxious for a while, and caring can lead to chaos."
Li Yanfu laughed angrily.
He did not look at his useless son next to him, but stared at the middle-aged man named Shen:
"Concern leads to chaos, so you went behind my back and killed Wang Chusheng? Just to save your wife and brother? Do you think I will believe it?! Is this the idea of your Shen family or your personal action? Nonsense!"
The middle-aged man named Shen remained silent.
The Jiancheng Shen family is a famous family among the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River in Dayu. It is also one of the top families in Jiancheng Dao. It is also the natal family of the head wife who is married to Gao Lian.
The middle-aged man is the second brother of the upright wife and the younger brother of the head of the Shen family. Apart from the "ancestor" and the "head", he is the second most powerful person in the family.
It was also the Jiangnan Group representative who hurried to the capital in the past few days to lobby after the Taicang case.
After Li Yanfu learned about Wang Chusheng's death, he thought of this person.
But unexpectedly, before sending anyone to look for it, the other party came to visit and readily admitted it.
"Prime Minister Li, Your Majesty gave the Three Laws Division only ten days to verify and convict. Now more than half of it has passed. Although it has achieved some results in public opinion inside and outside the court, how can we save Gao Lian with these alone?
If you want to reverse the case, then Wang Chusheng is the key, and now that he is dead, there is room for maneuver..." The middle-aged man surnamed Shen patiently explained.
Li Yanfu stared straight at him with gray eyes, and said quietly: "I think you are not trying to save him, but you are trying to show your true self."
The middle-aged man with a face like a crown jewel and a gentle manner showed fear: "I don't dare..."
"Haha, you are very brave to see the truth. Now, everyone no longer takes the truth into account," Li Yanfu seemed to be smiling, but there was no smile at all:
"The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that there is still enough time. Next, as long as we follow the steps and the Prime Minister still has the means, the case can be postponed. By then, if you wait and take action, His Majesty will naturally retreat..."
The middle-aged man surnamed Shen bowed his head, seemingly humble, but interrupted: "Mr. Li, in the many years since you have been the leader of the party, have we ever disobeyed orders? It's not that you are unwilling, but in fact, you are with us right now. Things are no longer the same.
Pei Kaizhi's imprisonment is still around the corner, and the heart-wrenching New Deal is about to be implemented at our doorstep. Now, my wealthy brother-in-law is also in prison. Regarding the silver mine, my wife's brother worked hard and worked hard, so how much did he get? Don’t you also…”
"Shut up!" Li Yanfu was furious.
The middle-aged man surnamed Shen, who "follows the good deeds", did not go into depth on this topic, but said sincerely: "Prime Minister Li, what we mean is that you have been in charge of the cabinet for many years, and we should not complain, but the situation is changing day by day. Change, you are getting older, and you may not be able to see clearly the situation in the court.
If we blindly compromise, we know in our hearts that we are ‘retreating in order to advance’ and thinking about the overall situation. But when will this retreat come to an end?
What happened to Wang Chusheng was that I went too far, but don’t worry, since you dare to do it, this matter will not implicate outsiders. If Your Majesty wants to investigate, just go to my Shen family. "
These words were sincere, but Li Yanfu only sneered.
Why didn't he understand that it didn't matter whose hands Wang Chu lived or died.
The important thing is that outsiders will think that he died at the hands of the Li family.
"...Now that things have come to this, the Li Party, which is so big, has to rely on you, the Prime Minister, to take charge of the overall situation. If you are dissatisfied, just punish me. The killing of Wang Chusheng was only done by me and had nothing to do with the old lady in the family." Shen surnamed Zhong. The young man said.
The smile disappeared from Li Yanfu's face.
After staring at him for a long time, he suddenly said: "Prince Jing has come to see your Shen family."
The heart of the middle-aged man in fine clothes suddenly tightened, and he raised his head, wanting to explain.
Li Yanfu waved his hands tiredly and said:
"Go away. The truth will take care of the follow-up of Sanfasi."
"Thank you, Prime Minister Li!" The middle-aged man said with a happy face and said goodbye.
After the others left, Li Yinglong, who was stuck in the corner, finally couldn't hold it in any longer and took two steps forward: "Father, are you just going to let him go like this?"
Li Yanfu glanced at him coldly and said angrily: "Otherwise?"
Li Yinglong's face was grim: "Father, I'm afraid that the Shen family has second thoughts. If they dare to act like this today, it must be Prince Jing who is backing them. Humph, these ungrateful white-eyed wolves keep saying that Gao Lian is sending money, why not? How many benefits have been gained? Simply..."
At this moment, he transformed into a mouth substitute, completely different from his previous attitude of saying "Brother Shen".
Obviously, he is also a master of making fun of the situation.
"Okay, what's the point of talking about this?" Li Yanfu said tiredly, leaning on the dark brown table and sitting down slowly.
He sighed: "If I had known this, it would be better to let Gao Lian die in Taicang."
Li Yinglong said nothing and said cautiously: "Then what happens next..."
Li Yanfu remained expressionless and regained his composure:
"Now that the matter has come to this, we can only use the topic as an excuse to try our best to keep our integrity. I ordered him to go down and publicize his suicide in fear of crime tomorrow."
"yes."
Li Yinglong hurried away.
When there was only one person in the room, Li Yanfu raised his head and stared at the quietly burning flame on the table, with red flames dancing in his gray eyes.
After a long time, he let out a long sigh.
(End of chapter)