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Chapter 83 Ding Anzhi, you may step back!

Chapter 85 Ding Anzhi, you may step back!

the next day.

Liu Chuan died in his cell, beside which lay a blood-stained suicide note.

The contents above are shocking, filled with the crimes of Zeng Shihong and Yan Fan.

This letter, let alone falling into the hands of others, even if a passerby glances at it, will be silenced.

Shen Yan was startled upon seeing the letter, thinking to himself, "Could Yang Wanli be going to go this far? Is he trying to bring down the prime minister?"

He didn't understand Yang Wanli's intention in doing this; the power struggles between important figures are always full of twists and turns.

Shen Yan stopped thinking about it.

Send Chen Xiaoshuan to inform the Ministry of Justice.

Soon the Ministry of Justice sent someone to the prison; the person who came was Ye Zhou.

Since the suspect in the imperial prison had died, it was natural for officials from the Ministry of Justice to come and confirm it.

Ye Zhou went through the motions and signed the document.

Since Liu Chuan had no family members to help collect his body, according to the usual practice of the imperial prison, he was naturally thrown into a mass grave.

Shen Yan didn't need to worry about what happened next; Yang Wanli had already made all the arrangements.

He will send someone to pick up Liu Chuan's body. Whether he is dead or alive depends on how lucky Liu Chuan is.

This matter didn't cause much of a stir in the prison; leaving a suicide note before death to implicate others was nothing new.

This is why jailers never give paper and pens to officials who are destined to die.

Some things, even if they are fabricated out of thin air, can cause huge trouble for others.

The jailers dreaded this kind of trouble the most, because it could easily implicate them.

Inside the Ministry of Justice.

Ding Anzhi, Yang Wanli, and Feng Xiuzheng gathered together, and on the table was the farewell letter that had been delivered from the prison.

Yang Wanli had already seen it; it was indeed Liu Chuan's last words. He did not believe the method Shen Yan had suggested.

Believing he was doomed to die, Liu Chuan did not want to die silently and wanted to tell everyone about what had happened in Jiangnan over the years before he died.

Even on the verge of death, he could still worry about what would happen after his death.

The whereabouts of the silver were naturally also told to Yang Wanli.

Ding Anzhi's pupils dilated in shock upon seeing the contents above.

He then said through gritted teeth, "This—this is impossible! Lord Zeng is a man of the country and the people, how could he do such a thing? It must be Liu Chuan's accusation before he died."

Feng Xiu read the letter but said nothing. The contents of the letter were a mix of truth and falsehood, and he didn't want to judge them. He just wanted to leave his post peacefully.

He sighed inwardly, "The Ministry of Justice is becoming increasingly unsettling. I wonder if it's really offending the Grand Duke Jupiter."

His subordinates were divided into two factions, attacking each other, and the Ministry of Justice was also plagued by a series of incidents.

Feng Xiu is old and doesn't have the energy to manage things anymore.

Yang Wanli looked displeased upon hearing Ding Anzhi's words. Although he also believed that the things mentioned above should not be entirely believed, it was somewhat arbitrary to say that they were fabricated out of thin air.

"Lord Ding, the truth of the matter can only be known after investigation, not just based on hearsay."

Ding Anzhi angrily retorted, "Yang Wanli! What do you mean?! Do you really think Prime Minister Zeng would do such a thing?"

Yang Wanli said calmly, "I didn't mention Prime Minister Zeng, but the Zeng family has many members, and it's not impossible that some scoundrels might use the Prime Minister's name to commit evil deeds."

He knew in his heart that even if Zeng Shihong was not aware of it, he had secretly agreed.

Everyone is sucking the blood of the behemoth that is the Great Zhou Dynasty; no one is any better than anyone else.

Ding Anzhi's expression softened somewhat after hearing this, but he still defended the Zeng family in his words.

Even if what Liu Chuan said is true, there must be some misunderstanding involved.

Upon hearing this, Yang Wanli sneered, "Lord Ding, is your surname Ding or Zeng? You keep mentioning the Zeng family; do you work for the Zeng family?"

Ding Anzhi was immediately enraged.

"Yang Wanli, it's fine if you insult me, but you are not allowed to slander Prime Minister Zeng. He dedicated his life to the country and the people and should not bear this infamy."

Feng Xiu was getting annoyed by Ding Anzhi's constant references to Prime Minister Zeng.

He thought to himself, "Ding Anzhi has completely lost his mind and is relying entirely on Zeng Shihong."

He waved his hand.

"Alright, it's not up to us to judge Ding Anzhi's merits and demerits; this matter requires His Majesty's decision."

Ding Anzhi's face instantly turned gloomy. If this letter were handed over, the Zeng and Yan families wouldn't be affected much.

This will have a significant impact on him. He was already at a disadvantage in his competition with Yang Wanli. If he can't even handle this small matter, how can he gain Zeng Shihong's favor?

Yang Wanli also knew that this letter would not have any impact on the two prime ministers. Even if it was all true, a simple "my clansmen are ignorant" would suffice.

At most, two more scapegoats will die.

This was only one of Liu Chuan's conditions for the exchange; what Yang Wanli wanted was the whereabouts of the silver.

Ding Anzhi finally calmed down and realized that he had lost his composure just now.

Yang Wanli saw that there were no objections to the matter and did not bring it up again.

"Next, I will discuss the matter of silver with Lord Feng."

"Ding Anzhi, you may leave now!"

"Hurry up and go fawn over them!"

Ding Anzhi's emotions, which had just calmed down, erupted like a volcano in an instant.

"Yang Wanli, you—!"

"What?! Did I say something wrong? All you've been thinking about lately is currying favor with the Zeng family. Have you been paying any attention to the Ministry of Justice's affairs?"

Feng Xiu remained silent. He had worked with Ding Anzhi for many years, while Yang Wanli had only been there a short time.

He still hoped that Ding Anzhi could take over the Ministry of Justice. After all, they had worked together for many years, and although he had not made any great achievements, he had not made any mistakes either.

However, Ding Anzhi has made too many blunders recently, which he finds hard to understand, and can only attribute it to Ding Anzhi's impatience.

Ding Anzhi looked conflicted, but ultimately left the Ministry of Justice and headed towards the Zeng residence.

Since reporting the letter couldn't stop it, he had no choice but to inform Zeng Shihong first.

Feng Xiu shook his head and continued talking with Yang Wanli.

As for Liu Chuan, no one cared anymore. After being thrown into a mass grave, he was abducted by Yang Wanli's men and sent to a village outside Bianjing.

Shen Yan was drinking tea in a teahouse, listening to a storyteller recount the events that had occurred in Bianjing during this period.

The teahouse was bustling with noise; people from all walks of life gathered there.

Compared to the tavern, there are far fewer people from the martial arts world here.

During this period, although news about the "Longevity Manual" has decreased significantly, the outlaws of the martial arts world have not disappeared; on the contrary, they have increased in number.

Even some renowned martial arts figures who had retired to the background were spotted in Bianjing.

Shen Yan heard that someone was going to hold some kind of martial arts tournament outside Bianjing.

Whether it's true or not, it just goes to show that these people in the martial arts world are really good at causing trouble.

If they were to truly engage in a decisive battle at the Forbidden City in Bianjing, they would surely be riddled with bullets by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The storyteller's voice pulled him back to reality.

"Then there was Princess Chang Le, who was incomparably beautiful. After living among the common people for more than ten years, she finally returned—"

Those drinking tea below immediately became excited upon hearing this.

Such stories of rising to prominence and becoming a phoenix are always the most talked-about.

"She didn't bring back a prince consort. I wonder if Princess Chang Le has someone she loves?"

"Go ask around, you might get selected."

"Oh, come on! You can't just say things like that, or you'll get into trouble."

Hearing their discussion, Shen Yan finally understood.

"Li Miaoyi? So that's her name. She's now Princess Chang Le."

He couldn't help but sigh, "Reincarnation is indeed a skill."