From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 429

The Guangzhou prefect knelt on the ground, shaking all over.

He never thought that a small business dispute would involve the Ministry of Internal Affairs!

How could this short quarter of an hour seem like a dream!

"Governor, spare me! Young Master Guan, spare me!"

"I also believed Huang Zuoyu's slander and was confused for a moment!"

Zhou Yuan sat in the audience seat and did not speak. Zhuang Xuansu and a group of internal guards stood behind him, looking unhappy.

This was not because she was unhappy with the officialdom in Fujian and Guangdong, but because she was very dissatisfied with Zhou Yuan's way of acting.

How dare he involve the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Princess Qinshui? How dare he pretend to be a royal relative?

But he could not be exposed at this time, otherwise it would damage the reputation of His Majesty.

Zhang Tao was even more furious. The Governor of Fujian and Guangdong had just taken office and the autumn tax had just been submitted. It was the most sensitive time. Now the biggest trouble was dragged onto his head. He really wanted to beat this shitty prefect to death.

"Qi Hong! You abused your power, accepted money, and bent the law for personal gain. What crime should you be punished for!"

The gavel almost frightened Qi Hong to death. He trembled and couldn't speak, but just kept shouting that he was wronged.

Huang Zuoyu was also completely confused, sweating profusely, and whispered to the servants to push him away.

Zhou Yuan saw it clearly, but did not stop it.

He didn't want this person to die, but to obey.

Doing business in Fujian and Guangdong is inseparable from the cooperation of Chaozhou merchants. Having an obedient person is better than a private person.

As for this so-called Qi Hong, Zhou Yuan was too lazy to care. This was what Qi Changshi should do later.

"Qi Hong, the prefect of Guangzhou, has committed several crimes. He will be temporarily detained in the prison and his property will be confiscated. He will be tried slowly in the future and sentenced according to the law."

"Adjourn the court!"

Zhang Tao was a smart man. He saw Zhou Yuan's impatience and quickly left the court.

Then he came to Zhou Yuan and said with a low laugh: "Master Guan, Qi Hong has served as the prefect of Guangzhou for many years and has been involved in many cases. We still need to slowly investigate. After finding out the truth, I will never tolerate it and will deal with it seriously. What do you think?"

Zhou Yuan said: "That's your business. It has nothing to do with me. I'm just here to do business."

"As for whether this business is easy to do, it depends on whether Lord Zhang gives face."

Zhang Tao immediately said: "We local officials have the obligation to cooperate with the business of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Master Guan, please rest assured."

"In addition, it is noon. If you don't mind, please go to Guanhai Tower and sit for a while. Give me a chance to apologize."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said slowly: "Guanhai Tower? Yes, I will go back to bathe and change clothes before going to the banquet."

"It also gives you some time to prepare, doesn't it?"

After speaking, he stood up and strode out.

Zhuang Xuansu hurriedly followed him, and after walking out of the government office, he whispered: "Zhou Yuan, you are too bold. You dragged the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Princess Qinshui into this to cover up your fictitious identity. This is a crime of deceiving the emperor."

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "Even if His Majesty knew, he would not care."

Zhuang Xuansu said: "Your Majesty is strict in law, and it is impossible not to pursue it."

Zhou Yuan said: "She feels guilty about me. As long as I don't violate the bottom line, she won't pursue it."

"Also, don't focus on me. The important thing is, don't you think this Guangzhou prefect is too outrageous? It's as absurd as a small county magistrate in a remote village, but this is Guangzhou Prefecture."

"A glimpse of the leopard, it can be imagined that the political ecology of the Fujian and Guangdong regions has reached the point where it has to be rectified and bloodshed."

"This time, I wanted to cooperate with the government as a royal relative to jointly promote the business of Xiangruifang. Now it seems that it is not a cooperation at all. They just did it with one word."

"If it were other provinces, such as Jiangxi and Zhejiang, it would never be the case."

"The corruption here is deep-rooted."

Zhuang Xuansu was silent for a moment before saying, "Then why are we going to the banquet?"

Zhou Yuan said, "It's simple. I want to make money. With Zhang Tao's cooperation, I can get twice the result with half the effort."

Zhuang Xuansu frowned and said, "Knowing that there is corruption, you want to go along with it? Your Majesty will not allow it."

Zhou Yuan turned his head to look at her and squinted his eyes and said, "Your Majesty has gone to the Qingcheng Mountain Tianshi Zhengyi Dao, and now the regent handles government affairs."

Zhuang Xuansu said, "But the Inner Court is still in the hands of Your Majesty, and she can know everything at any time."

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice, "If you don't say this, she won't know."

Zhuang Xuansu immediately said, "It's impossible not to say it! The meaning of the existence of the Inner Court is to be loyal to Your Majesty."

"Of course, I don't deny this, so what I mean is that you have to protect my safety first, and then report this matter, the right timeIt was after His Majesty returned to Beijing."

Zhuang Xuansu stamped his feet and shouted, "Why do you have to do this?"

Zhou Yuan said, "You don't understand the key contradiction. It's them who are corrupt, not me, Zhou Yuan, who is breaking the law. I'm just doing business."

"As for pretending to be a royal relative, as long as I give Xiangruifang to the Ministry of Internal Affairs at that time, it won't be considered pretending, it's just a fact."

Zhuang Xuansu shouted, "The nature is different!"

Zhou Yuan laughed instead, squinting his eyes and said, "Maybe you don't know that Xiangruifang was entrusted to me by Princess Qinshui, and it is indeed the property of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"You are lying."

"Who can prove it?"

Zhou Yuan said indifferently, "Princess Qinshui will help me to cover up my lie, this is the key. "

Zhuang Xuansu couldn't argue with him, so he could only accompany him to the banquet in a sullen mood.

Zhang Tao's show was very grand. There was a big round table in the hall, and seven or eight government officials from the provincial government were sitting there, obviously to keep up the atmosphere.

Outside the hall, more than a dozen young women played music and danced, showing luxury.

Everyone was a little restrained, and Zhang Tao took the lead in livening up the atmosphere.

"Master Guan has come all the way from the capital, and I should have played the role of a host, but I didn't expect such an unpleasant thing to happen."

He raised his glass and said solemnly: "Regarding Qi Hong's corruption and abuse of power, we must deal with it seriously and give Master Guan an explanation. This glass of wine is just a small apology. Please forgive me, Master Guan."

Zhou Yuan picked up the glass and squinted his eyes and said: "Master Zhang is too polite. The governor of a province is not a subordinate. The explanation should be to the law and the people of Dajin. I am just one of the victims. ”

“The business of the Ministry of Internal Affairs still needs to be done. I just hope that you gentlemen will not make it difficult for us when the time comes.”

Everyone waved their hands hurriedly, indicating that they would definitely not make it difficult for us.

These were just polite words. Zhou Yuan did not say much. He was in a good mood while listening to the songs and eating delicious food.

It was just that the sudden change made him confused.

A guard ran in and said in a deep voice: "Governor, there is a girl outside. She also said her surname is Guan. She said someone pretended to be a royal relative and she came to confront him."

Zhou Yuan was a little panicked now. Could it be that the fake one was the real one?

And Zhang Tao was also stunned for more than ten breaths before he swallowed his saliva and said: "Please come in first!"

Soon, a young girl strode in!

The voice was clear and delicate, with anger: "This girl wants to see who is so bold as to pretend to be a royal relative! "

Zhou Yuan looked back and saw that the girl was about 20 years old, well-behaved and delicate, with an oval face and big, lively eyes, as if she had walked out of a painting.

In just a moment, Zhou Yuan recognized her...

I have seen her in Jingwang Mansion, Guan Caixi...

Don't make a fuss, she can't really be the elder sister's sister!